Gilles Garnier — Werewolf of Dole

Gilles Garnier (The Hermit of St. Bonnot, The Werewolf of Dôle) — Image (midjourney.com)

Near the woods of La Serre outside Dole, searchers have found wolf tracks that end where bare human feet begin. Gilles Garnier knows the forest paths and the roads into town. By day he can be mistaken for a hungry traveller; at night he is far more dangerous. A patrol seeking only a wolf may question the man himself and let him pass.

Not every witness has seen a transformation, and the accusation has already frightened people who have done nothing wrong. Anyone pursuing Garnier needs evidence as well as silver: where he sleeps, which road he uses after dusk, and whether the next supposed attack is his or someone else’s. The Witches of the Howling Moon live in the surrounding woods, but sharing a forest is not proof that the whole coven shelters him.

At a Glance

Alias: “The Hermit of St. Bonnot”
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Occupation: Formerly a hermit, later known for his cannibalistic crimes
Religion: Unknown
Possible contacts: Witches of the Howling Moon; contact or cooperation is unproven and not evidence that the coven shelters him.
Enemies: Society and the law, as his heinous crimes earned him infamy
Abode/Base of operations: The forests of Dole, France, County of Burgundy
Nationality: French
Languages: French (and possibly some regional dialects)
Alignment: Chaotic Evil
Affiliation(s): None
Significant others: Unknown

Game Statistics

Use one edition at a time: the 2024, Pathfinder 1e and D&D 3.5e panels follow their respective werewolf rules, while the 2014 panel preserves Garnier’s older, stronger custom two-form version. Damage protection, lycanthropy and shapechanging work differently across editions.

2024 / 5.5e2014 / legacyPathfinder 1eD&D 3.5e

Gilles Garnier — D&D 2024

Medium or Small Monstrosity (Lycanthrope), Chaotic Evil. A named use of the standard CR 3 werewolf, not the stronger legacy fifth-edition design.

AC 15; Initiative +4 (14); HP 71 (11d8 + 22); Speed 30 ft., 40 ft. in wolf form.

STR16 (+3)

DEX14 (+2)

CON14 (+2)

INT10 (+0)

WIS11 (+0)

CHA10 (+0)

Skills Perception +4, Stealth +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14; Languages Common (cannot speak in wolf form); CR 3 (700 XP; PB +2); Gear longbow.

Traits

Pack Tactics. He has Advantage on an attack roll against a target if an ally within 5 feet of the target is not Incapacitated. A lone Garnier cannot use this benefit.

Actions

Multiattack. Two Scratch or Longbow attacks, in any combination. One attack can be a Bite while in wolf or hybrid shape.

Scratch. Melee +5, reach 5 ft., 10 (2d6 + 3) Slashing.

Longbow (human/hybrid). Ranged +4, range 150/600 ft., 11 (2d8 + 2) Piercing.

Bite (wolf/hybrid). Melee +5, reach 5 ft., 12 (2d8 + 3) Piercing. A Humanoid target must pass a DC 12 Constitution save or become cursed. If a cursed victim later drops to 0 HP, it instead becomes a GM-controlled werewolf with 10 HP. Success grants immunity to this werewolf’s curse for 24 hours.

Bonus Actions

Shape-Shift. Change to a Large hybrid, Medium wolf or true humanoid form. Game statistics other than size are unchanged; gear does not transform. Do not apply the 2014 damage immunity here.

Gilles Garnier — Legacy 5e / 2014

These two original custom profiles (human CR 5 and transformed CR 6) are stronger than the ordinary 2014 werewolf and have not been independently encounter-balanced. The transformed form’s previous 88 HP contradicted its hit dice; 11d10 + 33 averages 94 HP, now corrected.

Gilles Garnier (Human Form)

Medium humanoid (human), chaotic evil

Armor Class 15 (studded leather; 12 + Dexterity 3)
Hit Points 65 (10d8 + 20)
Speed 30 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
14 (+2)	16 (+3)	14 (+2)	12 (+1)	10 (0)	18 (+4)

Skills Deception +7, Insight +3, Persuasion +7, Stealth +6 Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages Common, French Challenge 5 (1,800 XP; proficiency bonus +3)

Background: Criminal. Gilles has proficiency in Stealth and Deception.

