Were-bear Half-giant Level 1 Barbarian.

[1337_master]

Ok, so I have an (ECL 5) Character who is liable to kill a young red dragon easily... And in bear form is stronger than an old dragon in raw strength, and could also probably lift a car in bear form. He also wants to keep his lycanthropy a secret from his party members, And I want to keep my finger on a button that is about the CR of his regular enemies (CR 8 or so) in case he really cheeses me off...Help maybe?

[Tellah]

want to keep my finger on a button that is about the CR of his regular enemies (CR 8 or so) in case he really cheeses me off...Help maybe?

Could you rephrase that?

[Arbitrarity]

One, werebears aren't ECL 5, they're ECL 9 normally, 8 if acquired, so the ECL's off. Badly.

6 racial HD, +2 or 3 LA (for DR 5/silver of 10/silver, respectively) And half giant. 'Cause you get the were racial HD.

So smack him. ECL 9, claims to be 5?!

Hard.

[1337_master]

One, werebears aren't ECL 5, they're ECL 9 normally, 8 if acquired, so the ECL's off. Badly.

6 racial HD, +2 or 3 LA (for DR 5/silver of 10/silver, respectively) And half giant. 'Cause you get the were racial HD.

So smack him. ECL 9, claims to be 5?!

Hard.

well yeah. But the ECL bonus said +3

[Zagreen]

That's just the level adjustment. ECL also includes character levels and HD. He has the 6 HD of a bear +1 level of barbarian +1 LA from half-giant +3 LA from being a natural lycanthrope. He's ECL 11, not 5!

[1337_master]

Well...That's going to suck.

[kamikasei]

well yeah. But the ECL bonus said +3

No, the Level Adjustment says +3. ECL is LA + Racial HD + Class levels.

Well...That's going to suck.

Hence why lycanthropy is generally not considered that great.

[1337_master]

Well natural Lycanthropy is a good thing though. though afflicted...yeah...

[kamikasei]

Well natural Lycanthropy is a good thing though. though afflicted...yeah...

Not really. You pay for the lycanthope's abilities (the DR and such) with the LA, but then you have to pay all that racial HD for... not very much.

[UglyPanda]

You can occasionally see people playing custom lycantropes when the animal has low HD and a good ability i.e. werebadger.

[Black Mage]

Weresquirrel

[kamikasei]

You can occasionally see people playing custom lycantropes when the animal has low HD and a good ability i.e. werebadger.

That is among the awesomest things I've ever heard of.

But I was talking about pre-existing types of lycanthrope.

[NEO|Phyte]

I'm fond of the WereDeinonychus, personally. Fairly decent stat adjusts, only lose one point of BAB to animal HD, 60' move, +5 natural armor, 4 natural attacks, and Pounce. Plus, you're a gorram raptor.

[Fireball.Man.Guy.]

Wher's the were-blank Template?

[NEO|Phyte]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm

Its down past the sample lycanthropes

[Annarrkkii]

You can occasionally see people playing custom lycantropes when the animal has low HD and a good ability i.e. werebadger.

Badgerbadgerbadgerbadger—mush-room, mush-room...

Maybe not.

Lycanthropy is an awkward mechanic. It makes for truly bodacious NPCs, often times, since the image of strange goonies who shapeshift into half-human monsters is a timeless classic of drama. However, Affliction is an issue, since it's actually a good thing... While the drawbacks can be quite heavy—CE tendencies in animal form, lack of control, etc.—granting a PC +4 or more ECL for free is heavy, since cursed items of alignment change, calm emotions, and the like are potential ways to control and implement lycanthropy.

The were-whatever template is slightly shaky, leading to a few abuses.

I generally... alter the affliction rules for my campaigns, making them more flavor-oriented and much higher risk, meaning that it works for NPCs and can potentially by spread as a plague plot device through a population without the danger of PC cheese.

[Latronis]

Arn't were-bears lawful good though?

i seem to recall reading something once where someone tried arguing a were-bear running around biting people

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Arn't were-bears lawful good though?

Yes, of the common Lycanthropes only the rat and wolf variety are CE.

[Douglas]

That just made me think of a bizzare idea for an evil campaign: stop the were-bear lycanthropy plague before the entire population becomes lawful good and refuses to deal with you any more and/or brings you in for trial for your many crimes. Or, an even worse ending for failure by the party would be that the PCs get infected and are forced to be LG themselves.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Maybe a new form of capital punishment in that society:
You are bitten until you become good!

[MegasquidMan]

always Hill Giants and Lycanthropy.

I'd like to see a Formorian Wererat!

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

I'd like to see a Formorian Wererat!

I wouldn't

[Annarrkkii]

Yes, of the common Lycanthropes only the rat and wolf variety are CE.

BRILLIANT! It's like Equilibrium.

Anyway, the fact that so many lycanthropes are not evil is even worse. You get bitten. OH NOES! I'm forced to involuntarily take a more powerful shape and be compelled to act like a good guy!

Tough life.

[Olethros]

Is therer a RAW system for "Were all a +3 LA for being wear___, so the DM sends us against challanges ~3higher but we can still get 20lvls of classes," sort of thing?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Nope, the ECL is going to hurt at some point, especially for casters!

[Zherog]

Arn't were-bears lawful good though?

Yes, of the common Lycanthropes only the rat and wolf variety are CE.

I disagree. Werebears aren't always lawful good.

Alignment: Any. Noble creatures such as bears, eagles, and lions tend to produce good-aligned lycanthropes. Sinister creatures such as rats, snakes, and wolves tend to produce evil-aligned lycanthropes. This is a reflection of how these animals are perceived, not any innate quality of the animal itself, so the alignment of the animal form can be arbitrarily assigned.

(Underlining and bold mine)

They tend to be LG, but can be any alignment.

always Hill Giants and Lycanthropy.

I'd like to see a Formorian Wererat!

Formians aren't valid targets for the lycanthrope template - it can only be added to humanoids or giats, and formians are outsiders.

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

I disagree. Werebears aren't always lawful good.

I don't disagree with you even though the MM entry for Werebear says "Always lawful good".

I was obviously generalizing.

[Black Mage]

I hate when they give non-outsiders an "Always ______" alignment.

[Talanic]

I believe he meant Fomorian, which is a type of giant. Easily identified by being appallingly hideous.

[UglyPanda]

When a character contracts lycanthropy through a lycanthrope’s bite (see above), no symptoms appear until the first night of the next full moon. On that night, the afflicted character involuntarily assumes animal form and forgets his or her own identity, temporarily becoming an NPC. The character remains in animal form, assuming the appropriate alignment, until the next dawn.

Any voluntary change to animal or hybrid form immediately and permanently changes the character’s alignment to that of the appropriate lycanthrope.

In layman's terms, it means that if you turn into your animal form involuntarily, then your alignment shifts once you're in animal form. Once you do it voluntarily, the alignment of all your forms are shifted. The only way around it is if you interpret angels as being capable of being chaotic evil.