Hi, my group and I have recently started our first Saga and we all like the game. I'm in favour of the troupe system but I'm rambling.
A friend took the flaw lycantrope for his magus character. But he still isn't one. So I thought about writing a story in which he will be assaulted and bitten by a werewolf. Now I find the following problems:
A: does a werewolf have magic might?
B: if so what happens to a werewolf mage?
C: What kind of stats should I give this lycanthrope so it would not get blasted by our soon to be werewolf Flambeau?
If anyone could help me with this I would appreciate it a lot!
Lycantrope stats are those of a normal animal of its kind, but they get +1 or -1 for every 2 full points in each characteristic that the transformed human has.
So a character with Per +0 Str +3, +1 sta, +2 Qik and +1 Dex would be a normal wolf that gets an additional +1 str and +1 Qik, making him a slightly stronger and quick wolf. Int, pre and com do not apply since he is an animal.
Lycantropes tend to have the tough virtue as well when transformed.
A lycantrope does not necessarily has magic might. You can give them some to prevent people from blasting them away with spells et al, but no, they do not have magic might if you do not want them to have it. This is a mithic europe lycantrope, not a lyucantrope from Werewolf's RPG They are evil and dangerous creatures that stalk babies and bite the butt of unwary travelers, but they are not a massive 2-ton creature from an outer world
A werewolf mage would retain his form and parma bonuses (as long as he did cast the parma before transforming) that would be a damn fearsome creature for the mages in my saga!
ok thanks a lot, I also play Werewolf and I had doomscenario's of rampaging crinos magi running amok through the Netherlands.
Another question; I think that such a beast would have a severe effect on the person bitten. Is there an AM sourcebook which elaborates on werewolves and other mythic beasts?
I'll do some reading up on our local werewolves (It's good to play in your hometown) and keep you posted!
This will be part of the Essential Nature (page 79) of the Character ,
and not curable by Hermetic Magic.
Yes it could have a Might Score and be aligned with any of the Four Realms : Divine , Infernal , Faerie or Magic
But this is different to the write-up for Lycanthrope where you transform into a non-magical animal.
If he takes the standard flaw , pretty much as written on page 55.
As a Magus he will still possess the Gift.
As he is an animal , with a Cunning Score replacing his Intelliengce Score for the duration of the curse (at night) ,
he won't be casting any Formulaic Spells.
You could possibly allow Spontaneous spell use with all appropriate penalties to casting (no gestures , no words).
These would have to be immediate and direct effects that rely on instinct ,
not carefully planned effects.
Fire scares most animals , so no sponted Ball of Abysmal Flame is likely.
ST call if any spell use is possible though.
Our covenant magus is the soon to be werewolf. But I don't want him to blast the beast before he is bitten. Otherwise it doesn't have much use to take the flaw. Or to write the story..
Do you think that a Unseelie Faery could cause such an infliction on humans (and magi)? Or is that a bit too far fetched?
You are OWoD then.
As Uratha in Werewolf : The Forsaken work quite differently.
Unless you have Lycanthropy transmitted as a disease by biting ,
the bite is not absolutely essential , but it does have the force of Hollywood Tradition.
As this is a curse , it could have been gained any number of ways.
If it is a curse on the Bloodline of the character , it could kick in after puberty on all Males of the family for example.
You should decide an origin of the Curse.
Was it a powerful supernatural entity (a Fae Lord) or possibly an Infernal Curse placed by a Demon.
There is no 5th edition book for Mythic Beasts , but there are earlier editions.
I would be more worried about any nearby Bjornaer - they have... issues with non-house shaoechangers....
Which reminds me that in the Bjornaer part of House of Hermes: Mystery Cults you can find much more on the rule mechanics concerning magic and shapechangers - both heartbeasts, shapechangers and lycantropes.
Certainly possible, but just remember to write the Faerie realm as the source of the flaw as this influences the realm interaction at times.
If he is bitten by a werewolf it might very well have Might, but I would not extend that to the player as he grows into a lycantrope himself.
And an important detail is the fact that this can detect the animal as being cursed, but judging from this and the HoH:MC text I would say that this doesn't go for the man, when in that shape.
Are these earlier editions somewhere to be downloaded? Such as the old 4th corebook?
Concerning the nature of the curse a elaborate plan/story is a lot better than the random encouter with a bite. Since several people in my troupe like the faeries a lot (and I happen to own Changeling the dreaming for idea's) I'll try and goad them into molesting the faeries. Or perhaps someone will need help from the magi and if they do so will incur the wrath of the person who is responsible for the curse. Luckily it is almost weekend and I've plenty of time to contemplate.
