PDA

View Full Version : making lycanthropes



riddles
2009-01-30, 05:57 AM
i'm going to be getting back into playing again soon and i'm looking at creating a lycanthrope as i thought it might be fun.

first: i'll be able to get the level buy off rules, so arguments for and against natural/afflicted would be great. i like natural because the DR is considerably better but it would be much harder to buy it off early.

second: the animal. low HD with good benefits. i would love something where i could turn into the animal form for a bit of tomfoolery/sneakery/usefulness outside of combat.
current candidates are riding dog and black bear.


riding dog: i get +4 to all physical stats from the riding dog, and it's a medium creature, which means my hybrid form can wear my armour. +6 to natural armour (dog is +2, lycan gives another +2) is also really useful. the lion totem barbarian pounce ability will let me power attack with a greataxe and my bite attack. which is awesome. track is also a bonus feat, which should eat up my feats.

black bear: still a medium creature, so armour is good. stats are better for combat - +8STR, +2DEX, +4CON. BUT, natural armour is worse (+4 instead of +6), it's an extra HD that i have to suck up with crap bab, saves and the rest. i'm also a bit concerned about the primary attack of the black bear being a claw. as far as i can tell, i won't be able to use that when i attack with a two handed weapon and the bear's bite is at -5, meaning i'll need the multi attack feat. there's also the issue of whether i can hide a bear in an urban setting. it's doable, though

so, could anyone advise me on this? i'll probably build a charger/pouncer build. the black bear doesn't have improved grab so grappling might be out. i am open to other suggestions though.

Talic
2009-01-30, 06:12 AM
Bear and tiger are high HD.

For options, I'd suggest Bat (high Dex), Rat, or wolf (all around).

All are medium size, non-high HD Lycanthropes that have good benefits.

As for natural vs afflicted?

Mechanically, if you have a desire to pass lycanthropy on, you'll need natural. If that's not an issue:

High Wisdom or high skill point classes can go afflicted without difficulty, and speed the buyoff process.

Low Skill/non wisdom classes? Natural.

So Bards, Rogues, Clerics, Druids, monks, and rangers? Go afflicted.
Fighters, Barbarians, wizard, sorceror? Natural.

Baron Malkar
2009-01-30, 06:23 AM
Were cat is a 1HD lycanthrope from lost empires of Faerun.

Tsotha-lanti
2009-01-30, 06:43 AM
2+2=4, not 6. And a dog lycanthrope using a weapon also turns the bite into a secondary attack (-5, ½ Str bonus to damage). So the bear form's at no disadvantage on either count.

Biffoniacus_Furiou
2009-01-30, 07:25 AM
For the animal I'd use a Serval from Sandstorm. Its a small size desert wildcat with some superb bonuses to stealth, listen, balance, climb, and jump, high Dex, along with all the typical cat special attacks (pounce, improved grab, rake). Also note that it has Weapon Finesse, which it does not meet the +1 BAB prerequisite for; anything in the core MM that did that got it as a racial bonus feat, and had a feat such as Alertness or Stealthy as their 1 HD feat instead, so that's an extra free feat starting out. I'd mix one with a Whisper Gnome, especially considering how good the skill bonuses would be:

Whisper Gnome Were-Serval
Humanoid: Str -2, Dex +2, Con +2, Wis +2, Cha -2, 30 ft movement, small
Hybrid/Animal: Str -0, Dex +8, Con +4, Wis +2, Cha -2, natural armor +3, 40 ft movement, small

2 claws primary 1d3, bite secondary 1d4
Improved Grab (bite), Pounce, Rake 1d3

Skills: +8 Hide, Move Silently, and Jump, may use Dex instead of Str on Jump checks; +4 Balance and Climb; +2 Spot; +10 Listen; in areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth, the Hide bonus increases to +12. Also don't forget the +4 Size bonus on Hide, for a total of +16.

I'd make him a Swordsage focused on Tiger Claw maneuvers. Natural is preferable, though you could easily just take max ranks in Control Form (MM p303, SRD Lycanthrope page bottom) and have an interesting backstory on how he became afflicted. Note it does not say you cannot take 10 on a Control Form check, so just a +15 would be enough for most situations, though it will probably be a cross-class skill.