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View Full Version : [3.5] Therianthropy as Feats



Baron Corm
2013-01-30, 11:03 PM
Today I had an idea that you could represent templates through feats rather than LA, saving you from marring your build. The template I most want to do this with is Lycanthropy, as it is one of the coolest templates with one of the clumsiest executions. Hope you like it... PEACH!

tl;dr: You can take a feat that turns you, aesthetically, into a werewolf, but the only bonuses you gain are +4 Strength and DR 5/silver, and only at nighttime (forced). You can take additional powerful feats to make this even better, balanced by the mentioned downsides.

The Disease

Therianthropy is usually acquired by being bitten or scratched by a carrier of the disease who is in wereform. Because it is transmitted by such a diverse variety of wereanimals, the method can sometimes be different.

Once the disease is transmitted, the victim becomes nauseous and takes 1 Strength damage every hour, until it is reduced to 0. This process is also accompanied by sporadic visions of the applicable animal and flashes of blood and carnage.

Starting from the first night after the victim collapses and every night thereafter, his Strength score increases by 1. During this time, he does not need to eat or drink, and is in a constant state of fitful nightmares until his Strength score returns to 10 (before racial modifiers), when he wakes up and can move around again.

The victim's Strength score continues increasing every night, and he starts to grow patches of hair or scales, as appropriate. His eyes take on a yellow hue, and his canines begin to lengthen, though he could still easily pass for a member of his base race. When his Strength reaches 4 greater than its normal base value, it stops growing, and the victim loses control of his character and becomes an NPC. He gains an impetus to go into the wild and live there until the next full moon. On that occasion, a full transformation into a therianthrope occurs (see the Therianthropy feat). The victim goes on a wild rampage in the nearest town or populated area, killing anything in sight. When he awakens the next morning, in his normal form with his normal Strength score and usually back in his bed at home, he has no memory of the time since he ventured into the wild.

At that point, the therianthrope regains control of his character and must choose one of his feats to replace with the Therianthropy feat. If he gives in further to his primal urges, he can replace any amount of his feats to gain Therianthropy feats that he qualifies for. A character with the base Therianthropy feat is free to take any further Therianthropy feats that he qualifies for if he gains a new feat later on.

Unlike most nights, the therianthrope continues to lose control of his character and go on rampages while a full moon is out, unless he takes Beastheart/Monsterheart, or willfully traps himself somewhere during that time.

Therianthropy is a magical disease, and has no save DC. It can only be cured by taking in a specific remedy, which is usually a poison itself, before the victim's first transformation. For lycanthropes, for example, wolfsbane must be eaten. Creatures immune to ability score damage or nausea, or those without feats, such as mindless creatures, can't be infected by therianthropy.

The Feats

Therianthropy [Therianthropy]

Prerequisites: Must have transformed into a therianthrope at least once.
Benefit: You gain the Alternate Form ability, which is visually a hybrid between your natural form and an Animal of your choice. You automatically change into this form every night just after sunset, in a process taking 1 round in which you can take no other actions and are treated as helpless. The next sunrise, you return to your normal form, which involves the same process.

Your wereform has DR 5/Silver and +4 Strength. It is usually taller than your normal form (unless you're a wererat or similar), but not tall enough to increase a size category. For the remaining rules I will copy/paste what I've used for a similar homebrew here:

If your new form cannot wield weapons, your wielded weapon(s) become natural attacks which effectively function the same (including iterative attacks, etc). Just change the names to claw, bite, tentacle, slam, or whatever else is appropriate. The weapon must share at least one damage type with the natural attack.
If your new form cannot wear armor, any armor that you are wearing is transformed into natural armor. This natural armor is not treated as an enhancement bonus, so it stacks with an amulet of natural armor or similar. Nonmagical clothing is melded into your new form.
If your new form cannot wear any miscellaneous equipped items (such as headbands of intellect or cloaks of resistance), they are melded into your new form, but continue to give their normal bonus. Items that require activation require the same action as normal to activate. If it is required to physically be there, it can't be activated, but if it isn't, it may still be used.
Other wielded or carried items (such as shields, potions, or bags of holding) are melded into your new form and rendered unusable, unless your new form can wield or carry the item.
You may choose to have any items melded into your new form as if you couldn't use them, even if you otherwise could.
Your type changes to Monstrous Humanoid if it was previously Humanoid.

Your natural form looks slightly more like your given wereanimal (exactly as it did before your first transformation), but can still easily pass as a member of your base race. Animals of any species treat you as if you were your wereanimal's species in both normal and wereform. For example, a deer will run from a werewolf even in base form, while a wolf will not attack unless provoked. You gain the Shapechanger subtype in both forms.
Special: This feat is acquired automatically after going on a therianthrope's initial rampage and can't be taken normally. It replaces one of the base creature's other feats. Alternatively, it can be taken as a character's 1st level feat.

Lunar Strength [Therianthropy]

Prerequisites: Therianthropy, Str 15+
Benefits: Your damage reduction while in wereform is increased to 15/silver. You gain additional stats while in both your normal and wereforms depending on your wereanimal's species:

Werebear: +3 Strength, +2 Constitution
Wereboar: +2 Strength, +3 Constitution
Werecrocodile: +3 Strength, +2 natural armor
Weredinosaur: +4 Strength
Wereeagle: +2 Strength, +3 Dexterity
Wereelephant: +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, +2 natural armor
Werefrog: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution
Wererat: +4 Dexterity
Wererhinoceros: +2 Constitution, +3 natural armor
Wereshark: +4 Strength
Weresnake: +3 Dexterity, +2 Constitution
Weretiger: +3 Strength, +2 Dexterity
Werewolf: +3 Strength, +2 Dexterity

Consult your DM for additional options for other species of wereanimal.

