The Werecheetah
Werecheetahs
are generally not as vicious as many lycanthropes, they generally keep to
themselves and even watch over travelers in the wilderness. However, they are clever and quick combatants
to those that invoke their fury.
Affliction with this form of lycanthropy is uncommon, though Natural
werecheetahs will sometimes fight good travelers and if they prove worthy, the
werecheetah will infect them with lycanthropy as a ‘gift’. (They won’t even harm the ‘victim’ before determining them ‘worth’.)
This template class assumes that
the character is aware of his condition, whether because he was born a werecheetah
or because he realizes he is afflicted with lycanthropy. Any ability noted as
applying to all forms is available to the werecheetah in his natural, hybrid,
and animal forms, but not forms acquired via polymorph or other means.
This template class assumes that
the character is aware of his condition, whether because he was born a werecheetah
or because he realizes he is afflicted with lycanthropy. Any ability noted as
applying to all forms is available to the werecheetah in his natural, hybrid,
and animal forms, but not forms acquired via polymorph or other means.
Note that each lycanthrope
template class has 3 levels, but only natural lycanthropes
can take all the levels it offers. An afflicted lycanthrope can take only
levels 1 and 2, since his level adjustment is +2
instead of +3.
Lycanthrope template classes
also follow special rules relating to the benefits such characters acquire from
their animal natures. The template allows for a level adjustment of +3 (or +2 for afflicted lycanthropes), but that value does
not include the Hit Dice from the lycanthrope's animal form. So while a
1st-level human natural wererat warrior (as presented in the Monster Manual)
has a level adjustment of +3, his ECL is actually 5 -- 1 from his warrior Hit
Die, +3 from the template, +1 for his dire rat Hit Die. Likewise, a 1st-level
natural werebear human warrior has an ECL of 10 -- 1
from his warrior Hit Die, +3 from the template, +6 for his bear Hit Dice.
Thus, in addition to the 2 or 3 levels offered via the appropriate lycanthrope
template class, each kind of lycanthrope also has a separate (optional) class
progression for his animal abilities. Essentially, a character progressing as a lycanthrope multiclasses into the template class and
can also multiclass into the appropriate animal class if desired.
He is free to take levels in other classes
between levels of the template class and the animal class, as desired. The
animal class, like the template class, does not count when determining whether
a character takes an XP penalty for multiclassing.
An afflicted lycanthrope that is cured of his lycanthropy (as described in the Monster
Manual on page 178) immediately loses all werecheetah class levels and cheetah
class levels (if any). These levels cannot be restored
with restoration or similar magic; they are simply gone. Most
lycanthropes that do not wish to lose their lycanthropy in this way deliberately fail their saving throws against the spell
in order to prevent this traumatic change.
Table SC-1: The Werecheetah
Template Class
|
Level |
CR |
Special |
|
1st |
+1 |
|
|
2nd |
+1 |
Alternate form (hybrid),
cheetah empathy, damage reduction (5/silver), Werecheetah] feats (Iron
Will, Weapon Finesse) |
|
3rd |
+2 |
Curse of lycanthropy, damage reduction (10/silver) |
Werecheetah Template Class
Features
All of the following are class
features of the werecheetah template class.
Ability Score Changes: The indicated ability score increases or
decreases by the amount noted.
Natural Armor Improvements: At 1st level,
the werecheetah's natural armor bonus increases by +2. A character that does
not normally have a natural armor bonus (such as a human) is considered to have
an initial natural armor bonus of +0 for the purpose
of this ability. Thus, a human's natural armor bonus would increase to +2 at 1st level.
Alternate Form (Su): At 1st level,
the werecheetah can take the form of a cheetah, and he undergoes this change
involuntarily on the nights of the full moon or in times of stress, as
described in the Monster Manual. Unless the werecheetah is a natural
lycanthrope, he does not automatically have control over this ability and must
attempt a Control Shape check to intentionally change
form or to resist an involuntary change. For an afflicted lycanthrope, Control
Shape is a class skill for all classes as well as racial Hit Dice, if any.
Natural lycanthropes have full control over when they change shape and do not
need to take ranks in this skill. Changing form is a standard action that can be attempted once per round.
A werecheetah who is aware of
his condition retains his identity and does not lose control of his actions
when he changes. Each time he involuntarily changes to his animal form,
however, he must make a Will save (DC 15 + number of times he has been in
animal form) or permanently assume the alignment of his lycanthrope type (neutral
good for werecheetahs) in all forms. Any voluntary change to cheetah or hybrid
form immediately and permanently changes the character's alignment to neutral
good.
