They’re not the same animal, btw.
Wolves are not dogs, nor coyotes. I would say coyotes are more similar to some dogs. There’s also a lovely breed we refer to locally as “coydogs,” meaning coyotes have bred with local farm dogs. Wikipedia is listed below for each.
Wolves: More Information.
Coyotes: More Information. Coyotes are more similar to jackals than wolves. They can intermix with wolves. Coyotes tend to be mostly found in North America. They are generally smaller than wolves and don’t group up into packs as frequently. Coyote packs tend to be familial and don’t usually group up to attack larger animals.
Coydog: More Information
Content Warning: Animals, Cannibalism, Gore, Mutilation, Murder.
Horror TTRPG plot ideas:
Plot Idea 1: The group has stumbled upon a coyote stuck in a large steel trap while in the woods during a brutal paranormal murder investigation. It looks sad and not at all hostile. She seems to be begging for help. Not only would helping her gain the group some positives in the short term, but earn them a valuable ally in the future.
Three ghoulish wendigo, flesh-eating cannibals that have stalked hikers and campers in the woods for years, have begun hunting as a pack. A survivor, Jim from Iowa, managed to get a picture of them with his phone in very poor lighting. He is planning to expose the “werewolves” as soon as the funeral for his mother and his wife are over.
The group will have their hands full of wendigo encounters if they stay in the woods, which of course they will want to if they choose to hunt the wendigo. If they get in trouble and need assistance, a beautiful woman will appear seemingly out of nowhere and assist them with powerful spirit magic. As soon as she is no longer needed, she will vanish. When the dust settles and the wendigo are secured, contained. and the public is protected once more; the group will hear the cry of a coyote off in the distance. (*Yeah. It was the coyote from earlier.)
Plot idea 2: Jimmy from Wyoming was out ‘Squatchin when he had three separate instances happen in one trip. He captured an orb sighting his first night out. The second night he captured what appeared to be a gigantic black wolf, that stood shoulder height to an average man. Finally, he picked up what appeared to be a flying saucer picking up what appeared to be a sasquatch on the fifth night. Details of nights three and four are fuzzy and Jimmy’s electronics went out early on those two nights.
Jimmy also captured what appeared to be a “cursed” trail cam image of a bipedal ghostly being with the head of a wolf and the hind legs of a deer. He released that image before beginning the expedition to the Thomson Ranch in Wyoming. Local ranchers have had issues for years on and off. Most recently it was this ghostly image and a couple of “bigfoot” sightings.
If the Investigators are watching paranormal news regularly, they will hear of this story. Otherwise it will be passed onto them by one of their friends who is paying attention. They might want to go rescue Jimmy before he tries to upload the other videos to the internet because we all know what will happen if he puts the information out and certain government agencies or privately held foundations get a hold of it.
There is also a lot of fun to be had involving this case if the Investigators are inclined to chase phenomena themselves. The Thomson family are part of a very old secret society that goes back over a century in Europe. The native Americans in the region speak of legends revolving around sasquatch and lights in the night sky. Records go back decades of encounters with large wolves on the ranch, but none of them indicate a capture or kill.
Plot idea 3. Rumors make it around to the group about some sort of apex predator being spotted on local ring cams and security cameras. It appears to be a man in some sort of dog mask. Not like a werewolf, but more like Droopy the cartoon dog or a St Bernard Halloween mask.
Normally the police would write it off as a crazy college prank or some sort of insanity, but people are being injured. Attacks are becoming more frequent to the point where the town has issued an 11:00 PM-5:00 AM curfew citywide. At least two innocent victims have been killed and one is currently in a coma. There are also several homeless people and others who have refused to come forward claiming to have been attacked by a stray dog or mountain lion.
A local man, Jim, ran afoul of a powerful witch following a bad break-up and was cursed to have the head of a dog at sunset. Insatiable hunger comes with the dog’s head. Unfortunately, one of Jim’s first kills was a rabid animal. Jim is too poor for insurance, unfortunately, so his brain is slowly being eaten by the disease, but the curse keeps him from dying as a result.
The local mainstream news is calling Jim a werewolf. The group is going to have to stop or slay Jim before he can strike again. Jim will work his way through his local suburb before beginning to rampage through another area. Happy hunting.
Thanks for stopping by. More tomorrow. Stay safe.
Jeff's Game Box 