Warshaper's Morphic Weapons ability?

[Sithobi1]

Can you have one of each kind of natural attack, or are you restricted to one at a time?

 

[Timeron Malachi]

As far as I understand from the class, you could create any amount of natural attacks. However, I believe morphing each claw or bite or gore takes a move action.

Also, I don't think that you can attack more than once with natural attacks, regardless of high Base Attack...that seems to be the general rule I see, at least for Shifters. If you wanted to be very effective with all these attacks, you'd probably also need the Multiattack feat.

 

[nameless]

As far as I understand from the class, you could create any amount of natural attacks. However, I believe morphing each claw or bite or gore takes a move action.

Also, I don't think that you can attack more than once with natural attacks, regardless of high Base Attack...that seems to be the general rule I see, at least for Shifters. If you wanted to be very effective with all these attacks, you'd probably also need the Multiattack feat.

What would prevent you from creating 8 tentacles, 2 wing buffets, a tail slap, a bite, 2 claws, a tongue lash, a gore, or just growing extra limbs to make more claw attacks?

For natural shapeshifters, time is not a limitation, as a minute of move actions gives you natural weapons for life.

I'm not being sarcastic, I honestly wonder what a balanced and consistent interpretation is. Maybe you can create 1 extra natural weapon, and grow all the ones you already have? That makes sense from an "ability doesn't stack with itself" standpoint.

 

[saucercrab]

My reading of it is that a character can grow one natural attack per "limb."

A human could, for example, grow two claws (one per arm), one set of fangs for a bite attack (one mouth), one set of horns for a gore/ram/headbutt (one head), & maybe two extra claws for his legs. How a base human could do this without being in another form in the first place I haven't thought about, but in that case, just swtich out human for changeling. An ettin could have all that plus one more bite (if there was a way for one to use this ability while in its natural form). Adding elbow- & knee-mounted slam attacks would be pushing it, though.

It seems a balance interpretation IMO.

 

[Joeluma]

warshaper used in conjunction with 'master shifter' from complete adventurer gets interesting... more multilimbed creatures to chose from... the more effective way to use the 'morphic weapons' ability is to increase damage of preexisting attacks, imo.

 

[Mr.Black]

I'd like to say one weapon, but the text in the book isn't entirely clear. It would certainly be a balance issue if there was no limit on the number of natural weapons a warshaper could grow.

 

[Testament]

As written, a Warshaper that already had the Shapechanger subtype can wake up in the morning and create 5,000,000,000,000 mouths for bite attacks if they wish.

In play, I think a lot is let to GM interpretation.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

I'd like to say one weapon, but the text in the book isn't entirely clear. It would certainly be a balance issue if there was no limit on the number of natural weapons a warshaper could grow.

As written, a Warshaper that already had the Shapechanger subtype can wake up in the morning and create 5,000,000,000,000 mouths for bite attacks if they wish.

"Excuse me, peasant. Have you seen Jim o' Many Forms?"

"Uh, dunno ... What's he look like?"

"Well, usually, he looks like a walking ball of fangs. Occasionally, he has a claw or two, as well."

"OH! Him. Yeah, he went that way a couple days ago. You might want to tell him his breath's enough to scare children!"

"Thanks!"

 

[Sejs]

Morphic Weapons (Su): As a move action, a warshaper can grow natural weapons such as claws or fangs, allowing a natural attack that deals the appropriate amount of damage according to the size of the new form (see Table 5-1 on page 296 of the Monster Manual). These morphic weapons need not be natural weapons that the creature already possess. For example, a warshaper polymorphed into an ettin (Large giant) could grow a claw that deals 1d6 points of damage, or horns for a gore attack that deals 1d8 points of damage.
*snip*
A warshaper can change morphic weapons as often as it likes, even if it is using a shapechanging technique such as the polymorph spell or the wild shape class feature that doesn't allow subsequent changes after the initial transformation.

The parts saying "allowing a natural attack" and "... could grow a claw that deals 1d6 points of damage, or horns for a gore attack ..." say to me that no matter how many Morphic Weapons you sprout, you never gain more than a single attack from it at a time.

Essentially, go right ahead and sproud horns, fangs, tusks, tentacles, power doors, 15 year drive train warranty, proboscis, etc - you can still attack with only one of them in a given round. The only benefit you'd gain from turning into the coolest made-up animal ever made-up would be that you'd have plenty of options to choose from as to which morphic weapon to use for a given situation.

 

[apesamongus]

The parts saying "allowing a natural attack" and "... could grow a claw that deals 1d6 points of damage, or horns for a gore attack ..." say to me that no matter how many Morphic Weapons you sprout, you never gain more than a single attack from it at a time.

But it doesn't say you can attack with A or B, it says you can GROW A or B. It explicitly says you can only grow 1 weapon per (move) action, but nowhere does it say you are limited to using one at a time. That "or" refers to the fact that you couldn't grow them both at the same time.