Wereboar

A wereboar ally is a PC's NPC sibling, a hired bodyguard whose curse is barely contained, or a member of a frontier wereboar clan that has decided this party is worth fighting alongside. The framing that sustains the tab: he is on the party's side this week because their goals overlap, and the party has been told (by him, in plain sentences) not to count on it lasting past the contract. He sleeps outside the inn, eats raw, and keeps a tally of who has insulted him.

In combat, he is a charging linebacker. Have him open in hybrid form, run 20+ feet at the priority enemy, and Tusk for 10 piercing plus the 7 charge bonus and Prone. Multiattack with two Tusk attacks plus a Gore drops most CR 3 enemies in one round. The Gore curse is the political problem the party has to manage: if he gores a humanoid enemy who later escapes at 1 HP, that enemy is now a cursed wereboar in the GM's pocket. Remind the party between rounds. The wereboar will not change his attack pattern to spare them the consequence; they have to plan around him.

Out of combat, Shape-Shift between humanoid, hybrid, and a Small boar gives the party a scout, a courier, and an inconspicuous overland traveler. The boar form's 40 ft. walk speed is faster than the party's pace, and it can squeeze under fences. Common is intact in humanoid and hybrid form (no speech in boar form), so he stays useful as a negotiator until things go sideways. The catch is the moon, the rage, or whatever trigger your table uses; pick one and stick with it.

Have him refuse a hot meal at the first inn and explain why. The party should learn to fear what he eats instead.

A wereboar is a frontier raider with a curse problem. The party meets him in humanoid form first, usually as a mercenary or a bandit chief, and the fight starts looking like a normal CR 4 encounter until he Shape-Shifts as a bonus action and the room changes shape. Set the scene so he can use the run-up: a 30 ft. hallway, a wide barn, a clearing with one tree. Wereboars need running room to do their best work.

Open in humanoid form with two Javelin attacks at +5 (13 piercing each, range 30/120 ft.) from the doorway, then on round two close the gap, Shape-Shift to hybrid as a bonus action, and run 20+ feet straight at the front-line PC. The Tusk attack at +5 deals 10 average piercing on a hit and triggers the charge bonus: an extra 7 piercing and the Prone condition. Multiattack lets him use Tusk twice and replace one with a Gore at +5 for 12 piercing plus the curse trigger. That is the whole play: knock the fighter prone with the charge, gore on the next round with the cursed bite, and the party suddenly has a level-counted infection ticking on a PC.

The Gore curse is the campaign hook. DC 12 Con save, fail and the target is cursed; if the cursed target drops to 0 HP, they become a Wereboar under the GM's control with 10 HP. Telegraph the curse the moment it lands. The cleric's Lesser Restoration does not cancel it (it is not the Disease condition); it requires Remove Curse or a similar fix. A party member going down at low levels with the curse on them is a hard scene, and the GM should know in advance whether they are willing to run a cursed PC or wave it off with a quick Remove Curse from a temple.

Wereboars do not flee. Pig-stubborn is a real trait at the table: he fights past Bloodied (49 HP or less), grunting and bleeding, and dies in hybrid form swinging at whoever hit him last. Silvered weapons or magic weapons are the only thing that does full damage; non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing should be ruled by your edition's lycanthrope rules (the SRD 5.2 stat block doesn't list resistance, so check at your table before the session and stick with your choice). When he dies, the body reverts to humanoid, and the village he raided is one debt closer to peace.