Mulletmanalive
2010-05-01, 12:49 PM
Credit where it's due: A week or so back, Heliomance published the very nifty Werewolf (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149876) class that I took a shine to. My issue with it was that it felt like it either deserved prestige status, as a class that actually meant something to join and the fact that while it seemed to meet the feel of the Loup de Noir, a critter from Ravenloft from way back, it had this "too awesome to be first level" vibe if combined with it. Hence, this is my rather crude first draft for the Loup de Noir.
One note: Way i normally use it, Wis is the Defence stat, not Dex, so D&D players can ignore the Agile Warrior ability and assume that the Def progression is Natural Armour when in wolf form.
Loup de Noir:
There are similar tales in many societies of skilled individuals claiming the skins and essence of beasts and petitioning the spirits to bind the spirit of the beast to his own. These stories have some basis in fact and the breed that is most common is known as the Loup de Noir, the black wolf, because of the best documented example known from French-Canadian folklore.
The process of becoming a Loup is one of great skill, determination and obsession and requires the hopeful to claim the skin of an alpha beast, skin it and undergo a long and solitary ritual to merge the beast's spirit with his own. Once this is completed, unique in each case, the Loup can don the skin of the slain beast and merge with it, becoming a great black wolf that has great resilience due to its unnatural and slightly fæ nature. In both his forms, the Loup gains a dark charisma, forming a pack of his own and learns his territory well, even without noticing himself. It becomes difficult to deal with them after a point because they can smell when you're lying.
Other forms of Loup exist, including bear warriors and those of south Asia who don the skins of tigers. Notes and suggestions are included at the end of the description if you wish to use these class variants.
Prerequisites:
In order to join the fraternity of the Loup de Noir, a character must meet the following requirements:
Skills: Survival 6 ranks, Prayercraft or Witchcraft 6 ranks
Feats: Self Sufficient
Special: The candidate must travel into the wilds to be at least three days away from civilisation and at least one day away from even his closest companions; he must travel without items that could be of any assistance to him, though he may wear clothing. Once there, he has three days to prepare and make weapons, at which point he must track or lure a Wolf Alpha and slay it, taking its skin.
He must then complete a day long ritual, whereupon he transforms into a wolf and goes on a wild run for a day and a night, eventually returning to the original campsite with the abilities of the Loup. The GM is encouraged to include at least one random encounter in this day and a night.
Note: While not strict rules, actually achieving the last part is difficult and means that the practical requirements of entry are in addition to:
BAB: +5
Feats: Self Sufficient, Track
Skills: Survival 8 ranks, Prayercraft or Witchcraft 3 ranks
{table]Level |
BAB |
Def |
Fort |
Ref |
Will |
Wolf Str |
Wolf Dex |
Wolf Con |Special
1|
+0 |
+0 |
+0 |
+2 |
+0 |
+2 |
+4 |
+2 |Form of the Beast [5 Minutes], Bite 1d8, Agile Warrior
2|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|
+1|
+2|
+4|
+2| Lupine Trip, Scent
3|
+2|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|
+2|
+4|
+2| Barrelling Pounce, Lope +5ft
4|
+3|
+3|
+2|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+4|
+2| Form of the Beast [1 Minute]
5|
+3|
+3|
+2|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|
+4| Improved Form of the Beast, Bite 2d6
6|
+4|
+4|
+3|
+5|
+3|
+2|
+6|
+4| Leader of the Pack, Lope +10ft
7|
+5|
+5|
+3|
+5|
+3|
+2|
+6|
+4| Form of the Beast [Full action]
8|
+6|
+6|
+4|
+6|
+4|
+2|
+6|
+4| Harrier
9|
+6|
+6|
+4|
+6|
+4|
+4|
+8|
+4| Greater Form of the Beast, Bite 3d6, Lope +15ft
10|
+7|
+7|
+5|
+7|
+5|
+4|
+8|
+4| Form of the Beast [Move action], Primal Wolf [/table]
Hit Dice: d8
Class Skills: Balance [Dex], Concentration [Con], Handle Animal [Cha], Hide [Dex], Listen [Wis], Move Silently [Dex], Prayercraft [Cha], Search [Int], Spot [Wis], Survival [Wis], Swim [Str], Witchcraft [Wis].
