Questions about Lycanthropes

[Nathan of the FoS]

Plus, some animals might be bloody creepy normally, but don't make all that good lycanthropes. Weresharks being a prime example. There is nothing, absolutely nothing more dangerous then a shark in it's natural habitat. It makes pretty much every other predator larger then a spider look like a slacker. Relentless, massive, three rows of teeth? There's a reason Jaws was a top-grosser. But thing about it? A Were-shark? Sahuagin fill the shark-man niche rather nicely, and the description of a human-looking wereshark is borderline ridiculous (bald head, goggle eyes).

I dunno. I think it's all about presentation. When I wrote up Nueva Aragona I had a family of weresharks who were pearl divers as their "day job". Obviously, being a wereshark offers a lot of advantages for that line of work, including the ability to kill off the competition. They were in league with the island's principal landowner (himself a vampyre), and were attempting to get a stranglehold on their island's pearl wealth.

YMMV, but I was rather proud of the idea; and I think it uses the NPCs' wereshark heritage to good effect. (I skipped the whole goggle eyes and balditude. They did have very big, white teeth, though. )

[Jasper]

I agree with the others. In my mind only things that have historicly menaced humanity should be were canidates. Canines of all kinds, cat of all kinds,Boars, bears, badgers, sharks,rats, snakes, hienays/jackels/vultures in the dessert, foxes in the east, carrion/hunter birds (Ravens can be scarry to the person lying half dead on the battle field as they pick away for still warm flesh and work thier way up to your eyes...), crocs and other lizards in the swamps and even gluttons invoke fear in humans.
Skunks, Pandas, antlions, minks, racoons, chincillas, possums, Sheep, cows, goats and chickens are in now way scary or gothic. And yes, I've seen stats for all these....

[Hell_Born]

You're right; it's probably best to leave such a creature out of Ravenloft- other than those changes I requested advice on earlier, I have the stats I need and that's all I really wanted.

However, to stray from the topic, there's a topic on which I could use some advice. Has anyone here read the "Horrors of Weird War 2" bestiary? If yes, do you think any of the creatures contained within could be supplanted into Ravenloft? I'm primarily thinking about Salty Dogs; a murderous fey which spends most of its time as a brine-soaked dog, but every so often assumes a humanoid form to lure a human woman to her doom- it feeds on human blood.

[NeoTiamat]

Plus, some animals might be bloody creepy normally, but don't make all that good lycanthropes. Weresharks being a prime example. There is nothing, absolutely nothing more dangerous then a shark in it's natural habitat. It makes pretty much every other predator larger then a spider look like a slacker. Relentless, massive, three rows of teeth? There's a reason Jaws was a top-grosser. But thing about it? A Were-shark? Sahuagin fill the shark-man niche rather nicely, and the description of a human-looking wereshark is borderline ridiculous (bald head, goggle eyes).

I dunno. I think it's all about presentation. When I wrote up Nueva Aragona I had a family of weresharks who were pearl divers as their "day job". Obviously, being a wereshark offers a lot of advantages for that line of work, including the ability to kill off the competition. They were in league with the island's principal landowner (himself a vampyre), and were attempting to get a stranglehold on their island's pearl wealth.

YMMV, but I was rather proud of the idea; and I think it uses the NPCs' wereshark heritage to good effect. (I skipped the whole goggle eyes and balditude. They did have very big, white teeth, though. )

Well yes, presentation is everything in the end. It's just that some cases make for an easier or more difficult presentation. And you did leave out the most irritating part of the wereshark (teeth are good).

Still, you agree with me on the Wererays at least?

[Drinnik Shoehorn]

Sadly, Gonzaron has a point.

If you want to make a Were-Skunk, be my guest. But I doubt you can make it scary (funny, yes, scary, no). Same for my theoretical Were-anteater. No way you can make a face like that scary.

In truth, even some of the regular RL lycans suffer from the non-scariness factor. Werebadgers? (Well, they get a bit of their own back with Azrael, who is a cool character). Wereravens? No.... Wererays? WHO thought that was a good idea?!?!

I liked the wereray in CotN: Werebeasts...

[NeoTiamat]

To each his own I suppose.

[LouisVendredi]

Laugh if you will, but IMC I had a weresquirrel who was very popular with the party.

[Gemathustra]

Laugh if you will, but IMC I had a weresquirrel who was very popular with the party.

Your PCs went nuts over him, didn't they?

[NeoTiamat]

Laugh if you will, but IMC I had a weresquirrel who was very popular with the party.

Your PCs went nuts over him, didn't they?

*Winces*

[Gemathustra]

It was his own fault for leaving me such a golden opportunity. It's the exact same risk when you leave your bucket of fried chicken in the forests.
Besides, it was either me, or Scs.

[The Giamarga]

Becoming a lycanthrope is very much like multiclassing as an animal and gaining the appropriate Hit Dice.
- from the Lycanthrope template

Also check out the Savage Progression articles by SKR on WotC for how the Lycanthrope template works if actually made into class levels.

I did toy with the idea of a wereweasel once. But as the end of a Path of Corruption for a weasely halfling Ftr/Rog...

[Brandi]

Laugh if you will, but IMC I had a weresquirrel who was very popular with the party.

That wasn't the faux-henchman familiar, was it? (I seem to remember someone using my old article on such creatures to make a squirrel familiar more interesting.)

[LouisVendredi]

Your PCs went nuts over him, didn't they?

Her, but yes. They did find it a bit annoying, however, when in Autumn, she started filling all the compartments in their expensive carriage with nuts.

They're currently considering getting back in touch with her since it's Spring IMC and she hibernated in Dementlieu for the Winter.

[LouisVendredi]

That wasn't the faux-henchman familiar, was it? (I seem to remember someone using my old article on such creatures to make a squirrel familiar more interesting.)

Nope, just a crazy idea I had. The party was getting off-track and I needed an NPC to get them back on mission.

IMC, weresquirrels are like werebadgers for Halflings. Only halflings can contract weresquirrelism.

Her name is Lenny (short for Lenora).