*I've built a homebrew race for born lycanthropes of different varieties. I've referenced the Order of the Lycan Blood Hunter class and NPC Werewolves while I was building it and used my imagination for some of the other strains of Lycanthropy (Weredrake, Bat, Etc.)

I had three aims while making this race:

• My first aim was to have all the different types of Lycanthropy be obviously part of the same group. Each offers something a little different in terms of their feel and what they offer mechanically.
• The second aim was to convey that Lycanthropy was both a powerful gift and an impractical curse in the life of a person, making it difficult for them to live in society and dangerous at times to be around others. Mechanically, having a hybrid form that comes with some drawbacks, and a full stronger form that comes with much stronger drawbacks and risks, and that isn't voluntarily accessible until a higher level.
• My third aim was conveying that as a born lycanthrope they could slowly learn to control the curse over time if they wished to try, and as a result function more normally in everyday life.

Are the benefits and drawbacks well balanced? Does the flavor match the mechanical decisions? The aim, while making sure the race isn't OP is to have some strong abilities that balance out with some major drawbacks rather than nerfing it to have small benefits and small drawbacks.*

---

Born Lycanthrope Race Details

One of the most ancient and feared of all curses, lycanthropy can transform the most civilized humanoid into a ravening beast. In its natural humanoid form, a creature cursed by lycanthropy appears as its normal self. Over time, however, many lycanthropes acquire features suggestive of their animal form. In their animal form, a lycanthrope resembles a powerful, bipedal version of a normal animal, its eyes show a spark of unnatural intelligence and might glow yellow or red in the dark. Evil lycanthropes hide among normal folk, emerging in animal form at night to spread terror and bloodshed, especially under a full moon. Good lycanthropes are reclusive and uncomfortable around other civilized creatures, often living alone in wilderness areas far from villages and towns.

Curse of Lycanthropy

Being born as a Lycanthrope, you have dealt with the shift for most of your life, the changes often appearing around puberty, as a natural-born lycanthrope you can be freed of the curse only with a wish. As a born lycanthrope you can more easily control the curse. Despite this inherent mastery, you still feel the pull of the beast within when the moon is fullest or your heart races.

You can either resist your curse or embrace it. By resisting the curse, a lycanthrope retains its normal alignment and personality while in humanoid form. It lives its life as it always has, burying deep the bestial urges raging inside it. However, when the full moon rises, the curse becomes too strong to resist, transforming the individual into its beast form – or into a horrible hybrid form that combines animal and humanoid traits. When the moon wanes, the beast within can be controlled once again. Especially if the cursed creature is unaware of its condition, it might not remember the events of its transformation, though those memories often haunt a lycanthrope as bloody dreams.

Some individuals see little point in fighting the curse and accept what they are. With time and experience, they learn to master their shapechanging ability and can assume their beast form or hybrid form at will. Most lycanthropes that choose to embrace their bestial nature succumb to bloodlust, becoming evil, opportunistic creatures that prey on the weak.

---

Born Lycanthrope Traits

Born Lycanthropes have different traits depending on the strain they are infected with, but all share these traits:

Ability Score Increase: Your Constitution increases by 2.

Age: Lycanthropes age at 4/5 of the rate of their original race.

Alignment: Lycanthropes cover a large spread of alignments and tend toward no one alignment in paticular. Those who view it as a curse and aim to control it tend to be Lawful or Neutral alignments and those who view it as a gift to be used tend towards Evil or Chaotic alignments.

Size: Lycanthropes very as much as all other races in their humanoid form, from lithe agile Werecats to tall hulking Werebears and stocky Wereboars. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed: Your base walking speed is 30 feet in humanoid form.

Languages: You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Humans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on. You can also speak to animals of a similar type as your form of lycanthropy while you are in your hybrid and full forms.

Cursed Constitution: You have resistancd Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing from Nonmagical Attacks not made With Silvered Weapons. Also, starting at 11th Level, you regain HP equal to 1+your constitution modifier at the beginning of each of your turns.

---

Shapechanging and Controlling the Shift

You hide a bestial nature within you, and when you shift that nature comes to the fore. As a bonus action, you may shift into your hybrid form or your full form. Your full form is stronger than your hybrid form but you have less control and cannot speak.
Involuntary shifting can occur when you are angry, stressed, or sustain large amounts of damage. The first two causes are up to the discretion of your DM and should be discussed prior to the campaign.

