Everybody loves the infamous “Skinwalker” these days.

How would I go about such a thing for the Dragonbane RPG? It just so happens that I have several resources handy that deal with spirits and shapeshifters in other games. My first two resources are the World of Darkness: Changing Breeds and the WoD: Book of Spirits to start. Then I might root around in my Hackmaster books. D&D 3E-4E had some good stuff. I might even look in Earthdawn to see if anything stands out. (I miss that game sometimes.) Or do we just chat about werewolves?

When it comes to Dragonbane RPG, I have to ask what even is a werewolf? We have Wolfkin already. What’s the difference? Do we really need Orc Werewolves or Halfling Werewolves?

Disclaimer: Statements expressed in this article are strictly my opinion. If you disagree or have a different opinion, that’s okay. I’m not an expert on everything. I’m not always right. I’m just writing from my experience as I know it. Your mileage may vary.

I propose a different approach.

What if instead of werewolves, various Kin infected with lycanthropy turned into something huge and horrific for which we have no human or otherwise real world comparison. That way if one of the Wolfkin gets bitten, it turns into one of these alien/chupacabra/sasquatch looking things. That would certainly be more terrifying.

Maybe these new creatures can mostly control their transformation as the off worldly presence begins to take over. Because they’re not traditional werewolves, the phases of the moon and silver would have no effect on their physiology, but maybe other things would. Maybe their trigger is exposure to direct sunlight. Maybe their weakness is cold wrought iron or paprika. We’ll give that one some thought.

I had a sillier thought.

What about a weremuppet? A character was bitten by a strange creature in the dungeon and now they’re slowly becoming fuzzier, monochromatic, their nose a big fuzzy bulb, their eyes like two halves of a table tennis ball. They gain big fuzzy feet and hands almost like mittens. Their companions notice that every time the affected character begins to laugh, their voice becomes sillier and maybe higher pitched. The poor muppetcanthropy victim even grows some big fuzzy teeth that look menacing at a distance, but they’re not even sharp.

The weremuppet prowls around giving out hugs and attempting to tickle everyone they encounter. Sure, eventually they might get serious and change back. But then anything more than a light chuckle or a titter and the muppeting is upon them once more. The longer someone suffers from the disease, the zanier their antics become. They also gain the urge to spread their levity to everyone and use two small, very sharp hidden fangs to deliver the bite of The Curse of Muppetcanthropy.

Thank you for being here today with me. I appreciate you. Please embrace the things that bring you the most joy.