Warshaper question

[Zesty Gordita]

The Warshaper ability "Morphic Body" states that "a warshaper can use its precise control over its form to make itself stronger and heartier. It gains a +4 to Strength and a +4 to Constitution."

My DM and I have come to a little disagreement over when this ability would function on my character that has the Shapechanger subtype and the Wild shape ability.

Due to the wide array of ways to qualify for this class, I thought that it should function in any case that the character has access to, specifically both when in my normal form and wild shaped since I have control over my body in both cases. My DM however thinks that it should only effect one of the shape changing abilities.

And so we both come to you and ask your opinion on this matter. And just to be clear, I am not saying he's wrong and he's not saying I am. We are just curious as to what other people think so that we can come to a decision agreeable by both of us.


On another note, what are your views on the 3rd level Druid spell "Spiritjaws"? It's found on page 202 on the Spell Compendium. Do you think it's overpowered at all? Either as a 3rd level spell or just in general?

Thank you all for any opinions you give.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

Warshaper class features work whenever not in your normal form. It's not stated, but I think it's fair to assume they intended you to only benefit when out of your normal form due to an ability that qualified you for the class in the first place (so a lycanthrope wizard that can polymorph 1/day couldn't benefit when in hybrid wolf form alone and not polymorphed). But if you have more than one method of qualifying for the class, any of those abilities would benefit from the class features. The class never makes you pick one sort of ability to apply them to, like say...a PrC that advances CL would have you pick one class to advance CL of

As for spiritjaws... I've used it before. It's not overpowered, nor underpowered, it's pretty well balanced. It's very similar to the 2nd level Spiritual Weapon spell, except it can also grapple on a hit.It's best early on, the grapple bonus falls behind the typical monster grapple modifiers rather quickly, though it will always be useful against ghosts and casters that lack teleportation or freedom of movement for some reason.

 

[Zesty Gordita]

How would you treat a changeling who has the Shapechanger subtype and can manipulate his body naturally? Would the bonuses affect him in the normal form? Or only when he's using his ability to look different?

I personally feel that it should affect it in the normal form since it would take no more effort to make his normal body stronger and heartier than it would if he were a little taller and looked different.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

The Warshaper ability "Morphic Body" states that "a warshaper can use its precise control over its form to make itself stronger and heartier. It gains a +4 to Strength and a +4 to Constitution."

How would you treat a changeling who has the Shapechanger subtype and can manipulate his body naturally? Would the bonuses affect him in the normal form? Or only when he's using his ability to look different?

I personally feel that it should affect it in the normal form since it would take no more effort to make his normal body stronger and heartier than it would if he were a little taller and looked different.

I've ruled that the stat bonuses are constant. However, I've only seen the PrC taken on a Changeling, and we ruled that the Changeling was always triggering the effect.

Ofcourse, me and mine tend to rule towards things being a bit more overpowered and general, so take my 2 cents however you will.

 

[Sekhmet]

I disagree with StreamOfTheSky. As it is not mentioned specifically otherwise, RAW says that you gain a +4 Str and Con. There is no reason that you should not gain that in every form you are in, because you would naturally use that ability to bolster your natural body too.

If you had the option to be stronger and healthier by changing the shape of your nose by a millimeter, so small a difference that no one would ever know, by up to +4 (a 10 to a 14 strength is +75 pounds to your heavy load), wouldn't you do it? I would.

 

[nogray]

Only when not in natural form

At the start of the warshaper's list of abilities, it calls out that their morphic abilities (the immunity to critical hits and stunning, the bonuses to their attributes, etc.) apply only when not in their normal form. I added the emphasis, below.

All of the following are class features of the warshaper prestige class. The class features function only when the warshaper is in a form other than her own (which for doppelganger and phasm warshapers is most of the time).

I'd say that lines up perfectly with StreamOfTheSky's interpretation, though with a difference in details of the example given. By my interpretation, a lycanthrope mage that could polymorph would qualify when he is polymorphed or in one of his lycanthropic forms. It would definitely not apply in the mage's normal form, or the normal form of the OP's shapechanger character.

I think a changeling (one of the common ways to qualify for the class) could make use of his Minor Change Shape ability to make some imperceptible change ("I look like myself, but with a size 11 shoe instead of size 10") and qualify as being "not in his normal form." If that shapechange were somehow disrupted, though, they would lose the attribute bonuses and other benefits until they could make use of their alter self ability once more.

 

[Rampant]

Since most changelings don't walk around showing their chalky faces they spend most of their time in a non-natural form.

THe farther you get from breland and zilargo the less people are likely to think kindly of a changeling is my experience. And even in Sharn you generally avoid advertising shapechanger abilities outside the redlight districts or shifter quarters.

 

[Dandu]

I disagree with StreamOfTheSky. As it is not mentioned specifically otherwise, RAW says that you gain a +4 Str and Con. There is no reason that you should not gain that in every form you are in, because you would naturally use that ability to bolster your natural body too.

If you had the option to be stronger and healthier by changing the shape of your nose by a millimeter, so small a difference that no one would ever know, by up to +4 (a 10 to a 14 strength is +75 pounds to your heavy load), wouldn't you do it? I would.

I'd enhance a different body part.

 

[Sekhmet]

[MENTION=85158]Dandu[/MENTION] Every time, Dandu. Why you gotta make me laugh?

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I'd enhance a different body part.

Surely you mean your facial hair.