#wolfwere

Do you know what lurks in the shadows at night? Do you trust the Light to guide you?

Ambróse Cantrell - chosen by the light | tortured by the light.

Sketches to get his basic design down~

Darklord: Harkon Lukas Domain: Kartakass Formation: 613 BC Power Level: 💀💀💀💀 ⚫  (4/5 Skulls) Sources: Gazetteer Vol 1 (3e), Domains of Dread (2e), Ravenloft (3e), Ravenloft Player’s Handbook (3e), Gazetteer Vol 4 (3e), Feast of Goblyns (2e), Realms of Terror (2e), Denizens of Dread (3e), Secrets of the Dread Realms (3e), Ravenloft (3e), van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (5e), Heart of Midnight (Novel) Harkon Lukas, the would be alpha wolf and absolute ruler of their people, is the Darklord of Kartakass. Perhaps someone should have informed them that the concept of “alpha wolf” is based on peasant superstition and folklore rather than actual science. Wolf packs typically consist of parents and their pups, nothing as sophisticated as Harkon would have you believe. Though, he is a master manipulator so perhaps he has even fooled himself in this regard.

Kartakass is a heavily forested realm with a few small, insignificant settlements scattered throughout. A reflection of the insignificant role Harkon has within. The two main settlements are Harmonia and Skald, though 5e added two more settlements, Emherst (a town that is entirely a stage) and Medria (a fishing village that is also home to a theater production house that tests various special effects, both magical and mundane). Seems the Dark Powers wanted to expand everyone’s Domains in this latest Conjunction, except my own…

There is no central authority or government in Kartakass. Leaders are chosen through performance competitions, the best performer gaining the title of “Meistersinger”; a position equivalent to a Mayor but slightly more useless. This certainly is the worst possible way to choose a leader. Celebrities, as we all should know by now, make very poor and inept leaders.

Harkon’s wolfish lope down the path of darkness is similar in each edition, though some changes are worth noting. In both he sought to unite and rule his people, but they shunned him for it. This sent him into a blind, murderous rampage and eventually led him to shun his people in turn and take on the appearance of a human. Harkon became quite fascinated with human culture and wandered the land as a minstrel. This is when the old editions and 5e vary. In the older editions, Harkon was taken by the Mists into Barovia where they went into another murderous rage until von Zarovich found and almost killed them, forcing Harkon to flee into the Mists and the Dark Powers created Kartakass to imprison them.

In 5e, Harkon became so famous that he amassed a number of what kids these days would refer to as “stans”. The leaders of this land (unstated, in past edition Harkon is originally from Cormyr) grew wary over Harkon’s influence and had them falsely arrested. Given his murderous nature, you would think they could have arrested them for an actual crime, but clearly these leaders were not the most intelligent of folks. The people led a revolt against their leaders for arresting Harkon and the wolf faked his own death. To further the dramatic performance, Harkon busted out of his own casket in his wolf-hybrid form during this revolt. He slew the leader and placed his crown upon his own brow. That is when the Mists took him.

In older editions, Harkon was a gender fluid wolfwere and Meistersinger of Skald, respected as a musician but severely overlooked as a leader. In 5e, Harkon does not appear to be gender fluid anymore and is said to be a loup gaou, which is described as a more aggressive form of werewolf. This is not the traditional folklore of loup gaous, which are said to be humans that don the pelt of a wolf to magically transform into the beast. A wolfwere is a species of wolf that can take the form of a person. In essence, a wolf pretending to be a person but failing, horribly to grasp what that entails. In 5e, Harkon still owns the Old Kartakan Inn, but is no longer the Meistersinger of Skald. In fact, many of his people do not remember him or his work. As a result, he constantly attempts to reinvent himself but only finds a fleeting, irrelevant type of fame.

Harkon is a stylish wolf, known for his wide-brimmed hat, brightly colored silken clothes, and monocle (sadly, not featured in 5e) and their musical talent is unmatched. Though favoring tooth, claw, and sword over the far superior arcane arts, Harkon is a skilled and quite formidable combatant. The Dark Powers gifted them with a cursed sword that compels them to fight to the death whenever a fight breaks out between them and another. The sword will appear in their hand wherever they are when they find themselves thrown into combat. Harkon, a skilled manipulator, has used this “curse” to their benefit, leaving the sword for their enemies to find, so they are later deprived of a weapon when facing Harkon.

by Trollfeetwalker

Werewolf Religion is Weird