D&D 5E The Werewolf of Legend

[Minigiant]

Here's a thought.

If one were to push the werewolf up in power (should as to CR 11-15 close to the Vampire) and give it legendary status, what should it get?

For example, let's so 4 legendary "earthy" monsters groups vied for control of some area.

A vampire (CR 13-15) and his/her court of vampire spawn (CR 5)
A lone lich (CR 20) and its familiar
An adult dragon (CR14) and his/her assorted reptillian followers
A werewolf alpha/lord/leader and his/her pack or werewolves (CR 3) and dire wolves (CR 1)

Now this would be a huge jump from CR 3 to CR 10+. Legendary Resistance and upped its HP, natural armor, and proficiency, are the easy parts.

What to you do would a legendary D&D werewolf have if it progressed to the power of just under an adult dragon?

I was thinking about barbarian traits but many of those overlap with werewolf traits in 5th edition. By double digits, most PCs do have magic weapons bypass the silver requirement. Could the werewolf alpha/lord/eader upgrade to straight immunity to nonmagical weapons that aren't silvered and resistance to magic or silver weapons?

What about its damage. The CR 3 one has 2d4 claws and 1d8 bite. You can easily give it the MM "everything scary has a greatsword" treatment. Giving it higher strength is easy but it still has 3 should weak melee attacks for it's level. Do you let it increase its size in its hybrid and wolf from to double it's damage? What about the old "Strength save or knocked prone" on the claw?

Speaking about attacks, it has 3 melee attacks. It needs a ranged one or the others or PC could kite it or chip it down from afar. So what ranged weapon would it have? Or does it get a supernatural ranged attack like a howl attack or a gaze attack? Or does it shun a decent ranged attack and simply leap 100ft+ at the enemy and pounce on it?

What are it's legendary action? Some kind of howl? Sniff the air to spot hidden and invisible enemies? Go straight warlord and give packmates off turn attacks?

What about traits? Does it make its pack stronger or does its pack make it stronger? Is the werewolf of legend so bestial and mad, it gets mental immunities? Does it straight but get magic items like some of the old ones?

What are you thoughts? How do you see the D&D Legendary Werewolf?

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I do think that total immunity to standard weapons would be good. This guy is tough, brimming with the dark power of the werewolf curse in its highest form, so only by really going for the throat can you hope to hurt him. Magical weapons must be at least +2 to overcome his resistance, or +1 _and_ silvered. Perhaps give him an AC bonus against weapons that aren't silvered, so you really really do want to have silvered weapons to fight him. In fact, I'd say it makes a little more sense to make this "ultimate" Werewolf be a tanky bruiser, as opposed to the tricky and guileful Vampire. Make his abilities overt, brutal, and simple: avoid, as much as possible, complex or intricate elements.

I like the idea of a gaze attack, as well as a chilling howl. Neither would be as strong as a monster known for these attacks (e.g. the gaze is clearly weaker than a beholder's, the howl weaker than a banshee's wail), but both are appropriate.

Scent to give a chance to "see" an invisible opponent is good. Not entirely sure how to do it but it would be a good way to convey things.

Personally, I don't care as much for the "werewolf leading a pack" idea. I think he should be powerful enough to stand on his own--the "lone wolf" archetype. Others, both wolf and werewolf, may be drawn to him because of his powers (so he might have an aura that helps any wolf-creature nearby), but he can easily stand alone.

As for the Legendary Action, a "pounce" attack might be interesting. Instead of tripping a foe, do a sort of combined Charge+Grapple+Shove; then, when attacking a Prone opponent, give it a truly nasty effect, like leaving the target bleeding for 2d6 damage per turn (Con save negates). Favors a mobile, vicious predator, which seems appropriate.

 

[PnPgamer]

In addition of being immune to non-silver, add regeneration. buff strength, dexterity and/or con to 20+ statistics. boost its ac bonus in hybrid and wolf forms. Add legendary resistance. Add frightening/damaging/deafening howl that pierces the eardrums. Make it have bonus action for disengage. add another 9 hit dice. Up it's speed by 10ft in all forms.

