[3.5] Curse of Lycanthropy DC

[theUnearther]

The other day somebody asked something related to lycanthropes, which made me go look at the entry in the monster manual. And I noticed that all of them list the Curse of Lycanthropy as a "DC 15 Fortitude save". No formula, and they have different Hit Dice and attributes.
So is that right? Does it not matter who or what bites you? Isn't there any way to make lycanthropy that is harder to resist (or easier, I guess)?

[Eldonauran]

The species of Lycanthrope that bites you determines which species the character turns into.

The DC is fine as it is. Remember, you have to make that save EVERY time a Lycanthrope bites you. Unless you are immune to it, you WILL fail eventually.

[Urpriest]

Also, most diseases don't depend on the monster delivering them. There isn't any reason for Lycanthropy to work differently.

[Eldonauran]

IIRC, isn't Lycanthropy technically a curse?

[Belril Duskwalk]

IIRC, isn't Lycanthropy technically a curse?

It's a curse that spreads like a disease. Or a disease that's as hard to remove as a curse. Both are true. Neither is the full story alone.

By 3.5 rules, yes, the save vs. Lycanthropy in 3.5 is always a Fort 15. Personally, I always liked how 2nd Edition handled contracting lycanthropy. The odds of contracting it was 1% per point of damage inflicted by every attack. If the Wererat did 5 damage, 5% chance of lycanthropy. Wereboar does 20 damage on a crit, 20% chance of lycanthropy. Werewolves were classified as being especially contagious so their odds scaled at 2% per damage dealt instead. Either way, it's usually not a terribly difficult save, but over a long enough fight your odds of making every single save get ugly.

[karkus]

Lycanthropy is, I believe, similar to Mummy Rot, in that it is no mere disease, but BOTH a curse and a disease.

Or... a disease that, if untreated, permanently curses you.