Ways you can Abuse a Shifter

[EOL]

I'm about to start playing a Druid ---> Shifter in a campaign which is starting. We're starting at 4th level so it won't be long before I get into the prestige class. In allowing me to take the shifter the DM is making me think of all the ways this PrC could be abused and helping him plug the holes. So far I've come up with the following and I'm looking for feedback on anything I might have missed:

1- Changing into a large creature in a cramped room and squishing everybody against the walls.

2- Turning from a sparrow into and Iron Golem and crushing my opponents by falling on them.

3- Getting swallowed (by a monster with the swallow whole ability or similar) changing shape and killing them from the inside.

4- Unlimitied Healing with Evershifting Form.

5- Changing from one shape directly into the next without assuming the base form.

6- Melding equipment into a form to avoid encumbrance penalties.

7- Item slots on Air elementals and such.

I'm not looking for ideas on how to handle these. We already have it pretty much figured out. Thanks in large part to these boards, What I am looking for is anything I might have missed. Any possible silly thing someone with unlimited shapeshifting could do. Doesn't even have to be abusive necessarily just something that would cause the game to grind to a halt as the DM scratchs his head and says how the freak do I rule on that!?

 

[Crothian]

THe biggest abuse I've seen is characters who pick a rare, and powerful race that fits what they can change into no matter if they have any in game knowledge of it. Like taking the Dekanter Goblkin as one's humaniod shape.

 

[Oni]

Unlimitied Healing with Evershifting Form.

I know you said you've already come up with rulings regarding this stuff but I just wanted to comment that this one isn't really a problem when you consider than fasthealing is an Extraordinary ability and so the right shape change would heal you anyway.

 

[Krystoff]

Ways to abuse a Shifter

Hmm, you need ways to abuse a shifter, lets see if I can think of any.

Tell them that when it rains, God is crying because of them.

Pick them last for dodge ball and then laugh.

Tape a "Kick ME! I'm a shifter" sign to the back of his shirt.

Smack them around and make them do your homework.

Steal their lunch money.

Make him sleep on the floor cause he gets the bed all hairy.

...............................................................................................

I'm assuming you mean at the 10th lvl of the shifter class cause thats when he gets unlimited shifting. Lower levels really isn't going to be that bad cause they can only shift a couple of times a day.

Turn into Animated Objects which are technically constructs.

Im not sure what everyone said on the boards but Templates could get scary. A Vampiric Planetar for example or a Planetar Ghost. I think our fix was that you have at least seen a Planetar Ghost to be able to become one.

Black Pudding could get disgusting. Split is (Ex) after all.

Ill try and think of some more ...

Edit, fixed a typo

 

[EOL]

THe biggest abuse I've seen is characters who pick a rare, and powerful race that fits what they can change into no matter if they have any in game knowledge of it. Like taking the Dekanter Goblkin as one's humaniod shape.

That's one I should have put down we have a system for making sure that my character has to have some sort of knowledge of a beast before he can shift into it.

 

[EOL]

Re: Re: Ways you can Abuse a Shifter

I know you said you've already come up with rulings regarding this stuff but I just wanted to comment that this one isn't really a problem when you consider than fasthealing is an Extraordinary ability and so the right shape change would heal you anyway.

Yeah, I agree it's not technically abuse, but something that looks like it might be at first glance. We're basically allowing it without restrictions.

 

[Crothian]

Skip: Note that you can heal yourself through shape shifting a maximum
of 9 times a day, even when you have evershifting form. (That one's not
in the shifter's description, but the authors were quick to add it when
I showed them your letter.

Skip Williams
RPG R&D

>>This was posted by someone else on these boards about a month ago.

 

[EOL]

Skip: Note that you can heal yourself through shape shifting a maximum
of 9 times a day, even when you have evershifting form. (That one's not
in the shifter's description, but the authors were quick to add it when
I showed them your letter.

Skip Williams
RPG R&D

>>This was posted by someone else on these boards about a month ago.

Thanks! I must have missed that.

Though it is sort of odd when you consider that (as was mentioned above) regeneration is an extraordinary ability and as such even if you do limit it to 9 times/day you're really not slowing the shifter down very much, Though I could see situations where it might inconvient to be a troll or something similar, but very convient to change your form each round, so I guess it would plug that hole.

Certainly this seems abusive at first glance and I wonder if that's what the designers were reacting to.

 

[Crothian]

I can't offer must insight. The only reason I have this is I e-mailed it to a friend who plays a Shifter. Take it with a grain of salt is my advice, like all the Sage's ruling and everything else that is not official errata.

 

[kreynolds]

3- Getting swallowed (by a monster with the swallow whole ability or similar) changing shape and killing them from the inside.

I think I have a simple way of handling this. If you are swallowed by a monster, you can shapechange into anything up to 2 (maybe 3) size categories smaller than the creature that swallowed you. Any attempts to shapechange into a creature larger than that automatically fail. You take acid damage (haven't figured out how much yet, more than likely I'll just make something up because that's a pretty stupid move anyway), as well as bludgeoning damage. Essentially, this works just like the monster ability Swallow Whole. If the creature has the swallow hole ability, I would use the size limitations for that ability, instead of the static 2 size limit that I set. Once you're swallowed, you can cut your way out or try to crawl out of the monster's stomach, just like being swallowed. Basically, what I'm saying is that I won't allow someone to pull off a bone-headed move like being swallowed and then shapechanging into a Tarrasque.