Good Alternatives to Druids and Wildshaping?

[Dannyalcatraz]

Well, if you're designing something, why not crib some abilities from the Shifters and/or Changelings from Eberron to replace Wild Shape?

The Shifter's ability to adopt some minor bestial features coupled with the Geomancer's Drift list could be interesting. Meld them into one expanded list of temporary shifts... Imagine the PC adopting a barklike skin, wing or claws, as the situation merits...but without actually changing their shape entirely.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yeah, but Gestalt. And the OA Shaman always felt more like a Cleric to me.

What do you mean by your "Gestalt" comment?

Yes, that Shaman is more like a Cleric in some ways, but you can make it very naturey with the selection of domains and spirit guides.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

You might also want to check out the Totemist from Magic of Incarnum.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

What do you mean by your "Gestalt" comment?

Means that the Shaman is essentially a class that serves partially as a stripped down Cleric and partially as a stripped down Monk. In a Gestalt environment, it either ends up sacrificing too many of its abilities to overlap or being too powerful when combined with one of the classes it's intended to meld. (Not applicable in the Shaman case, but there's a third outcome: allowing two classes to function effectively as two and three quarters.)

Compare a Monk//Cleric to a Monk 2/Shaman X//Cleric X + 2. Or either a Fighter//Psychic Warrior or an Ardent//Psychic Warrior to a Fighter/Ardent.

An example of the other problem is Psychic Warrior//Rogue and Fighter//Psychic Rogue, compared to any combination between Fighter or Rogue and Psion or Ardent.

Yes, that Shaman is more like a Cleric in some ways, but you can make it very naturey with the selection of domains and spirit guides.

I'll have to give it another good look over.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Means that the Shaman is essentially a class that serves partially as a stripped down Cleric and partially as a stripped down Monk.

Ah! I'd never seen the term used that way before, but now I understand.