Specifically, the character is Chaotic Neutral, now Chaotic Evil. I've upped his Str to 15, etc the passive abilities stated in the MM. However, what triggers transformations and how to control it are basically blanks. Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but I've had no luck thus far.
This is a really interesting question.
In my opinion, there are three kinds of "triggers” that can provoke the beast within a Lycanthrope, aside from the lunar cycle.
Things the beast wants to hunt.
Things the beast wants to fight.
Things the beast wants flee from.
In the first category, the scent of “pray” is the most powerful trigger for many lycanthropes. The smell of open blood from an injured creature might force the werewolf to make a save to keep control. A lycanthrope that’s gone hungry for a while has to make a save to avoid attacking the first creature it sees.
In the second category, a rival predator is the likely provocation, but anything that makes the lycanthrope sufficiently angry may cause an involuntary outburst.
The third category is little trickier, but open flame and the glint of silver are always good candidates for provoking a save. Some lycanthropes may also need to make a save to hold their ground aften losing half of its hit points, but that mechanic might be too cowardly for aggressive predators like werewolves.
Motivation would also vary with the kind of lycanthrope. A wererat might feel compulsion to “hunt” shiny trinkets that werewolves have absolutely no interest in. A solitary weretiger might be more hostile towards its own kind than more social wererats and werewolves.
So, Rime of the Frostmaiden has a chaotic good werewolf npc...
Can we just forget all the alignment stuff for lycanthropy now?
Oh yeah, totally. Alignment for dnd is not final. Yes, A lich is inherently evil, but maybe it has a change of mind and only takes what it needs and lives in seclusion to study arcane tomes. Or, maybe an angel who is cursed by a demon, making it evil. Alignment is a very loose subject and can change quickly.
that npc is an outlier each lycanthrope has a set alignment that accepting your curse makes you there are of course exceptions but that is the general thing with lycans a good way to get a lawful good were wolf is the deck of many things if you are able to maintain it
The base problem with PC lycanthropes is that the mechanical effects of being a lycanthrope are beneficial, and therefore, unless you want the entire party to turn into lycanthropes, it should either have a cost or have compensating drawbacks. 5e doesn't have any solid ways of giving it a cost (treating it as a multiclass where you gradually gain abilities over levels would work but is a lot of house rules), so that leaves giving it drawbacks, and pretty much the only drawback strong enough is "You get to be an NPC while using lycanthropic abilities".
So, one of my party members is a natural born Lycanthrope and she has yet to turn but my paladin is onto her and besides the wish spell which cures them is there a spell that one of my players can use to force them put of the Lycan transformation not to cure them but to disable their transformation when it does inevitably happen so that none of my players die early game?
In the group I run, one of my characters (played by my daughter) was bit by a were rat. I gave her the choice to find a cure or learn to control it. In the next town she met up with a pack of were rats who learned to control the curse and animal urges. He trained her and I gave her the following racial traits.
Shape change 3x/long rest
Resistance (not to immunity) to non silver or non magic weapons in hybrid or rat form
When she takes damage, she must make a wisdom save (dc=cumulative damage taken) or lose control. Damage counter resets when healed or on short rest. Can repeat saving throw at each turn. (save is made with disadvantage on full moon and day before and after, advantage on and around new moon)
I believe that technically its a disease though remove curse does remove it
Its not a disease. It is an actual curse put onto humanoids, not really a stored up virus or illness. It is a full-blown curse. If it were to be a disease, it wouldn't really give the person transformation powers at will or at random. However, people do call it an illness or a disease just to indicate its severity.
my player isn't trying to cure them but find out a way to stop them from going on a rampage during a full moon without having to harm the other player.
my player isn't trying to cure them but find out a way to stop them from going on a rampage during a full moon without having to harm the other player.
I mean, you could cast Suggestion on them to make them stop transforming. They can choose to fail as well, so there might not be any risk. In addition, the cursed player could make a wisdom saving throw to try and resist it.
my player isn't trying to cure them but find out a way to stop them from going on a rampage during a full moon without having to harm the other player.
First of all, I wouldn't assume that a natural born werewolf is out of control in werewolf form to start with, rendering the issue moot. However, the obvious answer is containment; they can't attack the other PCs if they're in a cage. In terms of magical solutions, the only spell that specifically changes shapeshifters to their original form is Moonbeam, and that might be excessively fatal.
my player isn't trying to cure them but find out a way to stop them from going on a rampage during a full moon without having to harm the other player.
First of all, I wouldn't assume that a natural born werewolf is out of control in werewolf form to start with, rendering the issue moot. However, the obvious answer is containment; they can't attack the other PCs if they're in a cage. In terms of magical solutions, the only spell that specifically changes shapeshifters to their original form is Moonbeam, and that might be excessively fatal.
Those born with the curse have somewhat control over the curse, unlike the newly bitten. The born Lycans can actually control their curse and transform usually at will. I mean, you can have a sleep spell prepared for those who are about to transform. It kinda depends on the DM's rule.
In the group I run, one of my characters (played by my daughter) was bit by a were rat. I gave her the choice to find a cure or learn to control it. In the next town she met up with a pack of were rats who learned to control the curse and animal urges. He trained her and I gave her the following racial traits.
