As a DM, how do you handle a PC that miss a saving throw and become lycanthrope? Do you give the additional features and let it immediatly master them? Do you make it transform uncontrollably during full moons and control their PC in were form, slowly mastering it over time? Do you retire the PC completly having now become a monster? Do you handle it a different way entirely?
Does Remove Curse not exist in your game? Lycanthropes that aren't born as them can be cured rather easily. Born Lycanthropes require a Wish spell to remove "the curse". If you want the PC to play as the Lycanthrope, it probably makes the most sense to have them lose control and learn over time how to master themselves. There is no resisting a transformation on a Full Moon by the way.
Does Remove Curse not exist in your game? Lycanthropes that aren't born as them can be cured rather easily. Born Lycanthropes require a Wish spell to remove "the curse". If you want the PC to play as the Lycanthrope, it probably makes the most sense to have them lose control and learn over time how to master themselves. There is no resisting a transformation on a Full Moon by the way.
Yes it exist and it's a possibility down the road for them to find a spellcaster that removes it. I'm more asking what other DM would do before a cure is possible.
My dm had the player transform on the 3 nights around the full moon. Additionally, the only way for a player to master the curse would be to embrace it and become evil. The other characters had to figure out how to contain the player and not become infected as well.
If you look up the Lycanthropes, they're not all evil. A lot of creatures are not given a specific alignment these days and this is a case where I might consider that an option as well.
If you look up the Lycanthropes, they're not all evil. A lot of creatures are not given a specific alignment these days and this is a case where I might consider that an option as well.
In our case it occured after an encounter with wererats, which are lawful evil.
If you look up the Lycanthropes, they're not all evil. A lot of creatures are not given a specific alignment these days and this is a case where I might consider that an option as well.
In our case it occured after an encounter with wererats, which are lawful evil.
Would you describe the encounter? I'm curious. Below are some details on how I have run Lycanthropes and players turning into one.
So far, I've only ran(and fought) werewolves but, in the game I was running they only fought with the group due to a misunderstanding, not because of alignment. The werewolves believed the party killed one of their pack(which they kinda did). The werewolves came from Barovia to hide and form a rebellion against Strahd. They claimed the Misty Forest as their stomping grounds and terrorized, not killed, locals that encroached on their territory. The forest is about 30 miles east of Daggerford according to the hook called "Werewolves in the Mists". I introduced one player's character into the group by saying they were a survivor of another adventuring group that had been sent out to deal with the werewolves that were reported in the area. A mad werewolf named Matthew had been stalking and wounding the player for days and the character was indeed infected. The party came to the aid of said character when they were being attacked by Stirges in the forest. A short time after introductions had been made, the infection and full moon transformation occurred. I told the transformed player that they could use the hybrid form and had enough control only to fight or flee from the party. They chose to flee but, the group managed to subdue the now werewolf character and use a potion of Remove Curse on them. Maybe a little too easily done for some but, the adventure hook assumes the players know about werewolves to some degree and even provides them with silvered weapons and the Remove Curse potion via the NPCs involved.
About the other werewolves as it pertains to alignment, I decided that being a werewolf was not a deciding factor of their overall conduct. "Mad Matthew" had a brain injury and was only turned as a last resort to save his life. He had a low IQ due to the brain trauma and was feral as a werewolf. The party took Matthew down but, I allowed him to make death saves(the party was unaware of this). They took Matthew and the body of another adventurer he had killed back to an abandoned farmhouse to try to set up a defense against the pack they could hear howling in the forest. The werewolves eventually broke into the farmhouse through the doors and windows and began attacking the characters. After a few rounds of combat, I had the pack leader find Matthew unconscious but, alive. She changed back to her humanoid form and called the pack to stand down as well as call for a parlay, which the party accepted. It turns out the pack leader Garona had been Matthew's lover. When she tried to explain and show him what she was, he ran into the forest and fell, seriously injuring himself. As the party had not attempted to Coup de grâce or mutilate Matthew in any way and had instead decided to take him to the farmhouse, presumably to bring back to family or perform burial rites upon, I allowed him to live due to their compassion. This also provided a way to make potential allies of the werewolves which I had planned would be an option. Garona asks the party to do what they can to restore Matthew's health on her behalf and explain the clan's predicament. In return, she provides useful information about the greater threat to Daggerford(Strahd). She has left something for Matthew at the "spilt tree" if his mental faculty is restored(if Matthew is restored, he will know where to go and that the item, a magic weapon, is for the party). A truce proposition between the werewolf clan of the White Claws and the general population of Daggerford does much in regards to promote the group's level of recognition and influence.
