d20 Skortched Urf Studios Department 7 Technology Update Synthetic Lycanthropy.pdf

Department 7

Technology Update:

Synthetic Lycanthropy

Written by Brian Engard

Artwork by Jeremy Hida

Colors by VShane

Skortched Urf’ Studios

PO Box 2315

Centreville, VA 20122

skortched.urf.studios@gmail.com

www.skortchedurfstudios.com

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of this licence can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.

Project Tier Innen

In the winter of 1953, Reiner Oswald

disappeared and was never heard from again. Of his

work, no trace was found until 1998, when a man

named Charles Wagner discovered Oswald’s long-

abandoned laboratory.

In 1932, at the direction of Adolph Hitler,

Reiner Oswald began research on Project Tier Innen.

Oswald, a member of the Thule society and on the

payroll of the Nazi party, was a brilliant scientist with

a profound knowledge of folklore and the occult.

He delved into the myths and stories regarding

shape-shifting and lycanthropy, determined to ﬁnd

the kernel of truth hiding within the legend, and to

exploit it. By 1936, he had found what he had been

looking for: a living specimen that he could study.

For six years, Oswald studied his specimen, extracted

serums, performed tests, and made notes. By 1942,

he was ready to put his theories into practice.

Synthetic Lycanthropy

Wagner had not happened upon Oswald’s

laboratory by chance. Two years earlier, he had

received a package in the mail, from the estate of Reiner

Oswald. A letter within the package had explained

that Wagner was, in fact, Oswald’s grandson, and that

his inheritance—now that Reiner Oswald was ﬁnally

dead—was the journal enclosed within the package,

as well as the fortune and the secrets that it would lead

to. Soon after reading the journal, Charles Wagner set

off to ﬁnd Oswald’s hidden laboratory. In 1998, he

found it.

The goal of Project Tier Innen (literally, Project

Inner Beast) had been to ﬁnd a way to unleash the

destructive potential of the human body, creating a

powerful new kind of soldier that would ensure Hitler’s

victory. Hitler had left the details up to Oswald, and

Oswald had taken the project title literally, deciding

that he would unlock the beast within every human

being, creating a predictable, scientiﬁc formula that

would induce an effect similar to the lycanthropy of

myth and legend. Above all, though, these man-beasts

would have to be controllable, and able to follow

orders and execute complex missions. In short, he had

to create the body of a beast with the mind of a man.

In this, he succeeded only partially.

Wagner shared his grandfather’s predilection

for occult lore, though not his passion for science.

However, when he found the collected works of his

long-missing ancestor, he saw the potential contained

therein. Oswald had left him a considerable fortune,

money that Wagner realized had come from Oswald’s

Nazi sponsors. With his newfound wealth and

the research left by his grandsire, Wagner decided

he would change the face of warfare forever, and

increase his own personal fortune in the process.

Several of Oswald’s test subjects did, in fact,

change form. Some became actual animals, while

others became grotesque amalgams of human and

animal form. None of them, however, survived.

Undeterred, Oswald continued his work until 1952,

years after the Nazi party had been defeated. In truth,

he came very close to success; his ﬁnal experiment

resulted in a hybridized wolf-man, with a powerful and

deadly body and the mind of a human. This human

mind, however, was the creature’s downfall. This

may, perhaps, have been because Oswald had been

using convicted criminals as his test subjects because

they had been easy for him to obtain. It may also

have been because of the intensely painful process of

transformation. In the end though, regardless of the

cause, his ﬁnal test subject was considered a failure;

the creature had become irrevocably insane, and was

terminated.

In early 2000, Wagner allied himself with his

grandfather’s former brethren, the recently-revived

Thule society. He gathered all manner of scientists and

mystics together, and dedicated the next three years to

completing the research that he had inherited. In 2003,

after many failed experiments and disappointments,

Wagner found that he and his allies had succeeded

where Oswald had not: they had successfully created

a human-wolf hybrid. More importantly, though, this

hybrid’s mind had remained intact, giving it the speed,

power, and senses of a wolf, but the intellect, planning

ability, and—most importantly—direction-following

capability of a trained soldier. Project Tier Innen had

ﬁnally yielded fruit.

