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Children of the Night: Werebeasts (2e)

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"I wouldn't do that if I were you," warned the stranger in an oddly irritated tone of voice. Yet the street thugs only laughed and struck at him harder. He fell to the ground and curled into a ball... and then that ball began to bulge as the stranger's clothes ripped at the seams, revealing the bristle of swiftly growing, shaggy hair.

Children of the Night: Werebeasts is the third book in a series that brings to (un)life the creature types treated in the bestselling Van Richten's Guides. Each of the creatures depicted herein carries its own history, its own special curse, and its own mini-adventure that will test the mettle and the wits of novice and experienced adventurer alike.

Some of the monsters that heroes will confront include the following:

  • Meeka, a cat that almost, but not quite, became human
  • Professor Arcanus, a collector of rather strange curiosities and artifacts
  • Mother Fury, a "woman" who loves what she is and wants to share her "gift"
  • Henri Milton, an artist who isn't sure if art imitates life or vice versa
  • Dr. Horstman, a scientist with a unique perspective on "progress"

These Are the Children of the Night

This product was designed for use with the RAVENLOFT campaign setting, but it can easily be adapted for use in any AD&D game world, or it can be used by itself for an evening of terror. 

For all character levels.

Product History

Children of the Night: Werebeasts (1998) by William W. Connors was the third book in the Ravenloft Children of the Night series. This supplement features thirteen unique werebeasts to sic on your players, each monster accompanied by new art, a short but expandable adventure, and a detailed description of personality and motivations. Children of the Night: Werebeasts is designed to provide atypical, memorable foes who can be used in a game at a moment's notice.

A Monster for Every Setting Connors did an excellent job creating intelligent, canny monsters who might appear in unexpected places. The pirate king of wererats adds new meaning to "rats deserting a sinking ship," for instance, and a gorgeous opera star who is secretly a vindictive werefox opens the door for a more urbane adventure in high society. Several lycanthropes play with the players' expectations and metagame knowledge, such as the nobleman who takes pains to seem like a traditional vampire instead of the werebat he actually is. The result is a varied, flexible collection of NPCs who are useful in a number of settings.

A Werebeast by Any Other Name... One lesson you'll pick up from this supplement is that if you're a lycanthrope who wants to keep a low profile around crusading adventurers, consider changing your name to something more subtle. Andre de Sang? Probably not destined to become a paladin. Mother Fury? Probably not someone you'll hire as a nanny.

The real brilliance of this sort of book, however, is that it's ideal for the DM who uses nothing as written and instead borrows the best parts from multiple sources. There's no need for most of these monsters to stick to their original names or Ravenloft locations. A little tweaking, a little adjustment of their background, and they can be dropped into any appropriate campaign on short notice.

Get Ready to Customize. The generic nature of this sort of book is a double-edged sword. These monsters need some DM customization in order to make them truly memorable. As written, they cleave closely to the traditional lycanthrope rules, just as you'd expect in an official Ravenloft supplement. Tweak their resistances and powers to make them even more intriguing, drop them into an ongoing plot in your campaign, and you'll have a villain the players will be cursing about for years to come.

About the Creators. This book was designed by William W. Connors, an author and designer whose work at TSR spans product lines as diverse as Ravenloft, Dragonlance, Planescape, Mystara, and Alternity. You can find his monsters within eight of the 2nd edition D&D Monstrous Compendiums.

About the Product Historian

History and commentary of this product was written by Kevin Kulp, game designer and admin of the independent D&D fansite ENWorld. Please feel free to mail corrections, comments, and additions to kevin.kulp@gmail.com.

We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

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February 28th, 2013
Originally published at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2013/02/28/tabletop-review-ravenloft-children-of-the-night-werebeast [...]
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File Last Updated:
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This title was added to our catalog on January 22, 2013.