So I personally love the change between the 2014L Lycanthropy and the 2024. It's simpler, can be used to be a very sneaky curse your players may not discover till a devastating boss fight or important moment, it just feels better.... in writing.
soon I will be using a small herd of wereboars stuck in their boar forms as an encounter. If a player gets infected by Lycanthropy and their hitpoints hit 0, it states their characters are then controlled by the DM, but it doesn't state when Dm control ends.
and before you answer, "you as DM have power over that." I get that, but thats not the question, if ran as written, do they loose their characters till the curse is removed which could be forever?
Well, it's presumably expected to follow the general guidelines for cursed creatures, which they leave pretty open so as a DM you're expected to use your judgment, but yes, as written there is no time limit on loss of control. Typical narratives for an unwilling lycanthrope have them only turn to a beast for three nights per month (at the full moon) so it's reasonable to have them play normally the rest of the time, but the rules don't include any particular advice.
Lycanthropy is one of those things where peoples' expectations are all over the place. Some people want it to be a cool upgrade to their character, some people want it to be a debilitating, adventuring-career-ending curse, some people want it to basically just be the character they always had but every in-game month the player spends 30 seconds at the table saying "I am tied up in the cellar for 3 days." I still think they copped out a bit this time around, but I can sympathize with the struggle to find a solution that will make the fewest people angry. More often then not, it's left to the DM to figure out.
Lycanthropy is one of those things where peoples' expectations are all over the place. Some people want it to be a cool upgrade to their character, some people want it to be a debilitating, adventuring-career-ending curse, some people want it to basically just be the character they always had but every in-game month the player spends 30 seconds at the table saying "I am tied up in the cellar for 3 days." I still think they copped out a bit this time around, but I can sympathize with the struggle to find a solution that will make the fewest people angry. More often then not, it's left to the DM to figure out.
To be fair, all three of those are bad options without further complexity
Giving characters a massive power boost that's entirely outside the normal level and magic item scaling of the game is not good for a campaign.
Permanently removing characters from play is essentially the same as perma-death, which also doesn't work super well.
Spending three nights a month locked in a cellar is not a big deal... but is also pretty boring.
A clean (but more complicated) fix is having a way to cure it, but also having a lycanthrope class or subclass that allows the people who want cool lycanthropic powers to have cool lycanthropic powers without creating grotesque balance issues (this also applies to other potentially infectious conditions, such as vampirism).
Yeah I was just throwing them out to illustrate the range of opinions I've heard. I was not suggesting them as solutions.
Theoretically I like having a quest to find a cure, with the coming full moon as a ticking clock. But I'd also go with the Blood Hunter Lycan if the player wanted a stable werewolf character.
Yeah I was just throwing them out to illustrate the range of opinions I've heard. I was not suggesting them as solutions.
Theoretically I like having a quest to find a cure, with the coming full moon as a ticking clock. But I'd also go with the Blood Hunter Lycan if the player wanted a stable werewolf character.
and before you answer, "you as DM have power over that." I get that, but thats not the question, if ran as written, do they loose their characters till the curse is removed which could be forever?
"Under the DM's control" and "lose your character" are not necessarily synonyms. Per the DMG ("NPCs as Party Members") you can delegate decisions about an NPC's actions to a player any time you want, but also any time you want, you can override their decisions to reflect the NPC's motivations. In the case of a lycanthrope under your control, you can have the player control them during the day and then override them at night until they or the party figures out what's going on, at which point they will probably begin looking for a cure, at least during their waking hours, and until they find one they can choose to allow themselves to be tied up at night a scatterbraind suggested.
I getcha, with the 2014 version I honestly hated the mechanics, and every time i'd run a new game, I would have at least 1 player being like "please may I be a Lycanthrope!" eventually I redesigned shifters to be the Lycanthrope Lineage because it was easier then dealing with a player drugged up on moon nip.
While I agree 2024 is coped out, I like it mechanically and at least now its understandable by rules how Lycanthropy is a genuine problem, or would be in a dnd fantasy game.
1. Even a commoner can be inflicted with it pretty easily now. As it doesn't activate till 0 hitpoints. SO a commoner could go down, then turn right then. This would make mass inflictions possible, making it more a virus feel then a curse.
