Lycans

"The beasts of nature tainted into a human-like form, the curse that taints them often brings forth much bloodshed... Such a sad tale" -Elfurgn, Dragon-Seer of the Silver Flame.

Lycans is the collective term known to all the different were-creatures that inhabit the world; while many different sub-species exist they all all hold the same curse or as some say gift, the ability to look like an unassuming human or a relatively big/small version of their animal part.

Characteristics

 * Type: Humanoid (Dark Blood)
 * Size: Most Lycans are Medium size creatures and thus do not have any penalties or bonuses; a couple of subspecies are Small Sized, they gain a +1 size bonus to AC and attack rolls, -1 on Combat Maneuvers checks and a +4 size bonus to Stealth.
 * Speed: Lycans of any sub-specie have a 30 feet land speed.
 * Ability Score: Due the vastly different talents inherited by their animal side, each subspecie has a different set of possible choices, consult the table at the bottom of this section for more information. Note that you can only pick 1 bonus and penalty score and this is done at character creation and may not be changed later.
 *  Animal Senses:  Each subspecie gains a +2 bonus to one save due the trained and honed animal senses or their vitality; consult the table below. They also gain Low Light Vision which enables them to see twice as far as humans under moonlight, starlight, torchlight or similar conditions of dim light; they are able to distinguish colors under these conditions.
 *  Curse of Form:  Due their natural ability to change shape, Lycans gain a +2 racial save against spells from the polymorph subschool. Lycans have 3 different shapes, changing from one to another is a full round action that provokes attacks of opportunity, these shapes are "Natural", "Human" and "Animal" and their looks vary according to subspecies. In human form the Lycan loses the +2 bonus to his ability of choice and his height is reduced by about 1 foot otherwise he remains unchanged. In animal form the Lycan looks like a relatively big/small version of their animal counterpart, while in animal form the lycan cannot cast spells or use class abilities, but can still use any feat that is not restricted by this and may attack with claw/bite causing 1d6 (1d4) + Str, this is considered a natural attack. When shifting form the Lycan's gear and belongins do not change along with them.
 *  Languages:  Common and Lycan, plus any other non-secret language due a high intelligence.

Physical Description
Lycans are a extremely varied race, in their Natural shape they look like a cross between their animal form and a human thus they often look like a fur coated human with claws and muzzle similar to that of their animal form, they also are about 1/2-1 foot taller than humans in this shaped. In their human form they look very much like a regular human with a slightly savage look about them, their teeth often are still similar to their animal form (longer fangs, incisors, buckteeth) and thair hair is often of the same color and pattern as their fur in animal form. In their animal form, they often are a relatively small version of their home animal (for the usually large size beasts) or a relatively big one (for the tiny and small sized ones)

Subspecies
As stated above, Lycans have quite a lot of subspecies even among those of relatively similar origin, here is a quick rundown of the most common ones in the realms: Although further variations of this may exist in the yet unexplored regions of the world.
 * Felines: Lions, Tigers, Cheetah and Jaguars
 * Canines: Dogs, Wolves and Jackals
 * Bear: Brown, Black and Polar Bears
 * Rodent: Mouse, Rats and Rabbits
 * Boar: Pig and Boar
 * Weasel: Weasel, Ferret and Ermine

Lifestyle
Lycans are at the most comfortable in their Natural forms, and thanks to the widespread knowledge in the world a Lycan in human form can usually be easily identified thus they don't feel any need to hide their nature; of course exceptions to this rule do exist and some Lycans prefer to spend their life trying to fit in inside mostly fully human communities in their human body.

Lycans for the most part live side by side with Humans, although ancient bloodfeuds between the Lycan clans are well known and they usually have a hard time cooperating with members of enemy clan, if not outright hostility on sight.

A small particular oddity can be found among the Lycans: a female Lycan never has a single child, most often they give birth to 2 children at once, although its not uncommon to give birth to up to 4 instead; what adds to this oddity is that if mating with a member of another race one of those children will be always be of the same race as the father and the other will be a female of the Lycan subspecie of the mother; this of course also applies to mating between different subspecies.