I wasn't going to extend the magic resistance to the bitten magus, it was just to keep the lycanthrope from being blasted at sight. Thank you all for all the info. Keep them coming!
Oh, the lycantrope can have magic resistance: make him a magical/fae/infernal... shapeshifter or wolf that can place a curse on the biten person. No need for him to be an other lycantrope. Or no need for him to be bitten. he can be the target of a curse: "since you are a nerd and do not respect nature and the beauty of the forest, I curse you to become a protector of the forest when the moon rises over the horizon". high penetration and all that, so the curse plays well. etcetera etcetera
GREAT! That was just the urge I needed to start writing, especially the since you are a nerd part is terrific. (Since the party was already adressed by a Fae lord who demanded tribute for allowing them to build in his protectorate. (It helps lost people and such in and around swamps.) This will turn the lot into hippy's for sure!
Has the Flambeau ever killed anybody yet? If not, the curse could fall upon him the first time he does so. This doesn't need to involve another werewolf. If you make it a divine punishment, there's nothing he can do about it.
Certainly. You can download it for free here at the courtesy of Atlas. It includes a werewolf, though not very dangerous or resistant to Flambeaus and written in 4th ed. stats.
Or perhaps turned into werehippos STAMPEDE
Neat idea Xavi. My players are headed toward a metaplot involving the faeries (some of them as antagonists) and I might find a way to do something similar - just for flavour.
Also a great idea Grandmaster Fruny. I figured that this doesn't even have to be a Divine retribution. If they prefered it to be caused by another realm, and if he never killed before (or never killed with magic), it might have been a conditional curse invoked earlier from a Magical, Faerie or Infernal source aswell as a Divine. If the Faeries are to be involved it could even have been a Bloodline curse due som ancient tresspassing of some sort...
Farmer comes to the covenant for help -> A monster is killing woodcutters and the like. This turns out to be a unicorn and if I know the group they'll want to kill it to get the Vis which is inside such a beast. I'll rig it so that the flambeau will strike the killing blow/spell. Then an ancient fearie curse will be 'activated' since he killed a magical creature. (Perhaps his ancestors were hunters which slew several magical creatures or did massive damage to the forests.) Or something along these lines probably.
@ Ravenscroft: What does OWoD mean?
edit: thanx for the link but I actually refered, or tried refering to an 4th edition bestiary or the bjornaer information on shapechangers. Although if another group is going to play AM too, I'll probably buy more resourcebooks. At the moment I have the corebook and the true lineages book. (Friends have the covenants book.)
The lycantrophe female main character bites the boy of here choice while she is in human form. The boy starts transforming a couple of days afterwards.
Should be easy enough to lure in a PC with a sexually attractive and compatiple NPC
Oh, and to prevent hordes of werewolves rampaging all over the countryside:
You may want to house-rule that only "natural born werewolves" transmit the disease.
Easiest way to do this might be to give a conditional boost to the spell penetration of the Flambeau magus.
(he has no way of knowing this beforehand)
If the Unicorn has a Ban in effect , maybe something like Death Prophecy on page 41 ,
you can have the Flambeau magus fulfill the condition that will permanently slay the Unicorn.
BAAAH. We respect thy title Grandmaster but all True Hermetics know that thee is a Miscellanea Quack! Take back thine False Accusations or we shall be Forced to feed them to thee with a Ball of AbsoAbysmal Flame!!!!
WHAT!! You also seem to have been scrying on my mind! That is a clear transgression against the Oath we all have taken! Shame on you and a plague on (both?) your House(s?). And you even did said scrying prior to me having though said thing?!? See you at Tribunal!
On the other hand if you really have found a way to cross the Limit of Time, sharing said insight might alleviate my pains and thus make me forget to raise said case at the Tribnal... Signed Furion Transsanus Filius Adustus Scholae Flambonis (who always had a dream of tossing a few magnificent Balls of Abysmal Flame into the past... )
Ah okay. Sorry then - can't help you with other free ars PDF's. The 5th edition books all IMO push the standard so they are worth the investment. Especially the HoH books are a great way to learn more about the setting. The passage on lycantropes in HoH:MC Bjornaer chapter is not very much, and it has no lycantrope stats or such, as it only but very elegantly explains what Arts you can use to detect or target various shapechangers with in their various forms.
In any instance I think your unicorn retribution idea is much more original and appealing than the old school lycantropic bite. Good luck with it!
They are evil and dangerous creatures that stalk babies and bite the butt of unwary travelers, but they are not a massive 2-ton creature from an outer world 
)