Quote from Crawling_Chaos >>

I think the regeneration from the Loup Garou probably should have been on here, since while it does effectively give it more HP in the combat itself, regeneration is fundamentally different in that it continues to work after the fight is over. Which would make it more critical to hit the werewolf with something that stops their regen in its tracks, and that is where silvered weapons could have come in.

And perhaps instead of a longbow, they should have had a generic Throw attack that lets them toss whatever is around and still deal a significant amount of damage with it, to play up their more bestial disposition. Plus the picture for this monster is definitely not depicting someone who would be carrying a longbow with them.

That being said, the curse on this version is definitely a lot scarier, since it turns the character into a werewolf permanently if they drop to 0 HP while they have the curse.

You're correct. On its face, Regeneration is fundamentally different than more Hit Points because it can apply indefinitely. But is it functionally different? The evidence indicates no. Regeneration on average lasts 3 rounds. This data comes from the tens of thousands of hours of play testing that went into 5e and 6e (See Player's Handbook Credits).

The benefit of having Regeneration is exactly what you described: a creature with Regeneration can come back later with full (or at least more) Hit Points without needing to take a Short or Long Rest or avail itself of healing. Is that utility helpful—does it give depth to the werewolf's archetype or add interesting design feature?

Let's first discuss the werewolf archetype. Accelerated healing is common—though not universal—amongst werewolves in modern fantasy. However, accelerated healing is a newfound aspect of their folklore—the earliest reference I could find on that was the concept of only silver being able to harm werewolves, which originated in 1935. In fact, in many histories people could identify werewolves by injuring them while in wolf form then identifying the werewolf as a human by looking for the corresponding injury. For general context, the myth of werewolves goes back to at least 430 BC. So, Regeneration is not deeply rooted in the tradition and history of werewolves. But that doesn't mean it necessarily shouldn't be included in the stat block.

Let's discuss how Regeneration adds to the werewolf's game design. Is this monster meant to disengage from a fight and return—healed—before a party can themselves heal? I don't think that is the role of the werewolf. The stat block provided is more of a bruiser that benefits from strength-in-numbers rather than hit-and-run tactics (See Pack Tactics).

Of course, one can provide an ad hoc explanation of how Regeneration could be used to warrant filling the niche of guerrilla fighter: given that your werewolves can regenerate, they adopt hit-and-run tactics because that is the best strategy. But that reasoning is circular: Regeneration fulfills the archetype of the werewolf healing and coming back to fight, which is what it does because it has Regeneration.

But what if we did include Regeneration as part of the stat block and have our werewolves use guerrilla tactics (so that Regeneration doesn't simply last 3 rounds and thus be no different than simply translating Regeneration into more Hit Points)? The result is an oppressive, annoying enemy that is a real pain for parties to deal with. The werewolf(ves) attacks and runs away. Either the party chases to defeat it (or them) or lets it go. If the party succeeds in preventing the escape, then we have the scenario above regarding Regeneration essentially being more Hit Points. If it gets away, then the werewolf accomplished the same thing that simply having another werewolf (full Hit Points) available for later. There doesn't seem to be much add to the werewolf here.

If I'm missing some aspect of why werewolves having Regeneration would be great, then please elaborate on that. But as it is, Regeneration for werewolves just seems superfluous at best and oppressive at worst.