Curse of Lycanthropy

Accurseds, once they take control of the magic of their curse, find themselves in a rather unique situation: they are able to view the malediction in ways that few other creatures can, learning the true makeup of its magics. Most are surprised to find that the common beliefs held about the nature of their particular affliction are actually misconceptions, though this isn’t the case for all imprecations. Learning to utilize the true nature of their curse’s magic is at the heart of an accursed’s progression of power.

Curse of Lycanthropy

Lycanthropy is one of the most ancient and feared curses, one that transforms civilized humanoids into ravenous, raging beasts. Once bitten by a lycanthrope, the instinct to eat and destroy consumes most of the afflicted, even those who do their utmost to resist it. However, unlike so many others, you’ve found a way to manage these instincts, and unlocked the quintessential nature of lycanthropy: the ability to sculpt your body into mammalian forms. You’ve learned to harness this gift, transcending the singular beast form of the lycanthrope who turned you and accessing the shapes of any mammal you’ve seen. You can only imagine the possibilities if you attain complete mastery of your shape...

Lycanthropy Ailments

As a creature afflicted with lycanthropy, you suffer the following ailments:

• You have vulnerability to damage from silvered weapons.

• Due to the enhanced metabolism caused by lycanthropy, you have to consume much more food than a normal creature. At the end of each day that you don’t consume at least two pounds of food, you automatically suffer one level of exhaustion.

Level 1: Enhanced Senses

You gain proficiency in the Perception skill. Additionally, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or smell.

Level 1: Minor Shift

You learn to control your lycanthropy enough to shift small parts of your body for short periods without giving in to your feral instincts. You count as a shapechanger, in addition to your other types. Your original form is your fully humanoid form for the purpose of the moonbeam spell and similar effects.

As you attack, you can shift your teeth into fangs or tusks or your hands into hooves or claws, allowing you to create a natural weapon. You are proficient with your natural weapon, which is a melee weapon that deals 1d4 bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage (your choice each time you make an attack with it).

Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn using your natural weapon, you can make an additional natural weapon attack as a bonus action.

Your natural weapon’s damage increases to 1d6 at 5th level, to 1d8 at 11th level, and to 1d10 at 17th level.

Additionally, starting when you reach 6th level in this class, your natural weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Curse Spells

You gain curse spells at the accursed levels listed in the Lycanthropy Curse Spells table. See the Spellcasting class feature for how curse spells work.

Lycanthropy Curse Spells

Accursed Level	Spells
2nd	Longstrider
5th	Alter Self
9th	Haste
13th	Freedom of Movement
17th	Far Step

Level 3: Scent Memory

Your enhanced senses have allowed you to create a mental catalogue of scents. Whenever you succeed on a Wisdom (Perception or Survival) check using smell to find or track a creature, you know if you’ve scented that creature before, and can accurately place the scent to a creature you know if you’ve smelled it in the last year. This feature has no effect on a creature if it is transformed into a form you don’t recognize.

Level 3: Hybrid Shift

You can assume a form that is a mix between humanoid and beast. This hybrid form is unstable, though, and can’t be maintained for long. You can assume your hybrid form as an action. While you’re in your hybrid form, you gain the following benefits:

• You can make a natural weapon attack as a bonus action on your turn.

• Your lycanthropy constantly reknits your wounds to maintain the form. At the start of each of your turns, you regain a number of hit points equal to half your accursed level. If you take damage from a silvered weapon, this benefit doesn’t function at the start of your next turn.

Your hybrid form lasts for 1 minute. It ends early if you choose to end it (no action required by you), or if you drop to 0 hit points or die.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. If you have no remaining uses of this feature, you can instead expend a spell slot of 3rd level or higher to use it again.

Level 5: Extra Attack

You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Level 11: Sustained Shift

You gain the ability to sustain minor shifts of your form without losing yourself to your animal instincts. As an action, you can magically assume one of the following traits, or return to your normal form. If you assume one of these traits while you already have one assumed, you lose the previous trait.

Digitigrade Legs. Your femurs shorten while your metatarsals lengthen, giving you the appearance of having reversed knees and making your strides more powerful. Your walking speed increases by 10 feet, and you double your high and long jump distances.

Echolocation. Your vocal cords become more elastic, allowing you to create sounds inaudible to most creatures. As a bonus action on your turn, you can emit a noise inaudible to creatures without the echolocation or tremorsense traits. Until the beginning of your next turn, you have blindsight to a range of 30 feet as long as you aren’t deafened and are able to speak.

Hooked Claws. Hooked claws appear at the ends of your fingers and toes. You have a climbing speed equal to your base walking speed.

Powerful Lungs. Your lungs grow larger within your chest cavity, giving you a greater capacity for air. You can hold your breath for up to 15 minutes at a time.

Vertical Pupils. Your pupils thin until they become vertical slits, much like a cat’s. You have darkvision to a range of 60 feet, if you don’t already have darkvision. Additionally, you have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight.

Webbed Phalanges. The joints of your fingers and toes becomes bridged by flexible webbing. You have a swimming speed equal to your base walking speed.

Level 15: Major Shift

Your continued practice with shifting unlocks the true nature of lycanthropy: the ability to alter the entirety of your form in whatever way you see fit. You can cast the alter self spell at will, without expending a spell slot. When you cast the spell using this feature, it doesn’t require concentration. Additionally, when you use the Change Appearance option, in addition to the normal ways you can use that option, you can change your basic shape, though you can only change your basic shape into that of mammals. You still can’t appear as a creature of a different size to you.

For example, you can use the Change Appearance option to change your form from bipedal to quadrupedal, but only into a pony, tiger, dog, or other mammal of your size, not into a crocodile, griffin, or other non-mammalian creature.

Level 20: Master of Form

You have fine control over all aspects of your body, allowing you to change aspects of yourself as you see fit. As a bonus action on your turn, you can use your Hybrid Shift, Sustained Shift, or Major Shift feature.

Additionally, you can use your Hybrid Shift an unlimited number of times. While in your hybrid form, you have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical weapons that aren’t silvered.