[Index]
Cypher Bestiary
Standing 13 feet (4 m) tall while transformed, werelions are fast enough (over short stretches) to chase down vehicles traveling lonesome highways by night (and large enough to overturn them). They can take hybrid or fully lion-like forms.
Health: 27
Damage Inflicted: Moderate wound
Movement: Long in lion form
Modifications: Dodge as level 5 due to size; initiative as level 7
Combat: A transformed werelion claws twice each round. A transformed werelion also has one or more of the following traits.
GM Intrusion: A werelion unleashes a deafening roar. Characters within a short distance must make a Might defense roll or be partially deafened until they use a one-hour or longer non-rest recovery, hindering tasks related to hearing.
Most of the time a werebeast is a human, with human thoughts, goals, emotions, and abilities. The brutal transformation can be brought on by moon phases, changes in season, or intense feelings such as anger and fear; in the span of under a minute, the werebeast's bones break and rearrange into new shapes, leaving an animal that acts only on instinct. They remain aware of their actions and may feel horrified remorse once they resume their human form, but their higher cognition is forced into the backseat. In fact, the most disturbing thing about werebeasts is that they reveal what a human is capable of under the right (or wrong) conditions.
Werebeasts tend to live in isolation, or accompanied by werebeasts with the same beast form. This reduces the risk that they'll harm a loved one in their beast form; it also means that characters who stumble upon their hideout may be set upon by a bevy of enraged werebeasts.
In human form, werebeasts are usually level 2 humans.
Werebeasts usually have human names appropriate to the setting and time period, such as: Embry, Lucian, Rusty, Frankie, Beau, Dash, Teddy, Libby, Max, Hunter, Luna, Ari, Barry, Dot, Kira, Finley, Rex, Juniper, Boris, Lowell, Tala, Morgan
A "transformed" werebeast is one that appears either as a huge creature, or a huge human/creature hybrid.
Adventure Seed: Beasts are preying on families in a small town. When hunters follow their trail into the woods, the beast tracks turn to human footprints.
How did the werebeast develop the ability to shapeshift?
| d6 | Origin |
|---|---|
| 1 | Heritable trait (that may have skipped generations) |
| 2 | Bitten by the same kind of werebeast |
| 3 | Cursed |
| 4 | Summoning ritual gone wrong |
| 5 | Inherited trinket that keeps reappearing |
| 6 | Intentionally, by seeking arcane knowledge |
What causes a particular werebeast to transform, if not the full moon?
| d6 | Trigger |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rare tide |
| 2 | Unexpected pain, such as a stubbed toe, or damage |
| 3 | Taking an amount of damage that would normally kill them |
| 4 | Intoxication |
| 5 | The sound of an approaching storm |
| 6 | Entering a holy place |