Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Clutchbone Sep 16, 2015 11:46:13	If one of your players contracted lycanthropy, how would you integrate it into your game? Would you, the DM, take control of the PC "during the next full moon" (ie a long rest or another point/time determined by you) and have them attack the rest of the party? I'm asking because lycanthropes play a small part in an upcoming session. I have a group of mixed alignment characters (mercenaries for hire) and I'm fairly certain that one or two of them would fully embrace the curse if they were to contract it.   On a related note, is there any downside to being a werebear as (or wereboar for evil PCs)? In the MM, p. 207, the only specific side effect is an alignment change - and losing control 1 night/lunar cycle for those that fight the curse - but why would a good PC werebear fight the curse?
#2 AaronOfBarbaria Sep 16, 2015 12:15:21	Just let them have it, no reason not to.
#3 iserith Sep 16, 2015 12:18:13	Clutchbone wrote:
#4 Clutchbone Sep 16, 2015 13:55:41	Thanks for the replies. I guess I was just concerned that contracting lycanthropy would in practice be a massive permanent buff rather than the terrible curse I was expecting. There's really no incentive to cure it.   Fun fact: with immunities to nonmagical weapon attacks, two unarmed lycanthropes can't actually hurt each other in a fight. Territory disputes between werewolf packs must be hilarious to watch.
#5 transcendantviewer Sep 16, 2015 13:52:03	The benefits of lycanthropy are obvious, the drawbacks, not so much. If the PC accepts the curse, you shouldn't take away their character, but if they fight it, each full moon, you take their character and wreak havoc. The drawbacks of being a lycanthrope are that you now have instincts and a beastial nature. If you lose control or are found out by beast-hunters, you are liable to make a lot of enemies, and all the damage immunities and increased natural armor in the world can't protect you against a hoard of beast-slayers with silvered swords.
#6 Greenstone.Walker Sep 17, 2015 16:30:15	It depends on what lycanthropy means in your game.   In my previous games (GURPS and Call of Chtulhu), lycanthorpy was a curse. When your PC was in beast form I took control of it and used it to do as much killing and violence and chaos as possible, to cause your human form as much pain and anguish and trouble as possible. Rour character would wake up, covered in blood, in the middle of a field, haunted by the question "Oh, gods, what did I do?"   In D&D, it seems to be much less of a curse and much more of a "interesting quirk". Wererats operate in thieves guilds, werebear barbarians hun the tundra and protect their tribes, werecats plot and intrigue.
#7 Clutchbone Sep 18, 2015 9:23:25	To me, what sticks out about lycanthropy is "immunity to nonmagical & nonsilvered weapons, stat increase, keen smell/relentless/charge/pounce, possible AC bonus, speed increase or climb speed."   Why wouldn't a player want to be a lycanthrope? At least beyond the possible alignment shift, but even then there's a variety for good, neutral and evil players.     The obvious parallel is vampirism, but that entry in the MM (pg 295) says "the DM might take control of the character until the vampirism is reversed". Even if the player retained control, the Chained to the Grave and Vampire Weaknesses entries would both seriously inhibit a vampire player character.
#8 transcendantviewer Sep 18, 2015 10:36:30	Lycanthropes, even the good ones, harbor a reputation. One that travels. Far and wide. They're hunters, beasts, savage and fierce. They can be civil, logical, friendly. And they can be ferral, bestial, and deadly. The good ones self-exile and live only amongst others of their own kind, the neutral ones hide themselves away, try to avoid their instincts or live with them, and the evil ones emrace their new forms, becoming monsters to fear and hate. Tell me that those are not downsides. Tell me that becoming or being born like that is not a danger. The world won't just let something that deadly exist. They wouldn't just be let free to wreak havoc on the world. Not if they are that powerful. This game is not a videogame. You can't simply "Be that strong". You can get stronger, sure, but that warrents greater challenge. The DM won't just let you do that. Sure, you can become a Werewolf, and sure, you can even embrace the change and become a monster and still maintain who you are, but the world will be against you in new ways you've never experienced before.
(Reply to #8) the-alchemist	transcendantviewer wrote:
(Reply to #9) transcendantviewer	the-alchemist wrote:
(Reply to #8) Clutchbone	transcendantviewer wrote:
(Reply to #9) Mechatarrasque	the-alchemist wrote:
(Reply to #9) AaronOfBarbaria	the-alchemist wrote: