Loup-garou: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:56, 27 January 2022

Loup-Garou is the French name for "werewolf", but in Dungeons & Dragons, it's actually a related but separate breed of monster. Originating from the Ravenloft setting (because what else were you expecting?), loup-garou of the Demiplane of Dread are basically "dire werewolves", being werewolves turned up a level. They come in two forms; the Lowland Loup-Garou, which is more powerful than the standard werewolf, and the Mountain Loup-Garou, which is more powerful than its lowland cousin.

Both iterations of the loup-garou are bigger, stronger and much tougher than the standard werewolf. Lowland loup-garou can assume the form of a worg or a humanoid worg in addition to their base human form, and are much more resistant to magic and even magical weaponry; whilst a silver weapon still does full damage, a magic weapon only does damage equal to its bonus - so a +5 Sword will only do five damage to a lowland loup-garou on a successful hit. Given that lowland loup-garou are almost identical to regular werewolves apart from their larger stature, this can be a very fatal surprise to an unprepared warrior. That said, being touched by the Dark Powers means they take a bonus +1 damage from a Blessed weapon, providing it's already magical or silvered. Mountain loup-garou are literally just bigger and nastier; they have a Dire Wolf alternate form and hybrid form, they can Regenerate (albeit only 1 HP per round in AD&D), and just for added kicks, they're vulnerable to gold, not silver.

In 3rd edition, these abilities were downplayed; the lowland has Spell Resistance 12, whilst the mountain has Spell Resistance 14 and Fast Healing 1.

Apart from that, there's really not much to say about the Ravenloftian loup-garou. They're basically just werewolves, but with nastier statblocks.

These lycanthropes debuted in the Realm of Terror boxed set for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and were then reprinted in the Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix III. They were subsequently updated to Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition in the Denizens of Darkness/Dread duology.

They returned to Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition in Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft. Here, in addition to a buffed stat block, what makes them so nasty is that those werewolves created by their bite are incurable so long as the loup-garou lives.

