D&D (2024) Lycanthropes in the MM

[Micah Sweet]

I'm not a fan of feat chains.

Besides, I don't really feel like lycanthropy should be a PC option. It's a curse. I know there are good lycanthropes, but it's still a curse. It ought to be something that the player with a cursed PC should want to get rid of ASAP. Not be seen as a desirable power-up.

If you want to play as a werewolf or a vampire, there are other games specifically made for that.

I see no reason you shouldn't be able to play a lycanthropic character (cursed or otherwise) in a D&D-style game. It just takes the right model for what you want. Assuming the PC needs to dedicate themselves to just getting rid of it to me really narrows possibilities in the setting, and smacks of what I call "assumption of heroism" where the PCs are pushed into being the good guys (by the setting, the rules, or the GM). Not my preference.

 

[Charlaquin]

It's weird how people talk like there were these explicit rules for PCs suffering from lycanthropy in the 2014 rules. There weren't. What was there was super vague and not helpful at all.

I thought it was pretty explicit, just wildly overpowered.

 

[pukunui]

I see no reason you shouldn't be able to play a lycanthropic character (cursed or otherwise) in a D&D-style game. It just takes the right model for what you want. Assuming the PC needs to dedicate themselves to just getting rid of it to me really narrows possibilities in the setting, and smacks of what I call "assumption of heroism" where the PCs are pushed into being the good guys (by the setting, the rules, or the GM). Not my preference.

I always insist on having heroic PCs. They can be Han Solos rather than Luke Skywalkers but yeah ... I don't enjoying running or playing in games where the PCs are the monsters (whether literally or figuratively).

One of the issues I had with the 3PP Odyssey of the Dragonlords campaign was that it tried (and in some cases failed) to make monsters like medusae playable. I don't want that. If I'm playing an ancient Greek style game, I want to fight a medusa. I don't want to play as one or adventure alongside one. It takes some of the monstrousness and mystery out of it.

I thought it was pretty explicit, just wildly overpowered.

Yeah, it was essentially a series of templates.

 

[Corinnguard]

I'm not a fan of feat chains.

Besides, I don't really feel like lycanthropy should be a PC option. It's a curse. I know there are good lycanthropes, but it's still a curse. It ought to be something that the player with a cursed PC should want to get rid of ASAP. Not be seen as a desirable power-up.

If you want to play as a werewolf or a vampire, there are other games specifically made for that.

If you are afflicted lycanthrope, lycanthropy is a curse. But if you are a natural lycanthrope, wouldn't it be a different story?

Anyhow, the next best thing is being the descendant of a lycanthrope. D&D has the Shifters. Level Up otoh has the Garoul.

Garoul | Level Up

a5e.tools

The legends and sources of lycanthropy are famous throughout many civilizations, but less well-known are the garoul. Descended long ago from the children of werewolves, these lupine folk are free to embrace their wolfish nature without fear of losing control, making many good neighbors, fierce friends, and even fiercer enemies. This common lineage aside, they are as varied as any heritage: travelers in obscuring cloaks pull up in their covered wagon, their eyes glowing from the shadows; a furry child with pointed canines knocks at the door, offering a freshly picked pumpkin as a gift; lupine figures gather on a remote, starlit hill, lifting their hands to worship the moon. Each of these people are the garoul.

The garoul are wolf-folk of lycanthropic heritage, gifted with deft hunting instincts and a deep connection to the wilds. Werewolves transform between a variety of forms, and this shows up for the garoul by way of physical diversity. Most garoul resemble bipedal wolves, harkening back to their ancestors’ hybrid form. Other garoul present more on the humanoid side of their lineage, and would be able to pass as humans and elves if it weren’t for certain distinctive lupine features, such as yellow eyes or sharp canines.

Garoul tap into their bestial ancestry to enhance their strength, but how they do so varies. Some garoul are intimately connected to their lupine instincts at all times, while others focus this connection to physically turn into wolves.

I hope A5e eventually comes up with heritages that cover the other kinds of lycanthropy.

 

[wizard71]

I really dislike the loss of immunity to non silvered or magic weapons. I would at least give them resistance. It seems like the monk and warlock abilities to do magic damage are now class ribbons instead of useful abilities.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I really dislike the loss of immunity to non silvered or magic weapons. I would at least give them resistance. It seems like the monk and warlock abilities to do magic damage are now class ribbons instead of useful abilities.

They don't have that ability anymore. The monk can do force damage.

 

[pukunui]

They don't have that ability anymore. The monk can do force damage.

Which is still something of a ribbon since hardly anything resists BPS now.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Which is still something of a ribbon since hardly anything resists BPS now.

Which is totally wrong. A lot of things resist p/b/p.

Anything that is incorporeal and swarms, some titans (tarrasque, empyreans).

I counted around 33 monsters. A few only resist piercing. Funny thing is that between CR9 and CR18 there is a big gap.

Mordenkainens and Fizban also have a few that resist b/p(/s) .

 

[Reynard]

I thought it was pretty explicit, just wildly overpowered.

I looked them up before I posted that, and there isn't much there.

 

[Micah Sweet]

If you are afflicted lycanthrope, lycanthropy is a curse. But if you are a natural lycanthrope, wouldn't it be a different story?

Anyhow, the next best thing is being the descendant of a lycanthrope. D&D has the Shifters. Level Up otoh has the Garoul.

Garoul | Level Up

a5e.tools

The legends and sources of lycanthropy are famous throughout many civilizations, but less well-known are the garoul. Descended long ago from the children of werewolves, these lupine folk are free to embrace their wolfish nature without fear of losing control, making many good neighbors, fierce friends, and even fiercer enemies. This common lineage aside, they are as varied as any heritage: travelers in obscuring cloaks pull up in their covered wagon, their eyes glowing from the shadows; a furry child with pointed canines knocks at the door, offering a freshly picked pumpkin as a gift; lupine figures gather on a remote, starlit hill, lifting their hands to worship the moon. Each of these people are the garoul.

The garoul are wolf-folk of lycanthropic heritage, gifted with deft hunting instincts and a deep connection to the wilds. Werewolves transform between a variety of forms, and this shows up for the garoul by way of physical diversity. Most garoul resemble bipedal wolves, harkening back to their ancestors’ hybrid form. Other garoul present more on the humanoid side of their lineage, and would be able to pass as humans and elves if it weren’t for certain distinctive lupine features, such as yellow eyes or sharp canines.

Garoul tap into their bestial ancestry to enhance their strength, but how they do so varies. Some garoul are intimately connected to their lupine instincts at all times, while others focus this connection to physically turn into wolves.

I hope A5e eventually comes up with heritages that cover the other kinds of lycanthropy.

I really would strongly recommend Van Richten's Treatise on Lycanthropy from the DMs Guild. Just just an amazing resource on the subject for 5e. I can't think of an aspect of creating, playing, or running a huge variety of lycanthropes that it doesn't cover, and it was quite easy to make minor adjustments to their material to fit my Level Up game.