How to stop a druid from wildshaping?

[Nifft]

You're actually saying you PREFER to interpret it as an "armor allergy" than a spiritual vow? OK, well, more power to you. It doesn't make a shred of sense to me.

You made up the term "armor allergy", and I didn't use it -- I just point out that there's nothing about a vow in the rules text.

How I prefer to interpret this rule:

A druid who wears prohibited armor or carries a prohibited shield is unable to cast druid spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class abilities while doing so and for 24 hours thereafter.

... is that a Druid who wears prohibited armor, or carries a prohibited shield, loses access to his Druid spells and use of his supernatural (or spell-like) abilities while so doing, and for 24 hours afterwards.

I can make up a lot of reasons why this might be so, but I'm not required to do so.

Yes, because every rule in 3.5 is 100% mechanically consistent on a strict basis without exception. That's why all magic-based class abilities require morning preparation, for example.

Are you joking? Time of day is not required to be morning for many classes. I don't have 60 ft. sarcvision, and thus can't see if there's a point hidden in your sarcasm, or if you are deliberately making a clever point with this rules mistake.

Cheers, -- N

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

The bad guys don't want to let him turn into something furry or feathery...

Turn him to stone and break bit off him then turn him back to flesh and repeat as needed until the druid behaves himself and then once the druid has completed his task, kill him.

 

[Maldor]

Turn him to stone and break bit off him then turn him back to flesh and repeat as needed until the druid behaves himself and then once the druid has completed his task, kill him.

or you could just leave them stone

 

[Trickstergod]

So Hyp...if you're still there...if you were the druid player and someone forced you into metal armor or strapped a metal shield to your arm, would you be OK if the DM threw the 24-hour prohibition on you?

I'm asking because I'm curious. I think it's a wicked brilliant idea, but I'm interested to see if you and others think it's not legitimate.

By the rules, it's completely legitimate.

As a role-playing thing, it's a little more questionable.

What you can do is just "gussy up" the rules with a ritual or something like that - essentially, point out what the rules allow, then say anyone with enough, say, Knowledge (nature) or the like can "Bind" the magical abilities of a druid by ritually bonding their magical abilities to metal items for 24 hours.

So the rules portion is throwing a suit of chain on them. The flavor portion is a ritual of binding that temporarily draws the druid's power into the metal links surrounding him (and you might even add, as a bit of flavor, that destroying the metal "release" the power immediately, rather than needing to wait 24 hours).

I'd be ticked off at the rule robbing my druid of his abilities, but I could accept certain flavor-additions to explain it - especially if the flavor bits aren't common knowledge (so the druid doesn't need to get worried about being neutered everytime he's captured, just when in the hands of particularly knowledgeable antagonists).

 

[ronin]

You guys are over thinking this. Just drain his levels.

Awww, you wild shape at 5th level? Gee, you gotta wait four more levels. Ahahahaha!

What do people think of this option? It doesn't really cover this under negative levels in the DMG. Since spellcasters don't lose an entire level of spells for each two negative levels they take I don't think it would work this way. I do have a PC druid I'd love to try it on though.

 

[Hypersmurf]

What do people think of this option? It doesn't really cover this under negative levels in the DMG. Since spellcasters don't lose an entire level of spells for each two negative levels they take I don't think it would work this way. I do have a PC druid I'd love to try it on though.

As far as I'm concerned, they do in fact lose an entire level of spells (since their caster level drops below the minimum level required to cast a spell of level X), but that's a different question to the Wildshape one. As far as I can tell, the druid would not lose the ability to Wildshape, or even the ability to take larger forms; she would, however, have the duration diminished, since "1 hour per level" would be affected by the negative level.

-Hyp.

 

[Rabelais]

I've seen Iron Maiden in concert...Judas Priest uses more studded leather.

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaming for Vengance!

 

[ronin]

As far as I'm concerned, they do in fact lose an entire level of spells (since their caster level drops below the minimum level required to cast a spell of level X), but that's a different question to the Wildshape one. As far as I can tell, the druid would not lose the ability to Wildshape, or even the ability to take larger forms; she would, however, have the duration diminished, since "1 hour per level" would be affected by the negative level.

-Hyp.

I agree with the wildshape statement. It doesn't appear that negative levels affect class abilities since they do not involve a die roll or a calculation. They would however reduce the amount of time that could be spent wildshaped because of the "one hour per level" duration. I don't think the -1 effective level would change a spellcaster's caster level for the purpose of spells known or spells per day unless that is considered a "calculation". Negative levels do affect caster level checks which further supports your position. If it is considered a calculation negative levels definitely hurt casters more so than non casters.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I don't think the -1 effective level would change a spellcaster's caster level for the purpose of spells known or spells per day unless that is considered a "calculation".

No, I agree.

It won't affect spells known or spells per day, but it will reduce your caster level, possibly dropping it below the minimum level required for a wizard to cast a 3rd level spell, say (5th, in that example). So while the wizard would still know 3rd level spells, and would still have some 3rd level spells prepared, he would be unable to cast them since his caster level is below the minimum.

-Hyp.

 

[Shining Dragon]

Chop his head off. He won't be able to think straight then....