I'm new to D&D (got introduced a little less than a year ago), and in my experience so far, I have personally found the 5e representation of werewolves rather lackluster. Because of this, I decided to homebrew my own version of the werewolf that fits more in line with the pop culture version of this monster.Here it is. (uses Homebrewery)
The werewolf statistics presented in the Basic Rules feel a bit underwhelming in how they handle transformation between human, hybrid, and wolf forms. This is because all three forms share the same statistics, save for a couple changes in attack options. When I think of werewolves transforming, I think of the transformation from human to hybrid form as a major power-up of sorts. However, in the official stats, a werewolf in hybrid form is just as tough as a werewolf in human form, only with the added bonus of being able to afflict players with lycanthropy. To fix this, my homebrew version makes the werewolf form use a completely seperate stat block from its humanoid form. A humanoid who is afflicted with werewolf lycanthropy does not experience any changes in their stats. I had an issue with lycnathropes possessing the weapon damage immunity while in human form, so this change erases that detail.
Next, werewolves as presented in the Basic Rules have complete control over their transformations, save for during the full moon (though this isn't mentioned in their stat blocks). The werewolf seen in pop culture, on the other hand, seldom has full control over when they transform. My homebrew werewolf stats add conditions under which lycanthrope players and NPCs must make saving throws to avoid transforming into a werewolf. This adds the threat of a lycanthrope party member transforming against their will. Without this element of lycanthropy, it's hardly a curse for the character.
The most obvious issue with this to me is that once a character transforms, the player loses control of them until they revert back to humanoid form. I'm considering adding a mechanic to allow characters to fight their werewolf instincts while in werewolf form. Perhaps repeating the Charisma saving throw when they see someone they care for (like a fellow party member), allowing them to gain control of thei character for a brief period.
Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: This is just my personal thoughts on the way werewolves are handled in 5e. I do not mean to disrespect anyone who likes the official werewolf statistics. This is just my personal take on the topic.
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"And that day, a red rain fell from the sky here."
I tried the link and got a link warning you are leaving D&DB so I did not read it.
But in general your ideas (which you have stated above) are the product of fiction and myth. I was myself surprised just how much information was made up for the best known werewolf film in the The Wolfman as opposed to the silent film in the early 1900's I have not seem, and how that made up information has stuck around.
Having said that I do not see a problem incorporating those ideas into a creature but the problem seems to be how to deal with balance when you "power up" the lycan vs non lycan PC's when IMHO D&D 5e tries to not have flaws in races and or other options.
I do not understand the CH save vs a Will save so maybe you could explain that a bit more as most info I have seen from fiction and folk lore is based on inner strength resisting the beast that bit them's tendencies.
Hi, sorry about the link. For the record, it leads to homebrewery.naturalcrit.com, an in-browser tool for making homebrew content that looks more like the stuff you see in the official books (similar to GM Binder). As for why I chose a Charisma save versus a Constitution or Wisdom (Will) save for the curse, Charisma generally seems to be a valid option for saves made to resist curses. Wisdom or even Constitution would work just as well though.
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"And that day, a red rain fell from the sky here."
This seems fine to me, I think you achieve the spirit you're aiming for here. The only thing that bothers me is the prone attached to Bite. For one thing, I'm not sure why a bite would cause you to fall down. Proning attacks tend to be a kind of lunge or slam. Secondly, it causes a humanoid target to make two saving throws in response to one attack. That just feels weird and overly complicated on top of also resolving the attack itself. Third, it doesn't do a lot for the werewolf since it already has a pretty reliable source of advantage in Pack Tactics. So for those reasons I'd remove the prone or add it to some kind of charge/pounce mechanic.
This seems fine to me, I think you achieve the spirit you're aiming for here. The only thing that bothers me is the prone attached to Bite. For one thing, I'm not sure why a bite would cause you to fall down. Proning attacks tend to be a kind of lunge or slam. Secondly, it causes a humanoid target to make two saving throws in response to one attack. That just feels weird and overly complicated on top of also resolving the attack itself. Third, it doesn't do a lot for the werewolf since it already has a pretty reliable source of advantage in Pack Tactics. So for those reasons I'd remove the prone or add it to some kind of charge/pounce mechanic.
Hi there! The prone effect was there because I had just used the bite attack from the wolf stat block because I thought it had more flavor than the werewolf stat block's bite attack. It better conveyed the feeling of a massive beast taking a bite out of you. Now that you've pointed it out, two saves for one attack is a bit messy. I think I'll add a pounce attack option.
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"And that day, a red rain fell from the sky here."
Thanks for the explanation, in general I would say CH (or Con if it is not magical in nature) is a valid save for the initial curse and will would be a valid save to resist the onset of the curse.
As I said above if curses are truly bad and or damaging to a PC then I tend to have levels of failure and multiple saves as this tends to provide time for the diseases impact to set into the player and provide a way for the player to deal with the often highly negative nature of the disease.