2. It's a pretty easy to hide curse, so those afflicted by it may change personality wise but wont really need to transform unless they are horribly hurt.
Lycanthropes got nerfed too, so your players probably won't be clamoring to become one anymore, and even if one gets into a village the commoners and other NPCs have a decent shot of taking it down. They're not immune to non-silver weapons anymore, silvered weapons get a crit bonus against them but that's it. So Ma and Pa Gale can rally the town militia. grab the pitchforks and the hunting bow, and set the dogs on him, and they'll have a pretty good shot of driving him off now. And even if somebody else gets dropped by the werewolf first, it's a DC 12 save to avoid turning - even a commoner is going to make that 45% of the time, so it's every other commoner at best.
Well, yes and no. They aren't immune to nonmagical non-silver weapons any more, which eliminates most of the reasons for PCs to want to turn into one, but their other combat stats are way higher, so against a party that doesn't have half of its members useless because they don't have silver weapons they're more dangerous.
Well, yes and no. They aren't immune to nonmagical non-silver weapons any more, which eliminates most of the reasons for PCs to want to turn into one, but their other combat stats are way higher, so against a party that doesn't have half of its members useless because they don't have silver weapons they're more dangerous.
They were brought in line with their CR I'd say. You compare them to something else in CR 3 like an Owlbear and in 2014 they're way off (numbers-wise they're MUCH weaker, likely because WotC over-budgeted based on their immunity), while the 2024 versions are eminently closer together. and will result in a more consistent play experience.
A lot of folks over the many years have asked to play a lycanthrope at some point in a game of mine, and among the more interesting examples of it was a time when we played MSHAS with all the heroes being werecreatures.
Lycanthropy (and Vampirism) are among the things that a DM needs to consider early on when worldbuilding -- both just as a general concept for their world, but also for how those things interact with Player Characters. The big issue is how everyone sees them, and how they are structured in the world. A common fantasy trope is two moons, and accounting for their effect (often it is one moon is in charge) can be interesting, and then also the concept of how lycanthropy is seen.
I like were creatures, but my current setting is one where Lycanthropy is a devastating curse (and one set up for a future story is the search for a cure, which does not presently exist) that slowly destroys the mind of the cursed, rendering them a large predatory creature (and they are always predatory). Part of this is because the setting draws on older (prior to 1900) concepts of lycanthropy -- not stuff that many folks today are familiar with.
So, the rules for it in the books are based on gameplay aspects and a more modern way of thinking about lycanthropy -- and because it is an issue that does divide people pretty strongly, alongside Vampirism, the use of family members from backstories, and other issues, there is no way to really commit to a single fixed resolution that will meet the "70%" threshold that they work off.
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Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities .-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-. An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more. Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I like the changes too. When I first started playing D&D, we were hunting werewolves at low levels (no magical gear) and while in their bunker, one of them bit our fighter. He failed the save and, gaining immunity and still in full control of himself, he just wedged himself in the doorway to the room full of werewolves with no other exit, and the spellcasters (me and one other) just shot over the werewolf/fighter's head and pelted the enemies until they all died. A dangerous fight became a breeze. Under the new rules, that fight would have been entirely different.
I think the question that you have to ask yourself along with "What are the rules as written?" is "what would my players like?" Cause, imma be honest, if a DM took a character i was attached to away from me permanently, I would not play with them again, and i ain't the only player that feels that way. But then, there are tons of players who would really dig that, and i might even go for it if i knew that going in.
You know what the rules say. There is some vagueness that is up to you to adjudicate. It isn't us who you should be asking how to handle it. Talk to your table. Making sure you are all on the same page is as important as knowing the rules.
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He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
So I personally love the change between the 2014L Lycanthropy and the 2024. It's simpler, can be used to be a very sneaky curse your players may not discover till a devastating boss fight or important moment, it just feels better.... in writing.
soon I will be using a small herd of wereboars stuck in their boar forms as an encounter. If a player gets infected by Lycanthropy and their hitpoints hit 0, it states their characters are then controlled by the DM, but it doesn't state when Dm control ends.
and before you answer, "you as DM have power over that." I get that, but thats not the question, if ran as written, do they loose their characters till the curse is removed which could be forever?
