Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf? [Template; 3.5/PF] [Archive]

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Absol197

2012-08-19, 06:14 PM

I wrote this template up a while ago, and I decided to share it.

I love werewolves as monsters, but I always thought that the normal ones presented in the Monster Manual/Bestiary were lacking.

As a fan of the Dresden Files, I loved the loup-garou attack scenes, and it seemed to me like that's how a werewolf should be: a giant, unstoppable fiendish wolf-beast. So, I made this template, based off of that creature, with a couple of other additions I liked. Enjoy!

LOUP-GAROU

Loup-Garou, human commoner* 1
Human Form
N Medium humanoid
Init +1; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +3

DEFENSE
AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12; (+1 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 13 (1d6+10)
Fort +0, Ref +1, Will +5

OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee club +2 (1d6+3)
Special Attacks feral form

STATISTICS
Str 15, Dex 13, Con 10, Int 9, Wis 16, Cha 8
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 13
Feats Animal Affinity, Iron Will (B), Skill Focus (Profession [farmer]) (B)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Climb +8, Handle Animal +9, Profession (farmer) +7, Ride +7, Survival +7; Racial Modifiers +6 Acrobatics, +6 Climb, +4 Handle Animal, +4 Survival
SQ Wild Empathy +4 (+8 canines)
Languages Common

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Feral Form (Su) A loup-garou can harness a part of the fell energy that flows through him, taking on a vestige of the fiendish form he assumes every full moon. This form is taller and vaguely wolf-like, and the loup-garou takes a –8 penalty on Disguise checks to hide his feral appearance. While in this form, he gains a +2 racial bonus to Strength, and 2 claw attacks that deal 1d4 points of damage each. A loup-garou can assume feral form for a number of rounds per day equal to 12 + twice his Constitution modifier.

Wolf Form
CE Large aberration (augmented humanoid, shapechanger)
Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +20

DEFENSE
AC 28, touch 14, flat-footed 23; (–1 size, +5 Dex, +14 natural)
hp 112 (1d6+6d8+82); regeneration 15 (silver)
Fort +11, Ref +7, Will +11
DR 5/good; Immune acid, ability damage, energy drain, mind-affecting; Resist cold 10, fire 10; SR 18

OFFENSE
Speed 60 ft.
Melee bite +19 (2d6+15 plus 1d6 acid plus trip), 2 claws +18 (1d8+15)
Melee (PA) bite +17 (2d6+19 plus 1d6 acid plus trip), 2 claws +16 (1d8+19)
Special Attacks savage (2d6+22), smite good, terrifying howl (DC 22), trip

STATISTICS
Str 41, Dex 21, Con 28, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 8
Base Atk +4; CMB +20; CMD 35 (39 vs. trip)
Feats Animal Affinity, Improved Natural Attack (bite, claw) (B), Iron Will (B), Power Attack, Run, Skill Focus (Perception, Profession [farmer]) (B), Weapon Focus (bite)
Skills Acrobatics +20 (+32 jumping), Climb +30, Handle Animal +9, Intimidate +8, Perception +20, Profession (farmer) +7, Ride +11, Stealth +14, Survival +17; Racial Modifiers +6 Acrobatics, +6 Climb, +4 Handle Animal, +4 Perception, +4 Stealth, +4 Survival (+8 tracking by scent)
SQ rapid healing, Wild Empathy +10 (+14 canines)
Languages Common

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Rapid Healing (Ex) When it changes to and from its monstrous form, the loup-garou heals 48 hit points of damage.
Savage (Ex) This special attack functions like rend, except it functions whenever the loup-garou attacks a prone, stunned, or otherwise helpless creature with its bite attack. This bite attack gains a threat range of 18–20/x3, and deals an additional 2d6+22 damage. A loup-garou cannot perform a coup de grace at the same time that it savages.
Terrifying Howl (Su) As a standard action, a loup-garou can loose an eerie howl that strikes fear into the hearts of those who hear it. The howl can be hear clearly for miles, and any creatures within 1 mile per point of the loup-garou’s Constitution modifier (minimum 1 mile) must succeed on a Will save (DC 22) or become shaken. To those within 120 feet, the howl functions as a frightful presence effect. A creature that saves against the distant effect is immune to that effect, but can still be affected by hearing the howl up close; a creature that saves against the howl up close is immune to that loup-garou’s howl for 24 hours.

