pc just got wererat...

[j_spencer93]

can someone please explain benefits he gets in what forms?

[Bad Wolf]

http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Lycanthrope Here you go.

[Red Fel]

Or here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm#wererat). Filler text.

[Forrestfire]

Or even here (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20030912a).

[Urpriest]

When asking for advice on the internet, it's generally a good idea to say what specifically is confusing you, rather than to expect people to guess.

[j_spencer93]

the entire thing. i wasn't sure what to add to human form and what only applied in animal and hybrid forms

[Ashtagon]

Has anyone linked PRD yet? No?

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/monsters/lycanthrope.html

Just in case the OP's native language is Japanese...

http://prd.qga.me/bestiary1/monsters/lycanthrope.html

[Urpriest]

the entire thing. i wasn't sure what to add to human form and what only applied in animal and hybrid forms

If you're talking 3.5 and not Pathfinder, then everything applies in all forms except for the stuff that explicitly says it only applies in one form.

[j_spencer93]

apparently Faerun has slightly different templates?

[atemu1234]

apparently Faerun has slightly different templates?

I don't think so, just different animals to which it was applied.

[j_spencer93]

Oh i was just going by what my player said. he said the one in monsters of faerun was different then the monster manual

[Urpriest]

Oh i was just going by what my player said. he said the one in monsters of faerun was different then the monster manual

Monsters of Faerun is a 3.0 book, remember. Back then Lycanthropes worked differently, there wasn't a general formula for them.

[j_spencer93]

Actually wasn't aware of that thanks.

[Stegyre]

can someone please explain benefits he gets in what forms?
He gets a lot, although it is not spelled out as clearly as perhaps it could be, and some information is contradictory or ambiguous. Here it is, as I understand it:

You have three different forms, (1) human (or whatever humanoid was your original race), (2) hybrid, and (3) dire rat.

(1) Human form is your weakest form, principally because it lacks the DR. While human, you have
- scent (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#scent), an imminently useful ability.
- rat empathy: the ability to communicate with rats and dire rats and a +4 on charisma-based checks with them (e.g., diplomacy or wild empathy). It gets a bit beyond RAW, but imagine how this could synergize with a warlock's summon swarm invocation: it's no longer a mindless, uncontrolled swarm of rats; it's a horde of little friends to help you out . . . (I am still wanting to play a wererat warlock.)
- low light vision (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#lowLightVision), although unless you really were just human to start with, you probably already had this.
- Weapon Finesse (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#weaponFinesse), as a dire rat bonus feat. Free feats are always nice, and Weapon Finesse is (imo) a pretty useful one, especially on a dex-based character, and anyone who just became a wererat just became a dex-based character.
- Iron Will (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/feats.htm#ironWill) as another bonus feat, because all lycanthropes get this. Not quite as good as Weapon Finesse, but free-feat-is-still-free.
- plus 1d8 HD, this is from the dire rat, but it applies in all three forms. Usually, one wants to avoid racial HD, as they are less powerful than class HD.
- any time you get a HD, you get all that comes along with that HD, which in this case means +3/4 BAB, 2+Int skill points, and good F/R/W saves. (IMX, DMs often do not allow good save stacking, and I am in agreement with that, but by RAW, they do stack, so this would mean +2 to F/R/W saves, on top of the bonus Iron Will gave you.)
- Please ignore the Alertness and Dodge feats listed for wererat in the SRD. Those are not part of the template. They are the 1st level and human bonus feats. Your character will have its own feats in these slots. (This is something SKR seems to have overlooked when he made his wererat template (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20030912a).)
- +1 HP. The reason for this is a little complicated: it is because you get the benefit of +2 Con but only for the wererat racial HD.
- +2 Natural Armor. All lycanthropes get this, in all forms. AC improvements are always welcome.
- +2 Wisdom. All lycanthropes get this in all forms. Stat boosts are always welcome!
- +2 (afflicted) or +3 (natural) LA. Into every life, some rain must fall. LA is never good. A kind GM will allow LA buy off (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm).
- alternate form: as a standard action, he may change into one of his two other forms. For afflicted lycanthropes, there are some rules constraining this ability that you should look into and potentially a new skill (Control Shape (Wis)) to learn. Details in the SRD entry (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm#wererat) (go down to the bottom).
- Shapechanger subtype (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#shapechangerSubtype) It probably doesn't come up much, but creatures with this subtype have a get-out-of-polymorphing-as-a-standard-action card. This also opens up the Warshaper prestige class (http://community.wizards.com/content/forum-topic/3180651), which (again, imo) is a pretty good deal for melee-types. (Rated a +2 for non-casters and a +0 for casters. (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=5198.0))
- Climb, Swim, Spot, Listen, Hide, and Move Silently all just became class skills for you, if any of them weren't already.
- Alignment: by RAW, a natural lycanthrope may be any alignment but an afflicted lycanthrope who voluntarily changes form immediately and permanently assumes the alignment of that form (although the SRD cannot seem to decide if this is CE or LE for wererats -- and it's a conflict of two tables, at that). IMO, this is stupid rule. Let the player determine his character's alignment.