 

[Remathilis]

Check out the mummy/mummy Lord for an example of low CR standard and high CR legend

 

[ccooke]

I would probably give it a high regeneration every round, but have damage from silvered weapons also reduce the creature's hit point maximum by the same amount (with the hit point maximum recovering at the end of a long rest (so a lot of silver damage takes at least two days to fully wear off).

I'd also give it a powerful fear effect upon howling, but that's obvious

 

[ExploderWizard]

To make it really nasty if its a solo, give it immunity to normal weapons, fast regeneration and resistance to silvered/ magic weapons. Only inherited silver does full damage that cannot be regenerated much like the loup-garou in the Dresden files novel, Fool Moon.

If the creature regenerates ALL damage quickly from anything other than inherited silver the PCs will have to research and discover its secret before being able to defeat it, possibly needing to fight it off several times before they can do so. It will be a memorable and worthy foe.

 

[Minigiant]

To make it really nasty if its a solo, give it immunity to normal weapons, fast regeneration and resistance to silvered/ magic weapons. Only inherited silver does full damage that cannot be regenerated much like the loup-garou in the Dresden files novel, Fool Moon.

If the creature regenerates ALL damage quickly from anything other than inherited silver the PCs will have to research and discover its secret before being able to defeat it, possibly needing to fight it off several times before they can do so. It will be a memorable and worthy foe.

Dresdenverse Loup-garou are walking TPKs. Kills any nonflying being that can't outrun a horse. But it does make a nice source of inspiration if you go the solo unkillable brute route.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Dresdenverse Loup-garou are walking TPKs. Kills any nonflying being that can't outrun a horse. But it does make a nice source of inspiration if you go the solo unkillable brute route.

Only a TPK if the party stubbornly refuses to acknowledge it may be outclassed at the moment. If you have a party that believes that there is NOTHING which cannot be defeated simply by applying enough firepower then can easily be taken out by a lot of things.

If such a creature was "put down" but the party realizes it will regen and be back up soon, they have a chance to retreat and do their research. If they believe for metagame reasons that there is nothing new that they can learn that would help them and insist on trying to finish the fight then they all deserve to die. Perhaps the next group of PCs will be smarter.

So long as dumb decisions continue to work, smarter ones will never be attempted.

 

[TerraDave]

Long ago, I had a ravenloftesque Transylvania campaign, and some powerful werewolves of course had a prominent role. They were local nobles that the part actually worked for before they unleashed there wolfy claws.

I would spend some time thinking about what they do (and their abilities) outside of wolf-form. This goes against type a bit, but I made them real charmers. Again, that may be too much against type (you don't want them to be to vampiric), but I would give the wolf-lord a certain influence and charisma, if even of a gruff sort, in his human form.

 

[Lackhand]

Immunity to standard weaponry and regeneration unless silver weaponry feels too... feast-or-famine for me. If the regeneration is running, then nobody's hitting the werebeast; if the regeneration isn't, then at least one person got through, and got through the immunity too.

I like "this creature is weakened by silver", though, and showing that effect is important.

I'd recommend going with immunity to standard weaponry, and each hit from a silver weapon steals one legendary action or gives the creature disadvantage on its next attack or something. That way, you still underscore how scary the beastie is, but you're not just doubling up on hp effects.

Wolfy things for special effects:

Restore hitpoints when it eats a creature -- when it bites a helpless creature, it kills the helpless creature (no save) and eats it (no save) and regains a quarter of its hit points.

Induce fear (howls) and rage (stage I lycanthropism, bite-linked) in its victims. The rage in particular might work like a confusion effect, turning the party against each other. Also kind of works with the pack alpha thing.

Pack alpha thing! It can summon swarms of wolves. Obviously . Less obviously, maybe it can use its legendary actions to make attacks through them -- something like:
Many Mouths. Melee weapon attack, 1 target within 5 feet of a wolf ally this creature can see. +a gajillion to hit, zillions of points of piercing damage (ridiculous d insane + ludicrous); target must pass a DC 15 strength save or be knocked prone.

Marked territory. It clearly has a lair, and it and its allies have resistance on fear and charm saves while within its lair.