Lycanthropes in a World Without Night

WizardofOwls · August 04, 2007, 08:29:28 AM

What is the best way to deal with lycanthropes in a world without night? I am thinking that the alernate creature (wolf, rat, bear, whatever) wants out as much as the human does so there is a constant battle for control of the body. Perhaps whenever the lycnathrope is in a stressful situation, or experiences extreme emotion, he must make a will check. If he fails, the other creature comes out for a set amount of time. Each time he makes the save a cumulative -1 penalty is added to the check until the creature is released at last. Maybe in some cases, if the human form is evil, the lycanthorpe can willingly release control to the creature.

Thoughts? Ideas?

Matt Larkin (author) · August 04, 2007, 09:56:44 AM

I like the idea as a whole. If you are talking otherwise standard d20 lycanthrope rules, then the last option does effectively give an evil character control of his transformation just like a natural lycanthrope, though (albeit with lesser powers).

Hibou · August 04, 2007, 11:58:11 AM

Find a different way or condition for them, preferrably not something that is totally based on personal emotions/feelings/etc. Maybe it's based on the seasons in that it's easier to control shifting at a certain time of year or such. But you have other problems to worry about: how does anything survive in a world without night? Crops and vegetation won't grow too well, which means livestock or any wild animals will have equal difficulty surviving... If this is answered for us, we may be able to help you better figure out how to design your lycanthropes.

Seraph · August 04, 2007, 02:18:39 PM

I would say that regardless of whether or not there is nighttime, there would still be a full moon (unless you don't have a moon either) so the lycanthropes could just be susceptible all day.

Wensleydale · August 04, 2007, 08:09:26 PM

The anger idea is cool, but.... susceptible to abuse, maybe? Still, DM rulings work.

Seraph · August 04, 2007, 08:39:07 PM

Quote from: WensleydaleThe anger idea is cool, but.... susceptible to abuse, maybe? Still, DM rulings work.

Hmm, yes. It could turn into quite the "Hulk SMASH!" kind of thing. Perhaps greater opportunities for shapeshifting would come with increased consequences? Like when the werewolf tranformed in Van Helsing it was as if he were ripping his skin off to release the beast, so perhaps transforming deals damage to the lycanthrope?

Wensleydale · August 04, 2007, 09:11:59 PM

Quote from: Seraphine_HarmoniumHmm, yes. It could turn into quite the "Hulk SMASH!" kind of thing. Perhaps greater opportunities for shapeshifting would come with increased consequences? Like when the werewolf tranformed in Van Helsing it was as if he were ripping his skin off to release the beast, so perhaps transforming deals damage to the lycanthrope?

That's a good idea. The thing is, there's no mechanical method of dealing with emotions beyond the magical (other than barbarian rage). Thus, you could say 'My character's angry right now... cuz... his uncle Bob was murdered by a guy who looked just like these guys do' or something along those lines and turn into a lycanthrope whenever you wanted.

XXsiriusXX · August 04, 2007, 10:20:26 PM

Instead of damage you could allow the character to transform whenever he wants, but like barbarians' rage he would suffer debilitating consequences when he turns back to a human. The consequences would not just last until the end of combat, or for minutes after, but for hours or days.

Seraph · August 04, 2007, 11:22:43 PM

Off the top of my head, I don't remember if Lycanthropes have the ability to control what they do while transformed or not, but if they did not, then changing would be a rather haphazard thing to do, as you could very easily do harm to your allies, or become reckless and injure yourself, become lost, or otherwise suffer the consequences of having no control over your body for extended periods of time.

Wensleydale · August 05, 2007, 04:56:29 PM

It sounds like he doesn't want them to have control of their actions.

By the way, -ALL- saves can be intentionally failed. I.E. there doesn't need to be a special function in place for evil chars to just become a beast.

Perhaps you could have similar rules to that Raging Berserker class... as in... you must attack the nearest foe, if there are no foes within reach, you must attack the nearest living creature. Etc.

Epic Meepo · August 06, 2007, 03:06:21 PM

Quote from: Control Shape in the SRDAn injured character must also check for an involuntary change after accumulating enough damage to reduce his hit points by one-quarter and again after each additional one-quarter lost.

The existing rules should work fine in a world without a moon. As noted above, the SRD already says that lycanthropes change when they get angry, as determined by how badly they are are hurt.

WizardofOwls · August 06, 2007, 03:09:41 PM

Um, sorry to display my ignorance here for all to see, but what is the SRD?

Matt Larkin (author) · August 06, 2007, 03:52:33 PM

System Reference Document.

Epic Meepo · August 06, 2007, 09:37:25 PM

Quote from: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=d20/article/srd35System Reference Document[/url].

Monster Manual[/i].

The Campaign Builder's Guild

News:

Lycanthropes in a World Without Night

WizardofOwls

Matt Larkin (author)

Hibou

Seraph

Wensleydale

Seraph

Wensleydale

XXsiriusXX

Seraph

Wensleydale

Epic Meepo

WizardofOwls

Matt Larkin (author)

Epic Meepo