Skill points per level: 4 + Int
Class Features:
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: A Loup de Noir gains no proficiency with weapons, though he gains the ability to use his natural weapons when in Wolf form.
Because of experience, the Loup can wear his pelt over his shoulders at all times, without encumbrance. When doing so, he may use the pelt as a shield if he chooses, but the pelt takes damage as per the Form of the Beast entry.
Form of the Beast [Su]: By donning the pelt, the Loup de Noir can will the beginning of his transformation. At first level, this takes 5 minutes [25 rounds] of near crippling pain but once the transformation is complete, he may move and act in his wolf form. As the Loup gains levels in the class, this period becomes less and less; at 4th level it is reduced to one minute [5 rounds], at 7th level it becomes a Full action to transform, allowing Shift actions and the like and at 10th level, the Loup may transform as a Move action that, like drawing a weapon, can be combined with another Move action. Transforming back into human form takes exactly the same amount of time and pain.
In wolf form, the Loup gains a +2 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Constitution and a +4 bonus to Dexterity. He also becomes quadrupedal, increasing his base move to 40ft and doubling any bonuses he may gain to his speed, and gains a Bite attack that deals 1d8 damage +1½ times his Strength bonus. Finally, the Loup gains potent defences while in his lupine form, gaining DR 10/Silver against all attacks and when exposed to moonlight, gains Fast Healing equal to his class level.
The downside is that the pelt is actually quite fragile and should he suffer Massive Damage while wearing it, or the pelt absorb damage equal to his massive damage while he is not merged with it, he will automatically be forced to change back into human form and be unable to return to lupine form. The pelt has Fast Healing equal to his level and no thresholds when not worn, so it repairs itself swiftly as long as it is exposed to moonlight.
Agile Warrior [Ex]: Because of their need to fight in Wolf form and through a harsh learning curve during their first change, a Loup de Noir learns to fight using its Dexterity. As a Swift action, the Loup may add its Dex modifier to its Defence and Attack Rolls until the beginning of its next turn. It may use this ability once per round
Lupine Trip [Ex]: One of the basic tricks of canine assault it so bite the flesh of the calf, disabling the leg and causing the target to fall. In either form, whenever a 2nd level Loup strikes a Flatfooted or Flanked target, they knock the target prone. This is often used against targets that are running away from them [running renders you Flatfooted against melee attacks].
Scent [Ex]: The senses of a Loup de Noir grow to match those of his lupine half. He gains the Scent ability with an effective range of 15ft and a +2 bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent. In Lupine form, both of these effects are doubled [detection out to 30ft, +4 on tracking].
Barrelling Pounce [Ex]: By 3rd level, the Loup has harmonised with his canine half sufficiently to use the attack that is reserved for leadership challenges, elk and humans. He leaps through the air, gains purchase with his teeth and pulls his foe painfully to the ground. When charging, he can elect to pounce, he may choose any number between one and his current class level and add this to his Critical Threat Range with his bit. This number is also applied as a penalty to his defence. If the attack confirms as a critical, the victim is pulled over prone, as well as taking the multiplied bite damage. The increase to Threat Range replaces the normal bonuses for charging, though this counts as a charge in all other ways.
Lope [Ex]: Wolves are faster than humans and this begins to seriously rub off on the Loup by 3rd level. He gains a +5ft bonus to his movement speed, which increases to +10ft at 6th level and +15ft at 9th level. As previously mentioned, this bonus is doubled when in lupine form. This bonus applies only when wearing light or no armour.
