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View Full Version : Lycanthropy; A fix (hopefully, PEACH)



Trodon
2013-01-22, 10:19 PM
Okay! I love were-beasts, a lot. But having to take all of the animal's HD makes the template a lot harder to play. So here I am, this was a copy/paste then edit job, so it's mostly the same as the original, but different enough I think. The two things I'm worried about are the +12 to DEX and +12 to STR from the Dire Bat and Tiger respectively. And I don't know how to fix it without breaking the formula. So please, PEACH away! :smallbiggrin:



Therianthrope (Template)


Creating a therianthrope
"Therianthrope" is a template that can be added to any humanoid (referred to hereafter as the base creature). The therianthrope template can be inherited (for natural therianthropes) or acquired (for afflicted therianthropes).

Size and Type: The base creature’s type does not change, but the creature gains the shapechanger subtype. The therianthrope takes on the characteristics of some type of carnivorous or omnivorous creature of the animal type (referred to hereafter as the base animal).

Therianthropes can also adopt a hybrid shape that combines features of the base creature and the base animal. When a therianthrope adopts his hybrid form his size increases by one category (Black Bear, Crocodile, Large Shark, and Tiger), stays the same (Boar, and Wolf), or decreases by one category (Dire Bat, or Dire Rat). When increasing/decreasing in size this way, the base creature does not gain the usual benefits or drawbacks to his ability scores and natural armor as they gain bonuses to both from the base animal/
A therianthrope uses either the base creature’s or the base animal’s statistics and special abilities in addition to those described here.

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Same as the base creature, the base creature does not gain the hit dice of the base animal.

Speed: Same as the base creature or base animal, depending on which form the therianthrope is using. Hybrids use the base creature’s speed and may gain an additional movement mode, depending on the base animal (see below). If the base creature already has the movement mode gained, use whichever is better.

{table=head] Animal| Movement Mode
Dire Bat|Fly 40ft (Good)
Crocodile|Swim 30ft
Shark, Large|Swim 60ft
[/table]

Armor Class: The base creature’s natural armor bonus increases by +2 in all forms. In hybrid form, the therianthrope’s natural armor bonus is equal to the natural armor bonus of the base animal or the base creature (modified by the extra +2), whichever is better.

Base Attack/Grapple: Same as the base creature. The therianthrope’s grapple bonus uses its attack bonus and modifiers for strength and size depending on the therianthrope’s form.

Attacks: Same as the base creature or base animal, depending on which form the therianthrope is using. A therianthrope in hybrid form gains natural weapons according to the base animal (see below).

{table=head] Base Animal| Natural Attacks
Dire Bat|Bite
Bear, Black|Bite, Two Claws
Boar|Gore
Crocodile|Bite, Tail Slap
Dire Rat|Bite
Shark, Large|Bite
Tiger|Bite, Two Claws
Wolf|Bite[/table]

Damage: Same as the base creature or base animal, in hybrid form the creature deals the base animal’s damage or according to their (possibly new) size, whichever is better.

Special Attacks: A therianthrope retains the special attacks of the base creature or base animal, depending on which form it is using, and also gains the special attacks described below.

A therianthrope’s hybrid form gains any special attacks of the base animal. A therianthrope spellcaster cannot cast spells with verbal, somatic, or material components while in animal form, or spells with verbal components while in hybrid form.

Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Any humanoid or giant hit by any natural therianthrope’s natural attacks in animal or hybrid form must succeed on a DC 15 fortitude save or contract therianthropy. If the victim’s size is not within one size category of the therianthrope the victim cannot contract therianthropy from that therianthrope. Afflicted therianthropes cannot pass on the curse of therianthropy.

Special Qualities
A therianthrope retains all the special qualities of the base creature and the base animal, and also gains those described below.

Alternate Form (Su): A therianthrope can assume the form of a specific animal (as indicated in its entry).
Changing to or from animal or hybrid form is a standard action.
A slain therianthrope reverts to its humanoid form, although it remains dead. Separated body parts retain their animal form, however.
Afflicted therianthropes find this ability difficult to control (see therianthropy as an affliction, below), but natural therianthropes have full control over this power.

Damage Reduction (Ex): An afflicted therianthrope in animal or hybrid form has damage reduction 5/silver. A natural therianthrope in animal or hybrid form has damage reduction 10/silver.

Therianthropic Empathy (Ex): In any form, therianthropes can communicate and empathize with normal or dire animals of their animal form. This gives them a +4 racial bonus on checks when influencing the animal’s attitude and allows the communication of simple concepts and (if the animal is friendly) commands, such as "friend," "foe," "flee," and "attack."

Low-Light Vision (Ex): A therianthrope has low-light vision in any form.

Scent (Ex): A therianthrope has the scent ability in any form.

Abilities: All therianthropes gain +2 to Wisdom. In addition, when in animal form, a therianthrope’s physical ability scores improve according to its kind, as set out in the table below. These adjustments are equal to the animal’s normal ability scores -10 or -11. A therianthrope in hybrid form modifies its physical ability scores by the same amount.