Unbeknownst to the majority of the world, Wagner

had leased the technology to a number of groups—

both terrorists and government organizations—around

the world by 2005. Synthetic lycanthropy was now

a reality, and it was one that was quickly gaining

popularity.

It is true that lycanthropization cannot be

reversed. However, Catalyst 13—developed by the

Thule society shortly after synthetic lycanthropy was

achieved—allows artiﬁcial lycanthropic traits to be

suppressed for a few hours. Catalyst 13 is an injected

drug, a sort of short-term gene therapy that turns a

were-soldier into a normal human being for about four

hours. The change is incredibly painful and takes a

full minute to complete; the change back, however, is

much shorter (though no less painful), taking only 6

seconds (a single combat round).

What is Synthetic Lycanthropy?

Synthetic lycanthropy is a means by which

the genetic traits of a human being—usually a trained

soldier of some sort—are combined with those of a

predatory animal. Synthetic lycanthropes, or were-

soldiers as they are commonly called, are generally

tailor-made for a speciﬁc task, both through the gene

therapy required to make them what they are and the

training required to make them even more effective in

their new bodies.

When injected with Catalyst 13, a synthetic

lycanthrope undergoes the change back to human

form immediately. While changing, the were-soldier

is considered ﬂat-footed and can take only a single

standard action per round, due to the immense pain.

In addition, the pain inﬂicts 2d6 points of nonlethal

damage, potentially rendering the subject unconscious.

Once the change is complete, all lycanthropic traits are

completely suppressed. The subject effectively loses

his synthetic lycanthrope template (or transformation

class) for the duration. A single dose lasts 4 hours,

and additional doses can be taken while the ﬁrst is still

active; each additional dose extends the duration for 2

more hours. However, each additional dose inﬂicts the

same pain (2d6 points of nonlethal damage), though for

only 12 seconds.

Unlike were-beasts of legend, a were-soldier is

not affected by the phases of the moon, or by silver. The

change, once affected, is permanent, and a were-soldier

cannot change shapes on his own (though there are some

serums that can catalyze a change in were-soldiers). The

process of lycanthropization is extremely painful and

can last up to a year. However, a willing subject who

has been properly briefed on the change to come, and

who is administered a steady diet of pain-killers during

the gene therapy, stands an excellent chance of survival

(about 85%). Without these safeguards, survival rates

drop sharply (about 20%), and those that do survive are

generally insane by the time the process completes.

Most organizations that purchase the secrets

of synthetic lycanthropy from Charles Wagner also

purchase the formula for Catalyst 13, allowing them

to synthesize as much as is needed. It is, however,

quite expensive to synthesize, and so is not handed out

lightly. Catalyst 13 is almost never used for recreational

purposes, and is usually reserved for operations in

which a convincing human disguise is necessary.

If a player character wants to undergo

lycanthropization, she should use the transformation

classes provided later in this text. In addition,

lycanthropization carries a signiﬁcant price tag with it.

In some cases, organizations (such as Department-7)

may pick up the tab for the PC. However, in cases where

a PC is paying for the process herself, the purchase DC

should not be lower than 30.

It is possible, however, to ﬁnd Catalyst 13 on the

black market. Doing so requires a Gather Information

check, usually with a DC of 20 to 25. Once found,

purchasing a single dose carries a purchase DC of at

least 20.

Catalyst 13

The single most signiﬁcant drawback of

lycanthropization (for the subject, at least) is that it cannot

be reversed. Once undertaken, the change is permanent

(no matter how far along the process the subject may

be). This generally means that a lycanthropization

subject cannot lead a normal life from that point on.

With Catalyst 13, however, it is possible to have short

periods of normalcy.

