Werewolves in D&D are Bad (and how to make them better)

[@pointyhatstudios]

In all levels except physical, I am a hat (hat noise) Okay, so choose your own adventure time! I'm going to reply to this comment with two comments: One with choice A) Side with the Pooka and one with choice B) Side with the Old Man. The one with more likes is the one our adventurers will choose in the next video! I'm irrationally excited about this little interactive thingie. Hope you like it! (Also if this comment doesn't make sense to you wait to finish the video lol)

[@pointyhatstudios]

A) Side with the Pooka! 🐰

[@pointyhatstudios]

B) Side with the Old Man 👴

[@demonicchair6893]

B!!!!

[@djangowest1754]

Personally, B

[@justrandomsomethings7768]

A) side with the Pooka and kill a senior citizen

[@DnDShorts]

Oh, bless ye, lord Pointy Hat, for allowing me into thine light. May the bounty of sunlight forever nuture your paddy fields of joy

[@RocKaFella57]

I audibly gasp whenever one of his videos comes out! Also I swear you are familiar from somewhere

[@MudTheStickman]

Wait... your that guy I know!

[@NeuralNotes5]

For some reason I cannot remember where I've seen him, but he seems like such a good guy. 😇😋

[@nomaanhaque1704]

Oh wait it's that guy that was crucial in preventing Hasbro and WOTC get rid of the OGL. Hail him for this man is an ArchWizard of all our worlds.🎉🎉🎉

[@triceratops2653]

Boiiiii it’s DND shorts beard man!

[@kamiwriterleonardo6345]

One of the weirdest incarnations of werewolves are the Brazilian ones. The way you're cursed into becoming one is VERY SPECIFIC. You have to be born as the seventh child in a line of six daughters before you, and you have to be born male. Then, you must wait like 13 years or smt, and wait for the night of a full moon, at the midnight of Thursday to Friday. Then, you will become a werewolf! Wanna break the curse tho? No problem, you just have to visit SEVEN GRAVEYARDS in the span of ONE NIGHT, YOUR FIRST NIGHT, to break the curse, or you'll remain as a werewolf forever. Like I said, weird.

[@jvgradiz906]

Yeah, our werewolves are weird

[@diegorassetto]

That myth is pretty much in all Latin America.

[@LeRodz]

​@@jvgradiz906 Brazilian folklore needs more representation, we got some weird ass monsters all over the country.

[@diegorassetto]

It is 7th child with six brothers, in Argentina tho.

[@diegorassetto]

And you had to be named a certain name, and bauticed in 7 differents churchs

[@gyletre675]

It is also funny how werewolves are completely immune to fall damage because they have immunity to bludgeoning damage. The start of an encounter could be a literal rain of werewolves.

[@jasonreed7522]

This is an annoying case where by RAW its technically correct but just doesn't feel right. IRL fall damage scales with the mass of the creature, its impossible for a squirrel to die from fall damage because its terminal velocity is too slow, but an elephant with way more HP would simply explode on impact. And the nature of the injury is very different from normal blunt force trauma from something like a baseball bat. (DnD needs a better damage type for fall damage, either "internal" or "physics" with a nothing corporeal having immunity to them, it already has "force" so other vague names wouldn't really be uncharacteristic of the game.) Edit 2020-03-28: based on the monster manual the werewolf damage immunities are "bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from non magical weapons that aren't silvered" with no other immunities or resistances. Therefore by RAW they are not immune to fall damage because the ground isn't a weapon (or atleast it's making a weapon attack), and clearly RAI is that basic/regular weapons won't work so you either need a magic sword or need to melt down your silver coins to coat your weapons. (Although the idea of using the coinpurse itself as a bludgeon is hilarious to me.)

[@krisrobinson3787]

This sounds like fun. I want to make this happen in a game now.

[@animationdude9]

@@jasonreed7522 out of all the wacky things that happen in DND . . . THATS where you draw the line?

[@jasonreed7522]

@@animationdude9 i don't know all of the weird edge cases, and while i know D&D physics can't perfectly match our physics or the game will be reduced to differential equations very quickly and nobody has time for that. I am an engineer so i know how certain things work, and it just doesn't sit right with me that a large animal could fall at terminal velocity without exploding. (If this is the case know that you will never crack its bones with anything short of artillery so keep that in mind with your descriptions) I am sure that their are all sorts of weird interactions resulting from the rules being written in natural language without explicit standardization, and many, including myself will have issues with some of these RAW vs RAI cases. It's not like this is my only line for "this doesn't make sense but its RAW".

[@RedSunUnderParadise]

*Insert Artorias meme*

[@LamirLakantry]

Our DM handled this really brilliantly. Our party's lawful good paladin got bitten by a warebore and was told his new abilities, but the DM said nothing about alignments or embracing it other than that he felt more aggressive now. Then he let the roleplay decide if he was embracing it, and if he used the abilities or not. Shortly after, my bard character fell into a pitfall trap where a monster waited and began destroying me. The paladin (with boots of spiderclimb) rushed down to rescue me. However, as he drags my half dead body from the pit, the DM tells him to roll a wisdom save. He fails, and the DM describes how he is beset by an irresistible urge to see how I fair in the pit, and drops me back in. It was an rp gold mine, as the good paladin struggles against these impulses and guilt.

[@RPGAPlus]

Fantastic play by the DM there!

[@dinchord8037]

Well.... how DID you fare?

[@LamirLakantry]

@@dinchord8037 My character barely survived with the help of the other players, and afterwards the paladin, who'd begun to enjoy the power of the curse was snapped out of it by the horror of his own actions and saught out a cure. We actually managed to lure another monster into that same pitfall trap, and let them destroy each other.

[@helloidharbl6753]

That's not how the curse is supposed to work. You don't get bitten by a were critter then gee golly you have abilities now! It's a curse that slowly corrupts the mind and body.

[@LamirLakantry]

@@helloidharbl6753 I'm sorry my brief summary didn't match your homebrew. When a humanoid is injured by a were-creature they can become cursed. That's literally how it spreads. And they can choose to accept or fight the curse, which is what the paladin did. I'm not sure what you want? We're an impro group of nerds playing a game, not a novel where character arcs can be nearly planned out. Things sometimes must be streamlined. But even so, my summery described the relevant highlights of about a 7 session long dungeon dive. There was rp in between and after these events.

