Druid Help!

[GunnerRecall10]

Hello all, im starting a new campaign tomorrow and im interested in making a druid. I am curious about the ability "Wild Shape".

First, what kind of flavor is wild shape? (Beast Shape 1) Do you turn exactly into the animal in the beastiary? Or do you take on just certain aspects of the animal?

If so, what abilities are gained, and what is the change in stats from turning into a beast? Can I cast spells in this beastial form?

Also, how does the feat "Aspect of the Beast" work? If im already wild shaped in a wolf per-say, why would I want a feat that gives me two claw attacks?

I was looking for the flavor of a character who has certain lycanthropic aspects in his blood, to make an interesting backstory, without asking my DM if I can have the stats of a lycanthrope!


THANK YOU all for for your help in advance, its greatly appreciated!

GunnerRecall10

 

[GlassEye]

There isn't much 'flavor' given with wildshape; you just change your form to resemble an animal's form. It is not exactly like the animal as listed in the bestiary; abilities gained are limited to a very specific list called out in the Beast Shape spells.

Change of stats depends on the size of the animal but you keep your own stats and gain minor modifications to your stats. You do not take on the animal's stats. As far as I remember you cannot cast spells in animal form (you can't speak for one thing).

All this is explained in more detail HERE and HERE.

Using Aspect of the Beast while in wolf shape would give you two claw attacks in addition to the bite. Three primary natural attacks are definitely better than one! Also, you can use Aspect of the Beast in your human (or whatever race you are) form to give you claw attacks even after you've used up all your wildshape.

I'm actually planning a very similar character for the upcoming Carrion Crown AP but I'm planning on going Ranger (Shapeshifter) with Aspect of the Beast.

 

[GunnerRecall10]

How would your proposed character look at higher levels? I was also interested in Ranger with this idea also, but I was sure if it was viable, because they dont exactly get "wild shape" if i remember correctly? Will you be doing enough damage to keep up with the other characters?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[DumbPaladin]

Can I cast spells in this beastial form?

You can only cast spells in wild shape if you have the Natural Spell feat.

 

[GlassEye]

How would your proposed character look at higher levels? I was also interested in Ranger with this idea also, but I was sure if it was viable, because they dont exactly get "wild shape" if i remember correctly? Will you be doing enough damage to keep up with the other characters?

Thanks for the advice!

I wrote a big, long post comparing the ranger and druid in a faux lycanthrope sort of theme and ENWorld ate it. Ranger plateaus around sixth level but druid doesn't get full BAB. Druid probably is the better choice.

 

[Friend of the Dork]

The IS no flavor to WIld SHape anymore. It is essentially a kind of spell like ability that works just like the Beast Shape spell with some added duration. Heck, you even need to make a Disguise check just to LOOK like the animal you are supposed to be changing into.

If I come off as prickly it's because this change from 3rd edition is my leasy favored one. They did this just to avoid the potential for abuse that existed in 3.0 and 3.5, abuses that most sane DMs could avoid anyway and the overpoweredness stems mostly from certain creatures made after the first Monster Manual.

Since I only use MM1 (and the Bestiary sometimes) in my game this isn't needed at all.

 

[Walking Dad]

The IS no flavor to WIld SHape anymore. It is essentially a kind of spell like ability that works just like the Beast Shape spell with some added duration.

What was the other flavor in 3.5? It was the alternate form special ability with some extra rules.

Heck, you even need to make a Disguise check just to LOOK like the animal you are supposed to be changing into.

No, you need the roll to fool someone to be just a normal animal and not a transformed intelligent being.

If I come off as prickly it's because this change from 3rd edition is my leasy favored one. They did this just to avoid the potential for abuse that existed in 3.0 and 3.5, abuses that most sane DMs could avoid anyway and the overpoweredness stems mostly from certain creatures made after the first Monster Manual.

Since I only use MM1 (and the Bestiary sometimes) in my game this isn't needed at all.

Definition of 'sane DMs' may vary. I would have preferred some thing more like the animal companion rules, templates that give the feel of the creature, but not looking something up in the bestiary. This would have been an evolution of the 3.5 PH2 shapeshifting alternate class feature.

 

[Aldern Foxglove]

If going for a specific lycanthrope theme you might be better off going for one of the shaman archetypes, probably wolf shaman, which allows you to access some minor wolf-like shifting at 2nd level. Basically you sacrifice wildshaping into other forms to be better at wild shaping into canines. It also allows you to summon canines as a standard action with SNA rather than as a fullround - which is huge.

 

[Friend of the Dork]

What was the other flavor in 3.5? It was the alternate form special ability with some extra rules.


No, you need the roll to fool someone to be just a normal animal and not a transformed intelligent being.


Definition of 'sane DMs' may vary. I would have preferred some thing more like the animal companion rules, templates that give the feel of the creature, but not looking something up in the bestiary. This would have been an evolution of the 3.5 PH2 shapeshifting alternate class feature.

IIRC in 3.5 you got the (average)physical attributes of the animal you shaped into. Thus if you shaped into a bear that typically has 19 str then you got 19 str no matter your own. You got most of the new form's qualites, abiities etc, which for animals usually meant all of them. Thus for all practicaly purposes you BECAME that animal in a physical sense.

In 3.5 you where "effectively camoflagued as the new form." That didn't mean everyone thought you were a normal animal if you didn't act like one, but I don't see what Disguise has anything to do with it. You only need to be able to ape the animal in question, which someone with the nature knowledge of a Druid should be able to pull off fairly easily, despite having 6 charisma and being completely anti-social. Besides, there is quite a difference between an NPC thinking that Raven looks at him funny, and failing a Disguise test thus revealed beyond doubt that you are a shape-changed druid.

I like the animal companion rules too, because those companions are actual animals with some extra boost, rather than weird magical creatures with some resemblance to animals.

 

[Aldern Foxglove]

Its very easy to justify things. You become the you equiv. of a bear, you are a strong man - above average, so you become a strong bear. Stat block in themselves are an abstraction, of course every brown bear is not the same, its just a convenient way to simulate things.

And come on you get +20 to your disguise check! Only the keenest of eyes are going to spot you are anything other than an animal - and quite right to your mind is still your own you do not gain the animals mannerisms.