While traveling underground, the party encountered a pack of wererats and throughtout the battle, one of the character was successfully bitten and failed its saving throw, thus contracting lycanthropy curse.
If the character is a caster and not usually on the front lines, then I would:
Forget alignment. It's a hassle and ends with a player losing a character.
If the character takes damage, roll a Saving Throw (your choice). On a fail, they transform, or
Allow the character to transform as an action if the player chooses to.
Once transformed, they gain the immunities and abilities of the lycanthrope, BUT they become unable to cast or concentrate on spells.
Once transformed, it takes an action to roll a Saving Throw (your choice) to revert back to their normal form.
If you want a progression mechanic that shows the player is learning to control the lycanthrope, then:
Once transformed, on their turn, they roll a Saving Throw (your choice). On a fail they behave per the confusion spell.
Make the Saving Throw DC lower and lower as they learn to control their lycanthropy.
If it's not a caster, Lycanthropy becomes harder to manage as a DM. It's a win-win for a melee character. Unless you just resort to a higher DC for the confusion spell route.
I’m running a PC who failed his saving throw against a wereshark. I had him wake up floating in the ocean out of sight of land and his ship. Now I’m going to have his strength increase to !8 the next time he goes up a level and have him make wisdom saving throws every time the moon makes him change to figure out what’s happening. The first time he changed I had him make a stealth check as he left the ship to see if anyone saw him dive into the water, but it was after dark so the crew member of the ship who saw him jump overboard didn’t see him change shape.
Once he figures out what happened he has to make a Wisdom saving throw to learn how to shape change except when the moon takes control of him and he’s only going to be immune to non-magical attacks when he’s in hybrid or shark form.
His character is a sorcerer, so being a wereshark isn’t much of a mechanical advantage to him and it will be interesting deciding what to do when he’s on land where he can’t get to water on the night of a full moon.
You definitely need to talk to the player about what would be fun for them. I've read accounts of players being very bummed out that they "blacked out" and didn't get to play the vicious evil werewolf. Then there are players who are totally fine with it because that's what feels right mechanically as an RPG. So in the interest of keeping the game fun for all, check in with the player and see which version sounds most fun for them. I personally wouldn't allow them to master it immediately, but I would give them the choice to play the monster or to let me play the monster, and just check in to make sure they understand that means no holds barred against other players. If they don't think they can handle it, or it doesn't sound fun, then I'd take control. If that happens, make sure to keep it quick because every time you play as the werewolf, that player is sitting on the sidelines.
You definitely need to talk to the player about what would be fun for them. I've read accounts of players being very bummed out that they "blacked out" and didn't get to play the vicious evil werewolf. Then there are players who are totally fine with it because that's what feels right mechanically as an RPG. So in the interest of keeping the game fun for all, check in with the player and see which version sounds most fun for them. I personally wouldn't allow them to master it immediately, but I would give them the choice to play the monster or to let me play the monster, and just check in to make sure they understand that means no holds barred against other players. If they don't think they can handle it, or it doesn't sound fun, then I'd take control. If that happens, make sure to keep it quick because every time you play as the werewolf, that player is sitting on the sidelines.
Thanks that's exactly what i did. I discussed it with the player but i was then curious to learn how other DMs would handle it.
