Lycanthropes, druids, shapechanging, and equipment.

[Sarjenka]

This is my first post to the Piazo messageboards, so I apologize if this topic has already been covered elsewhere... I am mainly looking for advice from other Storytellers.

I am trying to reconcile the Core Rules with the Bite Me! supplement and I don't really understand what happens to a were-creature's equipment. Somewhere it states that equipment is subsumed into the animal form, and "reappears" upon returning to humanoid form. I have a hard time suspending disbelief in that. It seems more plausible that items do NOT change, requiring special rules to interpret which items would simply be dropped, what types of clothing or armor would be destroyed or damage the creature... something like Ravenloft used to do in 2nd edition D&D. I think this way because their Chance Shape ability is racial, not spell-like.

Note: I am NOT trying to run a campaign where PCs are intended to become werecreatures, just an adventure setting in which NPC werewolves (many of them non-evil) play a "starring role". Therefore it doesn't have to be perfectly "game balanced" like a PC race would have to be.

I DO, however, have a druid in our group. I am interpreting the rules to mean that her equipment IS subsumed into her new form, ceases to function, and re-appears when she returns to her elf form. Is it reasonable to adjudicate were-creatures differently than druids?

Also: rules make some reference to a maximum amount of time that a lycanthrope can spend in animal form, but I cannot find where that length of time is codified. Anyone know where to look for it?

Lastly: in Pathfinder, do werewolves and/or druids heal hit point damage when they transfigure? I cannot find where it says it does or does not. Thanks for your advice....

[Goth Guru]

Instead of regeneration they have damage resistance. Non silver damage can harmlessly pass through them.

You want cinematic werewolves. They can regenerate limbs under the full moon. Their change destroys clothes and causes gear to be involuntarily dropped.

If your druid puts on claw enhancers or leather barding in animal form, these too are magically stored while they are in human form. Your greater werewolves, on the other hand, lose the equipment. It falls off.

[Cyrad]

Remember that the Bite Me supplement is not an official supplement. It's recommended you check out the actual lycanthrope template. That would answer most of your questions. Gear melds with your animal form because that's how polymorph effects work. It's perfectly reasonable to houserule that afflicted werewolves drop their gear when they transform since it's supposed to be a curse. However, it makes sense the gear would meld for druids and natural werewolves.

[Akharus]

I'm in the gear being dropped, clothing/armor damaged camp, myself. Lycanthropy I don't think is instant, at least... you could give them a chance to hastily remove armor/clothing. Shapeshifting that is a disease or a naturally evolved trait just makes more sense like that.

Druids and wizards and what not? Yeah, that gets "absorbed", because it's a spell.

You could also have them wear baggy or stretchy clothing that will survive the transformation, lol. A loose brigandine coat might work :D

[Tacticslion]

Dot.

[Akharus]

What does "Dot" mean? I've seen you put that in a few posts, now. It's driving me nuts :D

[Rysky]

Making any post in a thread will have that thread start showing new posts from your visits, so people "dot" them in order to keep up with things.

[Cyrad]

Akharus wrote:

What does "Dot" mean? I've seen you put that in a few posts, now. It's driving me nuts :D

It's called "dot" because threads you comment on have a dot by their name. It's an honor to get "Dotted" because it means people are interested in the thread enough to want to keep tabs on it, even if they don't really have anything to say yet.

[Drahliana Moonrunner]

Cyrad wrote:

Remember that the Bite Me supplement is not an official supplement. It's recommended you check out the actual lycanthrope template. That would answer most of your questions. Gear melds with your animal form because that's how polymorph effects work. It's perfectly reasonable to houserule that afflicted werewolves drop their gear when they transform since it's supposed to be a curse. However, it makes sense the gear would meld for druids and natural werewolves.

Most natural werewolves don't have PC equipment to worry about since their usual prey are going to be commoners and farmers who won't have weapons that bypass their regeneration and/or DR. They either undress before they change, or suffer a larger than usual clothing budget/repair time.

[Sarjenka]

Thank you Arkhaus, and everyone else! I guess I want the "look and feel" of cinematic werewolves, but no regeneration or anything that makes them OP. I'm writing an adventure that centers around a natural werewolf and her four "boyfriends" (with the understanding that lycanthropy can be an STD). As normal, the "Boys" don't have much control over what they do when they transfigure, but she CAN control them. For the most part, their prey is not commoners or humans, they hunt animals for food. (They are neutral or chaotic-neutral, not monsters exactly just really ethically complicated characters.) So I am just going with, they only wear leather armor or clothing. If they "feel it coming" they can hastily remove the leather; if they lose control, they will probably need a new suit of leather, but no big deal.