Prima Games eGuides The Sims 3 Supernatural eGuide

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The Sims 3 Supernatural eGuide Essentials Meet the Supernaturals

Werewolves

Supernatural doesn’t always equate with horror. Beings and powers that exist just outside the reach of the natural world aren’t evil by definition, and in The Sims 3 Supernatural , your personal storytelling will serve to prove that witches and werewolves, magic elixirs and spectral forces can be rather fun.

When you launch a new lifetime or a new narrative in Supernatural , one of the most important choices you make is which supernatural being to become. Or, decide to remain steadfastly human in a world that walks on the wild side. Every supernatural type you can select in Create a Sim (or convert to in the active world once your story has started to unfold), has strengths and weaknesses, exclusive benefits, and special interactions that will help you conjure up exciting narratives. Will you wolf out under the gauzy glow of a full moon? Or seductively bare your fangs as a vampire lothario? Or flit about town, sprinkling Fairy Dust upon those who could use a little magic in their lives? These are just some of the possible scenarios that await when your cursor hovers over the supernatural type choice in Create a Sim.

To best prepare you for that decision, or to aid in your mid-game exploits as any of the supernaturals, peruse this chapter for complete rundowns on every being, plus an explanation of the lunar cycle, which is directly wired to several supernatural features for beings such as the werewolf.

Lunar Cycle

When that silvery disc bares its all, strange things happen in Moonlight Falls—or any city you call home while playing Supernatural . The lunar cycle can trigger all sorts of goings-on in town, such as heralding the arrival of zombies to affecting the transformation of werewolves. The stages of the moon are:

  • New Moon
  • Waxing Crescent
  • First Quarter
  • Waxing Gibbous
  • Full Moon
  • Waning Gibbous
  • Third Quarter
  • Waning Crescent

You can always look up into the sky are behold the moon, but there’s an all-new quick-glance meter right on your Sim’s toolbar. Look next to your Sim’s portrait. That’s the Moon icon. Mouse over the Moon Icon to not only get a reading of the phase, but also the number of days until the next full moon.

Now, you do not have to wait for the moon to complete a normal cycle. You have full control over the lunar cycle in the Options menu. Click on the Lunar tab. Here, you can adjust the frequency of the phases or even lock in a particular phase. Because there are specific actions that unfold when the moon is full, there are definite reasons/uses for setting up a constant full moon.

The default lunar cycle is 6 days/6 phases. You can shrink that to as short as 2 days or stretch it into 10 days—with multiple options between:

  • 2 days: New Moon, Full Moon
  • 4 days: New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon, Third Quarter
  • 6 days: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Waning Crescent
  • 8 days: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent
  • 10 days: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Third Quarter, Third Quarter, Waning Crescent

As mentioned, the full moon is when the supernatural goes full-tilt boogie. Up to three Sims in the city turn into zombies (meaning, they have the Zombified moodlet) during a full moon. (This excludes werewolves and Sims within your own household.) Many more ghosts drift through the town during the full moon, too. NPC werewolves in town turn feral during a full moon. And if you have Pets installed, some of your animals may get the Skittish moodlet.

This is the core of the lunar cycle, but you’ll find more about how it specifically affects different supernaturals in their individual sections. Just know this: all the suspicions that a full moon brings out the bizarre in our world are proved true inside the realm of Supernatural .

Werewolves

Howl at the moon, y’all. Werewolf Sims, powerful beings of strength and sometimes unchecked emotion, are a brand-new addition to The Sims 3 universe. Werewolves must strike a fragile balance between a normal life and their animal instincts, which manifest as a fearsome (and occasionally funny) wolf form due to the Werewolves Curse.

Werewolves, like pack dogs, are social creatures and prefer to exist in the company of other lycanthropes. Not that there aren’t a few lone wolves and alpha dogs who prefer to buck the social order of a pack and assert either dominance or self-reliance. In groups, werewolves can often get a little rowdy and possess a series of social functions that reflect this mindset. Werewolves also display a natural suspicion of vampires, and will often serve to protect the citizenry of Moonlight Falls from the insatiable hunger of the fang gang.

