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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Crimson_Manticore" data-source="post: 2239975" data-attributes="member: 4750">Shifting itself isn’t the problem.  Building a character that depends exclusively on an ability that will not be available every encounter is the problem.  To my mind, shifting as it stands right now is a fun, well-balanced, and interesting ability.  Allowing a character to shift every encounter without significant cost cheapens and dulls the ability IMO.As a thought exercise, consider this feat:I’m a Bad Mo-Fo Man-BeastPrereq: Shifter, Base Will +4 or greaterBenefit: You gain a permanent +2 increase in your strength score and you gain permanent claws that can be used as natural weapons with a base damage of 1d4/1d4.Normal: You are a wuss, just like the rest of us.Is this feat overpowered?  Well, in the sense that it is clearly more powerful than most other feats, I would say yes, it is over powered.  Will it break your game?  Probably not, but it is still a feat that most every fighter type would take, even if they didn’t care about the claws.  What does this have to do with shifting?  I assert that this feat is roughly equal to any feat that will effectively allow you to shift in every encounter.  Remember, shifting is a free action.  That means that there is no “cost” to shift.  If you have enough shifts per day to shift in every encounter, then it is effectively the same as being permanently shifted.I do not believe that being able to shift in every encounter is game-breaking, but it certainly should cost more than one feat.As to the specific question of building a character around a natural weapon claw fighter concept, I reiterate the assertion that a shifter is not the best fit.  If you intend to specialize in a weapon to the exclusion of all others, then you should choose a weapon that will be available to you in every encounter.  There are other ways to get claw attacks besides shifting.  If being a claw fighter exclusively is your concept, then shifter is not the best choice.  Mucking around with the shifter and trying to find a way to shift every encounter is not the best solution to the problem.As to the question of how claw damage stacks, the RAW probably does not allow the “Claws of the Beast” psionic power to “stack” damage on top of existing claws.  My understanding is that the psionic claws would replace any existing claws.  I am unfamiliar with the wording of the Improved Natural Attack feat, but my guess is that it would indeed increase the damage of both the psionic claws and the shifter claws.  I have no idea how the Warshaper ability would interact with the psionic claws.  Someone said that you had to be shifting for the Warshaper ability to work.  If that is true, it probably would not work with the psionic claws. Someone more knowledgeable in this may be able to confirm or deny.Lastly, consider that the psionic claws only scale in damage with your manifester level.  Thus, if you wanted to go for the maximum claw damage, you probably want to stick with a strait, single-class Psychic Warrior.  Also, the benefit of the “Claws of the Beast” duration (1 hour per level) cannot be overstated.  It’s a much better option than relying on shifting for your claws.</blockquote>

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