Special Conversion Thread: Lycanthropes and their ilk

[freyar]

That looks great!

So then just some boilerplate lycanthrope description and flavor for the normal case?

 

[Cleon]

That looks great!

Updating the Weredog Working Draft.

So then just some boilerplate lycanthrope description and flavor for the normal case?

Well let's see, the 3E Monster Manual Werewolf has:

Short, gray fur covers this lean, feral humanoid. It has sharp claws and a wolflike muzzle.

Werewolves in humanoid form have no distinguishing traits.
​

and the Werewolf Lord:

Feral and powerful, this humanoid is covered in gray fur and armed with sharp claws and teeth. It stands as tall as an ogre, and it has a wolflike muzzle and hateful eyes.

Stronger, hardier, and more deadly than its lesser fellows, the werewolf lord is a murderous beast that delights in wreaking havoc.
​

I think we'd better keep it short. Maybe tweak the werewolf description by cutting the "feral" and changing "hateful" to something more benevolent.

How about:

This lean but powerful humanoid is covered with short fur and armed with sharp claws. It has affable eyes between its canine muzzle and ears.

Weredogs in humanoid form have no distinguishing traits. Dedicated to destroying werewolves, they are easy to mistake for evil lycanthropes and may be attacked by those they seek to help.

 

[freyar]

That looks good, and I guess it would do it! What's next?

 

[Cleon]

That looks good, and I guess it would do it!

Updating the Weredog Working Draft.

What's next?

Well the next one alphabetically on the Shapeshifter list is the Weredolphin, although that's a bit boring.

After that's the Weredragon and Weregorilla, which are a bit juicier.

 

[freyar]

Eh, let's just get the weredolphin over with. I could use a fast one.

 

[Cleon]

Eh, let's just get the weredolphin over with. I could use a fast one.

Fine by me.

What would you like to use as the base humanoid Warrior 1.

Plain old human? Elf? Some aquatic race?

 

[freyar]

I'd either go for an aquatic elf or a locathah. Take your pick.

 

[Cleon]

I'd either go for an aquatic elf or a locathah. Take your pick.

Aquatic elf seems the most appropriate since they transform "into elf-like humanoids."

The original monster had the ability to summon cetaceans (1d10 dolphins or 1d2 whales).

I'm inclined to add that as an "In Faerûn" ability.

 

[Cleon]

Wereporpoise Working Draft

Wereporpoise (Weredolphin)

Wereporpoise, Aquatic Elf Form
Medium Humanoid (Aquatic, Elf, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 plus 2d8+4 (18 hp)
Initiative: +1
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 17 (+1 Dex, +2 natural, +3 studded leather, +1 light shield), touch 11, flat-footed 16
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3
Attack: Trident +4 melee (1d8+1); or trident +4 ranged (1d8+1)
Full Attack: Trident +4 melee (1d8+1); or trident +4 ranged (1d8+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: —
Special Qualities: Alternate form, aquatic elf traits, blindsight 120 ft., hold breath, gills, immunity to sleep spells and effects, porpoise empathy, superior low-light vision
Saves: Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +2
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Handle Animal +1 (+5 with porpoises), Listen +4, Search +2, Spot +3, Swim +5**
**includes –2 armor check penalty
Feats: Iron Will ᴮ, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (trident)

Wereporpoise, Porpoise Form
Medium Humanoid (Aquatic, Elf, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 plus 2d8+4 (18 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: Swim 80 ft. (16 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+4 Dex, +4 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3
Attack: Slam +6 melee (2d4+1)
Full Attack: Slam +6 melee (2d4+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Curse of lycanthropy
Special Qualities: Alternate form, aquatic elf traits, blindsight 120 ft., damage reduction 10/silver, hold breath, gills, immunity to sleep spells and effects, porpoise empathy, superior low-light vision
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +2
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Handle Animal +1 (+5 with porpoises), Listen +8* (+4 without blindsight), Search +2, Spot +7* (+3 without blindsight), Swim +9
Feats: Iron Will ᴮ, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (trident)

Wereporpoise, Hybrid Form
Medium Humanoid (Aquatic, Elf, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 plus 2d8+4 (18 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares), swim 40 ft.
Armor Class: 18 (+4 Dex, +4 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 14
Base Attack/Grapple: +2/+3
Attack: Claw +6 melee (1d4+1); or trident +4 melee (1d8+1); or trident +7 ranged (1d8+1)
Full Attack: 2 claws +6 melee (1d4+1) and bite +1 melee (1d6); or trident +4 melee (1d8+1) and claw +1 melee (1d4) and bite +1 melee (1d6); or trident +7 ranged (1d8+1)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Curse of lycanthropy
Special Qualities: Alternate form, aquatic elf traits, blindsight 120 ft., damage reduction 10/silver, hold breath, gills, immunity to sleep spells and effects, porpoise empathy, superior low-light vision
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +2
Abilities: Str 13, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Handle Animal +1 (+5 with porpoises), Listen +8* (+4 without blindsight), Search +2, Spot +7* (+3 without blindsight), Swim +9
Feats: Iron Will ᴮ, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (trident)

Environment: Temperate aquatic
Organization: Solitary, pair, pack (6-10), or troupe (2-5 plus 5-8 porpoises)
Challenge Rating: 3
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful good
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +3

A sleek man-shaped being with the head and dorsal fin of a porpoise.

