Hunting 101 - Class 7 (Wednesday, period 7)
When the students come in they saw a number of items laid out at the front of the room. Those who had some experience with such things would recognise a portable electrical crucible, as well as clamps and molds and what looks like some bars of silver. There were also several handouts for them to take laid out beside the sign in sheet.
"Today," John began where everyone was seated, "we're going to be moving away from ghosts and haunted objects into more solid supernatural things. Specifically, today we're going to be looking at shapeshifters.
"Now before I start, I want to emphasise that not all shapeshifters are things you need to be hunting -- around here especially. Changing shape alone isn't bad or dangerous; it's when people start dying that a hunt is needed. So when I'm talking about hunting shapeshifters, it's the ones that are attacking and killing people that I'm referring to. Not the student who turns into a pony or a puppet -- or a child -- for the weekend.
"The most common shapeshifter at least in these parts is probably the werewolf, although it's by no means the only one. The one handout I gave you has a few other examples and the cultures they originated in, but it's by no means comprehensive. For instance, back in October, I had a hunt in Nashville that turned out to be some kind of ratwoman. So this list is a good place to start when looking for information, but it shouldn't be where you stop.
"Now, not all shapeshifters are contagious but enough are that you should always take precautions. Do your utmost to avoid being bitten as that is the most common way the infection spreads." He paused and looked around the room before continuing in a serious voice. "If you do get bitten, you need to treat the wound as soon as possible. Wash it out with an infusion of wolfsbane in holy water. It'll hurt like a sunofabitch and depending on how bad the infection is, it might even smoke, but that's a lot better than turning into what you're hunting. But really, the best way to avoid that is to not get bit in the first place.
"Regardless of what kind of shapeshifter you're dealing with, there's one sure way to kill them: a silver bullet in the heart. If you don't use guns, a silver tipped arrow or crossbow quarrel will work just as well. But silver bullets, like rocksalt cartridges, aren't something you can just buy at any ammo store, so you're probably going to have to make your own." John walked over to the table where the crucible and other items were set up. "The other handout you have there gives a brief description of how to go about it. And I'm about to give you a demonstration."
John demonstrated how to melt silver in the graphite crucible and to carefully pour it into the bullet molds, describing what he was doing as he did so. "It's basically the same procedure to make silver tipped arrows, just with a different shaped mold," he concluded. "If you want, you can all have a try at doing this, but be very careful. Molten metal is not something you want to be careless with." He looked out over the class. "That being said, who wants to try first?"
[ooc: wait for the ocd's are up. :D]
"Today," John began where everyone was seated, "we're going to be moving away from ghosts and haunted objects into more solid supernatural things. Specifically, today we're going to be looking at shapeshifters.
"Now before I start, I want to emphasise that not all shapeshifters are things you need to be hunting -- around here especially. Changing shape alone isn't bad or dangerous; it's when people start dying that a hunt is needed. So when I'm talking about hunting shapeshifters, it's the ones that are attacking and killing people that I'm referring to. Not the student who turns into a pony or a puppet -- or a child -- for the weekend.
"The most common shapeshifter at least in these parts is probably the werewolf, although it's by no means the only one. The one handout I gave you has a few other examples and the cultures they originated in, but it's by no means comprehensive. For instance, back in October, I had a hunt in Nashville that turned out to be some kind of ratwoman. So this list is a good place to start when looking for information, but it shouldn't be where you stop.
"Now, not all shapeshifters are contagious but enough are that you should always take precautions. Do your utmost to avoid being bitten as that is the most common way the infection spreads." He paused and looked around the room before continuing in a serious voice. "If you do get bitten, you need to treat the wound as soon as possible. Wash it out with an infusion of wolfsbane in holy water. It'll hurt like a sunofabitch and depending on how bad the infection is, it might even smoke, but that's a lot better than turning into what you're hunting. But really, the best way to avoid that is to not get bit in the first place.
"Regardless of what kind of shapeshifter you're dealing with, there's one sure way to kill them: a silver bullet in the heart. If you don't use guns, a silver tipped arrow or crossbow quarrel will work just as well. But silver bullets, like rocksalt cartridges, aren't something you can just buy at any ammo store, so you're probably going to have to make your own." John walked over to the table where the crucible and other items were set up. "The other handout you have there gives a brief description of how to go about it. And I'm about to give you a demonstration."
John demonstrated how to melt silver in the graphite crucible and to carefully pour it into the bullet molds, describing what he was doing as he did so. "It's basically the same procedure to make silver tipped arrows, just with a different shaped mold," he concluded. "If you want, you can all have a try at doing this, but be very careful. Molten metal is not something you want to be careless with." He looked out over the class. "That being said, who wants to try first?"
[ooc: wait for the ocd's are up. :D]