Other monsters in the same world:does it take away from them

[Rhuen]

basically in most monster movie and what not the impression is given that the monster in the movie is the only type of monster out there.

and a few only give a few different types (with a few tv show exceptions) but generally not a huge variety on werebeasts (most those shows focused on bad makeup (cheaper costume designs) demons).

does it take away from the werewolf if there are other monsters in the same world as them? like vampires, cat-people, demons, other freakish things, ect...?

[Terastas]

It can, but only if written poorly. Because vampires and other such "monsters" which are very human in appearance are easier on the actors and the FX crew, Hollywood tends to favor them and thus werewolves often become secondary to them, though that's usually an effect of the negative stigma Hollywood currently has towards werewolves.

From a more realistic perspective, however, if someone were to find out that one thing they perceived to be just an element of Hollywood horror turned out to be very real, it would open them up to the possibility of the existence of others that they had previously filed away in the same category. Likewise, if someone first became exposed to an "alternative" werekin like the werecat or jaguarundi, it would open them up to the possibility of the existence of the "default" werekin: the werewolf.

Usually there's only one primary protagonist and one primary antagonist, leaving everyone else to become secondary to the primary conflict or compliments to the primary characters. It's only when that focus is placed predominantly on one that it takes away from the others.

[RedEye]

Monsters of any sort represent a chaotic universal structure, like the one we occupy.

Monsters are chaotic versions of something else; a Werewolf could be a chaotic version of either a wolf or of a human. There is an implied instability in things; two and two may equal five or three in some rare cases, rather than the orderly four.

Note: our universe is chaotic in nature, even though it appears orderly. That is why things like Quantum Mechanics work in spite of what "should" be in an order-based universe. It is simply that the level of chaotic activity is very low that gives us the illusion of order; otherwise things would be very much different.
We might be contributing to "What should a 'human' be?"

[JoshuaMadoc]

We might be contributing to "What should a 'human' be?"

More like "What SHOULDN'T a "human" be?", i.e. creatures obsessed by their ideological materialisms and human exterior appearance.

[chubhound]

I really don't think it detracts or takes away from werewolves if there are other monsters around. Of course, that could just be because I'm a big White Wolf fan. Personally, I think it'd be pretty funny in a movie for a werewolf character to be faced with a vampire and have a reaction of, "Wait!! There's no such thing as vampires, this can't be real!!"

[Celestialwolf]

In my mind it would take away from the story; if there were werewolves and other "monsters" plus a were-this and a were-that, it would start to not be something so unique. Plus, if each respective "were" passed its condition in the same way as werewolves, pretty soon everyone would be one thing or another and nobody would want to just be plain humans anymore. Something comes to mind:

"...everyone's special Dash." "Which is just another way of saying no one is."

So I say no. But then, I'm Biased!

[Rhuen]

Personally if all the monsters know about each other and have this secret society connection hidden from humanity thing going on then YES it distracts from the story. It becomes another Buffy/Angel, kids show thing like Jake Long or Juniper Lee, or Men in Black with monsters deal.

However if you have all these different types of monsters trying to do their own things, and may not even be aware of each other (especially seeing as they are trying to hide from people then they may likely be hidden from others as well and go their whole lives not knowing they are not the only none-human sentients out there). So a group of random humans who meet up with these werewolves could easily have the wolves say something like, "we are the last of our kind, and the only true monsters as you humans would call us in the world."
only to have one of the humans turn out to be a shapeshifting demon world Succubus as a twist ending.

[Terastas]

Personally if all the monsters know about each other and have this secret society connection hidden from humanity thing going on then YES it distracts from the story. It becomes another Buffy/Angel, kids show thing like Jake Long or Juniper Lee, or Men in Black with monsters deal.

*nods* Like I said, it can take away if it's poorly written. Lumping werewolves, vampires, and all other sorts of supernatural creatures as being directly related with the same origins, the same nature, the same agenda, etc. strikes me as incredibly lazy in terms of writing, and it takes away from a lot more than just the werewolves in the story. With only one or two exceptions, Buffy/Angel serve as the classic example of such.

Jake Long, Juniper Lee and Men in Black, however, are a little closer to home. In all three, all things alien or supernatural are only presumed to have one thing in common: the fact that they are all alien or supernatural. That one bit of common ground is enough to discourage conflict amongst themselves and forms the basis for some "diverse" communities here and there, but beyond that, they have their own individual motivations which they typically keep to themselves.

