☾ THE WEREWOLF CURSE
"Beware the woods when the mist descends, for some things that howl in the darkness were once men."
In the land of Barovia, where the fog clings to the earth and the dead do not always rest, there are curses far older than the devil Strahd himself. Lycanthropy is one such affliction: a savage inheritance passed through blood and bite, binding mortal flesh to the merciless hunger of the wolf. When the curse takes hold, the afflicted may assume the form of a powerful wolf, its eyes gleaming with a terrible intelligence. More dreadful still is the hybrid form: a hulking, furred monstrosity with the frame of a warrior and the head of a ravening wolf. It is a creature of tooth, claw, and unrestrained fury.
Yet the true horror of lycanthropy is not the monster it creates, but the person it leaves trapped within. Every wound threatens to loosen the beast's chains. Every moment of rage brings it closer to the surface. And beneath the cold gaze of Barovia's dark lord, even the strongest will may eventually break.
PLAYER CHARACTERS AS LYCANTHROPES
A character cursed with lycanthropy retains their normal statistics except as specified below. In wolf or hybrid form, the character gains the benefits described here. Natural attacks use Strength for their attack and damage rolls. The character cannot speak, cast spells, or concentrate on spells while in wolf form.
BENEFITS OF THE CURSE
Speed. Your normal speed is unchanged. In wolf form, your walking speed becomes 40 feet.
Damage Immunities. You are immune to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered.
Keen Hearing and Smell. You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
Supernatural Strength. Your Strength score increases by 2. This increase has no maximum.
Natural Armor. While in wolf form, your Armor Class becomes 16, regardless of the armor you wear.
Primal Vitality. When you transform into wolf form, you gain temporary hit points equal to twice your character level. These temporary hit points disappear when you leave wolf form. Temporary hit points do not stack; use whichever amount is higher.
NATURAL WEAPONS
While in wolf or hybrid form, you can attack with your natural weapons. When you take the Attack action, you can make two claw attacks and one bite attack. These attacks use Strength for their attack and damage rolls, and you are proficient with them.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: Reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 3d4 + your Strength modifier slashing damage.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: Reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 1d12 + your Strength modifier piercing damage.
Divine Smite. If you have the Divine Smite feature, you can expend a spell slot to use it when you hit a creature with a claw attack, following the normal rules for Divine Smite. Your bite cannot be used to deliver Divine Smite.
THE BEAST WITHIN
Unwilling Transformation. Whenever you take 30 or more damage during a single turn, or your current hit points fall below half your hit point maximum, you must make a Constitution saving throw to resist transforming into wolf form.
Saving Throw DC. 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier.
Success. You retain control and can choose not transform from that trigger.
Failure. You immediately transform into wolf form. You remain in this form until you regain control, the DM determines the curse has subsided, or another effect ends the transformation.
You make this saving throw only once per turn, even if both triggers occur. Your equipment merges into your new form.
FRENZY OF THE BEAST
Blood-Soaked Fury. While in wolf form, if you take 15 or more damage during a single turn, or your current hit points fall to one-quarter of your hit point maximum or lower, you must make a Wisdom saving throw with a DC of half the damage taken, or 10 (which ever is the highest).
Success. You maintain control of your actions.
Failure. You enter a frenzy. At the start of each of your turns, you must attack a randomly determined creature you can reach with your natural weapons, including allies if they are valid targets. You must use your available attacks against that creature before choosing any other target.
No Creature in Reach. You must move toward the nearest creature you can perceive by the most direct available route and attack it if you can reach it that turn.
While frenzied, you cannot willingly end your turn without attempting to attack a creature if one is available to you. At the end of each of your turns, you can repeat the Wisdom saving throw, ending the frenzy on a success. The DM determines random targets if multiple creatures are equally valid.
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