General Rules: Monsters - Lycanthrope: Werepuma (Template)

Werepuma (adapted from Twisted Lore)

Werepumas are humanoids who can transform themselves into pumas. In its natural form, a werepuma looks like any other member of its kind, though natural werepumas and those who have been afflicted for a long time tend to be muscular and lean. They usually have golden brown hair and dress in simple attire. Many are solitary and avoid most unnecessary humanoid contact. In puma form, a werepuma resembles a powerful version of the normal animal, but on close inspection, its eyes (which often glow red in the dark) show a faint spark of unnatural intelligence.

A natural werepuma (or an afflicted werepuma that has become aware of its affliction) can assume a hybrid form that is a mix of its humanoid and animal forms. A hybrid has hands and can use weapons, but it can also attack with its teeth and claws. A hybrid can spread lycanthropy with its bite, and it has the same damage reduction that its animal form possesses.

Lycanthropy can be spread like a disease. Sometimes a lycanthrope begins life as a normal humanoid or giant who subsequently contracts lycanthropy after being wounded by a lycanthrope. Such a creature is called an afflicted lycanthrope. Other lycanthropes are born as lycanthropes, and are known as natural lycanthropes.

Combat
A werepuma in its humanoid form uses whatever tactics and weapons are favored by others of its kind, though it tends to be slightly more aggressive. A lycanthrope possesses the senses of its animal form, including scent and low-light vision, and it has a deep empathy for (and ability to communicate with) animals of its animal form. An afflicted lycanthrope damaged in combat may be overwhelmed by rage, causing it to change to its animal form involuntarily. Werepumas fight primarily to defend their homes and kin and will rarely fight to the death unless there are young to protect.

"Werepuma" is a template that can be added to any humanoid creature, that creature referred to hereafter as the "character". The werepuma takes on the characteristics of a puma, referred to hereafter as the "animal". Creatures with this template use all of the base creature's statistics and special abilities, except as noted here:

Hit Dice: As character or animal, whichever produces the higher hit point total.

Speed: As character or animal, depending on which form the lycanthrope is using.

Armor Class: As character or animal's natural armor +2, depending on which form the werepuma is using.

Attacks: As character or animal, depending on which form the werepuma is using.

Damage: As character or animal, depending on which form the werepuma is using.

Special Attacks: As character or animal, depending on which form the werepuma is using (plus curse of lycanthropy in animal form).

• Lycanthropic Affinity (Su): Werepumas can communicate and empathize with normal or dire pumas. This gives them a +4 bonus on checks made to influence the puma's attitude and allows the werepuma to communicate simple concepts and (if the animal is friendly) commands to the animal, such as "friend", "foe", "flee", or "attack".
• Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): Any humanoid injured by a werepuma but not actually killed has a chance to contract lycanthropy after the encounter is over. This chance equals 1% per point of damage dealt by the lycanthrope's natural attacks; if several lycanthropes of the same type injure the character, add the chances together. Damage from different types of lycanthropes must be tracked separately. A character killed by a lycanthrope and then raised or resurrected has a 100% chance of contracting lycanthropy.

Special Qualities: All werepumas gain the following special qualities:

• Alternate Form (Su): All werepumas can shift into the form of a puma and a puma-humanoid hybrid. Changing to or from animal or hybrid form is a full-round action. Upon assuming natural form, the lycanthrope regains hit points as if having rested for a day. If slain, the lycanthropic creature reverts to its humanoid form, though it remains dead. A part of the body separated from the whole retains its natural form however. This shapeshifting ability can be difficult for some lycanthropes to control.
• Damage Reduction (Su): A werepuma's animal and hybrid forms gain damage reduction 15/silver.
• Low-Light Vision (Ex): The werepuma gains low-light vision in any form.
• Scent (Ex): The werepuma gains scent in any form.
• Pounce (Ex): If a werepuma in puma or hybrid form leaps upon a foe during the first round of combat, it can make a full attack even if it has already taken a move action.
• Improved Grab (Ex): A werepuma in puma or hybrid form that hits with its bite attack can attempt to grab an opponent without needing a touch attack or provoking an attack of opportunity. A werepuma that grabs hold of an opponent can rake.
• Rake (Ex): A werepuma in animal or hybrid form that gets hold of an opponent can make two rake attacks at its full attack bonus for 1d3 + ½ Strength damage each. If a werepuma pounces on an opponent, it can also rake.

Saves: As character or animal, whichever is better.

Abilities: A werepuma in humanoid form receives a +2 to Intelligence and Wisdom, due to its animal cunning. In animal or hybrid form, a werepuma receives the following ability adjustments: Strength +6, Dexterity +8, Constitution +4, Intelligence +2, and Wisdom +2.

Skills: All lycanthropes gain a +4 racial bonus to Listen and Spot checks no matter what form they are in. A werepuma in hybrid or animal form gains a +4 bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks and a +8 bonus to Balance checks. In areas of tall grass or heavy undergrowth, a werepuma's bonus to Hide checks while in animal or hybrid form increases to +8. Werepumas in animal or hybrid form gain the same skills as a normal puma in addition to any skills they have in their humanoid forms. If a werepumas has a skill in both its humanoid and animal forms, use the better score.

