Is Lycanthropy Hereditary?

[White_Drake]

Is afflicted lycanthropy hereditary? If not, what about innate lycanthropy? What about templates applied via powerful magics such as Wish? I have a character who is an afflicted werepanther, and I was wondering if his lycanthropy would be passed on to his son (he is thinking of settling down), then I started thinking on the topic of templates in general. Any ideas?

[Righteous Doggy]

Erm, an affliction is what happens when you get bitten and go wild. Natural is when your born that way. You could always play one as the other. I think it could be applied via wish if your DM allowed it, but thats kind of nutty when you consider the implications and cruelty. As a side note, the Shifter race happen to be humans with weak lycanthrope blood in them.

[The Bandicoot]

Yeah, if anything I'd say his son would be a Shifter. Afflicted lycanthropy is a contracted disease but it could be present in a lessened form in the child. Hence Shifter.

[White_Drake]

Erm, an affliction is what happens when you get bitten and go wild. Natural is when your born that way. You could always play one as the other. I think it could be applied via wish if your DM allowed it, but thats kind of nutty when you consider the implications and cruelty. As a side note, the Shifter race happen to be humans with weak lycanthrope blood in them.

Yes, I know how they work, but if an afflicted character had a son, would it be passed on, or would it work like a normal disease, and not affect the bloodline? On a side note, the mother would be a mermaid, so the kid's going to have pretty freaky genealogy anyway.

[Righteous Doggy]

Yeah, if anything I'd say his son would be a Shifter. Afflicted lycanthropy is a contracted disease but it could be present in a lessened form in the child. Hence Shifter.

Well, shifters are a race of people somehow, that all have a distant relative with lycanthropancy... its trippy like that, but you could always say its a shifter. Much easier on making pcs.

[Marnath]

I think I read somewhere, maybe in one of the forgotten realm books, that there's a 50% chance your child will be born as a natural lycanthrope. Rising higher if you are a natural one too, obviously.

[Averis Vol]

marnath hit it on the head. as far as races of faerun puts it if an afflicted lycanthrope has a child, theres a 50% chance that your child will have it. same for your child and their children and their children. the only difference is natural lycanthropes have the advantage of being able to control their affliction better.

[Stabbald]

There is a local hero trait in Shackled City that works well for descendants of lycanthropes.

[Acanous]

Yes, I know how they work, but if an afflicted character had a son, would it be passed on, or would it work like a normal disease, and not affect the bloodline? On a side note, the mother would be a mermaid, so the kid's going to have pretty freaky genealogy anyway.

I think you're focusing on the long term problem when you should be focusing on the short- IE: The Mermaid problem.
How do you intend to have kids *At all*?

[Firest Kathon]

I think you're focusing on the long term problem when you should be focusing on the short- IE: The Mermaid problem.
How do you intend to have kids *At all*?

The same way all other humans have kids?

[BlueEyes]

Afflicted lycan is one that got bitten. Natural lycan is one that got born from a afflicted or natural lycan. Shifter is one that had a lycan ancestor, just like aasimars or tieflings.