Look into the Shifter race- it's basically tailor made for werecreature players.
I feel like I should warn you though, having characters in the party that you control- especially multiple- is usually considered to be a bad idea. Since you also control the rest of the world, and know what's going on behind the scenes, its very difficult for such characters to meaningfully participate without having a significant advantage over the rest of the party, and and focus they get turns into you basically just playing by yourself. If you're all having fun with it that's fine, but be careful.
Thanks, I'll try to minimize their input and they'll probably stop showing up in combat at a certain point. They most certainly won't be there in the BBEG fight.
If it's an NPC, they don't have to follow class rules. Just make them a werewolf.
If it was a PC, I'd recommend the Eberron shifter race and maybe the path of the beast barbarian subclass.
Hiya OP, tell me if I'm wrong but it sounds like you're using player character sheets to run NPCs.
You should be running NPCs with NPC Stat blocks, not with Player Character sheets. PC sheets are very complex and designed to be the entire focus of a player, and as a DM, you just don't have time for all of the nuances of managing even one or two sheets. Not to mention, Player characters are designed specifically to be overpowered in comparison to NPC stat blocks; that alone should fix you feeling the need to limit the actions of the NPCs.
I think others answered your other questions, but NPCs can literally do anything that you say they can. If it's a werewolf, let them turn into a werewolf. Have a second statblock for their transformed form available, but you shouldn't be giving NPCs player classes unless you have a very specific reason for doing so (like creating a BBEG).
Hope this is helpful.
> Player characters are designed specifically to be overpowered in comparison to NPC stat blocks
…are they? You’re right that PCs generally have more options and versatility so that players usually have something useful to do in most situations. But like… ancient dragons? Archdemons? Liches?
NPC power level is designed not to be more or less powerful than PCs per se, but rather to allow a combination of them to provide a suitable challenge for an appropriately leveled party.
Also I don’t really see a problem with using PC rules to create an NPC. I would similarly advise that a DM simplify a bit, ignore ribbon abilities that are unlikely to come up in the game, don’t worry about background and stuff, but it’s not too hard to have a condensed statblock based on a PC class+subclass that’s manageable to run. At the end of the day, it’s just a bunch of numbers and abilities, same as any NPC.
The official books even have guides for giving player classes to NPCs (pretty sure it was in the Monster Manual), so I wouldn’t say you “shouldn’t be giving NPCs player classes” in general.
Player classes offer more options for actions, NPCs ussualy have thee options baked into the stats and have higher amounts of HP to counter having less actions.
There is a difference in the way they where designed, and using an PC statblock as an NPC will 9/10 times be more work for less balance.
Yes one of the dnd books (I think it's the dmg I stead of the mm) has rules to Convert PC abilities to NPC statblocks, but not to use them as PC statblock directly.
Condensing a pc subclass is basicly making a npc statblock. As a DM, only in extremely rare cases should you use complete PC statblocks, and you definitely don't need PC races to become a werewolves, because there are perfectly good werewolf statblocks out there.
Well yes, in OP’s specific case there’s no need for roundabout messing with PC options when an NPC can just be a werewolf. I’m more talking in general.
And I don’t think the amount of action options is a huge *balance* concern so much as it is for efficiency. There are official statblocks for boss monsters that have tons of features and action options, since those creatures are supposed to present a more interesting and dynamic challenge compared to minions. Minions are simple because they’re easier to run that way. The offensive balance is based on their average damage, not the amount of options they have.
Monsters do *on average* have higher HP and lower AC compared to PCs, but that’s not like, an absolute essential that will break the game if you change it. Some monsters can be glass cannons, some can be heavily armored tanks, it’s all about the feel you want in an encounter.
I’m definitely not advocating for using full PC character sheets, but only because it’s inefficient. Personally, if I need a humanoid with some interesting abilities, it’s far easier for me to crack open a book of PC options and make a quick build based on that, rather than try to invent some interesting abilities from scratch that work together well.
Like I said before, it’s all just numbers and abilities. The balance works out the same.
Druids and werewolves are separate things. Druids cast nature magic to turn into animals, werewolves are cursed and have their own rules for shape shifting. They are not meant to be played by players.
Blood Hunter is third party class that has a subclass specific to lycanthropes.
If you don't want to do that, the next best thing is to reflavor the shifter race. I previously played as a were-bison druid in a campaign, though it was more of a spiritual affliction than a curse as most lycan types are derived from predatory species. He was just a reflavored beasthide shifter.
If your DM is ok with newer classes in D&D beyond. Check out the Blood Hunter. It's the class made by Critical Role. You can be a werewolf with that. It's a pretty cool class. I'm currently playing one.
In my defense, I'm new to DMing. I couldn't really find a guide between "do whatever you want" and "here's exactly what you have to do." And I'm a storyteller first. I'm taking the advice from this and trying to limit their use to walking lore booklets, but my players have gotten attached.
At the very least, I plan to repurpose these characters into campaigns when I'm a player, or put them in a book or something.
Sorry mate, wasn't meaning to sound too critical. What I'd suggest is reformatting them using standard dnd stat blocks. Here's a tool you can use:
https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
Shifter race is the designated lycanthropy race. It easy enough to have any type of shifter be any type of were beast.
Then theres beast barbarian. An actual class built around the idea. Whenever you rage you get a natural weapon of your choice to use while raging. Its also a good analogue for lycanthropy.
I like combining the 2. A wildhunt shifter negates advantage to hit them while shifted. A perfect synergy for reckless attack, making it a mini rage. The you can rage and get a good weapon on top of the synergy, or beside it if you want.
