Biological Processes

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Nocturnal vs. Diurnal

While the wolfriders are primarily nocturnal (their primary sleeping hours are during daylight, while their primary active hours are during the night), they do have some diurnal habits. They are not afraid of sunlight and they don't go out of their way to completely avoid it (in contrast with trolls). But, their pale skin is better-adapted to a lack of sunlight (though this varies by individual; some get sunburn more easily than others, while some may develop suntans over time), and their eyes are better adapted for low-light situations (while daylight doesn't blind them, most elves see better at night than in the day).

The amount of time the elves spend in daylight depends on what activities they are trying to pursue. Wolves are not exclusively nocturnal animals, either. Some prey is better hunted by day than by night, or at least by dawn or dusk. Sometimes the elves and wolves will travel during daylight hours so as not to waste hunting time at night. And while their eyes may not be as keen in daylight, it is still sometimes possible to see detail at a greater distance during the day, so some scouting may take place in daylight.

Finally, while wolfriders need to sleep, they may not need as much sleep as humans do. Depending on the individual, they may be satisfied with a shorter duration of deep, heavy sleep; or a series of lighter wolf-naps between daytime activities.

Elf senses vs. wolf, human

Like the wolves with whom they share ancestry, the wolfriders have much keener senses of smell and hearing than humans do. They can distinguish between individuals (elf or human) by scent, and also pick up the scent of what individuals or animals have occupied or passed a place. They use their sense of smell in tracking. They are also sensitive to scents indicating things like sexual readiness (they are able to tell by a young-adult's scent when they have passed out of childhood) and strong emotion.

Also like wolves, they have keen hearing, able to pick up faint sounds nearby (such as the motion of prey) or sounds coming from a distance (such as howls). They are able to distinguish a wide range of sound, as well -- like wolves, they can pick up fine shades of difference in howl tones that allow them and the wolves to use howls to convey a variety of simple messages; and, they can also distinguish individual differences in sound (so that howls are not "anonymous").

In general, this sense of smell and hearing is not quite as strong as that of an actual wolf; but it is strong enough for meaningful interaction with the wolves and to use their senses much like wolves do.

In contrast, elf eyesight is generally a bit better than that of the wolves. Their large eyes are well-adapted for night vision, and they see considerably better in the dark than humans, able to operate functionally even by starlight. They are able to see in the daylight as well, though; daylight doesn't pain them, or damage their sight, although bright light does interfere with their vision enough that, apart from exceptional individuals, their sight in daylight is no better than that of humans.

While all wolfriders possess these wolf-like senses, the strength of each varies by individual. Some may have better eyesight than average; some better sense of hearing. Strength in wolfblood may play a part in this, but while throwbacks are almost certainly stronger in these senses than normal, the pattern varies amongst average elves.

Injury healing time (w/out healer)

While elf bones are lighter than normal for their size, they are also very strong. Therefore, they do not break as easily as their light weight would suggest (they do break, however). Elves are less susceptible to infection than humans, but not immune to it; it's possible for them to suffer from wound-poisoning (fever, gangrene) if a wound isn't cleaned thoroughly at the time it happens.

If a healer does not treat an elf's wounds or broken bones, healing time is about the same as that of humans; six to twelve weeks, depending on severity of the wound.

Susceptibility to disease

The wolfriders are not immune to diseases, or to sicknesses like poisoning, but they have constitutions that tend to be more robust than that of the average human.

The Council's inclination is to say that while elves are certainly susceptible to things like head-colds, respiratory infections (pneumonia), and fevers, as well as things like poisons; and while they are in danger from diseases that wolves can get too, like rabies and distemper... they are not affected by "human" diseases such as poxes (smallpox, chicken pox), measles, mumps, influenza, bubonic plague, etc., on account of them being a combination of alien and wolf.

(However, the elves don't necessarily know this, so future drama may be had over worry about human diseases.)

Menstruation/ovulation

See Breeding.

Body hair, etc.

See Physical Appearance & Characteristics.

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