#vflu

I've seen some references to werebear!Halsin and it's got me thinking about how that would work in the context of the game canon, and the thing is... it really does. So here are some of the points that I've considered about it and how I think it most likely to work. As usual, I'll be working to align with current 5e lore unless stated otherwise, but drawing from 3.5e in some areas to add depth, because let's be real, that's what it's for.

Baseline Info

Werebears are the most controlled - and Good-aligned - of the Forgotten Realms lycanthropes. It is extremely uncommon for them to attack indiscriminately or act with evil intent.

Werebears tend toward the solitary and typically avoid areas of heavy civilization, preferring the wilds. They will choose a large swathe of territory that falls under their protection, and treat guarding it from evil- and ill-intentioned interlopers as their primary responsibility.

It is quite common for them to become rangers, given their attunement to nature and their solitary habits.

They can be either born naturally from one or both parents being werebears, or the curse can be passed on via bite.

Werebears are extremely discriminating and careful about who they entrust their power and/or curse (depending on who you ask) to. They will choose someone that they know to share the same values, and will stay with them and train them as they acclimate to their new existence.

As It Relates to Halsin

He talks about having grown up spending a great deal of time in the forests of his home, playing with Thaniel, who no one else had heard of. This tells us that Halsin had, even as a child, an uncommonly strong connection to the natural world and its magics.

It is extremely possible that the forests of his home were also within the territory of a local werebear, and this devotion of Halsin's to nature would have been exactly in line with their own creed, making him of great interest to them as a potential apprentice.

Halsin also shares that there came a point when he realized that he could not merely be a companion to Thaniel/nature, he also had to be his/its protector. This makes sense as a point where he would feel prepared to take on the additional power and responsibility both that lycanthropy would bring.

Thanks for the ask! You probably know most of this already, but I’ve been wanting to get some baseline thoughts written out for a while, and this was a great opportunity to do that.

Okay so, the hells as a whole are like… the quintessential embodiment of Lawful Evil. If you could distill Lawful Evil into an environment perfectly designed for it to thrive, that would literally be the hells. Think of the most morally bankrupt, superconglomerate corporate firm, the kind that makes sure the laws are designed to best serve them, as well as having a plethora of loopholes at their disposal, allowing them to pick and choose when to adhere to the letter and when to adhere to the spirit based on what they judge they can get away with. That’s the pale reflection of the hells.

Now think about how that corporation would operate. Everyone is trying to scrabble their way to the top by any means necessary, because power is the only vehicle by which to measure the value of anything. And, for the most part, fiends thrive in that environment.

The majority of devils do not consider existence in the hells a punishment. Certainly there is the potential for suffering around every corner should they fail – or, perhaps worse, succeed – at a task, but there is also the potential for gain, and this is what is foremost in their minds at every conscious moment. Think of that quote by John Steinbeck:

“Everyone was a temporarily embarrassed capitalist.”¹

This pretty well encapsulates the perspective of the majority of the devils and assorted fiends occupying the hells. No matter how far down the corporate ladder they currently are, their big break could be – and surely is – just ahead of them. Every one of them is convinced they are one right step away from taking over from Asmodeus.²

This philosophy colors every single interaction that takes place in the Nine Hells.

30 Questions for Your Dark Urge

4. What would your Dark Urge consider to be their greatest flaw? Is this accurate?

Their lack of perfect self-control. They regret Quil’s death for the fact that she should be alive now, yes, but also for the way it highlights a failure of control on their part. 

It is accurate to an extent, but also… not. The standard of perfection Kelis holds themself to would be difficult to attain even for a standard mortal, let alone someone with the deck stacked against them from the start in such a way.

17. What is your Dark Urge’s greatest regret?

[Serious]: The decades they spent under the thumb of Bhaal, controlled by the bloodthirst instead of controlling it themself. They don’t regret individual acts in more than a general sense, but they hold self-control in utmost regard, and it sickens them that their old self thought they were in control, while walking step-by-bloody-step along the path laid out for them. 

[Flippant-but-Still-Dead-Serious]: The few secrets they failed to uncover in the areas they explored over the course of their initial quest. When they find out about the entire hidden basement at the Arcane Tower, they transform into an owlbear and take off to sulk for an entire day about it. They were meticulous. They were thorough. They were desperate for answers. How could they have missed something in hindsight so blatantly obvious?!

21. What are 2-3 songs that your Dark Urge would relate to?

Nemo - Nightwish

The loss of innocence that can never be returned, a nameless existence

Fruits of the Dark - Dune Moss

Resonates with their experience of taking refuge in Wildshape to escape the worst attacks of their Urges

Carrion Comfort - aeseaes 

24. Does your Dark Urge have a treasured item with them? If yes, what is it and why is it special? If no, how do they feel about item sentimentality in general?

26. How does your Dark Urge feel about Bhaal?

30 Questions for Your Dark Urge

21. Songs

Who We Are - Hozier

Fun fact this is where the title for one of my fics came from.

Cornflower Blue - Flower Face

Kind of fucked-up, too-much, aggressive love.

Drowned - Emily Jane White

A trapped, drowning inner self.

24. Treasured Item

My initial thought for this was no, and I almost left it at that, but as I was casting back through their inventory, I realized they absolutely do: the quarterstaff Pale Oak. 

The staff is active proof that their actions can have more than just negative effects on the people around them. That they could use their skills in the defense of nature, and for the better of those who might need just a little encouragement to think about their actions. Even though they have found other staves that suit them better over the course of their journey, they still keep that one close at hand.

26. Bhaal

30 Questions for Your Dark Urge

5. What opinion does your Dark Urge have about the Gods?

In general, an aggressive neutrality. They don’t really blame the gods for their situation, but neither do they credit them for anything good. The gods are little more to them than more-powerful people who are usually absent, and as unpredictable in their whims as mortals when they do decide to meddle.

7. Did your Dark Urge recall any childhood memories? If yes, how do they feel about the revelations? If no, was it by choice or lack of options?

Yes. Being a druid, and having a strong curiosity, they have tried several high-level healing spells on themself. One such spell resulted in a returned memory that is equal parts poignant and sorrowful. It gave them the only glimpse of the family they originally had, decades before, but only in the same breath as it showed the aftermath of their brutal deaths at Kelis’s own hands.

A relevant writing snippet from an as-yet-unfinished piece:

The empty sockets of their foster mother’s eyes meet their searching gaze first, face a rictus of some emotion more complex than horror and closer to despair. One hand is clenched around a worn pendant, held as steadfastly in the grim strength of death as it so often was in life. They try to remember which of the gods she’d held to with such devotion. Would she speak to Kelis, were they to seek her out in that domain?  The Kelis-of-now notes with despair to match the woman’s the way she has no weapon, no shreds of blood and scale under her nails. She would not raise her hand against them, even as they killed her for her weakness. For her love.

19. Has your Dark Urge become particularly close to anyone romantically and/or platonically in their journey? If so, who, and what is the relationship like? If no, why not?

By the end of the game, they’re in a relationship with Astarion and Halsin. Their relationship with Astarion started first, by a small measure. They connected several times over their similar monstrous natures, both at the portal on the beach (an encounter which Gale unfortunately did not survive) and after the murder of Quil. Kelis didn’t fully trust him, but also wasn’t truly concerned about it either way. Either he would turn out to be trustworthy, or he would kill them, and the problem of their bloodlust would be solved.