Improved Form of the Beast [Su]: By 5th level, the Loup de Noir has become deeply entwined with his lupine self. His bonuses to Dexterity and Constitution increase to +6 and +4 respectively, his bite damage increases to 2d6 and his damage reduction increases to DR 15/Silver.
Leader of the Pack: Being a pack alpha is a bit like making friends by kicking their asses. By 6th level, the Loup has gathered a few such individuals. The Loup gains one 5 HD Minion per Loup level, creating any mix that they wish from the Human classes and the Animal monster class. There is a limitation that a creature must be aggressive in nature, meaning it MUST have an attack bonus of at least +7 to qualify as members of the Loup's pack. Each time the Loup gains a level, regardless of the class, he gains another such Minion.
Harrier [Ex]: There is little in this world more terrifying than being circled by a predator. Come 8th level, a Loup de Noir has finally mastered how to walk the walk. When he shifts from one square to another while keeping a foe in his threatened area, all of his allies count as flanking that target for the rest of the round as all eyes are on the big wolf.
Greater Form of the Beast [Su]: By 9th level, the Loup de Noir's spirit is once again singular. There is no separation between the lupine and human souls any more. His Strength bonus increases to +4, his Dexterity bonus increases to +8, his Bite damage becomes 3d6 and his Damage Reduction increases to DR 20/Silver.
Primal Wolf [Su]: The final, ultimate skill of a Loup de Noir is to tap into the very essence of Wolf-ness for a brief time. Some consider this to be Wolf, the great spirit of the Americas, while others postulate that it may be the Platoan "form" of wolf, the perfect conception from which all other wolfs take their form and name. Regardless of what it may be, the Loup takes on the form of a wolf the size of a horse for a few brief moments.
Activating this ability is a Swift action that is usually combined with a charge and may be used once per Mission or once per phase of the moon on longer ones [new, waxing crescent, half, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, half, waning crescent]. In this form, the Loup's Form of the Beast is enlarged to Large size for 2 minutes [10 rounds]. This has the following effects, all values are Net values, after adjustment: +8 Str, +6 Dex, +8 Con, Bite 4d6 +1½ Str, +4 on Grapple, Intimidate, Bullrush etc, -4 on Hide checks. In addition, the Loup gains a +10 bonus to his DR and his Fast Healing functions even if he is not under moonlight.
One note: Way i normally use it, Wis is the Defence stat, not Dex, so D&D players can ignore the Agile Warrior ability and assume that the Def progression is Natural Armour when in wolf form.
Loup de Noir:
There are similar tales in many societies of skilled individuals claiming the skins and essence of beasts and petitioning the spirits to bind the spirit of the beast to his own. These stories have some basis in fact and the breed that is most common is known as the Loup de Noir, the black wolf, because of the best documented example known from French-Canadian folklore.
The process of becoming a Loup is one of great skill, determination and obsession and requires the hopeful to claim the skin of an alpha beast, skin it and undergo a long and solitary ritual to merge the beast's spirit with his own. Once this is completed, unique in each case, the Loup can don the skin of the slain beast and merge with it, becoming a great black wolf that has great resilience due to its unnatural and slightly fæ nature. In both his forms, the Loup gains a dark charisma, forming a pack of his own and learns his territory well, even without noticing himself. It becomes difficult to deal with them after a point because they can smell when you're lying.
Other forms of Loup exist, including bear warriors and those of south Asia who don the skins of tigers. Notes and suggestions are included at the end of the description if you wish to use these class variants.
Prerequisites:
In order to join the fraternity of the Loup de Noir, a character must meet the following requirements:
Skills: Survival 6 ranks, Prayercraft or Witchcraft 6 ranks
Feats: Self Sufficient
Special: The candidate must travel into the wilds to be at least three days away from civilisation and at least one day away from even his closest companions; he must travel without items that could be of any assistance to him, though he may wear clothing. Once there, he has three days to prepare and make weapons, at which point he must track or lure a Wolf Alpha and slay it, taking its skin.
