Hi guys I'm pretty new to d&d having only played a very short campaign before, but now I'm running one and in the next session my party will encounter a werewolf. Now the next night the full moon will rise and I am unsure about the following scenario: lets say the ww bites one of my party members and they contract lycanthropy. Now the full moon is out so do they transform into a ww on the spot or does the curse need time to get its grip on the person? If it's the latter how long roughly? I've checked the Lycanthropy section in the mm but I dont know if what im looking for is elsewhere or what. Anyways any help is appreciated!
That's going to have to be something you take up with your DM. There is no solid answer to that question in 5e, possibly left deliberately vague in order to give DMs flexibility with their stories.
For what it's worth, in 3.5, there were more detailed mechanics, one of which stated that if a character becomes afflicted, they show no symptoms until the night of the next full moon. Assuming they know what the bite might do to them, they could also attempt to cure themselves by devouring belladonna within one hour of having been injured. Upon doing so, a Fortitude save would cure them, and regardless of how that went, another Fortitude save was needed, as belladonna is poisonous.
Considering that that the 5e werewolf gets better attacks and more HP than its 3.x counterpart, I'm going to have to go with a solid "no." How is it weaker?
I guess by not making lycanthropy a template, to me it seems like they got weaker. I am specifically thinking about the werebear. A bear is MUCH stronger and tougher than a human, but in 5e there is no stat change except an increase to AC by 1 in hybrid or bear form (a byproduct of 5e streamlining things from 3.5, IMO). The hybrid form should be POWERFUL, but in 5e it's not any better than its base humanoid form. And, yes, there are the immunities to damage types that is pretty awesome, however they're negated by using magic weapons That sounds impressive, but let's face it, having a party with +1 weapons is not very difficult. IMO, lycanthropes should have the immunities mentioned, but then have resistance to even magic weapons unless said weapons are silvered.
Thoughts?
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C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
"A bear is MUCH stronger and tougher than a human, but in 5e there is no stat change except an increase to AC by 1 in hybrid or bear form"
Werebears get an automatic strength of 19 as well as the +1 AC. All the different werecritters get free Strength boosts as well as other boosts, and that's on top of regular progression in a profession/class/whatever. That's very good, considering bounded accuracy, the equivalent of a free Guantlets of Ogre Power. And, no, werebears should not be strong as a true giant.
"That sounds impressive, but let's face it, having a party with +1 weapons is not very difficult."
I think you're overlooking something rather notable here. Beyond the fact that there are games out there that don't have any magic items in them, the majority of were creatures are below CR 5. That means that you'll be mostly facing these weres as low level characters, and yes, having a group of low leveled characters all equipped with magic weapons is actually fairly rare. Take the Lost Mines of Phandelver for example - you get the first magic weapon around level 3, and only at the very end of the campaign (ending around level 5) do you get a second - a mace for a cleric. Meanwhile, if we use Hoard of the Dragon Queen as an example, we don't get a magic item until level 5, its a bow, and even that's an unlikely scenario. Its not until level 6 and beyond that we start seeing more items. In Princes of the Apocalypse, you need to defeat a sea hag and two ogres to get your first magic weapon, so we're looking at a rather deadly fight for low level characters.
Once we start crossing the level 5 tier threshold, the chances of everyone getting magic items drastically increases, but we also start dealing with our spellcasters ending such battles with a fireball, or just casting fly and sniping the werecritter from safety.
What about the full moon makes them transform? Is it the light of the moon or is it the moon itself? (This is talking about 5th edition FYI)
Again, left to DM interpretation. Since the pantheon is so prevalent in D&D, my personal interpretation would have to do with a moon deity's curse (or blessing, depending on which lycanthrope you ask).
What about the full moon makes them transform? Is it the light of the moon or is it the moon itself? (This is talking about 5th edition FYI)
Again, left to DM interpretation. Since the pantheon is so prevalent in D&D, my personal interpretation would have to do with a moon deity's curse (or blessing, depending on which lycanthrope you ask).
If the transformation is triggered specifically by the moon's light, then it would be possible for a lycanthrope to simply lock themselves in a basement or cave or other windowless place, and they would never transform. Something to think about when making a decision on that.
Spoiler alert for Out of the Abyss, but there are wererats in it, including party members. They will be forced to shift by the full moon, despite being in the Underdark, so they won't know when a change is coming, though I intend to run it so they can feel it coming.
