Most useless Lycanthrope forms [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

Destro_Yersul

2014-02-17, 02:10 AM

Unfortunately, by RAW a Lycanthrope animal has to be a predator between the sizes of a dog and a bear. So sheep, not being predators, are out.

Not technically correct. A lycanthrope has to be a predator, scavenger, or omnivore within one size category of the base creature, which must be humanoid or giant. It's important to be specific.

Therefore, if you start with a Small base creature (Let's say Halfling), you can have a Tiny base animal. Birds can fly, so that leaves us with a tiny land or sea animal. Just out of the regular Monster Manual, that puts the weakest option I can find as "Halfling Were-rat, and not a dire rat or anything fancy but just a normal garden rat"

avr

2014-02-17, 02:13 AM

The lycanthrope takes on the characteristics of some type of carnivorous or omnivorous creature of the animal type (referred to hereafter as the base animal).

This animal can be any predator, scavenger, or omnivore whose size is within one size category of the base creature’s size (Small, Medium, or Large for a Medium base creature). Lycanthropes can also adopt a hybrid shape that combines features of the base creature and the base animal. A lycanthrope’s hybrid form is the same size as the base animal or the base creature, whichever is larger.
So less restrictive than suggested above, but sheep are still out unless you find one with fangs.

A gnome weremonkey is pretty low on the power scale but not less powerful than a normal gnome warrior. If you're thinking least powerful as a PC though, any form with a lot of animal HD will do the trick.

Edit: ninja'd on the restrictions.

rmnimoc

2014-02-17, 02:14 AM

the commoner flaw lycanthropy that turns u n2 a sheep

Unfortunately, by RAW a Lycanthrope animal has to be a predator between the sizes of a dog and a bear. So sheep, not being predators, are out.
While Weckar is right, though I don't believe the lycanthropy flaw makes you a lycanthrope as the template, and if it did Specific>General. (Then again that flaw was from an april fools day issue of dragon so YMMV)

I've always been fond of Dwarf Werecats and Halfling Werelizards.

weckar

2014-02-17, 02:17 AM

Reason I ask is because I want to apply a curse to a player that won't directly benefit them, or at least not without them getting creative about it. And Lycanthrophy fits thematically.

rmnimoc

2014-02-17, 02:25 AM

From the SRD:
Level Adjustment
Same as the base creature +2 (afflicted) or +3 (natural). In addition, a lycanthrope’s character level is increased by the number of racial Hit Dice the base animal has.

I think it's safe to say that nearly any wereform is a downside. Even Were-Cat.

Especially Were-Cat.

Personally I vote hitting them with PaO twice to turn them into a tiny creature, turning them into a Were-Toad, then double PaOing them back to their normal form.

lsfreak

2014-02-17, 02:27 AM

Birds can fly, so that leaves us with a tiny land or sea animal.

I present to you the kiwi. Small, slow, flightless. Granted we have no RAW stats to represent them, so it may fall outside the OP's requirement. But those already mentioned do have some things they'd be good at - monkeys and cats can both climb very well and cats would also be good at stealth, lizards (if small enough) and rats could get into very weird places for the purposes of scouting, and so on. I think the best I could say about kiwis is they've apparently got a decent sense of smell.

weckar

2014-02-17, 02:27 AM

Hmmmm I may not be familiar with the rules here, but what would the LA do, in this case? Would they lose class levels to compensate?

Rubik

2014-02-17, 02:29 AM

Werechihuahua. Utterly useless little buggers.

rmnimoc

2014-02-17, 02:30 AM

Hmmmm I may not be familiar with the rules here, but what would the LA do, in this case? Would they lose class levels to compensate?
That would make this 1000x more horrifying. No, it just adds 2 to your ECL bringing up the average party level, giving them less xp, and keeping them from leveling for a while.

I think.

weckar

2014-02-17, 02:33 AM

Hmmm interesting. APL wouldn't matter too much, but an exp cut could certainly be an interesting side-effect if nothing else. If the condition would be reversed, would they then get the exp that they didn't get at their higher ECL?

This is why I hardly ever bother with LA, it just stops making sense if you don't start a character with it.

Gemini476

2014-02-17, 02:52 AM

the commoner flaw lycanthropy that turns u n2 a sheep

That flaw is actually pretty powerful (much like most of the Commoner Flaws), in that it gives you one of the very few ways to force aggro that exist within 3.5.