This section details the lifestyle of a werewolf Sim, including all of the new interactions, pack behaviors, and beneficial behaviors. That’s not to say that there aren’t a few drawbacks to being a werewolf. Possessing such power is not without cost, and werewolves must maintain high energy to keep control over their baser instincts. Otherwise, they risk turning forms right before the very eyes of friends and family—maybe even in front of those not privy to their secret!

Create a Sim

As with all supernatural types, you may designate your Sim as a werewolf without pageantry. The choice is available right from the get-go, as a clickable options in the Basics section of Create a Sim. Once you select the werewolf option, you must then fashion the appearance of both the human form and the wolf-beast form. To switch between forms in Create a Sim, click the small werewolf button above your Sim’s portrait in the toolbar.

Human Form

As a werewolf, you can create an entirely “normal” human form that gives little away about your furry secret. Your hair, face, and other features are largely unchanged, although your irises take on a golden hue, not unlike a wolf or large dog. (Gold is only the default. You may, of course, change that color to anything of your liking within the Looks tab.) That’s the only real indicator in human form that something wild lurks below the surface, just waiting for an excuse to get out.

Werewolf Form

However, once you make the switch over to werewolf form, things get hairy. First, your eyes burn even more golden and your lower canines emerge from your lower mandible. Your jaw sticks out farther. Your ears draw into points. Claw-like fingernails grow from your hands. There is some serious lupine action happening here. (You may certainly use the sliders to adjust your Sims’ face to your liking. You are not required to leave the default jaw, nose, and other facial changes.)

However, not everything is out of your control. You may customize multiple features, such as hair. You can create a modified version of your Sim with werewolf characteristics, including a longer mane of hair such as the locks seen here. Like normal hair, you may set different colors and add tips or highlights. (In the case of Catherine Browne’s werewolf, I made sure to add red highlights to her werewolf ’do so it matches her human form hair.) You may also adjust other facial features, such as broadening the nose or other on-the-fly cosmetic surgeries to create a distinct physical persona for your werewolf.

By default, your Sim sports eyebrows that are more animal in nature. You may use the sliders to re-adjust the brows.

And if new hair and eyebrows weren’t enough for you, you may also add werewolf-specific body hair to your Sim. Doesn’t this lovely coat of fur look luxurious on Catherine here? Thankfully, the body hair is limited to werewolf form or Catherine would need to cover up even more in human form, lest her secret get loose.

Werewolf-inspired Clothing

Back in human form, dress your Sim up in any available clothes. There are, though, a few frocks that look tailor-made for werewolves. And by tailor-made, I mean it looks like somebody wolfed out inside of them. (Were these shirts washed and pressed by Edward Scissorhands?) Again, feel free to put your werewolf in an evening gown, but if you desire the full werewolf narrative, you may wish to stick to the included ripped wardrobe.

Behavior & Benefits

Werewolves are powerful beings and, as such, their behaviors are often dictated by either thirst for exploring the limits of this power or attempting to temper it with self-control. Your narratives will likely deal with the careful balance between the two because, as fun as it is to give in to the beast, it can result in negative impacts on relationships or needs.

Transformation

As a werewolf, you are not required to wait for a full moon to transform into a wolf-beast. You may do so at any time with the Transform self-interaction. In a flash, your Sim explodes into their wolf form. When in wolf form, your movements are low and exaggerated, just like you would expect from a werewolf. You hunt and stalk just like a wild animal, sniffing out danger in the night.

When you transform into a wolf at your own discretion, you may also revert to human form at will—unless you happened to transform during a full moon. Then, you must remain in wolf form until the next phase of the lunar cycle. Sometimes, transforming back into human form results in the What Just Happened moodlet, which indicates disorientation.

However, sometimes you have no control over werewolf transformation. If you are caught out in human form when the lunar cycle goes into its full moon phase, you are automatically transformed into wolf form. During this time, you may not revert back to human form until the end of the full moon phase. Mood also triggers auto-transformation. If your Sim’s mood just tanks out, there is a chance they will switch into wolf form. Like the full moon-inspired transformation, this cannot be undone with a self-interaction. You must either reverse the terrible mood or just wait it out.

