Isn't it always the way? The character with the highest Fort save of the group is the one who fails his save and contracts Lycanthropy. That was the scene at the bath-house in chapter 2 where my game's party was seriously mauled by were-rats.
One party member has Knowledge Local, (oddly enough, the correct knowledge skill for were-beasts according to the PHB - as they are humanoids) and I was thinking... and maybe overthinking this, but... wolvesbane is a temperate climate plant, mostly, not found in Sub-tropical areas, like Cauldron. Sure... I could just rule that there's a tropical breed, or that an herbalist might have transplanted and be carefully growing and sheltering a small crop (as I read it's kind of a fragile plant...)
... but I thought that maybe it would be more interesting if there was a cure more appropriate to the region, something out of local Olman lore. Any Aztec/Olmec/Mayan folklore buffs on the board have any suggestions for curse-lifting cures or beast-warding rituals that might work?
Actually, in general, I'd be interested in bringing more Olman cultural influences into the Shattered City Campaign. You know, to say "Europeanesque" isn't the only human culture in D&D-land?
... but I thought that maybe it would be more interesting if there was a cure more appropriate to the region, something out of local Olman lore. Any Aztec/Olmec/Mayan folklore buffs on the board have any suggestions for curse-lifting cures or beast-warding rituals that might work?
I know of no such folklore, sorry, but I did want to commend you on a good idea. There really is no reason to keep the region European flavored. As a matter of fact, I see Savage Tide AP doing quite a bit with the Olman concept. For your campaign, you could probably fudge it, and nobody would know the difference. Just make up a plant name that starts with a Q, and has a TL somewhere in it, and voila!
One of my PCs contracted lycanthropy from that same fight.
I created a hard to reach community of naturalists. They were located in the caldera of an empty volcano and it was a difficult climb to get there. The community itself was made up of alchemists, scholars and druids all working towards "oneness with nature", which included natural cures for exotic ailments.
I set it up so that they could provide some concoction that would give a bonus on the remove curse save (or whatever spell it takes) necessary to remove lycanthropy.
It was loosely based on something I read on Malaysia and Buddhist temples isolated from civilization.
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Actually, in general, I'd be interested in bringing more Olman cultural influences into the Shattered City Campaign. You know, to say "Europeanesque" isn't the only human culture in D&D-land?
I know that there were some south american (or central american) tribes that once thought that "headaches" were caused by a curse issued by someone of a neighboring tribe. The only way to remove this curse was to kill that person/persons responsible for th curse
Perhaps you could work in a mini-scenario where the PCs have to kill the Were-Rat responsible for the outbreak of that lyncanthrope in the region. Sorta like some of the vampire myths.
This were-rat could be an associate of one of the guilds, could be a family member of the nobles, or whatever fits your style best.
Something else to consider; the plant that the rules say you need is call wolvesbane and is a temperate plant; theres nothing stopping you from alluding to the fact that this plant is used to ward off lyncanthrope from a wolf: perhaps a different plant is needed for were-rats (ratsbane? Arsenic anyone???)
just food for thought
Robert