Lycanthrope Characters

[Digital Arcanist]

And here is where the difference becomes clear on the skill required to author a campaign and to author a fantasy story.....

[Farcaster]

Well, I dunno. I'll grant you that D&D is a more complicated system. It has always been complicated from 1st edition AD&D on. But the extra complication here comes from opening up the options for the players beyond the basic core races and classes. If you're just starting with the D&D system, you don't need or have to go into this level of customization, and there are a ton of rebuilt monsters that don't require one iota of work to drop into your game. But, the options are there when you're ready and willing.
Now, as to fictional writing, why worry about any of these mundane details? Unless you're writing for WotC, it's your world anyway Personally, I don't much care for writing that tries to closely follow the mechanics of D&D anyway. I think even R.A. Salvatore is a bit guilty of this, particularly in the Sellswords series.