First RAW -
Failure: The target is cursed. If the cursed target drops to 0 Hit Points, it instead becomes a Werewolf under the DM’s control and has 10 Hit Points.
As the forever DM-
For that combat, session, that would count as a Player death, I would allow the player to "PVP" using a 10HP Werewolf so they had something to do on their turns. After combat, I would give the players a few options if the cursed player character survived.
1: Attempt to Cure the curse. With the character having to be restrained or someway made safe at night.
2: lean into self controlling the curse...ie make a new player character based on the old one with "Werewolf" as the species. I would homebrew based on Lineages, they would get bite and claw attacks (with the save from werewolves) and basically they could pick which lineage feels right for their character, but we would call it a werewolf. (Note Werewolf is just the example species, any of the were creatures could work with this)
I think the question that you have to ask yourself along with "What are the rules as written?" is "what would my players like?" Cause, imma be honest, if a DM took a character i was attached to away from me permanently, I would not play with them again, and i ain't the only player that feels that way. But then, there are tons of players who would really dig that, and i might even go for it if i knew that going in.
You know what the rules say. There is some vagueness that is up to you to adjudicate. It isn't us who you should be asking how to handle it. Talk to your table. Making sure you are all on the same page is as important as knowing the rules.
So the big way im planning to run it in my game is simple. You get infected, it only shows its self when you reach 0 hitpoints or when a vice of the curse shows its self. Werebear: protect the wilds, Wereboar: Greed, Wererat: crime, WereTiger: Crescent Moon, Werewolf: Full moon, although transformation wont be forced unless they hit 0 hitpoints. Only feelings will arise when their vise is brought forth.
When a player transforms into a lycanthrope, depending on the lycan will depend if it stays in the fight. All Lycans excluding the bear will leave, as their base beast instincts will tell them to leave to go heal, werebears will stay and fight voluntarily. However if a Lycanthropes vice is near them (such as a pile of gold for the wereboar, or its a full or crescent moon for the weretiger or wolf.) they will stay and go berserk attack friend and foe alike.
When the lycanthrope takes a long rest they will revert to their original self, forced to look back at the deeds of their transformation.
I think the question that you have to ask yourself along with "What are the rules as written?" is "what would my players like?" Cause, imma be honest, if a DM took a character i was attached to away from me permanently, I would not play with them again, and i ain't the only player that feels that way. But then, there are tons of players who would really dig that, and i might even go for it if i knew that going in.
You know what the rules say. There is some vagueness that is up to you to adjudicate. It isn't us who you should be asking how to handle it. Talk to your table. Making sure you are all on the same page is as important as knowing the rules.
So the big way im planning to run it in my game is simple. You get infected, it only shows its self when you reach 0 hitpoints or when a vice of the curse shows its self. Werebear: protect the wilds, Wereboar: Greed, Wererat: crime, WereTiger: Crescent Moon, Werewolf: Full moon, although transformation wont be forced unless they hit 0 hitpoints. Only feelings will arise when their vise is brought forth.
When a player transforms into a lycanthrope, depending on the lycan will depend if it stays in the fight. All Lycans excluding the bear will leave, as their base beast instincts will tell them to leave to go heal, werebears will stay and fight voluntarily. However if a Lycanthropes vice is near them (such as a pile of gold for the wereboar, or its a full or crescent moon for the weretiger or wolf.) they will stay and go berserk attack friend and foe alike.
When the lycanthrope takes a long rest they will revert to their original self, forced to look back at the deeds of their transformation.
Ok, cool. Now tell that to your players and see if they are alright with it. Cause, that was what i was getting at. Talk to your table. ( If your table reads these forums and your response was your message to them as well as me then all good. )
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He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
Well, it says that they become a were-creature under dm control. I would personally allow them control when not in were-creature mode. In most of the descriptions, it details some circumstances where a lycanthrope changes involuntarily (classic: full moon).
Bingo.after the initial change brought on by the bite, the player seems fine UNTIL...
