I’ve played various versions of D&D for over 40 years and one thing I never really was interested in was anthropomorphic animal races, like cat people, elephant people, and rabbit people. The fantasy I associated with D&D was a bit more… it’s hard to say grounded when talking about magical realms but more associated with Tolkien, Leiber, and Howard.

Then I got into Dragonbane.

It was like a clean slate for my imagination and a world with duck people – sorry, mallards – was absolutely okay with me. And that piqued my interest in Wolfkin.

Something I really appreciate about Dragonbane is that they went very lore-light. As a homebrewer, I don’t want someone else’s influence on the world these characters inhabit. And so I wanted to think a bit deeper about what my Wolfkin were all about. But just because Dragonbane introduced me to this type of creature doesn’t mean it is restricted to that one RPG. Therefore, I’m going to dig deeper into a more generic wolf-humanoid archetype I’ll refer to as Wolfen (and also to avoid any IP issues).

As comic books have demonstrated, there’s a need to establish an origin though, unlike Hollywood, we don’t need 20 retellings of an origin story. Even if it does sell.

Origin

So why are there both animal wolves and humanoid Wolfen? Did the original powers (gods?) populate the world with birds and beasts only to discover that one being created the primate that could dominate the others and they rebelled by creating their own competitors? Or did these sponsor gods create both a primeval and a sophisticated version of their idea? If the latter, do we need primeval equivalents for elves, dwarves, and halflings?

Or did the primeval archetype discover a catalyst that changed them? Did a wolf pack come across a spring fed by the River Lethe and forget their animality(?) and take on aspects of the humanoids that drove them off? That would require some magical means of changing their bodies to develop opposed thumbs, a skeletal structure capable of supporting more upright activities, and changes to the voice box and mouth to enable language.

I’m leaning towards the creation theory in which the wolf god created both aspects of his spirit – the animal and the sophisticate. This gives the character a connection to the divine that will support various spellcasting mechanics as well as common character motivations.

Social Structure

Wolves already having a well understood social structure – the pack – there really isn’t a need to modify that. Our Wolfen follow a similar tribal structure of a strong leader and a natural connection to the wild. For worlds in which there is a spiritual element, we should support both a pack leader that deals with the tactical, pragmatic world and a shaman-like spiritual leader to maintain that connection to the wild.

Individual Characteristics

As we think about the individual, particularly when we want to build a PC or NPC, there are physical and mental aspects that should be the norm. There are always exceptions to the rules, but we do want to define what the rules are before we break them.

For physical properties, my Wolfen are agile, being able to navigate tangled forests quickly and silently. As pack hunters, they rely on numbers more than the brute strength of any individual. Sure, their jaws are powerful, which should be reflected in damage statistics, but aside from the pack leader, an individual’s base power is simply average. Staying power, as often represented by constitution, is likewise average for the common Wolfen, with leaders being above average. Those others with higher stamina may be selected as scouts to range farther afield to identify opportunities and threats.

On the mental side, any Wolfen should have a reasonable understanding of nature to make good choices for the survival of both the individual and the pack. This would be represented in wisdom or similar attributes. Our Wolfen rely far more on instinct than education, so intelligence would not be particularly high. Charisma is also not high in the average pack member, though the pack leader(s) would be expected to be stronger here.

As a humanoid creature capable of bearing weapons, we’re looking at combat capabilities that align with a dextrous people constantly on the prowl. This doesn’t mean the Wolfen are incapable or unwilling to wield heavy weapons, but as basic training, every Wolfen would be familiar with small and light weapons as well as things that can come quickly to hand, such as staves and thrown rocks.

Wrap-up

Have I forgotten anything? 

I think the Wolfen’s place in the world will really be dictated by the campaign world, though I would maintain the connection to the wild – respect for the natural order of things, less concern over good versus evil and more about natural versus unnatural, etc. Generally I would expect there to be respect for a strong leader (no matter the race as long as it doesn’t conflict with the previous statement about nature) and a camaraderie with others working toward similar goals.

Do you create similar profiles for your kin/races/species/ancestries?

Let me know what process you use and any interesting creations of your own.