I want to do a more shamanistic flavor so, rather than turning into a traditional werewolf, they would turn into a wolf a la the kind found in the Monster Burner. The two questions I have are:
I want the character who has this disease to have received this as a curse/spell of some sort. Orc Blood Rituals allow the caster to turn into a wolf, would a Blood Ritual make sense for this? If so, what Ob?
How would one go about curing this disease? I want the cure to be magical as well. I’m thinking using Emotional Magic, Ob 5, as per Purification.
These are really questions only you can answer. Blood Rituals certainly could turn a target (rather than a caster) into a wolf, but bestowing a permanent curse is a bit heavier. Still, it’s reasonable.
How are you using this curse? Is it something that will be cast in play? If not, if it’s backstory, you don’t need to know any mechanics for the cursing ritual. Notice that Trouble in Hochen doesn’t provide an obstacle for the Death Art ritual to create the black oil. It’s not needed, as the oil already exists.
The cure is part of the concept. Asking us how to cure it is a bit like asking us what color hair your character should have: I don’t know, probably however is best for your game. If it’s a hair-of-the-dog kind of deal, you could look at the trait-extraction stuff from Enchanting for inspiration. Or perhaps a Miracle could do it, or the Art Magic. Or maybe there’s a corresponding Blood Ritual to remove the curse. Or it’s an outward manifestation of something else entirely, and it can only be cured by addressing the underlying problem. Really depends on the concept, doesn’t it? And you’re the only one who knows about that.
Long ago I want to do something about this matter.
I think I want:
a) using the possessed trait and two sets of Beliefs and Instints
b) a Rage emotional atribute, and when you reach 10 you become a wolf
c) a kind of The Fugitive/Hulk campaign
About your answers:
What about if you acquire the curse when you are bitten by a cursed wolf?
What about if you have to kill the wolf that bit you in the first place?
I’ve considered this too. It makes for some good story.
How are you going to inflict this on the character? You mention a curse and some shamanistic flavour? Was he born this way or did he piss off some mighty wolf spirit and get cursed?
Is there a specific lifepath for the Cursed One or is it just a trait he’d buy with points? Something in the outcast setting would suit your Hulk concept. Take a look at the both the Tainted Legacy Trait in the ChaBu/BWG and the Shapeshifter Trait in MonBu, as used by the Raksha for other ideas.
Loup Manteau: Having somehow obtained a cursed wolf cloak, the character is forced to done his wolf cloak and take the form of a wolf each full moon, from moonrise to moonset. For this time he is an cunning, raging and unreasoning beast. The poor man is corrupted and will slowly transform into a full wolf as his malady progresses and his succumbs to his wolfen taint. He acquires the Beastial emotional attribute.* If he should not have his wolf-skin cloak with him, he suffers a serious wound and his mortal skin opens and weeps with blood. In wolf form he gains the traits Long Legged and Crushing Jaws, etc, but looses his distinctly human traits, and is incapable of human speech.
*Shapeshifter I have put in to say that they might learn to willingly change form at times other than full moon.
*Beastial I haven’t figured out yet, but rather than rage, I’m thinking a descent into animalistic thought, a loss of higher human motivations and such. So much fun when the PC eats his girlfriend. You could use your dice from the trait to satisfy your animalistic drives.
The character with this curse is an NPC. He is going to be the son of one of the Knight captains in this particular kingdom. Every month, during the full moon, he transforms and goes on a rampage and kills livestock. This has made his father bitter, and uses his position to influence the direction of the military.
The curse was received after a series of skirmishes with an Orc tribe just beyond the kingdom’s border. His son was in training to be his squire and would accompany his father to the camps they setup during these raids. After one raid, where several Orc families were slaughtered, the Orcs began plotting their revenge. They set up an ambush on the camp. In addition to losing many Knights, they inflicted the Knight captain’s son with the curse knowing it would torture him far more than murdering him would.
All that is known about this publicly is that this Knight captain’s son is sick and he is looking for a Priest to work miracles.
Yeah, if it’s an NPC, you can fudge things a bit, build a normal Squire and then using Raksha as a guide, apply some tweaks to reflect his illness. Perhaps the Orc’s bound some powerful spirit to him, as you suggest, like a possession, that gives him his lanatic powers.