so I know I'm a bit late to this topic but i would like to point out that as DM you could alter it slightly and say that no only will the silver have a HUGE debuff to the character but other weapons can hurt them, secondly you also have Blood Hunters in 5th edition that can easily harness the power of lycanthropy
I've always seen that Lycanthropy is a condition that is livable and can retain a good alignment, though for my personal taste, I would say that the lycanthrope in question would have to be a follower of Selune to be sure.
I personally have a werebear lycanthrope in my campaign. Which is a little easier to deal with. Every time something would trigger his beastiel nature, like an attractive woman, I have him roll a save either WIS or CHA depending on the circumstances if he fails he will act like an animal if he saves he is fine. And I take over completely on full moons. Also you can allow the transformation to have immunity to non-silvered and human not, as well as saying only allowed to transform at night unless has special item to give control back to the player.
Is lycanthropy a humanoid curse only or can any living thing get the curse such as animals or familiars? In campaign my DM is running he is letting me use the matt mercer created class blood hunter with the order of the lycan. the order text says I can turn anyone so long as I'm willing to do so but it feel like a DM choice if it could effect none humanoid characters. just thaught it be interesting to giving the curse to a animal partner and familiars. possibly bolster or make the more of a savage fighter at the similar cost as my blood hunter.
Is lycanthropy a humanoid curse only or can any living thing get the curse such as animals or familiars? In campaign my DM is running he is letting me use the matt mercer created class blood hunter with the order of the lycan. the order text says I can turn anyone so long as I'm willing to do so but it feel like a DM choice if it could effect none humanoid characters. just thaught it be interesting to giving the curse to a animal partner and familiars. possibly bolster or make the more of a savage fighter at the similar cost as my blood hunter.
So, I believe how the curse works is that when a Humanoid creature gets bitten, It contracts the curse when they fail a CON save. The lycanthropy curse is only contracted by the bite of a lycanthrope. When that creature bites you, it curses you with its species of lycanthropy, such as a weretiger or a wereraven if it is in Curse of Strahd. Animal partners and familiars would not be affected because they are beasts, and it kind of makes sense that they wouldn't because any animal that survives, would turn into a lycanthrope. Ask your DM, these are what I would say as a DM if the choice came to me.
P.S.- I have never used the word Lycantrophy/ Lycanthrope so much in a post.
Personally I feel like the answers would be 'yes, no, and no' considering lycanthropy is a curse and curses are a form of magic, but as it is specifically a curse I don't believe that spells like Anti Magic Field nor Dispel Magic would work; instead things like Greater Restoration or True Resurrection would be able to actually touch the immeasurably old and deep magic curse and cleanse it (considering those spells explicitly describe being able to end curses, like the third level spell Remove Curse which literally ONLY removes curses, so clearly they are a special case of magic). The only lycanthrope that cannot be cleansed by these spells would be one who was born with the curse; the Monster's Manual explicitly states that nothing short of a Wish spell can break their curse, but considering they have known the affliction since birth, and quite possibly have a stronger connection to it, one might assume they have either learned to control the curse (in which case it is likely just a boon to them) or perhaps even feel it is a necessary part of who they are (regardless of if they can control it or not).
All of this is entirely true. You can remove a lycanthrope curse by those spells. I took this short precept from the Monster Manuel.
Bite (Wolf or Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d8 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with werewolf lycanthropy.
Whenever a lycanthrope bites or claws a humanoid creature, depending on the lycanthrope, the humanoid has a chance to gain that curse of that particular lycanthrope, not beasts or any other creature type.
In other versions it wasn't a full immunity to non silver just minor damage reductions 5 for afflicted 10 for natural born. And his PC doesn't have to be evil. More chaotic in nature.
A little late to this as well, but my DM just said instead of immunity I only have resistance, and only while in hybrid/wolf form. also only lets me shapeshift once per day (for now) until I gain mastery over my ability
Actually what it does say is " if the character embraces the curse his or her alignment becomes the one defined for the lycanthrope the dm is free to decide that a change in alignment places the character under dm control until the curse is removed."
That means your alignment if you're a were tiger your alignment becomes neutral, as a werebear neutral good, as a wereboar neutral evil, as a wererat lawful evil, and as a werewolf chaotic evil.
Personally I dont believe a change in alignment is necessary, every member of a race doesnt fall under one alignment. If the character decides to become a lycanthrope their alignment should only change if their actions change. There is a whole mess of Wereravens in Barovia and they arent evil but just because they bit an evil person that person might not become good just because Wereravens are good in general.
