Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
White Dwarf Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Nest
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
EN Publishing
Twitter
BlueSky
Facebook
Instagram
EN World
BlueSky
YouTube
Facebook
Twitter
Twitch
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions, OSR, & D&D Variants
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Why do 5e lycanthropes get their powers in human form?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Willie the Duck" data-source="post: 8659295" data-attributes="member: 6799660"><p>When the game was first envisioned, they could have done all sorts of things with each of these monsters*. The folklore is very open to interpretation -- a silver bullet is the way to kill a werewolf, but is that because they are immune to everything else**, or because silver does extra damage and they are 4 HD creatures (meaning it's the only likely way a 1 hd commoner is ever going to win against them)? Both werewolves and vampires vary from story to story in how badass they are, and it would have been perfectly possible for a badass werewolf to have been one with a small amount of innate power and a large number of levels or HD. </p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">*among many others. Trolls, for instance, even when specifying the <em>Three Hearts and Three Lions</em> version, could have been anything representing rapid healing. The version we got (regenerate any non-fire/acid HP damage) is super-specific and could have easily been anything else.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">**counterpoint: most D&Ds have rules for higher level monsters being able to bypass silver or magic weapon resistance based on HD, even if their attacks aren't specifically coded as magical.</span></p><p></p><p>Regardless, that's a reasonable position to take, but then be prepared for the downstream consequences. Game balance, in general, is a priority that gets disproportionate digital ink on forum discussions and gaming think-pieces and the like. The PC that gets great stat rolls or is the one Str-based melee character when the Vorpal greatsword drops is also going to be, to a lessor or greater degree, more powerful (especially if compared to the other PC that rolled a 1 on their most recent level up HP roll). The game keeps running with imbalances. However, I understand the desire to keep those imbalances to a dull roar and why the huge benefit* of these new forms can be seen as an issue.</p><p><span style="font-size: 9px">*it should also be said that immunity/regeneration to damage from non-silvered, non-magical weapons isn't as overpowered as the thread has implied. There is a lot of damage out there not of that type (especially as level goes up) -- there are just a lot of cases where that damage does come up, and it's notable when they stop being a threat (especially to only some of the PCs). </span></p><p></p><p>D&D has made a number of decisions that could have gone multiple ways, went with one, and now has to lie in the bed it made. Individual groups can choose to adhere to those decisions, or come up with alternate solutions. </p><p></p><p>We don't play in the same circles, but I know plenty of people who would like a 'playable' werewolf race (balanced against other PC race options, that is. Probably not identical to the shifter, but in the same vein. I also know a number of groups that have had werewolves and such and not had an issue.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Willie the Duck, post: 8659295, member: 6799660"] When the game was first envisioned, they could have done all sorts of things with each of these monsters*. The folklore is very open to interpretation -- a silver bullet is the way to kill a werewolf, but is that because they are immune to everything else**, or because silver does extra damage and they are 4 HD creatures (meaning it's the only likely way a 1 hd commoner is ever going to win against them)? Both werewolves and vampires vary from story to story in how badass they are, and it would have been perfectly possible for a badass werewolf to have been one with a small amount of innate power and a large number of levels or HD. [SIZE=1]*among many others. Trolls, for instance, even when specifying the [I]Three Hearts and Three Lions[/I] version, could have been anything representing rapid healing. The version we got (regenerate any non-fire/acid HP damage) is super-specific and could have easily been anything else. **counterpoint: most D&Ds have rules for higher level monsters being able to bypass silver or magic weapon resistance based on HD, even if their attacks aren't specifically coded as magical.[/SIZE] Regardless, that's a reasonable position to take, but then be prepared for the downstream consequences. Game balance, in general, is a priority that gets disproportionate digital ink on forum discussions and gaming think-pieces and the like. The PC that gets great stat rolls or is the one Str-based melee character when the Vorpal greatsword drops is also going to be, to a lessor or greater degree, more powerful (especially if compared to the other PC that rolled a 1 on their most recent level up HP roll). The game keeps running with imbalances. However, I understand the desire to keep those imbalances to a dull roar and why the huge benefit* of these new forms can be seen as an issue. [SIZE=1]*it should also be said that immunity/regeneration to damage from non-silvered, non-magical weapons isn't as overpowered as the thread has implied. There is a lot of damage out there not of that type (especially as level goes up) -- there are just a lot of cases where that damage does come up, and it's notable when they stop being a threat (especially to only some of the PCs). [/SIZE] D&D has made a number of decisions that could have gone multiple ways, went with one, and now has to lie in the bed it made. Individual groups can choose to adhere to those decisions, or come up with alternate solutions. We don't play in the same circles, but I know plenty of people who would like a 'playable' werewolf race (balanced against other PC race options, that is. Probably not identical to the shifter, but in the same vein. I also know a number of groups that have had werewolves and such and not had an issue. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Why do 5e lycanthropes get their powers in human form?
Top