Claws?

[Goliathe Dark]

Where do you guys think the claws sprout out from on the hands and feet?
Do you think they jut out of the fingers and toes like real wolves (at least I think they do) or are they simply elongated nails?

Sorry all you creative people. I'm not asking you what you want them to look like. I'm asking what would be the most feasible possibillity.

[silver1]

I would say that they sprout out of the hands and feet.

[Terastas]

I don't know about elongated, but definitely stronger and more prominent than their human counterpart.

[Goliathe Dark]

Yes, that is what I was meaning; I apologize for the confusion. It's just less of a hastle to say "elongated" than "stronger and more prominent" every time.

I would say that they sprout out of the hands and feet.

Why do you say that?


Anyway, I'm thinking simple elongated nails; since the lychanthrope is already getting more than enough chemicals pumped into their bodies (adrenaline, blood platelets, etc...) why wouldn't it also pump out calcium. To me, it just seems much more efficient.

[RedEye]

Agreed: Wolf claws and Human Nails are the same structure in the same place for the same purpose.

Sadly, while Wolves still use their claws; we humans have "evolved" them into almost useless leftovers.
Well, manicurists might disagree with me, but human claws are generally pretty useless other than opening pull-top cans and things like that.

[Goliathe Dark]

So what do you think would be most feasible for the transformation of the nails rather than usefulness? I mean, if it's true that lychanthropy has a biological origin, would the transformation completely rely on perfect usefulness?

[Terastas]

So what do you think would be most feasible for the transformation of the nails rather than usefulness? I mean, if it's true that lychanthropy has a biological origin, would the transformation completely rely on perfect usefulness?

I think what it means is that, since wolves use their nails for very little and humans for almost nothing at all, a werewolf's nails could take any form -- man, wolf or anywhere in between -- and not have any impact on the behavior and/or performance of the werewolf.

In other words, it's a cosmetic issue.

[Werewolfdragon]

I see the werewolf as both a part of the mind and the body, It is my Understanding That At one time they were as real as we are today. Most of the mith comes from africa where there are some legands of tribes who practice this still today,, however, Anless someone has more Info On this It Is Only hearsay... However it is the mind that is the real key in this discution, Why? because it is the mind that Ultimatly controls Our Bodies as Well As our actions. Take The Real Wolf For Exzample, The wolf Is a group member within a group ( PACK ) of other group members ( Hence A Pack " Or " Group Of Wolves ) They Require Only To Eat, Sleep, And Reperduce. It Is in this manner they Must Live To LIVE. They Rely On Eachother To meet this end. They Do not Think as we do, instead they do so by Prue Instint and Memory and just as we ourselves are afrade of what we do not understand so are they. It Is this (ANIMALISTIC WAY OF THINKING) or the (ID) Or (INNER DEMON) within ourselves that we have learned to repress Thus becoming more then mear animals ourselves. This brings me to my point... the werewolf is is effect one who has learned to (UN-REPRESS) there INNER DEMON discarding all or most of his or her humanity thus becoming a Werewolf, The Change that happens is the subjects body being taken over, Or swiching places with that of their INNER DEMON or Their (ID). As for their apperiance and its usefulness, One Must keep inmind that eventhow a werewolf was once Human, While In This (Werewolf) Form They Are In Everyway An Animal And would Use Everything as the real Animal would. A wolves claws are for more then looks, they are used to dig into the ground to aid the wolf With changing his or her direction while in persuit of prey Or While avoiding Danger ( Things Of Fear ),
Also their claws aid in the bringing down of their prey by adding to their ability to move swiftly and avoid danger. Imagine a wolf without claws, moving with such agility as they do. they would not have enough traction to outmonuver their prey and would thus starve! The ( BIG SCREEN'S ) Werewolves Thus far Have All used their claws in a batting OR slashing Manner as a direct weapon. A real wolf does not do this, This is the tactics of a Cat Not A wolf. a wolves Only weapons are Their Strength , Combined with Their ability to out mounever their Prey, and the devistating Strength and speed at witch they use their fangs To deliver a death Blow OR (Death Bite) as it were to their Prey.

[vrikasatma]

Human nails work as weapons. Obviously not as well as comparably-sized mammals' claws, but well enough to pluck eyeballs out and cause some fairly nasty, jagged wounds when ripped across flesh. My ex could tear apart beer cans with his nails.

Unlike claws, however, fingernails just sit on the skin's surface and have no anchoring save a little bit of connextive tissue — which anyone whose seen the "needle under the fingernail" torture technique can attest to be pretty weak. The nails themselves are structurally weak, too: we've all chipped and broken nails. A good, hard slash could break or remove a fingernail and cause the former owner a good deal of pain.

A bonafide claw, however, is like a horn: it's a curved keratin sheath over a bony core that's connected to the skeleton. Some pretty serious surgery — with necessary sedation and post-surgical care — is required to remove them.

