d20 Goodman Games The Complete Guide to Werewolves.pdf

Table of Contents

Introduction....................................................................................2

Chapter 1: Physiology....................................................................4

Forms of the Werewolf ..........................................................8

Lunar Influences ..................................................................12

Diseases and Parasites .........................................................13

Repellants.............................................................................13

Cures ....................................................................................14

Chapter 2: Social Structure..........................................................16

The Five Stages of Transformation .....................................16

Natural Werewolf Types ......................................................18

Afflicted Werewolf Types ....................................................19

Alignment ............................................................................20

Chapter 3: Cultural Habits ...........................................................21

Life and Death .....................................................................21

Goals ....................................................................................21

Religion................................................................................22

Chapter 4: Combat Strategies ......................................................24

Lycanthropic Advantages.....................................................24

Combat Tactics.....................................................................26

Combat Modifiers ................................................................27

Special Attacks.....................................................................27

Chapter 5: Werewolf Characters..................................................28

Breeds ..................................................................................28

Werewolf Characters............................................................29

Character Classes .................................................................30

Prestige Classes....................................................................32

Benandanto ..................................................................32

Alpha Lukos.................................................................33

Alpha Lupercus............................................................34

Lupicinus......................................................................35

Lupus Venator ..............................................................37

Ulfhednir ......................................................................38

Va r ga Mor ....................................................................39

New Uses for Skills .............................................................41

Thorns ..................................................................................43

New Feats ............................................................................47

Chapter 6: Werewolf Magic.........................................................52

New Domains ......................................................................52

New Spells ...........................................................................52

New Magic Items.................................................................60

Chapter 7: Campaigns..................................................................61

Overarching Metaplots ........................................................63

Appendix 1: Werewolf NPCs ......................................................64

Old Fang ..............................................................................64

Silverlord..............................................................................65

Lockjaw................................................................................66

Lord Vylstrap .......................................................................67

Appendix 2: New Monsters .........................................................68

Crow Swarm ........................................................................68

Forest Lord...........................................................................68

Hell Wolf..............................................................................69

Unnatural Dead ....................................................................70

Va r gulf..................................................................................70

Vrykolaka .............................................................................70

Wolf Devil............................................................................71

Wolfkin ................................................................................72

Writer: Michael Tresca

Cover Artist: Thomas Denmark

Interior Artists: Ilya Astrakhan, David Griffith, William

McAusland, Brad McDevitt, Claudio Muniz

Cover Designer: Jamie Wallis

Editor and Graphic Designer: Joseph Goodman

Proofreader: Lisa Poisso

Questions or comments? Send them to us at info@goodman-games.com, or visit our web site at www.goodman-games.com.

Introduction

“I’m a what?”

“A werewolf, kid,” said the grizzled veteran of what looked like far too many wars. “Ya know, howl at the moon, can’t

stand garlic, eat babies.” He flipped up a crossbow that was dangling by a cord from his left hand. “Vulnerable to silver.”

Istvan swallowed hard. “So that wasn’t a wild dog that bit me?”

The man smirked as he lifted the crossbow up to his shoulder. “Nope. But this is a very real crossbow.”

Istvan’s eyes darted everywhere, looking for a way out. “But I haven’t even turned into a wolf yet!”

The hunter said pulled the string back and placed a silver bolt into place. The catch locked down with a crisp click.

“It’s nothing personal, kid. People are just werewolves waiting to happen.”

Of Wolves and Men

The wolf has always been with us. Since human civiliza-

tion learned to etch half-man/half-animal figures on cave

walls, the wolf has remained our guide and our guardian. It

was the wolf’s descendant, the dog, that helped humanity to

flourish. Canines accepted man as a pack leader and man in

return gave them food and shelter. Ever since, the relationship

has grown stronger. The werewolf is the ultimate expression

of this long-lived connection.

Definitions

Over the ages, the wolf became a powerful representa-

tion of the warrior spirit. Warriors sought to emulate the wolf;

they envied his senses, his hunting tactics, and his cunning.

Just as the dog looked to man to lead him, man looked to wolf

to shepherd him through wars and hunts.

No wonder, then, that the distinction between man and

wolf is often blurred in cultures all over the world, more so

than with any other animal. The wolf pack at its most basic

provides the elements of family structure and at its most

advanced, human civilization. With lifestyles that were so

compatible, the two races formed a strategic alliance that has

lasted through the centuries.

