Strange and uncommon lycanthropes

[Inevitability]

The scared townspeople huddle together around the fireplace, telling stories of bloodthirsty werewolves, thieving wererats and territorial weretigers, while they pray that the werebear who has been seen around here will protect them.

Those people do not know about some of the more exotic lycanthropes, however. These rare species either live in places so far away from the civilized world that no one has ever seen them, choose to live seluded lives, or are simply so few in number that a common peasant would be extraordinarily (un)lucky to see even one.

Spoiler: Wererabbit (abandon all W&G references, ye who enter here)

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Wererabbit
Small Humanoid (halfling, shapechanger), True Neutral

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Armor Class 12
Hit Points 13 (3d6+3)
Speed 35 ft (45 ft., burrow 5 ft. in rabbit form)

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Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
10 (+0)	15 (+2)	12 (+1)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)	9 (-1)

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Skills Perception +3, Stealth +4
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks not made with silver weapons
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Common, Halfling (can't speak in rabbit form)
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)

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Shapechanger. The Wererabbit can use its action to polymorph into a rabbit-human hybrid or into a Tiny rabbit, 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.

Keen Hearing and Smell. The wererabbit has advantage on Wisdom (perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Burrow. When burrowing in its rabbit form, the wererabbit leaves behind a tunnel. This tunnel is generally only large enough for Tiny creatures to pass through, although several rabbits working together can create tunnels large enough for much bigger beings.

Actions

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Bite (Rabbit or Hybrid Form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 11 constitution saving throw or be cursed with wererabbit lycanthropy.

Dagger (Humanoid or Hybrid Form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage.

Dagger (Humanoid or Hybrid Form only). Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 4 (1d4+2) piercing damage.

Hasty Escape (Rabbit Form only). The wererabbit can take the Disengage action and move up to its speed.


Wererabbit

Wererabbits are always Small races, like halflings and gnomes, though kobold wererabbits are not unheard of. A wererabbit stands about four feet tall in its humanoid form, with the only things revealing their lycanthropic blood being slightly larger ears and a thin layer of soft fur covering most of their body. In hybrid form, they look like large anthropomorphic rabbits, with two long ears protruding from the side of their head. In rabbit form, they look much like normal rabbits, except for their eyes, which remain those of their true form.

Unlike most lycanthropes, a bloodthirsty wererabbit is almost unheard of. They live peacefully in small communities called burrows, hidden away in hilly or foresty areas. Burrows consist of about twenty to hundred rabbits, with little to none other creatures. The social structure of a burrow is one focused on teamwork and loyality. A family of monarchs called the Wrhi'Vraz rules the burrow, putting the safety of their people first and foremost.

Wererabbits can digest both meat and plants, but eating meat is considered taboo and may be reason enough for a rabbit to be expelled from its tribe.

Only when a threat they can't deal with themselves shows up does this small race ask for another's aid. They often repay those favors with gems they find, rare herbs, and the occasional piece of loot found on slain foes. Sometimes, an outsider favored by the burrow is offered to be inflicted with lycanthropy and join the tribe, which is considered the greatest honor possible. This is generally the only way wererabbits spread their affliction.

Wererabbits tend to be easily scared and sometimes display slightly paranoid behavior. A normal burrow may have a dozen apparent entrances and exits, all of them tiny-sized, a well-hidden entrance for larger creatures, and a couple of tunnels that can have their entrance up to a mile away from the hole.

Wererabbits don't like conflict and prefer to flee rather than fight. If they have no other choice, they most commonly fight with daggers, delivering quick strikes before assuming animal form and retreating. Thanks to its innate speed, a fleeing wererabbit can avoid capture almost always.

Spoiler: Wereshark

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Wereshark
Medium Humanoid (human, shapechanger), Neutral Evil

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Armor Class 11 in humanoid form, 12 (natural armor) in shark or hybrid form
Hit Points 97 (15d8+30)
Speed 30 ft., swim 30 ft. (0 ft., swim 40 ft. in shark form)

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Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
17 (+3)	14 (+2)	15 (+2)	11 (+0)	12 (+1)	11 (+0)

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Skills Deception +2 Perception +3
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages Common (can't speak in shark form)
Challenge 4 (1100 XP)

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Shapechanger. The wereshark can use its action to polymorph into a shark-human hybrid or into a Large shark, or back into its true form, which is humanoid. Its statistics, other than its size and AC, 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.