Feral Form [Therianthropy]

Prerequisites: Therianthropy, Lunar Strength, Str 17+
Benefits: You double your bonus stats gained from Lunar Strength, but only while in your wereform. You gain a special ability while in wereform depending on your wereanimal's species:

Werebear: Powerful build. Automatically resizes your weapons on shifting forms, if needed. Attacks against you have a 20% miss chance.
Wereboar: Ferocity and Powerful Charge, doubling your damage on a charge. This bonus does not stack with a lance's increase in damage for charging while mounted.
Werecrocodile: Improved Grab on your bite attack, and Constrict, dealing damage equal to your bite attack, as well as Hold Breath x 4 and a swim speed equal to land speed, but 10 feet reduced land speed.
Weredinosaur: Size increase and Rake. For every two attacks that you successfully hit with during a round, not counting rake attacks, you automatically hit with another attack. Automatically resizes your weapons on shifting forms, if needed.
Wereeagle: Fly speed equal to land speed with average maneuverability, but 10 feet reduced land speed.
Wereelephant: Powerful Build and Trample, dealing damage equal to (an attack from one of your natural weapons of your choice) x 1.5. The save DC is Strength-based.
Werefrog: Amphibious, a swim speed equal to half land speed, and +20 to Jump.
Wererat: Slight Build, a climb speed as the spell spider climb, and one die size increase to any Sneak Attack and/or Sudden Strike damage you deal.
Wererhinoceros: Powerful Charge, doubling your damage on a charge. This bonus does not stack with a lance's increase in damage for charging while mounted. Additionally, Light Fortification.
Wereshark: All damage dealt by natural attacks is increased by one die size. Unarmed strikes, touch attacks, or natural attacks which hit you also damage the attacker for damage equal to your Constitution modifier. Amphibious, swim speed equal to land speed plus 10 feet.
Weresnake: An injury poison delivered by your bite attack. The primary damage is 1d6 ability damage to the ability score of your choice, and the secondary damage is the same amount of ability damage, which may be applied to the same ability score or a different one. The save DC is Constitution-based.
Weretiger: Pounce.
Werewolf: Scent, even when not in wereform. Blindsense 30 feet and 10 feet faster land speed in wereform.

Consult your DM for additional options for other species of wereanimal.

Beastheart [Therianthropy]

Prerequisites: Therianthropy, Wis 15+
Benefits: You gain +1 natural armor while in both your normal and wereforms. You have Spell Resistance equal to (10 + your character level) when in wereform.

You retain control of your character during full moons.

Monsterheart [Therianthropy]

Prerequisites: Therianthropy, Beastheart, Wis 17+
Benefits: You gain +1 natural armor while in both your normal and wereforms. You have Spell Resistance equal to (10 + your character level + your Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution modifier, whichever is highest) when in wereform. This replaces the SR from Beastheart.

Once per full moon cycle, you can change into wereform by choice as an immediate action, even if it is daytime. You stay in your form until the next sunrise, as normal.

Amechra
2013-01-30, 11:07 PM
A few things:

1. I like this idea; is there a chance that you can take a feat that lets you count as a Shifter as a prerequisite, with the feats modifying your wereform?

2. It might be a good idea to have the Therianthropy feat as a bonus feat upon being afflicted by the disease.

3. Could you possibly put a note in that elves and dwarves can't become Therianthropes? That was my favorite arbitrary rule in 1e...

Baron Corm
2013-02-01, 06:58 PM
A few things:

1. I like this idea; is there a chance that you can take a feat that lets you count as a Shifter as a prerequisite, with the feats modifying your wereform?

Due to the powerful nature of Therianthropy feats, I don't think they should be mixed with shifters, who can transform much more easily and by choice.


2. It might be a good idea to have the Therianthropy feat as a bonus feat upon being afflicted by the disease.

The reason I made it replace your feat is so that you don't just strictly gain power from getting the disease. Otherwise, it would be optimal for almost every build to find a Therianthrope and get bitten by one.

The flavor of the disease taking over your mind makes sense here to me, but in future template-to-feats it might be different.


3. Could you possibly put a note in that elves and dwarves can't become Therianthropes? That was my favorite arbitrary rule in 1e...

Kind of curious on the rationale there. I can see elves as being too haughty to become beasts, maybe dwarves are too short?

Amechra
2013-02-01, 07:20 PM
Back in first edition, Elves and Dwarves didn't have souls.

They had spirits, which are mechanically different.

They would also die painful horrible deaths if they were infected by lycanthropy; at the time when the disease would transform a man, an elf's heart gives out.

The thing about Shifter feats is that they actually aren't that strong, and would add a bit more flavor to your Wereform...

Baron Corm
2013-02-01, 08:56 PM
Back in first edition, Elves and Dwarves didn't have souls.

They had spirits, which are mechanically different.

They would also die painful horrible deaths if they were infected by lycanthropy; at the time when the disease would transform a man, an elf's heart gives out.

...that's pretty damn cool. It sounded weird at first but now I kind of like it.


The thing about Shifter feats is that they actually aren't that strong, and would add a bit more flavor to your Wereform...

Ohh, I thought you meant applying Therianthropy feats to shifters, not vice versa. Yeah, that wouldn't be imbalanced.