Unreviewed Gorwolf

[Helix]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: To codify the creatures created by the Change.
• Image Credit: Link
• Canon: N/A
• Permissions: N/A
• Links: N/A

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Name: Gorwolf
• Designation: Semi-Sentient
• Origins: Helix Privateering Co laboratories
• Average Lifespan: Unknown, speculated to be centuries.
• Estimated Population: Scattered, but can quickly explode in numbers during an outbreak.
• Description: Bloodthirsty, carnivorous monsters carrying a terrible affliction.

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

• Breathes: None
• Average Height of Adults: 2.8 meters
• Average Length of Adults: N/A
• Skin color: Typically a diseased, sickly red or pink.
• Hair color: Typically black-furred, graying with age. Rare brown-furred or white-furred specimens exist.
• Distinctions: Most specimens are very similar in appearance to one another, with only minor markers of individuality such as wounds, tattered clothing, or the occasional minor mutation. Sexual dimorphism is all but absent.
• Races: N/A
• Force Sensitivity: Rare

Strengths:

• Moonlight Terror: Gorwolves are incredibly swift, strong, and possessed of a naturally-regenerative physiology. Engaging them up close should be avoided by all but the most skilled duellists.
• The Curse: A Gorwolf's scratch or bite can potentially pass on The Change to a wounded victim. Those not wishing to become Gorwolves themselves should keep such injuries to a minimum.
• From Beyond: Gorwolves are impervious to fear and shock, or any attempts to confuse, control, or delude their perceptions.

Weaknesses:

• Bloodthirsty Beast: Gorwolves are usually near-mindless monsters. They are never seen utilizing weapons, armor, or vehicles.
• The Hunger: Gorwolves are utterly consumed by hunger. Most often, they will simply mindlessly pursue any victim that presents itself, and will only rarely adopt any more complex strategy.

CULTURE

• Diet: Carnivorous
• Communication: Howls, snarls.
• Technology level: None. Gorwolves never use weapons or most machines, but are sufficiently intelligent to operate simple technologies, particularly those they knew how to operate pre-transformation.
• Religion/Beliefs: None
• General behavior: Gorwolves are utterly consumed by anger and bloodlust, and will spend most of their time hunting for fresh victims. Most operate in a simple pack structure, but some individuals operate alone or in pairs.

HISTORICAL INFORMATION

A Gorwolf is the result of a compatible subject becoming infected by Moon Fever, or any near-human lifeform coming into contact with another Gorwolf's blood or saliva, or imbibing tainted food/drink.

Regardless of their species of origin, these creatures are broadly similar in appearance from one specimen to another. They are large, typically nearly three meters in height, though their crawling gait can mask their true size until a victim is suitably close.

Gorwolves are almost unnaturally lanky, with too-long limbs that jut out at odd angles. Despite this awkward profile, they are extremely swift and agile creatures, capable of running down groundspeeders or scurrying up the vertical walls of buildings.

Likewise, Gorwolves are possessed of incredible physical strength, usually far in excess of the humanoid species they once hailed from. Gorwolves are fully capable of rending most near-human life forms apart should they manage to lay claws upon them, or peeling open armored doors to get at their terrified victims, but a painful, bloody death is not the worst fate a Gorwolf can promise.

Any human or near-human being who manages to survive close contact with a Gorwolf is in terrible danger, as the creatures are highly infectious. Their tissues are riddled with B-strain Cruor Lupogenia, rendering any bite or scratch a potential infection vector.

Gorwolves appear to not require food, water, sleep, or respiration. Nonetheless, they will seek out and attack other living things, greedily devouring their flesh should they make a kill. This apparent prey drive apparently functions more as a means to spread their curse rather than as a means for intaking nutrients, as the wolf's body seems to simply dissolve any such ingested meat to no benefit.

As such, Gorwolves are perpetually maddened by starvation. No matter how much they eat, they can never be satisfied.

Generally speaking, Gorwolves are vicious, unreasoning monsters. They do not experience fear as such, but will attempt more cautious, stealthy attack vectors towards more dangerous-looking prey, or attempt to attack them in groups. This is about where their strategic capabilities begin and end.

Gorwolves are never seen using weapons of any kind, as they no longer have the presence of mind to operate them. Instead, they rely on their brute strength, speed, and metal-flensing claws to overwhelm their prey.

A wounded Gorwolf will often simply continue to attack, heedless of even the most terrible damage. Often the only way to stop their assault is to damage their bodies to the point where movement is no longer mechanically possible.

A few specimens, wiser than the rest, will retreat in the face of a superior foe, allow their rapidly-regenerating flesh to do its work, then return with greater numbers.

This extreme physiological ruggedness combined with a tormented, insane metal state ensure that fear or shock tactics are useless against Gorwolves. Only force will do, and ideally a lot of it. One Gorwolf often heralds an outbreak, and a wise warrior will stamp these out quickly before the hunter becomes the hunted.

Persistent rumors exist of "smart" Gorwolves, creatures combining actual humanoid intellectual prowess with the unparalleled savagery that an infected individual is capable of. These so far remain myths, most likely propagated by those who wish to believe that anything of the once-person remains inside a Gorwolf.

Nonetheless, some Gorwolves do utilize knowledge held by their pre-infected selves. For example, a former security officer might utilize a carried key card to access prey in a restricted area, or utilize a gnarled claw to punch in the combination to a locked door.

Likewise, an infected chemist might knock over the exact combination of chemicals needed to start a fire and drive prey out of a fortified hiding place. These flashes of lucidity are rare, however, and always used as a way to make the hunt simpler. After all, nothing can drive the hunger from a Gorwolf's mind for long.