Werewolves’ Urhan forms reflect their human forms: bulky, strong Uratha warriors will be big specimens whatever species they wear, and small, slim humans will be wolves of similarly slight build. Meant to blend in, a werewolf’s Urhan form comes from the fauna local to where they were born. In an area without wolves, prominent local canids replace the wolf as the Urhan form. The form is always a wild beast, never domesticated.
The Urhan form is the pinnacle of the People’s awareness. The ears are huge, sensitive and have the capability to swivel around a limited arc, improving their ability to capture sound from multiple directions. The nose is one of the most sensitive known to humankind. And, unlike the Urshul form, the teeth are a believable size, while so much of the muzzle’s volume is devoted to giving the wolf form its incredible sense of smell. The vomeronasal organ and scent glands are fully developed, allowing the werewolf to convey and interpret the full range of lupine pheromonal messages, unlike the near-wolf’s inability to express itself through scent. Only the sense of sight is less sensitive than that of the human counterpart, though still better at night. Wolves see distinctly worse than humans and detect mobile objects better than stationary, but the tapetum lucidum, a natural mirror in the back of the eye, allows the wolves to catch more light. As long as there is a faint source of light, a wolf at night can see the world as if it were dusk.
Use of the First Tongue is limited by the vocal cords. It takes concentration to abuse them in order to form the words of that ancient language. Communication with other wolves is natural, if the werewolf can keep their higher consciousness out of the way. The wolf has a full complement of scents for giving and leaving messages, including demarcation of territorial boundaries the “natural” way. Urhan instincts are many and varied, but they are not overpowering, as in Gauru form, or even as influential as in the near-human and near-wolf forms. The instincts are all there, but the werewolf maintains purely conscious control of the body without effort. The difficulty is, instead, submerging one’s conscious mind beneath the instincts in order to let them do their job. Instincts include the impulse and ability to track and pursue prey, the ability to communicate with other wolves and several natural urges that enable her to survive in the wild with minimal effort. It is this form that the werewolf uses to communicate with wolves, which many Forsaken consider pleasant and relaxing, not to mention occasionally useful. The wolf form is also, like the human form, a near-perfect disguise, though out of place in the company of humans. And while Urshul form may have the speed and the chase, Urhan form is truly unsurpassed when it comes to the senses of smell and hearing, making it the form of choice for long-term tracking. The Uratha can engage in intercourse in the wolf form, but do not enter heat as bitches do and cannot become pregnant from or impregnate wolves. This is an admitted weakness of the disguise, but one that can only be proven after several months of observation. In order to attract a wolf of the opposite sex, a werewolf must consciously choose to emit the proper seasonal pheromones. A female werewolf does not menstruate in wolf form. When she returns to human form, the menstrual cycle resumes from the point at which it was left. A female werewolf may avoid the cycle entirely by remaining in wolf form or near-wolf form indefinitely, but doing so disrupts her Harmony.
Reference List[]
- WTF: Werewolf: The Forsaken Rulebook, p. 173
- WTF: Blood of the Wolf, p. 38
