Sparky McDibben
2019-10-28, 09:11 AM
So I was inspired by this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?601339-So-You-Want-To-Kill-An-Orc-(3-5-Fluff)) to do something similar for lycanthropes, just because I think they're a fun monster who oftentimes get a bad rap. This treatment is inspired by the old WoD games and the Dresden Files, but revamped for D&D 5e. Work In Progress.
True Lycanthropes
Origin
The world was young once. Gods, dragons, fiends, and giants fought over the world, threatening to tear it asunder. And even then, there were druids protecting their groves. These groves were new, and like all new things, required careful nurturing, or the primal forces of the earth might be snuffed out. The druids were far from defenseless, but they saw the scope of the wars being fought and knew they were not strong enough for their duty. They were not alone, but their allies were also their charges, and the druids didn't want to expose natural life to the wickedness of warfare. A conclave was held.
There, many druids were attended by their friends, mostly awakened animals. Only the druids of the orc clans brought their mortal kindred. One druid, an orc Wise One named Throkk, proposed a solution. "We can don the skins of many creatures," said she, "and go among the land, even to become elementals most terrible. But our allies must be mighty warriors, not proper druids. What if we were to choose the skin of a creature, and teach our allies how to draw upon the power of the earth that they might become that creature?" The suggestion wasn't adopted immediately; few good ideas are ever given their proper hearing on the first airing. But over the course of many weeks, the druids ran out of ideas. So, they went back to Throkk.
Throkk had not been idle. She had gathered her clan's weakest members, the defenseless and overlooked who came to her for protection, and made them an offer. When the other druids assembled to hear her out, Throkk said, "Let us give our allies the skin of the wolf, for we want our allies to act as members of a great pack, which ought encompass the world. And let us call upon the unchanging changeling, Luna, for the power to don other skins." Out of ideas, the conclave agreed and set to the task. Throkk's weaklings were the test case; the druids watched them face a group of demons and rip them apart. The experiment was deemed a success, and the ritual refined to require only a handful of druids powered by a grove. And that's how lycanthropy entered the world.
Description
True lycanthropes are shapechangers who know two forms - an animal form, and a hulking beast-man form which is known as the "war-form." The animal form can vary, but the most populous sort is the wolf, though in jungle areas tigers and leopards are common. True lycanthropy isn't a curse, but rather a very restricted form of the druid's Wild Shape ability. It therefore cannot be spread to others, which is why sages refer to them as "true" lycanthropes. This power cannot be inherited; it is a gift from Nature to its defenders, and therefore must be earned through a ritual known as the Rite of Changing.
True lycanthropes heal very quickly, especially in combat or near a grove. When near a site of natural power, true lycanthropes can perform a ritual to draw upon the site's strength, giving them fast healing and more potent natural weaponry. In combat, as the adrenaline surges through their magical forms, true lycanthropes can recover from even the most terrible blows swiftly and without so much as a scar.
True lycanthropes have two weaknesses, both tied to their protean patron/ess - the moon. The first weakness is silver. True lycanthropes suffer terrible wounds from silver weapons, and some cannot tolerate the touch of silver coins or even tableware made from silver. It burns them horribly, and is one of the few things that can scar their kind permanently. True lycanthropes mistrust those who come bearing silver, though they themselves will always have at least three silver weapons in their settlements: a silver-bladed spear (or other polearm), a bow with silver-tipped arrows, and a silver dagger. The three weapons have ritual uses, and are only ever employed for one task: the hunting of Bale Dogs, or Curse Hounds, as they are sometimes known - cursed lycanthropes.
The second weakness is a weakness of mind. True lycanthropes exposed to the full moon are almost compelled to transform. The urge to do so is overpoweringly strong, and can only be resisted with incredible willpower. For some true lycanthropes, a sort of madness comes over them and they go wild. These lycanthropes are "called to Luna;" they are compelled to run, hunt, fight, and mate with utter abandon until the full moon recedes.
