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| 1E |
Wererats
Wererats as such appear to be an invention of D&D, although some other legendary creatures (such as vampires) or evil sorcerers have often been said to be able to transform themselves into rats or similar vermin. Non-shapeshifting "rat-men" do predate D&D, but even they are a 20th century invention, appearing in stories by, among others, H.P. Lovecraft and Fritz Leiber. These are most likely the source of Gygax's inspiration.
Wererats are the lowest rung on the stepwise progression of 1E lycanthropes, although they already have the hit dice of a bugbear, the second highest creature in the 'evil humanoid' progression. Unlike the other lycanthropes they can, right from the beginning, transform into both rat and rat-man forms; the latter, unusually, retain human feet and regularly wield weapons. They live in communities of a dozen or so individuals and, according to 2E normally only breed with humans; the condition is passed on to the child only if the mother is the wererat (which makes sense for a bloodborne pathogen).
In 3E, they lose a hit dice, but are harder to hit because their natural agility now has a rules effect. They live in smaller groups than before, and are no longer said to be marginally more intelligent than regular humans. In 5E, they have no inherent armour at all, but (in line with other creatures) considerably more hit points. They are once again, more intelligent than humans, although it's not enough to have a rule mechanical effect. Like other 5E lycanthropes, their hybrid form lacks a tail.
In the real world there are, of course, many different species of rat, and most of them live only in the countryside. Wererats, however, are inspired by Rattus norvegicus, the brown or "sewer" rat, and their culture is clearly one that exists parasitically within human cities, arguably more of a subculture than anything else. They are consistently described as evil, but are not ravening beasts, and aren't really any worse than most human criminals.
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| 5E |
Wereboars
The mid-point in the stepwise progression, wereboars are more powerful than ogres, even ignoring their resistance to regular weaponry. Like wererats, wereboars aren't something particularly common in real-world mythology (and the name, of course, is a neologism) but pigs are part of a broader repertoire of alternate forms for shape-shifters in general; the aswang of the Philippines is one such example.
1E has relatively little to say about them, other than that they are obnoxious, but not actively evil, and they avoid true pigs. The image shows them as having a beast-form that's half-pig half-man, but it may be intended to show a mid-point in the transformation, rather than the end result. 2E, however, clearly identifies this hybrid form as the only alternate. Nonetheless, wereboars apparently eschew using weapons in this form, even though they have functional hands - it may simply be that their tusks are more effective (they do a remarkable amount of damage). It's clear here that wereboars are a distinct race with a clear culture, albeit quite a crude one based on small, xenophobic, family units.
3E makes the same changes as it does to other lycanthropes, but also improves the hide of the creature - now equivalent to plate armour, rather than mail. In terms of base statistics, the primary change on transformation is a dramatic increase in physical strength and raw endurance/resilience. From here on in, they are willing to use weapons such as axes or clubs in hybrid form. The 5E version is similar, but changes to become actively evil, regularly seeking out others to infect. Their raw stamina and determination are once again stressed, in line with the common trope that pigs are stubborn and difficult to kill.
While there are, perhaps, more species of wild pig than many people realise, the wild boar (Sus scrofa), from which the common domestic animal is derived is the most numerous and widespread. It's clearly this that's intended, as is evident from the name (note that the females don't appear to be called "weresows"), although there's no obvious reason why there couldn't be, say, were-warthogs in tropical climes.
Weretigers exist in a number of Asian mythologies, most notably those of India, but also China, Indonesia, and so on. Other kinds of big cat have similar were-forms in other mythologies, with perhaps the best known being the werejaguars of Mesoamerica. While these are typically an actual race or hereditary curse, rather than a simple case of an evil sorcerer or shape-shifting deity, and in that respect resemble the werewolves of European legend, there are few other parallels. In D&D, of course, they share a great many features with werewolves, such as their vulnerability to silver and an often vague connection with the lunar cycle.1E has relatively little to say about them, other than that they are obnoxious, but not actively evil, and they avoid true pigs. The image shows them as having a beast-form that's half-pig half-man, but it may be intended to show a mid-point in the transformation, rather than the end result. 2E, however, clearly identifies this hybrid form as the only alternate. Nonetheless, wereboars apparently eschew using weapons in this form, even though they have functional hands - it may simply be that their tusks are more effective (they do a remarkable amount of damage). It's clear here that wereboars are a distinct race with a clear culture, albeit quite a crude one based on small, xenophobic, family units.