This howl has an unusual effect on dogs, wolves, and other canines who hear it. They change—gaining the fiendish template—and attack all creatures nearby, and then attempt to seek out the loup-garou, becoming part of its pack and hunting with it until the sun rises and it turns back into its humanoid form. Normal canines receive no save against this effect, but supernatural or otherwise exceptional canines (such as animal companions or blink dogs) do receive a Will save. The save DC is Constitution-based.

Loup-Garou Template
At its most basic, a loup-garou is a form of werewolf. However, the curse that creates a loup-garou is much more potent. The beast that it creates is an unstoppable killing machine, and a single loup-garou can destroy an entire town during the course of a single full moon.

Unlike typical lycanthropes, there are no natural loup-garou, and a loup-garou can never gain full control over its transformation. Even the most evil of creatures, hoping to use the beast’s power, can only consciously direct a small portion of it.

The loup-garou template is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal humanoid or giant of Medium to Huge size, hereafter referred to as the base creature. The template gives several benefits to the base creature, and when it transforms into the beast, it gains several more.

The following changes always apply to the base creature:

Senses: The base creature gains low-light vision if it did not already have it, as well as the scent ability.

Armor Class: The base creature’s natural armor bonus increases by +2.

Special Attacks: The base creature retains all of its special attacks, and gains the following special attack:
Feral Form (Su): A loup-garou can harness a part of the fell energy that flows through him, taking on a vestige of the fiendish form he assumes every full moon. This form is taller and vaguely wolf-like, and the loup-garou takes a –8 penalty on Disguise checks to hide his feral appearance. While in this form, he gains a +2 racial bonus to Strength, and 2 claw attacks that deal 1d4 points of damage each. A loup-garou can assume feral form as a free action for a number of rounds per day equal to 12 + twice his Constitution bonus. These rounds do not need to be consecutive.

Abilities: +2 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Wis, –2 Cha.

Feats: The base creature gains Iron Will as a bonus feat.

Skills: The base creature gains a +6 racial bonus to Acrobatics and Climb checks, and a +4 racial bonus to Handle Animal and Survival checks.

Special Qualities: The base creature retains all its special qualities, and gains the following special quality:
Wild Empathy (Ex): This functions as the druid class feature, but uses the loup-garou’s Hit Dice for its druid level. The loup-garou gains a +4 racial bonus on Wild Empathy checks, and an additional +4 bonus when making them with respect to canines, such as dogs and wolves.

During the three nights of the full moon, the loup-garou transforms into a hideous, wolf-like beast. The following changes occur during this transformation. If the base creature is Large or Huge size, shift its ability scores and natural armor bonus down to Medium before the adjustments for this template. Any changes here are in addition to those that apply while the loup-garou is in humanoid or giant form.

Size and Type: The loup-garou becomes Large size. Its type changes to aberration, and it gains the augmented and shapechanger subtypes. Do not recalculate base attack bonus, skill points, or saving throws.

Senses: The loup-garou gains darkvision out to 60 feet, if it did not have it already.

Armor Class: The loup-garou’s natural armor bonus increases by +12.

Hit Dice: The loup-garou adds 6d8 Hit Dice from its aberration levels.

Saves: The loup-garou’s aberration levels increase its saves as follows: Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +5.

