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ooc: I've run out of time to post today, but I should be able to update this tomorrow or later tonight. First thing will be mechanics, just so that I don't have to keep track of them myself.
Okay, so obviously Tank has caught lycanthropy from those wererats back here. He doesn't yet know of his condition, having failed his wisdom check to remember what happened after changing back from rat form. Nonetheless, there are some big changes. Here's what I think the changes are:
He gains the shapechanger subtype
He gains a d8 hit die, which works out to 7 HP (3/4 max, + con), so Tank's max hp is now 20.
He becomes ECL 4 (gains a hit die, gains +2 level adjustment)
He gains +2 natural armor
He gains +2 wisdom
He gets +2 to all saves
He gains low light vision
He gains the scent special ability
He gains the following bonus feats: Alertness, Iron will, weapon finesse.
He gains 2 skill points to spend. For these points, class skills are climb, handle animal, hide, listen, move silently, spot, swim.
He gets a +4 racial bonus on cha-based checks against rats and dire rats, and can communicate with them on a basic level
He gains control shape (wis) as a class skill (only after he becomes aware of the curse). This is used for two things: to resist involuntary shape changes, and to change shape voluntarily. Involuntary changes happen at night during the full moon, or when Tank takes enough damage in combat. Voluntary change is a standard action.
Alternate form, dire rat. In this form, Tank gains the following:
+6 dex, +2 con
another +1 natural armor
base speed 40, climb 20
can't use armor
bite attack, 1d4 plus disease
DR 5/silver
+8 racial bonus on climb checks. Can always take 10
+8 racial bonus on swim checks.
use dex mod for climb and swim checks
Alternate form, hybrid (only after he becomes aware of the curse)
+6 dex, +2 con
another +1 natural armor
two claw attacks as natural (primary) weapons. 1d4.
bite attack as a secondary attack (-5 to hit), 1d6 plus disease
DR 5/silver
+8 racial bonus on climb checks. Can always take 10
use dex mod for climb and swim checks
Actually, I just realized that since Tank gained +2 wisdom, he didn't actually fail his wisdom check. So he does know that he's a wererat, and can attempt (untrained) control shape checks. I'll describe this IC shortly.
===
So, Tank gets a lot of goodies with this change. There are two downsides.
First, he becomes ECL 4, which means that it will be a long time before he gains another level. Tank is "effectively" a 4th level character, even though he doesn't have enough xp yet to be a 2nd level character. He'll need to gain enough xp to be a 5th level character before he gains his next class level.
Second, there's a strong likelihood of a permanent alignment change. There are two ways this can happen:
If Tank ever deliberately changes to animal or hybrid form, his alignment permanently becomes CE.
Each time Tank involuntarily changes to animal form, he must make a will save, DC 15 + the number of times he has been in animal form, or become permanently N.
Now, involuntary alignment changes are kind of lame, so I wouldn't expect Tank necessarily to have a huge personality change if this did happen, but I do hope it will show up in small ways. And, of course, there may be consequences in his relationships with NPCs.
The good news is that if you hate this, lycanthropy isn't necessarily permanent. It can be cured, and at least one LEW character has been cured of it that I know of. But you aren't likely to have a chance during this adventure.
As Tank explores the caves, he begins to remember bits and snatches of the previous night. He remembers blind, unreasoning anger. He remembers running freely through the night, under the moonlight -- on four hairy paws. He remembers the pain as the sun rose and his bones shifted, muscles reattached themselves in their usual places. The details are hazy, but the conclusion is clear as to what Tank has become.
The smoky smell leads Tank slightly uphill, but after perhaps a mile or two of bending tunnel, he reaches a cave in that completely blocks his way. No further progress is possible without a small army of miners. The smell of smoke is very strong here, and there are fragments of scorched, splintered wooden barrel staves lying about. It seems that the cave in might well be recent, and not an accident.
Retracing his steps, Tank works back towards where he woke up. Halfway back, he suddenly stops. There is a sudden unfamiliar smell in the air, metallic but also animal, somewhat rancid -- and nearby. Tank's eyes comb the area, but he sees nothing. Suddenly, from directly in front of him, a short, stocky person appears. It is a Duergar, a race of dwarves that Tank recognizes only from stories. He has little time to examine it, however, since it immediately throws at him the contents of its hands: a net! The net engulfs Tank, tangling his arms and legs.
Three other Duergar shimmer into visibility, holding large clubs that appear to have cloth wrapped around them. "Surrendur, or it will go worse for ye," one of them says in thickly accented Common, advancing towards Tank with his club held menacingly.
ooc: Tank is entangled in the net held by #1, and is unarmed and naked, but is at full health. (20 HP)
The first Duergar laughs, then, without lowering his guard, digs carefully in his pack. He comes out with a cloak and a length of strong rope. He tosses both to you. The cloak is made for a dwarf, but if you tie it around your waist it will serve as a makeshift kilt, as long as you don't encounter a strong breeze.
"Get on the floor on your belly. Hands behind your back," he orders, when you've covered yourself.
Now that Tank has something to wear, he rips at the net.1d20+6=26 Woohoo!
One full-round action later, the not so naked (but still unarmed) orc thinks he's ready for some evil dwarves.
OOC: Tank's 2 new skill points both go into Spot (2 ranks + Alertness -1 Wis = +3 modifier)
The Duergar have been waiting for just such a move. They step forward to surround Tank, clubs swinging. Two of the dwarves miss badly, but a third strikes a glancing blow, bruising Tank, and the last lands a solid blow to Tank's head, causing his vision to double for a moment. (ooc: Tank can't make AoOs since he is unarmed. The duergar move to surround him, attacking. Two hits, one of them a confirmed crit, for a total of 14 nonlethal damage. Tank must make a DC 25 control shape check or turn into a dire rat as a standard action at the beginning of his next turn.)
ooc: Yes, sorry I forgot to update the map last round. It currently looks like this:
Code:
================
1T2
3 4
================
Tank has a climb speed of 20 in rat form, so he can withdraw straight up the wall, however, going up one square won't get him out of reach of the duergar, who are medium creatures. If he goes up and diagonally east (or west), to get over the head of 2 (or 1), he'll only be in reach of two enemies, but even so his next move will provoke 2 AoOs. Still want to stick with that plan? Where does he intend to go after that? Let's say the cave is 15' high here.
ooc: If he goes straight up, he takes four AoOs. When withdrawing, you treat the square you're currently in as not threatened. That lets him move 5' up safely. Problem is, the square he is in at that point is still threatened by all the duergar, and leaving that second square provokes. Here's a side view:
Code:
current:
====ceiling====
1T2
====floor=====
after 5' up:
====ceiling====
T
1 2
====floor=====
ooc: Okay, I forgot something important: when Tank is forced to change involuntarily, he does so as a standard action on his turn. That means that he's only got a single move action left, which isn't enough for a withdraw action. Really sorry about that; I should have made that clear earlier.
Okay, 5-foot step diagonally up the wall, placing Tank above Duergar 1.
I think I can 5-foot step up the wall because I have a climb speed, and a 5-foot step does not provoke an AoO.
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