Lycan Damage immunities

[Bellberith]

Alright, i just got done looking at some monster stats....

and i noticed the werewolf is a CR 3 with damage IMMUNITY to bludgeoning/piercing/slashing from non-silvered, non-magical weapons.

but this edition takes the "magic items are rare" approach and magic weapons cap out at +3 also....

do they expect a party of level 3 characters that stumble upon a werewolf in a random encounter to stand a chance? because by the looks of it they wont have magic weapons of any sort and unless one guy had a lycan hunting background, if they didn't prepare for it, the party won't have silver weapons.

meaning this CR 3 is unkillable to them (exception of magic, but they have quite a bit of hp. so you better hope your magic users hit and dont die before he does.)

on another note..... if a player becomes a werewolf. then no other monster can even damage him unless it has spells. so player instantly becomes a monster killing machine, and he has no need to fear small towns because he can just slaughter them all. (an npc werewolf can do this also)

is there a good, logical fix to this? and what level would you let your PC take the chance of contracting lycanthropy? cause according to the book, around level 3 is fine......... -_-

[Shadow]

Alright, i just got done looking at some monster stats....

and i noticed the werewolf is a CR 3 with damage IMMUNITY to bludgeoning/piercing/slashing from non-silvered, non-magical weapons.

but this edition takes the "magic items are rare" approach and magic weapons cap out at +3 also....

do they expect a party of level 3 characters that stumble upon a werewolf in a random encounter to stand a chance? because by the looks of it they wont have magic weapons of any sort and unless one guy had a lycan hunting background, if they didn't prepare for it, the party won't have silver weapons.
Well, a werewolf is the type of monster that would be rampaging the countryside for food. Folk takes would have spread around, and the local folk would certainly request the help of heores to save them. This isn't the type of mob that you should run into randomly or without warning at level three if your DM is any good. And if tha does indeed happen, the DM should plot armor the encounter so that the lycan flees, giving you time to gear up after you realize what it is that you're facing. So gearing up with silver shouldn't be an issue.


meaning this CR 3 is unkillable to them (exception of magic, but they have quite a bit of hp. so you better hope your magic users hit and dont die before he does.)

on another note..... if a player becomes a werewolf. then no other monster can even damage him unless it has spells. so player instantly becomes a monster killing machine, and he has no need to fear small towns because he can just slaughter them all. (an npc werewolf can do this also)
Traditionally, in earlier editions, the general rule was that any magical beast was itself, as the name implies, magical. Meaning its natural attacks are magical because the creature is. I'm certain that either the DMG, or more likely the MM, will state such. So "monster killing machine" is a bit of a stretch.
Also (and I don't remember if this was a rule or a house rule) any monster that needed a specific weapon type (such as silver) to damage it, was also considered to do damage of that type if it mattered. So two werewolves fighting with natural attacks would be able to harm one another.


is there a good, logical fix to this? and what level would you let your PC take the chance of contracting lycanthropy? cause according to the book, around level 3 is fine......... -_-
With these things in mind above, level three isn't unreasonable.

[Yuki Akuma]

Silvered weapons aren't particularly expensive. Hunting down a silver sword to kill a werewolf is more traditional than hunting down a magical sword to do so.

[Logosloki]

Alright, i just got done looking at some monster stats....

and i noticed the werewolf is a CR 3 with damage IMMUNITY to bludgeoning/piercing/slashing from non-silvered, non-magical weapons.

but this edition takes the "magic items are rare" approach and magic weapons cap out at +3 also....

do they expect a party of level 3 characters that stumble upon a werewolf in a random encounter to stand a chance? because by the looks of it they wont have magic weapons of any sort and unless one guy had a lycan hunting background, if they didn't prepare for it, the party won't have silver weapons.

meaning this CR 3 is unkillable to them (exception of magic, but they have quite a bit of hp. so you better hope your magic users hit and dont die before he does.)

on another note..... if a player becomes a werewolf. then no other monster can even damage him unless it has spells. so player instantly becomes a monster killing machine, and he has no need to fear small towns because he can just slaughter them all. (an npc werewolf can do this also)

is there a good, logical fix to this? and what level would you let your PC take the chance of contracting lycanthropy? cause according to the book, around level 3 is fine......... -_-

As the DM you have the final say in anything, even in a random encounter. If the party has no reliable way of dealing with something you could fudge it down such as making the lycan only resistant rather than immune. Still a tough fight but people can take part in it. Or you could change it to a pack of wolves or a dire wolf in sufficient quantities to be close to the CR of a lycan if you still want a wolf roll to stay one.

If you are allowing your player/s to become lycan then you could also make a secret roll on if the rumours of a magical beast reaches the ears of someone who could deal with them, whether it be the blacksmith who dutifully begins making silvered arrows or weapons from items that people may have to a group of lycan hunters come to bag them an aberrant. Use this if they start to abuse the power they have been given. That being said giving a person who gains something like this a third party nemesis may play out well. Again, if you think that it will be troublesome to have an immune player wandering about you can just nerf them down to being resistant.