Creation
Five druids must agree to perform the Rite of Changing. The initiate must prove to each druid they are worthy of this honor. Under a full moon, the prospective lycanthrope must coax an animal of the sort they wish to become into a druidic circle, and fight it with their bare hands. The animal must be a completely natural sort of beast, must not be magically compelled, and must neither kill the prospective lycanthrope nor be killed by them. Once the ritual combat has taken place, the druids will daub the supplicant with sigils in the supplicant's own blood, binding them to the defense of the natural world. Once complete, the supplicant must swear an oath, the details of which varies from circle to circle. Some swear to kill any trespassers into the groves, even including the supplicant's family. Some swear to defend the passages into the Feywild. Some swear to act as guardian to a specific type of land. The one commonality is that all true lycanthropes swear to defend Nature herself, and some claim this places their souls in servitude to the groves even after death.
Culture
True lycanthropes take pains to keep themselves hidden from most people. They don't need to live among ordinary folk, there's very little they need from the mortal world, and they are almost entirely self-sufficient. Moreover, ordinary people have a nasty habit of hunting down true lycanthropes with torches and pitchforks, culling any wolves for miles. Ergo, most true lycanthropes avoid civilization. On those rare instances they must interact, true lycanthropes cannot avoid an air of the uncanny in their mannerisms. They might stand too close, sniff people, or other off-putting social gestures.
Few true lycanthropes are encountered singly. They are often found in the company of druids, with whom they form lifelong friendships. Indeed, this occasionally crosses the line from friendship to love, and such pairings are the stuff of legend. True lycanthropes are never druids themselves, because doing so would disrupt the focus needed to adopt their war-form. As such, druids often act as advisors, counselors and leaders to true lycanthropes, alerting them to threats from beyond their purview, or accompanying them on quests to provide aid.
Among themselves, true lycanthropes exhibit a variety of social behaviors. Werewolf packs are highly social, and usually related. Werebears, on the other hand, are solitary and quite cranky when roused from sleep. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of granting this gift, and fading knowledge of how to do so, the numbers of true lycanthropes are dwindling. Some true lycanthropes see this as a good thing. The world is changing, and they may not be needed for much longer. Other true lycanthropes look around at a world teeming with threats, and fear that one day, their friends will be left alone to face terrible foes without anyone at their back.
Enemies
Despite their power, true lycanthropes have plenty of enemies. Even an ordinary hunter might kill a true lycanthrope with a lucky shot and a silver arrow. More learned foes often hunt true lycanthropes to flay them alive under a full moon when divine power is filling their skin. The power imbued in such a skin might grant any number of boons, from being a key component in a ritual, to the manufacture of a magical item. But the real threat, as always, is in betrayal.
Six hundred years after true lycanthropes were created, a druid found himself without a grove when rampaging hobgoblins razed his forest, killed his true lycanthrope companion, and nearly killed him. Full of grief and rage, this druid gave himself over to a festering corruption, and made a deal. The hobgoblins had already desecrated his friend's body, so foolish druid rationalized what he had to do as vengeance, rather than further debasement. The druid cut his friend down, wrapped the meat around his own flesh, and screamed an oath of bloody retribution beneath a blood moon.
And thusly were the cursed lycanthropes made.
Cursed lycanthropes compete with true lycanthropes by whipping up mobs, hunting for the same resources, and denuding the land with their rapacious appetites. While some among the cursed lycanthropes have tamed their urges (notably werebears and weretigers), most other cursed lycanthropes are considered an existential threat by true lycanthropes. If the cursed lycanthrope is battling with its nature, they will often try to get the druids to intervene, but if the cursed one has stopped fighting, true lycanthropes will perform a ritual hunt, killing the creature and cleansing its soul.
Some true lycanthropes stop serving Nature's cause. While this is alright for a period of time (akin to a vacation), those who use their gifts to actively sow evil are often cursed. The nature might be to spend a year and a day in the body of a human, or to be hunted as a deer, doomed to be ripped apart every night and reborn every day. Those miserable souls who refuse to repent are transformed into cursed lycanthropes, and are hunted most assiduously by their erstwhile kin.