[@zacharyshelton4087]

Funny thing about the whole wolfsbane thing: I would expect it to be harmful to a werewolf, not because of any magical reason, but because wolfsbane is extremely poisonous

[@Noperare]

It would be funny if the "silver bullet" was actually false propaganda spread by werewolf hunters to fool people into thinking only the certified hunters with their highly rare and expensive bullets can kill werewolves when in reality, they don't use silver bullets. A headshot is a headshot regardless of the metal in the bullet. They just claim to use silver bullets to justify their overpriced service.

[@marcelblock2454]

The name comes from it's use as a poison for wolf hunting. Maybe make it deal poison dmg to all creatures but werewolves are at disadvantage for resisting and always take max dmg. Can't go Crazy with the dmg though or your campaign might look like the underworld films. 😅

[@MarkoSeldo]

Turns out that a stake through the heart isn't just fatal to vampires! Who knew?! 🤣

[@mrmadness2699]

Yeah wolfsbane= monkshood= aconite. Whatever the name it’s EXTREMELY deadly

[@TheSpoegefugl]

Small correction for the Blood Hunter Lycanthrope. You also regain the transformation after a short rest, not only after a long rest.

[@jamilortiz1]

I was about to comment this, although it would be nice to have multiple uses ready at a time, once per short rest isn’t as restricting as what was stated

[@TheSpoegefugl]

@@jamilortiz1 That is also very true. Would make it more of a utility in general rather than purely combat focused.

[@Tavdogg11]

​@@TheSpoegefuglmhm

[@johnnydarling8021]

“What if we took an edgy class… and made it EDGIER?” -Literally every D&D campaign

[@tiph3802]

Shadar-kai have entered the chat. The drow are annoyed.

[@cgkase6210]

*After a werebear rampage* "THIS ORPHANAGE... ITS... ALL UP TO CODE! THE HORROR!"

[@angrytheclown801]

Plot twist, the head of the orphanage is a werebear and the children know it but don't tell anyone so they can keep their living stuffed animal.

[@baxterbruce9827]

Unfortunately, the "The horror" part about fixong the orphanage actually sounds like IRL America, I say this as an American

[@TruthKeepersOfficialHD2]

How ironic. I just made a shifter character who was just an older chill guy with his wife and kids in a forest and an asshole werebear came, killed three of the four kids, ate his balls and kicked them out of their home. How ironic.

[@HatiTheMoonChaser]

Honestly World of Darkness that is famous for "Vampire the Masquerade" also has "Werewolf: The Apocalypse" and rules inside for wewolves are great and they can give you a lot of ideas and inspiration for your D&D games

[@jy3n2]

Vampire: "It's like movie vampires." Werewolf: "You're maintaining the balance between the human and spiritual worlds, which usually means furry-based ecoterror." Mage: "We are really into postmodernism and chaos magick."

[@HatiTheMoonChaser]

@@jy3n2 actually a pretty good summary xD

[@mytotim8978]

Don´t forget that werewolfs in World of Darkness need to have sex with animals because the nature goddess they served think is more normal than having a relationship with someone of your same species... @@jy3n2

[@clara_corvus]

Funny thing about the pooka at 2:21: There's a monster in German folklore called the Aufhocker, which jumps on its victims' backs and becomes heavier with every step. The Aufhocker can appear in various forms depending on time and region, including a werewolf. Because of this, I thought the pooka sitting on the guy's back was supposed to be that type of werewolf

[@LucRio448]

Oh there's a version that just straight up jumps you? I only know the version that appears like a small human, a dwarf or something similar, kindly asks you to carry it somewhere but then does the exact same - gets heavier over time, refuses to leave, and there are very few ways to ever get rid of it - including one that's basically finding another victim

[@Geebees93]

I'm pretty sure that's a Jojo stand.

[@NA-ib6og]

​​@@Geebees93 it's also a Left 4 Dead zombies.

[@vincent-of-the-bog]

I would have thought creatures jumping on your back and gradually burdening your unbearibgly wouldn't have been that widespread - because I know such from my own childhood fairtales, but the creature is an old woman (implied witch) carrying wood who guilt-trips a traveler to carry her

[@maxgrozema1093]

In my part of the country we had a version of the Aufhocker, which was basically a demonic hound/wolf living in waterways and magically draining your energy until you were to tired to fight back, before dragging you under. There are also versions were it is like the Aufhocker.

[@hobg5786]

One correction is that werewolves dont dig up graves for snacks or like human meat, when they get hungry, they go to Lee Ho Fook for beef chow mein

[@GhazMazMSM]

Ah-hoo, werewolves of London.

[@thatHARVguy]

@@GhazMazMSM Ah-hoo!

[@Mr.Monacle]

Okay but I'm pretty sure that's *just* the Werewolves of London.

[@IcePho]

For those who wish to play Chaotic Evil without being a menace to the party; Have your party be 'Adventurers keeping an eye on a Prisoner' and you be the Prisoner.

[@shenronsgoldfish]

I did this in an evil campaign I was the chaotic evil guy in a party full of lawful characters

[@whosey2807]

I was a prisoner for this scenario once minus the lycanthropy, the DM started them with an item that paralysed me for half a day in case I got to be too much of a shitter jeopardising the party, but they only really did for goofs and gags, and like twice when they were fighting my faction. Leaving a host of other interactions out of that paragraph, lads, but this party dynamic has a lot of potential in any campaign.

[@digitaljanus]

Like the classic 90s anime Sorcerer Hunters (Bakuretsu Hunters).

[@rynemcgriffin1752]

Or be a Invader Zim type character and your version of evil is long winded speeches of how you’re going to kill your foe and death lasers

[@derrinerrow4369]

@@whosey2807 Sounds like a fun dynamic as long as the "Prisoner" doesn't get too uncontrollable and is a good sport when reigned in

[@mastermuffles7097]

You know, funny idea Have a werebear, which is a neutral good creature, bite someone who is an evil creature. So that when the moon turns full, this evil person unwillingly turns into this neutral good bear monster and then they go on a good aligned rampage, fixing the things and people they wronged in their human form

[@andypanda4756]

Tortured Drow Werebear.

[@plasma0974]

So I've basically binge watched your entire channel and now I feel empty inside for not having anything left. Your work is absolutely stunning and the fact that you go out of your way to create actual written AND illustrated guides is absolutely crazy to me. I want to deeply thank you for all of this and I hope you're aware that you're amazing. I don't even play D&D I use a different system but the inspiration is real.

