There’s no official wereraven, but every official lycanthrope says that the afflicted character gains an ability score of x only if it isn’t already higher. So if this homebrew is in keeping with the official types, the character’s DEX wouldn’t decrease.
As to the player maintaining control over the character: sure, but if I were the DM I probably wouldn’t allow it. Lycanthropy magically overwrites the afflicted character’s personality. What comes out the other side is in no way the same person. If a player wanted to use it as a roleplaying challenge to portray a completely different character and I trusted them to use it to interesting narrative effect, then I might allow it. But my feeling is that it’s often just “I want better stats but I still want to be the same character,” which runs counter to the idea of lycanthropy as a CURSE.
So basically, a character who wanted to fly via a wereraven lycanthropy will lose their personality? But the wereraven alignment is lawful good. Doesn’t it mean the PC can still be played by a player?
So basically, a character who wanted to fly via a wereraven lycanthropy will lose their personality? But the wereraven alignment is lawful good. Doesn’t it mean the PC can still be played by a player?
There are no rules governing what alignment PCs can be. But yes, lycanthropy is a curse that obliviates the victim's personality. They'll be lawful good, but that will be a magically enforced lawful good, and they will be magically compelled to do lawful good things like denying mercy to helpless foes. If the player really wants to lean into that, and you think they could, and you both think it would be interesting, then go for it.
Alternately, if you want to say "lycanthropy isn't a curse, it's just superpowers," you know, go to town :p But know that's the choice you're making.
Does a wereraven benefit from the property's of non magical clothing and armor when in raven form? For example Would they get the armor class from plate mail? Or would cold weather gear protect you from the cold in raven form?
Does a wereraven benefit from the property's of non magical clothing and armor when in raven form? For example Would they get the armor class from plate mail? Or would cold weather gear protect you from the cold in raven form?
"Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed." <- from the Shapechanger ability they have. Since they presumably change into an actual, bona fide raven, if they were wearing nonmagical clothing or armor intended for a human body shape, that would be basically useless to the raven - far too big (a raven is tiny) and fundamentally meant for the wrong body shape.
As for the hybrid form, impossible to say. Lycanthropes can explicitly change size when they shapechange. Here's a list of Lycanthropes and their sizes:
Werebear: Medium Humanoid (base), Large Bear (animal form), Large Hybrid (explicit in statblock)
Explicitly specifies all three sizes, and is the only lycanthrope that does so, which sets precedent for all other Lycanthropes being a problem when you're not told the sizes and the base and beast forms differ in size.
Note that the hybrid form is the size of the beast, not the base, in this example.
Wereboar: Medium Humanoid (base), Medium Boar (animal); Hybrid has no listed size, but since both of the other forms are Medium, Medium is implied.
Does not explicitly specify Medium boar - you're expected to look up the boar statblock. Most Lycanthropes are like this.
Werewolf: Medium/Medium/Medium, like the Wereboar.
Weretiger: Medium Humanoid (base), Large Tiger (animal form), unknowable size Hybrid - we know it can change size, but we're never told what size the hybrid is, and its other two forms have two different sizes.
Best guess: Hybrid is large because the Werebear implies Hybrids are the size of their Beast form. There's no obvious reason a Hybrid Weretiger would be a different size from a Hybrid Werebear when both have the same size base and beast forms.
Wererat: Medium Humanoid (base), Small Giant Rat (animal form), unknowable size Hybrid (see Weretiger)
Best guess: Hybrid is small because the Werebear implies Hybrids are the size of their Beast form.
Wereraven: See Wererat, but the Beast form is Tiny, and terrifyingly, the Hybrid form can wield a shortsword and hand crossbow while flying, making it the only flying creature in the entire game apparently capable of using the same limbs to fly and manipulate tools at the same time. I have no idea what these things look like or how they work, but I suspect they are Lovecraftian horrors.
So for Hybrid form in clothing or armor, ask your DM.
I agree with Quindraco, except on possibly the hybrid sizes. To me, the fact that the bear hybrid is explicitly stated means that the others are the same size as the medium humanoid. Note that this can change based on the humanoid race, see the other wererats which are based on a gnome or halfling. So a halfling weretiger may go small-medium-large as it shifts humanoid-hybrid-beast. Or it may be small-small-large, depending on when you want the mass increase to occur (no one says it has to be evenly distributed). Or even small-large-large, if that's what your table decides.
Up next, a tiny Fairy somehow contracts lycanthropy from a were-elephant. Hijinks ensue when the circus comes to town, and we learn the fairy is allergic to peanuts.
While I agree that there would be a compelled alignment shift I am not sure that denying mercy is writ into the LG alignment. More like being forced to be basically honest, life respecting and rule following... which could be very style cramping for many players. The biggest issue in general is, that if allowed, how do you enforce alignment appropriate behavior.
So my Kenku Rogue (lvl2) was bitten by a Wereraven, and my DM and i are trying to decide to full ramifications of that on a Kenku mind. Since it says that the personality is rewritten, what comes out on the other side? A kenku with a personality? That requires the ability to have free thought and expression. So can he now talk?
