PC worgens biting others

[Dae]

So, Morgen and Roux, both shaggy ladies, were in an interesting situation the other day. There was a malicious spirit possessing some of the characters in the party, and Roux brought up the potential danger of one of them being possessed. They resolved to muzzle themselves as a precaution, but it never became an issue.
Still, I haven't really seen an official call on what happens should a PC bite another character. I don't think anyone should be forced to go Worgen by any means, but still. I get the idea it can't be THAT easily transmitted, or the Worgen would suffer a greater social stigma than as is suggested by the game.

Personally, I prefer to interpret passing on the curse through bite when the bite is a part of a feral mauling, as that feral rage, as the curse is of perverted druid magic rather than disease-based, or even a "curse" in the typical sense. (drinking blood is a different matter; not addressing that in this particular post)

By this interpretation, say, a Nelf accidentally falling and cutting themselves on a worgen's face in a haphazard but friendly game of Twister wouldn't result in that night elf turning into a mandating beast.

I have no lore to support the above, but that kind of mindset fits to the way I've seen Worgen being treated ICly, but there's tons of lore that isn't there when it comes to Worgen and their curse. Can races other than nelves and humans become Worgen? What kind of bite/blood exposure does it take? Etc.

So what do you think about the Worgen curse in the matter of domestic, intelligent Worgen? How do you think server policy should handle it, and how do you feel characters should deal with the issue?

~

Now, regardless of what the server policy may be, I still really appreciate that IC concern Roux and Morgen shared. Same goes for things like asking if a forsaken PC is an elf or not, even though typically, we don't allow that. (and this happened back when there were 100% no Helves, dead or otherwise) Such behavior is not only the antithesis of meta gaming, but also a total hoot from an OoC perspective.

[muhaha8]

Still, I haven't really seen an official call on what happens should a PC bite another character. I don't think anyone should be forced to go Worgen by any means, but still. I get the idea it can't be THAT easily transmitted

Actually, the staff has already said yes to PC-to-PC communication of the curse through RP. It wasn't even through a bite, drawing on the lore of blood-ingestion communication. However, it would still require a fair amount of blood. However, I do agree with the sentiment of caution; it is always a concern. And the questline for Worgen shows that it can be communicated fairly simply. I mean, it only took a bite or two for the player to turn, as I recall.

[JVNemesis]

Actually, the staff has already said yes to PC-to-PC communication of the curse through RP.

To note, a transformation like this will require a Private Discussion post and GM approval, but yes, it's possible if the infected player wants it to happen. It's not going to be forced on anyone.

[CappnRob]

To be totally honest, I would say because PC Worgens are effectively "cured" to the best of their ability of the curse, it would take more than just a bite to pass their curse along. I mean, I guess if you wanted to you could arrange a RP to have a PC change your character into a worgen, but you don't need a bite for that (see: drinking their blood).

[muhaha8]

If a cured Worgen (Lord Crowley) can transmit the Curse to a bunch of random commoners, then I think it's reasonable to assume that a PC could transmit it with a bite. There's no lore, though, that I've seen of a cured Worgen biting someone else, and them getting infected, so I can't say what it would take. But it's reasonable that a single bite could do it, even from a cured Worgen. (In fact, I don't see a reason why being "cured" would have any effect on the communicability of it.)

[CappnRob]

Crowley did it by giving blood to drink, didn't he? I'm talking about bites.

[Reigen]

The current ruling for this is thus:

Players can be bitten/drink blood to be changed, -however-, it must be approved in the Private Discussion. We're not going to just let people change race on a dime. If the reasons are just, 'he teed off a worgen and got bit', we're likely not going to give it an approval. Remember as well that you cannot bite/change another player without express consent, as it will hold up their characters while the change is being reviewed in the PD.

As it is now, if you drink the blood of a sane worgen, you are also sane, as seen by the hillsbrad worgen who did not require a cure. I'm unsure if this is the same for being bitten by a worgen who's had the cure. it's unlikely as it's not as willing as ingesting blood.