Hello, guys.
My players will fight a lycanthrope in my next section and I'm considering the possibility of one of them being infected. In fact, one of them could use a power boost and an extra shtick, such as scent (he is a TWF Rogue and is kind of overshadowed by everyone). I'm just not sure how I should deal with that within the rules. The bit about monsters as PCs does not cover templates acquired during play. Should he just get that as freebie, with the disadvantages of the template evening it all out?
Well there are no penalties if your natural. If your natural you have total control, if your afflicted you go wild when you transform. Which is usually NPC territory.
I've played with monstrous PCs many times before, and usually LA was involved. Not sure how powerful the template in question is because it really varies from character to character. A were-tiger barbarian with fiend totem is going to wreck things with pounce, but a were-rat using manufactured weapons probably won't be nearly as nasty.
Edit: It also depends on how you deal with lycanthropy in your own game. Any home rules or changes will definitely sway it in a direction.
It's not a bad idea. If your rogue is really far behind the power curve, then don't give him the +1 lvl adjustment... It's not terribly powerful, but can make a bit of difference.
Here you go. They really did throw away a lot of the lack of self control, which I like because it makes them more playable as PCs and more humanlike NPCs. There are some modules with some NPCs who've completely lost control to the lycanthropy though, which bothers me to no end.
Lycanthropy
A creature that catches lycanthropy becomes an afflicted lycanthrope, but shows no symptoms (and does not gain any of the template's adjustments or abilities) until the night of the next full moon, when the victim involuntarily assumes animal form and forgets his or her own identity. The character remains in animal form until the next dawn and remembers nothing about the entire episode (or subsequent episodes) unless he makes a DC 20 Will save, in which case he becomes aware of his condition.
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There are no real disadvantages to lycanthropy in PF ... in 3e there is the assumption that your entire personality is rewritten (because of the forced alignment change) but that's absent in PF. I'd give him a +1 or +2 LA depending on whether he gets much of an ability boost out of the hybrid form.
There are no Level adjustments in Pathfinder.
There are no real disadvantages to lycanthropy in PF ... in 3e there is the assumption that your entire personality is rewritten (because of the forced alignment change) but that's absent in PF. I'd give him a +1 or +2 LA depending on whether he gets much of an ability boost out of the hybrid form.There are no Level adjustments in Pathfinder.
It translates well, and do does the ability to buy off LA. YMMV of course. LA didn't work very well and that's why its not here anymore if I remember right.
Here you go.I read that a little differently ... I don't think "the forget his or her own identity" sticks when the animal form goes away. If you try to read it in a purely literal sense I guess that is what it says, but it doesn't seem intended meaning.
Doesn't really fit lore either, lycanthrope victims wake up without memories of the previous night after an involuntary change ... not of their previous life.
I read it as they go feral for the time being and wake up in the forest not remembering what happened. That's a pretty classic trope right?
Thanks for the feedback, guys.
I don't intend on using LA in Pathfinder. I never liked it. Lycanthropy as a whole is a lot easier to deal with in Pathfinder than in 3.5 (I would never even think about doing this in 3.5, considering the player would gain a lot of HD).
Pathfinder does kinda have an LA rule in the first Bestiary
LA=Total Monster CR (From Species and Templates)
For Example
If the Ogre were CR 3 and the Advanced Creature Template Were CR+1. the Ogre counts as ECL 4 before factoring class levels.
for every 3 levels, the monstrous PC recieves a free class level that doesn't count towards their ECL, to a maximum number of free levels equal to half their CR. or 2 for the example ogre.
Monsters as PCs
Using one of the monsters presented in this book as a character can be very rewarding, but weighing such a character against others is challenging. Monsters are not designed with the rules for players in mind, and as such can be very unbalancing if not handled carefully.There are a number of monsters in this book that do not possess racial Hit Dice. Such creatures are the best options for player characters, but a few of them are so powerful that they count as having 1 class level, even without a racial Hit Die. Such characters should only be allowed in a group that is 2nd-level or higher.
For monsters with racial Hit Dice, the best way to allow monster PCs is to pick a CR and allow all of the players to make characters using monsters of that CR. Treat the monster's CR as its total class levels and allow the characters to multiclass into the core classes. Do not advance such monsters by adding Hit Dice. Monster PCs should only advance through classes.
If you are including a single monster character in a group of standard characters, make sure the group is of a level that is at least as high as the monster's CR. Treat the monster's CR as class levels when determining the monster PC's overall levels. For example, in a group of 6th-level characters, a minotaur (CR 4) would possess 2 levels of a core class, such as barbarian.
Note that in a mixed group, the value of racial Hit Dice and abilities diminish as a character gains levels. It is recommended that for every 3 levels gained by the group, the monster character should gain an extra level, received halfway between the 2nd and 3rd levels. Repeat this process a number of times equal to half the monster's CR, rounded down. Using the minotaur example, when the group is at a point between 6th and 7th level, the minotaur gains a level, and then again at 7th, making him a minotaur barbarian 4. This process repeats at 10th level, making him a minotaur barbarian 8 when the group reaches 10th level. From that point onward, he gains levels normally.
GMs should carefully consider any monster PCs in their groups. Some creatures are simply not suitable for play as PCs, due to their powers or role in the game. As monster characters progress, GMs should closely monitor whether such characters are disruptive or abusive to the rules and modify them as needed to improve play
I have a player using a Were-Bear in my homebrew game, and I recommend using LA. The reason is; the DR 10 is a huge boon at the early levels, worth more than HD imo. It literally means most attacks won't damage them, even on a crit.
However, their advantages eventually scale off. If you happen to have the ARG, I'd recommend following using their LA recommendations for Monstrous(RP ~20) characters. Thus by level 10 or so, when most things will bypass that DR it's not such an issue, it will make sense to remove their LA.
Only DR5 for afflicted.
True, though afflicted comes with the potential for the transformation to be out of the players' control which leads to a whole lot of DM/Player Issues. But Natural ones have DR 10, which is definitely AL worthy.
That's not the concern Pinky. Its that as written, the player isn't in control of his character any more unless he's a natural were. Thus the afflicted Were-Character's actions are totally up to GM Fiat, which some players are okay with but most wouldn't' be. Especially in a Monster PC game
Have you read the sidebar on page 196 of Bestiary 1? It makes it pretty clear that they're not in control unless their a Natural lycanthrope.
Edit: To summarize, Lycanthropy isn't meant to be a Power boost for players, unless you're a Natural Lycanthrope. They loose control of their PC when they switch, and they might take actions that they wouldn't otherwise. It is in fact a curse, and thus I don't see why someone would play it unless they were a Natural Were.
Now of course you can play an afflicted Were with self control, but it's not how they're written.
Pathfinder does kinda have an LA rule in the first Bestiary
Yes, I mentioned that in the OP. It doesn't really help with acquired templates, though.
I think I'll just allow the player to deal with the curse in-game, might add some social issues. I'll get to use my weretiger miniature more frequently, so I kinda want this to happen.