Lycanthropy Skill

Werewolves have a hidden skill: Lycanthropy. Like visible skills, Lycanthropy has 10 levels. The more time you spend in werewolf form and performing werewolf-specific interactions, the more you raise this hidden skill. Developing Lycanthropy has several benefits, especially related to transformation. The higher the skill level, the lower the chance of auto-transforming when mood is low or when the Sim has the Stressed Out moodlet. Raising this skill also increases your chance of finding collectibles while out gathering. (Pair the Gatherer trait with a werewolf Sim and you’ll sniff out the best ingredients!)

At level 3 of this skill, you unlock the Cursed Bite interaction. This is a social that werewolves can use on other Sims. It is not a friendly social—it has the Steamed STC and results in lost LTR. In fact, it plays out not unlike a fight. During the scuffle there is a chance you indeed sink your canines into your target Sim. The target then receives the Once Bitten, Twice Shy moodlet... and the target Sim becomes a werewolf on the next full moon.

If the social is rejected and your werewolf loses the fight, the target Sim actually bops your Sim on the nose with a rolled up newspaper. This also reduces LTR because the swat has the insulting STC.

So, though you cannot “see” the skill as it develops, there are rewards for specific levels:

  • Level 3: Sim is beginning to understand the Werewolves Curse. His/her feral werewolf instincts fill him/her with the desire to use the Cursed Bite on other Sims and transform them into werewolf pack mates!
  • Level 6: Being a werewolf has its perks. Fantastic scents dance all around your Sim! He/she can now use this ability to hunt for specific types of objects. (More on this shortly.)
  • Level 8: Sim gained a lot of control over his/her transformations! While the full moon will forever bring out the wolf, your Sim can resist transforming out of anger a bit more than before.
  • Level 10: Sim has reached his/her full potential as a werewolf! But that doesn’t mean your Sim’s feral journey has come to a close. Creating new packs, sniffing out new friends, and terrifying old enemies are in your Sim’s future. The hunt continues!

Hitting level 10 is great because the decreased decay in needs your werewolf experiences while in beast form are transferred over to human form, too!

Needs, Aging, & Relationship Perks

There are a wealth of perks to being a werewolf that affect the basic functions of a Sim. These perks affect daily functionality in a busy world, allowing you to get more done, be more efficient, and have stronger relationships. As you might imagine, there are caveats to all of those things, but after reviewing this list of perks, you may determine that—on the whole—the benefits to being a werewolf far outweigh the drawbacks (which we’ll get to in just a moment via the Complicating Matters section).

Werewolves age slower than human Sims—much slower. Yes, you can always adjust the lifespan of your Sims on your own via the Options menu, but if you are a purist and want to leave lifespans at default levels or at least not stretch them out into fantastical levels, the increased werewolf lifespan is a fascinating way to affect your narratives. Werewolves outliving normal or other supernatural Sims can set up some great stories—although there may be a touch of tragedy at play.

Werewolves develop the Athletic skill much faster than other Sims, even vampire Sims which also have a notably faster skill development perk. If you want your Sim to have a career, consider pairing a werewolf with the Professional Sports career or Law Enforcement. Their improved physical prowess will help them rack up promotions at a faster rate!

While in wolf form, werewolves benefit from decreased decay to basic needs. Energy, Bladder, and Fun needs dip at a noticeably slower rate. As a wolf, your stress is naturally lower, too. And activities that would increase stress and perhaps ding your Sim with the Stressed Out moodlet provide stress at a much slower rate.

It’s kind of a catch-22 here, because decayed needs like these can trigger terrible moods—which in turn can trigger transformation into wolf form... at which point these needs decay at a slower rate. So, while in wolf form, satisfy these needs so when you do switch back to human form, they remain at a fairly high level.

Hunt

One of the best perks of being a werewolf is the Hunt interaction, which is the reward for hitting level 3 of the hidden Lycanthropy skill. This interaction—available only in wolf-beast form—directs your Sim to begin searching a lot for collectibles. Once you reach level 6, you determine the collectibles via the picker when you choose to Hunt. You may choose to seek out insects, gems, and metals.