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Hi guys I'm pretty new to d&d having only played a very short campaign before, but now I'm running one and in the next session my party will encounter a werewolf. Now the next night the full moon will rise and I am unsure about the following scenario: lets say the ww bites one of my party members and they contract lycanthropy. Now the full moon is out so do they transform into a ww on the spot or does the curse need time to get its grip on the person? If it's the latter how long roughly? I've checked the Lycanthropy section in the mm but I dont know if what im looking for is elsewhere or what. Anyways any help is appreciated!
That's going to have to be something you take up with your DM. There is no solid answer to that question in 5e, possibly left deliberately vague in order to give DMs flexibility with their stories.
For what it's worth, in 3.5, there were more detailed mechanics, one of which stated that if a character becomes afflicted, they show no symptoms until the night of the next full moon. Assuming they know what the bite might do to them, they could also attempt to cure themselves by devouring belladonna within one hour of having been injured. Upon doing so, a Fortitude save would cure them, and regardless of how that went, another Fortitude save was needed, as belladonna is poisonous.
Right well I think I won't have them instantly turn. Thanks for the help!
Ok cool thanks for the info!
Is it just me or were lycanthropes nerf'd (weakened) in 5e as compared to 3.5?
C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
Considering that that the 5e werewolf gets better attacks and more HP than its 3.x counterpart, I'm going to have to go with a solid "no." How is it weaker?
I guess by not making lycanthropy a template, to me it seems like they got weaker. I am specifically thinking about the werebear. A bear is MUCH stronger and tougher than a human, but in 5e there is no stat change except an increase to AC by 1 in hybrid or bear form (a byproduct of 5e streamlining things from 3.5, IMO). The hybrid form should be POWERFUL, but in 5e it's not any better than its base humanoid form. And, yes, there are the immunities to damage types that is pretty awesome, however they're negated by using magic weapons That sounds impressive, but let's face it, having a party with +1 weapons is not very difficult. IMO, lycanthropes should have the immunities mentioned, but then have resistance to even magic weapons unless said weapons are silvered.
Thoughts?
C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
"A bear is MUCH stronger and tougher than a human, but in 5e there is no stat change except an increase to AC by 1 in hybrid or bear form"
Werebears get an automatic strength of 19 as well as the +1 AC. All the different werecritters get free Strength boosts as well as other boosts, and that's on top of regular progression in a profession/class/whatever. That's very good, considering bounded accuracy, the equivalent of a free Guantlets of Ogre Power. And, no, werebears should not be strong as a true giant.
"That sounds impressive, but let's face it, having a party with +1 weapons is not very difficult."
I think you're overlooking something rather notable here. Beyond the fact that there are games out there that don't have any magic items in them, the majority of were creatures are below CR 5. That means that you'll be mostly facing these weres as low level characters, and yes, having a group of low leveled characters all equipped with magic weapons is actually fairly rare. Take the Lost Mines of Phandelver for example - you get the first magic weapon around level 3, and only at the very end of the campaign (ending around level 5) do you get a second - a mace for a cleric. Meanwhile, if we use Hoard of the Dragon Queen as an example, we don't get a magic item until level 5, its a bow, and even that's an unlikely scenario. Its not until level 6 and beyond that we start seeing more items. In Princes of the Apocalypse, you need to defeat a sea hag and two ogres to get your first magic weapon, so we're looking at a rather deadly fight for low level characters.
Once we start crossing the level 5 tier threshold, the chances of everyone getting magic items drastically increases, but we also start dealing with our spellcasters ending such battles with a fireball, or just casting fly and sniping the werecritter from safety.
What about the full moon makes them transform? Is it the light of the moon or is it the moon itself?
What about the full moon makes them transform? Is it the light of the moon or is it the moon itself? (This is talking about 5th edition FYI)
Again, left to DM interpretation. Since the pantheon is so prevalent in D&D, my personal interpretation would have to do with a moon deity's curse (or blessing, depending on which lycanthrope you ask).
If the transformation is triggered specifically by the moon's light, then it would be possible for a lycanthrope to simply lock themselves in a basement or cave or other windowless place, and they would never transform. Something to think about when making a decision on that.
Spoiler alert for Out of the Abyss, but there are wererats in it, including party members. They will be forced to shift by the full moon, despite being in the Underdark, so they won't know when a change is coming, though I intend to run it so they can feel it coming.