HOME | DD
NazRigar — Weretober 2022: The Great Werebeast Clades
#birds #bullfrog #chameleon #mammals #rattlesnake #reptiles #scorpion #werebeast #werebeasts #bombardierbeetle #weretober #beastfables #arhtropods #amphibians #characterdesign #creaturedesign #fantasy #worldbuilding #weretober2022
Published: 2022-10-08 03:29:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 16486; Favourites: 295; Downloads: 8
Redirect to original
Description
Tumblr Instagram TwitterSupport me on Ko-Fi! as well!
For this year's Weretober, I am once again exploring the people of the land of Beast Fables, the Werebeasts ! Or Werefolk in some circles. Because the lore dump is already so huge, I'm just gonna copy paste straight from my reddit post to here!
In the world of Urvara (basically the equivalent term of Earth in Beast Fables), Werebeasts are the equivalent of regular ol’ humans in our Earth, and thus are the most dominant beings on the land, and since the setting of Beast Fables takes place in the equivalent of the 18th Century, making further and further advancements in sea exploration (much to the ire of Merfolk, who are finding it harder and harder to hide from the landlubbers).
Because taxonomy is becoming readily adopted throughout Werebeast-kind, they don’t have special names for their “clade” of people, and thus use the terms to describe their beast forms as they would cataloguing their “feral” animals.
------
Mammals
- The most dominant and morphologically diverse group of Werebeast, known in every continent, altitude and biome, they come in sizes from barely reaching a knee to the largest werebeast walking on land. You can find a werebat patrolling the skies day and night, you’ll find great migrations of were-camels in the deserts and were-horses on grassy fields, and in the cold of the North (and some colonies in the traditionally bird-dominant Polar South), you’ll find the Werewalrus or Were-Polar Bear communities making a living on the ice, few places are untouched by Were-mammals.
- As the generalist peoples, whatever a society needs, be they warriors, scholars, philosophers or your local street cleaner, one can always expect a were-mammal to fill in the job. Because of their sheer diversity in beast forms, Were-mammals are often the backbone (or managers) of industry, agriculture and governments. In fact, if there’s one unifying philosophy for Were-Mammals, is that you should always have at least one back-up skill, so even if you are a Were-lion with a penchant as a hunter, it doesn’t hurt to learn how to mint coins or be a blacksmith… or sew things with a needle and thread.
- Because of the great many were-mammal peoples who have migratory animals as their beast forms, some, like Were-elephants, have entire nations that can be considered “on-the-move”, as in they have no true border, or settled community. Whatever settlement they have, is usually a portion of a city governed by more established peoples, who in turn, help provide food, shelter and commodities to some of the largest migrations of people on the planet.
- Many of the great empires and kingdoms of the world are, as of today, ruled by a Were-mammal emperor, king or that newfangled thing called a President… a concerningly growing number of Were-mammals have an undue arrogance about their roles in shaping the world to their liking, the rest of Werebeast kind be damned.
- Representing the Mammals: Annalise Tarleton is a well known owner of multiple Taverns, and Uortai a loyal “doorman” that helps keep the peace in one of her establishments.
Reptiles
- A typically patient and pragmatic people, who, at first glance, may seem a bit sluggish in comparison to others, but when the need arises (or on a good sunny day), they’ll do whatever they’re asked for with great gusto, be it in a fist-fight or procrastinating on an assignment.
- They take the concept of rest and work with equal importance. When it is time to do your job, be it as a soldier, or a cook, or a university professor, you’re obligated to pour in as much effort as possible, so that not only do you learn and grow from your experiences, but you help strengthen the whole of the community around them.
- When it is time to rest, it is a sacred time to let the body heal both physically and mentally, and even the most workaholic of Were-reptiles will take a day or week off to connect with family, friends and colleagues in gatherings. Or, one can just take time off to be by themselves, just them, the sun in the sky, or the calming waters of a river, doing absolutely nothing at all just for the sake of it. So long as they’re content, there’s no such thing as the “right” way to take time off.
- Were-reptiles are notoriously long-lived, with some Were-tortoises reaching up to three centuries in age. As such, many Were-reptile societies have a strong scholarly tradition, not just to pass on knowledge to their children and grandchildren, but in turn, that elders may learn from their young ones.
- Representing Reptiles: Harriet and Eli are members of a travelling show. They bring smiles to all, especially on sunny days!
Amphibians
- In general, highly extroverted people, rivalled only by the birds, are people of big personalities, bombast and wearing their emotions on a sleeve. If they’re not wearing loud colours, they wear the most flamboyant of clothing, and if not even that, they will ALWAYS try to make a show for all of the Werebeast kind to see. Impressive builds, impressive proclamations, and impressive boasts. Because of all this boasting, in turn, it is encouraged by all Were-Amphibians to be able to back up your claims.
