Werewolves with Bite : The Originals
Who's your were-daddy?
Spiciness: 4/5
Feeds about 3-5 players, level 7-9
Scales for: Number of Players (X), Player Level (L)
Ingredients:
- 1 Razer
- X/2 Insurgents (round down)
- L-7 Dire Wolves
Scale for Level: For every level above 7, add a dire wolf to the pack.
Preparation
The Originals are werewolves not bitten, but made. Blessed by Malar to transform them. These people, before their transformation, were terrifying conquerors of civilization itself-- barbarians who went to war not to claim cities, but to raze them in honor of Malar. What we call walls, they consider to be a cage that must be broken.
Once chosen, a disciple of Malar gains strength with each successful hunt. They start off as a Insurgent, eventually becoming a Razer-- a werewolf who's gained immense power but is no longer capable of changing out of their Hybrid form. They can no longer walk amongst the societies they now consume.
Some Insurgents hunt with packs of Dire Wolves. Rarely, some Insurgents will work together as a pack, though their tendency towards chaos makes these short lived alliances, not tribes. Only when a Razer is formed does a true pack form. If another in the pack ascends to this rank, the pack splits, separating to each do Malar's bidding. They dare not attack each other though, as doing so would be an affront to their God.
While in human form, Insurgents study the towns they plan on attacking, picking off citizens either for food or for increasing the size of their pack. Only the children and the pregnant are truly safe-- as is the will of Malar.
Note: This encounter is meant to show off all stat blocks involved and how they interact, but you could use only insurgents or only the Razer, or fewer of each for lower level parties.
Cooking the Dire Wolves
Round 1+: These have one job: Knock people prone so the rest of your werewolves have advantage on their attacks, and put out a little extra damage. Being that they only have 1 action, they're going to be very rinse and repeat, but they have Pact Tactics which makes them actually more effective at knocking people down than werewolves.
Cooking the Insurgents
Round 1: Insurgents can blend in with society, so maybe have a couple gang up on the party in a tavern. Have them use their Howl to push the party up against the wall, then have the Razer come through the wall. This provides no tactical advantage, but will make the party shit themselves. Note that they can use Howl while not transformed, and its an AoE-- so you could have one use this, and the other transforming.
Round 2: Continue to do the above, with the one that hasn't transformed yet transforming, and the other one Beginning the Hunt. Since Howl's forced movement provokes attacks of opportunity, you might be able to get another hit from the Razer (or the now-transformed werewolf).
Round 3+: Now you can alternate between one Howling to shepherd the party to less ideal places, and the other multiattacks.
Reactions: As the Dire Wolves knock people prone and the Razer yeets them away, use your Pounce on the Weak & Voracious to pin them against the ground. They'll be far less effective fighters if they stay there!
If Someone gets Downed: Tear the throat. Be relentless. They should have used Healing word anyways! Also-- if this fight does happen in a tavern, you could easily down & eat a commoner for some heals.
Cooking the Razer
Hulk Smash.
Round 1+: Burst through the wall (costs only movement), then use bite first (you don't want to knock someone away before eating them lol). Then use a claw to yeet them across the room, and go for someone else. Your goals are simple: Dump out damage, knock people prone, and stay next to someone who isn't prone so you can get an attack of opportunity off when the Howl hits. The Razer is also a bit of a tank, so let it absorb all the hits.
When you get low. Flee. It's fine. You heal for 60hp / minute so if the party can't find you for a bit, you're good to go again. Let your Insurgents do the Throat Tearing though, because they have no other means to heal. If you're not SUPER low, consider using your Fucking Strong ability to grapple someone and carry them away from the rest of the party.
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Werewolf Insurgent
Medium humanoid (shapechanger), chaotic evil
- Armor Class 12 (Natural Armor)
- Hit Points 58 (9d8 + 18)
- Speed 30 ft. (35 ft. in hybrid form)
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 14 (+2) 10 (+0) 11 (+0) 10 (+0)
- Skills Perception +4
- Damage Resistance bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered
- Senses passive Perception 14
- Languages Common, Sylvan
- Challenge 3 (700 XP) Proficiency Bonus +2
Shapechanger. The Insurgent can use its action to polymorph into a wolf-humanoid hybrid or back into its true form, which is humanoid. Its statistics, other than its AC, are the same in both forms. Any equipment it is wearing or carrying isn't transformed. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
Voracious Grasp. If the werewolf shares a space with a prone creature, it is considered Restrained (DC 12 to Escape).
Actions
Multiattack (Hybrid Form Only). The werewolf makes two attacks: one with its bite and one with its claws.
Bite (Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with werewolf lycanthropy.
Claws (Hybrid Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (2d4 + 2) slashing damage.
Howl. Each non-werewolf creature within 30ft of the Insurgent that can hear it's howl must make a DC 14 Wisdom save or become Frightened until the end of their next turn, and each who fails must use immediately use their reaction to run away from this werewolf.
