Lycanthropy

[Greenfield]

Several PCs were recently captured by Lycanthropic Viking types, and may or may not be subject to intentional conversion by the captors.

The community has a number of different types, including Were-Bear, Were-Boar, Were-Wolves and Were-Rats. Haven't seen any Were-Tigers yet, but the day is yet young.

The MM and SRD are a bit confusing on a few points.

For example, the sample Lycanthropes are all based on the addition of the template to a 1st level warrior, and all show a level adjustment of +3.

The various resultant creatures, however, reflect 1 hit die for the base creature (1st level warrior), plus a separate number added from the template.

Total ECL, therefore, should be the hit dice total + 3. Afflicted Lycanthropes would have a +2 instead of the +3, since their bonuses aren't as high.

This is reflected in this quote from the SRD:

Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +2 (afflicted) or +3 (natural). In addition, a lycanthrope’s character level is increased by the number of racial Hit Dice the base animal has.

Am I right so far?

Now, how do you handle that conversion for an existing character who gets afflicted?

For example (just to be extremely silly), our party Rogue is a Whisper Gnome named Ignominious T. Padfoot, and he's a Wiz1/Rogue8. He gets afflicted by a WereBear.

The conversion is completed with the next full moon. Does he immediately gain 6 hit dice, as the example suggests, with appropriate levels in Bear?

What happens to his EXP total? Is he more or less stuck at current class levels until he "pays off" the six additional levels, AND the +3 character level adjustment?

 

[Rath the Brown]

As a might-be-easier-than-suddenly-gaining-several-level's-worth-of-power-immediately idea, check out the Savage Progressions articles WotC posted back in the day. There's an article about gaining a template mid-campaign. They also happen to have already created template classes for every lycanthrope you mentioned (-bear, -boar, -wolf, -rat, and -tiger)

 

[frankthedm]

What happens to his EXP total? Is he more or less stuck at current class levels until he "pays off" the six additional levels, AND the +3 character level adjustment?

Yes. It should be modest encouragement to get the curse cured.

 

[Jackinthegreen]

Yes. It should be modest encouragement to get the curse cured.

That depends on the character. Melee characters can get a lot out of being lycanthropes.

In my last game we had a werewolf (or rather, werelabrador) samurai. He kicked enough butt that the player and DM eventually agreed he was overshadowing our other melee (not that overshadowing a Paladin or Power-Attack-less Barbarian is hard.)

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Do you play that with the affliction comes to imposed alignment change?

 

[Jackinthegreen]

Do you play that with the affliction comes to imposed alignment change?

If you're talking to me, I personally wouldn't. The supposed image of the animal will be different to each person. Plus there are ways to refluff (pun intended) the animal anyway, such as the werewolf > werelabrador in my previous post.

 

[Greenfield]

Well, the MM/SRD says that there can be lycanthropic forms of any carnivorous or omnivorous animal, and specifically mentions things like snakes and eagles being possible, though it doesn't give examples of either.

Odd thought: Would the "hybrid" form of a were-snake be able to wield a weapon?

Odd thoughts aside, Were-Labrador is clearly legal according to RAW.

 

[Thanael]

Lycanthrope, Weresnake - Viper; Lycanthrope, Wereserpent are available for 3e in the d20 book Twisted Lore

I could have sworn there was one in Ravenloft somewhere too...

 

[Azaar]

One of the Sword & Sorcery Ravenloft books for 3.5 had the werepanther. And there's likely the werebadger to be extrapolated from Azrael's stats in Sithicus.