Blood Frenzy. The wereshark has advantage on attack rolls against a creature that doesn't have all its hit points.

Amphibious. (Hybrid Form only) The wereshark can breathe both air and water.

Water Breathing (Shark Form only). The wereshark can breathe only underwater.

Actions

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Multiattack (Humanoid or Hybrid Form only). The wereshark makes two trident attacks.

Bite (Shark or Hybrid Form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 13 constitution saving throw or be cursed with wereshark lycanthropy.

Trident (Humanoid or Hybrid Form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage.

Trident (Humanoid or Hybrid Form only). Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage.

Wereshark

Those savage and aggressive monstrosities dwell in almost all oceans of the world, although they avoid intense cold. In humanoid form, they appear as well-muscled, tall humans, often with several scars on its body. In shark form, they are indistinguishable from ordinary sharks, safe for their malevolent eyes and unnaturally cunning behavior.

Weresharks feed on almost anything smaller than them, and several things larger. While hunting, a wereshark prefers its shark form, because it gives them better mobility underwater. However, weresharks show an almost unnatural pleasure in feeding on sentient creatures, and as such prefer the meat of humanoids.

While it can happen that a pack of weresharks simply climbs aboard of a ship, slaughters everyone on it, and then feasts for several days, far more common is a situation where the creatures display their penchant for deception. First, a single wereshark climbs into a small boat, then assumes humanoid form. Once a ship passes by, he'll attract attention by yelling and waving. Once this 'sailor' is 'rescued' by the ship, he'll pretend to be grateful and stay aboard the ship for a while. Then, the wereshark will sink the ship, and devour all aboard it together with his friends. The few survivors of such attacks rarely know what transpired, and as such the danger of weresharks is an unknown one.

Weresharks almost never deliberately inflict others with their curse, save for loyal allies who may prove more useful as one of them. However, they do not avoid using their jaws in battle.

Weresharks live together in tribes of thirty individuals at the very most. They are hostile to almost anyone intruding on their territory, including other weresharks. However, from time to time they ally with Sahuagin, whose shark telepathy doesn't directly influence the weresharks but does give Sahuagin an edge in influencing those beings. In very rare cases, weresharks serve a Marid. Weresharks hate dragons and dragonborn of any kind, although the reason for this is unknown.

Spoiler: Werestirge

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Werestirge
Medium Humanoid (human, shapechanger), Chaotic Evil

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Armor Class 13 in humanoid form, 14 (natural armor) in stirge or hybrid form.
Hit Points 44 (8d8+8)
Speed 30 ft (30 ft., fly 20 ft. in hybrid form, 10 ft. fly 40 ft. in stirge form)

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Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
10 (+0)	17 (+3)	12 (+1)	11 (+0)	11 (+0)	12 (+1)

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Skills Intimidation +3, Stealth +5
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks not made with silvered weapons
Senses passive Perception 10
Languages Common (can't speak in stirge form)
Challenge 3 (700 XP)

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Shapechanger. The werestirge can use its action to polymorph into a stirge-human hybrid or into a Small stirge, or back into its true form, which is humanoid. Its statistics, other than its size and AC, 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

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Blood Drain (Stirge or Hybrid Form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8+3) piercing damage, and the werestirge attaches to the target. In addition, if the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 11 constitution saving throw or be cursed with werestirge lycanthropy.

As long as the werestirge is attached to a creature, that creature is grappled (escape DC 13). If any effect would end the grapple, the werestirge is no longer attached to the target.

While attached, the werestirge can't use Blood Drain. Instead, at the start of each of the werestirge's turns, the target loses 12 (2d8+3) hit points due to blood loss.

Rapier (Humanoid or Hybrid Form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage.

Hand Crossbow (Humanoid or Hybrid Form only). Ranged Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6+3) piercing damage.

Werestirge

Those horrible beings have a cruel and selfish worldview, as could be expected of parasitic creatures as them. To a werestirge, the only thing that matters is its own well-being. Even those who resist the curse cannot help but display slightly selfish behavior.

