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

tis just beginning,
s have run dry, the
2ick up the trail in
can use the were-
'r to lead the PCs to
ant encounter or to
lycanthropes might
;with PCs, leading
snd lethal goose
rebeast, a PC should
3 proficiency.
ne in the adventuring
DM can still leave
i that provide bridges
unter; the PCs
able to follow them
! to consult Table 39
acking modi'iers.
the body of a lycan-
s definite cause for a
th ascending modi-
ite to the extent of
the length of time
is discovered.
:tim can be a con-
)f some important
lonster's identity or
the lycanthrope may
3in that did not fall
sumed animal form,
:odd pull it free as he
31 perhaps the victim
ap or letter on his
e animalistic lycan-
id, soaked in blood.
Aical werebeasts
,ho run them) might
; upon the bodies of
e evidence of a ly-
:k on a corpse can be
nction of the animal
11 lore. healing, or
ncies. If the check is
a lycanthrope's in-
dicated, it may be as-
PC had to conduct a
ig probe of the body,
cks are appropriate.
fellows or alone, the werebeast
abandons a corpse terrible to behold.
And more horrible yet is it to search
that disfigured mess for some clue that
may lead to the murderer!
Even so, examination of the werebeast's
victim is important for two reasons:
First, he or she may reveal
something important from his or her
possessions, position in death, state of
decay, or any number of other things.
Second, many other creatures (natural
or monstrous) may leave a body in
shreds upon the road. The conscientious
lycanthrope hunter must be sure
of exactly what caused the fatal wounds
or risk tracking the wrong killer.
The bite marks of a lycanthrope are
wider and deeper than those of natural
beasts, and I also have observed a certain
uiciousness in the making of the
wounds, as if were not enough to
simply bring down the victim and then
eat of i,t. Agony and terror are often
quite visible in both the eyes and the
crimson, gaping rips of a werebeast's
kill; it is not a sight that can be objectively
described, but you will definitely
know it when you see it, and I apologize
in advance for insisting upon it.
Uncovering the lair of the beast
certainly advances the identification
process (especially if the monster is at
home), but it also may provide some
crucial insight into the beast's
strengths and weaknesses. The best
way to approach this den of death
depends upon whether you seek a
town or a wilderness lair, and I shall
briefly address those two issues here.
Note that I speak of the abode of a
true lycanthrope in either case, since
infected werebeasts do not normally
maintain a lair as such.
Town Lairs
In the case of the town lair, finding the
residence of a werebeast is mostly a
matter of confirming the hunter's suspi-