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Archives of Nethys

Archives of Nethys

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PFS StandardWerebear

Unlike many other types of werecreature, a werebear does not become malevolent during its involuntary transformations, but is instead filled with righteous conviction. This indignation can still manifest in violent ways, though, as a transformed werebear becomes temporarily blind to its alliances and has little control over its bestial temper. As a result, werebears are loners, rarely even living together as families longer than necessary. Werebears know that as long as they live solitary lives, they can serve as protectors and guardians in wilderness regions without the overwhelming fear that, when the moon is full and the curse takes hold, they will rage against an innocent bystander or loved one. As long as there is nothing around to threaten it or the natural area it protects (typically a forest), a werebear in its animal form is generally content to forage and sleep away the night.

Recall Knowledge - Beast (Arcana, Nature): DC 21
Recall Knowledge - Humanoid (Society): DC 21
Unspecific Lore: DC 19
Specific Lore: DC 16

Elite | Normal | Weak
Proficiency without Level

WerebearCreature 4

Legacy Content

Uncommon LG Large Beast Human Humanoid Werecreature 
Source Bestiary pg. 331
Perception +11; low-light vision, scent (imprecise) 30 feet
Languages Common; bear empathy
Skills Athletics +12, Medicine +9, Nature +11, Stealth +11, Survival +11
Str +5, Dex +2, Con +4, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha -1
Bear Empathy (divination, primal) The werebear can communicate with ursines.
Items chain shirt, greataxe, hatchet (8)
AC 23; Fort +12, Ref +10, Will +10
HP 75; Weaknesses silver 5
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] claw +13 [+9/+5] (agile, reach 10 feet), Damage 1d10+7 slashing plus GrabMelee [one-action] greataxe +13 [+8/+3] (reach 10 feet, sweep), Damage 1d12+7 slashingMelee [one-action] hatchet +13 [+9/+5] (agile, sweep), Damage 1d6+7 slashingMelee [one-action] jaws +13 [+8/+3] (reach 10 feet), Damage 1d12+7 piercing plus curse of the werebearRanged [one-action] hatchet +10 [+6/+2] (agile, sweep, thrown 10 feet), Damage 1d6+7 slashingChange Shape [one-action] (concentrate, polymorph, primal, transmutation) Medium human with fist +13 for 1d4+7 bludgeoning, or grizzly bear with Speed 35 feet.Curse of the Werebear (curse, necromancy, primal) This curse affects only humanoids. Saving Throw DC 22 Fortitude save. On each full moon, the cursed creature must succeed at another Fortitude save or turn into a werebear until dawn. The creature is under the GM’s control and goes on a rampage for half the night before falling unconscious until dawn.Hunt Prey [one-action] (concentrate) Requirements The werebear can see or hear the target or is Tracking it in exploration mode. Effect The werebear gains a +2 circumstance bonus to Perception checks when it Seeks its prey and a +2 circumstance bonus to Survival checks when it Tracks its prey. The werebear also ignores the penalty for making ranged attacks within its second range increment against the prey it’s hunting. The werebear can designate only one creature as its hunted prey at a time. If it uses Hunt Prey against a different creature, the prior creature loses the designation and the new prey gains the designation. In any case, this designation lasts until the werebear’s next daily preparation.Mauler The werebear gains a +2 circumstance bonus to damage rolls against creatures it has grabbed.Moon Frenzy (polymorph, primal, transmutation) When a full moon appears in the night sky, the werebear must enter hybrid form, can’t Change Shape thereafter, becomes one size larger, increases its reach by 5 feet, and increases the damage of its jaws by 2. When the moon sets or the sun rises, the werebear returns to humanoid form and is fatigued for 2d4 hours.Precision Edge The werebear deals 1d8 additional precision damage on its first successful Strike against its hunted target on each of its turns.

All Monsters in "Werecreature"

NameLevel
Werebat2
Werebear4
Wereboar2
Werecrocodile2
Weremoose3
Wererat2
Wereshark4
Weretiger4
Werewolf3

Werecreature

Source Bestiary pg. 328
Werecreatures are humanoids doomed to transform into animals and animal-humanoid hybrids under the light of the full moon. These shapechanging creatures are the result of an ancient primal curse that they can, in turn, transmit through their own bites. Their ability to lurk unseen in the wilds as well as among people, combined with the contagiousness of their condition, makes werecreatures a perennial cause of panicked suspicion.

Afflicted and True Werecreatures

Werecreatures come in two types: those afflicted with the curse and those born with it (“true werecreatures”).
One can be born a true werecreature to any werecreature parent. A true werecreature is always a werecreature and retains the same memories and most of the same statistics in all forms. A true werecreature also has full control over its shapechanging except during the full moon, when the transformation is irresistible. There is no known way to break the curse on a true werecreature.
Affected werewolves received their curse from the bite of another werecreature (which could’ve been an afflicted or true werecreature). An afflicted werecreature may be unaware of its curse because it retains no memories of its transformations, gets no benefit from being a werecreature when not transformed, and has no conscious control over its transformation. An afflicted werecreature’s curse can be removed like any other.

