Ok, I know in some werewolf stories the werewolf is active during the three nights of the full moon (the nights before and after the technical full moon) but I'm not sure if that's the case in Pathfinder Campaign Setting.
So, yeah, does anyone know of any canon details on whether afflicted werewolves change involuntarily on all three days or only the one?
I know werewolves of Golarion are detailed in a few different places, such as Classic Horrors Revisited, inside the Carrion Crown AP, and in Blood of the Moon, to name a few, just wondering if anyone knows specifically where to look for details on that aspect of the lycanthropy.
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"An afflicted lycanthrope can assume animal or hybrid form as a full-round action by making a DC 15 Constitution check, or humanoid form as a full-round action by making a DC 20 Constitution check. On nights when the full moon is visible, an afflicted lycanthrope gains a +5 morale bonus to Constitution checks made to assume animal or hybrid form, but a –5 penalty to Constitution checks made to assume humanoid form. An afflicted lycanthrope reverts to its humanoid form automatically with the next sunrise, or after 8 hours of rest, whichever comes first."
That's not very clear though...
I looked through Classic Horrors Revisited again, and read the Ecology of the Lycanthrope article in Pathfinder AP #45, but didn't see anything definitive to answer the question. I'll check Blood of the Moon too. It has some stuff about the moon in it.
I did get the information from somewhere, because I was watching a show with a werewolf in it the other day and I commented on the three days of the full moon to my father shortly before the show mentioned it. Most likely place I got that tidbit of lore is from RPG material. It just may not be from Pathfinder material.
It's the night before the full moon in my Ustalav campaign right now, so I'm just trying to figure out if werewolves are only active the next night, or also this night and the next two nights.
If I don't find anything, I'm going to go with a three-night cycle for werewolves. I like that better.
Ah, 3 nights of the cycle. Given a 28 day cycle, that means 3/28 nights are spent in conditions when an afflicted lycanthrope is liable to "wolf out" (Or rat out, bat out, bear out, shark out, tiger out, etc.).
That makes the condition a bit more serious.
3/28 nights = 10.7% of one's nights dealing with the matter. Meanwhile...
1/28 nights = 3.6% of one's nights dealing with the issue.
Secondly, these nights are contiguous. Essentially, a touch more obvious to prospective lycan hunters/overly suspicious neighbours. A long weekend excursion every month basically being essential.
Also, sucks if you're bitten on the first of the three nights.
I've always understood lycanthropy to not take effect until the next full moon, so if you're bitten on the first night of a full moon, it takes a month before you change, since that's the same full moon. This is consistent with most werewolf stories I'm familiar with, where it takes some time for the curse to take effect.
Three night cycle for lycanthropes. Just like in the real world. Ha.
Thanks a lot. I thought I read it somewhere before, just couldn't remember.
I did find it by dipping into my 3.x books. It's in the 3.5e Monster Manual that a Remove Curse spell works during the 3 days of the full moon to allow another saving throw to throw off the curse. The wording was changed to remove that mention of 3 days of the full moon in the Pathfinder Bestiary. The wording there is that the remove curse only works during the full moon, without mentioning its length.
I much prefer the 3 night cycle so glad that's still the case. Allows my players to have 3 nights of werewolves instead of one encounter then waiting another month to encounter it again.
And it means the first night of the full moon in my campaign is happening already. (Last session stopped at 3 AM on the night before the actual full moon, which is one of the nights of the full moon cycle.)