D&D 5E I TPL'd (Total Party Lycanthroped) my players and they don't know yet! Best time to reveal and fun alternate rules sought.

[Z. H. Darkstar]

Agree that a prestige classes isn't necessary, but it could be a fun way to give them some options and a way to embrace without the alignment change if done right.

Feels like a good use of the prestige class rules as presented in UA as the way to gain access is through an event in the campaign. And for those who don't want that path, they can still try to get cured and continue on with their regular level progression.

The reason that I'm against the prestige class idea is that your players are already in the third tier of gameplay. They may already have ideas on how they plan on playing out the rest of their careers. If this happened before they hit double digits, they might be more open to a prestige class idea. I think that the time spent on coming up with them would be better used on adjusting the power curve of your encounters.

Also, if your prestige class lycanthropes get hit with Remove Curse, how do you handle the lost levels? I think that you should hold off on the prestige class idea for another game, where you can work it in earlier into the campaign.

You got lucky in infecting the players without their awareness. I suggest letting it play out in the way the designers came up with before coming up with your own. That way you have actual gameplay experience to use as reference for your homebrew.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You could KEEP option 2 viable if the ship were taken by pirates, just before the transformation. That way, there is less of a moral issue: the bodies found and the terrified survivor could all be pirates who have already sent the crew overboard.

 

[OB1]

I guess the reason I like the idea of a Prestige class here is that it was unplanned. Sure I put the were-creatures in the game, but I certainly wasn't expecting every PC to fall under the curse. My group loves it when unexpected events cause an non-DM planned change in the course of the game, so I think they may appreciate the option.

Here's what I'm thinking.

Go with option 2 in that they first discover the curse while on the ship. They don't kill the crew, but either force the crew to abandon ship or find themselves thrown overboard and adrift. Either way, they next find themselves on a mysterious island with a strange old hermit who offers them help for a price. He will be able to either cure them of the curse or teach them how to embrace it and keep their alignment. Has a quest for them. Either way, we follow the rules in the MM until the players make the decision to embrace the curse or not over the course of several adventures. The quest even intersects with their primary goal, only now with the danger of them being potentially dangerous. I haven't established rules for full moons in my campaign, so I'm going to say they are sporadic, happening completely randomly (rolling a 1 or 2 on a d10?). Players will not have control of their characters when they transform during the transition phase.

Should they succeed at the quest they will be given the option by the strange old hermit to have remove curse cast or to join the Order of the Moon. Of course, they also can try to find another NPC to cast Remove Curse on them if they do some research and discover that is a cure.

I'm thinking to base Order of the Moon very strongly off of a Druid progression, with the Wild Shape functions replaced by changing into their animal or hybrid forms, with various benefits. Will probably sub the spell progression for druids with some sort of mechanical benefits kicking in, such as the damage resistance's/immunities. As well as a lessening danger when the full moon comes around, to the point where at the 5th level of the Prestige Class, they gain additional benefits instead of penalties when the moon is full.

Going to think on what exactly those 5 levels will look like. My guess is that 1 of the PCs might try and go in this direction, but perhaps all.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I think option 2, but just have the whole crew flat out disappear. The PCs slaughter the crew on deck, any remains they didn't eat were washed overboard and survivors all abandoned ship.

 

[Boneguard]

Whatever you do, make sure before the reveal, that you are playing songs from american werewolf in london.

Or American werewolf in Paris...that's pretty good too

 

[Unwise]

In a somewhat infamous game at my local shop (not one I was involved in) somebody found out they were a wereboar when they came too in a pig pen, having got randy...

If you never want to DM again, I suggest that route.

 

[Sunseeker]

I would suggest: determine in game what the moon cycle is when they get infected. IMO: there is fun in not knowing for a good deal of game time. Was it a full moon when they got infected, or were the BBEG's henchmen forcibly transformed all the time? Do they transform every night? Only during a full-moon?

Personally, were-creatures that embrace their nature without some kind of ritual or guidance do so because they are driven mad, ie: become NPCs.

Werewolves and other were creatures are fairly easy to find given limited space and a finite number of people. So, if you don't want to have them turned while on the ship, give them nightmares or other "symptoms" until they are off the ship. Perhaps the attack occurs the night the ship docks, so there is believable disbelief that the party is responsible, even the party might suspect someone has snuck on the ship! This could also allow you to keep the initial kill count low, perhaps just the night watchman gets killed as the character runs off in the night, only to find themselves back on the ship sleeping in a different location.

My choice would be a little of both, have the attack occur on the ship, but have sightings of the were-beasts in town. This keeps it a mystery, keeps the kill count down, and makes the players have to venture into town to piece things together. Otherwise, the simple fact that the party is alive, and the crew is all dead doesn't really sound like a mystery to me. I think it would be obvious that either the scared peon was responsible, or the party is. Given the scared peon never did anything before and the party fought werebeasts, I think they'd solve it pretty quick.

As for trouble finding transportation, if they don't transform every single night and don't solve the mystery in 4 days, they'll have another 3 weeks to wonder! In which they could procure transportation as normal and noone would be the wiser.

 

[ccs]

You could have the voyage take several weeks, arriving in port just before they change.
One session run some sea born encounters/RP.

One session run some stuff having just arrived in town.
Have the party make some saves. Those who pass are fine for the 1st night. Failure = violently ill. Night 2 passes quietly enough - except there's been a horrible murder somewhere....

Then next session run a mass combat. Put out the maps, have the players place themselves where ever, put out a whole bunch of monsters & play until the PCs TPK. The monster figs the PCs are slaughtering are of course not really monsters....
They wake up in the street the next morning covered in blood, surrounded by dead townsfolk/guards/carnage & hearing wild tales of a monster attack.
Maybe some local tribe of ______ is blamed & the PCs are sent to wipe them out in retaliation?
And then business takes the party out of town.
And if there were any survivors of ? Well then, the parties now responsible for spreading the curse & the "monster" attacks will resume in a month. And the Pcs can hear of rampaging were-creatures & return to deal with them....

 

[jodyjohnson]

There are a few things I would never do to a campaign: TPK (Kill), TPL (Lycanthropy), TPV (Vampirism), and the Deck of Many Things - unless they asked for it. But I'm pretty relaxed about the definition of asking for a TPK: usually it just means they personally challenge me as a DM to kill them (their characters that is).

 

[OB1]

Then next session run a mass combat. Put out the maps, have the players place themselves where ever, put out a whole bunch of monsters & play until the PCs TPK. The monster figs the PCs are slaughtering are of course not really monsters....

This is great. Think I might actually use it on the boat. They wake up, think there is an attack happening, they start fighting. Someone lights the ship on fire, they have to escape on the lifeboats. But of course all of that is through the haze of their bloodlust.

Of course that gets back to the problem of having the PCs murdering innocents. But that could just highlight what an issue having the curse is and force them to have to deal with it.
[MENTION=93444]shidaku[/MENTION] - I'm really trying to decide if I want this to be a mystery over several sessions or simply a surprise that becomes clear right away. And I'm with you on them needing to have guidance to not go insane/become NPCs, which is why I'm thinking of creating a prestige class and giving them a mentor to teach them or offer them salvation. If they just let the madness take them they will become NPCs.
[MENTION=5590]jodyjohnson[/MENTION] - I tend to think (as do my players) that the best part of this game is when something that the DM didn't plan for changes things and offers new inspiration and direction.