[@KOkami03]

Finally, I can play a werewolf monk! ...I make no apologies for my love of canines. I literally got into World of Darkness because it had a game all about getting to be a werewolf without either permanently turning evil or losing control of your character to the DM.

[@ian9622]

@@grimnir8872 wait they can do that

[@Iteration13]

@@ian9622 WoD Werewolves can "Step Sideways" whenever they have access to a reflective surface, ie compact mirror, pool of water, smart phone... Stepping Sideways means entering the first layer of the spirit world, The Penumbra. The Penumbra is a mirror of the physical world. So once inside they could theoretically just walk around the wall and then reappear again on the physical plane. To anyone on the phsical plane this looks like teleportation. Though it is not.

[@ian9622]

@@Iteration13 that sound absolutely terrifying I love it

[@TheLastSane1]

@@ian9622 Yeah in WoD Werewolves are terrifying. If you run into a vampire who has killed more than one Werewolf they are either lying, the stupidest lucky sob on earth, or had help. Unless they are something like Mithras and is a 4th Gen and one step below the guys who powers all read as "Plot Device" and no I am not making that up 3rd gens powers are just plot devices. It took several spirit nukes, satilites reflecting the sun directly on them, and an army of powerful mages and another kind of undead vampire to take down one of the lower level 3rd gens and that took several days. So Werewolves are terrifying.

[@ian9622]

@@TheLastSane1 neat

[@_jxsterr]

I would like to add that the order of the Lycan’s transformation comes back on a short rest, not a long rest.

[@KOkami03]

That is much better.

[@Reapor234]

In the first game I ran, one of my players wanted to become a werewolf. But not in the normal "I get bitten and cursed." He instead wanted to find werewolf blood and make it this whole ritualistic approach to gaining the powers of a werewolf, and I absolutely loved it. Every few nights after obtaining a jar of werewolf blood he would essentially tattoo himself with the blood and I would ask for a Charisma save with a DC of something average, like 10. Every success, and he would gain a boon while in his lycan form; Every fail, a detriment. All in all, he ended up with: >Can enter his werewolf form as a Bonus Action. It acted much in the ways of Wild Shape in that his lycan form had its own HP pool and reaching 0 there would revert him back and deal any remaining damage to his normal form. >He used his own stats, but gained a buff to them while in lycan form. >Could howl as a Bonus Action in lycan form to regain HP once per transformation. However, whenever he transformed he had to make a DC 12 Charisma save. If he failed, the instinct of the lycan would take over and make him attack whatever was nearest. Wasn't the most polished of functions/rulings/whatever I've made, but he loved it and used it with glee; Whenever his -1 Charisma save passed at least. :P

[@BloodyBay]

*Dungeons & Dragons Gamers:* "We want to play werewolves now! Let us play werewolves! Tell us how to play werewolves!" *Werewolf: The Apocalypse Gamers:* "...you guys *_do_* realize that there's an _entire roleplaying game_ for that, right?"

[@VestedUTuber]

I mean, if you don't mind working with the urban fantasy setting of World of Darkness or putting in a ton of legwork to turn WoD into a medieval fantasy game. Although WoD does have the advantage of each individual book being a fully compatible part of a much larger game... even if it can result in something ridiculous (in a fun but kinda immersion-breaking way) like Werewolf Magical Girls (combining Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Princess: The Hopeful) fighting Vampire Sorcerers (Vampire: the Masquerade + Mage: The Ascension).

[@JDReC100]

@@VestedUTuber okay...that sounds awesome

[@Noperare]

@@VestedUTuber "Werewolf Magical Girls" sign me up. Sailor Moon, but instead of a cute sailor outfit, the magical girl transfomation turns the girl into blood thirsty beast using the power of the moon.

[@Hektols]

@@VestedUTuber There is a version of Werewolf to play in medieval Europe.

[@VestedUTuber]

@@Hektols Fair, but "medieval Europe but with Werewolves" is still a very specific setting. You're basically taking a point in actual history and adding one fantasy element to it. You could definitely add more to it, again via the fact that Werewolf is part of the much larger WoD system, but you'd have to do a lot of legwork to then go from that into a full medieval high fantasy or swords and sorcery setting, both of which are defaults for D&D. Same reason why I wouldn't use either WoD or D&D for a hard sci-fi campaign, that's GURPS territory there.

[@EilonwyG]

There is one more good were-creature, just not in the Monster Manual. Were-ravens are detailed in the Curse of Strahd campaign module. They're pretty cool. I'd love hear more about how you don't use alignment. Our groups has never really used alignment, I always found it problematic and restrictive. Curious about your full feelings about it. I'd love that to be a video topic.

[@badideagenerator2315]

here's a bad idea: were-cicadas they naturally transform every 17 years and make loud noises

[@GhazMazMSM]

Cicadas are also known to be attracted to loud noises. This is usually done to find a mate who may or may not be producing said sound. So imagine two people arguing outside and then them suddenly start hearing a loud buzzing sound getting closer and closer to them.

[@DoctorTurdmidget]

If by "bad," you mean "bad-ass," you're right. I'm stealing that idea. Imagine a town full of cranky people who haven't slept in days because of the noise, trying to recruit the PCs to hunt and kill the were-cicadas, but the were-cicadas are making so much racket nobody can hear a damn thing.

[@waldorffordlaw9529]

I dunno I love Kamen Rider

[@jakobynhyde]

Could you imagine going to your friend's like, 20th birthday and hearing an ungodly sound of a werecicada

[@Putrefax]

The Cicada God is here to steal your faith

[@corwin6101]

Thank you pointy hat for giving us all a bunch of a free content we all appretience it! I am actually making the Entoner and The Sorcerer Litch Semi villains in my own campaign

[@PhantomKing188]

Another good “unofficial” option to play a were-creature would be to use the transformation rules out of the Grim Hollow Campaign and Players Guides. They even have downsides, with you having the urge to attack any creature that has the lowest health (including party members and ally’s). I think combining the rules presented here with the transformation rules would be a great way to expand the were-creature experience.