Until the character has taken
the optional levels in the cheetah class (see Cheetah Abilities, below),
changing shape to cheetah form does not give him the abilities of a cheetah --
he simply is able to take that creature's shape, as if he had a perfect
disguise. Since this ability is of limited use, most characters taking levels
in the werecheetah template class choose to take the optional levels of the cheetah
class as well in order to gain the full abilities of their animal forms.
At 2nd
level, the werecheetah gains the ability to assume a hybrid form -- a shape
between his humanoid and his cheetah forms. As with the cheetah form, this
change is purely cosmetic unless the character has taken the cheetah class to
gain the appropriate abilities. He will also gain a claw attack for use in his
hybrid form (see the chart SC-3).
Natural Armor Improvements: At 1st level,
the werecheetah’s natural armor bonus increases by +2 in all forms. A character
that does not normally have a natural armor bonus (such as a human) is
considered to have an initial natural armor bonus of +0
for the purpose of this ability. Thus, a human's natural armor bonus would
increase to +2 at 1st level. The [lycanthrope] also
gains additional natural armor increases in his hybrid or animal form if he
takes the [animal] class.
Shapechanger Subtype (Ex): At 1st level,
the lycanthrope gains the shapechanger subtype.
[Lycanthrope] Bonus Feats: At 1st and 2nd
level, the [lycanthrope] gains the feats indicated on Table SC-1, assuming that
he doesn't already have them. If the werecheetah doesn't
meet the prerequisites (if any) for a bonus feat, he gains the feat but cannot
use it until he does meet the prerequisites.
Low-Light
Vision (Ex): A 1st-level
werecheetah gains low-light vision.
[Animal] Empathy (Ex): Starting at 2nd
level, a werecheetah in any form can communicate and empathize with normal or
dire cheetahs. This ability gives him a +4 racial
bonus on checks made to influence the attitude of cheetahs or dire cheetahs. It
also allows the communication of simple concepts and (if the animal is
friendly) commands, such as "friend," "foe,"
"flee," and "attack."
Damage Reduction (Ex): At 2nd level,
the werecheetah gains damage reduction 5/silver. At 3rd
level, a natural lycanthrope gains damage reduction 10/silver. An afflicted
lycanthrope's damage reduction does not improve beyond 5/silver.
Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): At 3rd level, a
natural lycanthrope can infect other creatures with lycanthropy. Any humanoid
or giant hit by the bite attack of a werecheetah in animal or hybrid form must
succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or contract lycanthropy. Afflicted
lycanthropes do not transmit lycanthropy.
Table SC-2: The Cheetah
(Lycanthrope) Class
|
Levels |
Hit
Dice |
Base
Attack Bonus |
Fort. Save |
Ref.
Save |
Will
Save |
Skills |
Special |
|
1st |
1d8 |
+1 |
+1 |
+1 |
+0 |
2 +
Int. Mod |
Str
+2, Dex +4, bite, cheetah abilities, claw |
|
2nd |
2d8 |
+1 |
+2 |
+1 |
+0 |
2 +
Int. Mod |
Str
+2, Con +2, scent, sprint, trip |
|
3rd |
3d8 |
+2 |
+3 |
+3 |
+1 |
2 +
Int. Mod |
Str
+2, Dex +4, Con +2, natural armor +1 |
Bite: The cheetah animal class gives the werecheetah
a bite attack. The bite is a natural weapon that deals 1d6
points of damage. In hybrid form, it gains certain damage according to the
lycanthropes’ size. (See table SC-3)
Claw: the
cheetah animal class gives the werecheetah a claw attack. The claw attack is a secondary weapon that
deals 1d2 points of damage.
Cheetah
Abilities (Ex): Upon
taking a level in the cheetah animal class, the character gains the cheetah's
Hit Dice (in all forms), base attack bonus (in all forms), base saving throw
bonuses (in all forms), ability score modifiers (in hybrid and animal forms),
skill points (in all forms), and natural armor bonus (in hybrid and animal
forms), as well as the special abilities indicated on Table SP-4.
In cheetah form, the werecheetah’s
speed changes to 50 feet. Class skills for the cheetah racial Hit Die are Control
Shape, Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Spot.
Scent (Ex): As a 2nd-level cheetah, a werecheetah
in any form gains the scent ability.
Sprint (Ex): In any form, once per hour a werecheetah can
move ten times its normal speed when it makes a charge.
Trip (Ex): A
werecheetah in hybrid or cheetah form that hits with a bite attack can attempt
to trip the opponent as a free action without making a touch attack or
provoking an attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent cannot
react to trip the cheetah.
Table SC-3: Claw and Bite damages for hybrid form
|
Hybrid Size |
Claw damage |
Bite damage |
|
Small |
1d3 |
1d4 |
|
Medium |
1d4 |
1d6 |
|
Large |
1d6 |
1d8 |
|
Huge |
2d4 |
2d6 |