Personally I dont believe a change in alignment is necessary, every member of a race doesnt fall under one alignment. If the character decides to become a lycanthrope their alignment should only change if their actions change. There is a whole mess of Wereravens in Barovia and they arent evil but just because they bit an evil person that person might not become good just because Wereravens are good in general.
The point about Lycanthropy isn't that it is a race, it is a curse. It changes your alignment, because it is twisted magic that forces people to act differently.
(Wereravens are good. That is the curse.)
If you want to be a lawful good Orc Warlock, you can be one, but if you want to be a lawful good Wereboar, you can, but you don't get to accept the curse unless your character accepts the curse and changes their alignment to align with the actions the curse wants you to do.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Personally I dont believe a change in alignment is necessary, every member of a race doesnt fall under one alignment. If the character decides to become a lycanthrope their alignment should only change if their actions change. There is a whole mess of Wereravens in Barovia and they arent evil but just because they bit an evil person that person might not become good just because Wereravens are good in general.
The point about Lycanthropy isn't that it is a race, it is a curse. It changes your alignment, because it is twisted magic that forces people to act differently.
(Wereravens are good. That is the curse.)
If you want to be a lawful good Orc Warlock, you can be one, but if you want to be a lawful good Wereboar, you can, but you don't get to accept the curse unless your character accepts the curse and changes their alignment to align with the actions the curse wants you to do.
I think a good middle ground to this is the Shifter race or the Blood Hunter class. I know alot of DMs don't like using critical role or eberron stuff, but it is official (semi-official for the blood hunter) if people want to be rules lawyers about it. Otherwise I say DM discretion and if the player wants to RP it out (for example worshipping Selune to help gain control of the curse) then it can happen.
So playing CoS I am also having this very same dilemma. Do I allow the player to accept the curse as laid out in the MM and I just run the player any time they are in werewolf form? I wanted to let the player have fun with this so I decided to allow them to do this but with some limitations and a bit of negotiation for combat.
What I decided to do was allow the player to maintain control of the character in werewolf form during combat. However, I would roll for a random target. If the player did not want to attack the given target they would then have to make a DC 15+ (whatever you want of course) WIS save, otherwise they MUST attack the given target. Also as a werewolf the character would not be able to use any spells at all nor any racial abilities (IE dragon born breath).
This seems to have worked (so far) both in combat and in RP with "good" aligned players. Since on occasion the werewolf player seems to be able to resist the curse's desire for rampage, the "good" player feels they are redeemable. Of course this may not play out the same at your table, but its working for me and my group.
also on a side note, I am currently toying with the idea of over time having the player lose themselves. So the DC WIS save would start to get higher over time until at some point it becomes impossible to resist. This might give the player incentive to accept a plan to remove the curse.
Ok there is no mechanic I can see on controlling the curse. The MM page 206 "With time and experience, they learn to master their shapechanging ability and can assume beast form or hybrid form at will". However, there is no guidance or mechanics given on how this is accomplished. There aren't many homebrew rules I've seen for this either. Does anybody have any insight or systems they've used for this? Thus far I'm been using a DC 20 Will save for control when they are prompted to change by an Alpha werewolf or other means. DC is 25 for the full moon which is obviously touch, but doesn't come around very often and can be planned for.
I would also screw with him for being a were wolf. That is not a minor change, it is a huge difference.
In a book I would talk about the social implications, but PC's tend to ignore things like not bathing and no wife, etc.
But even for Murder-Hobos, it is not as fun as it seems. Ever watch Buffy the Vampire?
Time for some good old fashion Slayers to come to town. They are after the were wolf and ask the party for help. How long dies he think his secret is going to last?
Have other Weres notice him and challenge him to a fight. Give them a great honor that requires them to get a reward in a Sacred Grove that no were can enter.
The PC just got discovered last session as a werewolf, the funny thing is he knew about it and didn't say anything to the party. I'm using 2 main triggers for transformation(once a month isn't enough). 1- the moon 2- an Alpha veteran Werewolf(his howl is a will DC save). I might play around with some wolfsbane or some potion later. The MM says it takes time to control the transformation so I'm not playing the "at-will" feature. This is for 2 reasons 1- it doesn't make sense they'd master a curse/transformation that quickly, and 2- it would be way too game-breaking at 3rd level as many NPCs don't have anything to hurt it. I currently have just started with a DC 20 will save basically each round unit he gets 3 failures in a row, then I take over for the remainder of the evening. Being only at the 3rd level being a werewolf can be a potential huge weapon if you know how to harness it, but very deadly to other PCs as he could kill a few members of the party if they don't plan. So, this is a high-risk high reward I suppose. I'm going to use it plot-wise later, regardless of if it is cured why to waste it.
