Lycanthropy Using the Disease Track

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

Apologies if this has been discussed before--I'm generally bad at looking for older threads on ENWorld, and my initial googling didn't turn anything up.

I really enjoy how 4e handles diseases. I don't particularly care for my inability to make my PCs sweat about killing their own party after being bitten by a lycanthrope, since bites no longer pass along the curse (without houserules, at least).

Has anyone houseruled lycanthropy rules using the 4e disease track? Does it work reasonably well?

 

[Jhaelen]

Has anyone houseruled lycanthropy rules using the 4e disease track? Does it work reasonably well?

I'm not sure I understand your question?

Are you asking about using something like the disease track in an older edition than 4e? (If so, you're in the wrong forum)

Because in 4e you don't need to houserule anything, it's already using the disease track for lycanthropy...

 

[TheClone]

Just this halloween WotC posted a preview to the Monster Vault containing the Lycanthropy disease track. It at the bottom of this page: Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Halloween)

And to be honest: I don't like it a single bit, because whatever the effect of the stages they are totally boring and are not a bit "iconic" for becoming a werewolf. I can't image what their thoughts were when they designed it. Maybe like "oh, when becoming a werewolf you become evil, so you attack your allies." I'd never use that disease in my game. But that's just my opinion.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Yeah, I wasn't that impressed with their cut at the disease track idea. It is a perfectly good way to model things like lycanthropy, but the implementation in MV manages to be both mechanically annoying AND utterly bland at the same time. You could fluff it, which I GUESS was the intent, but it still seems lacking in any kind of interesting effects. Honestly this is why I always liked that such stuff was left to the DM before.

 

[TheClone]

Yeah, I wasn't that impressed with their cut at the disease track idea. It is a perfectly good way to model things like lycanthropy, but the implementation in MV manages to be both mechanically annoying AND utterly bland at the same time. You could fluff it, which I GUESS was the intent, but it still seems lacking in any kind of interesting effects. Honestly this is why I always liked that such stuff was left to the DM before.

I'm totally fine with the idea of the disease track. I like to have such things in simple rules. It's not my kind of dming to make such things based on my gut feelings. It's the same as often with WotC or 4e. You COULD do it a lot more fluffier but they don't. And doing it yourself is a little tricky with that less of inspiration from them. (not that they're doing it all wrong)

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

I'm not sure I understand your question?

Are you asking about using something like the disease track in an older edition than 4e? (If so, you're in the wrong forum)

Because in 4e you don't need to houserule anything, it's already using the disease track for lycanthropy...

I'm looking for the classic pre-4e lycanthropy, where you actually become a werewolf. No 4e rule does this, so I'm not sure why you're saying that it's already in the game. All lycanthropes have some sort of disease that they pass on, but it doesn't involve actually becoming a lycanthrope.

I just noticed the new Moon Frenzy disease in that Monster Vault preview, which is actually what generated this thread: I'm really looking for thoughts and suggestions on stages for a disease that actually culminates in a PC being infected. It makes for fun storylines to complicate adventures (or entire adventures, as is the case in a 2e favorite of mine, Moonlight Madness). And even if it doesn't, it still makes the PCs wonder a bit every time a they get bitten.

 

[TheClone]

I do not have the rules for Lycanthropy at hand, but it roughly like this: Everytime your get bitten by were-something, you roll a fortitude save. The DC should vary a little by monster type I guess. At levels 3 or so it should be around 15 or a little higher, I think. Once you fail a single save you are infected. I you are infected you may be cured with belladonna, which needs to be prepared (using Knowledge(nature) and/or heal). Once you have taken it, you are automatically cured. No save or check. In our campaign we never came further than this, because belladonna needs to be applied quickly. Like within 24hrs or so. But I guess you'd roll none or one additional fortitude save against the same DC and during the next full moon you become a were-something (according to whatever bit you).

For 4e I'd suggest using the standard disease track, but a better one than the one from the Monster Vault and as the final state you won't die but you'll become a werewolf. Belladonna will cure you of the disease completely.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

Eh, I'd make it less cut-and-dried than TheClone would.

First the initial save to be infected if you go by 4e standard rules is just a straight saving throw at the end of the encounter. Regardless of how many times you've been hit you get one save with a flat 10 to avoid infection. That avoids either punishing or rewarding players for specific tactics, otherwise the fighter is going to be growing hair every single time you fight lycanthropes.

The disease track is good. As far as something like belladonna goes I'd just use the normal healing rules, if your healer is good then he'll use whatever the appropriate curative is. That can be skinned to be belladonna or whatever (noting that belladonna is QUITE poisonous it is rather a dangerous cure BTW).

One nice wrinkle would be an environmental modifier to the check for disease progression. Got a full moon? Ouch, dude, that will be a -5 on that save! As for the effects, I'd definitely make them less rote mechanical and more about traditional lycanthropic goodness. Maybe at stage 1 the character takes a hit in social skills and Will defense for example. Stage 2 could involve making Will checks to avoid attacking allies when no other target is available, and stage 3 is full blown howling-at-the-moon end-stage lycanthropy.

 

[Pbartender]

I'm looking for the classic pre-4e lycanthropy, where you actually become a werewolf.

I would suggest that, if this is really what you want to do, simply make it a plot device, and not based any specific rules mechanics. Defining it so concretely with rules kind of sucks all the real plot-twisting possibilities out of the affliction.

The character has contracted lycanthropy. Draw up a simple timeline of how the symptoms progress, and some basic guidelines on what must be done to cure it before time runs out and he becomes a full-fledged werewolf (effectively turning the PC into an evil NPC).

Now you have a complete and compelling adventure, rather than a fairly dull disease that's resolved by nothing more than a couple of Endurance or Heal checks.

 

[toshi]

I'm looking for the classic pre-4e lycanthropy, where you actually become a werewolf.

The easiest way is to make/allow the infected chracter to retrain to gain the druid multiclass feat.

Here are my ideas:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan...dition-lycanthropes-easy-way.html#post5350365

I'd manage the infection in a way like this:
When you get infected with a lycanthropic disease (e.g. a wererats filth fever) and you reach or are on the last stage of the infection during a full moon, you become immune to the disease and turn into a lycanthrope. Modifiers would be like +5 during a decreasing moon, +10 on a new moon, -5 during an increasing moon and -10 on a full moon.