Uryuoms (PEACH)

All right, all. Here's a race I statted up in my spare time from a comic I read called El Goonish Shive. They are called the Uryuoms, and they are a shapeshifting, alien race in the comic. Here's how I converted them. Opinions?

Small Humanoid (as small creatures, Uryuorms have a +1 size bonus on attack rolls and AC, and a +4 bonus on Hide checks, but uses smaller weapons than normal, and their lifting and carrying capacity is only 3/4 of what it would be for a medium character)
-2 Str, +2 Int, +2 Wis
Uryuorms have a base move speed of 20 feet
Uryuorms are very good at remaining innoculous in any society, even while in plain sight. When disguised, the only people who notice the disguise are those actively looking for them, or those who they have met before.
Alternate Forms (Ex): All Uryuorms are natural shapeshifters. Whenever a Uryuorm is subjected to a spell which transforms them, such as Polymorph, Baleful Polymorph, or similar, they can thenafter change into and from that form at will, as a standard action.
Language Transfer (Ex): All Uryuorms have the ability to rapidly teach or learn any language to or from any creature. As a standard action, a Uryuorms can make a melee touch attack against a single creature. If successful, one of two things may happen. Either they Uryuorms permanently learns one language that the target possesses, or the Uryuorms teaches one language they possess to the target, the Uryuorms's choice. Uryuorms can only use this ability while in their natural form, and can use it to learn otherwise secret languages. If the target does not possess a language they wish to learn, the attempt fails.
Favored Class: Wizard. Note that most Uryuorms Wizards specialize in the Transmutation school of magic.
Automatic Languages: Common and Uryuomoco. Bonus Languages: Any.
LA: +1

Aleolus said:

Alternate Forms (Ex): All Uryuorms are natural shapeshifters. Whenever a Uryuorm is subjected to a spell which transforms them, such as Polymorph, Baleful Polymorph, or similar, they can thenafter change into and from that form at will, as a standard action.

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This is the part that makes them really strong - probably brokenly so. In a balanced party of four Uryuorms, one of them plays a Wizard, then when they hit 8th, Polymorphs them all into as many critters as downtime allows. Thereafter, they've all got what amounts to self-only Polymorph as an at-will ability. Mind you, they're all Medium whenever they want to be, and Tiny whenever they want to be at character level 1 due to this applying to Enlarge Person and Reduce Person. Then, of course, when they hit 18th (and gain access to 9th level spells), the Wizard casts Shapechange, scrolls through every form he can think of in the 170 minute duration, and can thereafter take on any form in his library without actually casting a spell - including Su and Sp abilities.

If they got nothing else, they'd be fairly brokenly powerful at LA+1.

Jack Simth said:

This is the part that makes them really strong - probably brokenly so. In a balanced party of four Uryuorms, one of them plays a Wizard, then when they hit 8th, Polymorphs them all into as many critters as downtime allows. Thereafter, they've all got what amounts to self-only Polymorph as an at-will ability. Mind you, they're all Medium whenever they want to be, and Tiny whenever they want to be at character level 1 due to this applying to Enlarge Person and Reduce Person. Then, of course, when they hit 18th (and gain access to 9th level spells), the Wizard casts Shapechange, scrolls through every form he can think of in the 170 minute duration, and can thereafter take on any form in his library without actually casting a spell - including Su and Sp abilities.

If they got nothing else, they'd be fairly brokenly powerful at LA+1.

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I have to agree here. Maybe if you make it so that they can only assume a given form for 24 hrs after being affected by a spell?

freyar said:

I have to agree here. Maybe if you make it so that they can only assume a given form for 24 hrs after being affected by a spell?

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That wouldn't fit the comic, though, which is what he's after.

Hmm....
Perhaps a limited library of forms? They can only "know" maybe two or three at a time; after that, they have to "forget" one to gain another. Still needs at least +2 or +3 LA, though.

Edit: A Per Day limit might also be good - something like the Alternate Form ability that the Lawful-Good dragons get, only limited to forms they've taken by other means....