As above. In my current fortress, I was working on making a separate society of dwarves, isolated from my main fortress, who would all be werebeasts. It worked, to a certain extent. I managed to successfully infect two of the five useless migrants I had nominated for the job. The project was abandoned however, after one of the accursed dwarves lost a shoe and threw a tantrum, and punched three of the other four to death. I executed him at the next full moon.
TL:DR Keeping werebeast dwarves happy is too troublesome.
So, it occured to me. Why not use all these prisoners I've captured? The advantages of this, in comparison to using citizens, are thus:
- Able to keep werebeasts in cages and release them whenever they are needed
- Will not go insane/Will not get strange moods
- Expendable
- Easily acquired in greater numbers.
- Can be easily terminated at ANY point. I will not have to wait for a full moon.
- Invaders will not form relationships with my dwarves. No unhappiness will result in their accidental or purposeful deaths
The disadvantages:
- Potentially a one shot weapon. Invaders will run off the map/be killed by dwarves once they return to their regular form.
- Invaders of different factions may not be able to be kept together e.g. goblins and elves.
- Being as werebeasts in werebeast form are trapavoid, a infected citizen will most likely be required in order to curse the initial batch of invaders. This presents problems, as when the citizen turns back into a dwarf, he and the invaders will most likely fight.
- Lower infection rate. The old method of dwarf gets knocked out by werebeast and is caged as a consequence, keeping the dwarf from being killed, will not work here.
All of the disadvantages can be worked around or otherwise nullified. I want to know if it is possible. Will foreign sentients succumb to the werebeast curse? For that matter, what about animal men?