- Because of the cultural importance of honesty within Were-Amphibian culture, even the title of “Court Jester” is actually extremely prized. Picture this: You are a Were-tiger king, none-too-keen about the happenings about your subjects, thinking everything is gonna turn out all right… but if the Were-frog openly mocks you in front of court… Then things are absolutely going to be terrible for you soon, and you better be quick to fix it or else.
- Were-Amphibians revere fresh water. While fresh water is something that all peoples of the land need, Were-amphibians, because of just how vital water is for their feral counterparts to even breath, for them, they put special emphasis on how life-giving water is from, from food to trade, and consider it one of the most universal of truths. That all life needs water… and don’t you forget it!
- This reverence for fresh water has, in turn, led to Were-Amphibian communities to be some of the great agricultural powerhouses on the planet… and one of the strongest altruistic cultures as well. In many societies, providing shelter, food and water to the most vulnerable is basically not just an obligation, but entrenched into the psyche of the entire nation.
- In the time of the Ancients, there used to be Amphibians of salt water… but they’re gone now, and typically a were-frog or were-salamander going to sea is a bad idea… But hey? Someone needs to remind the rest of the tribe why it’s a bad idea!
- Representing Amphibians: Bernice is a wrestler, and Andre her manager. Don’t let his size fool you, he was a former champ. Sadly The REIGN Frog’s reign ended when a Were-Tiger Salamander realised: “I can just KICK him outta the ring!”
Birds
- Perhaps the most well-travelled Werebeast peoples, they’re a people of the arts, culture, dance and song… and violence. This is evident in the sheer number of philosopher-kings and soldier-poets that come from Werebird clans,, so much so that, a Werebird painter is every bit as likely to get hired as a doorman or a duelist as they are to get commissioned by a particularly wealthy Were-Lion.
- This ultimately comes down to one thing: Were-Birds are actually a people dedicated to art… and they take their art seriously, as for them, anything can be considered an artform, be it pottery, literature or the art of combat. Even mundane things, like accounting, can be considered an art to them.
- Art after all, is a form of self expression, and for Werebirds, self expression forms a core part of all werebird cultures. If you cannot sing, you dance. You cannot dance, you write. If you cannot write, you sing, and so on and so forth.
- Like all great clades, Were-birds are culturally diverse, but the reason why that fundamental core philosophy is present within all werebird societies ultimately comes down to communication - There’s no other people who maintain such an extensive network of messages and contacts like the birds do, and thus, in theory, even the most isolated Werebird islander has some knowledge of what happens of the outside world.
- Were-birds have a strong reverence for the ancients, and almost all werebird societies to two major historical figures, The Sky King, and the Tyrant King, many pieces of their folklore, including many “founding of” myths involve either one or both of them.
- Typically they don’t wear sleeves, even the flightless ones. Useful for showing off your badass scars, AND so it doesn’t interfere in transforming their arms into wings.
- Representing Birds: Barbara and Joao are professional duelists and pugilists, respectively. They also earn money on the side to whoever can afford their services for… messier work.
Arthropods
- While were-mammals are morphologically diverse, even they pale in comparison to the diversity of ideas, cultures and philosophies of the Were-arthropod. From Werespiders who can live under one household for generations, to the always on-the-move Werelocusts, from solitary Beetlefolk to the extremely social Were-ants and Were-bees, whenever one needs an absolute specialist on a cultural level, you can probably rely on a were-arthropod.
- Were-arthropods are a very, very specific people, and for many societies, especially ones based on eusocial insects, you are obligated to have an occupation and a talent that helps that part of society for the rest of your days, without question. In the most extreme cases (like in werebees), standing out is basically painting a target on your back. Even solitary travellers typically offer themselves only one job and one job only, and very few. It is usually only in multicultural hubs that one can find exceptions to the rule. As a side effect though, when given said job, a were-arthropod trained and ready for that occupation is usually extremely skilled at it.
- Pound-for-pound, Werearthropods are phenomenal in short bursts, with Weredragonflies having the agility in the air that most birds can only dream of, and a good sized Werebeetle can give even a mighty Were-mammoth a hard time… the problem comes with endurance. While some, like Werebutterflies, can travel for great distances nonstop, most were-arthropods have to be careful they don’t overestimate themselves and an intense fight can go south VERY quickly when they get exhausted.
- A foolish were-ant trying to do the same feats as their tiny, feral counterparts are going to discover the hard way that that their chitinous hides and their own skeletons, can only handle so much weight before snapping.
- Representing Arthropods: Henrietta is a student studying entomology under Horace, as she feels it’s a good way to feel more connected with her beastly half. Horace is a war veteran, and has fought warriors from literally every clade known to Werebeast-dom.
Related content
Comments: 20
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 2 ⏩: 1
👍: 1 ⏩: 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
👍: 1 ⏩: 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
👍: 1 ⏩: 1
👍: 1 ⏩: 1
👍: 2 ⏩: 1