Lycanthropes that aren't listed

[Dancingdeath]

So I'd like to make a weredirepanther but cannot find any such creature listed in any official source. Is there a way in an official rulebook to create a lycanthrope out of a creature that isn't listed anywhere as an already existing form of lycanthrope? It has to be from an official source or the DM will not allow it.

Thanks in advance.

[ChaosStar]

So I'd like to make a weredirepanther but cannot find any such creature listed in any official source. Is there a way in an official rulebook to create a lycanthrope out of a creature that isn't listed anywhere as an already existing form of lycanthrope? It has to be from an official source or the DM will not allow it.

Thanks in advance.

The SRD has rules about creating Lycanthropes. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm Beneath Werewolf Lord where it says about creating Lycanthropes. Also I would suggest you don't make something dependent on class levels due to RHD and LA. Being a Natural Lycanthrope, thus not having to worry about changing every full moon, gives you a +3 LA in addition to the RHD of the animal you use to make the Lycanthrope. A Panther has 3 RHD, thus you would be 6 class levels behind the rest of your party. Going afflicted would mean you'd only have a +2 LA but would have to worry about losing control during the full moon.

[TheStranger]

The SRD has rules about creating Lycanthropes. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm Beneath Werewolf Lord where it says about creating Lycanthropes. Also I would suggest you don't make something dependent on class levels due to RHD and LA. Being a Natural Lycanthrope, thus not having to worry about changing every full moon, gives you a +3 LA in addition to the RHD of the animal you use to make the Lycanthrope. A Panther has 3 RHD, thus you would be 6 class levels behind the rest of your party. Going afflicted would mean you'd only have a +2 LA but would have to worry about losing control during the full moon.

To which I'll add that you are explicitly allowed to create were-animals that are not listed: "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)"

[Telonius]

The Lycanthrope listing has a "Creating a Lycanthrope" section that lists how to do this. The only thing that it doesn't cover is Alignment (which I personally find silly anyway) for creatures that aren't listed as standard. I guess it's left to the DM to decide if panthers are "noble" or not. So, as long as the creature has a listing somewhere, you can take your character and make a Were-critter of it.

If the creature you're looking at doesn't have a basic listing, you would need to homebrew it. I believe that would be the case with Dire Panther, since (as far as I can tell) it isn't listed in any 3.5 source. d&dwiki has a homebrew listing for it, if that's any help.

[Kalkra]

I'll mention that panthers aren't actually a kind of cat. Most people who talk about panthers are talking about black jaguars of leopards.

[Thurbane]

Consolidated Lycanthropy Guide is a handy reference for this kind of thing.