That's how a mingling of different "monsters" should be: their common ground as monsters in the eyes of man would encourage them to try and work together (or at least keep a respectful distance from each other), but their differences in nature would put them at ends with each other. In my own writing, for example, vampires have to drink blood and therefore do not have the capacity to maintain absolute anonymity like the werewolves expect them to, and so despite initially intending to work together, the two wind up at ends with each other. It wasn't an alliance of evil and it wasn't a blood feud: it was just a mutual understanding based on what they had in common that fell apart because of what they didn't.

The key word is depth. If you can justify why two or more supernatural races are allied or in conflict, that won't take away from either. But if you get lazy and resort to a "just because" alliance/feud, that takes away from everything.

[Midnight]

There seems to be a bit of an attitude around that if one bunch of monsters is good, then two bunches of monsters would be better. I don't agree with it, particularly with the apparent need to put werewolves up against vampires any chance one gets. It's old. I'd like to see something new.

[JoshuaMadoc]

The key word is depth. If you can justify why two or more supernatural races are allied or in conflict, that won't take away from either. But if you get lazy and resort to a "just because" alliance/feud, that takes away from everything.

In before 5000 YEARS OF TRADITION, etc.

[Celestialwolf]

So a group of random humans who meet up with these werewolves could easily have the wolves say something like, "we are the last of our kind, and the only true monsters as you humans would call us in the world."
only to have one of the humans turn out to be a shapeshifting demon world Succubus as a twist ending.

You know? Something like that would actually be VERY interesting! It might diminish the werewolves though.

Jake Long, Juniper Lee and Men in Black, however, are a little closer to home. In all three, all things alien or supernatural are only presumed to have one thing in common: the fact that they are all alien or supernatural. That one bit of common ground is enough to discourage conflict amongst themselves and forms the basis for some "diverse" communities here and there, but beyond that, they have their own individual motivations which they typically keep to themselves.

That's how a mingling of different "monsters" should be: their common ground as monsters in the eyes of man would encourage them to try and work together (or at least keep a respectful distance from each other), but their differences in nature would put them at ends with each other. In my own writing, for example, vampires have to drink blood and therefore do not have the capacity to maintain absolute anonymity like the werewolves expect

That is also very interesting, and might have actually changed my opinion on having multiple weres/monsters/etc. in one story! If one were to take that approach like Men in Black did collectively with the aliens, I could really see it working as long as the werewolves in the story were considered "the best" or at the very least at one of the top spots on the veritable food chain. The more I think about it the more interesting it's getting!

The only thing is that for me, being a werewolf would be a way to get above everyone else. Not for gain or fame or whatever, but simply being able to go places and escape the norm (and maybe helping people? I dunno.). If there were more "monsters" then it would be much like we are now, in that we are on the top but do have competition (not sentient, but hey), if that makes any sense.
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[RedEye]

There seems to be a bit of an attitude around that if one bunch of monsters is good, then two bunches of monsters would be better. I don't agree with it, particularly with the apparent need to put werewolves up against vampires any chance one gets. It's old. I'd like to see something new.

Let's see: Werewolves vs. Soccer Moms with the discounted hamburgers going to the winner.
Werewolves as the "Alien intelligences"...like "The day the Earth stood still" or the ending of Star Trek: Contact: instead of Vulcans, some Werewolves come out of the space ship.

Or to borrow from Rod Serling's Twilight Zone: The Smoothskin...one poor human has tried repeated treatments to Cross Over but can't. He learns to live with a colony of similarly disfigured/crippled humans who cannot Shift on a Werewolf populated Earth.
Actually, that doesn't sound too bad... as in maybe doable!

[WerewolfKeeper3]

There seems to be a bit of an attitude around that if one bunch of monsters is good, then two bunches of monsters would be better. I don't agree with it, particularly with the apparent need to put werewolves up against vampires any chance one gets. It's old. I'd like to see something new.

Let's see: Werewolves vs. Soccer Moms with the discounted hamburgers going to the winner.
Werewolves as the "Alien intelligences"...like "The day the Earth stood still" or the ending of Star Trek: Contact: instead of Vulcans, some Werewolves come out of the space ship.

Or to borrow from Rod Serling's Twilight Zone: The Smoothskin...one poor human has tried repeated treatments to Cross Over but can't. He learns to live with a colony of similarly disfigured/crippled humans who cannot Shift on a Werewolf populated Earth.
Actually, that doesn't sound too bad... as in maybe doable!

I've seen that one. We never see anyone else, or the main character, as her face is covered. When the bandages come off, she's beautiful, and everyone else isn't. That was a good one. And it does sound odable, though if i wrote it i'd probably have the guy kill himself, and just as the full moon rises, he begins to shift as his heart slows. {blink} I'm depressing. Get used to it...