This alliance is most evident in the tale of Romulus and

Remus, the future leaders of Rome who were suckled by a

she-wolf. The Viking berserkers wore wolf skins and

believed the skins gave them the power of the wolf. Several

Native American tribes adopted the wolf as their totem and

ally. The ancient Greek priests of Arcadia venerated wolves

as Zeus’ patron animal and called him Lycaeos (“of the

wolf”).

Eventually, man turned to agriculture. Humans discov-

ered that they could feed more children without having to rely

upon the vagaries of the hunt. The very lifestyle that defined

the wolf became less and less critical to civilization. Hunting

became a dangerous occupation and the hunter had to con-

tend with the dark woods. Suddenly, the forests, hills, vales

and streams that had once been man’s home were dangerous.

But the wolf had not changed. He still prowled the

woods. He still hunted in the darkness. He still fed on the

weak, the old, and the dead. Suddenly, the wolf became the

enemy. He became the embodiment of hunger, of madness, of

rage, of devilry, of all things wicked and bestial.

It didn’t take long before the wolf that suckled great

leaders and led warriors into battle became a demonic force

of ravening evil. The “Big Bad Wolf” haunted fairytales,

tricked the foolish into stepping into his mouth, and stalked

The etymology of the word “werewolf,” like the strange

hybrid the name suggests, is difficult to define. The word

“wolf” is no mystery. The word “wer,” however, may have

come from the German “wehr” meaning “defense group of

men,” or the Prussian “wer” meaning “man,” or the Old

English “weri” meaning to wear.

Another common term for werewolves is “lycanthrope.”

Technically, it means wolf (“lycan”) man (“thrope”).

However, the term has become muddled. Lycanthropy is also

a clinically defined insanity wherein a person believes he

becomes a wolf under certain circumstances. Technically, the

term that should be used for all other shapeshifting creatures

is “theiranthrope” (“animal-man”). Too many books on

lycanthropes mix the werewolf with other shapeshifting leg-

ends that have nothing to do with wolves. Let there be no

doubt—the peculiar mixture of humanoid and wolf is a

unique combination that is by no means representative of

transformation myths as a whole. Thus, the term “lycan-

thropy” and “lycanthrope” will only be used to refer to were-

wolves in this book.

Some scholars believe the word “werewolf” originated

from the term “vargulf.” A “varg” (or “warg”) in Norse means

a predator or murderer. Thus, “vargulf” is a wolf that slaugh-

ters flocks of sheep or herds of cattle but only eats a few of

its prey. The term “worg” has since come to represent a large,

predatory wolf in fantasy literature.

the forests. Symbolically, the wolf, which had always been a

part of man, came to represent his worst side.

Enter the werewolf.

It wasn’t much of a leap for the old sympathetic magic

rituals, in which men wore wolf pelts to draw strength from

their power, to be transformed into something far more sinis-

ter. Wolves and man became one being, an almost unilateral-

ly cursed and wicked thing that ate loved ones and children.

The werewolf hysteria spiraled to new heights in the Middle

Ages and kept the fires of the Inquisition burning for decades.

Serial killers, rapists, the criminally insane, and the

deformed—all were tossed into the same refuse pile of the

werewolf.

The werewolf lay dormant in the minds of American cit-

izens until the arrival of cinema. The first werewolf appeared

in a silent film titled We rewolf that utilized footage of a real

wolf in the transformation scene. But it was the movie

We rewolf of London that invented a werewolf’s contagious

bite. For the first time, moviegoers saw a half-man/half-wolf

being.

Of course, The Wolf Man is considered the gold standard

of werewolf movies. Lon Chaney Jr. added to the werewolf

canon by playing Larry Talbot, a half-man/half-wolf hybrid

who changed when the moon was full. The later House of

Frankenstein established a werewolf’s vulnerability to silver

bullets.

It wasn’t until An American Werewolf in London that a

werewolf’s transformation was fully and graphically repre-

sented. The protagonist changed before our very eyes, com-

plete with bones popping and tendons stretching. Never

before was it made so clear that transforming from man to

wolf really hurt.

In more recent cinema, there has been a tendency to

humanize our monsters. Ironically, some of the vulnerabilities

that werewolves acquired through plot contrivances have dis-

appeared. Few werewolves are concerned about the moon;

indeed, many lycanthropes are presented as “natural” were-

wolves that can transform at will. The modern werewolf is

more superhero than monster, capable of transforming at just

the right time and using his wolf abilities in innovative ways

that ultimately defeat the bad guys. This book allows for the

full range of lycanthropic types.

