Mythic Origins

Tigers have a combination of beauty and power, which leaves them regarded as a visual harmony of opposites, representative of the Yin forces of the Cosmos and the embodiment of purpose and patience. In ancient China they were symbols of strength, courage, ferocity and hidden power. While the origins of tiger lycanthropy may never be known it is important nonetheless to recognize the impact of the tiger on the world of the East and how that in turn has influenced the culture of the Tiger clans today.

General Information

Tiger lycanthropy is one of the harder-to-catch strains, and the weretiger culture sees attacking outsiders as an abomination. Being given tiger lycanthropy is seen as a reward for a job well done and one to be cherished and shared only with those who are worthy. Among tigers it is a sin to give it to someone not worthy. It is also one of the few forms of lycanthropy that can be inherited, as well as caught. Consequently, the weretiger culture is strongly divided into pure blood clan tigers, who are inherited lycanthropes, and attacked ones, whose coloring matches natural tigers.

Infected Tigers

Those who have been infected always appear as a common Bengal tiger (orange with black stripes).

Bred Tigers

Those who inherit tiger lycanthropy through breeding fall into one of several colorings and clans. The purity of true-bred tigers is so safe-guarded that arranged marriages, planned breeding, and abductions for these ends are not uncommon.

Ancient wisdom allowed weretiger females to give the need to change during a full moon to another tiger. In turn, this allowed a pregnant tiger to carry to term and have a higher chance of a successful delivery. As weretigers have begun to integrate more with the modern world, this knowledge has been shared with other lycanthropes.

Tiger Clans

Weretigers originated somewhere in what is modern day China, but despite their careful control of breeding and infections, modern day tigers can come from any ethnicity. In the past, weretigers were more powerful and had special abilities tied to their clan. These abilities have faded in strength over time, but the elemental affinities remain.

• Gold - Once the ruler of all tiger clans, emitting a power of leadership to which others unconsciously respond to. Their element is the sun (light).
• Yellow - Control the air.
• White - Controls electricity and metals.
• Red - Relates to fire and pyrokinesis.
• Blue - Once believed to be extinct, Blue tigers are very rare. They could control the earth and all energies upon it.
• Black - Once believed to be extinct, Black tigers are very rare and have the power to control water.

Leadership & Social Structure

The weretigers are a matriarchal society, led by a woman, unlike most other lycanthrope societies which are patriarchal. The weretiger queen is referred to as a Chiang, sometimes just Chang, regardless of the queen's purebred blood or lack thereof. The Chang is typically the oldest and most powerful weretiger in an area who has the option to take as many lovers as she pleases as she seeks out the perfect mate with which to expand her clan’s bloodline. Once she has found such a mate, the couple becomes rather monogamous, and the male becomes Lao-Wangzi or the Tiger Prince. The prince defers to the Chang in just about all matters, but in her absence can exert command over a group of weretigers.

The Chang is assisted in her duties and responsibilities by her ‘daughters’ or ‘sisters’, though there need not be any blood relation between them. Standing at the Chang’s right hand is the Longshen, and should anything happen to the Chang, the Longshen is considered the heir apparent to the Ambush, although this inheritance can be taken away through ritual challenge and combat. The Longshen typically has two to four Shen, which serve as retainers and assistants. Standing at the Chang’s left hand is her consort or mate.

The Chang has a chief enforcer, known as the Bao-Ying, and the Bao-Ying is usually a male. The Bao-ying can be assisted by up to five Xianling who take on the roles of guardians and enforcers of the Chang, and as soldiers that protect the Chang and the Ambush. Bao-Ying and Xianling are expected to lay down their lives for the Chang, or the good of the Ambush and those that do so are considered to have honorably discharged their responsibilities.

General Traits & Abilities

Tigers have long been associated with magic and the elements with pure blood tigers carrying this talent through the ages. Tigers have several abilities related to their majestic appearance, able to persuade, wound, or beckon through look or purr alone. When given to violence, they are formidable hunters, stalkers, and fighters, possessing powerful strength, deadly claws, and crushing jaws.