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-'''Loup-Garou''' is the French name for "[[werewolf]]", but in [[Dungeons & Dragons]], it's actually a related but separate breed of monster. Originating from the [[Ravenloft]] setting (because what else were you expecting?), loup-garou of the [[Demiplane of Dread]] are basically "dire werewolves", being werewolves with the powers to assume the form of a [[worg]] or a human/[[worg]] hybrid. They come in two forms; the Lowland Loup-Garou, which is more powerful than the standard werewolf, and the Mountain Loup-Garou, which is more powerful than its lowland cousin.
+'''Loup-Garou''' is the French name for "[[werewolf]]", but in [[Dungeons & Dragons]], it's actually a related but separate breed of monster. Originating from the [[Ravenloft]] setting (because what else were you expecting?), loup-garou of the [[Demiplane of Dread]] are basically "dire werewolves", being werewolves turned up a level. They come in two forms; the Lowland Loup-Garou, which is more powerful than the standard werewolf, and the Mountain Loup-Garou, which is more powerful than its lowland cousin.
-These lycanthropes debuted in the Realm of Terror boxed set for [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]], and were then reprinted in the Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix III. They were subsequently updated to [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]] in the Denizens of Darkness/Dread duology.
+Both iterations of the loup-garou are bigger, stronger and much tougher than the standard werewolf. Lowland loup-garou can assume the form of a [[worg]] or a humanoid [[worg]] in addition to their base human form, and are much more resistant to magic and even magical weaponry; whilst a silver weapon still does full damage, a magic weapon only does damage equal to its bonus - so a +5 Sword will only do ''five damage'' to a lowland loup-garou on a successful hit. Given that lowland loup-garou are almost identical to regular werewolves apart from their larger stature, this can be a very fatal surprise to an unprepared warrior. That said, being touched by the [[Dark Powers]] means they take a bonus +1 damage from a Blessed weapon, providing it's already magical or silvered. Mountain loup-garou are literally just bigger and nastier; they have a [[Dire Wolf]] alternate form and hybrid form, they can Regenerate (albeit only 1 HP per round in AD&D), and just for added kicks, they're vulnerable to ''gold'', not silver.
-They returned to [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]] in [[Van Richten's Guide]] to [[Ravenloft]].
+In 3rd edition, these abilities were downplayed; the lowland has Spell Resistance 12, whilst the mountain has Spell Resistance 14 and Fast Healing 1.
-==AD&D Fluff==
+Apart from that, there's really not much to say about the Ravenloftian loup-garou. They're basically just werewolves, but with nastier statblocks.
-{{NotFunny Sourcebook}}
-[[File:Loup-garou MC Ravenloft.jpg|left|300px]]
-Loup-garous are powerful cousins of the common werewolf. Like most true werewolves in Ravenloft, they can assume three forms: human, man-wolf, and wolf. The human form is completely normal.
-The loup-garou always looks the same in its human form. just as it looks the same in its wolf or man-wolf form. In this shape, the beast has a movement rate of 12.
+These lycanthropes debuted in the Realm of Terror boxed set for [[Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]], and were then reprinted in the Ravenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix III. They were subsequently updated to [[Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition]] in the Denizens of Darkness/Dread duology.
-As a man-wolf, it stands about 7’ tall and is extremely muscular. The body is fur-covered and has a short tail, canine legs, and a wolf’s head. The creature walks erect and can manipulate things with its hands. In this form, the creature can talk, although its voice is low and raspy. The man-wolf shape is also faster than its human guise, having a movement rate of 15.
-As a wolf, a lowland loup-garou looks just like a worg wolf while its mountain cousins are larger. The creature is swiftest in this form, having a movement rate of 18, but cannot handle tools or weapons, and cannot talk.
-Combat: The tactics and weapons that a loup-garou employs in combat depends wholly upon the shape that it employs. The creature needs a full round to change from one form to another.
-The human can belong to any character class and may have any experience level, although most loup-garous tend to be warriors or thieves. The experience level never affects Hit Dice or hit points. Werewolves without a character class are treated as 1st level fighters. In this form, the creature depends upon weapons to defend itself.
-In man-wolf form, the loup-garou can attack 3 times per round, once with each clawed hand and with a bite. It can use a weapon, but then only gets one attack per round. The creature has a Strength of 18/00 in this form, and gains the appropriate combat bonuses (+3 on attacks and +6 to damage).
-In wolf form, a loup-garou can attack only once each round by biting. This form has the advantage of speed and surprise, however. Because of its keen senses, a loup-garou in wolf form imposes a -2 penalty on its enemies’ surprise rolls. The wolf form is also less conspicuous than the man-wolf, appearing as a normal animal rather than a supernatural creature.
-In any form, the lowland loup-garou has some natural resistance to magic. Its mental capacity remains the same regardless of shape.
-The creature can be harmed only by silver or magical weapons. Silver weapons do normal damage, but magical weapons only do as much damage as their bonus. For example, a sword +1 can inflict no more than 1 point of damage per successful hit, regardless of the damage roll. A character’s Strength bonus does not apply. A blessed weapon (of other specialty weapon with a bonus) inflicts 1 point of damage per hit.
-Habitat/Society: Lowland packs wander the Ravenloft domains in search of prey, preferably humans. In the wild, lowland packs often use a cave or ruined building as a den. They also have been known to travel as humans and stay in inns. They hate other lycanthropes and especially wolfweres.
-Ecology: The werewolf’s most fearsome aspect is the infection its bite can cause. Any infected human or humanoid can become a werewolf when the condition is triggered (frequently by the 3 days of a full moon). The infected werewolf can be controlled by the true werewolf that infected him. In animal form, the infected creature is a semi-intelligent (2-4), raging beast. It takes a full turn for an infected werewolf to change from man to wolf or vice versa.
-Mountain Loup-garou
-This larger species is as big as a dire wolf when in wolf form. It can only be hurt by gold or magical weapons. It is more magic resistant than many types of werewolves, and can regenerate 1 hit point per turn. Mountain loup-garous are more likely to hunt alone than other forms of werewolf.
-==5E Fluff==
-The fifth edition version of the Loup Garou is a more nasty version of a werewolf that turns victims it infects into regular werewolves that can't be cured of their lycanthropy until the Loup Garou is killed.
+They returned to [[Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition]] in [[Van Richten's Guide]] to [[Ravenloft]]. Here, in addition to a buffed stat block, what makes them so nasty is that those werewolves created by their bite are incurable so long as the loup-garou lives.
 ==Gallery==
 <gallery>
+Loup-garou MC Ravenloft.jpg
 Loup-garou RoT.jpg
 Loup Garou 5E.png

Loup-garou: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 20:56, 27 January 2022

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