Kind of allows some fun with it. Then, if the player wants to gain some control of their bestial nature, you could consider barbarian levels (path of the beast of you want it, or just relflavor frenzy and, tah-dah! A player gains all the rich complex fun of being a tortured and cursed beast without the game breaking powers that go along with it. So they may have actual incentive to remove the curse.
(As a side note... instead you could rule that x number of barbarian levels has "removed" the curse, meaning the dont change involuntarily)
I like the changes too. When I first started playing D&D, we were hunting werewolves at low levels (no magical gear) and while in their bunker, one of them bit our fighter. He failed the save and, gaining immunity and still in full control of himself, he just wedged himself in the doorway to the room full of werewolves with no other exit, and the spellcasters (me and one other) just shot over the werewolf/fighter's head and pelted the enemies until they all died. A dangerous fight became a breeze. Under the new rules, that fight would have been entirely different.
2014 RAW : Some individuals see little point in fighting the curse and accept what they are. With time and experience, they learn to master their shapechanging ability and can assume beast form or hybrid form at will. Most lycanthropes that embrace their bestial natures succumb to bloodlust, becoming evil, opportunistic creatures that prey on the weak.
Even if the player embraces the curse immediately, they shouldn't be able to control their transformation right away, as that comes with time and experience (RAW). This scenario seems more like the DM was trying to prevent a total party wipe rather than a 2014 Lycanthropy rules exploit.
One of my most memorable characters was a priestess of Selûne cursed with lycanthropy. A character that began in a 2E Ravenloft campaign played in the 90s and that was later updated to be included in a 5E campaign played during COVID.
Her patron deity being that of the moon saw the character mastering control over the disease.
No player in either of these games complained about how what the curse afforded her led to 'imbalance' or anything of the sort which only goes to show how different attitudes towards the game can be and how for some of us what matters is that we are having fun—and not obeying rules.
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So I personally love the change between the 2014L Lycanthropy and the 2024. It's simpler, can be used to be a very sneaky curse your players may not discover till a devastating boss fight or important moment, it just feels better.... in writing.
soon I will be using a small herd of wereboars stuck in their boar forms as an encounter. If a player gets infected by Lycanthropy and their hitpoints hit 0, it states their characters are then controlled by the DM, but it doesn't state when Dm control ends.
and before you answer, "you as DM have power over that." I get that, but thats not the question, if ran as written, do they loose their characters till the curse is removed which could be forever?
Well, it's presumably expected to follow the general guidelines for cursed creatures, which they leave pretty open so as a DM you're expected to use your judgment, but yes, as written there is no time limit on loss of control. Typical narratives for an unwilling lycanthrope have them only turn to a beast for three nights per month (at the full moon) so it's reasonable to have them play normally the rest of the time, but the rules don't include any particular advice.
Lycanthropy is one of those things where peoples' expectations are all over the place. Some people want it to be a cool upgrade to their character, some people want it to be a debilitating, adventuring-career-ending curse, some people want it to basically just be the character they always had but every in-game month the player spends 30 seconds at the table saying "I am tied up in the cellar for 3 days." I still think they copped out a bit this time around, but I can sympathize with the struggle to find a solution that will make the fewest people angry. More often then not, it's left to the DM to figure out.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
To be fair, all three of those are bad options without further complexity
A clean (but more complicated) fix is having a way to cure it, but also having a lycanthrope class or subclass that allows the people who want cool lycanthropic powers to have cool lycanthropic powers without creating grotesque balance issues (this also applies to other potentially infectious conditions, such as vampirism).
Yeah I was just throwing them out to illustrate the range of opinions I've heard. I was not suggesting them as solutions.
Theoretically I like having a quest to find a cure, with the coming full moon as a ticking clock. But I'd also go with the Blood Hunter Lycan if the player wanted a stable werewolf character.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Path of the beast barbarian also works.
"Under the DM's control" and "lose your character" are not necessarily synonyms. Per the DMG ("NPCs as Party Members") you can delegate decisions about an NPC's actions to a player any time you want, but also any time you want, you can override their decisions to reflect the NPC's motivations. In the case of a lycanthrope under your control, you can have the player control them during the day and then override them at night until they or the party figures out what's going on, at which point they will probably begin looking for a cure, at least during their waking hours, and until they find one they can choose to allow themselves to be tied up at night a scatterbraind suggested.
