Werecreature Heritage

[Aiden2018]

It doesn't seem like enough people have suggested this so I'm gonna take a shot at a custom heritage. Lemme know what you think and if you have any suggestions. I'm using what I saw in the bestiary and the examples of the heritages from the playtest. So I don't know if this will be balanced.
I also didn't set levels for any of these. So... Yeah.

Werebeast Heritage: Gain the Beast and Werecreature traits, as well as weakness to silver that is equal to your class level. Gain the Change Shape action, which permits you to change into human and hybrid shape. While in hybrid form, gain low-light vision, scent, claw strike, and jaw strike (each that functions as unarmed strikes with piercing damage). Choose an animal type whose curse you embody (rat or wolf).
You can select human and werecreature feats whenever you gain ancestry feats. Some werecreature feats has a particular creature type as a prerequisite.

Ancestry Feats:

Ferocity - Strikes with claws or jaws have the Deadly trait and applies critical specialization on a critical hit.

Moon Frenzy - During nights of the full moon you must enter their hybrid form and cannot take on any other form until dawn. During this time you (but not your equipment) are effected by the enlarge spell, and damage from both jaws and claws increase by 1d4. Once the effect ends you are returned to human form and is fatigued for 2d4 hours.

Beast Shape - Add the beast form corresponding to your beast aspect to your options for Change Shape. [Should probably include stat blocks or adjustments for giant rats and wolves]

Pack Tactics (Wolf) - While not in human form, you deal 1d6 extra damage to creatures within reach on at least two of your allies.

Rats Cunning (Rat) - You deal 1d6 extra precision damage to flat-footed creatures. This damage does not stack with precision damage gained from other sources.

Aspect's Curse - Your jaws attack gain an additional effect. Humanoid targets that are struck must make a Fortitude save. On each full moon, the target must succeed in another save for turn into a werecreature of the appropriate type and go on a rampage. When the rampage ends they revert to normal and fall unconscious until dawn.

Beast Empathy - You can communicate with creatures who correspond to your aspect. Werewolves can communicate with canines, wererats can communicate with rodents, etc.

[Pumpkinhead11]

I think a Werecreature Heritage could actually be interesting now that you mention it. Maybe there should be a difference between born from Lycan parentage and infected curse personally speaking, but it looks interesting at a glance.

[Aiden2018]

Well I didn't make that distinction here, just to save space. What features do you think born werecreatures should have? Maybe unique Ability boosts like the other non-human races?

[Pumpkinhead11]

Well, let’s take the idea of ancestry feats for example. For a natural born Lycan, Ancestry Feats make sense. Though what if someone gets infected at 8th level? Would they get extra Ancestry feats? Born Werecreatures i think would work the way you have set up; as a Heritage. Infected might work as a single extra Ancestry Feat (or similar) that gains benefits and drawbacks at later level; like the weakness to silver could go up by 5 every 5 Class Levels.

[Arachnofiend]

I imagine that this sort of thing will eventually be covered by Skinwalkers; jury's out on if they'll be their own ancestry or be a heritage feat anyone can take like the planar heritages.

[Reziburno25]

For werebeast weakness have it increase every time when they get a normal ancestery feat, work same for if we get any ancestery down line like troll or something.

Using general feats to get more ancestery feats not sure if should count.
So lvl 1 have one ancestery feat so might have weakness - silver 1 or 2
then grabs another weakness - silver 3 or 4, so by time player grab their last ancestery feat should be on around weakness - silver 9 or 10.

If was troll then weakness - fire/acid - 1 then 3 ect. So a player wouldnt be too crippled by weakness as they embrace their inner monster.

[Leotamer]

The curse of lycanthropy is naturally mutagenic, perhaps the rules for being turned is that you are converted you immediately get Moon Frenzy and Aspect's Curse. You can do things to remove these features, but never replace them. (Natural-born PC Lycans would have greater control of their curse. You can still choose them as normal, but you don't need to take them.)

And you can immediately replace any racial feats with Lycan feats as though you retrained but at no cost or time. You can also choose to pick Lycan feats anytime you would get a racial Feat.

Each Lycan feat could raise your silver weakness by 5.

[Reziburno25]

I say 5 bit too much since weakness do alot of damage one silver damage would do 5 under yours with just 1 feat. So if play did 4 worth of silver damage it be 20.