Actions

Shortsword. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 6 (1d6 + 3) piercing damage (using Dexterity).
Heavy Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, range 100/400 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d10 + 3) piercing damage.
Charm (3/Day). Gilles can cast Charm Person as a 2nd-level spell without using material components. The DC for this saving throw is 14.

Reactions

Uncanny Dodge. When an attacker Gilles can see hits him with an attack, he can use his reaction to halve the attack’s damage against him.

Equipment

Gilles Garnier carries a shortsword, a heavy crossbow with 20 bolts, studded leather armor, and a silver locket.

Lycanthropy Curse

Anyone bitten by Gilles Garnier in his wolf form and failing the saving throw is cursed with lycanthropy. For the ordinary creature and differences between game editions, consult the Werewolf bestiary entry.

Gilles Garnier (Werewolf Form)

Painted depiction of Gilles Garnier in his transformed werewolf form — Image (midjourney.com)

Large humanoid (human, shapechanger), chaotic evil

Armor Class 13 (natural armor)
Hit Points 94 (11d10 + 33)
Speed 40 ft. (human form), 50 ft. (wolf form)

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
20 (+5)	16 (+3)	16 (+3)	8 (-1)	12 (+1)	12 (+1)

Skills Perception +3 Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 13 Languages Common, Wolf Speech (understands, can’t speak) Challenge 6 (2,300 XP)

Shapechanger (Action). Gilles shifts between human, wolf and hybrid form. Use the human profile when he looks human and the separate werewolf profile for wolf or hybrid form; this legacy variant deliberately changes more than speed and is not the standard Monster Manual werewolf.

Sneak Attack (1/Turn). Gilles deals an extra 11 (3d6) damage when he hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of Gilles that isn’t incapacitated, and Gilles doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll.

Evasion. If Gilles is subjected to an effect that allows him to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, he instead takes no damage on a successful save.

Cunning Action. On each of his turns, Gilles can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.

Idiosyncratic Behavior. During a full moon, his behavior becomes unpredictable. While in a wolf form, he gains the Multiattack action.

Actions

Multiattack. In wolf form, Gilles makes two bite attacks.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (2d6 + 5) piercing damage. If the target is a humanoid, it must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be cursed with lycanthropy.

Gilles Garnier — Pathfinder 1e

CR 2 (XP 600); human natural werewolf fighter 2; CE Medium humanoid (human, shapechanger). This is the published fighter sample used as a named encounter.

Defense — Human

Init +5; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +4. AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+6 armour, +1 Dex); hp 19 (2d10 + 4, printed sample); Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +2 (bravery +1 vs. fear).

Offense — Human

Speed 30 ft., 20 ft. in armour; Melee longsword +5 (1d8 + 4/19–20); Ranged light crossbow +3 (1d8/19–20).

Statistics — Human

Str 17, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 8; BAB +2, CMB +5, CMD 16; Feats Cleave, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative, Power Attack; Skills Climb +3, Intimidate +4, Perception +4.

Hybrid Form

AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 20 (+6 armour, +2 Dex, +4 natural); hp 21 (2d10 + 6, printed sample); Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +2; DR 10/silver. Longsword +6 (1d8 + 6/19–20) and bite +1 (1d6 + 1, trip/curse). Str 19, Dex 15, Con 17; CMB +6, CMD 18.

Special Abilities

Natural lycanthropes change shape as a move action; the wolf/hybrid bite transmits lycanthropy on a failed DC 15 Fortitude save. Use the standard Pathfinder werewolf template for trip, wolf empathy, wolf-form attacks and control; an afflicted werewolf instead has DR 5/silver and difficult transformation checks. Reference: Pathfinder Bestiary werewolf.

Gilles Garnier — D&D 3.5e

CR 3; natural werewolf, human warrior 1 plus 2 wolf racial Hit Dice; named use of the standard SRD lycanthrope.

