Lycanthropy

pawsplay · Dec 11, 2003

Something that has been bothering me. When you voluntarily change shape, you immediately and permanently take on the alignment of the lycanthrope type. I can see that for werewolf or wererat. Where things get weird is the LG werebear. I have a hard time imagining a magical curse spreading goodness through the bite of a were-creature. Is it justifiable for werebears to go around nibbling on people, just to see that many of them end up turning LG? Are there entire tribes of orcs who have been converted to goodness through lycanthropy?

Does it make sense for an evil character who embraces their beast side to irrevocably make a choice for good?

Also, it's worth noting that in 3.5 alignment is not prescriptive, it's descriptive. There is no way to make a PC portray his new alignment.

Telperion · Dec 11, 2003

pawsplay said:
I can see that for werewolf or wererat. Where things get weird is the LG werebear. I have a hard time imagining a magical curse spreading goodness through the bite of a were-creature. Is it justifiable for werebears to go around nibbling on people, just to see that many of them end up turning LG?

I have a book (Secrets&Societies) on my shelf that details "a secret war" between LG were-bears and CE were-wolves. I don't particularly like the idea, and tend to ignore it as best as possible. Of course with the campaign setting I'm using that's not always possible. So, I use the infectious bite of a lycanthrope as a storytelling tool, and tend to ignore it whenever possible.

I really don't like the idea of a creature with a bite attack that can nearly instantly screw up a PC. Okay, depending on the phase of the moon you have more or less time to get it "fixed". Trouble is that not everyone will notice that they have contracted lycanthropy before it's too late. A lycanthrope wolf in the night looks pretty much like an ordinary wolf in the night, after all.

There are other magical diseases out there that are nasty as well, but this one I simply don't like.

Mystery Man · Dec 11, 2003

It's useful if your running an evil campaign though. All of a sudden your nice, evil PC is a goody two shoes.

pawsplay · Dec 11, 2003

With the werewolf, I can see it, since his soul is taken over by... something else. With the werebear, it seems like it should require some special effort to embrace his lawful good-ness.

Dunjin · Dec 11, 2003

I've always thought of it this way: When your werewolf side has taken over, it is CE and controls you that way. When you're human, you're whatever alignment you are. To take your were-form voluntarily, you battle with the dark side and make some sort of deal with it, which may or may not affect your alignment. In the meantime, you're a decent person who loses time here and there as your body is used for evil purposes.

I also consider that most werebeasts would seem to be Neutral rather than Good or Evil, save the -wolves, -rats, and -boars. There's something working in those groups that goes beyond simply being an animal spirit.

Lycanthropy

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