He must then complete a day long ritual, whereupon he transforms into a wolf and goes on a wild run for a day and a night, eventually returning to the original campsite with the abilities of the Loup. The GM is encouraged to include at least one random encounter in this day and a night.
Note: While not strict rules, actually achieving the last part is difficult and means that the practical requirements of entry are in addition to:
BAB: +5
Feats: Self Sufficient, Track
Skills: Survival 8 ranks, Prayercraft or Witchcraft 3 ranks
{table]Level |
BAB |
Def |
Fort |
Ref |
Will |
Wolf Str |
Wolf Dex |
Wolf Con |Special
1|
+0 |
+0 |
+0 |
+2 |
+0 |
+2 |
+4 |
+2 |Form of the Beast [5 Minutes], Bite 1d8, Agile Warrior
2|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|
+1|
+2|
+4|
+2| Lupine Trip, Scent
3|
+2|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|
+2|
+4|
+2| Barrelling Pounce, Lope +5ft
4|
+3|
+3|
+2|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+4|
+2| Form of the Beast [1 Minute]
5|
+3|
+3|
+2|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|
+4| Improved Form of the Beast, Bite 2d6
6|
+4|
+4|
+3|
+5|
+3|
+2|
+6|
+4| Leader of the Pack, Lope +10ft
7|
+5|
+5|
+3|
+5|
+3|
+2|
+6|
+4| Form of the Beast [Full action]
8|
+6|
+6|
+4|
+6|
+4|
+2|
+6|
+4| Harrier
9|
+6|
+6|
+4|
+6|
+4|
+4|
+8|
+4| Greater Form of the Beast, Bite 3d6, Lope +15ft
10|
+7|
+7|
+5|
+7|
+5|
+4|
+8|
+4| Form of the Beast [Move action], Primal Wolf [/table]
Hit Dice: d8
Class Skills: Balance [Dex], Concentration [Con], Handle Animal [Cha], Hide [Dex], Listen [Wis], Move Silently [Dex], Prayercraft [Cha], Search [Int], Spot [Wis], Survival [Wis], Swim [Str], Witchcraft [Wis].
Skill points per level: 4 + Int
Class Features:
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: A Loup de Noir gains no proficiency with weapons, though he gains the ability to use his natural weapons when in Wolf form.
Because of experience, the Loup can wear his pelt over his shoulders at all times, without encumbrance. When doing so, he may use the pelt as a shield if he chooses, but the pelt takes damage as per the Form of the Beast entry.
Form of the Beast [Su]: By donning the pelt, the Loup de Noir can will the beginning of his transformation. At first level, this takes 5 minutes [25 rounds] of near crippling pain but once the transformation is complete, he may move and act in his wolf form. As the Loup gains levels in the class, this period becomes less and less; at 4th level it is reduced to one minute [5 rounds], at 7th level it becomes a Full action to transform, allowing Shift actions and the like and at 10th level, the Loup may transform as a Move action that, like drawing a weapon, can be combined with another Move action. Transforming back into human form takes exactly the same amount of time and pain.
In wolf form, the Loup gains a +2 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Constitution and a +4 bonus to Dexterity. He also becomes quadrupedal, increasing his base move to 40ft and doubling any bonuses he may gain to his speed, and gains a Bite attack that deals 1d8 damage +1½ times his Strength bonus. Finally, the Loup gains potent defences while in his lupine form, gaining DR 10/Silver against all attacks and when exposed to moonlight, gains Fast Healing equal to his class level.
The downside is that the pelt is actually quite fragile and should he suffer Massive Damage while wearing it, or the pelt absorb damage equal to his massive damage while he is not merged with it, he will automatically be forced to change back into human form and be unable to return to lupine form. The pelt has Fast Healing equal to his level and no thresholds when not worn, so it repairs itself swiftly as long as it is exposed to moonlight.