[@thegarbagescavenger6154]

Imagine if wolfsbane acted on werewolves like catnip acts on cats ✨high werewolves✨ ✨werewolves addicted to wolfsbane✨ ✨stoner werewolf✨

[@meteorstarthearcher5350]

and lastly: ✨horney werewolf ✨

[@Tavdogg11]

​@@meteorstarthearcher5350 God no

[@JDReC100]

@@Tavdogg11 yeah...thats what catnip does.... so if where applying the rules of catnip to wolfsbane, there could be some problems

[@MaxGaming-gp6ij]

JDReC is right. It's the main reason why catnip doesn't work on kittens.

[@voodooozo3755]

​@@meteorstarthearcher5350begone furry

[@birbmm9769]

Hoping one day he does a video on mimics they have surprisingly complex and contradictory lore on what type of creature they even are, if they can be reasoned with, etc wondering what stuff could be home-brewed like using a mimic as a weapon and how to maintain a bond with it.

[@Feu_Ghost]

I personnally try to use the mimic as a sort of Buff changeling with some disavantage (i need to balance them more)

[@edrujont]

Seeing that hat's back is one of the most cursed and hilarious experience i've lived

[@Yoyo_boi202]

Timestamp plz

[@mrtufty35]

@@Yoyo_boi202 0:52

[@realwhelan]

wdym

[@Atou_Mahogany]

10:17 🤓 Um, actually, in regards to the alignment system being extremely rigid... "The alignment specified in a monster's stat block is the default. Feel free to depart from it and change a monster's alignment to suit the needs of your campaign. If you want a good-aligned green dragon or an evil storm giant, there's nothing stopping you." -Monster Manual, Pg.7, Alignment Nothing stopping you from having Werewolves that are good doggos to make more good doggos, if you wished to run your lycanthropy system in that sort of fashion.

[@williamings773]

In a world with gods, morality is based on what gods think, if lycans are a affront to the God of Nature then bad, if it is a blessing for guardians of the wild, then good. Simple as.

[@VestedUTuber]

@@williamings773 The god of nature is an asshole who deserves to have their alignment shifted to "Stupid Evil", then. No werewolves allowed... but werebears are completely fine? What do they have against wolves? In all seriousness, though, even the gods are subject to the alignment system. And there are good gods, evil gods, and gods in between. Same for law and chaos. This points to the morality system being determined not by the gods (who would all gladly consider themselves the "good guy" if it was their choice) but on a more fundamental level. And there's evidence for that as well, as there are entire _planes_ that are solely based on the alignments. Werewolves aren't inherently Chaotic Evil because the nature god says they are, they're inherently Chaotic Evil because they instinctively act in a way that matches the Chaotic Evil alignment - harmful violence and selfishness without any care for any code of law or honor. However, that still leaves room for differences on the individual level.

[@sylvan-the-necromancer]

@@williamings773 It depends on the world, if you run off the pop-culture understanding of Christianity that inspires the idea of gods = good, and also inspires the idea of Hades being an evil god of the underworld. If your world is more inspired by paganism and other polytheistic religions, then what the gods think means nothing regarding morality, as they are manifestations of what is true about the world, not what is good, moral or ethical. In my opinion, lycanthropes are naturally bent more towards evil, as they are filled with supernatural ferocity and eat that encourages them to kill and eat like a feral sadist more than a predatory animal. However, those with a strong will can still maintain their nobility and become the one in charge of the relationship, either by forcing the beast into submission, or by coming to terms with and working in harmony with their beast to appease both parties.

[@Veldazandtea]

@@williamings773 Only idiots think things are simple. That's exaxctly why the alignment system is flawed. One god of nature can view things differently then another god of nature. The road to hell is also paved with good intentions. So what if "good" is the problem? In reality there's choices and consequences. Morality gets tossed out the window quickly when push comes to shove. Loyalty is another matter.

[@gregvs.theworld451]

@@Veldazandtea On that note, some people say there isn't much that's more dangerous than a powerful idiot. That would be a great plot beat in a D&D setting. Lots of pantheons irl have gods that are hardly moral paragons, in fact they can be downright petty, vindictive, quick to anger, cruel, vengeful if not being worshipped, etc. A party that defies a god or gods and the consequences that come from that has a ton of story and adventure potential. You could have a setting where certain races, magics, customs, ideas. etc., are deemed "evil" because a god or gods say no, not necessarily because they are objectively evil, and give players the ability to defend the persecuted and marginalized identity and stand in defiance against the commonly accepted social law of the land.

[@tylerwarner7837]

this is incredible timing. In my last session 2 of my characters got the lycanthropy curse during an intense fight but after looking at the rules as written I realized how bad they suck so I woke up this morning intending to spend some time making a new system for them if they choose to lean into it, but then I saw this video pop up in my feed

[@redd-qh4xn]

I do want to make a werewolf character who was born with it, and throughout their journey slowly realizing that the werewolf transformation isn't a curse at all and learning to accept it is a part of them.

[@khrystiandusombre7742]

Oh sweet Jesus a gnome/halfling werewolf would just be a chihuahua.

[@ryanvox7812]

You mentioned that you don’t use alignment in DnD. Would you be willing to do a DnD with a Twist on Alignment? I have a few friends that also don’t like how alignment is in DnD, while I for example find it more a reflection of your actions and selfish/less-ness.

[@warmachine5835]

Seconding this. I honestly like the idea of the concepts of Good and Evil being a cosmological force of some kind, but I hate how honestly friggen weird people get about alignments on characters--and non-outsiders in general.

[@tacosauce6234]

I think alignment would be a really good topic for a Tip of the Hat video

[@captLizzie]

I’m not Pointy Hat, but as someone who loves alignment in theory but finds it weak in practice, I have a redefined alignment chart I use with my players. It’s more there for defining motivation. On the morality scale, good is putting others first, evil is putting yourself first, neutral is putting ideals first. On the lawful/chaotic scale, I changed it to more about scope. Lawful deals with nations, chaotic deals with individuals, and neutral deals with communities. So playing an evil alignment doesn’t mean you’re incompatible with a party, it means you’d put yourself/your plans/what you want first. Likewise, just because you can tell that servant of a dying lord is chaotic good doesn’t mean that they might not be the bbeg willing to kill or do anything if it means saving their master

[@erikschaal4124]

weird. I didn't think 5th Ed really used alignment as a core mechanic. They just kept it as a reference. Older editions treated alignment as "a force of nature. " and classes had a lot of alignment restrictions. (Notably, paladins had to be lawful good.) Certain creatures would be the enbodyment of an alignment, gaining Dr overcome by weapons of an opposing alignment. And even spells would have alignment associated with them.

