Darkonian werewolf in London

[vipera aspis]

okay, backround. in the game i'm running one of my PC's (Zell, rogue4) was inflicted with lycanthropy a little more then a month ago(in darkon). the pc's were in Mordent when he first started having nightmares and signs. they finished their adventure there and decided to leave. then on a boat heading to Port a'Lucine(1st night of the fullmoon) he wolfs out and kills a low level rogue named Dale(NG npc). the second night on the boat he kills two more(sailors/rogues this time). No witnesses. well, there was one; but he's the second sailor. Zell(the rogue) knows what happened, but he's going to try to use it to ice specific targets(in the future, right now he fears rejection and the partie's paladin) by focusing all of his thoughts and emotions on them the night of the fullmoon.

question. how do powers checks work with this type of thing? He wants to ice badguys but innocents will likely die on the way. his argument is that the deaths wouldn't be his fault.(?!)
and any suggestions for failed powers checks for a werewolf rogue?

question two. any thoughts or ideas for the future?

[Mangrum]

The powers check scenario it would be closest to is directing another to commit evil acts using a compulsion spell or effect.

The character isn't responsible for what the werewolf does (it's effectively a separate entity), and thus wouldn't be subject to powers checks.

UNLESS...

...he consciously "aims" the werewolf at specific foes. In that case, he's effectively wielding the werewolf as a weapon. If a character uses an axe to mindlessly hack his way through a crowd, cutting down innocent bystanders to get to a chosen foe, he's guilty of criminal negligence, at the very least. Replace "axe" with "werewolf" and the situation's the same.

In conclusion: If the character has a reasonable opportunity to prevent the werewolf from doing harm (locking himself up, etc.), but consciously chooses to let it run loose, and innocent deaths result, he should be subject to powers checks as appropriate for the crime.

The werewolf (like a compelled creature) is the "bullet." In this case, the PC is the one pulling the trigger.

Another, even simpler way to look at it: It's basically the equivalent of hiring a hit man.

[Augustus]

He is worthy of a check for willingly using his condition as a weapon because in wolf form he will be able and probably will not only kill the "target" but also rampage and slaughter more. Werewolves are chaotic evil for a reason you know. If he sought confinement when he was feeling the moons pull or went out where he couldn't hurt anyone he wouldn't need a powers check.
What he is doing is no better than animating the dead to attack an enemy. Even if the enemy is bad you're still harming souls and bringing forth into the world things that are anathema to life itself.

[vipera aspis]

this is exactly the kind of stuff i was looking for. Another question..what kind of effects would his failed powers checks have on him? like easier to shift but less control? stuff like that or....

[Augustus]

If he fails the checks he should perhaps gain the ability to shift once a day when he chooses in addition to the normal shifting times and retain his intelect during that time, but whenever he does this he will transform in a public place soon after but this time with the werewolf in control. The dark powers both reward and punish indifference, evil and reckless endangerment.
(BTW I'd only tell the player about the shifting at his choosing w/ intellect- not the bad part, let him figure it out )

[Rotipher of the FoS]

For a more psychological spin on the consequences of failed Powers checks for using his werewolf alter-ego in this way, consider having the PC's wereform develop more and more autonomy and power over the character's life, the more times he transforms and lets it run free. Instead of killing the villains he's trying to "target" with his beast-self, his werewolf form might begin its *own* campaign to go after the other PCs in the adventuring party -- after all, it's an intelligent monster in its own right (even if it shares the PC's body), and the other party members pose a mortal threat to it whether they seek to slay the afflicted PC or cure him -- and anyone else who might help the PC cure and/or control his lycanthropy. Each time the PC fails a check, his were-self becomes more and more cunning, and gains an ever-greater awareness of what goes on when he's in his human form. In time, this could evolve into a real cat-and-mouse feud between the PC and his wereform, on par with Tristan and Malken's self/hate relationship ... and each time the PC allows the wolf its freedom, his human side loses more mental ground to the beast.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

I might also take advantage of this "focusing" by having it backfire. Have the werewolf kill some innocent that is in some way related or reminiscent of the intended target, but not the target itself.

[AdamGarou]

I would think the Powers Checks could simply involve him becoming a natural lycanthrope, similar to the Terror Tracks in the Kargatane's Book of S____ (can't remember the specific book, but it had tracks for the werejackal and a couple of other lycanthropes, IIRC). This might sound like a great boon, and giving additional power to the player character... except when he completely loses control of the character to the DM. There's surely a way of subtly reminding the player of that.

Something else for the character to consider isn't just how many people he'll kill in werewolf form, but also how many he might infect. Seems like I might have read something in 3e about afflicted/infected lycanthropes not being able to pass along the curse, but in my opinion that detracts quite a bit from the horror factor.

If the PC can infect others during his "bad nights", then there's all the more reason for a Powers Check--the werewolf might kill the intended target, but suppose he mauls a few other bystanders along the way. Then they start going wolfish at the full moon and doing the same thing--and so on, and so on. Conceivably, this PC could be responsible for the deaths and corruption of hundreds if not thousands of people.