Also I think it is important to note that not all players can handle a descent into lycanthropy (AKA the 1950's The Wolfman film) adventure and they maybe/should be told what you are planning before PC gen. For example if you have will saves they would not have will be a dump stat or they would be ok with their PC going into a lycan rampage at the drop of a hat.
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Hello all,
I'm new to D&D (got introduced a little less than a year ago), and in my experience so far, I have personally found the 5e representation of werewolves rather lackluster. Because of this, I decided to homebrew my own version of the werewolf that fits more in line with the pop culture version of this monster. Here it is. (uses Homebrewery)
The werewolf statistics presented in the Basic Rules feel a bit underwhelming in how they handle transformation between human, hybrid, and wolf forms. This is because all three forms share the same statistics, save for a couple changes in attack options. When I think of werewolves transforming, I think of the transformation from human to hybrid form as a major power-up of sorts. However, in the official stats, a werewolf in hybrid form is just as tough as a werewolf in human form, only with the added bonus of being able to afflict players with lycanthropy. To fix this, my homebrew version makes the werewolf form use a completely seperate stat block from its humanoid form. A humanoid who is afflicted with werewolf lycanthropy does not experience any changes in their stats. I had an issue with lycnathropes possessing the weapon damage immunity while in human form, so this change erases that detail.
Next, werewolves as presented in the Basic Rules have complete control over their transformations, save for during the full moon (though this isn't mentioned in their stat blocks). The werewolf seen in pop culture, on the other hand, seldom has full control over when they transform. My homebrew werewolf stats add conditions under which lycanthrope players and NPCs must make saving throws to avoid transforming into a werewolf. This adds the threat of a lycanthrope party member transforming against their will. Without this element of lycanthropy, it's hardly a curse for the character.
The most obvious issue with this to me is that once a character transforms, the player loses control of them until they revert back to humanoid form. I'm considering adding a mechanic to allow characters to fight their werewolf instincts while in werewolf form. Perhaps repeating the Charisma saving throw when they see someone they care for (like a fellow party member), allowing them to gain control of thei character for a brief period.
Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: This is just my personal thoughts on the way werewolves are handled in 5e. I do not mean to disrespect anyone who likes the official werewolf statistics. This is just my personal take on the topic.
"And that day, a red rain fell from the sky here."
I tried the link and got a link warning you are leaving D&DB so I did not read it.
But in general your ideas (which you have stated above) are the product of fiction and myth. I was myself surprised just how much information was made up for the best known werewolf film in the The Wolfman as opposed to the silent film in the early 1900's I have not seem, and how that made up information has stuck around.
Having said that I do not see a problem incorporating those ideas into a creature but the problem seems to be how to deal with balance when you "power up" the lycan vs non lycan PC's when IMHO D&D 5e tries to not have flaws in races and or other options.
I do not understand the CH save vs a Will save so maybe you could explain that a bit more as most info I have seen from fiction and folk lore is based on inner strength resisting the beast that bit them's tendencies.
Good Luck
Hi, sorry about the link. For the record, it leads to homebrewery.naturalcrit.com, an in-browser tool for making homebrew content that looks more like the stuff you see in the official books (similar to GM Binder). As for why I chose a Charisma save versus a Constitution or Wisdom (Will) save for the curse, Charisma generally seems to be a valid option for saves made to resist curses. Wisdom or even Constitution would work just as well though.
"And that day, a red rain fell from the sky here."
This seems fine to me, I think you achieve the spirit you're aiming for here. The only thing that bothers me is the prone attached to Bite. For one thing, I'm not sure why a bite would cause you to fall down. Proning attacks tend to be a kind of lunge or slam. Secondly, it causes a humanoid target to make two saving throws in response to one attack. That just feels weird and overly complicated on top of also resolving the attack itself. Third, it doesn't do a lot for the werewolf since it already has a pretty reliable source of advantage in Pack Tactics. So for those reasons I'd remove the prone or add it to some kind of charge/pounce mechanic.
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
Hi there! The prone effect was there because I had just used the bite attack from the wolf stat block because I thought it had more flavor than the werewolf stat block's bite attack. It better conveyed the feeling of a massive beast taking a bite out of you. Now that you've pointed it out, two saves for one attack is a bit messy. I think I'll add a pounce attack option.
"And that day, a red rain fell from the sky here."
Thanks for the explanation, in general I would say CH (or Con if it is not magical in nature) is a valid save for the initial curse and will would be a valid save to resist the onset of the curse.
As I said above if curses are truly bad and or damaging to a PC then I tend to have levels of failure and multiple saves as this tends to provide time for the diseases impact to set into the player and provide a way for the player to deal with the often highly negative nature of the disease.
Also I think it is important to note that not all players can handle a descent into lycanthropy (AKA the 1950's The Wolfman film) adventure and they maybe/should be told what you are planning before PC gen. For example if you have will saves they would not have will be a dump stat or they would be ok with their PC going into a lycan rampage at the drop of a hat.