True Lycanthropes In The Game
Purpose
True lycanthropes have two distinct purposes in the game world.
The first is to reinforce that the players are living in a fallen world. Once, everything was great, and we had all this cool stuff, and harmony reigned. Now, everything sucks and your Social Security check will never come. Welcome to life, kid. True lycanthropes are the remnants of a bygone age of glory. There are still a few of them, but they're slowly dying out.
The second purpose they have is to heighten player uncertainty. One, not all lycanthropes are bad. Some werewolves might be chaotic good, and they're going to get really pissed off if you shoot them with silver arrows. Second, druids might not have to rely on wild shape and conjure animals to fight. They've got other options for allies. Now fighting is a suboptimal response for your players, which gives you as the DM more breathing room for exploration and roleplay.
NPC Mechanics
True Werewolf
Medium humanoid (shapechanger), any alignment
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 171 (18d10+72)
Speed 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
19 (+4) 15 (+2) 19 (+4) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 10 (+0)
Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +7
Skills Athletics +10, Perception +8, Stealth +5, Survival +5
Damage Vulnerabilities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from silvered weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the true werewolf fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Regeneration. The true werewolf regains 30 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point. If the true werewolf has damage from a silvered weapon, this trait doesn't function at the start of the true werewolf's next turn.
Shapechanger. The true werewolf can use a bonus action to polymorph into a Large wolf-humanoid hybrid, or into a dire wolf, or back into its true form, which is humanoid. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The true werewolf can use its Terrifying Howl. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d12 + 4) piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the beginning of the true werewolf's next turn.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (5d8 + 4) piercing damage. If the true werewolf hits with both claw attacks, the target is grappled (escape DC 15) if it is a Large or smaller creature and the true werewolf doesn't have another creature grappled.
Terrifying Howl. Each creature of the true werewolf's choice that is within 60 feet of the true werewolf must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the werewolf's Terrifying Howl for the next 24 hours.
REACTIONS
Thrower. If a creature ends its turn grappled by the true werewolf, the werewolf can make an Athletics check to hurl the grappled creature up to 30 feet. If the thrown creature does not strike another creature or object, it lands prone. If the thrown creature strikes another creature or object, both the thrown creature and what it hit take bludgeoning damage equal to the true werewolf's Athletics check.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The true werewolf can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The true werewolf regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Snarl. The true werewolf snarls menacingly at a creature it can see; that creature has disadvantage on its next attack.
Move. The true werewolf moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Bite (Costs 2 Actions). The true werewolf makes one bite attack.
LAIR ACTIONS
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the true lycanthrope takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the lycanthrope can't use the same effect two rounds in a row:
The true werewolf draws upon the raw power of nature, ending one condition on itself as a success.
The plants and wildlife around the true werewolf animate in a 20-foot radius centered on a point on the ground that the werewolf can see within 120 feet of it. That area become difficult terrain, and each creature there must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be restrained by the plants. A creature can be freed if it or another creature takes an action to make a DC 15 Strength check and succeeds. The plants retract when the werewolf uses this lair action again or when the werewolf dies.
The true werewolf heals 30 hit points.
The true werewolf can choose one creature. If that creature fails a DC 15 Wisdom or Constitution saving throw (creature's choice), the creature gains vulnerability to the werewolf's attacks until the end of the werewolf's next turn. On a successful saving throw, this lair action has no effect.
PC Mechanics
True lycanthropy is not inherited, but earned. The character must find five druids who know the Rite of Changing, be judged worthy by them, and survive the Rite itself. If they do so, that character receives the following boon:
True Lycanthrope
You are a true lycanthrope and gain the shapechanger subtype. As an action, you can polymorph into the form of a Large beast or into a beast-humanoid hybrid. You may only choose one beast to polymorph into. Your statistics, other than your size, are the same in each form. When you adopt the hybrid form, you can only maintain it for one minute.
