Rules Changes and Notes for January 2013

The skill "Revert Were-Creature" has been removed from the game and replaced with the following skill:

Lycan's Bane
Build: 5
Maximum: 5
Pre-Req.: Hunter's Awareness, Resist Curse, Positive Energy Concentration
Usage: Periodic

Skill (Periodic), Attack, Melee, Superior,

Through the Reign’s complete understanding of curses and supernatural beings they can use their positive energies to directly strike at the curse of the afflicted. This attack deals 200 silver damage to the target as well as halts any form of natural or unnatural regeneration that the creature might posses for the duration of one hour. If the target of this ability is a Player Character that has been transformed into a lycanthrope she will revert to her natural form and fall unconscious. This is a metaphysical attack and can be blocked as such.


Lycanthropy:
Starting this month Lycanthropy will once again be joining the ranks of effects that are possible to befall a player within the world of Knight Realms. The primary method of contraction is via a skill that will be utilized by select NPCs called "Cursed Bite." This is outlined below:

Cursed Bite:
Skill: (Periodic), Attack, Melee, Superior
This attack inflicts 100 points of body damage. If the target fails to defend against the attack they are then afflicted by the Lesser Curse: Lycanthropy. Any defense that protects against Lycanthropy or curses in general will not prevent you from taking the damage portion of this ability, but only from contracting the lycanthrope curse.

Once Afflicted: As with any other curse, insanity, disease, or plot effect, when combat has ceased please find a rules marshal to have the curse added to your card. It takes one full month for the effect of lycanthropy to mature into any significant benefits and detriments. If a character retains lycanthropy into a second month, when they receive their character card at sign-in they should request a Lycanthropy Effect card.

Detection: Lycanthropy can only be detected through the use of the skill "Hunter's Awareness". Should the target wish, they may defend detection by utilizing any skill that defends against abilities with the interrogation trait.


Curing: Anyone with the (Monster) Lore: Lycanthrope is aware of the following ways to cure lycanthropy:
1. Any lower or higher list ability that cures the target of a curse or from lycanthropy specifically may be used to cure lycanthropy as a lesser curse.
2. If a person with the lesser curse version of lycanthropy is Killing-Blowed by a silver weapon they will be cured of their lycanthropy and may then be healed from the critical stage as per normal.

As a final note I will say that lycanthropy as a whole is intended to be a dangerous effect and not something to be desired. The actual effects must be found out in game but anyone who attempts to maintain their lycanthropy will find it to be like any other major status effect. In essence, it will add to the RP of your character and allow for new unique situations, but it could (and very likely may) also lead to your character's death.

In the Pre-Req's for Lycan's Bane, should "Detect Lycanthropy" actually say "Hunter's Awareness?"

Yes that is correct. I copied and edited the old "Revert Were-creature" ability from the older section of the higher list rule-book. I'll fix that now.

is the afflicted person aware they have contracted lycanthropy? what about if the victim has lore: lycanthropy and hunters awareness? could they hunters awareness themselves?

At the onset of lycanthropy the afflicted is unaware that they actually contracted it. Lore: Lycanthrope(y) does not help in that factor but yes someone could hunters awareness themselves. As time goes on and as things happen to them they may become more and more aware that something is most certainly wrong.

Although most people's first reaction after getting bit by a lycanthrope should usually be "I should probably get this looked at."

So if the new skill is called lycans bane what happens to those who can swing bane against lycans? do we still call it the same way or has the name lycan bane as a magical boost be called something else.

When you call bane damage you are not supposed to state the name of the bane weapon. So the difference would be one person swinging "10 Bane 10 Bane" the other would be doing one individual swing of "Lycan's Bane".

Yes the ability can be used vs any creature and it's effects work all the same. So yes if you find an npc with crazy regen, this ability will halt it all the same. The name is only because I'm terrible at names and this was the best we could come up with.

I know this is probably evident with the Superior tag, but since the spell specifically mentions Lycanthropy as an effect it prevents, I just want it clarified:

Can a non-Superior Inviolate Form defend a Cursed Bite?

And, in case it ever comes up,

Can a PC Lycanthrope use a (non-)Superior Inviolate Form to defend against the reversion/full effect of Lycan's Bane?

A non Superior Inviolate Form will work on defending the Lycanthropy portion of Cursed Bite.
I would say it would not work as it is not superior, and Lycan's Bane is not altering the natural form of the lycan, but actually returning him to his natural state.

Related Hunter's Awareness question. The description for Hunter's Awareness says after interacting with the target, you go find a Marshall and ask if the target is a Negative Energy Being. Since the description in this thread suggests that there are skills used in Defense, should Hunter's Awareness be amended to say you should directly ask the Character in a manner similar to Interrogate?

No.

In this case, it would be closer to the skill Gypsy Hex or the psion ability Mind Probe in that the marshal will go to the target to confirm or deny the hunter's suspicions and allow the target to call defenses to the marshal before returning to report the results to the hunter.

Also, the Hunter may not want the target to know they'd just been "scanned" to prevent metagaming.

Also true, hence the marshal.

I had thought that was implied, but I am glad Geoff spelled it out explicitly for clarity's sake.