Van Richten's Monster Hunter's.pdf - Askadesign.com

has a pious ritual that is always used
to atone for wicked acts. If not, then it
is my belief that the act of atonement
should fit the crime (or crimes) in
nature and severity, For example,
making provisions to support the
children of a man the werebeast has
killed would be a good start.
Note that the clerical spell
atonement cannot be used to speed
this process. (The spell must be used
separately in the third portion of the
cure.) So profound is the curse of
lycanthropy that there are no shortcuts
on the road to a cure. The victim must
determine what is necessary for
atonement, and perform it himself.
(Certainly others can provide input and
even guidance, but the responsibility
for success or failure lies solely with
the one who would be cured.)
The requirements for atonement will
depend on the amount and severity of
harm wreaked by the werebeast. A
lycanthrope who has suffered under
the affliction for decades may have to
spend several years atoning. Perhaps
he will choose to seek out the
surviving relatives of his victims and
tend to their material needs while
doing everything else in his power to
wipe away the emotional and
psychological damage he inflicted.
There is no means of determining
categorically whether the required
amount of atonement has been
completed. To the best of my
knowledge, no magic, divinatory or
otherwise, will yield a solution. The
only place an answer may be found is
in the heart of the one who would be
cured, If he truly knows that he has
done everything in his power to correci
the evil he has done, then the
atonement is likely complete.
It is vital to point out, once again,
that each victim of lycanthropy has
only one chance to remove the conta-
gion. If the cure fails because the
victim has done too little to atone for
his fell acts, then his punishment is to
remain a lycanthrope for as long as he
lives. Because of this, it is much better
to overestimate the degree of atone-
ment required than to underestimate it.
Rmoving the Blight
The third and final stage of the cure is
the most demanding. It is also the most
dangerous, and cannot be accom-
plished without the aid of others. The
actions required severely tax the in-
fected subject and all others involved,
both physically and emotionally.
In order for the blight to be lifted,
the subject must first assume his sec-
ondary form. Thus, the assistants who
are actually performing the cure must
await, or orchestrate, the subject's trig-
ger condition. (Orchestrating a trigger
condition may in itself be quite difficult
or dangerous, and may carry with it
certain regrettable consequences.)
What constitutes atc tnement for
3n infected player char acter? DMs
should decide this mat ter based on
:he c:haracter's though! ;s, beliefs,
snd emotions, as well as on the
character's actions. A PC who
cynically goes through the
motions of penance is not really
atoning for his actions.
DMs might decide b Neforehand
what degree of atonen lent is
reqLiired, then ieave it entirely up
to the player to decide when the
character has done en ough. If the
DM judges that the ch, aracter has
met the criteria, then the cure can
proceed; otherwise, the cure will
fail. Alternatively, the DM can
collaborate with the player-in
effect roleplaying the character's
conscience-to figure out. a
suitable penance.
The key issue is that characters
shouldn't escape the blight to0
easily. Lycanthropy is a big deal,
particularly in Ravenloft, and curins
the affliction might turn into a fullfledged
campaign all on its own.