I am running a homebrew campaign set in the Eberron world, where Lycanthropes have been essentially eradicated by the Order of the Silver Flame. As a secondary plot, a midlevel Vidage in the Cabinet of Faces has concocted a potion of Lycanthropy that allows people to temporarily and immediately take on lycanthropic traits, except for being able to spread the disease (this set is a group of religious zealots trying to restore the Traveler's "children", and sow the chaos they think that the traveler desires). One of my PCs wants to take the potion. Trying to figure out the best side effects. The Cabinet members have a lot of silver weaponry, but it is still a major boost. Current ideas:
The potion is extremely addictive (he knows this already): Progressively harder will saves to be able to resist taking more, or becoming so desperate for the potion that they compromise values. The day after taking the potion, if he does not take another he will have two levels of exhaustion, one level the day after that.
Wisdom save for the "full moon effect", with him at least semi- out of control of his character
The Cabinet members have added something to the potion that makes him vulnerable to domination that comes from the Doppelgangers' telepathic talents.
I don't think that addiction and withdrawal mechanics are a good idea for this. You want to make sure it's still possible for the party member to have a change of heart and realize the error of their ways and stop drinking the potion. Lycanthropy is a set of strong buffs: the damage immunities, the strength and speed increases, and the bonus to AC. There should be a strong disincentive for using this potion, otherwise it just won't make sense to not use it.
I think the best disincentive, and one that's traditional for lycanthropy, is losing control of your character. When a party member first takes this potion, have them make a DC 5 Wisdom saving throw. If they succeed, they get all the buffs for the time period, and they feel like a bad-ass. They'll want to use it again. Every time they use the potion in the future, increase the DC by 5 each time. If they fail their saving throw, they lose control of their character for the time period. As DM, have the party member who is now an out-of-control werewolf attack the party members.
I'd encourage you to take control of the character entirely during this time period. If you let the party member who drank it control this bad-ass werewolf attacking the party, the other players might more strongly associate the actions of the out-of-control werewolf with the player who chose to drank the potion. They'll already be pissed. At least make it clear that you are the one in control when their character is attacking the party.
You haven't mentioned how long the potion's effects last for. I'd recommend 1 minute. That's long enough to be useful for your villainous NPCs to get the buffs for an entire combat, but it's short enough that if a party member loses control, the party can wait it out.
Obviously take all this advice with a grain of salt. I'm very much a fan of the idea that lycanthropy causes people to lose control (so much so, that in my current homebrew setting, lycanthropy is literal possession by a demon). I'm not totally sure what the history of lycanthropy in Eberron is, but my understanding is that it's even more reviled than in the Forgotten Realms. You might find this blog post by Keith Baker (the creator of Eberron) helpful for your campaign: http://keith-baker.com/dragonmarks-lycanthropes/
If the player is good roleplay, you technically don't have to take control of the character. Just take him a side the first time he fails the Wisdom Save and explain what happens. Then let him have fun. It is sometimes "fun" to play the bad guy.
We've been communicating. He hasn't taken the drink yet, but he really really wants to. Trying to figure out what he could and could not know before he imbibes.
Two of my players were possessed last session, I gave them each their Spirit's Personality Trait, Ideals, Bonds and Flaws and said they can role play the possession how they see fit based on those. I'm excited to see their performances!
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I am running a homebrew campaign set in the Eberron world, where Lycanthropes have been essentially eradicated by the Order of the Silver Flame. As a secondary plot, a midlevel Vidage in the Cabinet of Faces has concocted a potion of Lycanthropy that allows people to temporarily and immediately take on lycanthropic traits, except for being able to spread the disease (this set is a group of religious zealots trying to restore the Traveler's "children", and sow the chaos they think that the traveler desires). One of my PCs wants to take the potion. Trying to figure out the best side effects. The Cabinet members have a lot of silver weaponry, but it is still a major boost. Current ideas:
The potion is extremely addictive (he knows this already): Progressively harder will saves to be able to resist taking more, or becoming so desperate for the potion that they compromise values. The day after taking the potion, if he does not take another he will have two levels of exhaustion, one level the day after that.
Wisdom save for the "full moon effect", with him at least semi- out of control of his character
The Cabinet members have added something to the potion that makes him vulnerable to domination that comes from the Doppelgangers' telepathic talents.
Any other ideas would be welcome. Thank you
Fenchurch, Gnome Wizard, Red Skies in Mourning
I don't think that addiction and withdrawal mechanics are a good idea for this. You want to make sure it's still possible for the party member to have a change of heart and realize the error of their ways and stop drinking the potion. Lycanthropy is a set of strong buffs: the damage immunities, the strength and speed increases, and the bonus to AC. There should be a strong disincentive for using this potion, otherwise it just won't make sense to not use it.
I think the best disincentive, and one that's traditional for lycanthropy, is losing control of your character. When a party member first takes this potion, have them make a DC 5 Wisdom saving throw. If they succeed, they get all the buffs for the time period, and they feel like a bad-ass. They'll want to use it again. Every time they use the potion in the future, increase the DC by 5 each time. If they fail their saving throw, they lose control of their character for the time period. As DM, have the party member who is now an out-of-control werewolf attack the party members.
I'd encourage you to take control of the character entirely during this time period. If you let the party member who drank it control this bad-ass werewolf attacking the party, the other players might more strongly associate the actions of the out-of-control werewolf with the player who chose to drank the potion. They'll already be pissed. At least make it clear that you are the one in control when their character is attacking the party.
You haven't mentioned how long the potion's effects last for. I'd recommend 1 minute. That's long enough to be useful for your villainous NPCs to get the buffs for an entire combat, but it's short enough that if a party member loses control, the party can wait it out.
Obviously take all this advice with a grain of salt. I'm very much a fan of the idea that lycanthropy causes people to lose control (so much so, that in my current homebrew setting, lycanthropy is literal possession by a demon). I'm not totally sure what the history of lycanthropy in Eberron is, but my understanding is that it's even more reviled than in the Forgotten Realms. You might find this blog post by Keith Baker (the creator of Eberron) helpful for your campaign: http://keith-baker.com/dragonmarks-lycanthropes/
Jazz Jungle Japes is Best Jungle Japes
This is helpful. I'm not super comfortable taking away a character, but I will try to work with this. Thanks!
Fenchurch, Gnome Wizard, Red Skies in Mourning
If the player is good roleplay, you technically don't have to take control of the character. Just take him a side the first time he fails the Wisdom Save and explain what happens. Then let him have fun. It is sometimes "fun" to play the bad guy.
We've been communicating. He hasn't taken the drink yet, but he really really wants to. Trying to figure out what he could and could not know before he imbibes.
Fenchurch, Gnome Wizard, Red Skies in Mourning
Two of my players were possessed last session, I gave them each their Spirit's Personality Trait, Ideals, Bonds and Flaws and said they can role play the possession how they see fit based on those. I'm excited to see their performances!