I'd say werewolf claws would be like they are on wolves/cats: keratinaceous sickles mounted on an extra-digital joint. Stronger structure than simple "uber-long fingernails."

[Werewolfdragon]

I Compleatly Agree With The claws being more like those of real wolves. the more natural the werewolf is the better, is what I say... still Even thow it might work for the movies I just can't bring myself to agree with this Slashing aspect Of the werewolves In Most Werewolf Movies. Isn't It Only Felines ( Cats ) That batt and slash with their claws when they attack their prey or defend themselves???

[Wingman]

For me personally, I would say that the claws start forming under the fingernail, and then as they grow they push the fingernail out. Depending on the structure of them, they might superficially look not very dissimilar to an ordinary pointed fingernail. Even if they weren't pointy, they possess far more structural strength and allow for stuff like improved clawing of faces or burrowing through dirt.

For the closest thing I've got to a fursona, he's got cat claws, but due to how they're structured only a small bit of them is visible, and they look rather similar to normal nails filed to points.

[Dewclaw]

Depends on the "type" of the werewolf --- if it's more human-like or will it go all the way into a wolf. I'd say that for a partial change the claws/fingernails/whatever, could just extend and lengthen, becoming sharper and a bit more claw-like rather than looking just like an elongated fingernail, if you know what I mean.

[Werewolfdragon]

There are very few Movies Or even books in witch the werewolf becomes a Quote- "Full Fledged Wolf" The Silver wolf was One Of Them And It Was A Great Plot I only Wish The Creator Of That And The Other Two Had Not Died. Anyway, For A Horror Movie A Half Transformation Is So Common In The Film Industry That It Is Almost Gitting Boring Except For The Graphics anyway. Sorry But What Can I Say. While They Are Allways Fun To Watch And I Am All For The Werewolves, Both Those Of The Bigscreen And Us Real Ones Out There Who Still Live In Secret. The Fact Still Remains" If You Have Seen One Werewolf Movie, You Have Seen Them All" The Only Thing That Has Ever changed About Them Over The Years Is The Quality At Witch They Are Shown In. The Plot Is Allways The Same " A Person Gets Bitten, Scratched Or Some Other Means Of Becomming Infected, And Before The End Of The Film Is Thus Killed" Whats wrong With having the jean Inherated and passed down from father and mother to son or daughter while still having it scary but the werewolf gits to be excepted in the end to live in peace? yes I Know it's way out there. the fact still remains that someone needs to come up with something new in the werewolf Plot of things and still make it scarry somehow, Withought Being Corney. Thats My Opionion At Least

[vrikasatma]

I only Wish The Creator Of That And The Other Two Had Not Died.

NO!!

When? How??!

[Werewolfdragon]

I only Wish The Creator Of That And The Other Two Had Not Died.

NO!!

When? How??!

This is all I know ""Alice Borchardt (October 6, 1939 — July 24, 2007)"" I was Going To try to find out what other books she had written so I entered her name into a search Eng. and this is one of the things that came Up
"" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Borchardt "" This will tell you what you wish to know I Loved Her book and will 1 day read the other 2 in the trilligy "" The Silver Wolf "" It was trully One of A kind...

[Black Claw]

i say that they modify the human nails and like one of the forums we discussed decades ago over the human body receiving vitamins and minerals to help change the body to wolf form, the nails receive the vitamins to not break them off but turn the nails to claws. Or they could do like the Howling transformation and grow from under the human nails and break them off.

[RedEye]

Grow out from under human nails and then they break off?
Sounds painful.

Why not: At the start of the Shift, nail growth is stimulated to produce a heavier and more strongly rooted nail that grows out of the same nailbed. This produces a "Thin to Thick" set of nails that can then be removed in use, as the thinner human nail breaks away from the stronger Wulf nail. Essentially what happens is that once the new nails have grown in, the older nails at their tips (NIN anyone?) break in use, leaving the heavier harder Wulf claws.

OR: In Wulfen Blood, Werewolves keep their nails all the time, and trim them with wire-cutters and machine files to a "Smoothskin" length and shape. They use what is essentially nail lacquer to color them Smoothskin pink. That saves a whole lot of grow/lose cycles and a lot of nutrients and energy. And since this uses the least energy and is the simplest way for it to happen, that's what I used in the story.

[Werewolfdragon]

Grow out from under human nails and then they break off?
Sounds painful.

Why not: At the start of the Shift, nail growth is stimulated to produce a heavier and more strongly rooted nail that grows out of the same nailbed. This produces a "Thin to Thick" set of nails that can then be removed in use, as the thinner human nail breaks away from the stronger Wulf nail. Essentially what happens is that once the new nails have grown in, the older nails at their tips (NIN anyone?) break in use, leaving the heavier harder Wulf claws.