Defensive Abilities: The loup-garou retains all its defensive abilities, and gains the following Defensive abilities:
—Damage Reduction (Su): The loup-garou gains DR 5/good if its total Hit Dice are 11 or less, or DR 10/good if its total Hit Dice are 12 or more.
—Immunity to acid, ability damage, energy drain, and mind-affecting effects.
—Regeneration 15, overcome by silvered weapons.
—Resistance to cold 10 and fire 10.
—Spell resistance equal to 11 + the loup-garou’s Hit Dice.

Speed: The loup-garou’s base land speed becomes 60 feet. It loses any other modes of movement the base creature might possess.

Attacks: A loup-garou has a bite attack and 2 claw attacks. The bite deals 1d8 points of damage, and the claws deal 1d6 points of damage.

Special Attacks: the loup-garou retains all the special attacks of the base creature except for feral form. While in its bestial form, a loup-garou cannot access any spellcasting or spell-like abilities possessed by the base creature. It gains the following special attacks:
Acidic Bite (Ex): A loup-garou’s bite attack deals 1d6 additional acid damage per 4 Hit Dice the loup-garou possesses.
Savage (Ex): This special attack functions like rend, except it functions whenever the loup-garou attacks a prone, stunned, or otherwise helpless creature with its bite attack. This bite attack gains a threat range of 18–20/x3, and deals additional damage equal to the loup-garou's bite damage plus 1-1/2 its Strength modifier. A loup-garou cannot perform a coup de grace at the same time that it savages.
Terrifying Howl (Su): As a standard action, a loup-garou can loose an eerie howl that strikes fear into the hearts of those who hear it. The howl can be hear clearly for miles, and any creatures within 1 mile per point of the loup-garou’s Constitution modifier (minimum 1 mile) must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 +1/2 the loup-garou’s Hit Dice + the loup-garou’s Constitution modifier) or become shaken. To those within 120 feet, the howl functions as a frightful presence effect. A creature that saves against the distant effect is immune to that effect, but can still be affected by hearing the howl up close; a creature that saves against the howl up close is immune to that loup-garou’s howl for 24 hours.
This howl has an unusual effect on dogs, wolves, and other canines who hear it. They change, gaining the fiendish template, and attack all creatures nearby, and then attempt to seek out the loup-garou, becoming part of its pack and hunting with it until the sun rises and it turns back into its humanoid form. Normal canines receive no save against this effect, but supernatural or otherwise exceptional canines (such as animal companions) do receive a Will save. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Trip (Ex): When the loup-garou hits with its bite attack, it may immediately attempt a trip combat maneuver as a free action.

Abilities: +26 Str, +8 Dex, +18 Con, Int 14, +2 Wis. While the loup-garou is intelligent and has access to all the base creatures abilities, it is a different mind that controls its actions, not the base creature’s. Because of this, any forms of mental control that the base creature is under are subsumed by the transformation, but return after it ends.

Base Attack: The loup-garou’s base attack bonus increases by +4 by virtue of its aberration levels.

Feats: The loup-garou gains Improved Natural Attack (bite), Improved Natural Attack (claw), and Skill Focus (Perception) as bonus feats. It also gains Power Attack, Run, and Weapon Focus (bite) by virtue of its aberration levels.

Skills: The loup-garou gains a +4 racial bonus on Perception and Stealth checks, and a +4 racial bonus to Survival when tracking by scent. The loup-garou also gains 6 ranks in Acrobatics, Climb, Intimidate, Perception, Stealth, and Survival, due to its aberration levels. All these skill are class skills for the loup-garou in beast form.

Special Qualities: The loup-garou retains all special qualities of the base creature, and gains the following special quality:
Rapid Healing (Ex): When it changes to and from its beast shape, the loup-garou heals a number of hit points of damage equal to (Hit Dice + Con modifier) x 3.

So, comments, questions, critiques are welcome! Enjoy!