In hybrid form, you have several advantages:
You have advantage on Constitution checks and saving throws.
Your size becomes Large.
Your movement speed becomes 40 feet per round.
You regenerate your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier hit points at the start of your turn every round as long as you have one hit point left.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
You are immune to the charmed and frightened conditions
After you use this form for one minute, you cannot do so again until the moon rises. You do not have to see the moon rise because you feel its presence. You have one year to find a druid or a grove worthy of your protection, and convince them to accept you. If you do not, you lose this boon, and can never again benefit from it. In addition, choose a flaw. You either have Silver Weakness or the Moon's Call.
Silver Weakness:
You are vulnerable in all your forms to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from silver weapons. If your bare skin comes in contact with silver, including silver coins or silverware, you take one point of damage and now carry a brand of that item on your skin. Damage from silver weapons shows up as scars which are consistent in all your forms.
The Moon's Call:
For three days around the full moon, you become enchanted by the moon's call. Your temper flares violently, and the urge to run, hunt, and shift burns hot within you. During any combat in those three days, you must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier) to avoid shifting involuntarily on your next turn. For those three days, you gain a new flaw: "I lash out at anyone who provokes me, and find it very difficult to control my temper."
Feat: Gift of the Land
Prerequisite: True Lycanthrope
Your armor and weapons are not damaged or destroyed when you change form.
Choose one druid spell of 5th level or lower that does not require concentration. You can cast that spell once per day, and regain the ability to do so on a long rest.
Feat: Nature's Balm
Prerequisite: True Lycanthrope
You now regenerate 20 hit points per turn in your hybrid form only.
You regenerate one hit point per minute in all other forms, provided you have one hit point remaining.
Feat: Arch-Shifter
Prerequisite: True Lycanthrope
You may now use your hybrid form a number of times per day equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum once).
You are immune to any spell that would change your shape.
You are immune to the poisoned condition and poison damage.
True Lycanthropes
Origin
The world was young once. Gods, dragons, fiends, and giants fought over the world, threatening to tear it asunder. And even then, there were druids protecting their groves. These groves were new, and like all new things, required careful nurturing, or the primal forces of the earth might be snuffed out. The druids were far from defenseless, but they saw the scope of the wars being fought and knew they were not strong enough for their duty. They were not alone, but their allies were also their charges, and the druids didn't want to expose natural life to the wickedness of warfare. A conclave was held.
There, many druids were attended by their friends, mostly awakened animals. Only the druids of the orc clans brought their mortal kindred. One druid, an orc Wise One named Throkk, proposed a solution. "We can don the skins of many creatures," said she, "and go among the land, even to become elementals most terrible. But our allies must be mighty warriors, not proper druids. What if we were to choose the skin of a creature, and teach our allies how to draw upon the power of the earth that they might become that creature?" The suggestion wasn't adopted immediately; few good ideas are ever given their proper hearing on the first airing. But over the course of many weeks, the druids ran out of ideas. So, they went back to Throkk.
Throkk had not been idle. She had gathered her clan's weakest members, the defenseless and overlooked who came to her for protection, and made them an offer. When the other druids assembled to hear her out, Throkk said, "Let us give our allies the skin of the wolf, for we want our allies to act as members of a great pack, which ought encompass the world. And let us call upon the unchanging changeling, Luna, for the power to don other skins." Out of ideas, the conclave agreed and set to the task. Throkk's weaklings were the test case; the druids watched them face a group of demons and rip them apart. The experiment was deemed a success, and the ritual refined to require only a handful of druids powered by a grove. And that's how lycanthropy entered the world.
Description
True lycanthropes are shapechangers who know two forms - an animal form, and a hulking beast-man form which is known as the "war-form." The animal form can vary, but the most populous sort is the wolf, though in jungle areas tigers and leopards are common. True lycanthropy isn't a curse, but rather a very restricted form of the druid's Wild Shape ability. It therefore cannot be spread to others, which is why sages refer to them as "true" lycanthropes. This power cannot be inherited; it is a gift from Nature to its defenders, and therefore must be earned through a ritual known as the Rite of Changing.
