Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Alsark 06-06-05, 10:32 PM	I have a friend who is rather interested in shapeshifting, and so I told him I'd tell him a good combination for his character. Being a newbie, I don't actually know that kind of stuff though - which is why I am turning here. Basically, I just have a few questions: 1) Are there any particular races good for shapeshifting classes? 2) What classes and prestige classes should my friend get and in what order? 3) What feats should my friend concentrate in? (My friend has all of the resources available to him... so he can be any race, any class, and any prestige class that he wants to be). Thanks for your time.
lgw 06-06-05, 10:41 PM	1) any with boost to mental abilities and low la. possibly spell like powers (they are retained). 2) druid 5 / master of many forms 10 / warshaper 5 - _the_ standart build. (feel free to mix warshaper in, after you feel, you got sufficient lvls in momf) wiz 5 / incantatrix 10 / archmage 5 - typical caster build with many metamagic available. early on, use metamagic to boost polymorph - lvl 17 is the magic one, when you hit shapechange for kick-ass. nough said 3) anything a: boosting shapechange (tough above builds cover most things) b: allow casting while shapechanged c: transcend bonuses. exampels: a: exalted wild shape (shape into celestials - boed) b: still / silent spell c: divine grace & co until hitting lvl 17
ILL34GL3 06-06-05, 11:18 PM	Druids are pretty awesome with Wild Shape. But it's not available until 5th level. Many consider the druid to be the most powerful class available (or at least in the top 3 with cleric and wizard. The animal companion is handy too. At lower levels, your wolf is a great melee combatant. Right now I'm playing a 3rd level human druid and loving it. I put all of my best ability scores in the mental stats because Wildshaping will change the physical stats. For feats I've gone with Track, Spell Focus(conjuration) and Augment Summoning. Natural Spell comes at 6th. Just to communicate the power of a druid, during the last session our 3rd level party(druid, rogue, warlock and ranger) entered combat with three griffons(oops, thought I could use Wild Empathy with them) a CR7 encounter. I summoned a couple of hippogriffs and they and my wolf went to town and di most of the damage in the 5 rounds that the combat lasted. When all was said and done, we downed two griffons and routed the other. Anyway, druids get real fun when they start Wild Shaping. Especially when you can start casting animal growth. Check out the Druid's Handbook in the 3.5 build thread of this forum for more on optimizing druids. DRUID!
Mel Kio 06-06-05, 11:33 PM	If allowed, I prefer this alternative (combat) build which nets you 16BAB: Ranger 5 (class varient from UA with wild shape) / Master of Many Forms 10 (at least 7 before warshaper)/ Warshaper 4 / Nature's Warrior 1 *edit - made it simple*
DarthDave 06-07-05, 12:15 AM	If the Eberron setting is available to you, the Shifter race provides elementary shapeshifting, and still opens to door for druidic advancement, too. Especailly interesting is the detailed history and lore detailed about the race in Races of Eberon. The book also has several racial advantages and prestigue classes for the Shifter race. At least look into it for comparrison's sake...
Alsark 06-07-05, 04:58 PM	Thank you for your help, everyone. I asked my friend today if he was more interested in a spellcaster as a shapeshifter or a melee fighter, and he wanted a melee fighter - so I suggested that he use the ranger variant with the levels in Master of Many Forms, Warshaper, and a Nature Warrior level. Thanks again.