[@wynnefox]

In the Kitty and the Midnight Hour series, I really liked how werewolves were handled there. If the person is generally a good person, the wolf was a good boy or girl. They are still wolves but they aren't vicious killers nor are they domestic. But they wont go around killing everyone either. Flip side, if the person is, lets say, a serial killer that uses their wolf form to help them hide their murders causing the nearby pack to get blamed for them and a hunter comes to put them down because of it.... Well their wolf is a vicious monster.

[@ingonyama70]

I love the Kitty Norville series! And yeah, if I were DMing a campaign I'd use this system as a baseline for how werewolf transformation operates, especially in terms of alignment.

[@mme.veronica735]

wtf I can't believe he made new rules for playing a werewolf in DnD 5e for free and put them in the description of the video for free

[@gaelofariandel6747]

That's why I would play the Beast Barbarian. You get to RP any type of Lycathrope you want with class features alone without starting off OP or ending up OP throughout the campaign.

[@Brutalyte616]

...Wereshark. I'd never have to worry about drowning or dental appointments.

[@gregvs.theworld451]

I just chuckled imagining a PC getting their teeth caved in during battle, then afterwards popping wereshark just to restore their smashed teeth when they go back to being non-were.

[@32Loveless50]

for the Lucantropes i like the rules for them in the Grim Hollow books. it give both buffs and debuffs and how you can try and resist it.

[@reeceturner3333]

Literally running a werewolf encounter tonight. You uploaded this just in time before I had to painstakingly come up with an entire ruleset. Fantastic video!

[@seamoy3760]

Would love to see a video going further into alignments and possible alternative systems! I'm in a campaign with newer players (including myself) and I think for a lot of them, alignment helps them decide what their character's personality is, how their character would act vs themselves, etc. I'm personally not a big fan of alignments either because I feel like it puts characters and species in a box, so I was wondering if you had any alternatives that could help guide new players while not being so restrictive, thanks!

[@fivestringslinger]

Shortly after finding this video, I was starting a new campaign. One of my players expressed interest in playing a werewolf as a PC, so I presented him with your rule set and we are absolutely loving it. The only tweak I made to make it a little more costly is that shifting back from werewolf form imposes 1 level of exhaustion (I adopted the 1-10 exhaustion system that just imposes negative penalties on rolls rather than the original 1-6 system). It's running great. Thank you!

[@Ercarret]

I feel like having a werewolf in your party would be one of the riskiest things you could possibly do in a high-level setting. Imagine you're all fighting a dragon. Suddenly, your lycanthrope companion loses control and lunges at the dragon's belly. By some unholy miracle, the fangs pierce its scales and the dragon roars in pain. It swats the werewolf away and takes off toward the dark midnight sky. You can just stare as it staggers through the air, its limbs twerking back and forth and its wings barely holding it airborne. Eventually its movements become too erratic for it to continue in the air and it comes crashing down into the forest next to the village whose inhabitants tasked you with killing it in the first place. As you look down from the mountain top, you struggle to see what's going on amongst the trees. Then, as the clouds clear and the light of the moon reaches the valley below you, you can see wild, jerking motions throw trees every which way as if they were nothing but toothpicks. You still can't see the dragon but you can hear it roar in pain. After a few minutes, you can hear it start to growl. Then, suddenly, it rises from the canopy as if standing on its hind legs. The moonlight fails to fully illuminate its terribly deformed features, but by this point it doesn't have to for you to understand what has transpired. The dragon tilts its head backward and howls toward the moon before taking flight again, setting off towards the village. You wish you could rush down to save them - even if you wouldn't even know where to begin now - but you're stuck in a battle with a raging werewolf who can't tell friend from enemy. Sounds rather nightmarish, if I dare say so myself.

[@ZoeLycan]

My very first D&D character was a Wood elf (tan skin) wolf Lycanthrope, DRUID. (Yes me and my Fursona) DM agreed with the idea that all transform lycans have EVIL beast form, but natural born end up learning to control it so can have different alignment. As a druid I specialised in Wild forms so even as a werewolf I could trick people to think it was just another of my forms. One of my feats allowed me to talk in my animals forms to add to this trickery.

[@smokey3504]

He knocked it out again with the twist. Have you considered doing one of these on Aasimar/Celestials? They've always felt overshadowed by Tieflings

[@baydiac]

Ngl I was so happy when D&D came out with Ardlings as a concept. The lineup being Changelings, Tieflings, and Aasimar always seemed kinda disappointing to me. Add a ling!! Let all of the plane-touched races be lings!! (Genasi are their own can of worms since as many people pointed out the D&D genie naming system is already outrageous and deranged as it is. Djinn being only one kind of genie... Wow.)

[@kimlangweilig]

I feel like you are listening into our campaign brainstormings because we needed lycantrophe rules because the cleric needs an extra angsty arc once the factory setting angst is resolved. This is PERFECT.

[@natashawilson7230]

Pointy Hat's sponsorship/kickstarter ad sections are the only ones I watch, because they're always so clever and entertaining

[@antonschnetler3391]

As always i love these nuggets of goodness that you link us with these new rules and feats system also would love to see a part 2 to this video as i feel werecreatures need alot more love and this has already so much cool additions i cant help but want more🤩

[@RenoKyrie]

My personal headcanon on the Therianthrope Vs Vampire deal The Therians are originally from the Feywild while the Vampires are originally from the Shadowfell The original Therians are more like Animals with Humanoid bodies and the original Vampires were more like Spiritual entities Both were on good terms despite the constant war the 2 Queens of their respective land had until one day a powerfull Hag tricked the Therians and Vampires to fight one another by saying the opposite side queen wants to eliminate them after they won No one won the war, and the Therians ended up having to use the Power of the moon to keep their history alive(Which is why Therian transformation allways have a hidden desire with their specific species) While the Vampires need to send their powers to the Fiends, and the reason why Vampires have no reflection is because they are esentially spirits possesing people but their vessels still count as a demi spirit, only Dhampirs have full bodies

[@hammer1349]

Werewolves vs vampires seems to be quite a well established thing in pop culture so I think that's pretty spot on

[@RPGAPlus]

Headcanon? Damn mate, that's about to BECOME canon in my campaign, the witch setup works well!