Once started, your Sim drops to all fours and leaps around the lot, sniffing out hidden collectibles that a human Sim simply cannot see. It’s quite a lot of fun to watch a Hunt, as your Sim rears back to howl before lunging about in search of secreted goodies. Your wolf Sim will paw and scratch at the ground, hopefully digging up some great collectibles. After several moments, the Hunt ends and you receive a message telling you what collectibles were found on the Hunt. The maximum number of collectibles you may find on a Hunt is four.

The Hunt satisfies more than just the need to seek out collectibles. Going on a Hunt is fun for a werewolf. However, it does expend Energy. Thankfully, because you are in wolf form, Energy drops slower than it would for a human Sim performing a similar strenuous activity.

You may also Hunt in your pack (if you’ve grouped up). Doing so does not necessarily result in more collectibles, but it does increase the chance of finding rare, valuable collectibles. Hunting in a pack increases the LTR with everybody, satisfies Fun and Social needs, and helps develop the Lycanthropy skill. (So does a solo Hunt, by the way.)

Forming a Pack (Grouping)

Werewolves have a natural camaraderie with other werewolves. Every positive social or interaction results in higher LTR. When you are playing out a fiction that involves a wolf pack (more on grouping soon), enhanced LTRs is an important perk. And these LTR perks are in effect whether you are in human form or beast form.

The inherent social nature of dogs—er, werewolves—leads to an actual pack mentality. It’s encouraged for werewolves to group up, or in the case of Supernatural , form a pack. Forming a Pack works similarly to grouping up, which was introduced in Late Night.

To form a pack, you need at least one other werewolf Sim with an acquaintance-level relationship. Click on that Sim and choose the Form Pack interaction. If the target of the invite accepts, they join the group. Alternately, you can use your mobile phone (found in the Inventory tab of the Status panel) to Invite Out other Sims, which also encourages them to join the pack. You can also use the phone to invite multiple Sims at the same time to form a pack. If one of the invitations is declined for whatever reason, a brief message pops up telling you which Sim could not join up. When Sims are invited (and accept) to form a pack, they report to the lot or venue with the inviter. A special plumb-bob appears over the heads of every werewolf in the pack.

When you are finished with the pack, click on your Sim and choose Disband Pack. Everybody is then sent on their way.

New Socials & Interactions

Human Form Interactions/Socials

  • Apologize for Becoming a Werewolf: This social is only available after the What Just Happened moodlet appears (following transformation back to a human). If accepted, it has a Friendly STC and increased LTR. If rejected by another Sim, it decreases LTR.
  • Joke about Shedding: This is a harmless, funny social.
  • Complain about the Werewolves Curse: The target of this social must be a werewolf Sim in human form, too. It has a Friendly STC and builds LTR if socially accepted by the target.

Werewolf Form Interactions/Socials

  • Sniff Inappropriately: This fun little social causes you to smell the other werewolf Sim (in wolf form) in a silly, suggestive manner. It has a Friendly STC and builds LTR.
  • Scratch: The new Scratch interaction directs your wolf-form Sim to use their claws on objects like tables, desks, sofas, rugs, and more. Doing so ruins the object but it is a lot of fun for the werewolf.
  • Growl At: This aggressive social directs your werewolf to bare their teeth at another Sim (or werewolf!). If successful, the target Sim will cower and get the Terrified moodlet. The actor enjoys the Amused moodlet. However, while mood goes up, LTR with the target goes down. And if you try this on somebody who is not amused, they may bonk you on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper. That also decreases LTR, but awards the actor with an Awkward STC.
  • Cursed Bite: As mentioned in the Lycanthropy skill section, this fight interaction can turn another Sim into a werewolf.
  • Hunt: Use the Hunt interaction to search the current lot for collectibles.
  • Howl at the Moon: This is such a fun self-interaction. Click on your wolf and select this interaction to arch your back and howl at the moon. Now, there is a slight chance this interaction will “fail” (though not with any consequence save for not developing the Lycanthropy skill) and result in a small coughing fit. If you Howl while in a pack, the other wolves will likely follow suit.

Pack Interactions/Socials

  • Hunt with Pack: Scour the current lot with the pack to dig up collectibles.
  • Go Here with Pack: Direct the pack to a specific location with this interaction.
  • Howl for Pack: Bring the pack in with this amazing loud howl.

