How To Do Wildshape

[howandwhy99]

Sub-classes really are very specific. They don't have to be that way. Custom sub-classes should be possible for those who want them. Your campaign's druid doesn't need to be the official one.

For the D&D Druid, they are one of the most setting defining classes in the game. They are the cleric whose deity is the on the Prime Material plane. They are part of a vast organization. Alignment shifting is every bit as important as to the cleric, but here it is seeking balance across all of them. All living organisms are under their demesne, but that doesn't mean they stop creatures, even humans, from hunting and killing each other. It's about balance, between growth and decay, order and chaos.

Change Form 3x/day in full except the mind to a reptile, bird, or mammal.
1. 1 / day / creature type.
2. Small as a bullfrog, bluejay, or bat. Large as a large snake, eagle, black bear (about 2x weight).
3. Each change heals 1d6 x 10% of damage to HP (10-60%)

I think this is fine as a class feature that incurs a certain amount of daily fatigue. It is an at will ability, but with per day limits. It is not a spell and has no verbal, material, or somatic components required.

The duration is effectively permanent, that's the kicker in power here. The Per Day is the limit to how many creature types a druid has access to in a single day. Increasing the per day over levels might be cool. Which do you take first at 1/day? Just for example.

Magic-Users under the Polymorph spell can polymorph every round, if so desired (with System Shock rolls for each). Druids shape change has a limit, though they still make SS rolls. They are also limited by type as in the quote above.

The other drawback to duration (because a mid-level druid could be an eagle effectively 24/7) is the loss of mental stats due to remaining in the form over a long period of time. This takes a lot of time in normal form to recover from (without magic). The end result of staying an animal, after one or more saving throws, would be becoming the animal in body AND MIND (and effectively out of the scope of play until rescued).

Another drawback we use is the creature must be known to the character to be transformed into it. This requires study. It must be observed alive and active for at least 1 week in its environment. This includes Calming the animal and Befriending it to study the body up close. This doesn't mean players cannot be a Lemur because the world doesn't have it. Simply tell your DM you'd like to learn how to be a Lemur and ask for it to be put in the campaign world. Just like background, give all the details or just point to Wikipedia or something for him or her to stat up / convert from to the game system. Then go hunt down a lemur...

 

[Old_Skool]

I prefer Wildshape to be a family of spells, more than any of the other options I have seen so far anyway. It wouldn't be that hard to translate the ability into spells even under the 3.5E/Pathfinder rules, in fact.

Wildshape becomes available to druids at 5th level, the same level that she learns to cast 3rd level spells. And only druids can wildshape. Therefore, wildshape should be a third-level druid spell.

The druid can wildshape into Large creatures at 8th level, the level that she gets her second 4th level spell...so it should be either a 4th or 5th level druid spell.

And so on. The druid can wildshape into Tiny creatures at 11th level, and into plants at 12th level...these should thus be 6th level druid spells. Huge and elemental wildshapes become available to druids at 15th and 16th level, making them 8th level spells. And the capstone wildshape, a huge elemental, would be a 9th level spell.

I like this a lot.

Maybe some of these Wildshape spells could be added to the cleric's Animal domain as well, for clerics who worship animal spirits or something. Maybe it could be added to the ranger's spell list too, for primal hunters and savage "totem" warriors.