Size / Type	Medium Humanoid (Human, Shapechanger) in all forms
Hit Dice	1d8 + 1 plus 2d8 + 6 (20 hp)
Initiative	+4 human; +6 wolf/hybrid
Speed	30 ft. human/hybrid; 50 ft. wolf
Armour Class	Human 17 (+2 natural, +4 chain shirt, +1 light shield), touch 10, flat-footed 17; wolf/hybrid 16 (+2 Dex, +4 natural), touch 12, flat-footed 14
BAB / Grapple	+2/+3 human; +2/+4 wolf/hybrid
Attack	Human longsword +3 (1d8 + 1/19–20) or light crossbow +2 (1d8/19–20); wolf bite +5 (1d6 + 3); hybrid claw +4 (1d4 + 2)
Full Attack	Human longsword +3 or crossbow +2; wolf bite +5; hybrid two claws +4 (1d4 + 2) and secondary bite +0 (1d6 + 1)
Saves	Human Fort +6, Ref +3, Will +2; wolf/hybrid Fort +8, Ref +5, Will +2
Abilities	Human Str 13 Dex 11 Con 12 Int 10 Wis 11 Cha 8; wolf/hybrid Str 15 Dex 15 Con 16 Int 10 Wis 11 Cha 8
Special Attacks	Wolf bite can trip at +2; natural lycanthrope bite causes lycanthropy on a failed DC 15 Fortitude save; afflicted werewolves cannot transmit it
Special Qualities	Alternate form (standard action), wolf empathy, scent, low-light vision; DR 10/silver in wolf or hybrid
Feats / Skills	Improved Initiative, Iron Will (bonus), Stealthy, Track (bonus), Weapon Focus (bite); +4 Survival when tracking by scent
Other	Space/reach 5 ft.; temperate forest; solitary, pair or pack; standard treasure; advancement by class; natural werewolf level adjustment +3

Reference: D&D 3.5e SRD — Lycanthrope. Its forms have distinct attacks, speeds and armour while sharing hit points.

Game Sources, Attribution and Licences

2024: Material adapted from System Reference Document 5.2.1 (SRD 5.2.1), by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at D&D Beyond, under CC BY 4.0. These named-character adaptations are not official stat blocks.

Pathfinder 1e / D&D 3.5e: Rules adapted from Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pp. 197–198 and the 3.5e SRD under Open Game License 1.0a, reproduced below. Only game mechanics in those two edition panels are designated Open Game Content; original fiction, art and character narrative are not.

Open Game License version 1.0a and copyright notices

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System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

What Gilles Garnier Is Doing Now

Garnier has abandoned his last fixed shelter. He walks into market villages in dirty working clothes, asks which roads are being watched and vanishes before anyone thinks to compare his face with the reports. He is thin, unshaven and watchful rather than imposing. The small silver locket he carries is a better identifying detail than stories about a wolfish gaze or pointed teeth.

He needs food and a place to sleep, but above all he needs the searches around Dole to turn elsewhere. If cornered in human form he may offer directions to the Witches of the Howling Moon to buy himself time. His word is not proof that they were involved in an attack.

Encounters

The Missing Court Messenger

A messenger carrying a written description of Garnier disappears on the La Serre road. His satchel is found beside a stream, intact except for the sealed document. The messenger is alive but frightened of identifying the man who caught him. Recovering the paper, bringing the witness safely to Dole, or finding where a pair of boots changed into paw prints can identify the real quarry before a search party raids the wrong woodland dwelling.

A Bargain on the Forest Path

Garnier is trapped between a swollen stream and a silver-armed hunting party. He offers a hiding place supposedly used by other wolf-changers in return for passage. The directions point toward the witches’ territory, but do not establish their guilt. The characters may refuse the bargain, disarm him for questioning, or take the chance to pursue evidence elsewhere. Killing him ends one threat; believing every name he gives can create several more.

The Historical Record

A printed 1574 judgement of the Parlement of Dole accused the historical Gilles Garnier of killing children and appearing in wolf form. The University of Lille catalogue preserves the document and its context. These are records of accusations and a sentence, not proof of literal human-to-wolf transformation. In the campaign Garnier is a shapechanger, but a frightened witness can still be mistaken and an accusation can still be false.