3E makes the same changes as it does to other lycanthropes, but also improves the hide of the creature - now equivalent to plate armour, rather than mail. In terms of base statistics, the primary change on transformation is a dramatic increase in physical strength and raw endurance/resilience. From here on in, they are willing to use weapons such as axes or clubs in hybrid form. The 5E version is similar, but changes to become actively evil, regularly seeking out others to infect. Their raw stamina and determination are once again stressed, in line with the common trope that pigs are stubborn and difficult to kill.
While there are, perhaps, more species of wild pig than many people realise, the wild boar (Sus scrofa), from which the common domestic animal is derived is the most numerous and widespread. It's clearly this that's intended, as is evident from the name (note that the females don't appear to be called "weresows"), although there's no obvious reason why there couldn't be, say, were-warthogs in tropical climes.
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| 2E |
Weretigers
1E weretigers apparently transform only into regular tigers but even by 2E they also have a bipedal form. Interestingly, this resembles the 1E "wolf-man" in general form, rather than the beast-headed biped seen in most other lycanthropes. Specifically, while the legs change shape below the knee, and there is a tail and striped body fur, the head remains relatively humanoid. 3E makes no mention of this either way, but by 5E, the hybrid form has the full-on animalistic head.
An oddity of weretigers in the first two editions is that 80% of them are female. This is likely an artefact of naturally born weretigers, since the curse is equally transmissible to either sex through a bite. Presumably, weretiger mothers miscarry male infants, probably at such an early stage they don't even realise they are pregnant, but, of course, it could also be a magical effect that alters an embryo's chromosomes. Either way, it implies that weretigers have to seek out male humans to mate with in order to maintain their population levels. (A male weretiger having multiple sexual partners would also work, but this seems unlikely given their small family groups and wide dispersal).
3E no longer makes any mention of the gender imbalance, but the more detailed rules indicate a massive increase in strength in the animal and hybrid forms - the same as a hill giant, despite being around 25% shorter and considerably lighter and less muscular-looking. This is greatly reduced, to the upper end of the human range, in 5E, although the boosted reflexes do remain.
Weretigers' personalities reflect those of their animal forms, being aloof and aggressive, but not normally evil. Real tigers are solitary in adulthood but, likely because of their human heritage, weretigers are more likely to live in mated pairs. However, this would explain why, despite their obvious affinity for them, weretigers do not often team up with the natural animal - it's more rejection on the part of the tiger than that of the lycanthrope. On the other hand, the quality of the weapons and clothing they are shown to have access to implies a close enough association with regular humanoid society to acquire and (presumably) pay for such goods.
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| 3E |
Werebears
Doubtless because of their great size and strength, bears are often given magical powers in myths and legends, and these can include shape-shifting into humans. Such legends are found, for example, amongst the Germanic, Slavic, and Finnish peoples, and also among some Native American tribes. For the most part, though, these are one-off instances, or, as with typical medieval werewolves, the results of sorcery and the like. A common theme, for example, is warriors putting on bear-skins before battle to take on some of the attributes of the animal. Unlike werewolves, though, shape-shifting bears are less likely to be seen as evil in the legends, and, probably also inspired by Tolkien's Beorn, this is something carried over into the D&D version.
Werebears are the most powerful of the standard lycanthropes, and the only one that's described as essentially benevolent, if wary of human company. In the first two editions they only transform into quadrupedal bears, but, as usual, this has changed by 3E. These early versions also heal faster than normal humans and, while immune to disease themselves, are highly skilled at curing it in others (presumably through knowledge of herbalism, although the details aren't given). Since they tend to avoid humans, they may practice this latter skill on regular bears, or other wild animals, since they are described as guardians of nature.
In 1E, werebears are only ever adults, and apparently never have children. It's unclear what this is intended to mean, but by 2E they have normal human children that don't transform until adolescence and then immediately leave home to live by themselves and/or find a mate. They regularly interact with normal bears and have a magical affinity that allows them to call them from miles away.
In editions from 3E onwards, all these various unusual features are no longer present and the great power of the werebear simply comes from having a similar strength and resilience to an actual bear - combined with all the usual resistances and the intelligence to develop highly effective combat skills.
In the real world, there are eight species of bear, although one of these is the giant panda. It's clear, both from the artwork and from the exact strength they possess in later editions, that the werebear transforms into brown bears (Ursos arctos). This is the species that includes grizzlies, the European and Russian sorts, and the unusually large Kodiak bear from the island of the same name. It's less gregarious than black bears but noticeably larger, stronger, and more aggressive. Since brown bears can interbreed with polar bears to produce fertile offspring, polar werebears are a logical extrapolation.