True lycanthropes heal very quickly, especially in combat or near a grove. When near a site of natural power, true lycanthropes can perform a ritual to draw upon the site's strength, giving them fast healing and more potent natural weaponry. In combat, as the adrenaline surges through their magical forms, true lycanthropes can recover from even the most terrible blows swiftly and without so much as a scar.
True lycanthropes have two weaknesses, both tied to their protean patron/ess - the moon. The first weakness is silver. True lycanthropes suffer terrible wounds from silver weapons, and some cannot tolerate the touch of silver coins or even tableware made from silver. It burns them horribly, and is one of the few things that can scar their kind permanently. True lycanthropes mistrust those who come bearing silver, though they themselves will always have at least three silver weapons in their settlements: a silver-bladed spear (or other polearm), a bow with silver-tipped arrows, and a silver dagger. The three weapons have ritual uses, and are only ever employed for one task: the hunting of Bale Dogs, or Curse Hounds, as they are sometimes known - cursed lycanthropes.
The second weakness is a weakness of mind. True lycanthropes exposed to the full moon are almost compelled to transform. The urge to do so is overpoweringly strong, and can only be resisted with incredible willpower. For some true lycanthropes, a sort of madness comes over them and they go wild. These lycanthropes are "called to Luna;" they are compelled to run, hunt, fight, and mate with utter abandon until the full moon recedes.
Creation
Five druids must agree to perform the Rite of Changing. The initiate must prove to each druid they are worthy of this honor. Under a full moon, the prospective lycanthrope must coax an animal of the sort they wish to become into a druidic circle, and fight it with their bare hands. The animal must be a completely natural sort of beast, must not be magically compelled, and must neither kill the prospective lycanthrope nor be killed by them. Once the ritual combat has taken place, the druids will daub the supplicant with sigils in the supplicant's own blood, binding them to the defense of the natural world. Once complete, the supplicant must swear an oath, the details of which varies from circle to circle. Some swear to kill any trespassers into the groves, even including the supplicant's family. Some swear to defend the passages into the Feywild. Some swear to act as guardian to a specific type of land. The one commonality is that all true lycanthropes swear to defend Nature herself, and some claim this places their souls in servitude to the groves even after death.
Culture
True lycanthropes take pains to keep themselves hidden from most people. They don't need to live among ordinary folk, there's very little they need from the mortal world, and they are almost entirely self-sufficient. Moreover, ordinary people have a nasty habit of hunting down true lycanthropes with torches and pitchforks, culling any wolves for miles. Ergo, most true lycanthropes avoid civilization. On those rare instances they must interact, true lycanthropes cannot avoid an air of the uncanny in their mannerisms. They might stand too close, sniff people, or other off-putting social gestures.
Few true lycanthropes are encountered singly. They are often found in the company of druids, with whom they form lifelong friendships. Indeed, this occasionally crosses the line from friendship to love, and such pairings are the stuff of legend. True lycanthropes are never druids themselves, because doing so would disrupt the focus needed to adopt their war-form. As such, druids often act as advisors, counselors and leaders to true lycanthropes, alerting them to threats from beyond their purview, or accompanying them on quests to provide aid.
Among themselves, true lycanthropes exhibit a variety of social behaviors. Werewolf packs are highly social, and usually related. Werebears, on the other hand, are solitary and quite cranky when roused from sleep. Unfortunately, due to the high cost of granting this gift, and fading knowledge of how to do so, the numbers of true lycanthropes are dwindling. Some true lycanthropes see this as a good thing. The world is changing, and they may not be needed for much longer. Other true lycanthropes look around at a world teeming with threats, and fear that one day, their friends will be left alone to face terrible foes without anyone at their back.
Enemies
Despite their power, true lycanthropes have plenty of enemies. Even an ordinary hunter might kill a true lycanthrope with a lucky shot and a silver arrow. More learned foes often hunt true lycanthropes to flay them alive under a full moon when divine power is filling their skin. The power imbued in such a skin might grant any number of boons, from being a key component in a ritual, to the manufacture of a magical item. But the real threat, as always, is in betrayal.