Weresheep
Theresheep!
Effect: You are afflicted with lycanthropy. Not such a flaw, right? Your hybrid and animal forms are of a harmless sheep. When in hybrid or animal form you suffer the effects of the Delicious flaw.

Delicious
Someone cast divine flavor on you.
Benefits: All monsters attack you if able, regardless of their attitude towards the rest of the party. In addition, you go down smooth. When subjected to a swallow whole special attack, you are treated as two size categories smaller.

For the purposes of this flaw, "monsters" include any carnivorous or omnivorous creatures with a Con score, excluding animals and creatures with a humanoid body shape (exceptions may exist at DM's leisure).

Other exploitable flaws include the one where if you drop your monstrously heavy pig (it always weighs up to your maximum encumbrance) Orcus appears and skins you (you can summon Orcus, basically), Chicken Infested (50% chance of drawing chickens from things, Spell Component Pouches are a free action to draw from), the one that makes you a corpse (but hey, free feat!)...

Destro_Yersul

2014-02-17, 02:57 AM

I present to you the kiwi. Small, slow, flightless. Granted we have no RAW stats to represent them, so it may fall outside the OP's requirement. But those already mentioned do have some things they'd be good at - monkeys and cats can both climb very well and cats would also be good at stealth, lizards (if small enough) and rats could get into very weird places for the purposes of scouting, and so on. I think the best I could say about kiwis is they've apparently got a decent sense of smell.

Yeah, I was working entirely out of the list at the back of the monster manual, since we want RAW and any animal not represented there would be Homebrew to a greater or lesser extent. Penguins can't fly either, but they aren't in the monster manual.

On the other hand, there ARE penguin stats in Frostburn. Penguins eat fish.

Halfling Were-penguin is rules legal.

Rubik

2014-02-17, 03:02 AM

Does entomanthrope count?

Because turning into one of these (http://cheezburger.com/8056151808) seems not too terribly useful. I mean, it flies, but it's also really fragile.

weckar

2014-02-17, 04:59 PM

Jgosse

2014-02-17, 05:06 PM

Although Penguin is about at the proper Power Level and oddball factor I need, Its flavor would be a little strange considering the continent is nowhere near a pole and most people would never have seen one...

Not all penguins live in the arctic.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Penguin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Penguin

Yogibear41

2014-02-17, 05:08 PM

Regardless of the stats still going to end up with dr5/silver which is pretty amazing for a level 1 commoner.

weckar

2014-02-17, 05:08 PM

Hmmmm intriguing.... Anyone know a good place for them to live on khorvaire, then?

Rubik

2014-02-17, 05:14 PM

How about a werepuffin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puffin)? Or a werebooby (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue-footed_Booby)? Or a werealbatross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albatross)? Or a werepelican (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelican)?

weckar

2014-02-17, 05:20 PM

WEREPUFFIN!!!! YES YES YES!

I found my curse :smallamused:

graeylin

2014-02-17, 05:23 PM

werecarp.
werecatfish.
wereperch.

Rubik

2014-02-17, 05:25 PM

WEREPUFFIN!!!! YES YES YES!

I found my curse :smallamused:Depending on the base race, make it a dire puffin.

weckar

2014-02-17, 05:45 PM

Base race is going to depend on whomever activates the curse. I suppose the Warforged in the group would be immune...

Rubik

2014-02-17, 05:46 PM

Base race is going to depend on whomever activates the curse. I suppose the Warforged in the group would be immune...Could be a cursed computer virus.

Jeff the Green

2014-02-17, 05:58 PM

Not technically correct. A lycanthrope has to be a predator, scavenger, or omnivore within one size category of the base creature, which must be humanoid or giant. It's important to be specific.

WotC ahoyad have done their biology homework. There's almost no animal that isn't either a predator, scavenger, or omnivore. Deer will eat birds and rodents, mice will eat bugs, and cows have been known to scavenge corpses.

So how about a were-guinea pig?

Rubik

2014-02-17, 06:00 PM

So how about a were-guinea pig?I prefer gerbils or chinchillas, or even pikas. So cute.

weckar

2014-02-17, 06:02 PM

I think we may start running into size issues there.

Rubik

2014-02-17, 06:03 PM

I think we may start running into size issues there.Which is where the dire- prefix comes in handy.

Nihilarian

2014-02-17, 06:05 PM

Base race is going to depend on whomever activates the curse. I suppose the Warforged in the group would be immune...Werecar.