Jackalweres are not said to be true lycanthropes. As a result, they do not fall into the neat hierarchy seen in the earlier editions, being weaker than werewolves in some respects, but superior in others. While mythical sorcerers and shapeshifting gods are as capable of turning into jackals as any other animal appropriate to their native culture, the jackalwere of D&D seems to be an original creation, with no mythical or literary antecedents. As described, they are one of those races that you would think would have a significant effect on the world it inhabited, but doesn't because there are so many other intelligent evil beings to compete with.
In 1E, jackalweres are initially described as "jackals that transform into men". The illustrations, however, make it obvious that they also have a hybrid form. This has an essentially humanoid body covered with fur, and a jackal's head - making it visibly distinct from the 1E werewolf.
The existence of the hybrid form is explicitly stated in 2E, although for some reason the illustration shows a creature that's spotted like a hyena rather than being particularly jackal-like. It's also clarified that they are born in jackal form and only shapeshift when they approach adulthood. The condition is not a contagion, however, and acts more like a recessive gene, with only purebred offspring having the trait. (On the other hand, if it really were a recessive gene, some jackals would be "carriers", with matings between carriers occasionally producing jackalwere pups. This may, or may not, actually be the case).
In addition to all this, a couple of other features distinguish jackalweres from true lycanthropes. Firstly, they are immune to silvered weapons, but not to iron ones. 2E specified that this has to be "cold iron" a term that, historically, just means "iron or steel used to make weapons" but that's more often used in modern fantasy to mean something special, such as meteoritic iron. The other feature is that they don't have a specific human form, being able to change their appearance at will.
The jackalwere does not appear in the 3E core books (although it does elsewhere), but it has quite drastically changed by 5E. They're now weaker than wererats, let alone werewolves, and it's now silver weapons that harm them, just as for lycanthropes. They also have a specific human form and hunt in packs - formerly they lived in small nuclear families, much like most (but not all) real jackals. The physical form of the hybrid also looks much more lycanthrope-like, with animalistic legs below the knee. Unlike actual 5E lycanthropes, however, they have a tail.
The signature ability of the jackalwere is the power to send people to sleep by simply staring at them and willing it so. In early editions, they specifically cannot do this in combat, but that also changes in 5E. With fully human intelligence, and perhaps even a little better on average, 1E and 2E jackalweres roam around killing random people for no particular reason other than that's what they do. In 5E they serve lamias, and often take prisoners for their masters.
The term "jackal" in the real world refers to any close relative of the domestic dog that isn't either a wolf or a coyote. There are at least three different species that fit this description, but most of the illustrations seem to favour the uniform pelt of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) which is the kind found in Asia and North Africa. The association with Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian jackal-headed god of the dead, is often apparent in the art and may have been part of Gygax's original inspiration for the race.
Many other game systems also have non-wolf "lycanthropes", with bears perhaps being the most common. Wererats are an obvious urban monster, and weretigers have, among other advantages, the benefit of having a stronger basis in real-world mythology. Glorantha is notable here in having many shapechangers - few, if any, of them "evil" as D&D lycanthropes are, and unable to spread their condition to others. Werebears are the most numerous kind overall, but they live far from the usual centres of game activity, where werewolves are more common. Other common instances in that world include boars, tiger, deer, eagles, and bats. In Yrth, bears, boars, eagles, and snakes are the most common non-wolf forms.
As noted above, jackalweres are the most distinctive of the D&D therianthropic shapeshifters - partly because they aren't supposed to be typical lycanthropes (although the difference declines in 5E). However, it's hard to know how best to translate them to other systems because they have changed so much down the years. Are they vulnerable to silver or iron? What does "iron" even mean in this context? Are they tougher than regular humans, or roughly the same (resistances aside)? Is their sleep-inducing power something hypnotic that only works on unsuspecting and relaxed victims, or a magic attack that can be employed in combat? Do they have just one human form or illusion powers that allow them to take on several?
These questions have no one answer.
Werebears are the most powerful of the standard lycanthropes, and the only one that's described as essentially benevolent, if wary of human company. In the first two editions they only transform into quadrupedal bears, but, as usual, this has changed by 3E. These early versions also heal faster than normal humans and, while immune to disease themselves, are highly skilled at curing it in others (presumably through knowledge of herbalism, although the details aren't given). Since they tend to avoid humans, they may practice this latter skill on regular bears, or other wild animals, since they are described as guardians of nature.
In 1E, werebears are only ever adults, and apparently never have children. It's unclear what this is intended to mean, but by 2E they have normal human children that don't transform until adolescence and then immediately leave home to live by themselves and/or find a mate. They regularly interact with normal bears and have a magical affinity that allows them to call them from miles away.