[@RenoKyrie]

@@RPGAPlus I made Hags as the main perpetrator because for some reason Hags are the ONLY Feywild creature that knows both Vampirism and Therianism curse and spread them like disease And beside, knowing how insanely chaotic evil they are that they will obtain magic from litteraly anything and anywhere it make sense the way they learn the curse is by manipulating them to fight one another

[@pykeembers1575]

THANK YOU. My first real D&D character I made I wanted to be a werebear Barbarian but the rules for lycanthropy are just terrible. I made him during the 3.5 era. I thought of reflavoring him to shifter but it just didn't feel the same. You have literally fully completed Mauk the Enduring. Thank you again

[@Koopaperson]

I just realized that most DnD races are just were-creatures. Bulky wigs and Grungs are frogs, Tortles are turtles, tabaxis are cats, locatha and Koa-Toa are fish warforged is were-metal

[@velsia123]

U have big brain high wisdom maxed perception kapitan obviously

[@Kiwito80]

Triton and mermaids are also fish people. Aarakokras are birds, leonins are lions, yuan-ti are snakes, lizardfolks are the other reptiles if u don't want a snake, also u have dragonborns for colorskin lizards and kobolds for short lizards.

[@jacobsheehan5775]

SHUT

[@artiscommunication.2271]

Same goes for 99% of all religions/cultures/mythologies/folktales.💯 But also no, a "were-creature" or Lycanthrope turns into the other thing through either evolution or transformation. Tabaxis are a race of bipedal anthropomorphic panthers who were made by a cat god and they don't transform (unless as a druid, but you can turn into anything as a druid so doesn't really count), Tortles are anthropomorphic turtles, Locatha are literally just fish with feet's and hands. This goes for basically everything else like Loxodon, Lamia, Arocaocra, etc~ Warforged are not even close. Warforged are sentient robots aka Androids/AI just made of older themes. They're built to be what they are and are their own race.

[@עומרשרייבר-ל4ר]

Yes but not really. Sure they are animal people they are humans that were cursed to become animals, they are like that from that start. But a were turtle does sound pretty neat.

[@lucifersatan8240]

I love the idea of wearbears going on lawful good rampages. Like constructing an orphanage entirely up to code due to rage. They are so angry they HAVE to help people.

[@Domanese]

A werewolf villian sounds fun. Got an idea where the BBEG uses a paladin as an unwitting pawn to assassinate a virtuous royal the paladin protects (maybe even love) by means of turning him into a werewolf. Gotta think that through but it's promising. Thank you Hat for the inspiration.

[@tjrawesome]

Not sure if anyone has said it, but Grim Hallow’s system for this is pretty sweet. Each stage of the progression lets the player choose a benefits they want out of a list, but the cost or “flaw” per stage is always there every time they grow in their lycanthropy.

[@Invader_Rin13]

1:09 Hey, that's me. Yes, I am very invested in this topic, and yes it kind of bugs me that Lycanthropy is used as the term for all were creatures.

[@caprisweet]

i resent the amount of times you called me a furry for liking werewolves. BEING A BIG BADASS WOLF JUST SEEMS COOL OK

[@VicStrange9]

May I introduce you to Werewolf the Apocalypse, where its more about "you're the monster that kills other monsters"

[@everythingsalright1121]

Look we're all in denial about it at some point. Just admit it and go make a fursona, enjoy the art, and get your mind blown at how some people incorporate animatronics and LED lighting into their fursuit builds :v

[@juliebrown7745]

I've never been through a campaign but I've always loved d&d and tabletop lore, monsters, classes and races just growing up as a gamer. I love the videos and even though I'll never use your stat blocks or anything I'm glad you make them. Frankly I just like listening to you. Keep at it ❤

[@StinkerTheFirst]

Thanks for making this, Pointy Hat! I once played with someone who really wanted to roleplay the "curse of the werewolf" angle, and was excited to encounter one as a random encounter. Unfortunately, he succeeded on the first CON save and that was the end of it. When I was the DM, later, in a different campaign, I had to lean really heavily on the flavor of the saves because I didn't have anything else. In a third campaign, a diffferent DM tried to do something more, and it got really messy.

[@StayinFoxy]

Aw man, I got really excited when he said “therianthropy” because that’s the correct term, but I’m bummed that I got called annoying for feeling that way. :/

[@carythacker8049]

It's okay, we're still correct

[@LeRodz]

Yeah, it's just that Lycanthropy is more well-known, even though it only refers to one type of furry.

[@VCofdaG]

You are very annoying

[@mr.mrs.catato]

its annoying if you go um ackshually

[@Seoul_Soldier]

As long as you don't go out of your way to loudly, and rudely correct people or post lewd art of your fursona in my Discord server I wouldn't personally see you as annoying.

[@Marine_Abithel]

I'm not gonna lie as someone who loves homebrew, memes and putting a twist on pre-established things. You've quickly become my favorite dnd content creator. Every new vid is so exciting to get to watch.

[@NotreDanish]

One of the things I’ve thought about were bears since I found out about them, was that the idea of a Werebear Druid makes complete sense to me, but trying to make one as a character is difficult, as barbarian and druid don’t exactly multiclass together well

[@___i3ambi126]

Barbarian moon druid might be one of the best multiclasses in 5e.

[@lucaslepesteur7846]

Bearbarian with moon druid might be strong, at least for early levels. At later levels your damage won't be crazy but you'll be a sponge of HP, because you have 2 transformations per short rest with resistance to all but psycic damage, and your animal forms can regain hp by burning spell slots.

[@___i3ambi126]

@@lucaslepesteur7846 While true, I want to stress it differently. At levels 3 (2 moon druid, 1 barbarian) you have statistics comparable to a level 9 barbarian. Then you can continue either class at any level you want and still gain useful abilities for at least some optimal wildshape. So walking down more druid: a level 7 in this multiclass compares to a level 12 barbarian. Yes it falls off at later levels. But it takes until level 15+ for base options to even catch up. That's entire campaigns for many groups.

[@donkeysaurusrex7881]

I honestly think werebears make more sense than werewolves.

[@lucydalrymple6617]

I'm almost certain no one is gonna see this but my last name Dalrymple is actually descendant from the kings of the Scottish kingdom of Dal Riata, (dalriada) and i love that the celtic book and land is named after the real kingdom! lots of love and I'm super gonna go support the kickstarter.

[@ActionNerdGo]

Kinda Wild because un-related to the Kickstarter Campaign, I've Played a Dalriadan (spelling?) werewolf in a LARP.... I watch too many history KZbinrs.

