The Wereboar
By Sean K Reynolds
Wereboars are aggressive creatures that often provoke fights to drive other creatures out of their territories, or sometimes just for the sake of fighting. The ease with which a wereboar's ire can be triggered means that a great many creatures can be exposed to the wereboar's curse.
A character who chooses to keep his lycanthropic curse can progress in the wereboar template class to gain wereboar abilities. This template class can also be used by natural wereboars who wish to start play at lower levels and develop their powers, or for characters who somehow acquire this form of lycanthropy from another source.
This template class can be taken only by a lycanthrope who is aware of his condition, whether because he was born a wereboar or because he realizes that he is afflicted with lycanthropy. Any ability noted as applying to all forms is available to the wereboar in his natural, hybrid, and animal forms, but not forms acquired via polymorph or other means.
Each lycanthrope template class has three levels, but only natural lycanthropes can take all the levels it offers. An afflicted lycanthrope can take only 1st and 2nd levels in the class, 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 wereboar warrior (as presented in the Monster Manual) has a level adjustment of +3, his ECL is actually 7 - 1 from his warrior Hit Die, +3 from the template, +3 for his boar Hit Dice. 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.
The animal class is entirely optional. No would-be lycanthrope is required to take it, but doing so is an advantage, since a character without it is weaker than other lycanthropes of the same type. Taking levels in the appropriate animal template class gives the character the animal's Hit Dice and hit points (in all forms), saving throw bonuses (in all forms), skill points (in all forms), racial skill bonuses (in all forms), conditional skill modifiers (in animal form), ability score modifiers (in hybrid or animal form), natural armor bonus, and special attacks (such as the boar's ferocity). Levels in the animal class may be taken at any point after the character takes one level in the lycanthrope template class. He is also 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 lycanthropy (as described in the Monster Manual on page 178) immediately loses all wereboar template class levels and boar 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.
The wereboar template class can also be used for dire wereboars. The only difference is that a dire wereboar must use Table SP-8 for advancement, while a normal wereboar uses Table SP-7.
| The Wereboar Template Class | ||
| Level | CR | Special |
| 1st | +1 | Wis +2, natural armor +2, alternate form (boar), low-light vision, shapechanger subtype, wereboar feat (Alertness) |
| 2nd | +1 | Alternate form (hybrid), boar empathy, damage reduction (5/silver), wereboar feats (Iron Will, Toughness) |
| 3rd | +2 | Curse of lycanthropy, damage reduction (10/silver) |
Wereboar Template Class Features
All of the following are class features of the wereboar template class.
Ability Score Changes: The indicated ability score increases or decreases by the amount noted. These changes are cumulative.
Natural Armor Improvements: At 1st level, the wereboar'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. These changes are cumulative.
Alternate Form (Su): At 1st level, the wereboar can take the form of a boar, 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 wereboar 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 wereboar character 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 kind (neutral for wereboars and dire wereboars) in all forms. Any voluntary change to boar or hybrid form immediately and permanently changes the character's alignment to neutral.
Until the character has taken one or more optional levels in the boar animal class (see Boar Abilities, below), changing shape to boar form does not give him the abilities of a boar -- 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 wereboar template class choose to take levels of the boar class as well in order to gain the full abilities of their animal forms.
At 3rd level, the wereboar can assume a hybrid form -- a shape between his humanoid and his boar forms. As with the boar form, this change is purely cosmetic unless the character has taken the boar class to gain the appropriate abilities.
Low-Light Vision (Ex): A 1st-level wereboar gains low-light vision.
Shapechanger Subtype (Ex): At 1st level, the wereboar gains the shapechanger subtype.
Wereboar Bonus Feats: At 1st and 2nd level, the wereboar gains the feats indicated on Table SP-6 as bonus feats, assuming that he doesn't already have them. If the wereboar 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.
Boar Empathy (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a wereboar in any form can communicate and empathize with normal or dire boars. This ability gives him a +4 racial bonus on checks made to influence the attitude of boars or dire boars. It also allows the communication of simple concepts and (if the animal is friendly) commands, such as "friend," "foe," "flee," and "attack."
Curse of Lycanthropy (Su): At 3rd level, a natural wereboar can infect other creatures with lycanthropy. Any humanoid or giant hit by the gore attack of a wereboar in animal or hybrid form must succeed on a DC 15 Fortitude save or contract lycanthropy. Afflicted lycanthropes do not transmit lycanthropy.
Damage Reduction (Ex): At 2nd level, the wereboar 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.
| The Boar (Lycanthrope) Class | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class Level | Hit Dice | Base Attack Bonus | Fort. Save | Ref. Save | Will Save | Skill Points | Special |
| 1st | 1d8 | +0 | +2 | +2 | +0 | 2 + Int mod. | Con +2, natural armor +2, boar abilities, gore |
| 2nd | 2d8 | +1 | +3 | +3 | +0 | 2 + Int mod. | Str +2, Con +2, natural armor +2, scent |
| 3rd | 3d8 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +1 | 2 + Int mod. | Str +2, Con +2, natural armor +2, ferocity |
A character can take levels the dire boar animal class only if he is a natural or afflicted dire wereboar. Because of the size restrictions on lycanthropy, only Medium, Large, or Huge creatures can become dire wereboars.
| Table SP-8: The Dire Boar (Lycanthrope) Class | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class Level | Hit Dice | Base Attack Bonus | Fort. Save | Ref. Save | Will Save | Skill Points | Special |
| 1st | 1d8 | +0 | +2 | +2 | +2 | 2 + Int mod. | Con +2, natural armor +2, boar abilities, gore |
| 2nd | 2d8 | +1 | +3 | +3 | +3 | 2 + Int mod. | Str +2, Con +2, natural armor +2, scent |
| 3rd | 3d8 | +2 | +3 | +3 | +3 | 2 + Int mod. | Str +2, Con +2, natural armor +2, ferocity |
| 4th | 4d8 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | 2 + Int mod. | Str +2 |
| 5th | 5d8 | +3 | +4 | +4 | +4 | 2 + Int mod. | Str +2 |
| 6th | 6d8 | +4 | +5 | +5 | +5 | 2 + Int mod. | Str +4, Endurance, Large |
| 7th | 7d8 | +5 | +5 | +5 | +5 | 2 + Int mod. | Str +4 |
Ability Score Changes: The indicated ability score increases or decreases by the amount noted. These changes are cumulative.
Natural Armor Improvements: At 1st level, the character'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. These changes are cumulative.
Boar Abilities (Ex): Upon taking a level in the boar or dire boar animal class, the character gains the animal'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-7 or SP-8.
In boar or dire boar form, the wereboar's speed changes to 40 feet. Class skills for the boar or dire boar racial Hit Dice are Control Shape, Listen, and Spot.
Gore: The boar or dire boar animal class gives the wereboar a gore attack. The gore is a natural weapon that deals 1d8 points of damage.
Scent (Ex): As a 1st-level boar or dire boar, a wereboar in any form gains the scent ability.
Ferocity (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level of the boar or dire boar animal class, a wereboar may fight while disabled or dying without penalty.
Endurance: At 6th level in dire boar class, the wereboar gains Endurance as a bonus feat.
Large (Ex): When the dire wereboar reaches 6th level in the animal class, his animal and hybrid forms become Large size. In either of those forms, he takes a -1 penalty to AC and attack rolls for size, and his Space/Reach changes to 10 ft./5 ft. His ability scores and natural armor bonus change as indicated on Table SP-8.