Honestly if you dont mind spending a little money theres a homebrew supplement called grim hollow, its chock full of 5E rules of transformations, how it progresses and how to even master it, it has PC transformations for vampires, devils, angels, aberrant horrors and yes even werewolves and a 4 stage progression system that gets stronger and stronger, i bought it myself and honestly me and my players love it, my one player is turning themselves into a full on vampire at the moment, stage 2 and so far i can honestly say its pretty well balanced. there might be a free PDF of the same thing out there if you really want to go digging for it but honestly there content is so good i highly recommend supporting them lol other content they have in there two books is curses, more grim subclasses, and my favorite of blood magic lol
As a DM, how do you handle a PC that miss a saving throw and become lycanthrope? Do you give the additional features and let it immediatly master them? Do you make it transform uncontrollably during full moons and control their PC in were form, slowly mastering it over time? Do you retire the PC completly having now become a monster? Do you handle it a different way entirely?
Does Remove Curse not exist in your game? Lycanthropes that aren't born as them can be cured rather easily. Born Lycanthropes require a Wish spell to remove "the curse". If you want the PC to play as the Lycanthrope, it probably makes the most sense to have them lose control and learn over time how to master themselves. There is no resisting a transformation on a Full Moon by the way.
Yes it exist and it's a possibility down the road for them to find a spellcaster that removes it. I'm more asking what other DM would do before a cure is possible.
My dm had the player transform on the 3 nights around the full moon. Additionally, the only way for a player to master the curse would be to embrace it and become evil. The other characters had to figure out how to contain the player and not become infected as well.
Only spilt the party if you see something shiny.
Ariendela Sneakerson, Half-elf Rogue (8); Harmony Wolfsbane, Tiefling Bard (10); Agnomally, Gnomish Sorcerer (3); Breeze, Tabaxi Monk (8); Grace, Dragonborn Barbarian (7); DM, Homebrew- The Sequestered Lands/Underwater Explorers; Candlekeep
If you look up the Lycanthropes, they're not all evil. A lot of creatures are not given a specific alignment these days and this is a case where I might consider that an option as well.
In our case it occured after an encounter with wererats, which are lawful evil.
Would you describe the encounter? I'm curious. Below are some details on how I have run Lycanthropes and players turning into one.
So far, I've only ran(and fought) werewolves but, in the game I was running they only fought with the group due to a misunderstanding, not because of alignment. The werewolves believed the party killed one of their pack(which they kinda did). The werewolves came from Barovia to hide and form a rebellion against Strahd. They claimed the Misty Forest as their stomping grounds and terrorized, not killed, locals that encroached on their territory. The forest is about 30 miles east of Daggerford according to the hook called "Werewolves in the Mists". I introduced one player's character into the group by saying they were a survivor of another adventuring group that had been sent out to deal with the werewolves that were reported in the area. A mad werewolf named Matthew had been stalking and wounding the player for days and the character was indeed infected. The party came to the aid of said character when they were being attacked by Stirges in the forest. A short time after introductions had been made, the infection and full moon transformation occurred. I told the transformed player that they could use the hybrid form and had enough control only to fight or flee from the party. They chose to flee but, the group managed to subdue the now werewolf character and use a potion of Remove Curse on them. Maybe a little too easily done for some but, the adventure hook assumes the players know about werewolves to some degree and even provides them with silvered weapons and the Remove Curse potion via the NPCs involved.