1. You must make an involuntary shifting check at the start of each
   turn you are below half your hit point total.
2. You must succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw to resist letting
   your bloodlust take over, if you fail the saving throw, you lose
   control for a minimum of ten minutes, and the DM takes control of
   your character as you attack the closest creature to you. You roll another
3. Wisdom saving throw every ten minutes to attempt to regain control
   with the DC reducing by 1 each time until you succeed. The DC
   increases by 4 when you are below a quarter of your hitpoint
   maximum.

During the full moon, the beast within you grows stronger, giving you less control over your shifting. Starting 4 days before the full moon, the Save DC increases by 1 with each day approaching the full moon up to a maximum of +5 on the night of the full moon. It then decreases in the same way after the full moon has passed. On the night of the Full Moon, the Wisdom Save must be made regardless of circumstances.

It is possible for Lycanthropes to gain greater control over the bestial rage within them. Each time you succeed on the mandatory saving throw during the Full Moon, the Save DC decreases by 2 for all future shifting checks as you use your experience of resisting the full moon to control yourself more completely in the future. Eventually, you may automatically succeed the save in everyday circumstances as the save DC will reduce to 0. The bonuses to the DC caused by being below a quarter of your hitpoints and the presence of the full moon still remain.

Partial and Full Shift
You may use a bonus action to partially shift into your Hybrid Form. From 8th level, you can use an Action to voluntarily shift into your full Bestial Form.

If you spend time in your full bestial form you must make a Constitution saving throw against a DC of 14 + the number of full hours you spent in your fully shifted form. On a fail, you accrue a point of exhaustion, and you cannot voluntarily fully shift until after a long rest.

---

Strains of Lycanthropy

There are six different strains of lycanthropy; Werewolf, Werecat, Werebear, Weredrake, Werebat, and Wereboar. Depending on the strain of lycanthropy you are infected with you gain different bonuses:

Born Werewolf Traits
Your strain of Lycanthropy is Canine, commonly a Wolf but other species, such as Hyena's are seen. You gain the following benefits;
Keen Senses: You gain Expertise in the Perception skill. And you have an advantage on any perception checks relying on Sight, Hearing and Smell.
Ability Score Increase: You gain a +1 to your Strength and a +1 to your Dexterity.
Darkvision: You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Shifting: You may assume your hybrid form as a bonus action. From 8th level you may voluntarily assume your full form as an action.

Hybrid Form:

• You take on a more bestial appearance.
• You make Athletics, Acrobatics, and Intimidation Checks with advantage.
• You can use your claws to make an attack as a natural weapon dealing slashing
  damage equal to 1d6 + your strength modifier.
• Your walking speed increases by 10 feet.
• You can use pack tactics to gain an advantage on attack rolls against a creature if the creature has one of your allies within 5 feet, and the ally isn't incapacitated.

Full Form

• You grow taller, your body becoming covered in thick fur, your limbs elongating and you're features becoming completely Lupine as you shift into a monstorus bipedal Wolf form.

• Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution increase by 2.
• You make Constitution saving throws with advantage.
• Your Claw attacks deal one extra damage die of thesame type (2d6).
• You gain a bite attack as a bonus action dealing damage equal to 1d8 + your strength modifier.
• A humanoid damaged by this attack must succeed a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with Lycanthropy.
• Your walking speed increases by another 10 feet.
• You cannot speak.
• You cannot hold items, wear armor, or cast spells.
• You gain an extra attack as part of the Attack action on your turn if don't already have one.
• You must make a DC 8 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of your turns to remain in control.

---

Born Werecat Traits
Your strain of Lycanthropy is Feline, perhaps reminiscent of a panther or even a mighty lion. You gain the following benefits;
Keen Senses: You gain Expertise in the Perception skill. And you have an advantage on any perception checks relying on Hearing or Sight.
Ability Score Increase: You gain a +2 bonus to your Dexterity score.
Superior Darkvision: You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 120 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.
Shifting: You may assume your hybrid form as a bonus action. Or your full form as an action.