Tear the Throat. The werewolf attempts to rip out the throat of an unconscious creature within 5ft of it. They must make a DC 14 Constitution Save, or perish instantly. The werewolf heals for 4d8 HP.
Reactions
Pounce on the Weak (Hybrid form only). If a creature the Insurgent can see falls prone, the Insurgent can use its reaction to move up to it's movement speed towards it.
Werewolf Razer
Large humanoid (Monstrosity), chaotic evil
- Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
- Hit Points 76 (9d8 + 36)
- Speed 40 ft.
STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 17 (+3) 18 (+4) 10 (+0) 11 (+0) 10 (+0)
- Skills Perception +9, Intimidation +6
- Damage Immunities bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered
- Senses passive Perception 16
- Languages Common, Sylvan
- Challenge 6 (2,300 XP) Proficiency Bonus +3
Fucking Strong. The Werewolf Razer Deals double damage to objects. The Razer can treat Wooden, thatch, and similarly weak walls as Difficult Terrain, destroying them in the process. You may carry up to one grappled medium or smaller creature with you for no additional movement cost.
Voracious Grasp. If the werewolf shares a space with a prone creature, it is pinned down and considered Restrained (DC 14 to Escape).
Regeneration (10). The Razer heals for 10 hp at the start of its turn, unless it has taken damage by a silvered weapon since it's last turn. The Razer only dies if it begins its turn at 0hp and does not regenerate.
Actions
Multiattack. The Razer makes three attacks: One with its bite and two with its claws.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with werewolf lycanthropy.
Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 10 ft., one creature. Hit: 13 (4d6 + 3) slashing damage. Medium or smaller creatures hit by this are knocked 10ft away and prone.
Howl. Each non-werewolf creature within 30ft of the Insurgent that can hear it's howl must make a DC 16 Wisdom save or become Frightened until the end of their next turn, and each who fails must use immediately use their reaction to run away from this werewolf.
Tear the Throat. The werewolf attempts to rip out the throat of an unconscious creature within 5ft of it. They must make a DC 16 Constitution Save, or perish instantly. The werewolf recieves a blessing from Malar, healing for 4d8 HP.
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Lycanthropy Improved
Lycanthropy is no normal curse-- it's virulent, able to be spread and hard to cure. After a creature contracts Lycanthropy, Symptoms set in after d4 hours. The first symptoms of Lycanthropy are mild-- but as each day passes, the symptoms become worse. When inflicted with the disease and at the end of each day after, gain one stack of Lycanthropy. The effects of the stacks are accumulative.
On a night with a full moon, gain two stacks. On a night with a new moon, gain no stacks.
Lycanthropy Effects
| Lycanthropy Stacks | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1 | The wound that inflicted the disease refuses to completely heal. They have disadvantage on Constitution Saves & Checks, and their max HP is reduced by 5. |
| 2 | Pain grips the creature’s mind. The creature has disadvantage on Wisdom checks and Wisdom saving throws. |
| 3 | A raging fever sweeps through the creature’s body. The creature has disadvantage on Strength checks, Strength saving throws, and attack rolls that use Strength. |
| 4 | The creature is overcome with shaking. The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity checks, Dexterity saving throws, and attack rolls that use Dexterity. |
| 5 | The creature’s mind becomes feverish, as friend and foe blur in their mind.The creature behaves as if under the effects of the confusion spell during combat. |
| 6 | The creature becomes frightened of all symbols of society (fire, buildings, tools, etc), and must spend each turn trying to flee into the woods. |
| 7 | The creature transforms for the first time, and becomes a werewolf Insurgent. All other effects of the curse are suppressed. |
Curing Lycanthropy
As a curse placed by the god Malar themself, Lycanthropy is more difficult to remove than most curses. Any effect that would remove a curse, removes one stack of Lycanthropy. The creature is cured when all stacks are removed. Stacks are not removed upon death, as the body itself is cursed. Only gaining a new body through Reincarnation or Wish will remove all stacks instantly.
Delaying the Curse
Effects that suppress magic, such as an antimagic field, halt the progression while subjected to the effect but remove no stacks. Casting Dispel Magic on the cursed will suppress the effects of it for up to 1 minute, but does not prevent gaining new stacks.
Things you should know
Gentle Rule Reminders for forgetful DMs like me!
- A restrained creature's speed becomes 0, and it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature's attack rolls have disadvantage. The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.
- Howl ability: Using your reaction & movement to leave a threatened space causes an attack of opportunity.
- Difficult Terrain costs twice movement to move through.
- A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight. The creature can't willingly move closer to the source of its fear.
- A prone creature's only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition. It takes half movement to stand, and they cannot stand if their movement speed is 0. The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls. An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage.
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