Quintessential Druid...just a couple of questions?

[johncolossus]

Dear Mongoose Peeps
I am a fan of this work and surprisingly to me I liked this better than QPsyWar ( I am a psionics fan). It has some really good ideas (i love the living black pudding armour!!).

However, I have a couple of questions if I may indulge?

I like the shapeshifting section mostly for allowing druidic focus in abilities, but is it not overpowered to allow supernatural and spell like abilities for creatures you shape change into especially as really there is no time limit to stay in one form if you do not change or even allow the prolonged metamorphosis? You could stay as a dragon, with the empower feat and have a significant breath weapon every 1d4 rounds, let alone their spell like abilities!!! (albeit at 16th level and above). You are boardering into epic level feats....also shapechange spell only allows extraordinary extras. I was just wondering what was the explanation and what experiences were with it in playtesting? Just another example if you allow undead shapeshifting .... level drain!! I note you do not get the type of the creature but can as a 6th level spell......perhaps a similar idea for getting the (su) and (sp) abilities?
I really like the flavour of the partial, combined and prolonged changes. Perhaps as a thought only the true form can get (su) and (sp) and type changes?

The second point/question is that there is no explanation of the terrain adaptions in the book and presume the table reference for the druid levels in the back part refers to the pdf extra? Until I "found" the chart for levels at the back I did have some confusion. It looks like it was originally at the beginning in the original draft but for rooms sake it was cut and left as part of the rules summary.

I hope you do not mind these comments because as I said I really like it but just a few areas of question.
Cheers......until Quint Psion!!!

 

[Neo]

Dear Mongoose Peeps
I am a fan of this work and surprisingly to me I liked this better than QPsyWar ( I am a psionics fan). It has some really good ideas (i love the living black pudding armour!!).

However, I have a couple of questions if I may indulge?

I like the shapeshifting section mostly for allowing druidic focus in abilities, but is it not overpowered to allow supernatural and spell like abilities for creatures you shape change into especially as really there is no time limit to stay in one form if you do not change or even allow the prolonged metamorphosis? You could stay as a dragon, with the empower feat and have a significant breath weapon every 1d4 rounds, let alone their spell like abilities!!! (albeit at 16th level and above). You are boardering into epic level feats....also shapechange spell only allows extraordinary extras. I was just wondering what was the explanation and what experiences were with it in playtesting? Just another example if you allow undead shapeshifting .... level drain!! I note you do not get the type of the creature but can as a 6th level spell......perhaps a similar idea for getting the (su) and (sp) abilities?
I really like the flavour of the partial, combined and prolonged changes. Perhaps as a thought only the true form can get (su) and (sp) and type changes?

I was one who playtested this, I actually didn;t like the idea of undead shapeshifting nor did the rest of my group and we mentioned this at the time, but for whatever reason it remained in the book so I assume the other playtest groups had no issue with it.
As for forms being possible to assume indefinitely, well sure this is possible of a sort, but is rarely practical. For example you are in a city and you turn into a dragon, suddenly the entire armed force of the city are going to want a piece of your hide. In a dungeon you just can't do it due to lack of space. And in the wilderness you are far more likely to be noticed by other uber and "territorial" predators if you go flashing around in such an immense form. Most of the forms we found were used because they were convenient for the situation at hand as opposed to forms chosen for power playing reasons. I also made it a factor that forms could only be assumed that the druid had actually seen, so unless he had ever witnessed a dragon (which at thier level they had not ) it wasn;t going to be an issue anyway. This way of doing things worked out well as with the encounters they have being suited to thier level the only forms they will ever have seen are those of a comparable level thereby maintaining the balance for you.

 

[AerosAtar]

Re: Lords of Terrain

The second point/question is that there is no explanation of the terrain adaptions in the book and presume the table reference for the druid levels in the back part refers to the pdf extra? Until I "found" the chart for levels at the back I did have some confusion. It looks like it was originally at the beginning in the original draft but for rooms sake it was cut and left as part of the rules summary.

I hope you do not mind these comments because as I said I really like it but just a few areas of question.
Cheers......until Quint Psion!!!

The 'Lords of Terrain' chapter, which had to be cut from the book due to space considerations (or so I understand it), can be found >here<.

It really helps expand the effectiveness of druids in non-forest wilderness surroundings.

Enjoy!

AerosAtar

 

[johncolossus]

Dear Neo...

Thanks for answering. I can see how being in one form can be a hinderance and that to get any decent size dragon you have to spend a lot of feats and thus really limit the amount of variability you have with wildshape.

BUT....what did your group feel (or any others) specifically about the allowance of supernatural and spell like abilities? even an 18th level mage in dragon form using shapechange cannot do that let alone an epic level character without taking a feat! Also if you then add prolonged metamorphosis into the cooking pot you are talking serious power upping.

I am interested in gathering peoples opinions...will other people be allowing this cahnge if they take on board these interesting new rules?

 

[Neo]

Re: Dear Neo...

Thanks for answering. I can see how being in one form can be a hinderance and that to get any decent size dragon you have to spend a lot of feats and thus really limit the amount of variability you have with wildshape.

BUT....what did your group feel (or any others) specifically about the allowance of supernatural and spell like abilities? even an 18th level mage in dragon form using shapechange cannot do that let alone an epic level character without taking a feat! Also if you then add prolonged metamorphosis into the cooking pot you are talking serious power upping.

I am interested in gathering peoples opinions...will other people be allowing this cahnge if they take on board these interesting new rules?

Well as I mentioned my group weren't high enough level for say dragons to be an issue, but when you consider the Druid has to be 13th level to gain all a creatures Supernatural and other abilities and even then with a dragon form can only assume the form of a dragon whose CR is equal to or less than one half the characters druid levels. then even for a 20th level druid the best he can attain is the form of a Young to juvenile age dragon, which is following the Core rulebook an appropriate encounter for a Party of 8th level adventurers. following this the 20th level druid becoming a CR10 dragon has just made himself significantly weaker than a recommended challenge for his level so supernatural abilities or no he isn;t exactly gaining anything powerwise that by his existing level he shouldn;t already significantly exceed.