OR: In Wulfen Blood, Werewolves keep their nails all the time, and trim them with wire-cutters and machine files to a "Smoothskin" length and shape. They use what is essentially nail lacquer to color them Smoothskin pink. That saves a whole lot of grow/lose cycles and a lot of nutrients and energy. And since this uses the least energy and is the simplest way for it to happen, that's what I used in the story.

I Like the Wulfen Blood idea. However as I have never seen it, I have some question's. If they Keep their Werewolf Nails all the time Does this mean they are always in Werewolf Form? Or do the nails always Remain the same Even when they change back into Human form? And If so then Do they grow long again when they Shift back into Werewolf form again, of do they remain filed down?

[RedEye]

My Wulf claws/nails are essentially very similar to human finger nails, in the sense that an armored car is essentially similar to a delivery van.
They're flat, like human nails; but they can grow to nearly an inch past the fingertips, and be as strong as aluminum. Since they have nail beds that are deeper and longer than human, they are much more strongly attached; and can be filed to axe-like sharpness. When a shift occurs, they will grow a little bit.
Yes, they keep their nails/claws along with their cup-and-point ears (flat against the skull) and covered with their normal human hair-left long on the sides.
They are close enough in appearance to smoothskinned humanity that they can "Pass" as humans in all but the most personal areas.

[Heathir350]

I'd always pictured claws as forming from the actual bone and pushing the nail out, not splitting it as shown in a lot of movies.

[Werewolfdragon]

My Wulf claws/nails are essentially very similar to human finger nails, in the sense that an armored car is essentially similar to a delivery van.
They're flat, like human nails; but they can grow to nearly an inch past the fingertips, and be as strong as aluminum. Since they have nail beds that are deeper and longer than human, they are much more strongly attached; and can be filed to axe-like sharpness. When a shift occurs, they will grow a little bit.
Yes, they keep their nails/claws along with their cup-and-point ears (flat against the skull) and covered with their normal human hair-left long on the sides.
They are close enough in appearance to smoothskinned humanity that they can "Pass" as humans in all but the most personal areas.

Very Nice Idea... I like it. So I take it they are not your typical Horror Class Werewolves then. Meaning they are more even tempered and human in their nature then they are wild and short tempered, As their more animalistic counterparts...Is this view Correct?

[RedEye]

Yes, very "correct". These are people who are by nature a mix of both Wolf and Human. Both species are social, territorial, and heirarchial in their relationships within groupings.

The reason for their secrecy is due to the reactions of humans when confronted by an apparently alien species; fear and violence. Their major turning point in "modern" history was the "Scattering" where the Wulf populations of Europe fled to the New World to escape the hostility of church, nobility, and the peasantry.
Their natural form, the "Wulf" most resembles an upright wolf who has been modified for bipedal walking. They can take on both "Smooth" (Human) form or "Wolf" (quadrupedal) form at will; and spend the majority of their lives "Passing in Smooth" to live in modern human society. They tend to be tall, slender, and muscular when in Smooth (both male and female).
They are not naturally hostile (although there are some exceptions just like everyone else) and by the beginnings of the 20th century were moving from rural settings to the cities, even as the rest of the population did.
In the beginnings of the 21st century, genetic tests revealed them to have 99.6 percent identical genetic material with humans, making them a race of humanity.
Further information can be had by reading "Wulfen Blood" (novel in consideration for publication).

[Werewolfdragon]

Yes, very "correct". These are people who are by nature a mix of both Wolf and Human. Both species are social, territorial, and heirarchial in their relationships within groupings.

The reason for their secrecy is due to the reactions of humans when confronted by an apparently alien species; fear and violence. Their major turning point in "modern" history was the "Scattering" where the Wulf populations of Europe fled to the New World to escape the hostility of church, nobility, and the peasantry.
Their natural form, the "Wulf" most resembles an upright wolf who has been modified for bipedal walking. They can take on both "Smooth" (Human) form or "Wolf" (quadrupedal) form at will; and spend the majority of their lives "Passing in Smooth" to live in modern human society. They tend to be tall, slender, and muscular when in Smooth (both male and female).
They are not naturally hostile (although there are some exceptions just like everyone else) and by the beginnings of the 20th century were moving from rural settings to the cities, even as the rest of the population did.
In the beginnings of the 21st century, genetic tests revealed them to have 99.6 percent identical genetic material with humans, making them a race of humanity.
Further information can be had by reading "Wulfen Blood" (novel in consideration for publication).

"Wulfen Blood" (novel in consideration for publication) I Hope it Gets Published so I can get a copy of it It sounds Intriguing, I thank I would Like it alot. I am a little tired of the same old Werewolf "HORROR" Viewpoint. In witch you seen or read one you seen or read them all. I would love to read or watch something New for a change, I hope it works out...