RMA: Lycanthropes (werewolf)

Once again, Halloween fast approaches. It is easily my favorite holiday of the year. This reminded me of my post last year about classic monster movies. 

It then occurred to me that I have never done a Random Monster Assessment (RMA) about the classic lycanthropes. I have discussed the Devil Swine, but he's not a typical example of this grouping of monsters. So without further ado, I am diving into a series of lycanthrope RMAs starting with the classic of all classics, the werewolf.

OGWW!

First off, let's get the stats out of the way, shall we?

Werewolf (from Moldvay)
AC: 5 (9 in human form)
HD: 4
Move: 180' (60')
Att: 1 bite
Dmg: 2d4
No. App: 1d6 (2d6)
Save: F4
Morale: 8
AL: C

At first it doesn't appear that intimidating. Its armor class (in were-form) isn't too bad and it has a low morale. Four hit dice means it isn't dropping in one shot, but it isn't exactly a dragon, either. Of course, what makes the werewolf and other lycanthropes interesting (and scary) as foes are the devils in the details.

It's common knowledge that werewolves are not harmed by normal weapons. It requires magic (weapons or spells) or, of course, silver to damage them. Silvered weapons aren't too hard to come by in your typical BX setting, heck they're on the standard equipment lists along with things like wolfsbane (we'll get to that), but not every weapon has an argent version. By the book, only daggers and arrows are available this way. I have had players do things like melt down silver pieces into sling bullets and coat crossbow bolt tips with the metal, but I usually draw the line at things like silvered swords and the like. It's not that the metal is so expensive, it's that the process won't hold that much of an edge. I did once see a player at a con have his cleric use a silver candelabra as an impromptu blunt weapon, though. Magic weapons and "battle" spells are pretty obvious, as that +2 Axe or Lightning Bolt spell is going to work against most any critter you use it against.

Aconitum napellus, or Wolfsbane, is an interesting bit of folklore that was added to the monster listings. I've discussed it in more detail in the previously linked blog post, but the idea that one can drive the were away without killing it, coupled with a werewolf's low morale lends itself nicely to the idea of the creature being driven away by the superstitious peasantry and remaining at large for an extended period; perhaps over several nights, months, or years?

Moving on. All lycanthropes can summon their mundane counterparts. So werewolves can summon regular wolves, wereboars normal boars, etc. Having 1 or 2 wolves show up to the fight a few rounds later might knock some PCs off balance a bit.

Werewolves are particularly nasty foes because they tend to run in packs. In groups of five or more, there is an "alpha" with an extra HD and a damage bonus plus the normal summoned wolves to pad the ranks. 2-12 werewolves with 1-2 wolves each means a lot of fangs running around underneath a full moon.

And their hair was perfect! 

Lastly, I should mention the disease of lycanthropy itself. There are a few interesting things about it. First of all, there is no save! If a character takes more than half their hit points in a fight with a were-creature, they are infected. Secondly, it only fully manifests in humans. It just flat-out kills demi-humans! Granted, humans or otherwise have a little time before the disease takes full effect (one way or the other) and can seek out an 11th+ level cleric to cure them of the disease. This is doubly interesting because A) Cure Disease is a third level spell, which a cleric would have access to by sixth level. B) There isn't anything specific about an eleventh level cleric's abilities that seem to jibe with this power. No access to new spell levels and they were already name level. So why 11th? The only thing about this particular level cleric that I see is that is where they reach the highest tier on the Turn Undead table (11+) and can automatically Destroy any undead up to Vampires. I would say it's because lycanthropy is a magical disease, infecting one via a magical creature, but mummies' rotting disease is curable by the spell. I expect it was probably a case of where the Expert rules were assumed to be going to have something for it when Basic was released, but things got tweaked after the first book was published.