In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the werewolf is a type of lycanthrope.
Contents
Publication history
The werewolf first appeared in the original Dungeons & Dragons "white box" set (1974)
The werewolf appeared in the first edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the original Monster Manual (1977). The werewolf appeared as a player character race in Dragon #24 (April 1979).
The werewolf appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Basic Set (1977, 1981, 1983). The werewolf appeared in the Dungeons & Dragons Rules Cyclopedia (1991). The werewolf appeared as a player character class in Night Howlers (1992).
The werewolf appeared in the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the Monstrous Compendium Volume One (1989), and was reprinted in the Monstrous Manual (1993).
The lycanthrope appeared as a creature template in the third edition Monster Manual (2000), and in the 3.5 revised Monster Manual (2003), with the werewolf as a sample creature. The werewolf appeared as a player character race in Dragon #313 (November 2003).
The werewolf appeared in the fourth edition in Monster Manual (2008). The werewolf lord appeared in Monster Manual 2 (2009).
Description
A werewolf is a chaotic evil lycanthrope that is very difficult to detect in its human form, for a werewolf can be of nearly any build and of either sex. A werewolf is prone to retain bipedal form in its wolf state.
Critical reception
The werewolf was ranked sixth among the ten best low-level monsters by the authors of Dungeons & Dragons For Dummies. The authors described the werewolf as "a classic monster" and "the best illustration of a monster with damage reduction; unless characters have a silver weapon, they will have a hard time hurting this creature". The authors also note that "Werewolves are shapechangers, which means players can never be entirely sure whether that surly villager might indeed be the great black wolf who attacked their characters out in the forest."
Other publishers
The werewolf is fully detailed in Paizo Publishing's book Classic Horrors Revisited (2009), on pages 58–63.