EDIT: As you can probably tell by the skills, I stated this up for Pathfinder, but it would be pretty easy to port over to 3.5. The one thing I've left out (as I always seem to) is the CR, because I'm terrible at determining CRs. Where would you put this template's CR adjustment at? I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have a Level Adjustment, cause it has a pretty crippling drawback.

Absol197

2012-08-20, 03:36 PM

So, not really clicking with people, huh?

Is it the thread title? It's the thread title. It's been done before, I'll bet.

Sypher667

2012-08-20, 04:54 PM

Absol197

2012-08-20, 05:02 PM

I like it. I like it a lot. I disagree with your opinion of the werewolves as presented, but as a more terrifying version this wins. I might use this next time I have a chance. Of course, it will be the tavernkeep or someone of a similar nature who possesses this curse. :smallamused:

The line at the end about "mental control" means, for example, I dominate a commoner with this template. During the full moon, I lose control of said commoner, and once the daylight hours return, I regain control, yes?

Thanks :smallbiggrin: . Oh, yes, it should definitely be the barkeep. I also really like the reversal of the classic trope that animals are scared of/try to attack the werewolf. A loup-garou has wild empathy, and so is likely to, if not keep, then at least have a couple of loyal canines around. And when the moon turns full and he howls, those canines become fiendish and join his pack (along with every other dog in an approximately 9 mile radius).

EDIT: And of course, the NPCs in the town don't know any better, so they just call it a werewolf. The players will think, "Oh, okay, this shouldn't be too hard." And then they learn...:smallamused:

You have it correct: a dominated loup-garou is affected as normal by the spell while in their humanoid form. The spell effect is subsumed while transformed (and what's more, it can't be put under any new forms of control, because of its immunity to mind-affecting effects), and returns once the loup-garou becomes humanoid again.

I have a question: does the wording for Savage make sense? If you were running a loup-garou and it savaged someone, and scored a crit, how would you roll the damage? I want to make sure that the wording gets the intention across.

Wyntonian

2012-08-20, 05:02 PM

Absol197

2012-08-20, 05:10 PM

Oh boy.

Well, I only know about the Loup-Garou presented in Fool Moon, but I certainly don't recall an acidic bite, or a howl that makes other canines flock to you as demon-dog-things. The other abilities look good though.

I shouldn't have to ask, but please don't spoil any books past Summer Knight for me, if you would.

+26 str is HUGE. Appropriate, from a simulationist standpoint, but still really major. This, along with regeneration 15 + weird fast healing thing (which, by the way, is awfully superfluous) firmly implanted this as a NPC template in my mind.

As I said, I added some extra flairs that I liked thematically that were absolutely not present in the Dresden Files version. The howl creating a demon pack, for instance, is an image I've always loved, so I decided if I was making a super werewolf, I might as well add that in.

Yes, +26 Strength is enormous. Loup-garoux have a gratuitous amount of strength. The fast healing isn't as redundant as you might think. Changing into a loup-garou added to this first-level commoner 99 hit points, and as you know, damage taken during a transformation remains when you change back. If the PCs know they are going after a werewolf-like thing, they're more than likely going to be packing silver, which means that the loup-garou is going to be taking damage. I didn't want the monster to die even if it escapes just because it took a grand total of 23 damage during its rampage, because that's all the base commoner can withstand. With the rapid healing, it can end the night with 70 damage and still be alive. It won't be doing very well, but it will be alive.

And it is most definitely meant to be an NPC template. See my note in the OP.

Absol197

2012-08-21, 03:03 PM

Alright, last try.

For reference, the questions I still have are:

1. What would you think the CR adjustment should be? It's important because the spell resistance is technically supposed to be 11 + CR, but since I didn't have a CR, I used HD instead as a placeholder.

2. Does the wording of Savage get the intention across?

Sypher667

2012-08-21, 07:38 PM

Ok. I bite a prone target and deal...bite+1.5 STR, adding that again. Only the first part crits, and then on an 18-20 with x3 multiplier, thus making a crit effectively be a x4 standard bite with 18-20. Did I do it right?

