Werewolf

Werewolves are humanoids who have been afflicted with a curse that causes them to transform into wolf-like beings on the three nights of the full moon each month.

Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, and most other humanoids can become werewolves. It is not a solitary race, but a template applied atop another race.

The abilities listed below are available at all times. Your abilities while transformed are listed separately.

Essential Abilities

From base race:
- Human: +1 skill point per level, 2 bonus class skills.
- Elf: elven alertness, resistance to sleep and charm.
- Drow: darkvision, cloak of shadows.
- Etc: etc...
Additional abilities:
- Scent
- Bestial Vigor: You are more vigorous than most. You can endure more pain, and greater extremes in temperature. You have more energy reserves than normal, and are not easily fatigued. Gain +2 to Constitution.
- Bestial Wrath: You are easily moved to anger and other powerful emotions. You are built stronger than most of your race. Gain +2 to Strength.
- Animal Magnetism: You have a natural confidence and grace, and exude subtle pheromones enhancing your charms. Gain +2 to Charisma.
- Rapid Metabolism: Your natural healing is much faster than normal. In one night of bed rest, you heal as if you rested for a week. You gain 50% resistance to disease and poison, and +20% to Fortitude saves against them. While either of these are active, you must eat 3 times as much as normal.
- Night Owl: Regardless of your base race's preference, you do not find it easy to sleep by night. With the sunset, your energy level increases, you become more alert and energetic. You gain +4 to Perception at night, and you gain low-light vision if you did not already possess it. In order to get to sleep, you need to wear yourself out, usually through vigorous physical activity or heavy drinking. Though it is difficult to get much sleep in this manner, you do find it easy and quite restful to take catnaps during the day.

Physical Characteristics

As base race, plus:
- Hair: Werewolves tend to be a bit bulkier than normal, and more prone to long, wild hair. Males tend to have facial hair that can never quite be shaven below stubble. Even elves have been known to sprout facial hair as werewolves.
- Eyes: Most of the time, your eyes are unchanged from normal. However, by night, when the moon is out, your eyes have a noticeable golden glow.

Favored Ability Scores

As base race. Strength is always allowed.

Racial Talents

At level 1, you may select 2 talents. Every 5th level thereafter (6th, 11th, etc), you may choose 1 more talent. All talents may be either of your base race or from the below list.
Rapid Healing: Your rapid metabolism kicks into overdrive when wounded. Each time you suffer damage, you gain Fast Healing 10% for 3 rounds (refreshes, does not stack). Your poison and disease resistance increases to 75%, and your natural bonus to saves against both doubles to 40%.
Rage of the Beast: Maneuver. Encounter, free, 3 rds; you gain +25% AP, but suffer -25% SP. You become visibly enraged, tearing into enemies with glee and without restraint.

Transformation

3 nights per month, when the moon is fullest, you transform into a werewolf. Upon the moment of moonrise, no matter the weather, no matter how much cover and shelter you may have against the night, you transform into a humanoid-wolf hybrid creature, and take leave of your senses, entering a maddened hunt that can only be sated by killing and eating several living creatures.

During this period, you lose control of your character. You hunt as a starving wolf might, eating anything that looks like food, but preferring fresh, plump meat, especially things that run away from you in terror. While your goal is to eat your fill, you are also incredibly restless. Usually, you make a kill within the first few minutes, but abandon it soon into feeding, distracted by your restless urge to hunt and kill even more. Generally, you slow down as the night progresses, eating longer at a stretch, until eventually you curl up as the moon sets, full and sated.

When you awaken, you have no memory of what occurred while you were transformed. You remain full, with no appetite for the rest of the day, and are generally quite slow and worn out while the sun is still out. You could easily rest all day if you wished.

While transformed, you gain the following traits:

+50% Str, Dex, Con
+100% movement rate
Infravision
Immune to loss-of-control and death effects unless below 33% hit points
Immune to movement-impairing effects
Regeneration 10%: you heal 10% of your max hp per round, no matter how much damage is done to you, unless this ability is suppressed somehow, or you are completely dismembered and beheaded. While disabled or dying, you may continue to act, suffering a -50% penalty to damage and movement.
Silver Vulnerability: When you suffer damage from a silver weapon, your Regeneration ability is nullified as long as the weapon remains in contact with you, plus 3 rounds. You have 50% vulnerability to silver weapons.
Claw: Each of your claws may be used as a weapon, inflicting heavy physical damage.
Rend: At-will, immediate, triggered by successfully hitting with both claws in one attack; heavy damage, plus same ongoing for 3 rounds, plus 50% physical vulnerability.
Bite: At-will, swift, melee attack; heavy physical damage plus Curse of Lycanthropy.

Overcoming the Curse

Not surprisingly, many werewolves wish to be free of the Curse of Lycanthropy.

Any penitent werewolf wishing to master his shifty tendencies must undertake a harsh path of training to master the incredible discipline needed to suppress his involuntary transformations. There are even those who go beyond this, learning to transform voluntarily, retaining their wits and morality, though the beast remains ever nearby, a hair's breadth from taking control.

The following racial talents are available to such werewolves:

Level 6
- Suppress Transformation: You may suppress your monthly transformations. This requires intense concentration, usually accomplished through feats of meditation. If you are placed in mortal peril, or a similarly intense situation, you must pass a Will save each round to retain your humanoid form.
Level 11
- Voluntary Transformation: You may transform voluntarily, as long as the moon is in the sky and not in the 3 nights of the new moon. Maneuver: at-will, free, 5 rds or more; you transform, gaining your werewolf traits while retaining control over your actions (and memory of what occurred). After 5 rounds, you must pass a Will save each round to retain your control, else you lose your senses and become the beast until you have sated yourself. To dismiss this effect, you must pass a Will save. The 5 round grace period is per day, not per use of the maneuver. In order to learn this ability, you must have successfully suppressed your transformations without incident for at least 3 months in a row.
Level 16
- Mastered Transformation: You may transform voluntarily, at any time, into a lesser form where you retain your senses. You need not roll Will saves to end the effect or avoid losing control. However, in this form, you do not gain immunity to loss-of-control and death effects. Also, by taking this ability, you no longer risk losing control while suppressing your monthly transformation. In order to learn this ability, you must spend a total of one hour (600 rounds) in voluntary transformation without losing control (not all at once in one sitting; just accumulate that many rounds of success).