Post/Author/DateTime	Post
hensteeth 04-26-05, 07:20 AM	When a person changes into bear form, are his items still 'in effect'? If he is wearing bracers +xyz and has a axe +abc do they still 'work' in bear form?
DarknessEternal 04-26-05, 09:36 AM	No, bears can't wear bracers. They can wear rings and amulets and that's about it. If you want some armor, get some with the Beastskin property. (Wild may work as well).
stamhaven 04-26-05, 12:06 PM	You really need to go over them with the DM first. Both say they work with wildshape and make no allowances for other forms of shapechanging. And beastskin has the major drawback of using up an extra use perday to get the benefits from it. Wild has some issues like weather it affects your movement and skill checks while melded, as well as other minor issues mostly associated with monk's belt or multiclassed monks/druids.
Pliskit 04-28-05, 06:59 AM	I think what would answer your question is: No, any gear that disappears into your new form does not function. Any gear you still wear in animalshape however does work. As my druid is wearing magic armour (the dragonscale plate +1) which like all magic gear auto-reshapes to fit the wearer, my DM allows me to wear my armour while in any roughly humanoid shape, such as the brown bear. It´s all a matter of reason: In that shape I can´t wear rings, because bearpaws are not realy fit for that, but I can wear amulets and armor. I can´t of course hold a weapon. If I choose to wildshape into a bird or snake for example, armour would realy not work, as would amulets and backpacks... name it. So I have to agree with Stamhaven: this is between you and your DM.
stamhaven 04-28-05, 07:32 AM	As my druid is wearing magic armour (the dragonscale plate +1) which like all magic gear auto-reshapes to fit the wearer, my DM allows me to wear my armour while in any roughly humanoid shape, such as the brown bear. Considering bears roughly humanoid is probably the most liberal view I've hear for magic armor resizing, and I would consider that a very rare ruling. For most roughly humanoid means bipeds with two arms (and no wings). That's the first time I've heard a quadroped considered roughly humanoid. The beasthide property uses a bear wildshape in its example illustration as needing the special property to allow it to effectively turn in to barding as you wildshape. Rings being allowed on a bear paw is actually much mcuh more common, but again go over each slot with your DM. Here's the humanoid slot list: MAGIC ITEMS ON THE BODY Many magic items need to be donned by a character who wants to employ them or benefit from their abilities. It’s possible for a creature with a humanoid-shaped body to wear as many as twelve magic items at the same time. However, each of those items must be worn on (or over) a particular part of the body. A humanoid-shaped body can be decked out in magic gear consisting of one item from each of the following groups, keyed to which place on the body the item is worn. • One headband, hat, helmet, or phylactery on the head • One pair of eye lenses or goggles on or over the eyes • One amulet, brooch, medallion, necklace, periapt, or scarab around the neck • One vest, vestment, or shirt on the torso • One robe or suit of armor on the body (over a vest, vestment, or shirt) • One belt around the waist (over a robe or suit of armor) • One cloak, cape, or mantle around the shoulders (over a robe or suit of armor) • One pair of bracers or bracelets on the arms or wrists • One glove, pair of gloves, or pair of gauntlets on the hands • One ring on each hand (or two rings on one hand) • One pair of boots or shoes on the feet Of course, a character may carry or possess as many items of the same type as he wishes. However, additional items beyond those listed above have no effect. Some items can be worn or carried without taking up space on a character’s body. The description of an item indicates when an item has this property.
Pliskit 04-28-05, 07:54 AM	It is rather liberal, I have to admit. On the other hand, I may very well be wrong, because I´m not such a professional player, but is it not so that if your character retains humanoid shape but grows wings as for example per the spell Fire Wings (complete divine), his/her magic armour adepts to the new form? A biped with wings seems like at least as big an alteration as a quadruped: the harness needs to create two extra holes or slits on the back that the wings can protrude from. And realy, I believe you if you say that rings on an animal are common houserule, but I realy can´t imagine rings on bearpaws... In practical respect, I consider that a lot stranger.
Pinky's brain 04-28-05, 12:28 PM	A bear can walk on 2 feet ;) Our DM allows our bearwarrior to retain most item slots, except cloaks, but he does need a special armor to have it resize (he ruled that beastskin armor would work even without spending an extra attempt).
ForgottenCode 04-28-05, 12:38 PM	An Ape I could see... I mean they have very roughly the same shape as a human... but a bear? It just doesn't fit in my mind.