Can a wereraven in hybrid form cast a spell with a verbal component?
Nothing in the rules says they can't, other hybrid lycanthropes talk, & unlike Kenku, raven mimicry is by choice rather than forced upon them. So RAW, you're good to go.
If you are infected with wereraven lycanthropy, do you gain their mimicry or regeneration traits?
Presumably, yes, the NPC you turn into would have both - the regeneration is the Wereraven's replacement for a standard lycanthrope's Damage Immunity, and the Mimicry it gets from its bird form in the same way a Wererat gets Keen Smell.
Say a character was inflicted with lycanthropy by a wereraven. I know a wereraven stats for PC gives DEX 15, but what if the PC have DEX over 15?
Would the DEX stat be decreased or stay the same?
And if the PC willfully accepted the lycanthrope curse from a wereraven, can a player still control their PC?
There’s no official wereraven, but every official lycanthrope says that the afflicted character gains an ability score of x only if it isn’t already higher. So if this homebrew is in keeping with the official types, the character’s DEX wouldn’t decrease.
As to the player maintaining control over the character: sure, but if I were the DM I probably wouldn’t allow it. Lycanthropy magically overwrites the afflicted character’s personality. What comes out the other side is in no way the same person. If a player wanted to use it as a roleplaying challenge to portray a completely different character and I trusted them to use it to interesting narrative effect, then I might allow it. But my feeling is that it’s often just “I want better stats but I still want to be the same character,” which runs counter to the idea of lycanthropy as a CURSE.
The Wereraven was officially published in Curse of Strahd, but other wise this is correct.
She/Her College Student Player and Dungeon Master
So basically, a character who wanted to fly via a wereraven lycanthropy will lose their personality?
But the wereraven alignment is lawful good. Doesn’t it mean the PC can still be played by a player?
There are no rules governing what alignment PCs can be. But yes, lycanthropy is a curse that obliviates the victim's personality. They'll be lawful good, but that will be a magically enforced lawful good, and they will be magically compelled to do lawful good things like denying mercy to helpless foes. If the player really wants to lean into that, and you think they could, and you both think it would be interesting, then go for it.
Alternately, if you want to say "lycanthropy isn't a curse, it's just superpowers," you know, go to town :p But know that's the choice you're making.
Thank you for the answer.
It will be in the campaign for Curse of Strahd to be very fun!
Can a Wereraven in Hybrid form carry or pick up a human or other medium size creature while flying?
Yes but they will move at half speed, per Grapple rules.
Does a wereraven benefit from the property's of non magical clothing and armor when in raven form? For example Would they get the armor class from plate mail? Or would cold weather gear protect you from the cold in raven form?
"Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed." <- from the Shapechanger ability they have. Since they presumably change into an actual, bona fide raven, if they were wearing nonmagical clothing or armor intended for a human body shape, that would be basically useless to the raven - far too big (a raven is tiny) and fundamentally meant for the wrong body shape.
As for the hybrid form, impossible to say. Lycanthropes can explicitly change size when they shapechange. Here's a list of Lycanthropes and their sizes:
So for Hybrid form in clothing or armor, ask your DM.
I agree with Quindraco, except on possibly the hybrid sizes. To me, the fact that the bear hybrid is explicitly stated means that the others are the same size as the medium humanoid. Note that this can change based on the humanoid race, see the other wererats which are based on a gnome or halfling. So a halfling weretiger may go small-medium-large as it shifts humanoid-hybrid-beast. Or it may be small-small-large, depending on when you want the mass increase to occur (no one says it has to be evenly distributed). Or even small-large-large, if that's what your table decides.
Up next, a tiny Fairy somehow contracts lycanthropy from a were-elephant. Hijinks ensue when the circus comes to town, and we learn the fairy is allergic to peanuts.
While I agree that there would be a compelled alignment shift I am not sure that denying mercy is writ into the LG alignment. More like being forced to be basically honest, life respecting and rule following... which could be very style cramping for many players. The biggest issue in general is, that if allowed, how do you enforce alignment appropriate behavior.
So my Kenku Rogue (lvl2) was bitten by a Wereraven, and my DM and i are trying to decide to full ramifications of that on a Kenku mind. Since it says that the personality is rewritten, what comes out on the other side? A kenku with a personality? That requires the ability to have free thought and expression. So can he now talk?
Can a wereraven in hybrid form cast a spell with a verbal component?
Nothing in the rules says they can't, other hybrid lycanthropes talk, & unlike Kenku, raven mimicry is by choice rather than forced upon them. So RAW, you're good to go.
Thanks so much
If you are infected with wereraven lycanthropy, do you gain their mimicry or regeneration traits?
“Never trust the storyteller. Only trust the story.” ― Neil Gaiman, Fables & Reflections
Presumably, yes, the NPC you turn into would have both - the regeneration is the Wereraven's replacement for a standard lycanthrope's Damage Immunity, and the Mimicry it gets from its bird form in the same way a Wererat gets Keen Smell.
The wereraven still has the damage immunity, but could the damage immunity work in humanoid form?
Wereravens don't have any damage immunities or resistances, in any form.