A werestirge in human form appears to be human, but with a slightly longer nose than normal humans would have and a somewhat swollen belly. In hybrid form, wings have grown from the lycanthrope's back, and a proboscis now dominates its face. This horrifying combination of insecoid, human, and bat traits is often enough to scare away even the bravest of warriors. In stirge form, a werestirge simply looks like an oversized stirge, but it takes on this form only rarely. Generally, werestirges appear human when trying to find new victims or passing through civilized area's, hybrid when fighting or feeding, and only turn into a stirge for overland flight or quick retreats.

In order to survive, all werestirges need to drink blood from time to time in addition to normal food. Werestirges that don't suck blood at least once a month enter a torpor-like state and die a painful death mere days after. This is one of the only things a werestirge truly fears, and one of the primary drives behind its thirst for blood. Unlike its animal counterpart, a werestirge's thirst is almost unquenchable. Even when satiated, it may simply continue drinking out of hatred, sadism, or even to avoid having to deal with another werestirge in its territory at a later point in time.

Sometimes, a werestirge kidnaps people and imprisons them in caves, large pits, or other places that are difficult to escape. Those victims are given just enough food and drink to keep them alive, so that the werestirge may always have someone to drain blood from. At the first sign of its prey becoming a werestirge, however, its imprisoner always kills it off, as it fears that the prisoner may escape and seek vengeance. This means that a werestirge is continuously in need of new victims, and all towns near its lear suffer from this desire. It happens that well-intentioned heroes slay a werestirge, only for its victims to starve off in their prisons now that no one knows their location anymore.

Werestirges almost never live together with other beings. They have no permanent allies, and most who know about their species are wise enough not to cooperate with a werestirge. The less knowledgable are often killed, betrayed, or abandoned. Werestirges do, however, bully weaker creatures like kobolds and goblins into serving it occasionally, but even those parasitic relationships are short-lived.

Spoiler: Were-Murder of Crows

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Were-Murder of Crows
Medium Humanoid (elf, shapechanger), Chaotic Evil

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Armor Class 13
Hit Points 78 (12d8+24)
Speed 30 ft. (10 ft. fly 50 ft. in swarm form)

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Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
10 (+0)	17 (+3)	14 (+2)	11 (+0)	11 (+0)	16 (+3)

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Skills Perception +6, Stealth +5
Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from attacks not made with silvered weapons
Condition Immunities charmed, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, prone, restrained, stunned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 16
Languages Common, Elven (can't speak in swarm form)
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

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Shapechanger. The were-murder of crows can use its action to polymorph into a medium swarm of tiny ravens, 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.

Malphas' Curse. When a were-murder of crows dies, it disintegrates into a pile of dead crows. 1d6 crows (use the raven statblock) emerge from the pile and immediately attempt to flee from their killer (they act on the were-murder of crow's previous initiative). A crow that escapes starts attracting new crows, and 24 hours after the were-murder of crow's death it is reborn from the new swarm with full hit points and memories. If multiple crows escape, a random swarm gives birth to the were-murder of crows and the others become completely normal swarms of crows (use swarm of ravens stats) that from that point on are not connected to the were-murder of crows in any way.

Swarm (Swarm form only). The were-murder of crows can occupy another creature’s space and vice versa, and can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny raven. It can't regain hitpoints or gain temporary hit points in swarm form.

Actions

Multiattack (Humanoid form only). The were-murder of crows makes two dagger attacks.

Beaks (Swarm form only) Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target in the swarm's space. Hit: 28 (8d6) piercing damage, or 14 (4d6) if the were-murder of crows has half its hit points or fewer. If the target is humanoid, it must make a DC 14 constitution saving throw or contract were-murder of crows lycanthropy (the were-murder of crows can choose to suppress this secondary ability).

Dagger (Humanoid form only). Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save and half that amount on a successful one.

Dagger (Humanoid form only). Ranged Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d4+3) piercing damage, and the target must make a DC 11 constitution saving throw, taking 10 (3d6) poison damage on a failed save and half that amount on a successful one.

Were-Murder of Crows

It is said that ages ago, in an ancient elvish kingdom, there lived a prince called Malphas. The young prince, however, fell in love with a drow and, at her command, became a bloodthirsty killer. He murdered dozens, leaving a black feather on every corpse, and over time became known as 'the Turnfeather'.

