Werepanther Thrall Working Draft
Lycanthrope, Werepanther Thrall
Werepanther Thrall, Human Form
Medium Humanoid (Human, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 plus 4d8+12 (35 hp)
Initiative: +3
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 18 (+3 Dex, +3 studded leather armor, +2 natural), touch 13, flat-footed 15
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+7
Attack: Pantherpaw +7 melee (2d4+4); or pantherscourge +7 melee (1d3+3/19-20 plus special); or pantherclaw +7 melee (1d4+3/18-20); or pantherclaw +7 ranged (1d4+3/18-20); or heavy crossbow +7 ranged (1d10/19-20)
Full Attack: Pantherpaw +7 melee (2d4+4); or pantherscourge +7 melee (1d3+3/19-20 plus special); or pantherclaw +7 melee (1d4+3/18-20); or pantherclaw +7 ranged (1d4+3/18-20); or heavy crossbow +7 ranged (1d10/19-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Panther weapons
Special Qualities: Alternate form, low-light vision, panther speech, scent, thrall bond
Saves: Fort +7, Ref +4, Will +3
Abilities: Str 17, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Balance +1, Climb +1, Handle Animal +3, Hide +1, Jump +2, Listen +7, Move Silently +2, Spot +7, Swim +2
Feats: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (pantherclaw, pantherpaw, pantherscourge)
ᴮ, Iron Will
ᴮ, Multiattack
ᴮ, Weapon Finesse
ᴮ
Environment: Warm forests
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-8), pride (7-16 plus 10% chance of 1
panther lord) or tribe (7-25 plus 1 panther lord and 20-80 humanoid slaves)
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +3
Werepanther Thrall, Panther Form
Medium Humanoid (Human, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 plus 4d8+12 (35 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares), climb 20 ft.
Armor Class: 17 (+4 Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+9
Attack: Bite +9 melee (1d8+5)
Full Attack: Bite +9 melee (1d8+5) and 2 claws +7 melee (1d3+2)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Improved grab, pounce, rake 1d3+2
Special Qualities: Alternate form, damage reduction 10/silver, low-light vision, panther speech, scent, thrall bond
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +3
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Balance +11, Climb +13, Handle Animal +3, Hide +9* (+13 in undergrowth), Jump +16, Listen +7, Move Silently +10, Spot +7, Swim +12
Feats: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (pantherclaw, pantherpaw, pantherscourge)
ᴮ, Iron Will
ᴮ, Multiattack
ᴮ, Weapon Finesse
ᴮ
Environment: Warm forests
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-8), pride (7-16 plus 10% chance of 1 panther lord) or tribe (7-25 plus 1 panther lord and 20-80 humanoid slaves)
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +3
Werepanther Thrall, Hybrid Form
Medium Humanoid (Human, Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 1d8+1 plus 4d8+12 (35 hp)
Initiative: +4
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: 17 (+4 Dex, +3 natural), touch 14, flat-footed 13
Base Attack/Grapple: +4/+9
Attack: Pantherpaw +9 melee (2d4+7); or pantherscourge +9 melee (1d3+5/19-20 plus special); or pantherclaw +9 melee (1d4+5/18-20); or claw +9 melee (1d4+5); or pantherclaw +8 ranged (1d4+5/18-20); or heavy crossbow +8 ranged (1d10/19-20)
Full Attack: Pantherpaw +9 melee (2d4+7) and bite +7 melee (1d8+2); or pantherscourge +9 melee (1d3+5/19-20 plus special) and claw +7 melee (1d4+2) and bite +7 melee (1d8+2); or pantherclaw +9 melee (1d4+5/18-20) and claw +7 melee (1d4+2) and bite +7 melee (1d8+2); or 2 claws +9 melee (1d4+5) and bite +7 melee (1d8+2); or pantherclaw +8 ranged (1d4+5/18-20); or heavy crossbow +8 ranged (1d10/19-20)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Panther weapons
Special Qualities: Alternate form, damage reduction 10/silver, low-light vision, panther speech, scent, thrall bond
Saves: Fort +9, Ref +8, Will +3
Abilities: Str 21, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8
Skills: Balance +11, Climb +13, Handle Animal +3, Hide +9* (+13 in undergrowth), Jump +12, Listen +7, Move Silently +10, Spot +7, Swim +12
Feats: Alertness, Combat Reflexes, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (pantherclaw, pantherpaw, pantherscourge)
ᴮ, Iron Will
ᴮ, Multiattack
ᴮ, Weapon Finesse
ᴮ
Environment: Warm forests
Organization: Solitary, gang (2-8), pride (7-16 plus 10% chance of 1 panther lord) or tribe (7-25 plus 1 panther lord and 20-80 humanoid slaves)
Challenge Rating: 6
Treasure: Standard
Alignment: Always lawful evil
Advancement: By character class
Level Adjustment: +3
A lithely powerful humanoid with the head, tail and black fur of a panther. It has the claws of a great cat but wields weapons like a human.
Werepanther thralls are humanoids who have been transformed into lycanthropes by a panther lord. They have three forms, of which their hybrid panther-humanoid form is their favorite. Werepanther thralls enjoy taking animal form when hunting or indulging in feline recreations, but usually only take humanoid form to conceal their true nature from outsiders. A thrall's humanoid appearance is drastically altered by its lycanthropy. Its hair and skin have darkened and their features shifted, rendering the thrall nigh unrecognizable to anyone who knew them before their transformation. A dead werepanther thrall reverts to its pre-lycanthropy appearance.