Creating Werecreatures

You can turn an existing, living humanoid into a werecreature by completing the following steps. (These changes reflect a werecreature in its hybrid form.) Increase the creature's level by 1 and change its statistics as follows.
  • It gains the beast and werecreature traits, and its alignment is usually adjusted to match that of its werecreature type.
  • Increase its size by one category if the animal is a larger size than the base humanoid.
  • Increase its AC, attack bonuses, DCs, saving throws, and skill modifiers by 1.
  • Increase its damage with Strikes and other offensive abilities by 1. If the werecreature is limited in how often it can use an ability (such as a breath weapon), increase the damage by 2 instead.
  • Increase its HP by the amount shown on the table. This HP increase is more than typical in order to compensate for the creature's weakness to silver.
  • The creature gains weakness to silver as shown on the table.
Starting LevelHP IncreaseWeakness to Silver
4 or lower+255
5–7+357
8–14+5010
15++7515

Werecreature Abilities

All werecreatures gain the following abilities, some of which match an ability of the animal the werecreature transforms into. You might also need to adjust some abilities that conflict with the theme of the werecreature (such as abilities with a conflicting alignment trait).
Senses The werecreature gains all the senses of the animal.
Animal Empathy (divination, primal) A werecreature can communicate with animals of the same general kind.
Claws The werecreature gains a claw Strike (an agile unarmed attack that deals slashing damage). If it had any agile attacks, the damage dealt by its claws should be roughly the same as the damage dealt by those attacks. If it had only non-agile attacks, its claws should deal three-quarters that damage.
Jaws The creature gains a jaws Strike (an unarmed attack that deals piercing damage) that inflicts its curse of the werecreature. If it had any non-agile attacks, the damage dealt by its jaws should be roughly the same as the damage dealt by those attacks. If it had only agile attacks, its jaws should deal one-third more damage.
Change Shape [one-action] (concentrate, polymorph, primal, transmutation) The werecreature changes into its humanoid, hybrid, or animal shape. Each shape has a specific, persistent appearance. A true werecreature's natural form is its hybrid shape. In humanoid shape, the werecreature uses its original humanoid size, loses its jaws and claws Strikes, and gains a melee fist Strike that deals bludgeoning damage equal to the slashing damage dealt by its claw. In animal shape, its Speed and size change to that of the animal, it gains any special Strike effects of the animal that it didn't already have (such as Grab), and it loses its weapon Strikes.
Curse of the Werecreature (curse, necromancy, primal) This curse affects only humanoids. Saving Throw Fortitude DC is the standard DC for the werecreature's new level – 1. On each full moon, the cursed creature must succeed at another Fortitude save or turn into the same kind of werecreature until dawn. The creature is under the GM's control and goes on a rampage for half the night before falling unconscious until dawn.
Moon Frenzy (polymorph, primal, transmutation) When a full moon appears in the night sky, the werecreature must enter hybrid form, can't Change Shape thereafter, becomes one size larger, increases its reach by 5 feet, and increases the damage of its jaws Strike (or a similar Strike) by 2. When the moon sets or the sun rises, the werecreature returns to humanoid form and is fatigued for 2d4 hours.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Building Werecreatures

The curse of the werecreature comes in myriad forms and can affect any humanoid, allowing you to make a wide variety of werecreatures for your adventures. When you need to create a werecreature for your game, you can do so in one of two ways. You can simply build the werecreature from the ground up, using the standard rules for monster creation (this is how the werebear, wererat, and werewolf presented on these pages were built). Or you can use the guidelines presented under “Creating Werecreatures” to turn an existing creature (or even a player character!) into a werecreature. In either case, specific werecreature abilities like Change Shape, curse of the werecreature, and moon frenzy work the same.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Lycanthropy

Many scholars refer to the curse of the werecreature as “lycanthropy,” but technically this is correct only when speaking of werewolves. Nevertheless, the word has gained traction in certain circles, and as a result it's not uncommon to hear the whispers of locals who fear lycanthropes even when a ravenous weretiger is the real threat. Naturally, the werecreatures themselves don't take this ignorance lightly, and tend to see being equated with a werewolf as a great insult. Unless, of course, the werecreature is a werewolf!

Sidebar - Related Creatures Other Werecreatures

In theory, any animal could form the basis for a new type of werecreature, provided the animal in question is at least omnivorous—herbivorous werecreatures are all but unheard of. Werecreatures that rise from insects, arachnids, and similar invertebrate animals are particularly unsettling, though much rarer than werecreatures of vertebrate animals.

Sidebar - Additional Lore Retaining Humanity

Werecreatures are notorious for their murderous rampages in the deep of the night—violence that is often at odds with the afflicted’s true nature. Even an honorable town guard or priest could be a murderous werewolf without realizing it, for the werecreature’s curse leaves the afflicted with no memory of their nocturnal murder sprees.

Sidebar - Advice and Rules Wolfsbane

Wolfsbane is a poisonous plant that can cure the curse of the werecreature. It’s effective only if consumed before the creature transforms for the first time. If the creature survives wolfsbane’s effects without using magic to aid in surviving, the creature can attempt a new saving throw against the curse of the werecreature. On a success, the creature is cured.