Then one day, the murders stopped. Malphas and his lover were never seen again, and the people celebrated. During the celebrations, a large flock of crows arrived and started attacking the elves, and it is said all those they killed turned into crows themselves and flew away. The current were-murder of crows supposedly descent from them.

Whether this story is true or not, were-murders of crows are a terrifying race of killers. Appearing either as attractive black-haired elves or swarms of crows, they murder with no apparent pattern, with the only thing linking the murders a strange sign carved into the corpses. So strong is their will to kill (or, according to some, Malphas' curse) that even death can't stop the murder. As long as a single crow escapes, the being can be reborn.

Interestingly enough, creatures strong enough to kill the murder during an initial attack become targets for the murder's curse. It will perform short hit-and-run attacks before fleeing once more, killing everyone near the target who might be able to remove the curse. Only when its victim falls prey to the curse does the murder start its cycle of killing once more. Were-murders of crows never pass their curse on under different circumstances.

Sages have debated over whether or not those beings can truly be called 'lycanthropes'. They seem to possess no hybrid form and seem to be able to control who they pass their curse onto. Still, their ability to assume animal form and vulnerability (some would say 'lack of resistance') to silver have caused many to consider them lycanthropes.

More to come! Any suggestions, remarks, questions, and compliments are more than welcome!

[Debihuman]

Which system is this for? You might want to look at this: http://www.dragoneers.com/dragoneers...rabbit-3rd.pdf


Debby

[Inevitability]

Which system is this for? You might want to look at this: http://www.dragoneers.com/dragoneers...rabbit-3rd.pdf


Debby

5e. Can't believe I forgot to put it there.

[ThatKreacher]

personally I'd love to see a were-murder of crows(in 3.5 they were listed as an animal, not a swarm ) but thats just me :p

[Inevitability]

Werestirge has been finished! Up next is the were murder-of-crows!

...

Oh gods how am I going to justify the fluff for that.

[Extra Anchovies]

Werestirge has been finished! Up next is the were murder-of-crows!

...

Oh gods how am I going to justify the fluff for that.

Hm... Maybe they come about when someone eats an infected crow? Transmission via crow attacks would raise the question as to why it hasn't infected everyone yet, but making it foodborne would be interesting. Just a suggestion.

Also, then you have an excuse to make were-murders-of-crows that are, in humanoid form, half-starved hoboes.

[Wardog]

Unlike most lycanthropes, a bloodthirsty wererabbit is almost unheard of. They live peacefully in small communities called burrows, hidden away in hilly or foresty areas. ... Wererabbits tend to be easily scared and sometimes display slightly paranoid behavior. ... Wererabbits don't like conflict and prefer to flee rather than fight.

Of course, there are exceptions...

Spoiler: pic

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[Inevitability]

The were-murder of crows is up!

Took me a while to make it, though.

As has always been the case, new suggestions are welcome!

[khadgar567]

Odd request alert can you build were chihuahua

[Bruno Carvalho]

Were Chihuahua already exist. They may be called, depending on the game, either as "devils" or as "demons".

[khadgar567]

Were Chihuahua already exist. They may be called, depending on the game, either as "devils" or as "demons".

I mean cute dogs where you just carry in your bag and when in trouble just sic the little bastard and watch the mook strugle with wtf experation on its face

[togapika]

Mayhaps I can bribe ye for a Were-Raccoon?

[infinitum3d]

Were-murder-of-crows is brilliant!

What about a were-construct? Like a were-ironGolem? Like Collossus in X-Men? or stone like Ben Grimm in Fantastic Four as a were-Gargoyle?

or a Were-Oak. You become a tree during the full moon. Still sentient and still having all 5 senses, but can't move or speak?

Or a were-mimic? You become an inconspicuous piece of furniture?

I know these sound stupid but I'm serious. These could be interesting.

Now a Were-Ten-Foot-Pole is just silly, but a Were-Sword? There are already intelligent swords, so maybe not so strange a curse as it seems?

[TheTeaMustFlow]

I really like the Were-Murder of Crows, except for the name. I might use them but call them Turnfeathers or something.

By the way, I note that all of these seem to have resistance, rather than immunity, to mundane weapons. Is this deliberate?

[Inevitability]

By the way, I note that all of these seem to have resistance, rather than immunity, to mundane weapons. Is this deliberate?

That's me messing up. It should be fixed soon.