Six months ago the country of Greth realized Marazzer was going to invade. Greth mobilized for war. The King of Greth, called up ever man or woman between the ages of seventeen and thirty-five able to wield a sword or cast a spell to fight and defend their country.
The forces of Greth assembled on the plains of Lethe to drive the Marazzer back across the sea. The forces of Marazzer slaughtered the armies of Greth. The few survivors of the initial attack became the objects of the Marazzer "skinning game". Marazzer soldiers attempt to remove all the skin from their prisoner. The winner is the soldier who is able to fully skin his victim and have his victim live the longest without their skin. The screams of the survivors carried for miles.
After the slaughter, a troop of Marazzer marched into the town of Appary. They took control of the town. However, unexpected difficulties faced the Marazzer. The soldiers tasked with patrolling and guarding the town at night started to disappear. All they found were bloodstains and torn armor.
Something was slowly killing the Marazzer. The people in the town had a good idea what was causing the disappearance. For years, many in the town knew a family of lycanthropes lived a few miles away. Occasionally, a sheep or cow turn up missing. The town suspected Osmin was the cause. However, Osmin traded with the town, kept to himself, and never harmed any of the inhabitants of the town.
A lycanthrope is a human shape shifter. According to the Monster Manual (fourth Edition), pg. 180, lycanthrope is hereditary. This means lycanthropes are not disease victims. Lycanthropes are carriers of Filth Fever and Moon Frenzy, but not the ability to shape change.
The party of adventurers came to the town of Appary. They convinced Osmin to take out the guards while the party poisoned the rest of the Marazzer soldiers. The plan worked.
Now the town is free of the Marazzer. What would happen if the Marazzer returned? All the able-bodied men and women of the town lie dead on the planes of Lethe. The population of the town are people in their forties and children, usually grandchildren. How can the town defend itself from the Marazzer?
The party came up with an interesting idea. Convince Osmin to spread Lycanthrope to all the townspeople. If lycanthrope is only hereditary then victims of a lycanthrope can get sick and die but not turn into a lycanthrope. If it is easy to transmit lycanthrope then it because a plague. As someone wrote, when a lycanthrope assumes their animal shape they are only interested in the three F's of basic survival: feeding, fighting and ... reproduction.
Imagine an entire town filled with new lycanthropes. Lycanthropes could reproduce two ways. First, they could reproduce sexually. Second, they could reproduce by spreading the disease. Lycanthrope would spread across the world.
In the World of Tiglath, lycanthrope is a disease. When lycanthrope takes on their animal form, they cannot attack to subdue. The lycanthrope does a normal attack. If the victim survives the attack, the victim must then make a fortitude save. Only ten percent of normal non-player characters will survive the fortitude check. That ten percent will become lycanthropes.
Lycanthropes can reproduce sexually. If most common form is a male lycanthrope attacking a non-lycanthrope female. This is a bizarre form of bestiality. Instead of spreading the disease through biting the victim, the male spread the disease sexually. Offspring of this mating have a 50% chance of inheriting the disease.
The less common form is a female lycanthrope having sex with a non-lycanthrope male. In this case, the female lycanthrope usually kills and eats the non-lycanthrope male in a form of sexual cannibalism. The female lycanthrope may kill and eat the male before, during, or after the sexual act.
As part of the bribe to Osmin, the party provided a large quantity of catnip and a keg of ale. Osmin is not a werewolf. Osmin is a werepanther a sub-species of werejaguar. The primary effect of catnip causes a hallucinogenic effect on cats. A secondary effect of catnip is as an aphrodisiac.
Imagine a slightly drunk werepanther tripping on catnip and "looking for love".
No comments:
Post a Comment