```metadata title: The Were-jaguar of Maztica description: '' tags: '' systems: - 5e renderer: legacy ``` # The Were-jaguar of Maztica Were-jaguar are lyncanthropes found in the continent of Maztica, on Toril. In their own culture they call themselves Balam. Many tribes are spread throughout the lands; some have amicable relations with neighbouring societies. Others see everything that lives as prey and are feared and hated. ___ ## Racial template Some see were-jaguars as poor souls cursed by lyncanthropy, among the Balam it is considered a blessing from the gods. Which god depends on the culture of the tribe: the caring Nula, the evil Zaltec, or even beloved and mourned Maztica herself, are often worshiped in the family pantheon. Other, some say older, dieties like the jaguar god Ekbalam, the primal spirit Gaia or the moon goddess Xelûne also feature prominantly. Whatever the truth, once a humanoid becomes a were-jaguar they recieve this racial template on top of their existing race. Any humanoid can be turned into a were-jaguar by the bite of another were-jaguar, but it cannot just be any bite: the were-jaguar must make a determined effort to pass on the lyncanthropy. The subject can resist the lyncanthropy by succeeding a Constitution saving throw if they wish to: the DC is 10 + the Constitution modifier of the were-jaguar. Among certain tribes it is taboo to pass on the blessing without the tribe's consent; among others it is considered that any prey strong enough to survive an encounter with the Balam deserves to become a predator. Remove Curse can reverse the lyncanthropy, and remove this race template, but among many tribes this is seen as a rejection of a blessing and earns a death penalty. ### Were-jaguar traits In any form, the were-jaguar always has these traits: ___ - **Child of the Moon:** On the night of the full moon you turn into the hybrid form at sundown and remain in this form until sunrise. Further effects can be found in the box opposite. - **Damage Resistances:** Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered. - **Disease immunity:** You cannot suffer from disease. - **Keen Hearing and Smell:** You have advantage on Perception checks that rely on hearing or smell and +2 to Passive Perception that relies on hearing or smell. - **Languages:** You cannot speak humanoid languages in jaguar form, but you can understand them. You learn jaguar and can speak it in the jaguar or hybrid form. - **Senses:** Darkvision 60ft. - **Shapechanger:** You can use an action to polymorph into a jaguar, a jaguar-humanoid hybrid or your humanoid form. Your Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma remain the same but your size, speed, Strength, Dexterity and Consitition change according to the forms listed below. Your clothing and other equipment do not change with you. . > ##### Child of the Moon > Throughout the night you have heightened aggression, but if you are in direct full moonlight you lose control entirely and go into a homicidal rage unable to distinguish friend from foe. You primary instinct is to kill any non-Balam that moves. While in full moonlight: > * You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws. > * You forget how to use weapons and rely on entirely on claws and bites. > * You cannot cast spells. > * You add your proficiency bonus to damage rolls. > * You take every chance to attack the creature nearest to you or that damaged you last. > * If there are no creatures near you, you follow your senses to find one to kill. > > Your homicidal rage continues for 1 minute after leaving direct full moonlight. .