Wereporpoises are lycanthropes that can transform into marine mammals. They are bitter enemies of weresharks and rivals of wereseals. Wereporpoises often rest on shore in humanoid form during the day.

The wereporpoise presented here is a 1st-level aquatic elf warrior and natural lycanthrope, using the following base ability scores: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.


COMBAT
Unless they must pass as humanoid, wereporpoises normally fight in hybrid form so they can use claw and bite attacks in addition to manufactured weapons. In the ocean they change into porpoises if that form's higher swim speed is advantageous, such as when they when are outclassed in battle and wish to flee.

Alternate Form (Su): A wereporpoise can assume a bipedal hybrid form or the form of a porpoise.

Aquatic Elf Traits (Ex): Aquatic elves possess the following racial traits.

• Elf Traits: Immunity to sleep spells and effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects. (Not reflected in the saving throw modifiers given here.)
  Medium size.
  An elf’s base land speed is 30 feet.
  Weapon Proficiency: Elves are automatically proficient with the longsword, rapier, longbow, composite longbow, shortbow, and composite shortbow.
  +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. An elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.
  Automatic Languages: Common, Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, Sylvan.
• +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence.
• An aquatic elf has the aquatic subtype.
• An aquatic elf has a swim speed of 40 feet.
• Gills: Aquatic elves can survive out of the water for 1 hour per point of Constitution (after that, refer to the suffocation rules).
• Superior Low-Light Vision: Aquatic elves can see four times as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of low illumination.
• Favored Class: Fighter.

Blindsight (Ex): Wereporpoises can "see" by emitting high-frequency sounds, inaudible to most other creatures, that allow them to locate objects and creatures within 120 feet. A silence spell negates this and forces the wereporpoise to rely on its vision, which is approximately as good as a human's.

Hold Breath (Ex): A wereporpoise can hold its breath for a number of rounds equal to 6 × its Constitution score before it risks drowning.

Porpoise Empathy (Ex): Communicate with porpoises, and +4 racial bonus on Charisma-based checks against porpoises.

Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Any humanoid or giant hit by a wereporpoise’s bite attack in animal or hybrid form must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or contract lycanthropy.

Skills: A wereporpoise has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. It can always choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if distracted or endangered. It can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line.

*A wereporpoise has a +4 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks. These bonuses are lost if its blindsight is negated.


In Faerûn
These creatures are called weredolphins in Faerûn and possess the ability to communicate with and summon porpoises and whales as described below. All other abilities are the same as a standard wereporpoise. Weredolphins sometimes rest upon the backs of summoned whales floating on the sea.

Cetacean Empathy (Ex): Communicate with porpoises and whales, and +4 racial bonus on Charisma-based checks against porpoises and whales.

Summon Cetacean (Su): Once per day, as a standard action, a weredolphin can call forth 1d3 porpoises. These creatures arrive in 2d6 rounds and serve the weredolphin for up to 1 hour.

A weredolphin's summoning ability increases as it gains additional hit dice, allowing it to summon larger numbers of porpoises. At 9 Hit Dice it gains the ability to summon orcas and at 13 Hit Dice it gains the ability to summon baleen whales. See the Weredolphin Summoning Table for details.

Weredolphin Summoning Table

Hit Dice	Porpoises	Orca	Baleen Whale
3-4	1d3	—	—
5-6	1d4+1	—	—
7-8	1d10	—	—
9-10	2d6	1	—
11-12	3d6	1d2	—
13-14	4d6	1d3	1
15+	4d10	1d4+1	1d2

Originally appeared in FR7 - Hall of Heroes (1989)


Skill Ranks:
Elf Warrior Skills: 2 ranks in Handle Animal, Listen (cross-class), Search (cross-class)
Porpoise Skills:1 rank in Listen, Spot

 

[Cleon]

Okay, I've whipped up a working draft.

Note that I changed the name to "Wereporpoise" since that's the SRD name for this animal.

Also, I tweaked the "speak with porpoises" ability to include whales since the original weredolphin can summon small whales to aid them which suggests these creatures can communicate with other cetaceans.

Upon reflection, I think I'd switch that ability to the In Faerûn version and just give the regular single-animal speech to the wereporpoise.

i.e.:


Porpoise Empathy (Ex): Communicate with porpoises, and +4 racial bonus on Charisma-based checks against porpoises.


In Faerûn
These creatures are called weredolphins in Faerûn and possess the ability to communicate with and summon porpoises and whales as described below. All other abilities are the same as a standard wereporpoise.

Cetacean Empathy (Ex): Communicate with porpoises and whales, and +4 racial bonus on Charisma-based checks against porpoises and whales.