Sim to Wolf-Form Werewolf Socials

  • Rub Belly: This social causes the actor to playfully rub a wolf’s belly. If accepted, the werewolf howls in delight and builds LTR with the actor. This is also Fun and satisfies the Social need. However, if it fails due to not being close enough to the werewolf, it’s an insulting gesture and results in lost LTR.
  • Compliment Fur: This social is very similar to Compliment Appearance. It doesn’t increase LTR or meet needs, but it’s a rather pleasant thing to say in passing.
  • Play Fetch: If you have Pets installed, you know how this works. The actor pulls out a stick and throws it for the werewolf. The wolf bounds after it and brings it back. Both Sims involved have Fun, satisfy Social needs, and increase LTR. If rejected, this can result in decreased LTR.
  • Whack on Nose: This is a very negative social to perform on a wolf-form werewolf. With a rolled-up newspaper, the actor bops the target Sim on the nose. This results in an LTR hit.
  • Ask for the Werewolves Curse: This social can trigger the Cursed Bite interaction from a werewolf. However, the actor must have at least a decent LTR with the target or else the wolf may turn its snout up at the invitation to pass along the curse.

Bottled Curse

If you want to turn a Sim into a werewolf but don’t want to go through the actions of finding a werewolf, raising LTR, and then asking for the Cursed Bite, you can either brew up the Bottled Curse of the Lycan (an elixir) or possibly find it for sale at the elixir shop. Like other elixirs, it can be imbibed outright by the actor, or it can be sneaked into a drink and given to an unsuspecting Sim that’s about to become very interested in the lunar cycle.

Varg’s Tavern

If you are interested in finding other werewolves in Moonlight Falls, Varg’s Tavern should always be your first stop. This rough-and-tumble tavern is where the wild things are. So, if you’re a werewolf looking for more of your own kind or an outsider looking for a way into the pack, push through the front door of Varg’s and mingle. If you’re ever unsure of a werewolf in human form, just pause the action and start checking out eyes.

Complicating Matters

So, all of this werewolf stuff sounds pretty good, right? Well, there are some things you need to be aware of about the werewolf lifestyle before plunging headfirst into the pack.

Negative Socials and Actions

Here’s the thing: not everybody in town is all that wild about werewolves—especially when werewolves are in beast form. The reason is that werewolves often take on aspects of the Inappropriate trait, such as knocking over trash cans and rummaging through the trash. It’s also likely that werewolves will, if left unattended, sniff other Sims inappropriately and scratch up furniture and belongings. This fails to amuse a lot of other Sims, so be warned. Idle hands are the werewolf’s playthings, it seems.

Traits

Some of the traits you assign in Create a Sim can have a negative impact on your werewolf’s lifestyle:

  • Commitment Issues: Werewolves with this trait will not benefit from the increased LTR that other werewolves share while in a pack together.
  • Grumpy, Hot-Headed, Mean Spirited, Inappropriate: These Sims will transform into beast-form against their will more often, especially when mood tanks. Plus, they will always turn into a wolf before getting in any sort of fight.
  • Insane: Every six hours, there is a chance an Insane werewolf will turn into a wolf against their will. They are then hit with the Feral Change moodlet.

Werewolf Families

In Create a Sim, you can assign the werewolf type to any age of Sim, starting from toddler up to elder. (More on babies in a moment.) Werewolf toddlers can only Howl, Scratch, and Practice Hunting. When they Practice Hunting, there is a tiny chance they will find an insect. The only autonomous werewolf behavior for toddlers is scratching.

Child werewolves start to embrace more of the werewolf lifestyle. They can transform at will, but the rest of their behaviors mirror the toddler werewolf. At teen, though, all werewolf socials and interactions are available.

If two werewolves mate, they always produce a werewolf baby. Werewolf babies exhibit no werewolf behaviors, but they do possess the golden eyes. If a werewolf and a human Sim WooHoo and have a baby, there is a 50 percent chance they will have a werewolf baby. And if a werewolf and other supernatural mate, the chance of the baby being either supernatural type is 50/50.