Werewolves are well known in modern myth, and stories of their existence have been told for ages. They are known for their sheer savagery, killer-instincts, inescapable cunning, and terribly potent physical prowess. They are shapechangers, bound by madness to the cycle of the moon. A victim who survives an attack by the wer will suffer the curse of the werewolf, becoming as they are -a Wolf-Who-Walks-Upright.

In the Secret World, werewolves are shapeshifters and the source of many old legends, but their ability rises not from some gypsy's curse or magical act, but from a disease. They call themselves the Wer, and they are a stark, brutal, and reclusive people.

Wer are perfect predators with extremely powerful physical abilities, senses, and instincts. Few eldritch can survive against them in an unarmed fight, and well-armed mortals stand no better chance against them. The wonderful predatory advantages of the wer are not without a price, however, for they are disease carriers and must be careful, else they will infect countless others with their affliction.

Lycanthropy is passed on from one generation to the next as a type of genetic virus, although the details remain sketchy, as most of the wer maintain rural lives separated from the surrounding mortal communities. The presence of what can be called CV, the Changing Virus, infects every portion of wer life, and indeed it affects every part of their immediate ecosystem. The wer survive in a culture of disease, with their social structure built around containing this particular burden they bear while insuring their own survival.

The changing virus is transmissible along any body-fluid vector. Blood and saliva show traces of the virus, so it is readily apparent that the old stories hold true that the victims of werwulf attacks become wer themselves. As the world has grown more modern, the wer have become established in their self-sufficiency. Incidents of wer attack have become almost nil, until the past twenty years or so, with the Diaspora (migration to the cities) by the wer young.

It is also possible to get CV through sexual contact with wer and to inherit it from them. Today, wer are almost entirely born into existing communes of lycanthropes. Aware of the difficulties life as a skinchanger brings, the wer only breed when the continuance of the race is at stake, replacing their own kind as they die off... or at least rural wer continue this practice. Some claim the city wer are drastically increasing their own number.

Those who become infected go through what the wer call a season of madness, in which their minds and bodies are forever altered by the virus. This season of madness can last anywhere from a one week to an entire month. During this time, the new wer exhibit lunacy in the form of fits of rage, depression, and nervousness. They suffer sharp pains and itching spells, which feel like fire coursing through their veins and under their skin. They also run a high fever, suffer cold sweats, and feel cold and clammy.

CV itself affects the DNA and RNA structures within the body, rendering them mutable. It also affects the brain structure itself, enlarging those areas that deal with sensory perception, nervous reaction, regulation of the glands, and instincts. Even in fully human form, a wer is more bestial than a non-infected human.

Wer have a kind of robust health that makes them seem almost too healthy. To a practiced eye, they have that too-bright look, like a person with a very high fever. Yes, the wer are strong and quick to heal, but even a casual observer might notice something is not quite right.

Wer are physically powerful. A mutated strain of testosterone develops in both the male and female wer which acts as a steroid, increasing muscle mass and efficiency, giving them at least double normal human strength compared to humans of similar size and build. CV also increases their inhibitions. Their reactions are gut-based and many times faster than the normal human reaction time.

The virus speeds the healing process immensely. If a wer is cut, one can watch the wound stitch closed, scab over, then began to fade all before ones eyes in a matter of moments. However, healing from wounds caused by silver will leave scars and welts, unless the wer carefully pick away the scabs regularly and lick their wounds clean. The disease also creates a resistance to illness and retards the natural aging progress. It is as if the lycanthropy has laid claim to the body and so drives out every other invading illness. Life spans of 180-230 years are common among the wer, with 300 years not being irregular. Increased sex appeal is common among those infected . Wer can influence human behavior through the release of pheromones. Their pheromones are hundreds, of not thousands, of times stronger than human pheromones they release. These pheromones can generate lustful interest within members of the opposite sex.