Werebears,[1] on Skellige known as berserkers,[2] are therianthropes who transform into bears or half-bears. As other such creatures, they are hardly hurt by steel but are still very vulnerable to silver.
Like other kinds of therianthropy, the "arctanthropy" can be acquired either as a result of a curse or inherited from werebear parents. However, it is likely that a bite from a werebear does not result in the victim becoming a werebear as well.[1][3][4] That said, on the Skellige Isles, a group of Svalblod worshipers called Vildkaarls invented another, "controllable" way of becoming a berserker. After a complicated ritual involving psilocybe mushrooms and what seemed to be allowing wild bears to eat the cultists alive, the fierce warriors used to rise and spill blood in the name of their god.
The bloodlust of Svalblod worshipers and their leader, jarl Knut the Callous, ultimately led the Islanders to banish the cult and destroy the sacred sites of the werebear god.[2][5]
Werebears are exceptionally strong, even tougher and more relentless than real bears.[2] It is possible that they enjoy the company of ursines, such as werewolves stick to canines, werecats to felids and wererats to murids.[3][4]
What is the difference between a werebear and a werewolf?
Werebears, or berserkers in Skellige, transform into bears or half-bears, resistant to steel but weak to silver. This condition, 'arctanthropy', can be obtained. Werewolves transform into wolves or half-wolves, also weak to silver. Their condition, 'lycanthropy', typically results from a curse. Werewolves transform involuntarily, often at full moon, and don't remember their actions in wolf form.
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How can one become a werebear according to the lore?
In the lore, becoming a werebear can occur via a curse or inheritance from werebear parents. A werebear bite is not typically transformative. A unique method exists on the Skellige Isles, where Vildkaarls, Svalblod worshipers, have devised a controllable transformation into a berserker using a complex ritual involving psilocybe mushrooms and wild bears.
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What makes werebears vulnerable to silver?
Werebears, part of the therianthrope group, are susceptible to silver, a characteristic shared with other supernatural beings such as werewolves and shapeshifters. Witchers often use silver weapons to fight these entities. The condition of being a werebear, also referred to as 'arctanthropy', can be a result of a curse or an inherited trait. Unlike some therianthropes, a werebear's bite doesn't typically transform the victim into a werebear.
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What is the significance of werebears in Skellige culture?
In Skellige culture, werebears or berserkers are therianthropes transforming into bears, a state called 'arctanthropy'. This can occur due to a curse, inheritance, or a controllable method by Svalblod worshipers, the Vildkaarls, involving a complex ritual with psilocybe mushrooms and wild bears. The School of the Bear, linked with werebears, ended after failing a vampire destruction contract.
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How does a werebear transformation differ from other forms of therianthropy?
Werebears, or berserkers in Skellige, are therianthropes capable of transforming into bears or half-bears. They differ from other therianthropes as they can control their transformation, not limited to the full moon. They are resistant to steel but vulnerable to silver. Werebears can live among humans or in isolation, and while they harbor grudges against different therianthropes, they tend to be friendly with the ani.
Now finish your soup, or a berserker'll come and swallow ye whole. – Skellige mother scolding a child.
Skellige legends speak of men known as berserkers who transform into bears when overwhelmed by battle rage. In doing so, they lose all self-awareness and are driven by a bloodlust which they must satiate in order to return to human form. Few believe these blood-curdling tales, however, not even in Skellige, where the inhabitants usually treat even the least probable legends with the utmost gravity. This indicates either that berserkers are in fact mere figments of mead-sodden imaginations, or else that they have learned to hide their abilities from the rest of the islanders.
The skalds' ballads indicate a berserker transformed in the heat of battle cannot be distinguished from a true-born bear. Only minute anatomical details - such as the shape of their tongues and teeth - reveal their secret. Descriptions of their fighting prowess paint them as invulnerable to pain and able to heal any wound received almost at once.
If these men-turned-bears truly do exist, one can suppose that, like werewolves and lycanthropes, they are particularly vulnerable to oils that harm cursed creatures. But if we are to give credence to ancient songs about these creatures' deeds, about the mass murders and massacres they have committed, we can only hope that no witcher will have to test this hypothesis.
Combat tactics
A berserker starts out as a human, when filled with the rage of battle, it transforms into a berserker (a form of bear). While in human form, steel swords along with Hanged Man's Venom will work well against them, as well as any tactics learned while fighting other humans. However, once they are transformed into their bear form, a silver sword, that has been tainted with cursed oil, will work best.
Beyond the anatomical differences, a berserker's bear form should be treated just like fighting a true-born bear, save that these bears are much tougher, more relentless and harder to kill. If you have spent time improving your ignisign, the Melt Armor ability will come in real handy here.
Oddly, berserkers can sometimes be found wandering around Kaer Morhen. They looks like regular bears and are labelled as "Bear" above their health bar, but their health bars are silver, they're sensitive to silver swords, and they drop Berserker hide upon death.