As for retain I'd say "Weather by birth or through curse afflicted upon you, you can feel pull of beast lurking in side you. During a level up you can replace a ancestery feat which lacks werebeast trait with one that does this feat must be replace with one equeal to or below it level."

[Aiden2018]

Pumpkinhead11 wrote:

Well, let’s take the idea of ancestry feats for example. For a natural born Lycan, Ancestry Feats make sense. Though what if someone gets infected at 8th level? Would they get extra Ancestry feats? Born Werecreatures i think would work the way you have set up; as a Heritage. Infected might work as a single extra Ancestry Feat (or similar) that gains benefits and drawbacks at later level; like the weakness to silver could go up by 5 every 5 Class Levels.

Gotcha!

The reason I gave the Change Shape, silver weakness, and the sensory stuff to the heritage feature was because I thought those are features that all werecreatures should have in common regardless of whether they were infected or not.

But your saying that an infected person would have fewer benefits because they haven't spent as much time being a werecreature? Well that makes sense to me! In that case, I'd have to displace the change shape, silver weakness, and sensory stuff and/or put it into its own ancestry feats so that infected can have access to it later. How does this sound?

Infect - You are infected by a werecreature's curse, as per the creature's stat block. After the first transformation, you gain access to the Werecreature ancestry traits.

Change Shape - Choose either hybrid or beast form. You are now able to use an action to transform into the chosen form at will. You also gain low-light vision and weakness to silver [approximate quantity goes here]. Once you have three werecreature ancestry feats, you may gain the other form as transformation option.

Controlled Rage (Infected) - You no longer rampage on nights of the full moon. You retain control of yourself during this period, but still retain all of the other drawbacks.

[Aiden2018]

Reziburno25 wrote:

For werebeast weakness have it increase every time when they get a normal ancestery feat, work same for if we get any ancestery down line like troll or something.

I like that idea a lot! I'm assuming you mean "any" ancestry feats, as opposed to non-werecreature feat, right?

[Aiden2018]

Leotamer wrote:

The curse of lycanthropy is naturally mutagenic, perhaps the rules for being turned is that you are converted you immediately get Moon Frenzy and Aspect's Curse. You can do things to remove these features, but never replace them. (Natural-born PC Lycans would have greater control of their curse. You can still choose them as normal, but you don't need to take them.)

I don't see any reason why one would want to replace Moon Frenzy. I'm the Bestiary, werewolves and wererats can use that ability (are forced to, actually) and not go berserk. It's only the infected that go berserk on the full moon (it just so happens that the infected use this ability at the same time they go berserk).

The curse/berserk thing and the moon frenzy thing are two separate traits, which just so happen to occur at the same time. Infected would have both of those things but natural werefolk would only have the latter. Unless we want to change that so that they aren't exclusive?

[swoosh]

Arachnofiend wrote:

I imagine that this sort of thing will eventually be covered by Skinwalkers; jury's out on if they'll be their own ancestry or be a heritage feat anyone can take like the planar heritages.

Given that skinwalkers are basically in the exact same boat as half-x and tieflings, I'd be really surprised if they weren't a heritage, assuming Paizo ever makes them.

[Aiden2018]

Reziburno25 wrote:

As for retain I'd say "Weather by birth or through curse afflicted upon you, you can feel pull of beast lurking in side you. During a level up you can replace a ancestery feat which lacks werebeast trait with one that does this feat must be replace with one equeal to or below it level."

Totally gonna steal all that, including the phrasing. Thanks.

[Reziburno25]

Aiden2018 wrote:

Reziburno25 wrote:

For werebeast weakness have it increase every time when they get a normal ancestery feat, work same for if we get any ancestery down line like troll or something.

I like that idea a lot! I'm assuming you mean "any" ancestry feats, as opposed to non-werecreature feat, right?

For werebeast yeah, as players might try to get smart and only take 1 or 2 werebeast ancestery feats. It also encouraging trading them in.

But if for something like half human troll abomination whatever we as example. If they choose troll ancestery feat their weakness grow while human feats would not increase it. For troll part cause their feats be stronger but your drawing in more of that aspect of their hertiage.

Infact I could as good way to give planar touched ones powerful ancestery feats but they come with drawbacks that entail embracing their source.