D&D 5.5e's Ravenloft update shows why challenge ratings still don't work

Ravenloft: The Horrors Within, due June 16, is being previewed through D&D’s new Dungeon Masters show and a Ravenloft Play-Along pack on D&D Beyond. This week’s drop brings back the loup garou, and the Play-Along encounter pairs a loup garou with three werewolves for a party of level 6 characters — a setup that suggests a level 6 group can take on challenges that would once have been far above their expected range.

The loup garou draws on French folklore and first appeared in earlier editions as a powerful, scary werewolf with a challenge rating of 13. The Van Richten’s Guide version combined high damage, lots of hit points, 120 feet of darkvision, proficiency in perception and stealth, a bonus-action shape change, a sweeping Mauling Pounce legendary action, and a regeneration trait that made it effectively unkillable except by silvered weapons.

d&d 5.5e, ravenloft, loup garou, werewolf, van richten, challenge rating, d&d beyond, dungeon masters, level 6, regeneration