{table=head] Base Animal| Bonus
Dire Bat|+6 Str, +12 Dex, +6 Con
Bear, Black|+8 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Con
Boar|+4 Str, +6 Con
Crocodile|+8 Str, +2 Dex, +6 Con
Dire Rat|+6 Dex, +2 Con
Shark, Large|+6 Str, +4 Dex, +2 Con
Tiger|+12 Str, +4 Dex, +6 Con
Wolf|+2 Str, +4 Dex, +4 Con[/table]

Feats: A therianthrope receives Iron Will as a bonus feat.
Environment: Same as either the base creature or base animal.
Organization: Solitary or pair, sometimes family (3-4), pack (6-10), or troupe (family plus related animals)
Challenge Rating: By class level or base creature, modified according to the HD of the base animal: 1 HD or 2 HD, +2; 3 HD to 5 HD, +3; 6 HD to 10 HD, +4; 11 HD to 20 HD, +5; 21 or more HD, +6.
Treasure: Standard.
Alignment: Same as the base creature
Advancement: By character class.
Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +2 (afflicted) or +3 (natural).


Therianthropy as an Affliction
When a character contracts therianthropy through a therianthrope’s natural attack (see above), no symptoms appear until the first night of the next full moon. On that night, the afflicted character involuntarily assumes animal form and forgets his or her own identity, temporarily becoming an NPC. The character remains in animal form until the next dawn.
The character remembers nothing about the entire episode (or subsequent episodes) unless he succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom check, in which case he becomes aware of his therianthropic condition.
Thereafter, the character is subject to involuntary transformation under the full moon and whenever damaged in combat. He or she feels an overwhelming rage building up and must succeed on a Control Shape check (see below) to resist changing into animal form. Any player character not yet aware of his or her therianthropic condition temporarily becomes an NPC during an involuntary change. A character with awareness of his condition retains his identity and does not lose control of his actions if he changes.
Once a character becomes aware of his affliction, he can now voluntarily attempt to change to animal or hybrid form, using the appropriate Control Shape check DC. An attempt is a standard action and can be made each round.

Changing Form
Changing form is a standard action. If the change is involuntary, the character performs the change on his next turn following the triggering event. An afflicted character that is not aware of his condition remains in animal form until the next dawn. An afflicted character who is aware of his or her condition (see above) can try to resume humanoid form following a change (voluntary or involuntary) with a Control Shape check, but if he fails his check, he remains in animal (or hybrid) form until the following dawn.

Curing Therianthropy
An afflicted character who eats a sprig of belladonna (also called wolfsbane) within 1 hour of a therianthrope’s attack can attempt a DC 20 Fortitude save to shake off the affliction. If a healer administers the herb, use the character’s save bonus or the healer’s Heal modifier, whichever is higher. The character gets only one chance, no matter how much belladonna is consumed. The belladonna must be reasonably fresh (picked within the last week).

However, fresh or not, belladonna is toxic. The character must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Strength damage. One minute later, the character must succeed on a second DC 13 save or take an additional 2d6 points of Strength damage. A remove disease or heal spell cast by a cleric of 12th level or higher also cures the affliction, provided the character receives the spell within three days of the lycanthrope’s attack. The only other way to remove the affliction is to cast remove curse or break enchantment on the character during one of the three days of the full moon. After receiving the spell, the character must succeed on a DC 20 Will save to break the curse (the caster knows if the spell works). If the save fails, the process must be repeated. Characters undergoing this cure are often kept bound or confined in cages until the cure takes effect. Only afflicted therianthropes can be cured of therianthropy.

Therianthropes as Characters
Becoming a therianthrope does not change a character’s favored class.

Control Shape (Wis)
Any character that has contracted therianthropy and is aware of his condition can learn Control Shape as a class skill. (An afflicted therianthrope not yet aware of his condition can attempt Control Shape checks untrained.) This skill determines whether an afflicted therianthrope can control his shape. A natural therianthrope does not need this skill, since it has full control over its shape.

Check (Involuntary Change)
An afflicted character must make a check at moon-rise each night of the full moon to resist involuntarily assuming animal form. An injured character must also check for an involuntary change after accumulating enough damage to reduce his hit points by one-quarter and again after each additional one-quarter lost.

Involuntary Change Control Shape DC
Resist involuntary change 25
On a failed check, the character must remain in animal form until the next dawn, when he automatically returns to his base form. A character aware of his condition may make one attempt to return to humanoid form (see below), but if he fails; he remains in animal form until the next dawn.

Retry (Involuntary Change)
Check to resist an involuntary change once each time a triggering event occurs.

Check (Voluntary Change)
In addition, an afflicted therianthrope aware of his condition may attempt to use this skill voluntarily in order to change to animal form, assume hybrid form, or return to humanoid form, regardless of the state of the moon or whether he has been injured.

Voluntary Change Control Shape DC
For game purposes, the full moon lasts three days every month.
{table=head] Voluntary Change| Control Shape DC
Return to Humanoid Form (full moon)|25
Return to humanoid form (not full moon)|20
Assume hybrid form|15
Voluntary change to animal form (full moon)|15
Voluntary change to animal form (not full moon)|20[/table]

Retry (Voluntary Change)
A character can retry voluntary changes to animal form or hybrid form as often as he likes. Each attempt is a standard action. However, on a failed check to return to humanoid form, the character must remain in animal or hybrid form until the next dawn, when he automatically returns to humanoid form.

Special
An afflicted therianthrope cannot attempt a voluntary change until it becomes aware of its condition (see therianthropy as an affliction).

Debihuman
2013-01-25, 06:05 AM
I recommend using the standard changes for creatures that increase size, see here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#sizeIncreases.

Debby