In editions from 3E onwards, all these various unusual features are no longer present and the great power of the werebear simply comes from having a similar strength and resilience to an actual bear - combined with all the usual resistances and the intelligence to develop highly effective combat skills.
In the real world, there are eight species of bear, although one of these is the giant panda. It's clear, both from the artwork and from the exact strength they possess in later editions, that the werebear transforms into brown bears (Ursos arctos). This is the species that includes grizzlies, the European and Russian sorts, and the unusually large Kodiak bear from the island of the same name. It's less gregarious than black bears but noticeably larger, stronger, and more aggressive. Since brown bears can interbreed with polar bears to produce fertile offspring, polar werebears are a logical extrapolation.
Jackalweres
Jackalweres are not said to be true lycanthropes. As a result, they do not fall into the neat hierarchy seen in the earlier editions, being weaker than werewolves in some respects, but superior in others. While mythical sorcerers and shapeshifting gods are as capable of turning into jackals as any other animal appropriate to their native culture, the jackalwere of D&D seems to be an original creation, with no mythical or literary antecedents. As described, they are one of those races that you would think would have a significant effect on the world it inhabited, but doesn't because there are so many other intelligent evil beings to compete with.In 1E, jackalweres are initially described as "jackals that transform into men". The illustrations, however, make it obvious that they also have a hybrid form. This has an essentially humanoid body covered with fur, and a jackal's head - making it visibly distinct from the 1E werewolf.
The existence of the hybrid form is explicitly stated in 2E, although for some reason the illustration shows a creature that's spotted like a hyena rather than being particularly jackal-like. It's also clarified that they are born in jackal form and only shapeshift when they approach adulthood. The condition is not a contagion, however, and acts more like a recessive gene, with only purebred offspring having the trait. (On the other hand, if it really were a recessive gene, some jackals would be "carriers", with matings between carriers occasionally producing jackalwere pups. This may, or may not, actually be the case).
In addition to all this, a couple of other features distinguish jackalweres from true lycanthropes. Firstly, they are immune to silvered weapons, but not to iron ones. 2E specified that this has to be "cold iron" a term that, historically, just means "iron or steel used to make weapons" but that's more often used in modern fantasy to mean something special, such as meteoritic iron. The other feature is that they don't have a specific human form, being able to change their appearance at will.
The jackalwere does not appear in the 3E core books (although it does elsewhere), but it has quite drastically changed by 5E. They're now weaker than wererats, let alone werewolves, and it's now silver weapons that harm them, just as for lycanthropes. They also have a specific human form and hunt in packs - formerly they lived in small nuclear families, much like most (but not all) real jackals. The physical form of the hybrid also looks much more lycanthrope-like, with animalistic legs below the knee. Unlike actual 5E lycanthropes, however, they have a tail.
The signature ability of the jackalwere is the power to send people to sleep by simply staring at them and willing it so. In early editions, they specifically cannot do this in combat, but that also changes in 5E. With fully human intelligence, and perhaps even a little better on average, 1E and 2E jackalweres roam around killing random people for no particular reason other than that's what they do. In 5E they serve lamias, and often take prisoners for their masters.
The term "jackal" in the real world refers to any close relative of the domestic dog that isn't either a wolf or a coyote. There are at least three different species that fit this description, but most of the illustrations seem to favour the uniform pelt of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) which is the kind found in Asia and North Africa. The association with Anubis, the Ancient Egyptian jackal-headed god of the dead, is often apparent in the art and may have been part of Gygax's original inspiration for the race.
Many other game systems also have non-wolf "lycanthropes", with bears perhaps being the most common. Wererats are an obvious urban monster, and weretigers have, among other advantages, the benefit of having a stronger basis in real-world mythology. Glorantha is notable here in having many shapechangers - few, if any, of them "evil" as D&D lycanthropes are, and unable to spread their condition to others. Werebears are the most numerous kind overall, but they live far from the usual centres of game activity, where werewolves are more common. Other common instances in that world include boars, tiger, deer, eagles, and bats. In Yrth, bears, boars, eagles, and snakes are the most common non-wolf forms.
As noted above, jackalweres are the most distinctive of the D&D therianthropic shapeshifters - partly because they aren't supposed to be typical lycanthropes (although the difference declines in 5E). However, it's hard to know how best to translate them to other systems because they have changed so much down the years. Are they vulnerable to silver or iron? What does "iron" even mean in this context? Are they tougher than regular humans, or roughly the same (resistances aside)? Is their sleep-inducing power something hypnotic that only works on unsuspecting and relaxed victims, or a magic attack that can be employed in combat? Do they have just one human form or illusion powers that allow them to take on several?
These questions have no one answer.
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