Witchwolf

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Not to be confused with Isonhound Shifters. Also all credit to the original idea of "Witchwolf" goes to "Wizard Myth", who created the race for a TTRPG outside of Quelmar

"We seek the monsters that you fear the most. We chase the nightmares that haunt your cowardly dreams. The deadlier the prey, the more we exalt in the hunt, the more we honor our gods. This harsh land breeds the savage... and we revel in it. [...] We fought monsters... and we became them!" - Wulfrik the Wanderer

An image of a female Witchwolf hunter in Breme (Art by Z-O_U)

An image of a male Witchwolf hunter in Breme (Art by misaki)

Witchwolves are a species of humanoid beings with wolf-like characteristics native to Breme.

About

Witchwolves share a lot of similarities with Shifters that are found in Isonhound. Like Shifters, Witchwolves are predominantly human in form, but they often retain beast-like aspects, such as a tail, claws, fanged teeth, and fur. At will, they can temporarily enhance their beast-like features—both physical traits and abilities. However unlike Shifters, Witchwolves only have wolf-like traits. Witchwolves are predominantly hunters and trackers, trekking across the frozen tundra of Breme and its surrounding islands to hunt down the greatest of prey for the sake of the hunt. They do hunt for survival, but the thrill of combat and taking down a tough opponent is what drives them to do the hunt.

This constant challenging of themselves to find and kill the largest monsters on Breme and its surrounding islands like Krystovos have led the Witchwolves to develop a fearsome reputation as great warriors, excelling at combat in the rugged terrain of the arctic. The natives of Breme, from Bremish humans to Bremish Snow Elves give the Witchwolves plenty of distance as such, especially when Witchwolves have a tendency to hunt humans and elves that they deem as prime hunting targets. In general, Witchwolves are feared in Breme, and because of this, Witchwolves are generally lacking in their social skills with the other races of Breme as a whole. That isn't to say that communication does not happen. Tribes of elves and humans sometimes hire Witchwolves to hunt down terrible monsters that are harassing their villages, or to deal with marauders that they cannot deal with by themselves. The prospect of fighting such fearsome opponents is often times enough for a Witchwolf in terms of payment, but food and material to forge better weapons and armor are generally appreciated.

Yet, foreigners would be wary of entering the crosshairs of a band of Witchwolves, for they will not stop until their hunt is complete

History

It is easy to assume that Witchwolves and Shifters share a similar background from each other given their similar natures; that Witchwolves are the offspring of humans and lupine beast-folk. Yet, this is not the case. The reason why is because Witchwolves predate humans on Breme. When the first humans arrived on Breme, they encountered Witchwolves, which indicates that Witchwolves are not hybrid offspring but instead natural inhabitants of Breme. Scholars and explorers generally agree that Witchwolves came from the Beastlands, and speculate two possibilities for the origins of Witchwolves in Breme:

1. The Witchwolves come from the Beastlands like all other beast-species, where their obsession with the hunt disturbed the peaceful nature of the land leading to their exile to Breme during Pre-History
2. The Witchwolves come from the Beastlands, but instead of being crazed hunters who were exiled, they were bored hunters who hated the fact that their prey would roll over for them for the sake of keeping the peace, and migrated to Breme for more challenges in their games during Pre-History.

Regardless of where the Witchwolves originate from, their first contact with other species, especially humans, was not the greatest first impression. Bremish tradition tells about how the first settlers in the Bremelands feared going too deep into Breme out of fear of being hunted by Witchwolves. Eventually, a sort of passive aggressive co-existance was developed, with the general principle that if the humans stayed out of the way of the Witchwolves, the Witchwolves would stay out of the way of the humans. Occasionally Witchwolves were employed by the humans and native Snow Elves to hunt down dangerous monsters.

On the island of Krystovos though, the original human settlers decided to go on the offensive. The established Kingdom of Xandria fought the Witchwolves relentlessly, and though eventually the Kingdom and the Witchwolves established a peace with each other, this age of war has left a divide between the beastly natives of Xandria and the humanoids who called Xandria home afterwards.

When Vilavon invaded the Bremelands, many scouting expeditions and raiding parties were struck down by Witchwolf parties eager to see what challenge the new game offered to them. The Witchwolves proved to be incredibly formidable foes to Vilavon, who oftentimes marked out areas not to expand or raid into as a result of Witchwolf activity.

Game Mechanics and Stats

Witchwolves are a homebrew race similar to Longtooth Shifters in how they operate. The major difference though is that Witchwolves exchange shifting mechanics for hunting-oriented mechanics. Please ask your DM if creating such a character is okay by them before making a Witchwolf character. If denied, a Longtooth Shifter will capture the essence of a Witchwolf the closest. The stats for Witchwolves are as followed:

Ability Score: Choose one of; (a) Choose any +2; choose any other +1 (b) Choose three different +1

Age: Witchwolves are quick to mature both physically and emotionally, reaching young adulthood at age 10. They rarely live to be more than 70 years old.

Alignment: Witchwolves tend toward neutrality, being more focused on survival than concepts of good and evil. A love of personal freedom can drive shifters toward chaotic alignments.

Size: Your size is Medium.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision: You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common, Bremish, and one other language appropriate to your background.

Fierce: You have proficiency in the Intimidation skill.

Hunter’s Fangs: You can use your elongated fangs to make an unarmed strike as a bonus action. If you hit with your fangs, you deal piercing damage equal to 1d6 + your Strength modifier, instead of the bludgeoning damage normal for an unarmed strike. You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus per long rest

Bremish Endurance: You have a resistance to cold damage. You naturally acclimate to colder environments. However, you struggle more to acclimate to hot environments. Hunter’s Blood-lust: When you reduce a foe to 0 HP, gain Temp HP equal to your proficiency bonus