WildShape questions...

[Veldrane]

Conclusion
You gain the animal's feats (Weapon Finesse)
You gain the animal's racial skill bonuses

Psi, we're ok here, that was pretty clear...

You gain the animal's natural attack routine

Here is the problem... ...maybe it's just me, but I don't understand if you use your BAB and add the new modifiers (and in this case how you use the monster's attack routine?) or if you just subtract the Str (of Dex) mods from his attacks to know his BAB, and then replace it with yours... ...or just get all the attacks the monster has at the bonuses listed in MM...

Thnx in advance, just hoping the Wiz choose better his editors in the future...

 

[nharwell]

Here is the problem... ...maybe it's just me, but I don't understand if you use your BAB and add the new modifiers (and in this case how you use the monster's attack routine?) or if you just subtract the Str (of Dex) mods from his attacks to know his BAB, and then replace it with yours... ...or just get all the attacks the monster has at the bonuses listed in MM...

Thnx in advance, just hoping the Wiz choose better his editors in the future...

You use your BAB, modified by your new Str or Dex (as appropriate. You use the monster's attack routine -- typically primary attack(s) at normal attack bonus, secondary attacks at -5. So if your BAB is +3 and you wildshape into a black bear (Str 19), you'd make 2 claw attacks at +7 and 1 bite attack at +2.

Since you get the creature's natural attack routine, a high BAB will not give you more iterative attacks.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

IMC I've created a list for all of the monsters suggested in that WotC article.

 

[Caliban]

I'm to play a Druid 5 / Shifter 3 this sunday (just retired my Sorcerer due to party balance), and, although I read all the rules available about Wildshape (and Greater one) I still have a couple of unaswered questions...

1) How many attacks a Wildshaped Druid can do in his new form? Do they depend from his BAB or not?

They get the same number of natural weapon attacks as the creature they Wildshape into. (MOTW, page 12, the second sentence of the Fighting section in indicates this.)

You attack bonus would be your BAB+Str(or Dex if finessed)+(weapon focus or other feats/magic).

BAB doesn't affect your number of attacks with natural weapons , iterative attacks from a high BAB only applies to manufactured weapons (MM, page 7).

Before MOTW, a druid would have used their Iterative BAB to determine their number of attacks with the natural weapons of their new form (presumably because they weren't "natural" for the druid).

A normal unarmed strike doesn't seem to count as a "natural weapon" for this purpose, just things like claws, talons, horns, or teeth, which is why a monk or other character uses their BAB to determine their iterative attacks with an unarmed strike.

2) Can he Wildshape into a Shapechanger type eventually?

At 10th level your type changes to Shapechanger.

3) Assuming four Feats (3 from lvls 1, 3 and 6, and 1 for Human race), and considering I'll surely take Alertness, Endurance (PrC reqs.) and Natural Spells, what should I take as 3rd lvl Feat?

What's your Dex? If you are going for a melee combat oriented druid, Combat Reflexes might be a good choice, so you can take extra advantage of shapes with Reach. Or Weapon Focus in a natural weapon common to most of the forms you use (such as Claw or Bite)

 

[Pielorinho]

Re: Re: WildShape questions...

What's your Dex? If you are going for a melee combat oriented druid, Combat Reflexes might be a good choice, so you can take extra advantage of shapes with Reach.

Don't think I'm correcting Caliban -- I'd never presume to do that . I'm simply clarifying something.

If you're getting combat reflexes to take extra advantage of shapes with Reach, then your natural Dex doesn't matter: it'll be your wildshape form's Dex that matters.

Of course, a druid with a longspear can also have reach, so if you plan to fight in your natural form, your own dex will matter.

Daniel

 

[Caliban]

Re: Re: Re: WildShape questions...

Don't think I'm correcting Caliban -- I'd never presume to do that . I'm simply clarifying something.

If you're getting combat reflexes to take extra advantage of shapes with Reach, then your natural Dex doesn't matter: it'll be your wildshape form's Dex that matters.

No, your right when wildshaped the dex of your new form would determine your number of extra AoO's. I was just thinking about how useful it would be when your not wildshaped and didn't specify it clearly enough.

 

[Pielorinho]

Re: Re: Re: Re: WildShape questions...

That's pretty much what I figured, Caliban.

Given that he's starting off as a shaper, however, I'm guessing that he:
1) Will be a combat guy, and
2) Won't be fighting in his natural shape much.

Which means that his natural dex won't matter too much.

I'm not sure how early a shaper can get a form with reach -- is Dire Ape the first available reach form? If he can't get a reach form right away (drd5/shp3), I'd still suggest going for weapon focus: claw, and saving combat reflexes as a feat until he gets a form with reach. It won't be amazingly useful until reach kicks in, most likely, whereas weapon focus: claw will help him out in many different forms throughout his career.

Daniel