Shape change 3x/long rest
Resistance (not to immunity) to non silver or non magic weapons in hybrid or rat form
When she takes damage, she must make a wisdom save (dc=cumulative damage taken) or lose control. Damage counter resets when healed or on short rest. Can repeat saving throw at each turn. (save is made with disadvantage on full moon and day before and after, advantage on and around new moon)
This is a nice, light weight version of the lycanthropy curse.
So, one of my party members is a natural born Lycanthrope and she has yet to turn but my paladin is onto her and besides the wish spell which cures them is there a spell that one of my players can use to force them put of the Lycan transformation not to cure them but to disable their transformation when it does inevitably happen so that none of my players die early game?
I recommend the spell Calm Emotions, to stop rampages and avoid the worst effects of the curse.
That being said, a Paladin might try Remove Curse regardless of whether it actually works, depending on how much they know about lycanthropes.
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This is a really interesting question.
In my opinion, there are three kinds of "triggers” that can provoke the beast within a Lycanthrope, aside from the lunar cycle.
In the first category, the scent of “pray” is the most powerful trigger for many lycanthropes. The smell of open blood from an injured creature might force the werewolf to make a save to keep control. A lycanthrope that’s gone hungry for a while has to make a save to avoid attacking the first creature it sees.
In the second category, a rival predator is the likely provocation, but anything that makes the lycanthrope sufficiently angry may cause an involuntary outburst.
The third category is little trickier, but open flame and the glint of silver are always good candidates for provoking a save. Some lycanthropes may also need to make a save to hold their ground aften losing half of its hit points, but that mechanic might be too cowardly for aggressive predators like werewolves.
Motivation would also vary with the kind of lycanthrope. A wererat might feel compulsion to “hunt” shiny trinkets that werewolves have absolutely no interest in. A solitary weretiger might be more hostile towards its own kind than more social wererats and werewolves.
So, Rime of the Frostmaiden has a chaotic good werewolf npc...
Can we just forget all the alignment stuff for lycanthropy now?
You always could. Werebears, for example, are neutral good. But like anything else, make it fit your narrative, not the rulebook.
Oh yeah, totally. Alignment for dnd is not final. Yes, A lich is inherently evil, but maybe it has a change of mind and only takes what it needs and lives in seclusion to study arcane tomes. Or, maybe an angel who is cursed by a demon, making it evil.
Alignment is a very loose subject and can change quickly.
that npc is an outlier each lycanthrope has a set alignment that accepting your curse makes you there are of course exceptions but that is the general thing with lycans a good way to get a lawful good were wolf is the deck of many things if you are able to maintain it
ITS ON PG 206 MONSTER MANUAL
PG 206 MONSTER MANUAL FOR RULES
The base problem with PC lycanthropes is that the mechanical effects of being a lycanthrope are beneficial, and therefore, unless you want the entire party to turn into lycanthropes, it should either have a cost or have compensating drawbacks. 5e doesn't have any solid ways of giving it a cost (treating it as a multiclass where you gradually gain abilities over levels would work but is a lot of house rules), so that leaves giving it drawbacks, and pretty much the only drawback strong enough is "You get to be an NPC while using lycanthropic abilities".
So, one of my party members is a natural born Lycanthrope and she has yet to turn but my paladin is onto her and besides the wish spell which cures them is there a spell that one of my players can use to force them put of the Lycan transformation not to cure them but to disable their transformation when it does inevitably happen so that none of my players die early game?
I believe that technically its a disease though remove curse does remove it
In the group I run, one of my characters (played by my daughter) was bit by a were rat. I gave her the choice to find a cure or learn to control it. In the next town she met up with a pack of were rats who learned to control the curse and animal urges. He trained her and I gave her the following racial traits.
Shape change 3x/long rest
Resistance (not to immunity) to non silver or non magic weapons in hybrid or rat form
When she takes damage, she must make a wisdom save (dc=cumulative damage taken) or lose control. Damage counter resets when healed or on short rest. Can repeat saving throw at each turn. (save is made with disadvantage on full moon and day before and after, advantage on and around new moon)
you cannot cure natural born werewolfs
Its not a disease. It is an actual curse put onto humanoids, not really a stored up virus or illness. It is a full-blown curse.
If it were to be a disease, it wouldn't really give the person transformation powers at will or at random.
However, people do call it an illness or a disease just to indicate its severity.
my player isn't trying to cure them but find out a way to stop them from going on a rampage during a full moon without having to harm the other player.
I mean, you could cast Suggestion on them to make them stop transforming. They can choose to fail as well, so there might not be any risk. In addition, the cursed player could make a wisdom saving throw to try and resist it.
First of all, I wouldn't assume that a natural born werewolf is out of control in werewolf form to start with, rendering the issue moot. However, the obvious answer is containment; they can't attack the other PCs if they're in a cage. In terms of magical solutions, the only spell that specifically changes shapeshifters to their original form is Moonbeam, and that might be excessively fatal.
Those born with the curse have somewhat control over the curse, unlike the newly bitten. The born Lycans can actually control their curse and transform usually at will. I mean, you can have a sleep spell prepared for those who are about to transform. It kinda depends on the DM's rule.
born lycans dont usually go berserk when they transform either
This is a nice, light weight version of the lycanthropy curse.
I recommend the spell Calm Emotions, to stop rampages and avoid the worst effects of the curse.
That being said, a Paladin might try Remove Curse regardless of whether it actually works, depending on how much they know about lycanthropes.