The curse of lycanthropy can be a boon to those who embrace the power it provides. Barbarians that are used to the altered mental state of their rage often have less difficulty with controlling the curse and its corrupting influences on their behavior, but no one can easily tame their inner were-beast once it is unleashed.

Most were-beast barbarians are actual lycanthropes, having been only recently bitten by another lycanthrope or corrupted by dark magic, like a cursed fur belt. Other were-beasts are the heir to a unique generational curse that transforms them, passed down from the hapless ancestor who earned the wrath of a hag, fiend, or god.

Bestial Bond

At 3rd level, your lycanthropic connection with the form of a beast grants you the special abilities of that beast. You gain darkvision out to a range of 60 feet, or if you already have darkvision, its range increases by 30 feet, up to a maximum range of 150 feet.

In addition, you choose one of the following options for your bond: bear, boar, cobra, crocodile, rat, shark, tiger, or wolf. You gain a trait based on your choice.

Beast Options	Trait
Bear, Boar, Shark, or Wolf	Hunter Senses
Cobra, Crocodile, Rat, or Tiger	Lurker Instincts

Hunter Senses. You gain proficiency in your choice of Perception or Survival. Also, you can memorize a creature's scent by sniffing it for 1 minute, and you have advantage on ability checks made to track, perceive, or recognize any creature whose scent you've memorized.

Lurker Instincts. You gain proficiency in your choice of Sleight of Hand or Stealth. Also, you never have to slow your travel pace to move stealthily, and you can always watch for danger while traveling, even when you are performing an activity.

Hunter Senses: Perception

You gain proficiency in your choice of Perception or Survival, and you chose Perception. Also, you can memorize a creature's scent by sniffing it for 1 minute, and you have advantage on ability checks made to track, perceive, or recognize any creature whose scent you've memorized.

Hunter Senses: Survival

You gain proficiency in your choice of Perception or Survival, and you chose Survival. Also, you can memorize a creature's scent by sniffing it for 1 minute, and you have advantage on ability checks made to track, perceive, or recognize any creature whose scent you've memorized.

Lurker Instincts: Sleight of Hand

You gained proficiency in your choice of Sleight of Hand or Stealth, and you chose Sleight of Hand. Also, you never have to slow your travel pace to move stealthily, and you can always watch for danger while traveling, even when you are performing an activity.

Lurker Instincts: Stealth

You gained proficiency in your choice of Sleight of Hand or Stealth, and you chose Stealth. Also, you never have to slow your travel pace to move stealthily, and you can always watch for danger while traveling, even when you are performing an activity.

Were-Beast Form

Also at 3rd level, you gain the ability to take the form of a powerful humanoid monster with bestial features.

As a bonus action, or as part of the bonus action you use to enter your rage, you can transform into a were-beast form. In this form, your bite is a natural weapon which deals 1d8 + Strength modifier piercing damage, and you count as a beast in addition to your normal type or types. While you aren't wearing heavy armor in this form, you also gain a +1 bonus to AC and to the damage rolls of your weapon attacks that use Strength.

While you're transformed using this feature, you also gain special traits determined by your choice for your Bestial Bond feature. If the description mentions a saving throw, the DC for that saving throw is 8 + your Strength modifier + your proficiency bonus.

The transformation lasts for 2 hours or until you are reduced to 0 hit points. You can use your action to end the transformation early, but only after at least 1 hour. The duration increases to 4 hours at 6th level, 6 hours at 10th level, 8 hours at 14th level, and unending at 20th level, although the minimum duration of 1 hour remains unchanged. Your DM can waive the minimum duration for a transformation if they desire.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest, unless you expend one usage of your rage to use this feature again.

Chosen Beast: Bear

In this Were-Beast Form, you have advantage on Strength checks, your carrying capacity is doubled, and your form's bonus to AC is also doubled. When you enter your rage in this form, you gain temporary hit points equal to your barbarian level + your Strength modifier (minimum of one temporary hit point) that disappear when your rage ends.

Chosen Beast: Boar

In this Were-Beast Form, once per hour, if you take damage that would reduce you to 0 hit points, you stay at 1 hit point instead. Once per turn while you are raging in this form, if you move at least 15 feet straight toward a creature and hit it with your next melee weapon attack on that turn, the target takes extra damage equal to 1d6 + half your barbarian level, and it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is larger than you, it has advantage on the saving throw.

Chosen Beast: Cobra

In this Were-Beast Form, your bite attack has a reach of 10 feet and has the finesse property. You also have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed, and your barbarian features grant bonus damage to your attacks that use Dexterity as well as those using Strength. While you are raging in this form, the first creature you hit on each of your turns with a melee weapon attack takes extra poison damage equal to 1d6 + half your barbarian level.

Chosen Beast: Crocodile

In this Were-Beast Form, you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed, you can hold your breath for 10 minutes, and your bite attack improves. Its weapon die increases to 1d10, and on a hit, you can use your bonus action to cause the target to become grappled by your bite. Until this grapple ends, you can't bite another target. While you're raging in this form and you have a creature grappled in this way, it takes piercing damage equal to 1d4 + half your barbarian level at the start of each of your turns.

Chosen Beast: Rat

In this Were-Beast Form, you have a climbing speed equal to your walking speed, your bite attack has the finesse property, your barbarian features grant bonus damage to your attacks that use Dexterity as well as those using Strength, and you can use a bonus action on your turn to Hide or Disengage. While you're raging in this form, your speed increases by 10 feet, and the first attack made against you after the end of each of your turns has disadvantage.