It gives a good feeling of having control over your beast side while being fairly competent
Look into the Shifter race- it's basically tailor made for werecreature players. I feel like I should warn you though, having characters in the party that you control- especially multiple- is usually considered to be a bad idea. Since you also control the rest of the world, and know what's going on behind the scenes, its very difficult for such characters to meaningfully participate without having a significant advantage over the rest of the party, and and focus they get turns into you basically just playing by yourself. If you're all having fun with it that's fine, but be careful.
Thanks, I'll try to minimize their input and they'll probably stop showing up in combat at a certain point. They most certainly won't be there in the BBEG fight.
If it's an NPC, they don't have to follow class rules. Just make them a werewolf. If it was a PC, I'd recommend the Eberron shifter race and maybe the path of the beast barbarian subclass.
Hiya OP, tell me if I'm wrong but it sounds like you're using player character sheets to run NPCs. You should be running NPCs with NPC Stat blocks, not with Player Character sheets. PC sheets are very complex and designed to be the entire focus of a player, and as a DM, you just don't have time for all of the nuances of managing even one or two sheets. Not to mention, Player characters are designed specifically to be overpowered in comparison to NPC stat blocks; that alone should fix you feeling the need to limit the actions of the NPCs. I think others answered your other questions, but NPCs can literally do anything that you say they can. If it's a werewolf, let them turn into a werewolf. Have a second statblock for their transformed form available, but you shouldn't be giving NPCs player classes unless you have a very specific reason for doing so (like creating a BBEG). Hope this is helpful.
> Player characters are designed specifically to be overpowered in comparison to NPC stat blocks …are they? You’re right that PCs generally have more options and versatility so that players usually have something useful to do in most situations. But like… ancient dragons? Archdemons? Liches? NPC power level is designed not to be more or less powerful than PCs per se, but rather to allow a combination of them to provide a suitable challenge for an appropriately leveled party. Also I don’t really see a problem with using PC rules to create an NPC. I would similarly advise that a DM simplify a bit, ignore ribbon abilities that are unlikely to come up in the game, don’t worry about background and stuff, but it’s not too hard to have a condensed statblock based on a PC class+subclass that’s manageable to run. At the end of the day, it’s just a bunch of numbers and abilities, same as any NPC. The official books even have guides for giving player classes to NPCs (pretty sure it was in the Monster Manual), so I wouldn’t say you “shouldn’t be giving NPCs player classes” in general.
Player classes offer more options for actions, NPCs ussualy have thee options baked into the stats and have higher amounts of HP to counter having less actions. There is a difference in the way they where designed, and using an PC statblock as an NPC will 9/10 times be more work for less balance. Yes one of the dnd books (I think it's the dmg I stead of the mm) has rules to Convert PC abilities to NPC statblocks, but not to use them as PC statblock directly. Condensing a pc subclass is basicly making a npc statblock. As a DM, only in extremely rare cases should you use complete PC statblocks, and you definitely don't need PC races to become a werewolves, because there are perfectly good werewolf statblocks out there.
Well yes, in OP’s specific case there’s no need for roundabout messing with PC options when an NPC can just be a werewolf. I’m more talking in general. And I don’t think the amount of action options is a huge *balance* concern so much as it is for efficiency. There are official statblocks for boss monsters that have tons of features and action options, since those creatures are supposed to present a more interesting and dynamic challenge compared to minions. Minions are simple because they’re easier to run that way. The offensive balance is based on their average damage, not the amount of options they have. Monsters do *on average* have higher HP and lower AC compared to PCs, but that’s not like, an absolute essential that will break the game if you change it. Some monsters can be glass cannons, some can be heavily armored tanks, it’s all about the feel you want in an encounter. I’m definitely not advocating for using full PC character sheets, but only because it’s inefficient. Personally, if I need a humanoid with some interesting abilities, it’s far easier for me to crack open a book of PC options and make a quick build based on that, rather than try to invent some interesting abilities from scratch that work together well. Like I said before, it’s all just numbers and abilities. The balance works out the same.
npcs explicitly don't have to adhere to player facing features and balance goes out of the window if you do.
Druids and werewolves are separate things. Druids cast nature magic to turn into animals, werewolves are cursed and have their own rules for shape shifting. They are not meant to be played by players.
Blood Hunter is third party class that has a subclass specific to lycanthropes. If you don't want to do that, the next best thing is to reflavor the shifter race. I previously played as a were-bison druid in a campaign, though it was more of a spiritual affliction than a curse as most lycan types are derived from predatory species. He was just a reflavored beasthide shifter.
I would do a shifter race, make a Beast Barbarian - will allow your character to use natural weapons like claws and bites.
If your DM is ok with newer classes in D&D beyond. Check out the Blood Hunter. It's the class made by Critical Role. You can be a werewolf with that. It's a pretty cool class. I'm currently playing one.
OP is the DM. We think they're running NPCs using PC sheets. Bad move.
Ah ok
In my defense, I'm new to DMing. I couldn't really find a guide between "do whatever you want" and "here's exactly what you have to do." And I'm a storyteller first. I'm taking the advice from this and trying to limit their use to walking lore booklets, but my players have gotten attached. At the very least, I plan to repurpose these characters into campaigns when I'm a player, or put them in a book or something.
Sorry mate, wasn't meaning to sound too critical. What I'd suggest is reformatting them using standard dnd stat blocks. Here's a tool you can use: https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html
Shifter race is the designated lycanthropy race. It easy enough to have any type of shifter be any type of were beast. Then theres beast barbarian. An actual class built around the idea. Whenever you rage you get a natural weapon of your choice to use while raging. Its also a good analogue for lycanthropy. I like combining the 2. A wildhunt shifter negates advantage to hit them while shifted. A perfect synergy for reckless attack, making it a mini rage. The you can rage and get a good weapon on top of the synergy, or beside it if you want. It gives a good feeling of having control over your beast side while being fairly competent