This was actually pointed out to me--by Nathan or Igor, I think--when I DMed the Werebeast/Abel Carrick storyline back on the Kargatane message boards. The question of alignment and Powers Checks came up, because Abel chose not to lock himself away in some jail cell or something, but merely to remove himself far away from his family and community. So something he had to bear--at least when it was pointed out to him/me--was not only the deaths he had caused directly, but the deaths that his lycanthropic "progeny" would undoubtedly cause as well. And the fact that he'd never know how many souls he might have blighted and how many other deaths were his fault... at least until one of his "children" came calling.

Like I said, I don't know if you allow infected lycanthropes to pass the Dread Disease to others in your campaign or not. I personally recommend it, though--for the sheer terror, crushing guilt, and soul-dragging despair it can create.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Like I said, I don't know if you allow infected lycanthropes to pass the Dread Disease to others in your campaign or not. I personally recommend it, though--for the sheer terror, crushing guilt, and soul-dragging despair it can create.

This is actually an official, Ravenloft-specific change to the 3E description of lycanthropy, as presented in the Arthaus products. I can understand why the designers of 3rd Edition saw fit to limit transmission to natural (i.e. NPC) lycanthropes in a "standard" campaign -- too many gamers in previous eras of D&D saw lycanthropy not as a curse, but as an easy power-up if an infected party member bit everybody else -- but you're entirely correct: it doesn't work for a horror game.

(Hmmm... I wonder if "Heroes of Horror" will suggest that non-Ravenloft DMs house-rule 3E lycanthropy in the same way, for their horror games?)


Oh, and just to give this PC's heartstrings a good hard yank, when first he tries to turn the werebeast loose against an enemy...? Perhaps the werewolf *does* hunt down and kill the selected enemy ... and then goes on to track down and destroy everyone who SMELLS like that individual. Like the villain's innocent wife and children, who have no idea of the bad guy's nefarious schemes, and whom the villain had just covered with his scent as he hugged them good-night at bedtime.

[Rotipher of the FoS]

Another, even simpler way to look at it: It's basically the equivalent of hiring a hit man.

I'd compare it to being a bomb-planting terrorist, myself. A hit man can always turn around and go home if the right target isn't where he thinks they'll be; a bomb -- or a werewolf -- WILL go off once it's been set [free], and pure chance determines what unintended targets may be in the wrong place at the wrong time. :-/

[AdamGarou]

Like I said, I don't know if you allow infected lycanthropes to pass the Dread Disease to others in your campaign or not. I personally recommend it, though--for the sheer terror, crushing guilt, and soul-dragging despair it can create.

This is actually an official, Ravenloft-specific change to the 3E description of lycanthropy, as presented in the Arthaus products. I can understand why the designers of 3rd Edition saw fit to limit transmission to natural (i.e. NPC) lycanthropes in a "standard" campaign -- too many gamers in previous eras of D&D saw lycanthropy not as a curse, but as an easy power-up if an infected party member bit everybody else -- but you're entirely correct: it doesn't work for a horror game.

(Hmmm... I wonder if "Heroes of Horror" will suggest that non-Ravenloft DMs house-rule 3E lycanthropy in the same way, for their horror games?)


Oh, and just to give this PC's heartstrings a good hard yank, when first he tries to turn the werebeast loose against an enemy...? Perhaps the werewolf *does* hunt down and kill the selected enemy ... and then goes on to track down and destroy everyone who SMELLS like that individual. Like the villain's innocent wife and children, who have no idea of the bad guy's nefarious schemes, and whom the villain had just covered with his scent as he hugged them good-night at bedtime.

A very cool idea about the smell thing.

Yes, it can be an easily-abused power-up. One of the guys in our gaming group has been playing D&D for about 15 years now (since he was 13 or 14), and he's told me that one of his favorite characters was a barbarian/cleric/assassin who was infected with mountain loup-garou lycanthropy and gradually gained control of his curse (it wasn't a Ravenloft game--it was set on Oerth).

Well, in 1e, barbarians could summon a barbarian horde for a particular purpose (like ransacking a town or burning a village to the ground)--so he did. And this character, called Kurgan after the Highlander movie villain, rounded up all 5,000 or so of his kin who showed up--and bit them all.

So then you had 5,000 Ice Barbarian infected lycanthropes who were absolute slaves to this guy Kurgan--and he could control them in all their forms, not just when they were already "wolfed out."

So, yeah--I can see the potential for abuse.

Anyways, they were kids, and weren't really all that interested in the moral struggles that make Ravenloft a hit. If the PC is already evil-aligned, or it's more of a traditional hack-n-slash, then maybe limiting the lycanthropy is appropriate. Otherwise, it's a golden opportunity.

[vipera aspis]

wonderful,
this stuff is gold. i cannot wait to start writing flavortext for it.