PHB2 Variant Druids and Con Items

[Robert Ranting]

To start off with, I'm not terribly familiar with 3.5 (I've been playing Arcana Unearthed/Evolved since 2003) but PHB2 had some interesting variants that made me want to pick it up. Among them is the "Shifter" variant Druid, which I have been working on converting for use in AE. I have a player interested in testing this new variant for the next game I run, but there has been some concern about the way in which magic items interact with forms. In particular, my concern is that with the current party make-up, the Druid is likely to be one of the melee frontliners, alongside the "Monk" of the party, and therefore, a Constitution Enhancement item would be of great use to him in filling this role.

Now, the text clearly states that any item worn by the druid when he shifts is incorporated into the body, and ceases to function. My question is, are there any ways around this? For example, could the Druid shift into say, Ferocious Slayer Form before a fight, and have another PC place a Con enhancement item around this new form's neck? Or is there a magic item that would allow a Druid to keep an item active even while in animal form? If I were to create such a thing, how should it be priced? The campaign is going to start at 5th level and probably make it up to 12th (I'm running Monte Cook's Banewarrens and Bruce Cordell's If Thoughts Could Kill as the 'adventure path') so I would like to make the item affordable for the Druid's player if at all possible.

Any help or suggestions you could provide would be much appreciated.

Robert "Last Time I played a Druid was 3.0, Core Books Only" Ranting

 

[Christian]

The new rules specifically prohibit the existing effects that let magic items carry over from demihuman to animal form for wildshaping from working with shapeshifting. So obviously, this was intentional ... There's no reason that an ally can't help the post-shift druid don a magic item that's of an appropriate type to fit the new form. Also, he could cast Bear's Endurance on himself before the shift, if Con/HP is what he's looking for.

IME (fairly brief, so far) with the shapeshifting druid, the best way to make a tough melee fighter out of this character is to focus on AC. The bonuses to natural armor from shapeshifting and Barkskin stack; add in a friendly sorcerer or wizard to slap a Mage Armor on (thanks, Dreidon!), and your AC can crank up pretty high. Hit points don't matter that much if the opponent can't hit you!

 

[Robert Ranting]

Thanks for the clarification. It looks like having the Con item put on after-the-shift is the only way to go, then.

Just a note, In AE, magic is slightly less powerful, but more versatile. While there are equivalent spells to Mage Armor and Bear's Endurance, they are considered "Exotic" spells, which means that a spellcaster must spend a feat in order to know even one such spell. On the upside, the equivalent of Barkskin is a 2nd level simple spell all spellcasters have access to, as is Ability Boost (+2 enhancement bonus to your highest non-modified stat...caster has no choice in where it goes).

In any case, thanks for clearing that up.

 

[MarkB]

One thing to bear in mind is that this method limits the versatility of the shapeshift druid. As it is, he can shift forms as a swift action, allowing him to switch between forms essentially at no cost on a round-by-round basis, so that one round he can be making full attacks in Ferocious Slayer form, next round he can shift back and cast a spell, then the following round he can return to slayer form and continue full-attacking.

If you add his CON-boosting item after he shifts forms, then it'll drop off the moment he returns to his natural form, and he'll lose the bonus.

You're better off giving him a wand of bear's endurance and having him cast from it at the start of combat - if there's time for amulet-swapping, there's time for that. And that way, he keeps his bonus no matter which form he's in.

One thing to note is that technically, if you wear a WIS-boosting item, you'll lose your bonus spells when you shift. I tend to houserule that out, by assuming that since you lose all spellcasting abilities when you shift and regain them in your natural form, your bonus spells aren't actually 'there' to be lost when you lose the WIS bonus. You may want to ask your DM if he'd be prepared to rule similarly.

 

[Robert Ranting]

"If you add his CON-boosting item after he shifts forms, then it'll drop off the moment he returns to his natural form, and he'll lose the bonus."

Ick. That would certainly put a crimp in things. I'll look into the cost of the wand (AE has prices for charged items usable by non-casters without UMD checks).

"You may want to ask your DM if he'd be prepared to rule similarly."

Luckily, I am the DM.

 

[Ridley's Cohort]

One thing to note is that technically, if you wear a WIS-boosting item, you'll lose your bonus spells when you shift. I tend to houserule that out, by assuming that since you lose all spellcasting abilities when you shift and regain them in your natural form, your bonus spells aren't actually 'there' to be lost when you lose the WIS bonus. You may want to ask your DM if he'd be prepared to rule similarly.

By the strict letter of the RAW, the bonus prepared spells are not lost. A prepared spell is a prepared spell. However it is possible that you have a prepared spell that you cannot legally cast because you are restricted to certain "spells per day" of a given level based on your Wis at the moment.

Sounds like MarkB is doing essentially the same thing.

The alternative is to ignore the RAW, and then make up a bunch of house rules that will be annoying to implement.

 

[MarkB]

By the strict letter of the RAW, the bonus prepared spells are not lost. A prepared spell is a prepared spell. However it is possible that you have a prepared spell that you cannot legally cast because you are restricted to certain "spells per day" of a given level based on your Wis at the moment.

Sounds like MarkB is doing essentially the same thing.

The alternative is to ignore the RAW, and then make up a bunch of house rules that will be annoying to implement.

My understanding, based upon discussions of such items when the revised rules on wildshaping came out, was that if you lost the effect of a primary-casting-attribute boosting item you would lose the spells in the lost bonus slots, and that regaining the use of the item would restore the slots, but not the spells.

However, I'm willing to be persuaded otherwise, since the alternative saves a lot of headaches when it comes to wildshape and shapeshift.