D&D 5E Lycanthrope Player Characters - How Would YOU Do It?

[CleverNickName]

We're ramping up for our next D&D campaign, and one of the players ("Gaelin") really wants to play the role of a werewolf. (This person is an avid hunter, and also a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls games, especially Skyrim and Elder Scrolls Online, loves dogs...) So nobody was really surprised when she asked the DM "so in this campaign, can I be a werewolf?" Our DM is a good one, and she agreed to work with the player to find a way to make it happen. The version in the Monster Manual was kicked out of consideration, because she didn't want the character to become an alignment-shifting part-time NPC...but pretty much anything else is on the table.

The player wants to be able to grow as a werewolf, similar to the way things are done in Skyrim. (For those who don't know: contracting lycanthropy in Skyrim unlocks a special quest and a whole new skill tree. As you unlock parts of this skill tree, you learn a unique form of magic (howls) that allow you to temporarily boost your combat ability, summon spectral wolves, heal yourself, etc.) So the player wants his lycanthropy to be more than just a status condition--she wants it to gradually change her character over the course of several levels.

I thought it would make a good discussion topic for EN World. And I also thought it would be fun to set up a poll, and then collect peoples' suggestions and put them into the poll.

 

[TiQuinn]

For me, it's setting dependent. If I'm doing Ravenloft, it's something where I'll be looking at rules that also treat the affliction as being a curse so the Monster Manual might work there. But for a regular fantasy game, I really like Eberron's Shifter species.

 

[Clint_L]

It seems like you are going to have to create a custom class if you want that player to get what they want - maybe use the Critical Role Blood Hunter as a chassis? It sounds like way too much for a species. I often find that it can be tricky to balance player visions with overall class balance; hopefully your player recognizes that having lycanthropy can't make their character inherently better than everyone else's character.

Edit: I voted for "custom species," but actually I'd create a custom class, since this player's vision goes a lot further than the sorts of minor modifications that come with species (i.e. they want significant new powers that unlock as they level - that's a class, not a species).

 

[CleverNickName]

It seems like you are going to have to create a custom class if you want that player to get what they want - maybe use the Critical Role Blood Hunter as a chassis? It sounds like way too much for a species. I often find that it can be tricky to balance player visions with overall class balance; hopefully your player recognizes that having lycanthropy can't make their character inherently better than everyone else's character.

Ooo, good suggestion. I've added it to the poll.

 

[MarkB]

Do we know yet whether lycanthropes are looking any different in the 2025 MM? Might be worth seeing if they've done anything different with their immunities, which are the most troublesome aspect of making a PC version.

 

[CleverNickName]

Edit: I voted for "custom species," but actually I'd create a custom class, since this player's vision goes a lot further than the sorts of minor modifications that come with species (i.e. they want significant new powers that unlock as they level - that's a class, not a species).

You can vote for both. :3

I voted for "Use the Shifter species in Eberron" and the "Use the Path of the Beast from Tasha's" options. I prefer to use existing game assets, rather than trying to create stuff from whole cloth. If the player wants to be able to use a magical howl ability, I'd use the existing feats like Magic Initiate to handle those, reskinning existing spells as needed ("Vicious Mockery" becomes "Unsettling Howl," etc.)

 

[CleverNickName]

Do we know yet whether lycanthropes are looking any different in the 2025 MM? Might be worth seeing if they've done anything different with their immunities, which are the most troublesome aspect of making a PC version.

That's a good question. Our DM has said that we aren't going to switch over to the updated 2024 rules, but we might be able to cherry-pick them for ideas...

 

[BookTenTiger]

I would definitely just modify a class. Barbarian would probably be my go-to, with the character transforming into a werewolf form when they rage.

 

[CreamCloud0]

this is sort of a hodge podge of options but have them take the shifter species and then let them upgrade their abilities via feats, these include some of the options from path of the beast, maybe some cherry-picked class features, or let them apply feats which might usually have some other requirement (like adapting dragonborn's dragon fear species feat)

 

[AlViking]

I wouldn't but if I were to I'd make levels of werewolf a unique class based on barbarian or just a barbarian subclass similar to the path of the berserker. Their rage is what turns them furry and gives them all their benefits. Probably give them an unarmed attack and bite as the extra attack, but turning into a werewolf should come at a cost like with barbarian's frenzy . In other words if you want the benefits there has to be some sort of cost to it.