However, the main thing is there any guide on the mechanic here. I'm relatively new to 5e, and yes, of course, I can make up something, which I already have. However, I'd prefer a somewhat balanced and play tested mechanic or at least guidance on controlling the transformation/curse.
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so I know I'm a bit late to this topic but i would like to point out that as DM you could alter it slightly and say that no only will the silver have a HUGE debuff to the character but other weapons can hurt them, secondly you also have Blood Hunters in 5th edition that can easily harness the power of lycanthropy
I've always seen that Lycanthropy is a condition that is livable and can retain a good alignment, though for my personal taste, I would say that the lycanthrope in question would have to be a follower of Selune to be sure.
I personally have a werebear lycanthrope in my campaign. Which is a little easier to deal with. Every time something would trigger his beastiel nature, like an attractive woman, I have him roll a save either WIS or CHA depending on the circumstances if he fails he will act like an animal if he saves he is fine. And I take over completely on full moons. Also you can allow the transformation to have immunity to non-silvered and human not, as well as saying only allowed to transform at night unless has special item to give control back to the player.
Is lycanthropy a humanoid curse only or can any living thing get the curse such as animals or familiars? In campaign my DM is running he is letting me use the matt mercer created class blood hunter with the order of the lycan. the order text says I can turn anyone so long as I'm willing to do so but it feel like a DM choice if it could effect none humanoid characters. just thaught it be interesting to giving the curse to a animal partner and familiars. possibly bolster or make the more of a savage fighter at the similar cost as my blood hunter.
So, I believe how the curse works is that when a Humanoid creature gets bitten, It contracts the curse when they fail a CON save. The lycanthropy curse is only contracted by the bite of a lycanthrope. When that creature bites you, it curses you with its species of lycanthropy, such as a weretiger or a wereraven if it is in Curse of Strahd. Animal partners and familiars would not be affected because they are beasts, and it kind of makes sense that they wouldn't because any animal that survives, would turn into a lycanthrope. Ask your DM, these are what I would say as a DM if the choice came to me.
P.S.- I have never used the word Lycantrophy/ Lycanthrope so much in a post.
Personally I feel like the answers would be 'yes, no, and no' considering lycanthropy is a curse and curses are a form of magic, but as it is specifically a curse I don't believe that spells like Anti Magic Field nor Dispel Magic would work; instead things like Greater Restoration or True Resurrection would be able to actually touch the immeasurably old and deep magic curse and cleanse it (considering those spells explicitly describe being able to end curses, like the third level spell Remove Curse which literally ONLY removes curses, so clearly they are a special case of magic). The only lycanthrope that cannot be cleansed by these spells would be one who was born with the curse; the Monster's Manual explicitly states that nothing short of a Wish spell can break their curse, but considering they have known the affliction since birth, and quite possibly have a stronger connection to it, one might assume they have either learned to control the curse (in which case it is likely just a boon to them) or perhaps even feel it is a necessary part of who they are (regardless of if they can control it or not).
All of this is entirely true. You can remove a lycanthrope curse by those spells. I took this short precept from the Monster Manuel.
Bite (Wolf or Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d8 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with werewolf lycanthropy.
Whenever a lycanthrope bites or claws a humanoid creature, depending on the lycanthrope, the humanoid has a chance to gain that curse of that particular lycanthrope, not beasts or any other creature type.
Hope this answers the original question.
In other versions it wasn't a full immunity to non silver just minor damage reductions 5 for afflicted 10 for natural born. And his PC doesn't have to be evil. More chaotic in nature.
Why not just get creative. its kinda the point of the game yeah?
You would be surprised how many people here you just triggered.
i agree with you. But. Lol. Trust me, you will be surprised.
Blank
Haha I have no doubt about that. But I also live by chaotic good standards. I look forward to stances from all sides
A little late to this as well, but my DM just said instead of immunity I only have resistance, and only while in hybrid/wolf form. also only lets me shapeshift once per day (for now) until I gain mastery over my ability
Actually what it does say is " if the character embraces the curse his or her alignment becomes the one defined for the lycanthrope the dm is free to decide that a change in alignment places the character under dm control until the curse is removed."