Some were-soldiers are outﬁtted with implants

known as Catalyst Reservoirs, which hold up to six

doses of Catalyst 13. These implants can be used

to administer the drug with the press of a button

(generally on the arm, or even by remote), and can be

set to administer the drug at regular intervals in order

to extend the duration of its effects. These implants are

almost never found on the black market.

Template Traits

“Synthetic werewolf” is an acquired template

that can be added to any human (referred to hereafter as

the subject). A synthetic werewolf uses the following

modiﬁcations to its base statistics.

Challenge Rating: Same as the subject +2.

Hit Dice: Same as the subject, plus 2d8.

Speed: The transformation grants the subject a

speed increase of 20 feet.

Defense: The subject’s defense gains a +2

natural armor bonus. This bonus does not stack with

other natural armor bonuses.

Base Attack: Same as the subject +1.

Grapple Bonus: Apply modiﬁers for increased

Strength.

Attacks: The subject gains a powerful bite

attack that deals 1d6 points of damage plus its Strength

modiﬁer.

Special Qualities: A synthetic werewolf retains

all the special qualities of the subject and gains the

additional special qualities listed below.

Inhuman Visage (Ex): A synthetic werewolf is

very clearly not human in appearance, looking like a

bipedal cross between a human and a wolf. As such, it

is nearly impossible for the subject to pass for human;

it suffers a -6 penalty to disguise itself as a human being

or anything resembling a human being.

Trip (Ex): A synthetic werewolf that hits with

a bite attack can attempt to trip its opponent as a free

action without making a touch attack or provoking an

attack of opportunity. If the attempt fails, the opponent

cannot react to trip the synthetic werewolf.

Scent (Ex): This ability allows the synthetic

werewolf to detect approaching enemies, sniff out

hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. See d20

Modern , page 228 for more information.

Damage Reduction 3/— (Ex): A synthetic

werewolf ignores the ﬁrst 3 points of damage dealt by

any physical attack.

Saves: Same as the subject, with a +2 bonus on

Fortitude and Reﬂex saves.

Ability Scores: Synthetic werewolves gain the

following ability score increases: Str +4, Con +2, Dex

+4, Wis +2.

Allegiances: Same as the subject.

Skills: Same as the subject, with a +3 bonus on

Hide and Move Silently checks, a +3 bonus on Spot

checks, and a +5 bonus on Listen checks. The synthetic

werewolf also gains a +4 bonus on Survival checks

while tracking by scent.

Adventure Hook: Red Moon

The question lingers: where did Reiner Oswald

obtain that ﬁrst specimen from which all his work

emerged? Logic dictates that the initial subject had

to have lycanthropic traits for Oswald to study, and

if that is the case, how did he manage to capture such

a creature? The answer: he didn’t. In exchange for

volumes of knowledge on dark magic and the occult, the

Thule society purchased a living subject from a group

calling itself Red Moon. Decades later, Red Moon still

exists, and it is regretting its dealings with the Thule

society.

Department-7 has been getting reports lately

of brutal slayings in Germany, slayings that look like

the work of an animal but speak of something far more

intelligent and purposeful. The victims all seem to be

upstanding members of their respective communities,

with nothing linking them together. However, when

Department-7 sends investigators to check it out, it is

found that these dead men and women are all members

of a secret society of German occultists. Soon after,

other killings start; men and women are found in the

street, naked, slain by animal bites, claw marks, and

gunshot wounds. Before they know it, the investigators

ﬁnd themselves in a clash between a newly reinvented

secret society with terrifying technology, and something

far older and far more terrifying.

Synthetic Werewolf

The most commonly used form of synthetic

lycanthropy is the werewolf, probably because

it was the ﬁrst to be perfected and had the most

research behind it. Werewolves are generally used

as commandos and elite troopers; they are extremely

strong and fast when compared to a normal human

soldier, and their olfactory and auditory senses

are frighteningly acute. In addition, it has been

found that the wolf’s natural predilection toward

pack tactics compliments a squad-based format

immeasurably.

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