Favored Enemy: Shapechanger

[Manzanita]

Proposal: Rangers can take Shapechangers as a favored enemy class.

Currently: Shapechanger is not a favored enemy class. Shapechangers are a subclass and treated as their primary type for favored enemy purposes.

Commentary: In 3.0, shapechanger was a favored enemy type. This was removed in 3.5. I don't know why. Some rangers, and others with favored enemies, for whatever reason, might want to choose shapechangers as their favored enemy.

I went through the SRD and counted some of the creature types. The numbers range from 35 (magical beast) to 1 (humanoid - halfling). For reference, there are 23 aberations, 12 monsterous humanoids, and 9 shapechangers. The shapechangers consist of the Aranea, the doppleganger, the Phasm, and the 7 listed lycanthropes.

If shapechangers seems an unwise choice of favored enemy class, how does lycanthrope sound?

 

[Bront]

Shapechangers sounds fine, as long as it does not include anyone under a Polymorph spell.

 

[Velmont]

Shapechangers sounds fine, as long as it does not include anyone under a Polymorph spell.

Someone using a spell-like ability doesn't gain the subtype characteristic, except if otherwise specified, and in that case, he would be affected as he would be affected by spells that affect the new type/subtype.

 

[LiquidBlue]

I think the Lycanthropes should be a favored enemy catagory of their own, not included within a wider shapechanger catagory.

 

[Rystil Arden]

This category probably isn't too broad, but it leaves an interesting question: Does a Ranger get double duty if she has Shapechanger and then the other type of the shapechanger both as favoured enemies?

 

[Knight Otu]

This category probably isn't too broad, but it leaves an interesting question: Does a Ranger get double duty if she has Shapechanger and then the other type of the shapechanger both as favoured enemies?

Nope.

If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the ranger’s bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.

Shapechanger was removed as a FE type when it was "demoted" to subtype in the revision. I never really understood why it shouldn't be available, though.

 

[Manzanita]

This category probably isn't too broad, but it leaves an interesting question: Does a Ranger get double duty if she has Shapechanger and then the other type of the shapechanger both as favoured enemies?

Only the more favorable of the favored enemy classes would apply.

 

[LiquidBlue]

I didn't suggest that Lycanthropes should be its own catagory merely because shapechanger was too broad, but because I like the style of a werecreature hunter.

 

[Dungannon]

I like the idea of lycanthopes getting their own "favored enemy" status since they are a unique group of shapechangers, with specific rules about their affliction that are much different than other shapechangers.

 

[Erekose13]

the proposal sounds good to me. yes