Absol197

2012-08-22, 03:04 PM

Yup, that's basically it. The big thing I wanted to avoid was the Savage damage being multiplied on the crit, in addition to the bite damage (especially that, in the example, +22(!) damage modifier; if that got multiplied, being savaged would basically be a OHKO on most PCs).

Sypher667

2012-08-22, 04:21 PM

Wait, the +22 isnt supposed to get multiplied? As it stands it's (on a crit)

(2d6+22)*3+(2d6+22)

and a non-crit is

(2d6+22)+(2d6+22)

I dont know where the acid damage would figure in, as its not written into the savage attack as it stands.

Absol197

2012-08-22, 04:31 PM

The damage from Savage is treated like an additional attack that automatically hits, for [bite damage + 1.5 Str] damage.

The acid damage, like all extra damage dice (flaming weapons, sneak attack, etc.), aren't multiplied on a critical hit, so you would just roll [1/4 HD]d6.

The bite damage is tripled by the critical hit, so you would roll [bite damage + Str] three times.

The final calculation, for the given loup-garou, would look like this:

Bite: (2d6+15)x3 = 6d6+45
Acid: 1d6
Savage: 2d6+22

Total: 8d6+67 plus 1d6 acid.

Obviously, this isn't clear enough, so I'll re-write the description of savage to be a bit more clear.

EDIT: On re-reading your post, it seems you've got it almost perfect: the only problem is that the normal bite attack only does +15 to damage, because it only adds 1x Strength. The extra damage from Savabe gets to add 1.5.

Sypher667

2012-08-22, 10:27 PM

Ahhhhh. Seeing you explain it helped a lot. Makes perfect sense now, and I dont know how I messed up beforehand. :smallredface:

Debihuman

2012-08-23, 07:10 AM

No hybrid form? Too bad. Any idea what the LA is on this template. I mean gaining +26 Str +18 Con puts it in epic category.

Debby

Absol197

2012-08-23, 03:01 PM

No hybrid form? Too bad. Any idea what the LA is on this template. I mean gaining +26 Str +18 Con puts it in epic category.

Debby

There's sort of a hybrid form: the Feral Form ability that you get while in humanoid form could be considered that. It's not much, but it's something, I guess.

And I'm pretty sure that there's no level adjustment. The boosts when the player/character is in control are (relatively) minor, while all the major bonuses, including the +26 Str and +18 Con, come only when the character is being controlled by a ravenous beast. Basically, if you tried to use this template as a player, your party would have to get really creative to prevent you from killing and eating the rest of them three nights a month. Trapping a loup-garou is quite difficult, and if you don't do it right, you're very likely to die.

Debihuman

2012-08-23, 08:55 PM

For the three days of the moon the LA adjustment is HUGE. While it is temporary, it makes the template really hard to judge. Finding an appropriate CR is hard because the second half of the template is so powerful but limited to only 3 days.

Types and subtypes are always capitalized and the Augmented subtype always has a type with it so it would gain either Augmented (Giant) or Augmented (Humanoid) subtype.

Gaining +12 natural AC is a pretty hefty bonus and this is harder than some dragons have so I'm a little leery of it. Ditto for the massive increase in Str and Con as I previously mentioned.

You should state that the claws are the primary natural weapons and that the bite is a secondary natural weapon.

Savage is problematic. Helpless creatures cannot attack. They have a dexterity of 0. I could see it working when prone but not when stunned or helpless. I can buy the threat range of the bite increasing but the bite already gets the 1.5 Strength modifier because it is a secondary natural attack. It should not gain that benefit twice.

The rest of it looks pretty good despite being so powerful.

Debby

Amechra

2012-08-23, 09:10 PM

The full moon stuff also makes the player into an NPC for 3 days; I don't think the LA should be adjusted in that case.