About the other werewolves as it pertains to alignment, I decided that being a werewolf was not a deciding factor of their overall conduct. "Mad Matthew" had a brain injury and was only turned as a last resort to save his life. He had a low IQ due to the brain trauma and was feral as a werewolf. The party took Matthew down but, I allowed him to make death saves(the party was unaware of this). They took Matthew and the body of another adventurer he had killed back to an abandoned farmhouse to try to set up a defense against the pack they could hear howling in the forest. The werewolves eventually broke into the farmhouse through the doors and windows and began attacking the characters. After a few rounds of combat, I had the pack leader find Matthew unconscious but, alive. She changed back to her humanoid form and called the pack to stand down as well as call for a parlay, which the party accepted. It turns out the pack leader Garona had been Matthew's lover. When she tried to explain and show him what she was, he ran into the forest and fell, seriously injuring himself. As the party had not attempted to Coup de grâce or mutilate Matthew in any way and had instead decided to take him to the farmhouse, presumably to bring back to family or perform burial rites upon, I allowed him to live due to their compassion. This also provided a way to make potential allies of the werewolves which I had planned would be an option. Garona asks the party to do what they can to restore Matthew's health on her behalf and explain the clan's predicament. In return, she provides useful information about the greater threat to Daggerford(Strahd). She has left something for Matthew at the "spilt tree" if his mental faculty is restored(if Matthew is restored, he will know where to go and that the item, a magic weapon, is for the party). A truce proposition between the werewolf clan of the White Claws and the general population of Daggerford does much in regards to promote the group's level of recognition and influence.
Hope I didn't bore anyone, everyone. LoL.
While traveling underground, the party encountered a pack of wererats and throughtout the battle, one of the character was successfully bitten and failed its saving throw, thus contracting lycanthropy curse.
If the character is a caster and not usually on the front lines, then I would:
If you want a progression mechanic that shows the player is learning to control the lycanthrope, then:
If it's not a caster, Lycanthropy becomes harder to manage as a DM. It's a win-win for a melee character. Unless you just resort to a higher DC for the confusion spell route.
I’m running a PC who failed his saving throw against a wereshark. I had him wake up floating in the ocean out of sight of land and his ship. Now I’m going to have his strength increase to !8 the next time he goes up a level and have him make wisdom saving throws every time the moon makes him change to figure out what’s happening. The first time he changed I had him make a stealth check as he left the ship to see if anyone saw him dive into the water, but it was after dark so the crew member of the ship who saw him jump overboard didn’t see him change shape.
Once he figures out what happened he has to make a Wisdom saving throw to learn how to shape change except when the moon takes control of him and he’s only going to be immune to non-magical attacks when he’s in hybrid or shark form.
His character is a sorcerer, so being a wereshark isn’t much of a mechanical advantage to him and it will be interesting deciding what to do when he’s on land where he can’t get to water on the night of a full moon.
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You definitely need to talk to the player about what would be fun for them. I've read accounts of players being very bummed out that they "blacked out" and didn't get to play the vicious evil werewolf. Then there are players who are totally fine with it because that's what feels right mechanically as an RPG. So in the interest of keeping the game fun for all, check in with the player and see which version sounds most fun for them. I personally wouldn't allow them to master it immediately, but I would give them the choice to play the monster or to let me play the monster, and just check in to make sure they understand that means no holds barred against other players. If they don't think they can handle it, or it doesn't sound fun, then I'd take control. If that happens, make sure to keep it quick because every time you play as the werewolf, that player is sitting on the sidelines.
Thanks that's exactly what i did. I discussed it with the player but i was then curious to learn how other DMs would handle it.
Honestly if you dont mind spending a little money theres a homebrew supplement called grim hollow, its chock full of 5E rules of transformations, how it progresses and how to even master it, it has PC transformations for vampires, devils, angels, aberrant horrors and yes even werewolves and a 4 stage progression system that gets stronger and stronger, i bought it myself and honestly me and my players love it, my one player is turning themselves into a full on vampire at the moment, stage 2 and so far i can honestly say its pretty well balanced. there might be a free PDF of the same thing out there if you really want to go digging for it but honestly there content is so good i highly recommend supporting them lol other content they have in there two books is curses, more grim subclasses, and my favorite of blood magic lol
I don't allow player character werewolves. If someone gets cursed, I will make sure an easy to find npc with remove curse is nearby.
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