Agile Warrior [Ex]: Because of their need to fight in Wolf form and through a harsh learning curve during their first change, a Loup de Noir learns to fight using its Dexterity. As a Swift action, the Loup may add its Dex modifier to its Defence and Attack Rolls until the beginning of its next turn. It may use this ability once per round
Lupine Trip [Ex]: One of the basic tricks of canine assault it so bite the flesh of the calf, disabling the leg and causing the target to fall. In either form, whenever a 2nd level Loup strikes a Flatfooted or Flanked target, they knock the target prone. This is often used against targets that are running away from them [running renders you Flatfooted against melee attacks].
Scent [Ex]: The senses of a Loup de Noir grow to match those of his lupine half. He gains the Scent ability with an effective range of 15ft and a +2 bonus on Survival checks when tracking by scent. In Lupine form, both of these effects are doubled [detection out to 30ft, +4 on tracking].
Barrelling Pounce [Ex]: By 3rd level, the Loup has harmonised with his canine half sufficiently to use the attack that is reserved for leadership challenges, elk and humans. He leaps through the air, gains purchase with his teeth and pulls his foe painfully to the ground. When charging, he can elect to pounce, he may choose any number between one and his current class level and add this to his Critical Threat Range with his bit. This number is also applied as a penalty to his defence. If the attack confirms as a critical, the victim is pulled over prone, as well as taking the multiplied bite damage. The increase to Threat Range replaces the normal bonuses for charging, though this counts as a charge in all other ways.
Lope [Ex]: Wolves are faster than humans and this begins to seriously rub off on the Loup by 3rd level. He gains a +5ft bonus to his movement speed, which increases to +10ft at 6th level and +15ft at 9th level. As previously mentioned, this bonus is doubled when in lupine form. This bonus applies only when wearing light or no armour.
Improved Form of the Beast [Su]: By 5th level, the Loup de Noir has become deeply entwined with his lupine self. His bonuses to Dexterity and Constitution increase to +6 and +4 respectively, his bite damage increases to 2d6 and his damage reduction increases to DR 15/Silver.
Leader of the Pack: Being a pack alpha is a bit like making friends by kicking their asses. By 6th level, the Loup has gathered a few such individuals. The Loup gains one 5 HD Minion per Loup level, creating any mix that they wish from the Human classes and the Animal monster class. There is a limitation that a creature must be aggressive in nature, meaning it MUST have an attack bonus of at least +7 to qualify as members of the Loup's pack. Each time the Loup gains a level, regardless of the class, he gains another such Minion.
Harrier [Ex]: There is little in this world more terrifying than being circled by a predator. Come 8th level, a Loup de Noir has finally mastered how to walk the walk. When he shifts from one square to another while keeping a foe in his threatened area, all of his allies count as flanking that target for the rest of the round as all eyes are on the big wolf.
Greater Form of the Beast [Su]: By 9th level, the Loup de Noir's spirit is once again singular. There is no separation between the lupine and human souls any more. His Strength bonus increases to +4, his Dexterity bonus increases to +8, his Bite damage becomes 3d6 and his Damage Reduction increases to DR 20/Silver.
Primal Wolf [Su]: The final, ultimate skill of a Loup de Noir is to tap into the very essence of Wolf-ness for a brief time. Some consider this to be Wolf, the great spirit of the Americas, while others postulate that it may be the Platoan "form" of wolf, the perfect conception from which all other wolfs take their form and name. Regardless of what it may be, the Loup takes on the form of a wolf the size of a horse for a few brief moments.
Activating this ability is a Swift action that is usually combined with a charge and may be used once per Mission or once per phase of the moon on longer ones [new, waxing crescent, half, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, half, waning crescent]. In this form, the Loup's Form of the Beast is enlarged to Large size for 2 minutes [10 rounds]. This has the following effects, all values are Net values, after adjustment: +8 Str, +6 Dex, +8 Con, Bite 4d6 +1½ Str, +4 on Grapple, Intimidate, Bullrush etc, -4 on Hide checks. In addition, the Loup gains a +10 bonus to his DR and his Fast Healing functions even if he is not under moonlight.