Subject: [AL-QADIM] - werepanthers

Hi,

As promised, I have tried to formalise my thoughts on the Ruined Kingdom organisation at the time the Lions of Tomorrow come back. It is not finished yet, unfortunately.

What I managed to finish is the stats for the werepanthers, disciples of Kiga.

Good luck!

Bernard

Werepanthers

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tropical/Jungle

FREQUENCY: Very rare

ORGANIZATION: Family

ACTIVITY CYCLE: Night

DIET: Carnivore

INTELLIGENCE: High (13-14)

TREASURE: U in 2-5 different lairs

ALIGNMENT: CE

NO. APPEARING: 1 adult + 0-3 young

ARMOR CLASS: 4

MOVEMENT: 18, Jp 9

HIT DICE: adult: 6+4, young: 4+2

THAC0: adult: 14, young: 16

NO. OF ATTACKS: 3 (5)

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-5/2-5/2-8

SPECIAL ATTACKS: Leap, rear claws (2-5), hit and run (see below)

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Hit only by +1 weapons, -3 on surprise rolls, camouflage

MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard

SIZE: M (5-6' tall)

MORALE: Elite (14)

XP VALUE: adult 4000 XPs, young 2000 XPs

Werepanthers are panthers, always female, who can transform themselves into human forms. Though they seldom do. They are believed to be related to the forgotten cult of Kiga, and as such to have been enchanted to fit the purpose of the evil goddess. The objective followed by Kiga's priestesses

has been forgotten. Some scholars believe that this lycanthropy enchantment was supposed to extend the domination of Kiga both in cities and jungles. They were supposed to infiltrate the administration services of the Ruined Kingdom cities. Due to the very independent and selfish nature of werepanthers this project failed. Nevertheless, they attended the ceremonies devoted to Kiga in human form.

The official position is that werepanthers have been destroyed when the Lions of Tomorrow have run through the Grey Jungle. The last ones have been defeated when Suhail min Zann and his companions arrived near Majlis. But some adventurers report that they still exist. Having watched rites devoted

to Kiga, they have explained that women in the assembly were obviously not priestesses though they were sharing most of the offerings and prayers. They concluded that those women were werepanthers. This information cannot be confirmed anyway, as it only comes from adventurers notes found on dead, mutilated, bodies.

In panther form, they are difficult to distinguish from real panthers. Only their eyes are human. In human form, they appear as beautiful, tall women, with long, natted, black hair, green to yellow eyes, moving swiftly with grace. They speak with a low, sensual voice In human form, they retain their animal physical characteristics (16 STR, 16 CON and 18 DEX), as well as their higher senses (hearing, sight and smell).They keep the same organisation in both forms, which might explain why they have not succeeded in infiltrating courts in the Enlightened world. They are never found with normal panthers, except during the mating season, and rarely with Sabu Lords. They are not immune to the call of the Sabu Lord, but usually when the reason of the call is over, they begin to argue with the remaining felines. Things do not always finish in real fights, though both sides display their power to assess, which one is stronger.

Combat: Werepanthers always hunt in pack, comprising the mother and the daughters. All the young are assumed to be able to fight, there is 25% that one will fight as a 6+4 HD monster. Only one daughter can be fully grown-up at the same time. This moment lasts only a few weeks, after which the werepanther leaves her family to find a mate. When she is alone, the werepanther will usually avoid an encounter, as her combat tactics relies in the advantage that the whole family gains from the knowledge of the jungle.

This tactics is based on the 'hit and run' procedure. They only attack where the jungle is very dense, and try to isolate some adventurers, easier to kill thereafter. A werepanther attacks, with only one claw, the last adventurer of the group or one of the sleeping characters, usually by surprise, and then moves back into the jungle. This can be repeated until the attention has been attracted by this first werepanther, and then the second werepanther comes into play, doing the same. If they gain the initiative (which should not prove too difficult as they attack by surprise during the night), they have the time to get undercover before the adventurers can strike back (a Scimitar of Speed allows a simultaneous attack if the wielder is not surprised). If the party is dislocated, all the werepanthers will concentrate on one (sometimes two) adventurer, tormenting him until the will to live has left him. Remember that, at night, the chance of getting lost in such conditions is high. Alternately, one werepanther will attract the stronger fighters far from the weaker members of the party, who will in turn be attacked by the remaining werepanthers. They move at full speed even through the thickest jungle vegetation using their ability to leap, thereby reducing the probabilities of getting caught.

This little game goes on until the party is able to show its strength (e.g. by killing a werepanther, or showing powerful magic), or until they leave the werepanthers' territory. Adopting a defensive strategy (i.e. standing back to back) will only delay the werepanthers' attack. When fighting, the werepanthers always try to remain undercover, which explains their low AC, and their lower THAC0 (1 point under the normal THAC0). If forced to fight in plain (rare and strange idea indeed), their natural AC is 6, and one (15 and 17) raises their THAC0. Their ability to surprise disappears too. In such a case, though, their first move will be to flee. The only exception is when the mother protects the escape of the young. Otherwise, they never fight on a one-to-one basis.

The rear claws can be used on two occasions. First, if forced in a one-to-one melee, the werepanther will jump on her adversary and try to hit with her rear claws, regardless of the result of the front claws. Second, in the final melee combat resulting from the 'hit and run' tactics, if both front claws hit, the werepanther will try to hit with their rear claws.
 

Habitat/society: The werepanthers have several lairs scattered on their territory. These lairs are built above the ground in the densest parts of the jungle. When they find interesting possessions on their preys, they always take them back to the closest lair. No link seems to exist between the location of the lairs and temples devoted to Kiga. The actual werepanthers do not seem to show some kind of attachment to the evil goddess, by roaming around sacred places to protect them.

Up to now, nobody knows how the disease is spread. No adventurer has lived long enough to tell he was wounded by werepanthers. Some have claimed to have survived to wounds made by werepanthers, but a closer inspection has lead to the conclusion that the encountered beasts were true panthers. They are merciless and cruel. They love to play with their human prey, fooling him, getting some pleasure by seeing him lost in the jungle, begging for help, crying in vain. The game is part of the hunt.
 

Ecology: During the mating season, the werepanther looks for a male. Once the babies are born, she kills both the male and the babies, which are not werepanthers. Only females survive to this selection. She feels rather than she knows exactly which babies will become werepanthers. That's why werepanthers are very rare, and can only be encountered in the deepest parts of the Grey Jungle.

Words of the existence of werepanthers have spread in Dihliz and some scholars have argued, based on old texts, that werepanther eyes or ears could improve Clairvoyance and Clairaudience potions respectively, and that its blood would nearly double the effects of a potion of Speed.