Six hundred years after true lycanthropes were created, a druid found himself without a grove when rampaging hobgoblins razed his forest, killed his true lycanthrope companion, and nearly killed him. Full of grief and rage, this druid gave himself over to a festering corruption, and made a deal. The hobgoblins had already desecrated his friend's body, so foolish druid rationalized what he had to do as vengeance, rather than further debasement. The druid cut his friend down, wrapped the meat around his own flesh, and screamed an oath of bloody retribution beneath a blood moon.
And thusly were the cursed lycanthropes made.
Cursed lycanthropes compete with true lycanthropes by whipping up mobs, hunting for the same resources, and denuding the land with their rapacious appetites. While some among the cursed lycanthropes have tamed their urges (notably werebears and weretigers), most other cursed lycanthropes are considered an existential threat by true lycanthropes. If the cursed lycanthrope is battling with its nature, they will often try to get the druids to intervene, but if the cursed one has stopped fighting, true lycanthropes will perform a ritual hunt, killing the creature and cleansing its soul.
Some true lycanthropes stop serving Nature's cause. While this is alright for a period of time (akin to a vacation), those who use their gifts to actively sow evil are often cursed. The nature might be to spend a year and a day in the body of a human, or to be hunted as a deer, doomed to be ripped apart every night and reborn every day. Those miserable souls who refuse to repent are transformed into cursed lycanthropes, and are hunted most assiduously by their erstwhile kin.
True Lycanthropes In The Game
Purpose
True lycanthropes have two distinct purposes in the game world.
The first is to reinforce that the players are living in a fallen world. Once, everything was great, and we had all this cool stuff, and harmony reigned. Now, everything sucks and your Social Security check will never come. Welcome to life, kid. True lycanthropes are the remnants of a bygone age of glory. There are still a few of them, but they're slowly dying out.
The second purpose they have is to heighten player uncertainty. One, not all lycanthropes are bad. Some werewolves might be chaotic good, and they're going to get really pissed off if you shoot them with silver arrows. Second, druids might not have to rely on wild shape and conjure animals to fight. They've got other options for allies. Now fighting is a suboptimal response for your players, which gives you as the DM more breathing room for exploration and roleplay.
NPC Mechanics
True Werewolf
Medium humanoid (shapechanger), any alignment
Armor Class 17 (natural armor)
Hit Points 171 (18d10+72)
Speed 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA
19 (+4) 15 (+2) 19 (+4) 10 (+0) 15 (+2) 10 (+0)
Saving Throws Dex +5, Con +7
Skills Athletics +10, Perception +8, Stealth +5, Survival +5
Damage Vulnerabilities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from silvered weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 15
Languages Common, Sylvan
Challenge 14 (11,500 XP)
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the true werewolf fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Regeneration. The true werewolf regains 30 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point. If the true werewolf has damage from a silvered weapon, this trait doesn't function at the start of the true werewolf's next turn.
Shapechanger. The true werewolf can use a bonus action to polymorph into a Large wolf-humanoid hybrid, or into a dire wolf, or back into its true form, which is humanoid. Its statistics, other than its size, are the same in each form. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
ACTIONS
Multiattack. The true werewolf can use its Terrifying Howl. It then makes three attacks: one with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 23 (3d12 + 4) piercing damage. The target must succeed on a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the beginning of the true werewolf's next turn.
Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 26 (5d8 + 4) piercing damage. If the true werewolf hits with both claw attacks, the target is grappled (escape DC 15) if it is a Large or smaller creature and the true werewolf doesn't have another creature grappled.
Terrifying Howl. Each creature of the true werewolf's choice that is within 60 feet of the true werewolf must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If a creature's saving throw is successful or the effect ends for it, the creature is immune to the werewolf's Terrifying Howl for the next 24 hours.
