Lycanthrope, Weregiant, General Information

The statistics above refer to the giant werecreature in its "hybrid" form. While in giant form, giant werecreatures follow standard statistics for their giant type; when in animal form (where applicable), giant werecreatures follow all the rules for "Giant Mammals" listed under the "Mammals" entry in the MONSTROUS MANUAL tome.

Giant lycanthropes are enlarged versions of their werecreature cousins, the result of an attack from a smaller lycanthrope type; they are typically "infected" or "cursed" lycanthropes, subject to the phases of the moon just as normal infected lycanthropes. Giant lycanthropes usually have some telling features (besides size) that mark them as members of a certain giant type; these are detailed below. Only certain giants-usually those designated "giant-kin," smaller and more humanoidcan contract lycanthropy; any giant with 15 or more Hit Dice is susceptible to it. Outside of this limitation, giant lycanthropes can entail a wide variety of combinations, from firbolg wererats to voadkyn seawolves and every combination in between; the various types are listed below, along with individual rules and restrictions.

Cyclops and Cyclopskin: The smaller cyclopskin are susceptible to all forms of lycanthropy, and their stats in werecreature form echo that of the lycanthrope type exactly. The larger cyclopes generally find themselves inflicted with either bear or bat lycanthropy, because the caves in which they prefer to make their homes most commonly attract those creatures. Other types of lycanthropy are rare but possible; however, a cyclops cannot contract fox, tiger, or seawolf lycanthropy, nor any of the more exotic types. Cyclopskin or cyclopes in hybrid or animal forms are easy to identify because of the distinctive single eye, which they maintain in their transformed shape. This single eye does not hinder the hybrid or animal forms. In addition, a cyclops werebat cannot change into a giant animal form; it is limited to the hybrid form, and in this state it cannot fly; the cyclops still grows wings, however, and can glide through the air if it drops from a height.

Cyclops "communities" (such as they are) tend to drive out those afflicted with lycanthropy, since the creatures feed on the flocks cyclopes keep. Usually, giant werecreature cyclopes encountered by PCs represent such outcast creatures.

Desert: Desert giants already suffer under the burden of a curse, one that slowly turns them to stone. This curse apparently supercedes lycanthropy, making them immune to the affliction. Presumably, if a desert giant managed to break its curse, it might become susceptible to lycanthropy, though to which forms and to what degree remains unknown.

Ettin: Ettins can contract wolf, rat, or boar lycanthropy only, and they suffer from one restriction: They cannot assume a full animal form. This seems to be a result of their multiple heads; a lycanthropic ettin retains its two heads in hybrid, which limits the change its body can make. These twin heads also make the lycanthropic ettin a true danger-an ettin werecreature with a bite attack gains two such attacks each round, each with the ability to pass on its dread affliction.

In some (10%), the lycanthropy affects one, but not both, of the ettin's heads. In these instances, the unaffected head (usually the "less dominant") loses control of its body to the affected head. It is often as afraid- if not more so-than those the affected ettin terrorizes.

Firbolg: The normally noble firbolg are especially susceptible to lycanthropy due in part to their extreme physical similarities to humans. Firbolg can contract nearly all possible forms of lycanthropy except raven, and they gain all the forms and abilities of the lycanthrope type. Infected firbolg are objects of extreme pity in firbolg communities; if an infected firbolg is discovered, the community will rally around the victim, pooling all their resources to seek out a cure.

Formorian: Formorian giants are a warped pastiche of body parts and body types. This condition apparently protects them from lycanthropy; no formorian has ever been known to contract the curse.

Fog: Fog giants have never been known to contract lycanthropy, possibly due to either their Huge (24'+) stature, their close relation to the immune cloud giants, or both. Whether it is possible for fog giants to contract the affliction remains to be determined.

Frost: The bitter lands the frost giants inhabit are hospitable to only two form of lycanthrope-bear and seawolf- and the frost giant is susceptible to both. A frost giant sea wolf is a notoriously dangerous predator in the iceberg-filled waters of many northern realms, and most captains will go out of their way to assure they do not sail on the night of a full moon. Frost giant werebears change into a giant white polar bear. Frost giants are also one of two giant types known to have true lycanthropes among their ranks; these also shift only into the form of giant polar bears. (See the Lycanthrope, Giant Werebear entry.)

Hill: Hill giants are fully susceptible to most kinds of lycanthropy, excluding raven. Most commonly they contract wolf, boar, rat, or bat. Hill giant lycanthropes tend to be overly broad and awkward, and as such they suffer a -2 penalty to their movement rates in both hybrid and animal forms.

Jungle: The jungle giant is susceptible to any form of lycanthropy found within its environment, especially fox, tiger, and bat, as well as most feline forms of lycanthropy, like the wereleopard and werecheetah (both of which are detailed in the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM: RAVENLOFT III Appendix). In fact, jungle giants afflicted with some form of feline lycanthropy should be considered only "Rare," in relation to all other forms of lycanthropy, appearing twice as often in infected jungle giants as any other type. The jungle giant's unusually thin figure, while amply appropriate for the lithe feline forms it normally changes into, hinders its hybrid forms, causing a 2-Hit-Dice reduction to the hybrid form of all types of jungle giant werecreatures.

Stone: Though less than 15 Hit Dice, the stone giant is as solid and resilient as its namesake, and as such stone giants are immune to all forms of lycanthropy.

Verbeeg: The verbeeg, like the firbolg, are very human-like, and like the firbolg share their susceptibility to lycanthropy. Verbeeg, therefore, can fall prey to any form of lycanthropy, excluding raven. Verbeeg tend to react violently to infected lycanthropes among their ranks; where cyclopes tend to drive victims away and firbolg band together to seek a cure, verbeeg will actively seek out and destroy sush creatures within their tribe.

Wood: The voadkyn, being related to elves, share the elves' susceptibility to all forms of lycanthropy. In addition, voadkyn are the only giants (besides frost giants) who share their ranks with true lycanthropes; these are the feared and hated shadkyn. (See the Lycanthrope, Giant Werebat entry.)

Combat: Generally, a giant lycanthrope will employ all the same methods of aittack normal lycanthropes do, and causing double the damage. In addition to this, the giant lycanthrope's Large or Huge size allows it some additional forms of attack against Medium and Small creatures. One of these is a grabbing attack, which any Huge giant werecreature can employ against a size Small target. In lieu of a claw attack, the giant may attempt to grab a Small opponent for no damage, but with the option of biting the captured creature automatically the next round (no THAC0 roll required). Small creatures can break free of the grab with a successful Bend Bars/Lift Gates check. Against Medium-sized creatures, the move can be employed, but the giant lycanthrope needs to grab the target creature with both hands to successfully bite the next round.

Curing Lycanthropy: All the normal means of curing lycanthropy apply to giants and giant-kin as well, though some things must be modified to account for the giant's size - specifically, a giant werecreature must eat a much larger amount of belladonna within 24 hours of contracting the disease to cure it than a normal humanoid would require. In addition, giants with 10 or more Hit Dice have a slim chance of "curing" themselves of lycanthropy during every full moon; as they feel the effects of the lycanthropy taking over their bodies, they can try to resist with a 5% chance of success. If a giant cures itself this way, it usually retains some small measure of the lycanthropy inside of it, manifesting in extra body hair or animalistic features- in effect, taking on a slight physical resemblance to the animal type, much like true lycanthropes.