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\page #### Shapechanger forms As a were-jaguar you have the following forms: humanoid, jaguar and jaguar-hybrid. Your abilities for jaguar and were-jaguar hybrid are listed below, in addition to the were-jaguar traits already listed. Your Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma remain unchainged. Regardless of your Constitution, your Hit Points remain unchanged. ___ > ## Jaguar >*Medium beast, character alignment* >___ > - **Armor Class** 13 > - **Speed** 50 ft., Climb 40 ft., Swim: 20 ft. > - **Size** As a regular jaguar >___ > >|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA| >|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| >|16 (+2)|16 (+3)|16 (+3)| n / a | n / a | n / a | >___ > > ***Silent Killer.*** Advantage on Stealth checks > > ***Pounce*** If you move at least 10 feet straight toward a creature and hit with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. The **DC is 8 + your Strength Modifier + your Proficiency.** If the target is knocked prone, you may make one bite attack against it as a bonus action. > > ***Feline paws.*** As you have paws you are unable to use weapons or tools that require the use of hands. > ### Actions > ***Multiattack.*** You make two claw attacks, or a claw and bite attack. > > ***Bite.*** _Melee Weapon Attack:_ Proficiency +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. _Hit_ 1d10 + 2 piercing damage. > > ***Claw.*** _Melee Weapon Attack:_ Proficiency +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. _Hit_ 7 (1d8 + 2) slashing damage. ___ > ## Were-jaguar hybrid >*Medium humanoid, character alignment* >___ > - **Armor Class** 11 + your Dexterity Modifier unless wearing adjusted armour > - **Speed** 30 ft., Climb: 25 ft., Swim: 20ft. > - **Size** A head taller than your regular humanoid form >___ > > - **Strength, Dexterity and Consitition scores** increased by +2, to a maximum of 20. >___ > > ***Silver vulnerability*** In this form, you are vulnerable to weapons made of silver. > > ***Predatory nature*** If you can see, hear or smell a helpless creature in this form, you have disadvantage on all Wisdom saving throws. > > ***Pounce*** If you move at least 10 feet straight toward a creature and hit with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed a Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. The **DC is 8 + your Strength Modifier + your Proficiency.** If the target is knocked prone, you may make one bite attack against it as a bonus action. > > ***Weapons:*** You can use weapons, but if you chose to do so then you are limited to the attacks of your humanoid form and do not make claw/bite attacks. > > ***Armour:*** If you are wearing armour when you transform and it is not the right size or cannot stretch, it breaks off. > ### Actions > ***Multiattack.*** You make two claw attacks, or a claw and bite attack. > > ***Bite.*** _Melee Weapon Attack:_ Proficiency + Strength Modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. _Hit_ 1d10 + Strength Modifier piercing damage. > > ***Claw.*** _Melee Weapon Attack:_ Proficiency + Strength Modifier to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. _Hit_ 1d8 + Strength Modifier slashing damage.
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\page ### Were-jaguar crinos Few non-were-jaguar know of the Balam's crinos form. A crinos is a were-jaguar that is able to attain the ultimate hybrid war form. There is usually only one crinos per tribe if any; typically they would be the leader or have a similar position of honor. The crinos is the worst nightmare of lyncanthropy imaginable, such that most cannot imagine it and those who do witness it are instantly traumatized. Minds break at the sight of this hulking death machine of hair, muscle, fangs and claws. There is only one way for a Balam to gain the power of a crinos: eat the heart of a freshly killed crinos. A crinos has a deep connection to the Umbra, that dreamscape that connects the wild, the weaver, the wyrm and oblivion. While many Fera are able to enter the Umbra with proper training or the aid of a Shaman, in the crinos can skirt in and out of the near Umbra on an instinctual level. A crinos is also an incredible healer, with metabolism that can knit together torn flesh fast enough so as to me seen by the naked eye. Perhaps also a reason that **this form can only be sustained for a short time: your level + double your proficiency modifier in minutes per day.** The were-jaguar crinos has the same abilities and actions as the were-jaguar hybrid, with the additon of the following: . Credit: Duncan Fegredo ___ > ## Were-jaguar crinos >*medium humanoid, character alignment* >___ > - **Armor Class** 18 > - **Hit Points** gain temporary hit points of 2x your level > - **Speed** 40 ft., Climb 30 ft., Swim: 20 ft. > - **Size** 8 ft. tall >___ >|STR|DEX|CON|INT|WIS|CHA| >|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:| >|20 (+5)|20 (+5)| 16 (+3)| n / a | n / a | n / a | >___ > >**Armor:** All armor immediately breaks off in the rapid transformation > >**Damage Immunities:** Bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks that aren't silvered. > >**Rapid healer.** At the start of your turn, you regain 4 hit points even if knocked unconscious. Taking cold and fire damage on the same turn induces system shock and halts this ability until the end of your next turn. If you are unconscious because of being reduced to 0 hp, you make your death throw before you heal; you can still fail death throws from taking damage while unconscious. > >**Stepping Sideways. (Recharge 5-6)** Your connection to the Spirit Wilds is so intense that you are able to momentarily slip into the near umbra and back. You can cast the spell _Blink_ as an inate spellcasting ability, but it connects to the Feywild instead of the Ethereal. > > > **Induce Delirium.** An overwhelming instinctive fear that affects anyone who lays eyes on the you, friend and foe alike. For anyone in eyesight of you, at the beginning of their turn they must make a Wisdom saving throw **(DC = 8 + your Charisma Modifier + Proficiency)**. If they fail then they suffer Delirium. Unlike regular fear, it manifests in random ways: the subject rolls a d10 for the effect (see Delirium table below). The experience is so intense that the subject may even forget everything or rationalize away what they saw to block the trauma. Every round under Delirium they can try to save again at the beginning of their next turn (but fialing does not change the effect), until either the Crinos is out of sight or they save, in which case they no longer are affected by Delirium for 1 day. > >Creatures immune to Fear are also immune to Delirium. > > **True Child of the Moon.** When under the effects of the full moon, the crinos becomes the default form for that night.
