D&D 5E Werewolf Damage Immunity Question

[Chocolategravy]

How is getting hit by a stone different than getting hit by a mace?

If the stone was thrown, it isn't, because they would both be weapon attacks and wouldn't hurt the lycanthrope unless they were silver or magic. If the stone just happened to fall off a cliff then it isn't a weapon attack so isn't the same and can hurt a lycanthrope.

 

[Derren]

If the stone was thrown, it isn't, because they would both be weapon attacks and wouldn't hurt the lycanthrope unless they were silver or magic. If the stone just happened to fall off a cliff then it isn't a weapon attack so isn't the same and can hurt a lycanthrope.

And how would you argue that in game?

 

[Sword of Spirit]

We're too used to thinking of these sorts of things as D&D physics. We acknowledge that they don't have to fit normal physics, but expect that they have to fit a sort of fantasy physics. One of the designers (I think it was Jeremy Crawford) responded to a tweet about it by, essentially, saying that's not how they are treating lycanthrope damage immunity (that's where I'm referencing the folklorish thing).

Think of it this way. The curse of lycanthropy doesn't make your body impervious to most forms of damage. Instead, it creates a supernatural cosmic rule or magical state that prevents you from being damaged by mortal weapons. Weapons with a specific supernatural significance (in this case magic or silver) are explicitly excepted from this rule and can damage as normal. Suffering damage from other sources is not covered by this rule at all, and therefore they are not immune.

If you can find a way to get around the weapon rule, (such as by using natural phenomena) they will be damaged as normal. If you go too far and turn it into a weapon wielded by mortal hands (which in game rules generally means you are making at attack roll) it falls under the supernatural rule of protection by the lycanthropic curse.

It's a change from how prior editions have treated it, but I kind of like the feel engenders. I do agree that it causes some consistency issues with regards to why lycanthropes have not become Lords of All Monsters.

 

[Derren]

We're too used to thinking of these sorts of things as D&D physics. We acknowledge that they don't have to fit normal physics, but expect that they have to fit a sort of fantasy physics. One of the designers (I think it was Jeremy Crawford) responded to a tweet about it by, essentially, saying that's not how they are treating lycanthrope damage immunity (that's where I'm referencing the folklorish thing).

Thats a lazy cop out.
For an RPG immersion is important and few things break immersion as much as "don't think about it, if doesn't make sense" build into the rules system.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

"don't think about it, if doesn't make sense"

That's seriously what you got out of my explanation?

 

[PnPgamer]

Maybe the reason for them not being the dominant ones are magic users. They are not at every corner of the street, but they are fairlycommon and usually adventuring parties have one or two. Damage done by every cantrip bypasses lycan immunity.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I'd keep the damage immunity in lycanthrope form. Lycanthrope duels get resolved by silver, magic, poison, or just stuffing the other guy in a bag and throwing him in the river tied to a big rock.

Or alternately by the lycanthropes being mindless engines of destruction and just fighting it out harmlessly until they both turn human again.

 

[Derren]

That's seriously what you got out of my explanation?

Yes, because this explanation falls apart within seconds and nothing in the lore of Werewolfs suggest that they have a magical shield.

 

[Sadras]

Well, I kinda need to know because the werewolfed PC is about to throw down with the werewolf cultist, and if they're just gonna be tickle-fighting it'll be kind of anticlimactic.

As others have mentioned a werewolf PC is not all about benefits...
Some things to consider for your campaign (despite what the MM says, you need to take some things into consideration)
1. Does the werewolf have full control over its transformation during Full Moon?
2. Does the armour, clothing and equipment change too?
3. Do the immunities/benefits (perception/strength..etc) only kick in during lycanthropic form?
4. Can animals identify a lycanthrope? (as in do dogs bark at him/her, cats shy away, horses refuse to be mounted by him/her)
5. Is it true immunity? whereby the weapon bounces back/cannot pierce the skin or does it heal almost immediately (like wolverine)
Therefore can he be tortured with normal weapons, can 20 hobgoblins stabbing him with normal longswords not bring him down?

And for the record I agree with @Derren - the logic that a falling rock can hurt/kill a werewolf but a well slung pebble or normal longsword cannot is ridiculous.
If it is a "size" thing - then an Ogre/Giant with a club should do damage against a werewolf. I think the easiest and most sane thing would be to alter the immunity to regeneration against natural attacks.
As a possible alternative, I'd use the lycanthrope's constitution score as the regeneration rate perhaps.

 

[Sage Genesis]

[MENTION=2518]Derren[/MENTION]:
Respectfully, if you want that level of world-simulation out of your RPGs then D&D might not be the best game for you. No edition of D&D was ever built with that kind of internal consistency. It came kind of close with 3e, where damage resistance meant that huge flying rocks could do damage while a flung pebble couldn't manage to go over the reduction. But now in 5e it's only full/half/none. Simpler but with a sacrifice of granularity. There is no in-game explanation. It's a system abstraction.