[LunarCarnivore]

Ok here goes...
Having other monsters around detracts from werewolves, thats just the way it is. I'm a Huge Buffy/Angel fan, i have every season of both shows, there are werewolves in both shows (they may look retarded, but they ARE werewolves). The werewolves are featured only in a few episodes, when the episode is about something to do with werewolves. Oz is a werewolf, but his lycanthropy is pretty much completely ignored except during werewolf episodes, and he's a pussy compared to all the huge demons on the show. So either something is about werewolves, or it isn't. if it is, don't put other monsters in it. especially vampires. for some ungodly reason, people always like vampires better, and they detract from the werewolves. it's the harsh truth.

[Terastas]

for some ungodly reason, people always like vampires better, and they detract from the werewolves. it's the harsh truth.

As I said earlier, Hollywood naturally prefers vampires because they are easier for actors to depict and easier on the FX team to create.

I could really see it working as long as the werewolves in the story were considered "the best" or at the very least at one of the top spots on the veritable food chain. The more I think about it the more interesting it's getting!

You've really got to be careful about intentionally establishing a "best" race, as that's what takes away from all the others. Furthermore, if you want a werewolf protagonist (or at least a werewolf that is believable as a character), making them the most powerful of the "monsters" takes away from them as characters. Typically a protagonist will only be favored by an audience if his foe is either more powerful in the conventional sense, or outnumbers him. Otherwise a confrontation doesn't amount to much.

So if you want werewolves to be "the best," you would be better off having them be "the only."

[Rhuen]

The idea of a "best" race or heirarchy is what I feel ruins alot of these mixed monsters versions.

Different monsters would work out best in different locations and situations. a werewolf in the woods may be near the top of the food chain, but stick in the demon world and it drops near the bottom. and the situation where people encounter them in the woods unless its a fantasy world arn't likely to meet up with too many other monsters that are predators of people.

[Infinite_Path]

Personally, I think that, to some degree, other monsters are reqired, or at least must be implied, in a werewolf story. It's just too outlandish that "oh werewolves are real, but every other legend on earth is fake".

However, this isn't to say that they have to appear. On that count, I adopt the standarp position of "it works if it's thought out"

[Terastas]

Different monsters would work out best in different locations and situations. a werewolf in the woods may be near the top of the food chain, but stick in the demon world and it drops near the bottom. and the situation where people encounter them in the woods unless its a fantasy world arn't likely to meet up with too many other monsters that are predators of people.

*nods* Generally when you make anything superhuman in fiction, it helps to balance it out with a weakness or a shortcoming; every Superman has his kryptonite. The vampires and werewolves in my own writing are that way; they have many talents, but also some pretty clear-cut fallacies that they readily exploit whenever possible. Vampires, of course, are incredibly vulnerable to sunlight (they don't burst into flames, but they all agree that's what it feels like), so whenever a werewolf gets to set the terms of a meeting with a vampire, they typically make it during the daytime so the vampire will be restricted to a darkened area (usually a closet or a bathroom since they aren't all rich covenant members like in the movies). The werewolves meanwhile are equally as capable as vampires in human form and very capable as gestalts, but tend to be clumsy and vulnerable during the transition period, so whenever a vampire gets to set the terms of a meeting with a werewolf, they typically insist on meeting in a very public location so the werewolf can't shift beforehand. And of course, both sides are very well aware of their own respective weaknesses and try to guard and/or compensate for them whenever possible.

It's more interesting that way, I think. After all, everyone knows how Superman is going to stop the bullet train from going over the blown-out bridge, but it's any man's guess what he's going to do about those handcuffs made out of kryptonite he's wearing.

[RedEye]

The thing I use in the Wulfen Universe is a sort of spectrum of metamorphs; all base human, but naturalized to the locality they inhabit.
As in:
Ba-asti and Simbei: Were-Lions from Africa.
Rakasha: (Historical) Were-Tigers
Anpui: Were-Jackals (Egypt and Somalia)
Keewah/Pumans: American Were-Pumas
Sirena: Were-Dolphins (mer-maid legends) [worldwide]
Wulfen: pretty obvious; but they're European Imports from the Scattering
and...
Yehti: One way Were-Somethings. Immortal and nearly invulnerable and dumb as a bag of doorknobs. The first shift is their last.

Every metamorph is weight-restricted, so some of these people are either larger or smaller than their animal counterparts...not that anyone notices.*
This way, there are "others" but they are all inter-related and don't steal each other's thunder.
*If a Were-Tiger is chasing you, you don't whip out a scale and tape measure. Trust me, you just don't.