Afull cultural history of werewolves can be found at the

Free Materials page of www.goodman-games.com.

Chapter 1: Physiology

The two werewolves circled each other, testing the air between them.

“I … I’ve never met another one of my kind before,” said Istvan in a tone of strangled longing. He tried to keep his eyes

focused on her face, but the scent of her was driving him mad.

The older woman licked her lips. Her shortly cropped hair only emphasized her crystal green eyes. “I have,” she said.

Istvan felt the heat begin to rise in his body. In moments, he would lose control.

“What happens now?” he half-whispered to himself.

She smiled, leaning forward as two canines suddenly sprouted beneath ruby red lips. “That depends on whether you catch

me or not.”

Werewolves are humanoids or giants who can transform

themselves into wolves. In its natural form, a werewolf looks

like a non-lycanthrope of its race, though natural werewolves

and those long-afflicted tend to have or acquire features rem-

iniscent of their wolf forms.

Examination of a werewolf requires, by its very nature, a

deep understanding of wolves. Although werewolves are, in

theory, a blending of a humanoid and a wolf, they are in fact

a completely different being.

Reproduction

and a 50% chance of being a vargulf. Children from a mating

between a werewolf and a humanoid have a 50% chance of

becoming a werewolf and a 50% chance of being wolfkin.

See pages 70 and 72 for more information.

Upon becoming impregnated, a female werewolf’s ges-

tation period lasts anywhere from 50 to 60 days. Pups are

born completely blind and deaf but have the scent ability. The

rest of the werewolf pack is expected to raise the pups. A

werewolf’s litter usually consists of four to six pups.

Werewolves are birthed in the same form as their moth-

er’s original form. If the mother was originally an afflicted

humanoid, the pups are born in humanoid form. If the moth-

er was originally an afflicted wolf, the pups are born in wolf

form. If the mother is a natural werewolf that was born in

humanoid form, her litter will also be born in humanoid form.

If the mother is a natural werewolf that was born in wolf

form, her little will also be born in wolf form. Most alpha

females revert to their birth form to give birth.

At birth, werewolf children (pups) weigh only one pound

but grow quickly. About 12 to 15 days after they are born, the

pups open their eyes. By two weeks of age, the pups can

walk, and about a week after that, they may come out of the

den for the first time.

Most werewolf pups are born with blue eyes. In most

cases, eye color gradually shifts to a yellowish gold by 8

weeks of age, but some wolves retain blue eyes for the rest of

their lives.

Female werewolves insist on keeping their den clean.

They will be sure to clean their pups, either by licking (in

wolf or hybrid form) or with water.

All adult werewolves in a pack help take care of the

pups. Once the pups are about 7 weeks old, they leave the den

and start traveling to rendezvous sites. Rendezvous sites are

locations outside the werewolf den that are considered safe

but are not part of the “core territory.” The werewolf pups

will only stray as far as the rendezvous site and are often

watched by an adult wolf.

Werewolf pups are fed at 4 weeks of age in wolf or

hybrid form through regurgitation. This practice, disturbing

to some, can even be performed in humanoid form. Most nat-

A natural werewolf’s mating season is any time from

January through April, when the alpha female is in heat.

During this time, the alpha male and female leave the pack

and go off on their own to lessen tension amongst the other

male pack members. To prevent overpopulation, the alpha

pair is usually the only pair allowed to mate in a pack.

In rare cases, a non-alpha pair will mate (often without

the alphas’ permission). There are several good reasons for a

non-alpha pair to mate, including a disruption of the pack

hierarchy, sufficiently comfortable surroundings conducive to

werewolf breeding, or an alpha pair that is not very attentive

to their pack. Towns populated by werewolves are examples

of non-alphas breeding. Werewolves living amongst humans

tend to be very careful with their mating for reasons that are

explained below.

Although the alpha male werewolf typically has leader-

ship of the entire pack, during mating season this role is taken

by the alpha female. The female will often usurp the male

werewolf’s rule in issues regarding her pups. Other were-

wolves respect the alpha female’s role, even the pack’s males.

All pack members work to serve and protect the alpha female

and her pups during this time.

Pups

The mating of two werewolves guarantees that their chil-

dren will be werewolves. The mating of a werewolf and a

wolf means the child has a 50% chance of being a werewolf

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