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The followoing Delirium Table reffers to standard 5e conditions in Capitals for easy reference. The memory loss begins from the end of the encounter when the crinos is out of sight. If the character rationalizes the experience, they will come up with reasons they took their actions after the fact but not remember the crinos specifically.
##### The Delirium | d10 | Effect | Description | Memory Loss | |:---:|:---|:---|:---:| | 1 | Absolute Fear | Subject faints, collapsing in fear, as Unconscious | yes | | 2 | Terror | Subject flees in terror. They are so irrational that they forget how to do simple things like opening a door to escape or activate an teleport item with a command word. | yes | | 3 | Disbelief | Subject retreats to a corner to avoid the unbelievable sight until it passes, trying to avoid looking; they can only take other actions unrelated to the crinos | yes | | 4 | Berserk | Subject attacks the crinos, be it firing a bow, throwing objects, or even leaping into melee with reckless abandon and insane disregard for safety. Subject is too enraged to take any actions requiring concentration or that take more than a turn to execute. | yes | | 5 | Panic | Subject tries to flee but is able to think clear enough to lock doors behind them or activate escape magic | yes | | 6 | Conciliatory | Subject will try to plead and bargain, doing anything possible so as not to get hurt | yes | | 7 | Controlled Fear | Subject is Frightened and will flee or fight as appropriate remaining in control of their actions, only unable to approach the crinos, as Frightened. | rationalized | | 8 | Infatuation | Subject is so in awe of the fearsome presence that they are Charmed by the crinos | rationalized | | 9 | Bloodlust | Subject refuses to take anymore and attacks the crinos but with enough clarity that they can perform complex actions. They are afraid but angry, and will remember the crinos and probably even try to hunt it down should they survive this encounter | no | | 10 | Catatonic terror | Subject is Paralyzed with fear | no |
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# Appendix ### Setting This template was designed for a Maztica campaign in the Forgotten Realms setting for D&D 5e but can be easily adapted to other campaign settings. Please visit https://gaximplague.obsidianportal.com/ to follow the campaign! ### Credits This template was made by @Frak_Lou_Elmo with The Homebrewery: http://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com . The concepts of Delirium, the Delirium table and shapeshifter terms such as Balam, Fera, Garou, crinos etc were adapted from the The World of Darkness setting by White Wolf. ``` ``` ### Yava of the Chuapli Forest tribe: * Protect the tribe at all costs. * Meditate during the entire night of the full moon under full cover, this is the _taghairm_. * Give no quarter to vampires, the Black Tail tribe or the Star Wyrm. * Serve the Earthmother, in whatever form she may take. * Never bestow the blessing upon another alone: the tribe decides who is Balam. * Seek to unite all Fera, from Garou to Gurahl, under the Claw of the Conciliator. * Should you choose to remove this blessing, or break these tenants, you will be hunted down by the tribe and killed.
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