A werepanther thrall's temperament has many of the worst traits of a great cat. Arrogant, secretive, and cruel, they delight in tormenting their victims like a cat playing with a mouse. They also have a feline fastidiousness, and keep their persons and equipment in immaculate order. They rarely fight among themselves, despite their chaotic and evil natures, because of the magical control their panther lord has over them.
These creatures typically live in hidden hamlets. All the menial labour is performed by captured slaves who are savagely whipped at the werepanthers' whim. If they happen to capture a particularly strong individual, that person is usually taken to the panther lord to be transformed into another werepanther thrall.
The werepanther thrall presented here is a 1st-level human warrior using the following base ability scores: Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8.
In hybrid and animal form a werepanther thrall is more massive than their humanoid form, weighing roughly 50% more. Their hybrid form is approximately 10% taller than the humanoid form, while their animal form has a body length (excluding tail) roughly equal to the humanoid form's height.
COMBAT
Werepanther thralls prefer to fight with weapons while in hybrid form, but also enjoy the "game" of attacking victims while in panther form. This helps disguise their predations as animal attacks. They fight in human form when they have to keep their true nature secret.
Werepanther thralls tend toward ambush attacks and flanking, they often stalk opponents for hours to assess their strengths and wait for the perfect moment to strike. Werepanthers are likely to cruelly toy with enemies they judge are too weak to threaten them. The thralls' actions are coordinated through the telepathic bond they all have with the panther lord who created them. A werepanther thrall has strong survival instincts and will readily flee a losing fight, but these urges are easily overridden by the commands of its panther lord. A panther lord who's own life is threatened thinks nothing of summoning all its thralls to fight to the death in its defense.
Alternate Form (Su): A werepanther thrall can assume the form of a black panther or a panther-humanoid hybrid.
Improved Grab (Ex): To use this ability, a werepanther thrall in panther form must hit with its bite attack. It can then attempt to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If it wins the grapple check, it establishes a hold and can rake.
Panther Speech (Ex): A werepanther thrall can communicate with great cats (lions, jaguars, tigers et cetera) and other werepanthers in a snarling language that sounds like the animal cries of an ordinary panther.
Panther Weapons (Ex): Werepanthers gain proficiency in three weapons which they wield with extraordinary expertise. This expertise makes these special weapons more effective in a werepanther's hands, as described below.
Pantherpaw: Carved from jet black stone, this weapon resembles a mace with its head carved into a panther's paw with its claws extended. When wielded by a werepanther, this is a bludgeoning, piercing and slashing weapon that does 2d4 damage. A werepanther can make trip attacks with a pantherpaw. If they are tripped during their trip attempt, the werepanther can drop the pantherpaw to avoid being tripped. It functions as a morningstar when used by other creatures. Weight 6 lb.
Pantherclaw: A curved dagger carved from obsidian. When wielded by a werepanther, it is a piercing and slashing weapon with the damage and critical threat range of a kukri (1d4/18-20) that can be thrown with a 10 ft. range increment. It functions as a normal dagger when used by other creatures. Weight 1 lb.
Pantherscourge: Resembling a short whip set with barbs of black stone, this light exotic weapon does 1d3 slashing damage and has a 19-20 critical range. It grants a +2 bonus on opposed attack rolls when attempting to disarm an opponent (including the roll to keep from being disarmed if the attack fails). A pantherscourge can be used to make trip attacks. If the attacker is tripped during the trip attempt, they can drop the pantherscourge to avoid being tripped. If a werepanther rolls a critical hit with a pantherscourge, the target must succeed at a DC 15 Reflex save or lose the sight in one eye, becoming permanently dazzled (or blinded if they lose the use of all its eyes). If the save succeeds they are merely dazzled by the wound for 1d4 minutes. A
remove blindness/deafness can heal the injury. Weight 1 lb. Price 12 gp.
Pounce (Ex): If a werepanther thrall in panther form charges a foe, it can make a full attack, including two rake attacks.
Rake (Ex): Attack bonus +9 melee, damage 1d3+2.
Thrall Bond (Su): A werepanther thrall is permanently charmed (as the
charm monster spell) by the panther lord that created it. The panther lord can also
dominate one of its thralls (as the
dominate monster spell, no save) for as long as it concentrates upon the thrall. This domination has an unlimited range if the panther lord is in its Panther Trance (see panther lord entry for details), otherwise it has a range of 90 feet. The lord can only dominate a single thrall at a time. If a panther lord is killed, all the werepanther thralls it has created go into convulsions that last for 1d3 rounds (treat as being stunned), during which they permanently transform back into the people they were before becoming werepanther thralls. The victims have no clear memories of their time as werepanthers, but may suffer nightmares and flashbacks for many years.
Skills: In panther or hybrid form, werepanther thralls have a +6 racial bonus on Balance, Jump and Swim checks plus a +4 racial bonus on Hide and Move Silently checks. A werepanther thrall in panther or hybrid form has a +8 racial bonus to Climb checks and it can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
*In areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth, the Hide bonus of a werepanther thrall in panther or hybrid form improves to +8.
Originally appeared in Dungeon Magazine #50 (1994).
SPs: Balance 1 rank, Climb 0 ranks, Handle Animal 4 ranks, Hide 1 rank, Jump 1 rank, Listen 5 ranks, Move Silently 2 ranks, Spot 5 ranks, Swim 1 rank.
But that name could work. Or Thrallpanther.