REACTIONS
Thrower. If a creature ends its turn grappled by the true werewolf, the werewolf can make an Athletics check to hurl the grappled creature up to 30 feet. If the thrown creature does not strike another creature or object, it lands prone. If the thrown creature strikes another creature or object, both the thrown creature and what it hit take bludgeoning damage equal to the true werewolf's Athletics check.
LEGENDARY ACTIONS
The true werewolf can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The true werewolf regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Snarl. The true werewolf snarls menacingly at a creature it can see; that creature has disadvantage on its next attack.
Move. The true werewolf moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Bite (Costs 2 Actions). The true werewolf makes one bite attack.
LAIR ACTIONS
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), the true lycanthrope takes a lair action to cause one of the following effects; the lycanthrope can't use the same effect two rounds in a row:
The true werewolf draws upon the raw power of nature, ending one condition on itself as a success.
The plants and wildlife around the true werewolf animate in a 20-foot radius centered on a point on the ground that the werewolf can see within 120 feet of it. That area become difficult terrain, and each creature there must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be restrained by the plants. A creature can be freed if it or another creature takes an action to make a DC 15 Strength check and succeeds. The plants retract when the werewolf uses this lair action again or when the werewolf dies.
The true werewolf heals 30 hit points.
The true werewolf can choose one creature. If that creature fails a DC 15 Wisdom or Constitution saving throw (creature's choice), the creature gains vulnerability to the werewolf's attacks until the end of the werewolf's next turn. On a successful saving throw, this lair action has no effect.
PC Mechanics
True lycanthropy is not inherited, but earned. The character must find five druids who know the Rite of Changing, be judged worthy by them, and survive the Rite itself. If they do so, that character receives the following boon:
True Lycanthrope
You are a true lycanthrope and gain the shapechanger subtype. As an action, you can polymorph into the form of a Large beast or into a beast-humanoid hybrid. You may only choose one beast to polymorph into. Your statistics, other than your size, are the same in each form. When you adopt the hybrid form, you can only maintain it for one minute.
In hybrid form, you have several advantages:
You have advantage on Constitution checks and saving throws.
Your size becomes Large.
Your movement speed becomes 40 feet per round.
You regenerate your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier hit points at the start of your turn every round as long as you have one hit point left.
You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.
You are immune to the charmed and frightened conditions
After you use this form for one minute, you cannot do so again until the moon rises. You do not have to see the moon rise because you feel its presence. You have one year to find a druid or a grove worthy of your protection, and convince them to accept you. If you do not, you lose this boon, and can never again benefit from it. In addition, choose a flaw. You either have Silver Weakness or the Moon's Call.
Silver Weakness:
You are vulnerable in all your forms to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from silver weapons. If your bare skin comes in contact with silver, including silver coins or silverware, you take one point of damage and now carry a brand of that item on your skin. Damage from silver weapons shows up as scars which are consistent in all your forms.
The Moon's Call:
For three days around the full moon, you become enchanted by the moon's call. Your temper flares violently, and the urge to run, hunt, and shift burns hot within you. During any combat in those three days, you must make a Wisdom saving throw (DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Constitution modifier) to avoid shifting involuntarily on your next turn. For those three days, you gain a new flaw: "I lash out at anyone who provokes me, and find it very difficult to control my temper."
Feat: Gift of the Land
Prerequisite: True Lycanthrope
Your armor and weapons are not damaged or destroyed when you change form.
Choose one druid spell of 5th level or lower that does not require concentration. You can cast that spell once per day, and regain the ability to do so on a long rest.
Feat: Nature's Balm
Prerequisite: True Lycanthrope
You now regenerate 20 hit points per turn in your hybrid form only.
You regenerate one hit point per minute in all other forms, provided you have one hit point remaining.
Feat: Arch-Shifter
Prerequisite: True Lycanthrope
You may now use your hybrid form a number of times per day equal to your Constitution modifier (minimum once).
You are immune to any spell that would change your shape.
You are immune to the poisoned condition and poison damage.