Skyrim: Can You Become a Werebear?

You’re probably aware that werewolves exist in Skyrim, they are a huge part of the Companions questline, and if you plan on finishing it and assuming the place of Harbinger of the Companions you’re going to have to become one as well. Lycanthropes are nothing new when it comes to the Elder Scrolls universe, as you have a chance to run into them all the time while you’re exploring the wilds. One type of lycanthrope added with the Dragonborn expansion that you can run into is werebear. Having said that, the fans are wondering, can you become a werebear in Skyrim? 

What are werebears in Skyrim? 

Werebears are lycanthropes that were introduced with Dragonborn expansion. They can be found throughout the isle of Solstheim. They can assume two forms, that of a regular person and the form of a werebear. While in werebear form, they resemble hulking bears naturally and they are going to react aggressively to you. 

In human form, however, they look like regular Nord males and often wander the land clad in trousers only. Upon dying, werebears drop honey, honeycomb, and human flesh. All items are frequently associated with bears and their sources of food. 

Where can you find werebears in Skyrim? 

You can find werebears on the isle of Solstheim, a new area introduced with Dragonborn DLC. You can find them roaming the coldest parts of the isle, but your biggest chance of running into them is near Snowclad Ruins. A whole pack of werebears inhabits that general area and more often than not, they will attack you on sight.  

Filial bonds – hunting down a werebear 

There is a quest associated with one named werebear in the game. The quest in question is “Filial Bonds.” While you’re wandering the Skaal Village, you will run into an NPC named Wulf Wild-Blood. Wulf will tell you the tragic story of his brother Torkild, who disappeared many years ago. He seems to be convinced that Torkild has gotten into some bad company and has turned into a werebear. Skaal have many names and many tales associated with the monstrosities, however, Wulf wants you to locate his brother Torkild alive preferably. 

This will be harder than you think since Torkild can be just about anywhere. Hopefully, there are some locations that he frequents more often than others. Those locations are 

• Glacial Cave 
• The plateau between Northshore Landing and Bristleback Cave
• between Benkongerike and Haknir’s Shoal

Once you locate Torkild if you try to engage him in the dialogue he will turn hostile and attack you. You will be forced to kill him as soon as he turns into a werebear. After you’ve killed Torkild loot the letter from his corpse and return to Wulf in Skaal Village. Even though his brother perished tragically he will still be grateful enough for your trouble to train you in several combat skills, raising them by 1 point. 

There’s a chance that you will run into Torkild before you have the chance to talk to Wulf, in that case, he will still react aggressively toward you and you will still be able to loot a letter from his corpse and deliver it to Wulf.  

You can also run into Torkild’s dead body, since something managed to kill him before you did, in that case, you can loot the letter as well and deliver it to Wulf. 

Can you become a werebear in Skyrim? 

You cannot become a werebear in Skyrim, you can only turn into a werewolf. But you can learn a spell to summon one. This powerful ability is added to you after you activate and cleanse yourself by using the Beast stone. Summon werebear power is available once a day and lasts 60 seconds. Once used, the power disappears from the magic menu and the only way to re-acquire it is to cleanse yourself and the beast stone again. 

You can unlock this power only after you’ve finished “Cleansing the Stones” quest which is a part of the main Dragonborn storyline. The quest involves using your newly-acquired shout “Bend Wil” to cleanse the stones from Miraak’s influence. Once you cleanse all the stones, you will be able to return to them and acquire a specific power from every stone.

Is there a mod that allows you to turn into a Werebear? 

There is a mod that allows you that, it’s called Moonlight Tales Special Edition – Werewolf and Werebear Overhaul and you can download it from this link.  In short, this mod not only allows you to transform into a werebear it also overhauls the existing werewolf transformation systems. 

It’s a pretty neat mod if you think that the current lycanthropy system is too limiting and you would like a more detailed experience. 

Conclusion

While Skyrim doesn’t allow you to turn into werebears you can always run into them while you’re wandering Solstheim. Be careful what you wish for though, as they will be aggressive toward you and you will be forced to eliminate them. Werebears are pretty minor characters and there’s only one quest related to them and a pretty inconsequential one at that. If you want to leave the limitation of vanilla Skyrim behind you, you can always download a mod that provides you with the ability to take on the form of a werebear, we’ve provided you with the link above. 

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!