Feats: As the character plus Iron Will. Lycanthropes can also learn the Improved Shape Control feat. When in animal or hybrid form, a werepuma gains the Dodge, Mobility, and Spring Attack feats.

Climate/Terrain: As character or puma.

Organization: Solitary or pair, sometimes family (2 - 40), pack (6 - 10), or troupe (family plus related animals).

Challenge Rating: By class level or base creature +3.

Treasure: Standard.

Alignment: Always neutral.

Advancement: By character class.

Lycanthropy As an Affliction
When a character contracts lycanthropy through a lycanthrope’s natural attacks (see above), no symptoms appear until the first night of the next full moon. On that night, the afflicted character involuntarily assumes animal form and forgets his or her own identity, temporarily becoming an NPC. The character remains in animal form, assuming the appropriate alignment, until the next dawn.

The character’s actions during this first episode are dictated by the alignment of its animal form. The character remembers nothing about the entire episode (or subsequent episodes) unless he succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom check, in which case he becomes aware of his lycanthropic condition.

Thereafter, the character is subject to involuntary transformation under the full moon and whenever damaged in combat. He or she feels an overwhelming rage building up and must succeed on a Control Shape check (see below) to resist changing into animal form. Any player character not yet aware of his or her lycanthropic condition temporarily becomes an NPC during an involuntary change, and acts according to the alignment of his or her animal form.

A character with awareness of his condition retains his identity and does not lose control of his actions if he changes. However, each time he changes to his animal form, he must make a Will save (DC 15 + number of times he has been in animal form) or permanently assume the alignment of his animal form in all shapes.

Once a character becomes aware of his affliction, he can now voluntarily attempt to change to animal or hybrid form, using the appropriate Control Shape check DC. An attempt is a standard action and can be made each round. Any voluntary change to animal or hybrid form immediately and permanently changes the character’s alignment to that of the appropriate lycanthrope.

Changing Form
Changing form is a standard action. If the change is involuntary, the character performs the change on his next turn following the triggering event. An afflicted character who is not aware of his condition remains in animal form until the next dawn. An afflicted character who is aware of his or her condition (see above) can try to resume humanoid form following a change (voluntary or involuntary) with a Control Shape check, but if he fails his check, he remains in animal (or hybrid) form until the following dawn.

Curing Lycanthropy
An afflicted character who eats a sprig of belladonna (also called wolfsbane) within 1 hour of a lycanthrope’s attack can attempt a DC 20 Fortitude save to shake off the affliction. If a healer administers the herb, use the character’s save bonus or the healer’s Heal modifier, whichever is higher. The character gets only one chance, no matter how much belladonna is consumed. The belladonna must be reasonably fresh (picked within the last week).

However, fresh or not, belladonna is toxic. The character must succeed on a DC 13 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Strength damage. One minute later, the character must succeed on a second DC 13 save or take an additional 2d6 points of Strength damage.

A remove disease or heal spell cast by a cleric of 12^th level or higher also cures the affliction, provided the character receives the spell within three days of the lycanthrope’s attack.

The only other way to remove the affliction is to cast remove curse or break enchantment on the character during one of the three days of the full moon. After receiving the spell, the character must succeed on a DC 20 Will save to break the curse (the caster knows if the spell works). If the save fails, the process must be repeated.

Characters undergoing this cure are often kept bound or confined in cages until the cure takes effect.

Only afflicted lycanthropes can be cured of lycanthropy.

Werepumas as Characters
Becoming a werepuma does not necessarily change a character’s favored class but usually changes alignment (see above). This alignment change may cause characters of certain classes to lose some of their class features.

Werepuma characters possess the following racial traits:

• Abilities: +2 Wisdom. In puma or hybrid form the werepuma character gains +6 Strength, +8 Dexterity, and +4 Constitution.


• Size: Same as the base creature or the base animal form.


• Racial Hit Dice: A werepuma gains 3d8 racial hit dice. As a result of these hit dice, a werepuma has +2 Base Attack Bonus, +3 base Fortitude save bonus, +3 base Reflex save bonus, and +1 base Will save bonus.


• Racial Skills: A werepuma adds skill points for its animal Hit Dice. It gains skill points equal to (2 + Intelligence modifier, minimum 1) x 6. The werepuma's racial skills are Balance, Climb, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot. The werepuma’s maximum skill ranks are equal to its animal form Hit Dice + its racial Hit Dice (if any) + its class levels + 3. Any racial skill adjustments of the werepuma’s base race and its animal form (but not conditional adjustments) are added to its skill modifiers in any form.


• Racial Feats: Werepumas gain Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, and Iron Will as bonus feats.


• +2 natural armor bonus in any form.


• Special Qualities: Alternate form (puma or puma-humanoid hybrid), puma empathy, curse of lycanthropy (in animal or hybrid form only), pounce, improved grab, rake, low-light vision, and scent. In addition, a werepuma gains damage reduction as follows:
  
  • Afflicted lycanthrope: Damage reduction 5/silver (in animal or hybrid form only).
  • Natural lycanthrope: Damage reduction 10/silver (in animal or hybrid form only).


• Automatic Languages: As base creature.


• Favored Class: Same as the base creature.


• Level Adjustment: Same as the base creature +4 (afflicted) or +5 (natural).

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