Wolfwalker (5e Race)

Wolfwalker

“	They who take the skins of the beasts, particularly the wolf, which is already a very powerful symbol...	”
—Unknown, Incomplete stone tablet

Physical Description

Wolfwalkers are known to appear often as humanoids with tufts of grey fur that speckle their body on their arms, chest, legs, and back. Their faces are known to be angled to almost resemble a premature snout. Their ears are still on the sides of their head like for humans, but also have furry tufts and extend as long as an elf's. Wolfwalkers are known to have nails that grow very fast, and their teeth can appear sharper than a human's. Their tailbone is known to sprout a tuft of fur that is an underdeveloped tail. Despite the bizarre bits and pieces of their appearance, wolfwalkers act very much like humans and dress accordingly so.

One of the primary traits of wolfwalkers is their ability to become actual wolves. Some say it is similar to a druid's wild shaping. Wolfwalkers in their lupine forms are virtually indistinguishable from normal wolves by appearance, though they retain their mental capacities. Due to this ability to shapechange, wolfwalkers are often lumped with lycanthropes, though they do not have the magical capabilities nor weaknesses commonly associated with werewolves, for example.

History

The legend of how wolfwalkers came to be is similar to the pridestalker origin. However, in this case, the original people were not hunters after majestic game. They were a farming people who despised wolves for eating their livestock and ruining their livelihood. They went as far as to extinguish the local wolf population. The land around them became overpopulated with prey species as a result and other, more dangerous predators moved in. According to legend, an old crone appeared one day and asked a local farmer why the grass was all nibbled down to the roots everywhere.

"Why, it's because the deer ate it all."

When asked why there was so much deer, the farmer scratches his head and tells her about the wolves that vanished. The old crone berates him for lying, because the souls of the wolves still populate this very land. She reveals herself to be a nature goddess and curses the entire agrarian population, changing them into wolven people. The name wolfwalker refers to a popular theory that they are in fact the slaughtered wolves that once again get to walk in the Material Realm.

Personality

With a rather small community, wolfwalkers do not have enough to be called a society. They are highly social and believe themselves to be humans in every aspect save for their wolk-shifting. Due to their insistence that they are human, they try to mingle and assimilate into human society to live as they believed they once were. This attitude is particularly prevalent in older generation wolfwalkers, or the original cursed. Wolfwalkers usually also only mate with humans, producing more wolfwalkers as part of the goddess' curse on them. Their children's lupine features become more pronounced as they age and can often be a nasty surprise. However, younger generation wolfwalkers, or secondary cursed, are known to be much more open to embracing their new natures and status as something inhuman. Because of the role of divinity in their metamorphosis, wolfwalkers tend to be a bit suspicious of religion. Through oral traditions and many cautionary tales, wolfwalkers have instilled many of newer generations with an almost inherent reverence for nature. Some argue this is due to the goddess having struck fear and ingrained it into their very bloodlines as part of their punishment.

Wolfwalker Names

Since wolfwalkers more or less either hold to their human origin or live around it, they have the same cultural norms as humans when it comes to names. It can differ based on the exact locale or human group around them.

Male Names: Smith, Jorgan, Merrick, Alastor

Female Names: Irithia, Eileen, Portia, Farron

Wolfwalker Traits

Wolf-shifting humanoids
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases by 2 and one other score of your choice increases by 1.
Age. Wolfwalkers have the same life span expectation as humans and rarely love past 120 years of age.
Alignment. Usually wolfwalkers try to be neutral, as involvement in affairs can create conflict they want to avoid. However, they are also capable of a variety of temperaments, like all humans.
Size. Wolfwalkers are roughly of similar builds and weight to humans. Your size is Medium.
Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.
Wolfwalk. As a bonus action, you can transform into a wolf. Your wolf form has the same Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma score as your true form and shares hit points with it. Your wolf form's Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are the same as the wolf statblock. You cannot use any features granted by your class while in this form. You can revert to your normal form earlier by using a bonus action on your turn and you automatically revert if you fall unconscious, drop to 0 hit points, or die. You regain use of this trait when you finish a short or long rest.
Heritage of Reverence. You are one who has learned of divinity's wrath due to your ancestor's mistakes with nature. You are proficient in two of the following skills: Nature, Religion, Survival, History.
Human Poseur. You have experience in posing as a normal human, whether its mannerisms or dress up to hide your bestial traits. You have advantage on all ability checks to pass as human.
Wolven Stamina. Like wolves, you have a drive to chase and run without getting winded easily. You have advantage on checks and saves to resist exhaustion.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common and one other language of your choice.

Random Height and Weight

Base Height	Height Modifier*	Base Weight	Weight Modifier**
4′ 6''	+2d10	100 lb.	× (1d6) lb.
*Height = base height + height modifier **Weight = base weight + (height modifier × weight modifier)

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