D&D 5E Wizards planning a change to lycanthropes?

[Charlaquin]

I'm hoping that they really did mean a "silvered spell" even if such a thing doesn't yet exist. If they just meant a silvered weapon or any old spell, well that's just silly and makes the silvered weapon part meaningless.

I do think that would be cooler, but I imagine they really did mean any spell - given that before this change, lycanthropes were immune to damage from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered, but still took normal damage from spells.

 

[tetrasodium]

Regeneration. The wereraven regains 10 hit points at the start of its turn. If the wereraven takes damage from a silvered weapon or a spell, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the wereraven’s next turn. The wereraven dies only if it starts its turn with 0 hit points and doesn’t regenerate.

Is the immune replaced with a resistance to nonsilvered or just gone? The 10 point if no silvered damage probably won't make much difference than zero regen based on my experience throwing revenants with this regen below at players since almost every round involves someone dealing a negating damage type

With silvered weapons it might be a little different if there is a very limited number of silvered weapons in the group or the AC is tuned back towards past editions where you were expected to miss more often rather than 5e's 60-80%+ hit chance expectation. If it's meant to evoke the tension we used to see with regenerating stuff like trolls even with limited access to the right damage type in past editions it needs to be much more than 10hp or it just works out to hit it one more time if that.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

For a grittier version, I think I’d consider altering the spell damage to require the type be radiant or necrotic, and weapon damage must be silvered whether magical or not.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

They should at least give them resistance to damage type from spells if they say that spells stop the regen!
About 85% of the character options can use spells, that's not much of a defense for the poor were-beasts.

 

[Charlaquin]

Is the immune replaced with a resistance to nonsilvered or just gone? The 10 point if no silvered damage probably won't make much difference than zero regen based on my experience throwing revenants with this regen below at players since almost every round involves someone dealing a negating damage type
View attachment 134763
With silvered weapons it might be a little different if there is a very limited number of silvered weapons in the group or the AC is tuned back towards past editions where you were expected to miss more often rather than 5e's 60-80%+ hit chance expectation. If it's meant to evoke the tension we used to see with regenerating stuff like trolls even with limited access to the right damage type in past editions it needs to be much more than 10hp or it just works out to hit it one more time if that.

If you could word it right, it’d be great if instead of regening a fixed amount per round and silver weapon damage turning the regen off completely, it would be better if they just regened all damage dealt by weapons that aren't silvered.

 

[Charlaquin]

For a grittier version, I think I’d consider altering the spell damage to require the type be radiant or necrotic, and weapon damage must be silvered whether magical or not.

Radiant damage seems like a good solution given the lack of spell tags.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I wonder if in WotC’s playtesting they’re just seeing a high representation of non-damaging spells, like battlefield control or buffing/debuffing, so giving no spell damage type tag is meant as incentivizing spellcasters to devote more to damage spells… ?

 

[tetrasodium]

If you could word it right, it’d be great if instead of regening a fixed amount per round and silver weapon damage turning the regen off completely, it would be better if they just regened all damage dealt by weapons that aren't silvered.

It would probably be tough n the GM to do it that way, I track initiative & damage in an excel spreadsheet that adds it up for me alongside my VTT & could do it by making some (trivially simple) tweaks to the battle sheet I normally use. Trying to do that with glucose & braincells or just simple scratchings on paper might be a lot more effort though since you would have two tallies that need to be added individually & separately by braincell.

As nice as the ideal would be, it would require either always asking if a weapon was [whatevered] or volunteering why this creature is laughing off your feeble attempts. I think a better compromise for playability would just be to make the regeneration huge so not triggering it is like the moment the protagonist notices the monster just shrugged off everything. Maybe "Regeneration(1-5) as a bonus action the were raven regenerates 30 HP"

 

[Charlaquin]

How about something like this:

Regeneration. The [monster] regains [max HP] hit points at the start of its turn. If the [monster] takes radiant damage or damage from a silvered weapon, reduce the amount it regenerates at the start of its turn by the amount of damage taken. The [monster] dies only if it ends its turn with 0 hit points.

 

[Charlaquin]

Of course, any way you slice it, my players are going to deal with regenerating lycans the same way they deal with trolls. Have one character cast Chill Touch and everyone else attack normally.