I getcha, with the 2014 version I honestly hated the mechanics, and every time i'd run a new game, I would have at least 1 player being like "please may I be a Lycanthrope!" eventually I redesigned shifters to be the Lycanthrope Lineage because it was easier then dealing with a player drugged up on moon nip.
While I agree 2024 is coped out, I like it mechanically and at least now its understandable by rules how Lycanthropy is a genuine problem, or would be in a dnd fantasy game.
1. Even a commoner can be inflicted with it pretty easily now. As it doesn't activate till 0 hitpoints. SO a commoner could go down, then turn right then. This would make mass inflictions possible, making it more a virus feel then a curse.
2. It's a pretty easy to hide curse, so those afflicted by it may change personality wise but wont really need to transform unless they are horribly hurt.
Lycanthropes got nerfed too, so your players probably won't be clamoring to become one anymore, and even if one gets into a village the commoners and other NPCs have a decent shot of taking it down. They're not immune to non-silver weapons anymore, silvered weapons get a crit bonus against them but that's it. So Ma and Pa Gale can rally the town militia. grab the pitchforks and the hunting bow, and set the dogs on him, and they'll have a pretty good shot of driving him off now. And even if somebody else gets dropped by the werewolf first, it's a DC 12 save to avoid turning - even a commoner is going to make that 45% of the time, so it's every other commoner at best.
Well, yes and no. They aren't immune to nonmagical non-silver weapons any more, which eliminates most of the reasons for PCs to want to turn into one, but their other combat stats are way higher, so against a party that doesn't have half of its members useless because they don't have silver weapons they're more dangerous.
They were brought in line with their CR I'd say. You compare them to something else in CR 3 like an Owlbear and in 2014 they're way off (numbers-wise they're MUCH weaker, likely because WotC over-budgeted based on their immunity), while the 2024 versions are eminently closer together. and will result in a more consistent play experience.
RAW, it is up to the DM.
This is because it is up to the setting.
A lot of folks over the many years have asked to play a lycanthrope at some point in a game of mine, and among the more interesting examples of it was a time when we played MSHAS with all the heroes being werecreatures.
Lycanthropy (and Vampirism) are among the things that a DM needs to consider early on when worldbuilding -- both just as a general concept for their world, but also for how those things interact with Player Characters. The big issue is how everyone sees them, and how they are structured in the world. A common fantasy trope is two moons, and accounting for their effect (often it is one moon is in charge) can be interesting, and then also the concept of how lycanthropy is seen.
I like were creatures, but my current setting is one where Lycanthropy is a devastating curse (and one set up for a future story is the search for a cure, which does not presently exist) that slowly destroys the mind of the cursed, rendering them a large predatory creature (and they are always predatory). Part of this is because the setting draws on older (prior to 1900) concepts of lycanthropy -- not stuff that many folks today are familiar with.
So, the rules for it in the books are based on gameplay aspects and a more modern way of thinking about lycanthropy -- and because it is an issue that does divide people pretty strongly, alongside Vampirism, the use of family members from backstories, and other issues, there is no way to really commit to a single fixed resolution that will meet the "70%" threshold that they work off.
Only a DM since 1980 (3000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA / Mixed, Bi, Trans, Woman / No longer welcome in the US, apparently
Wyrlde: Adventures in the Seven Cities
.-=] Lore Book | Patreon | Wyrlde YT [=-.
An original Setting for 5e, a whole solar system of adventure. Ongoing updates, exclusies, more.
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
I like the changes too. When I first started playing D&D, we were hunting werewolves at low levels (no magical gear) and while in their bunker, one of them bit our fighter. He failed the save and, gaining immunity and still in full control of himself, he just wedged himself in the doorway to the room full of werewolves with no other exit, and the spellcasters (me and one other) just shot over the werewolf/fighter's head and pelted the enemies until they all died. A dangerous fight became a breeze. Under the new rules, that fight would have been entirely different.