Absol197

2012-08-24, 06:29 AM

Finding an appropriate CR is hard because the second half of the template is so powerful but limited to only 3 days.

Plenty of templates have a variable CR adjustment for different forms or versions. Why couldn't we list the CR adjustment as something like, "+X in humanoid form, +y in wolf form"?

Types and subtypes are always capitalized and the Augmented subtype always has a type with it so it would gain either Augmented (Giant) or Augmented (Humanoid) subtype.

In 3.5, yes. I wrote this using a Pathfinder base, and they changed that. It's really minor, I don't think it matters much. As for the augmented subtype, I gave the creature the correct version (augmented humanoid). I'm not sure what the problem is there.

Gaining +12 natural AC is a pretty hefty bonus and this is harder than some dragons have so I'm a little leery of it. Ditto for the massive increase in Str and Con as I previously mentioned.

The point of those bonuses is to make an ostensibly weak character (i.e. the 1st-level commoner as presented) into a credible threat to much higher level characters when transformed. And also to mimic the level of toughness and power that the creature that this is based off of showed.

You should state that the claws are the primary natural weapons and that the bite is a secondary natural weapon.

Actually, both the claw and the bite are the primary natural weapons. Pathfinder allows a creature that normally fights with multiple parts of its body to have multiple primary natural attacks. However, in 3.5, it would be the bite that is primary, and the claws that are secondary.

Savage is problematic. Helpless creatures cannot attack. They have a dexterity of 0. I could see it working when prone but not when stunned or helpless. I can buy the threat range of the bite increasing but the bite already gets the 1.5 Strength modifier because it is a secondary natural attack. It should not gain that benefit twice.

Huh? :smallconfused: That's the entire point, it deals incredible damage when its target is debilitated in some way. Or, wait, were you thinking it activated when the loup-garou was prone, stunned, or helpless?

Also, secondary natural attacks only gain x0.5 Str, not x1.5. And, like rend, the damage from savage is calculated completely separately, and not subject to multiplication from a critical hit.

The full moon stuff also makes the player into an NPC for 3 days; I don't think the LA should be adjusted in that case.

I think this is the big thing you're missing, Debby. I specifically called out in two different places that a loup-garou is not controlled by the character (either PC or NPC) while transformed. It basically becomes a demon-wolf that has two goals:

1. To kill and eat as many people, animals, and things that it can, regardless of who or what they are;
2. And to survive so that it can do the same same thing the next night/month.

Any Level Adjustment the template would have would only apply to the non-full moon benefits, and would have to consider the full moon increases as a detriment to the character, because he or she would have no choice but to try to kill his party for three nights a month. Even in an evil campaign, you'd still try to kill your party, and it's not a good idea to go beserk in the middle of a city for three nights a month. Paladins, adventurers, and others looking to, "kill the monster" would flock to you like flies to, uh, something flies flock to (do flies flock?).

Debihuman

2012-08-24, 11:13 AM

Absol197

2012-08-25, 12:04 PM

Yeah, I totally misread Savage. I need to stop posting when I'm tired. I rechecked the rules this time to be sure I am not posting stupidly this time :-)

Coup de Grace might still be better than Savage on a helpless target since it is an automatic critical and has a Fort save or die if the target survives the critical.

Although you didn't state it, you shouldn't be able to savage and coup de grace in the same round. The text in Savage is a bit misleading since Rend requires you to attack with 2 or more natural attacks and Savage does not., or you just didn't mention it.

Debby

You know, I always forget about coup de graces, and the loup-garou is smart enough to use such a tactic, so you're right, it would be a better option against a helpless foe. And doing both at the same time would indeed basically be an auto-kill (even more so than a normal coup de grace). I'll put in a note.

As for the text, how do you think I should word it? Should I put in a little line like, "but instead of needing to hit with a certain number of attacks, the loup-garou merely needs to make a bite attack against a prone, stunned, or otherwise helpless foe?" Would that make it more clear?