Chosen Beast: Shark

In this Were-Beast Form, you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed, you can breathe underwater, and you have blindsight that extends 5 feet, or 30 feet while you are in water. While you're raging in this form, the first time on each of your turns that you hit with a melee weapon attack against a creature that has blood and doesn't have all its hit points, the attack deals bonus damage equal to 1d6 + half your barbarian level.

Chosen Beast: Tiger

In this Were-Beast Form, your walking speed increases by 10 feet, your jumping distance is tripled, and once per turn, when you move at least 15 feet straight toward a creature and hit it with your next melee weapon attack on that turn, it must succeed on a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone, with advantage if it is larger than you. If you're raging in this form and it falls prone, you can immediately use your bonus action to make a bite attack against it, dealing extra damage equal to half your barbarian level on a hit.

Chosen Beast: Wolf

In this Were-Beast Form, your walking speed increases by 10 feet, and your form's bonus to damage rolls is doubled. While you are raging in this form, the first time on each of your turns that you hit with a melee weapon attack against a creature that has at least one of your allies within 5 feet of it and the ally isn't incapacitated, the target takes bonus damage equal to 1d4 + half your barbarian level.

Feral Shape

At 6th level, you gain the ability to complete your bestial transformation. You can use an action on your turn to transform into a full beast based on your choice of were-beast. This transformation follows all the same rules as the druid's Wild Shape class feature, except for what is stated differently in this feature.

While you are transformed, the following rules from Wild Shape apply:

• Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the beast, but your statistics for your hit points, AC, and ability scores remain unchanged. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the creature. If the creature has the same proficiency as you and the bonus in its stat block is higher than yours, use the creature’s bonus instead of yours. If the creature has any legendary or lair actions, you can’t use them.
• You can’t cast spells, and your ability to speak or take any action that requires hands is limited to the capabilities of your beast form. Transforming doesn’t break your concentration on a spell you’ve already cast, however, or prevent you from taking actions that are part of a spell, such as call lightning, that you’ve already cast.
• You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them if the new form is physically capable of doing so, including any special senses that you possess.
• You choose whether your equipment falls to the ground in your space, merges into your new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal, but the DM decides whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature’s shape and size. Your equipment doesn’t change size or shape to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can’t wear must either fall to the ground or merge with it. Equipment that merges with the form has no effect until you leave the form.

You can transform into only one creature and no others, which is based on your choice for your Bestial Bond feature​, as shown in the table below:

Bond	Beast Form	Bond	Beast Form
Bear	Brown Bear	Boar	Giant Boar
Cobra	Constrictor Snake	Crocodile	Crocodile
Rat	Giant Badger	Shark	Hunter Shark
Tiger	Tiger	Wolf	Wolf

While transformed, your statistics for your hit points, AC, and ability scores remain unchanged, and you keep any special senses your normal form possesses. Instead of the beast's normal size, you choose to be either Large or Medium when you transform. If you make a Dexterity (Stealth) check, you use the beast's Dexterity score for the check instead of your own. You also benefit from the special traits for your bond's Were-Beast Form, but not the bonus to AC or damage rolls.

The transformation lasts for up to 1 hour, until you are reduced to 0 hit points, or until you choose to end it as an action. When the transformation ends, you resume whatever form you were in when it began.

Once you transform using this feature, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest. The number of uses per long rest increases to two at 10th level, and the uses become unlimited at 20th level.

In addition, your natural weapons in your Were-Beast Form and your Feral Shape form count as magical for the purposes of overcoming resistance or immunity.

Feral Shape: Bear

You can transform into a Brown Bear using your Feral Shape feature.

Feral Shape: Boar

You can transform into a Boar using your Feral Shape feature.

Feral Shape: Cobra

You can transform into a Constrictor Snake using your Feral Shape feature.

Feral Shape: Crocodile

You can transform into a Crocodile using your Feral Shape feature.

Feral Shape: Rat

You can transform into a Giant Badger (Rat) using your Feral Shape feature.

Feral Shape: Shark

You can transform into a Hunter Shark using your Feral Shape feature.

Feral Shape: Tiger

You can transform into a Tiger using your Feral Shape feature.

Feral Shape: Wolf

You can transform into a Wolf using your Feral Shape feature.

Lunar Resolve

Starting at 10th level, while you are in your Were-Beast Form or your Feral Shape transformation, you have advantage on saving throws against being charmed, frightened, or having your emotions changed by magic, and you are immune to any effect that can only target beasts unless you choose to be affected.

In addition, when you use your Were-Beast Form or Feral Shape feature, you can regain hit points equal to twice your barbarian level. Once you do so, you can't do so again until you finish a long rest.

Second Skin

At 14th level, you start to feel more at home in your werebeast form than your true form. You might feel that this lycanthropic form, rather than the form you were born in, is what you were always meant to be.

While you are in your Were-Beast Form, the AC granted by your Unarmored Defense feature increases by 1, and you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks that aren't using silvered weapons. While you are raging, any bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage that you take from such attacks is reduced by an amount equal to half your proficiency bonus and can't reduce your hit points below half of your hit point maximum.

Also, regardless of your form, you have advantage on saving throws against curses, diseases, and effects that would reveal your true form against your will.