lycantropy and ECL's

[Valeria]

When a character becomes afflicted with lycanthropy during adventuring should the DM impose an ECL penalty? And if the character later gets cured, do they automatically go up in levels?

 

[Xarlen]

Nope.

THey have no power what happens to them. It's an accident, and one they can't control. The DM has every right to change them, and take control of them, because they can't handle the transformation.

It's not *their* fault they're efflected, and it's like taxing them for getting diseased; not in Hps or ability scores, but in levels, and that's just not fair.

 

[Caliban]

My suggestion:

If it's really an affliction and not just a set of new powers for the PC, then there shouldn't be an ECL adjustment.

If the PC ever finds a way to completely control their lycanthropy, and thus suffer no side effects without getting it cured, then they should get an ECL modifier.

(Basically set their character level higher than their current class level, without changing their XP total. This will give them an XP deficit they have to make up before they can gain a class level again.)

 

[Valeria]

Currently there is no known way to cure lycanthropy,in this adventure, so the character has no choice in being a were.