Hybrid Form:

• You take on a more bestial appearance.
• You gain a natural AC equal to 13 + your dexterity modifier.
• You make Acrobatics checks with advantage.
• You can use your claws to make an attack as a natural weapon dealing slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your strength modifier.
• Your walking speed increases by 15 feet.
• You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.

Full Form

• You grow taller and more muscular, covered in velvety, your limbs and digits elongating and you're features becoming completely Feline as you shift into a Lithe and Ferocious bipedal Cat form.
• Your natural AC increases to 15 + your Dexterity modifier.
• Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution increase by 2.
• You make Dexterity saving throws with advantage.
• Your Claw attacks deal one extra damage die of the same type (2d6).
• You gain a bite attack as a bonus action dealing damage equal to 1d8 + your strength modifier. A humanoid damaged by this attack must succeed a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with Lycanthropy.
• Your walking speed increases by a further 15 feet.
• Your jumping distance is doubled.
• You cannot speak.
• You cannot hold items, wear armor, or cast spells.
• You gain an extra attack as part of the Attack action on your turn if don't already have one.
• You must make a DC 8 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of your turns to remain in control.

---

Born Werebear Traits

Your strain of Lycanthropy is Ursine, perhaps taking the form of the powerful grizzly or the ferocious polar bear. You gain the following benefits;

Keen Senses
You gain Expertise in the Perception skill. And you have an advantage on any perception checks relying on Smell.

Ability Score Improvement
You gain a +2 bonus to your Strength score.

Darkvision
You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Shifting
You may assume your hybrid form as a bonus action. Or your full form as an action.

Hybrid Form

• You take on a more bestial appearance.
• You gain a natural AC equal to 13 + Constitution modifier.
• You make Athletics checks with advantage.
• You can use your claws to make an attack as a natural weapon dealing slashing damage equal to 1d8 + your strength modifier.
• Your walking speed increases by 5 feet.

Full Form

• You grow taller and more muscular, covered in thick fur, your limbs elongating and you're features becoming completely Ursine as you shift into a monstorus bipedal bear form.
• Your natural AC increases to 15 + your Constitution modifier.
• Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution increase by 2.
• You make Stength and Constitution saving throws with advantage.
• Your Claw attacks deal one extra damage die of the same type (2d8).
• You gain a bite attack as a bonus action dealing damage equal to 1d10 + your strength modifier. A humanoid damaged by this attack must succeed a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with Lycanthropy.
• Your walking speed increases by a further 5 feet.
• You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the amount of weight you can push or drag.
• You cannot speak.
• You cannot hold items, wear armor, or cast spells.
• You must make a DC 8 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of your turns to remain in control

---

Born Weredrake Traits

Your strain of Lycanthropy is Basilicine, exhibiting many reptilian traits, commonly of a drake, lizard or salamander. You gain the following benefits;

Keen Senses
You gain Expertise in the Perception skill. And you have an advantage on any perception checks relying on Sight, and Smell (which you do by tasting the air with your tongue).

Ability Score Improvement
You gain a +1 bonus to your Strength score and a +1 Bonus to your Dexterity Score.

Darkvision
You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Shifting
You may assume your hybrid form as a bonus action. Or your full form as an action.

Hybrid Form

• You take on a more reptilian appearance.
• You gain a natural AC equal to 16 + Constitution modifier.
• You gain resistance to poison damage.
• You make Athletics, Acrobatics, and Intimidation checks with Advantage.
• You can use your claws to make an attack as a natural weapon dealing slashing damage equal to 1d6 + your strength modifier.
• You gain an attack with your tail as a bonus action dealing damage equal to 1d4 + your strength modifier. A humanoid damaged by this attack must succeed a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with Lycanthropy. If the target is Large or smaller they must succeed on a Strength saving throw against a DC equal to 6 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier, or you push it up to 10 feet away from you.
• Your walking speed increases by 10 feet.
• You gain a climbing speed and swimming speed equal to your walking speed.