[@dr_hatari]

In my heart of hearts, I always knew, but each episode where you shit on something like alignment just brings a great big smile to my face. Keep being a great DM and thank you for your wonderful content.

[@Putrefax]

I liked Hemlock Grove's werewolves; the villain in season one is a person who accidentally becomes a werewolf by drinking rainwater out of a wolf's footprint in the woods when she was lost and dying of thirst, which is super cool and you don't hear much about that transmission vector. Kinda reminds me of Wendigos. Also the transformation literally rips its way out of their skin and eats it up afterwards, which is super brutal. Werewolves in the World of Darkness RPG system are basically all druids / shamans that communicate directly with nature spirits and act as their agents in the world, which is a neat thing that's a bit different than your standard murder dog

[@dosmart]

Someone who watched henlock grove ❤❤❤❤

[@TheLastSane1]

I thought she did that to become a werewolf because she knew Peter was a werewolf after seeing some of his scarring and knew enough about werewolf lore to figure it out?

[@alheimianservant1499]

So like Diablo pretty much

[@shawncayton2889]

One of my players got lycanthropy when I first started dming and I got so frustrated with how little guidance the monster manual gave

[@goodhunter9791]

Honestly Grim Hollow did a great job with their transformation mechanics.

[@jamescampbell2353]

The helpless mechanic is very good and really hits the target for “losing control”

[@captainobvious9566]

This guy knows what's up, and you're not forced to play a specific class either

[@bargoofy2948]

Absolutely love what you've done with Lycanthropy! It seems similar to the Dark Gifts from Van Richten's, and makes being a lycan feel dangerous. I do have a small critique about the rules for lycanthropy, though. In the section on Transformation Rules, you say the following: "When you are unsuccessful at transforming back into your normal form from your lycanthrope form, your Curse DC increases by 1." Correct me if I'm wrong, but there does not seem to be a way to unsuccessfully transform back from your lycanthrope form. The only way you wouldn't be able to transform back is if you lost control of your character, but the DM has control of your character at that point, and you can't even take your own actions. To correct this, I would either remove this rule entirely or add a saving throw (using the Curse DC) whenever you use a bonus action to attempt to return to your normal form. Other than that, everything is great so far! Keep up the good work Antonio, love your stuff!

[@havock89]

The Creature Crucible "The Howlers" which was developed for BECMI D&D and is part of the world of Mystara, has this exact solution you mentioned here at 15 mins. You should check it out.

[@Scalesthelizardwizard]

I'd love to see a video on alignments and how you'd fix them I personally use alignments as a loose base for a character's personality and morals

[@Pharoin]

I'm with you on this. I think that pointy hat would make great fix to the system.

[@davidkoudelka10]

For me alignment is dictated by the character's actions, to where alignment is the watered-down definition of the character's morality. The actions dictate the alignment, but alignment doesn't dictate actions.

[@Merilirem]

@@davidkoudelka10 Indeed. The problem with following alignments' too hard is that you end up being a good person even if you are actually evil. You helped all the orphans after all. Doesn't matter why you helped them. The why we do things is what alignment truly is imo. Though you could argue for separate tracking of what you did and what you intended. When a god looks at you they might judge you based on your actions after all but deep down you just wanted to save the world so you could rule it yourself.

[@davidkoudelka10]

@@Merilirem Agreed, as they say, "Te road to Hell is paved with good intentions". Overall yeah, the intent of the deed is what also matters.

[@sinisternorimaki]

How to fix alignments: remove them.

[@Crazor2000]

Small note, you get the order of the lycan ability on a short rest back, meaning you can transform more often if you take short rests.

[@LupineShadowOmega]

Which still isn't very often.

[@Crazor2000]

@@LupineShadowOmega true, but it does change issue that pointy hat had to something far more manageable, since the transformation last for an hour. meaning in a dungeon, you can actually use it for multiple encounters, and you can actually take short rests.

[@Zamun]

I absolutely adore the energy in these videos. All your videos.

[@Klaital1]

You should also check out the transformations from Grim Hollow, those are imo by far the best way to play a werewolf in 5E.

[@madyak2108]

The best game I've played a werewolf in was Numinera. Your control over the curse is directly tied to your level, and one of your party members is the one who can always calm you down.

[@ProfQuibblefingers64]

I'm going to throw my hat into the ring here: Grimhollow's Lycanthrope transformations are really good

[@RadiantRazan]

This

[@Reivalentine3]

This is the best timing ever, sense in our last session everyone in our party except for my pc got werewolfed

[@JoeMama-bh5zy]

I was planning to use werewolves in my upcoming game and this helped a ton! This is the third time you've released an awesome video the day after i wished ___ was better. You're chanell is awesome keep it up

[@RvnWolf]

I do believe what you talked about putting on a wolf pelt has nothing to do with Werewolves but Skinwalkers, which are a nasty beastie in itself

[@mollywantshugs5944]

1:45 this part isn’t strictly true. There are definitely stories of heroic wolfmen in folklore, though I guess it depends on how narrow a definition of “werewolf” we’re using

[@yummyfrostboro2934]

Aside from the Werebear bit, this is an amazing video yet again, insightful, fun, and helpful with the added supplements! Wonderful work! 12:30 Werebears, in their description and lore, are naturally just as bloodthirsty and vicious as the other edgy werecreatures! The werebear in the Monster Manual is specifically a wearbear that has gained control over it's transformation and animal half through training and help from other Good werebears!

[@jy3n2]

It is the finding of the Council that the listed werebear being the default, and werebears going on Good rampages under every full moon, is the funniest reading and therefore correct.

[@jmcconnell312]

Assuming it doesn't have to be just a mammal werebeast; I'd say a Werecroc. Think about it. Incredibly thick plated hide massively reduces damage, beefy arms and muscle to match the body, a massive tail that could practically be used as a bludgeon, jaws that can break bulky enemies in two with a couple bites, and proportional masterful swimming and aquatic combat power. Admittedly at the cost of land based mobility, and a shot temper even with allies, even if you're in full control. But still. To me, that sounds crazy awesome.