That's an awful lot of goodies just there. Hybrid and animal form get better.

(2) Hybrid Form:

- DR 5 (afflicted) or 10 (natural) silver!
- Spell casters may still cast spells, so long as they do not require verbal components. (Again, a plug for Warlocks, whose invocations require only somatic components.)
- two claw attacks and a bite attack as natural weapons. If Medium sized, these do 2x1d4 and 1d6, respectively. Give serious consideration to a two-level dip into Totemist and the Multiattack feat, if interested in becoming a melee monster. If you want, however, you may still use manufactured weapons.
- natural armor bonus just increased from the +2 of human form to +3.
- +6 Dex! Wow, with that Weapon Finesse, you now have at least +3 to hit!
- +2 Con! I believe, by RAW, this should now apply to all HD (including class HD), giving you +1 HP/HD, but note that the SRD wererat table does not do this, so there is that ambiguity. You unambiguously gain all the other benefits of +2 Con (boost to Con skills, boost to Fort save).
- Curse of Lycanthropy, if a natural lycanthrope: your bite attack can potentially make other M- or S-sized humanoids afflicted wererats.
- Disease: you can also pass Filth Fever (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#filthFever) with your bite attack. As this has an incubation period in days, and anything you are fighting should be dead in under a minute, it's really a non-issue.
- You get to use your Dex mod for Climb and Swim checks, instead of your Str mod. IMO, the rules assume that (with the +6 Dex) your Dex mod is better than your Str mod. If not, then (a) you are one strong dude! and (b) talk to your GM: IMO, this is something that should be optional, not mandatory. (I.e., if a character would still rather use his Str mod, he ought to be able to.)
- +8 racial bonus on Climb checks, and you may always choose to take 10 on such checks. Altogether (Dex bonus, racial bonus, taking 10), you have an automatic 21 on climb checks whenever you want it, without having put any points into Climb skill. Pretty nice. With just a little more, either from your existing Dex or skill points, up to 25, you automatically climb natural rock and brick walls, overhangs or ceilings with only handholds, and slippery dungeon walls.

Hybrid form is (imo) your best deal.

(3) Dire Rat Form gives some back, although it gains some additional benefits:

- no more spellcasting, sorry. Animal forms do not allow for anything with verbal, somatic, or material components. I believe there are 3.0 or Dragon Mag feats around this, so see your GM, if this matters to you.
- move speed increases to 40', and you now have a climb speed of 20'. (If you couldn't take 10 already, you could now, because you have a climb speed.)
- size changes to Small, which is good for another +1 AC and +4 to Hide and Move Silently but will hurt you if grappling.
- you lose your two claw attacks, and your bite attack becomes only 1d4.
- +8 racial bonus on swim checks. That should keep you from drowning.

All things considered, this is your scouting form, while hybrid is your melee form.

I think that's it. It's a lot of information, but I think I got it all. I'll accept critiques and attempt to update it for you.

[j_spencer93]

i feel stupid, but that helps alot. not lying.

[Stegyre]

i feel stupid.
Don't. The information is not clearly presented, and various essential tid-bits are placed here and there with little apparent rhyme or reason.