Full Form

• You grow several feet taller, your skin becoming covered in hard scales as your tail elongates and you grow spikes along your spine, your features controt into a reptilian Maw as you assume the form of a monstrous, bipedal Lizard
• Your natural AC increases to 18 + your Dexterity Modifier.
• Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution increase by 2.
• You gain immunity to the poisoned condition.
• Your Claw attacks deal one extra damage die of the same type (2d6).
• You gain a Bite attack as a bonus action dealing damage equal to 1d8 + your strength modifier. A humanoid damaged by this attack must succeed a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with Lycanthropy.
• As a bonus action, you can secrete a venom onto your claws that on a hit causes Paralysis against a DC 12 Constitution saving throw.
• Your walking speed increases by a further 10 feet.
• You can climb on vertical surfaces and ceilings.
• You cannot speak.
• You cannot hold items, wear armor, or cast spells.
• You must make a DC 8 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of your turns to remain in control.

---

Born Werebat Traits

Your strain of Lycanthropy is Noctilionine, with bat-like features and large leathery wings. You gain the following benefits;

Keen Senses
You gain Expertise in the Perception skill. And you have an advantage on any perception checks relying on Hearing.

Ability Score Increase
You gain a +2 bonus to your Dexterity score.

Darkvision
You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Shifting
You may assume your hybrid form as a bonus action. Or your full form as an action.

Hybrid Form

• You take on a more bestial appearance. Your Fingers Elongating into batlike wings, and your ears enlarging.
• You gain a natural AC equal to 13 + your Dexterity modifier.
• You gain a flying speed of 30 feet while not wearing heavy armor, you cannot hover or use weapons or shields while flying.
• You can use your claws to make an attack as a natural weapon dealing slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your strength modifier.
• You gain a climbing speed equal to your walking speed.
• You also gain a 30 foot blindsense by emitting a pitched noise and echolocating.

Full Form

• You grow several feet taller. Your body becomes covered in thick fur, your arms grow into fully formed batwings with small claws, your features shift and become more batlike as you assume your true form.
• Your natural AC increases to 15 + your Dexterity modifier.
• Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution increase by 2.
• You make Dexterity saving throws with advantage.
• Your Claw attacks deal one extra damage die of the same type (1d4).
• You gain a bite attack as a bonus action dealing damage equal to 1d6 + your strength modifier. A humanoid damaged by this attack must succeed a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with Lycanthropy.
• Your flying speed increases to 50 feet.
• Your blindsense increases to 60 feet.
• You cannot speak.
• You cannot hold items, wear armor, or cast spells.
• You gain an extra attack as part of the Attack action on your turn if don't already have one.
• You must make a DC 8 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of your turns to remain in control.

---

Born Wereboar Traits

Your strain of Lycanthropy is Porcine, Wild Boar and Warthog like features are common. You gain the following benefits;

Keen Senses
You gain Expertise in the Perception skill. And you have an advantage on any perception checks relying on Smell.

Ability Score Improvement
You gain a +2 bonus to your Strength score.

Darkvision
You have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 30 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can’t discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Shifting
You may assume your hybrid form as a bonus action. Or your full form as an action.

Hybrid Form

• You take on a more bestial appearance.
• You gain a natural AC equal to 15 + Constitution modifier.
• You gain resistance to poison damage.
• You make Athletics and Intimidation checks with Advantage.
• You can use your claws to make an attack as a natural weapon dealing slashing damage equal to 1d4 + your strength modifier.
• Your walking speed increases by 5 feet.

Full Form

• You grow several feet taller and considerably broader. Tufts of thick wiry hair cover your body, Long tusks sprout from your jaw as your face forms into a snout and your feet become semi cloven hooves. You fully assume the form of a monstrous humanoid Boar.
• Your natural AC increases to 17 + your Constitution modifier.
• Your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution increase by 2.
• You gain immunity to the poisoned condition.
• Your Claw attacks deal one extra damage die of the same type (2d8).
• You gain a Tusk attack as a bonus action dealing damage equal to 1d12 + your strength modifier. A humanoid damaged by this attack must succeed a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with Lycanthropy.
• If you move at least 20 feet on your turn, your horns deal an additional 1d12 damage. If the target is Large or smaller they must succeed on a Strength saving throw against a DC equal to 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength modifier, you push it up to 10 feet away from you and get knocked prone.
• Your walking speed increases by a further 5 feet.
• You cannot speak.
• You cannot hold items, wear armor, or cast spells.
• You must make a DC 8 Wisdom saving throw at the start of each of your turns to remain in control.

---

Do the overall race and the individual subraces offer sufficiently different things? Do the drawbacks more or less effectivley counterbalance the benefits?