That means your alignment if you're a were tiger your alignment becomes neutral, as a werebear neutral good, as a wereboar neutral evil, as a wererat lawful evil, and as a werewolf chaotic evil.
Hope that helps
Personally I dont believe a change in alignment is necessary, every member of a race doesnt fall under one alignment. If the character decides to become a lycanthrope their alignment should only change if their actions change. There is a whole mess of Wereravens in Barovia and they arent evil but just because they bit an evil person that person might not become good just because Wereravens are good in general.
The point about Lycanthropy isn't that it is a race, it is a curse. It changes your alignment, because it is twisted magic that forces people to act differently.
(Wereravens are good. That is the curse.)
If you want to be a lawful good Orc Warlock, you can be one, but if you want to be a lawful good Wereboar, you can, but you don't get to accept the curse unless your character accepts the curse and changes their alignment to align with the actions the curse wants you to do.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
I think a good middle ground to this is the Shifter race or the Blood Hunter class. I know alot of DMs don't like using critical role or eberron stuff, but it is official (semi-official for the blood hunter) if people want to be rules lawyers about it. Otherwise I say DM discretion and if the player wants to RP it out (for example worshipping Selune to help gain control of the curse) then it can happen.
So playing CoS I am also having this very same dilemma. Do I allow the player to accept the curse as laid out in the MM and I just run the player any time they are in werewolf form? I wanted to let the player have fun with this so I decided to allow them to do this but with some limitations and a bit of negotiation for combat.
What I decided to do was allow the player to maintain control of the character in werewolf form during combat. However, I would roll for a random target. If the player did not want to attack the given target they would then have to make a DC 15+ (whatever you want of course) WIS save, otherwise they MUST attack the given target. Also as a werewolf the character would not be able to use any spells at all nor any racial abilities (IE dragon born breath).
This seems to have worked (so far) both in combat and in RP with "good" aligned players. Since on occasion the werewolf player seems to be able to resist the curse's desire for rampage, the "good" player feels they are redeemable. Of course this may not play out the same at your table, but its working for me and my group.
also on a side note, I am currently toying with the idea of over time having the player lose themselves. So the DC WIS save would start to get higher over time until at some point it becomes impossible to resist. This might give the player incentive to accept a plan to remove the curse.
Ok there is no mechanic I can see on controlling the curse. The MM page 206 "With time and experience, they learn to master their shapechanging ability and can assume beast form or hybrid form at will". However, there is no guidance or mechanics given on how this is accomplished. There aren't many homebrew rules I've seen for this either. Does anybody have any insight or systems they've used for this? Thus far I'm been using a DC 20 Will save for control when they are prompted to change by an Alpha werewolf or other means. DC is 25 for the full moon which is obviously touch, but doesn't come around very often and can be planned for.
I would also screw with him for being a were wolf. That is not a minor change, it is a huge difference.
In a book I would talk about the social implications, but PC's tend to ignore things like not bathing and no wife, etc.
But even for Murder-Hobos, it is not as fun as it seems. Ever watch Buffy the Vampire?
Time for some good old fashion Slayers to come to town. They are after the were wolf and ask the party for help. How long dies he think his secret is going to last?
Have other Weres notice him and challenge him to a fight. Give them a great honor that requires them to get a reward in a Sacred Grove that no were can enter.
The PC just got discovered last session as a werewolf, the funny thing is he knew about it and didn't say anything to the party. I'm using 2 main triggers for transformation(once a month isn't enough). 1- the moon 2- an Alpha veteran Werewolf(his howl is a will DC save). I might play around with some wolfsbane or some potion later. The MM says it takes time to control the transformation so I'm not playing the "at-will" feature. This is for 2 reasons 1- it doesn't make sense they'd master a curse/transformation that quickly, and 2- it would be way too game-breaking at 3rd level as many NPCs don't have anything to hurt it. I currently have just started with a DC 20 will save basically each round unit he gets 3 failures in a row, then I take over for the remainder of the evening. Being only at the 3rd level being a werewolf can be a potential huge weapon if you know how to harness it, but very deadly to other PCs as he could kill a few members of the party if they don't plan. So, this is a high-risk high reward I suppose. I'm going to use it plot-wise later, regardless of if it is cured why to waste it.
However, the main thing is there any guide on the mechanic here. I'm relatively new to 5e, and yes, of course, I can make up something, which I already have. However, I'd prefer a somewhat balanced and play tested mechanic or at least guidance on controlling the transformation/curse.