HONK

Malimar

2014-02-17, 06:11 PM

Which is where the dire- prefix comes in handy.

Needs more Giant Space Hamster.

Ravens_cry

2014-02-17, 06:21 PM

Werecar.

HONK

If you want to be a Transformer, be a Warforged Urban Druid.

Raimun

2014-02-17, 09:03 PM

Destro_Yersul

2014-02-17, 09:37 PM

Which is where the dire- prefix comes in handy.

The problem with this is that, as far as I can tell, Dire isn't a template. In the MM there's a set list of Dire animals. Do you know if there is a template anywhere?

Also, amusingly, WOTC breaks their own rules: Dire animals are magical beasts, not animals. But the Were-rat is based off a dire rat.

Zombulian

2014-02-17, 10:43 PM

While Weckar is right, though I don't believe the lycanthropy flaw makes you a lycanthrope as the template, and if it did Specific>General. (Then again that flaw was from an april fools day issue of dragon so YMMV)

I've always been fond of Dwarf Werecats and Halfling Werelizards.

Look, people round here use chicken infested like it's legit, lemme be a weresheep.

Granted it's not a useless shape as it gives you a free MMO taunt ability to take combat pressure off the rest of the party.

Ravens_cry

2014-02-17, 10:47 PM

Weregoldfish.

When the moon is full you transform to the dreaded form of a weregoldfish, complete with scales, fins and... gills.

When your transformation is complete, you collapse to the floor and after a few minutes, die due to the lack of oxygen.
Just get a nerd to hit you over the head of other small, magical creatures a few thousand times. It'll work out great (http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/04262010).

Malimar

2014-02-17, 10:53 PM

The problem with this is that, as far as I can tell, Dire isn't a template. In the MM there's a set list of Dire animals. Do you know if there is a template anywhere?

Also, amusingly, WOTC breaks their own rules: Dire animals are magical beasts, not animals. But the Were-rat is based off a dire rat.

All base Dire Animals (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/direAnimal.htm) that I know of, including the Dire Rat (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/direRat.htm), are Animals, not Magical Beasts.

And no, there's no first-party Dire template AFAIK. (There is one in Tome of Horrors, from Necromancer Games, but third party.)

Rubik

2014-02-17, 11:06 PM

I suggest subbing in an existing dire animal with similar abilities. A dire gerbil, for instance, could easily be a refluffed dire weasel. A werepuffin could use an eagle, giant eagle, or dire bat (sans echolocation).

deuxhero

2014-02-17, 11:07 PM

Werecar.

HONK

I wonder if oboroguruma were ever stated as a monster for 3.x...

Destro_Yersul

2014-02-17, 11:08 PM

All base Dire Animals (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/direAnimal.htm) that I know of, including the Dire Rat (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/direRat.htm), are Animals, not Magical Beasts.

And no, there's no first-party Dire template AFAIK. (There is one in Tome of Horrors, from Necromancer Games, but third party.)

I figured out where I got it wrong. I was thinking of the Fiendish template, but that doesn't increase size, so it's a double wash.

Ravens_cry

2014-02-18, 01:56 AM

I wonder if oboroguruma were ever stated as a monster for 3.x...
It'd be perfect for d20 modern or an urban adventure. Animated object stats with a few additional rules should work.

Raimun

2014-02-18, 10:56 AM

Just get a nerd to hit you over the head of other small, magical creatures a few thousand times. It'll work out great (http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/comic/04262010).

Yeah, that is the only way to make a pokemon-fight interesting or cool.

By the way, I totally knew what link you posted without even hovering my cursor over it. :smallsmile:

Ravens_cry

2014-02-18, 12:20 PM

Yeah, that is the only way to make a pokemon-fight interesting or cool.

I don't know, the concept is pretty dark as it is. Think about, it's all about sending kids out to enslave small sentient creatures to fight each other, often while stuffing them full of drugs.

By the way, I totally knew what link you posted without even hovering my cursor over it. :smallsmile:
Yay shared reference pools!:smallbiggrin:

Rijan_Sai

2014-02-18, 02:26 PM

WEREPUFFIN!!!! YES YES YES!

I found my curse :smallamused:

(A little late, but this must still be said...)

If you do go with Werepuffin, don't forget about the Song of Svenland (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws0mIP7uG-o) (Just keep in mind that it is in Svenish...)