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I think the question that you have to ask yourself along with "What are the rules as written?" is "what would my players like?"
Cause, imma be honest, if a DM took a character i was attached to away from me permanently, I would not play with them again, and i ain't the only player that feels that way.
But then, there are tons of players who would really dig that, and i might even go for it if i knew that going in.
You know what the rules say. There is some vagueness that is up to you to adjudicate. It isn't us who you should be asking how to handle it. Talk to your table. Making sure you are all on the same page is as important as knowing the rules.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
First RAW -
Failure: The target is cursed. If the cursed target drops to 0 Hit Points, it instead becomes a Werewolf under the DM’s control and has 10 Hit Points.
As the forever DM-
For that combat, session, that would count as a Player death, I would allow the player to "PVP" using a 10HP Werewolf so they had something to do on their turns. After combat, I would give the players a few options if the cursed player character survived.
1: Attempt to Cure the curse. With the character having to be restrained or someway made safe at night.
2: lean into self controlling the curse...ie make a new player character based on the old one with "Werewolf" as the species. I would homebrew based on Lineages, they would get bite and claw attacks (with the save from werewolves) and basically they could pick which lineage feels right for their character, but we would call it a werewolf. (Note Werewolf is just the example species, any of the were creatures could work with this)
3: Totally new character.
This really depends on player and campaign.
So the big way im planning to run it in my game is simple.
You get infected, it only shows its self when you reach 0 hitpoints or when a vice of the curse shows its self. Werebear: protect the wilds, Wereboar: Greed, Wererat: crime, WereTiger: Crescent Moon, Werewolf: Full moon, although transformation wont be forced unless they hit 0 hitpoints. Only feelings will arise when their vise is brought forth.
When a player transforms into a lycanthrope, depending on the lycan will depend if it stays in the fight. All Lycans excluding the bear will leave, as their base beast instincts will tell them to leave to go heal, werebears will stay and fight voluntarily. However if a Lycanthropes vice is near them (such as a pile of gold for the wereboar, or its a full or crescent moon for the weretiger or wolf.) they will stay and go berserk attack friend and foe alike.
When the lycanthrope takes a long rest they will revert to their original self, forced to look back at the deeds of their transformation.
Ok, cool. Now tell that to your players and see if they are alright with it.
Cause, that was what i was getting at. Talk to your table. ( If your table reads these forums and your response was your message to them as well as me then all good. )
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
Well, it says that they become a were-creature under dm control. I would personally allow them control when not in were-creature mode. In most of the descriptions, it details some circumstances where a lycanthrope changes involuntarily (classic: full moon).
Bingo.after the initial change brought on by the bite, the player seems fine UNTIL...
Kind of allows some fun with it. Then, if the player wants to gain some control of their bestial nature, you could consider barbarian levels (path of the beast of you want it, or just relflavor frenzy and, tah-dah! A player gains all the rich complex fun of being a tortured and cursed beast without the game breaking powers that go along with it. So they may have actual incentive to remove the curse.
(As a side note... instead you could rule that x number of barbarian levels has "removed" the curse, meaning the dont change involuntarily)
I know i'm late but I feel a need to point this out.
2014 RAW : Some individuals see little point in fighting the curse and accept what they are. With time and experience, they learn to master their shapechanging ability and can assume beast form or hybrid form at will. Most lycanthropes that embrace their bestial natures succumb to bloodlust, becoming evil, opportunistic creatures that prey on the weak.
Even if the player embraces the curse immediately, they shouldn't be able to control their transformation right away, as that comes with time and experience (RAW). This scenario seems more like the DM was trying to prevent a total party wipe rather than a 2014 Lycanthropy rules exploit.
One of my most memorable characters was a priestess of Selûne cursed with lycanthropy. A character that began in a 2E Ravenloft campaign played in the 90s and that was later updated to be included in a 5E campaign played during COVID.
Her patron deity being that of the moon saw the character mastering control over the disease.
No player in either of these games complained about how what the curse afforded her led to 'imbalance' or anything of the sort which only goes to show how different attitudes towards the game can be and how for some of us what matters is that we are having fun—and not obeying rules.