Players wanting to become infected with Lycanthrope

[Conaill]

So what are all the other PC's doing while all this is happening?

Surely the fighter isn't the only one who recognized the Lycanthropes for what they were, and who knows what will happen when you get infected?

After a fight like this, the clerics should be checking EVERYBODY for even the slightest scratch and verifying whether or not they got infected. If they're not able to do so, they should be rushing back to civilization to have everybody checked out by someone who can.

Either way, the rest of the party should know or at least suspect that the fighter has been infected, and should be taking steps to make sure he doesn't progress further, or at least keep him in chains for about a whole week around full moon.

If your other players have totally dropped the ball on this, I would feel free to give them a hint, starting with the one with the highest Wisdom or Intelligence score. The hint could be anything from reminding the player of his character's duty to make sure nobody is infected, to just having the PC notice some tell-tale signs as the full moon gets closer. For example:

"Clark the Cleric, during your watch together with Fifi the Fighter, you suddenly feel you're being watched.

Clark: I look around me, what do I see?

You see two yellow eyes staring out at you from the darkness!

Clark: I draw my mace and wake everybody up!

As you start shouting for the rest of the party, you notice those yellow eyes was just Fifi the Fighter looking in your direction. The light from the campfighter must be playing tricks on you. Why is he looking at you so hungrily though?"

 

[Fenes 2]

You know, if my DM would force a PC to slaughter the party (inlcuding my PC) to teach that PC a lesson, I would probably leave that campaign if that whole idiocy was not retconned. Just have the fighter get a disease (maybe a veneral disease), and get cured by a helpful cleric. Have some chaos magic spell go wrong, or some strange potion come up to cure lycantrophy.

What is it with people and in-game "solutions" anyway? If something bothers you, talk to the person, don't try to solve the problem in the game. If you don't think you can just forbid him from then ask the group. Apparently there are more people concenred than you and the player in question, so just ask them about having a lycantrop in the party (or a rabid wererat slaughtering their PCs).

 

[Forrester]

I'm confused about those taking Outlanders to task for making the fighter/wererat go nuts and attack the party.

It says in the MM that the check to resist an involuntary change is DC25, and the check to return to humanoid form is DC20 or DC25 (depending on the moon). I doubt this fighter is going to make ANY of these checks.

It also says (p. 219) that "no symptoms appear until the first night of the next full moon. On that night, the afflicted character involuntarily assumes animal form and becomes a ravening beast".

The "ravening beast" part certainly suggests that he's going to involuntarily attack the party. Note also that he will turn into ANIMAL form, not hybrid form (so he'll turn into a two-foot long rat!)

Outlanders, do you have any idea how much fun you can have with this? ANY time he takes damage after the first transformation, he'll turn into a rat (and all of his armor will drop off of him -- this isn't poly self) unless he makes the impossible-for-him DC25 check.

If he somehow manages to turn back (DC25 or DC20), he'll be a naked human, his gear in a pile on the floor or around him.

Play it like it says in the MM, and he'll be BEGGING for a Remove Disease spell soon enough .

 

[Stalker0]

I'd say the rest of the party is probably going to know about the possiblity of lycanthrope. If the evil guy says, I want to get infected, then next time he's injured, have the party cleric say "Relax, I'm going to heal you" Then add a remove disease to those healing spells, and blammo he's better"

 

[reapersaurus]

Lycanthropy was just discussed in detail recently (by Caliban most memorably), and it seemed there was a strong rules basis that any PC inflicted with Lycanthropy becomes an NPC.

If anyone with Search ability can find the thread, it would be very applicable to this situation and thread.

 

[maddman75]

Here's something one of my DMs did.

He sent several wererats to follow the bitten character to see if she changed or not. She had, and even put skill points into the control shape skill.

The Wererats explained to her that she had "joined the guild" and started exerting a lot of control over the character. They demanded to know of her comings and goings and a share of all her 'take'. When she got out of line, they had a cleric remove the disease.

I don't know if the wererats in your game are this powerful, but it sure made for some interesting RP.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I've always wanted to play a lycanthrope. Particularly, a were-bear or tiger, since I don't really like evil PCs. Unfortunately, it's never happened, because the +ECL is too high, and we always start at 1st-level.

As to the problem at hand: Talk to the player, and tell him that because of balance issues, you aren't going to allow a lycanthrope PC to exist. He can either get cured, or get killed. If the player persists, kill the PC. But don't punish the rest of the party for it by any means.

 

[Darkness]

Lycanthropy was just discussed in detail recently (by Caliban most memorably), and it seemed there was a strong rules basis that any PC inflicted with Lycanthropy becomes an NPC.

If anyone with Search ability can find the thread, it would be very applicable to this situation and thread.

A search for Caliban on lycanthropy? Gotcha.

Probably this thread, I guess.

(edit - Oh, and moved to GD.)

 

[Kilmore]

I don't know (or really want to know) what he was doing with the corpse of the dire rat, but you know, there ARE other diseases he could catch other than lycanthropy. Bubonic plague and rabies are historically associated with rats, and I wouldn't be surprised to find a link with AIDS and the Ebola virus.

I would say that actually attempting to spread infections over his body would be near suicidal in a fantasy setting... unless he got his cleric companion to cast Cure Disease on him.

 

[DiFier]

Seeing that he did something special to get the disease, did the other PCs notice him rubbing himself with the wererat corpse. if it was something that obvious at leat one probablly did. they would want to cure him. Or would at least look at him funny for a while. If everyone was looking at that puddle over there that looks like lord bort and didn't notice him viloting the wererat corpse then it is all up to you and the player.

talk to the player. Seeing that he used player knowlege to get something to happen, you might assume that his charachter knew that info. The charachter probablly doesn't want to attack his party. Lawful evil charachters should be smart. ₁ killing your entire party is evil but it isn't smart. you can make much better use of your party if they are alive then if they are dead. HAve him disappear a few days before he expects to turn. Have the player turn, attack some poor villagers and then turn back naked in the woods. I like what Forrester said. Does he have any magic items? gone. weapons: gone. Some poor villager whose family was slaughtered by a giant rat last night found a pile of stuff just outside the village. you might want to tell him what you plan but it might be fun not to.

Another idea is to find out what the level worth of what he has is. If it is worth 1 level tell him at next level (or 2) he doesn't level, he gets the wererat abilities. that is alittle unfair but so is using player info to make your charachter more powerful.

1 I have seen a tendency for players who want to be evil play an two unknown alignments called lawful stupid and caotic stupid.