[@rowanmccracken5041]

I am thinking of home brewing a version of werewolves were the ‘wolf’ side is completely neutral and just an animal like a normal wolf. But the wolf’s behaviour is easily influenced by the ‘human’ side to do things a wolf wouldn’t normally do. Evil aligned werewolves would probably go out of their way to attack and killed people Neutral aligned werewolves would just avoid people Good aligned werewolves would try to help and save people How this would work in game I’m not sure, still working out the kinks

[@egoletic1278]

I was just watch your vids on auto play for the first time, gathering some info on dnd monsters, and then you hit me with this 13:47! Come on man, I'm in tears again

[@TheFurryStormtroopa]

The constant furry refence was fantastic! Thank you for taking the time to go over the werewolf lore for DND, great video!

[@caracol764]

For Latin cultures there are werewolves that are born soon after a mother has seven daughters, or you can become one if you come into contact with the you get attacked by a Furry while waiting anxiously for a date with a girl you like at the mall but you end up finding out that she's really weird and has bizarre fetishes... it's not personal, I swear '-'

[@pedroafonsopinheiro9874]

Hey as a added noted, Latin werewolf are extremelly fast compared to usual werewolfes, it's said that they have to run around seven graveyards or drink water from a donkey houve print before sun rise to return to normal, so they are almost were-cheetas in how fast they run

[@PintegaElegante]

Like a person that love werewolf concept, I'm very happy.

[@Uggo]

You missed talking about the variant known as "Lobisomem Pidão", a famous Brazilian version that goes around the houses with a bowl shouting "MIM DÊ FARINHA" (something that translates as "give me flour"), and that would be interesting to see integrated into the game

[@Kevinblue035]

i like how you drew the pooka kinda sexy in the werewolf video, you know who's going to be watching

[@Thunderbirdmovies]

I was trying to remember where I had heard “Pooca” before and was having vividly vague memories of it. AC: Valhalla, the druids dlc. That’s where

[@jackwilder4538]

Can we get a video on all the werecreatures? I’m curious as to how the different creatures would play and how possibly the wererat wouldn’t be as hard to control etc. I’m curious as to how they could all be viable options for their own reasons. I love the content you make and am proud to say I’m subscribed to one of the best D&D channels on KZbin!

[@num1otori143]

For an epic level 3.5 game I made a Warepolarbear Lord. In 3.5 you could make any animal into a Wareanimal with a template, I applied it to a Dire Polarbear, needed to play a Half-Giant cause you needed to be Human or Giant and within a size category but powerful build in that version let you "be treated as one size larger whenever it was advantageous". Would have been an epic transformation going from medium size to huge unfortunately never played the character 'cause of work.

[@jacob510]

I cannot say how happy I am you made this video, I just did a session 1 with my Lycan Bloodhunter who's going to be struggling with their curse. My original idea was for them to multiclass into Monk as their way of fighting against and learning how to control the curse, but eventually going back into bloodhunter at later levels when they finally accept the curse

[@socraticgambler]

For anyone who didn't hear it..."FUR-sona!" Like the video, damnit!!

[@eventhorizon492]

I would recommend Grim Hollow Player’s Guide. It has not just Lycanthrope transformation, but also ALOT of others.

[@angrytheclown801]

Imagine a werewolf that has pure control. To the point that even if he can't talk because of how his mouth is shaped he can understand words. And he's a sorcerer or a monk smart enough to take advantage of the werewolf reputation.

[@foxross]

You know what Pointy Hat, I appreciate the pup representation.

[@popularopinion1]

Your jumpcut/edits are hilarious. Keep it up

[@Adahy_Bullet]

Grim Hollows Lycanthrope Transformation does a good vibe to honestly. I played a Longtooth Shifter that got infected, so they could aesthetically get spooky, but also had that "inner beast" that had been silent prior to his infection. It was fun to play and near the end of the Grim Hollow campaign was when this infection occurred. Thing is, he was fully willing. Best part is, he canonically was raised by wolves for almost his whole life up til this point, so his friend (my backup character in case he died) had been the one to teach him how to fit in with society. She also was fascinated by lycans so when the campaign ended he became a willing subject for her studies to help her and folks as a whole better understand them.

[@zoushaomenohu]

One version I've seen that I love is a setting where were-creatures are respected by their communities and they manage the curse by building a big sturdy longhouse, filling it with a massive feast, and locking the cursed person inside with silver locks and door bars until morning, so when they're in their were-beast form they just gorge themselves on the meat left for them, leaving them sluggish enough that they don't try too hard to get out of the silver-secured door afterwards!

[@hrothgardevaitos8330]

Side with the old man. In my experience, the favor of a fey is fickle, and can change with the winds, regardless of anything you might have done in the past. You could literally sneeze on the wrong day, and have made an enemy for life. You're going to end up the pooka's enemy regardless of what you do, here, so why not save someone who was probably just minding his own business anyway?

[@ThePareidolian]

This is very similar to how I’ve considered home brewing lycanthropy. My idea is that it would be a full class built around managing your curse, so you needed to invest actual levels into taming your curse by multiclassing instead of just… being better than your party.

[@ultgamercw6759]

Planning on using a werewolf monk as my backup character as that plays into the whole concept of using your own body to become a weapon. It also adds more flavour that just being an anime mentor that so many people play as.

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

I run them like they are in Larry Correia's "Monster Hunter International" book series; they can run out of regeneration if beaten enough to run through all their energy, but die like normal animals if silver is used. Thus, I give them triple their hp in a Regen Health Pool; at the start of their turn, if the damage they took on an enemy's turn does not exceed their normal hp, it subtracts from the regen pool instead and does not effect their combat abilities. If they take MORE than their base hp, they go unconscious for one round, but are back up next round, assuming they don't take lethal amounts of damage again. if you deal over double their base hp, they die instantly, like if you toss them in a junk car smasher or a landmine clearer or something. If they run out of regen and normal hp, they die, of course, and if the weapon that attacks them is silver, it skips straight to the normal hp, which of course kills them if it runs out. As for control, every time you transform, it's a very hard will save to stay in control, think dc 17 or 18, with no bonus; it's a flat roll. You do a dc10 will save with your will save bonus whenever you take damage, if you fail you transform and lose control. And of course, on the 3 consecutive nights of full moon each month, you transform and lose control. If you loee control, you of course attack the nearest living thing.

[@trikepilot101]

I am just coming across this. I like your rules. I like "Zoanthropy" as a "Lycanthropy" alternative that includes shapechangers who are not wolves and is intuitive to "decode." I am very impressed with your generosity and I hope that works out for you.