It is an ancient, fearsome curse that can transform the most civilized humanoid into a ravening beast. In its natural humanoid form, those cursed by lycanthropy will appear almost normal, though a bit more aggressive. As time passes, though, lycanthropes begin to develop features that suggest their animal form. In the animal form, a lycanthrope resembles a dire version of a normal animal.
You've been bitten, and you failed your saving throw (or you accepted the curse). Now the necrotic virus has seeped into your blood, and you can feel the changes within. They aren't immediate, but take a couple days before you even notice a difference. At first, its the dreams, lucid adventures in your sleep of hunting, of killing, of eating the warm flesh of your kill. You might even wake with a howl, or a growl. Then, 1d4+1 days after you were bitten, just when you've started to forget about the wound as it scabs over and begins to heal, the first outward signs become apparent. You can detect scents better than you could before, especially the aroma of living creatures. You have a taste for that flesh, the bloodier the better. You can hear better too, which is quite unnerving until you get used to it.
Only the following carry the "were" curse: Wolves, Bears, Jackals, Boar, Rats, Bat, Badgers, Panthers, and Tigers. You can also be cursed by a Seal, though these are known as Selkie. These are still lycan creatures. A person can only contract one of these curses, after which they are immune to other "lycan" curses. Whichever curse you have contracted, the following apply in every case:
- Keen Hearing and Smell. A lycan has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell. You gain a bonus of+2 to your passive perception
- You have a +5 bonus to your walking speed.
- You gain a +2 bonus to your Constitution ability score. (No upper limit)
- You gain darkvision out to 60 feet, or an additional 60 feet if you already possess it.
- Damage Immunities: While in hybrid or beast form, piercing and/or slashing from non-magical, metal weapons that are not silvered.
- Damage resistance: While in humanoid form, piercing and/or slashing from non-magical, metal weapons that are not silvered.
- Silvered Weapons: Damage (piercing or slashing only) sustained from weapons that contain silver will cause you an extra 5 points of burning damage on a successful hit.
- Shapechanger: One cursed with the lycan blood can use its action to polymorph into a beast-humanoid hybrid or into a dire version of the animal itself, or back into its humanoid form. Its statistics are the same in or humanoid form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying is NOT transformed. The lycan creature reverts to its humanoid form if it dies or goes unconscious. A lycan can only remain in the hybrid form for 4 rounds before it must change back to humanoid form, or change to the beast. In beast form, your stats are those of the dire version of your beast. One who is cursed with lycanthropy can choose to change only once during daylight hours, but can remain in that form as long as they wish. During the hours between sunset and sunrise, a character may change twice. Damage sustained while in beast or hybrid form is only halved when changing back to humanoid, unlike cases of polymorphing or wild shaping. If a character goes below zero hit points while in hybrid or beast form, they will automatically change back to humanoid form and gain back hit points equal to half the damage they have sustained while changed, but they will be unconscious and immobile for 2 rounds.
- Full Moon: During the night of a full moon, from an hour after sunset until an hour before sunrise, a change is forced upon one cursed with lycanthropy and they will assume the hybrid form. A player must roll a WIS save (DC is 25-levels). Failing the save, the hybrid will act like a wild beast without any control from the player. The hybrid is most likely to run for whatever is their beast's natural environment, but will attack if cornered or provoked. It will also hunt as a wild animal. With a successful WIS save, the character will fully change into the beast form and will retain control of themselves.
In humanoid form, a lycan moves, attacks and defends as much as it did before it was cursed. In the hybrid form, if your beast is capable of flight, you will not be able to perform this action.
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