Lycanthropy is not a disease but a Daedric covenant. To bear the curse is to be spiritually tethered to Hircine, the Prince of the Hunt, whose realm—the Hunting Grounds—claims a splinter of the afflicted soul. This bond grants predatory power in exchange for obedience to the eternal chase. Lycanthropes live between orders: mortal will and bestial imperative, civilization and blood.
The curse spreads only through willful blood-binding or ritual transmission. Even when coerced, acceptance occurs at the soul’s weakest moment. Once bound, the lycanthrope becomes both hunter and proof of Hircine’s creed: survival is worship.
Lycanthropy manifests according to Totem Aspects of the Hunt, shaped by land and culture. Common forms include werewolves (pack dominance), werebears (endurance and wrath), wereboars (stubborn ferocity), werecats and werelions (agility and sovereignty), and rarer marsh or winged variants (ambush and decay). Each totem reflects a philosophy of predation and informs instinctual behavior during the Hunt.
Skyrim: Lycanthropy is both feared and idealized. Warrior traditions frame it as strength through brotherhood, though death while cursed forfeits honored afterlives.
High Rock: Considered Daedric heresy; hunted publicly, tolerated secretly in wild marches.
Valenwood: A contradiction—abomination to the Green Pact, sacred to Hircine-aligned sects.
Elsweyr: Seen as a lunar misalignment; werelions are mythic judges or pariahs.
Morrowind & Hammerfell: Heresy or possession; punished severely.
Black Marsh: Rare and unstable; Hist influence may reject, transmute, or erase the bond.
Initial transformation is involuntary and violent, fracturing identity. Over time, the lycanthrope may master voluntary change, yet the Hunger never fades. Moon-phases amplify the call, but experienced hunters can answer—or resist—at will. Denial of the Hunt breeds fever, madness, and loss of agency.
These rules are intended to be plug-and-play, giving the DM (Franz) direct levers for tension, power, and consequence.
Beast Strength
Strength becomes 20 while transformed (unless already higher).
Advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks and Strength saving throws.
Predatory Endurance
Gain temporary hit points equal to 2 × proficiency bonus at the start of combat.
These refresh after a short rest while transformed (do not stack).
Regeneration
Regain 10 hit points at the start of each turn if at least 1 hit point remains.
Regeneration is suppressed until the start of the next turn if damaged by a silvered weapon or Daedric-aligned magical weapon.
Disease and Toxin Tolerance
Immune to disease.
Advantage on saving throws against poison; resistance to poison damage.
Heightened Senses
Advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks relying on hearing or smell.
Detects the presence of creatures with blood within 60 ft. (not through total cover).
Knows the general direction of the nearest creature below half hit points within 60 ft.
Once per turn, may add proficiency bonus to one attack roll or ability check against a creature it has tracked or wounded this encounter.
The Hunger of Hircine
If 24 hours pass without consuming raw flesh, the lycanthrope must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom save at dawn or gain 1 level of Exhaustion.
Exhaustion from Hunger cannot be removed except by feeding while transformed.
While affected, disadvantage on Wisdom and Charisma checks.
The Beast’s Ego
At each long rest, if the lycanthrope killed a sentient creature since the last rest: DC 12 Wisdom save.
Failure: the next transformation lasts its full duration and cannot end early by choice.
Two consecutive failures: DM control during transformation, prioritizing hunt and aggression.
Vulnerable to damage from silvered weapons.
When hit by a silvered weapon: DC 14 Constitution save.
Fail: Poisoned until end of next turn.
Success: not poisoned; regeneration still suppressed.
Critical hit with silvered weapon forces a Concentration check (DC = damage dealt) to maintain transformation.
Transform
Bonus Action, once per short rest.
Duration: 1 hour, or until reduced to 0 hit points.
Equipment does not merge unless enchanted (DM discretion).
Revert
At 0 hit points while transformed: reverts, stable and unconscious.
Upon reversion: gain 1 level of Exhaustion.
A lycanthrope who dies while cursed has their soul drawn to the Hunting Grounds.
Resurrection magic beyond Revivify requires a DC 15 spellcasting ability check to recall the soul from Hircine’s claim.
At acquisition, assign a Totem Aspect (Wolf, Bear, Lion, etc.). Flavor instincts accordingly. Optionally grant one minor ribbon benefit (DM choice), such as advantage on group tactics (Wolf) or carrying capacity and shove resistance (Bear), without altering core balance.
Cure requires severing the Daedric tether:
A ritual confrontation with Hircine’s shrine (offering heart or progenitor), or
A rare divine purification invoking Arkay (low success), or
Radical realignment (e.g., Hist intervention) that permanently alters identity.
Even when cured, dreams of the Hunt may persist.
Lycanthropy is high power, high cost. It offers decisive combat advantages balanced by escalating loss of control, silver vulnerability, and metaphysical consequences. It should feel like a living pact, not a passive buff—tempting, dangerous, and narratively rich.
Lycanthropy binds mortal will to predation itself. The cursed gain strength, senses, and regeneration, but must feed the Hunt or be consumed by it. Mechanically potent and spiritually costly, the curse persists because it speaks an ancient truth of Tamriel: life survives by the chase, and the chase always claims its due.