Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Magicianguy131 07-25-06, 03:01 PM	Ok so I am playing as a lv 12 wujen hengeyokai (a animal shapeshifter race so my type is Shapechanger from Oriental Adventures) and I decided to make my shapeshifting powers more deadly by becoming a Master Transmagorfist (sp?). I have just reached lv 5 so now I become a shapechanger (worthless to me) and I can cast alter self at will. Alter self for someone who is a shapechanger is stupid because all I can really become is a shapechanger. Also because it is alter self I only look like it and gain its natural attacks, which is bad because my strength is bad. So my DM said that she will change alter self so you can become any race other then your own. So I can become a human but I can do that anyways but now I can design what I look like. Sadly my DM wants to make sure this is ok so she made me post a forum about it (her computor is broken). So is this ok? Magicianguy131 p.s Sorry for the grammatical errors typing this fast! p.s This is also good because now a demi lich can use its alter self power and become lots of things.
Black_Puffin 07-25-06, 06:01 PM	Heck, if the DM allows it go for it. But...I think alter self allows you to change into any creature of the same classification, humanoid to humanoid, etc. Changing races is more like polymorph or shapechange. What sort of shapeshifter are you anyway? If you're the type to use other's weapons then go for Warshaper in Comp Warrior. You'll most likely already meet the prereqs. You'll gain the benefit of multiple or enhanced natural weapons, fast healing 2, and faster shapeshifting. That's plenty deadly, you'll just lose caster levels.
Paxar 07-25-06, 06:50 PM	Ok, if you want a reason to be able to do this. How about, for your campaign, the DM allows you to shapechange into a human (you noted you could do this anyway), then use alter self to change your appearance?
Black_Puffin 07-27-06, 03:39 PM	I just got Oriental Adventures. You have three forms, just like a lycanthrope. Human, animal, and hybrid. Alter Self would alow you to become different humanoids and, if you had the necessary abilities and feats, animals. Most of the base races are humanoid, so you could Alter Self into those ones. If you were capable of casting in animal form, you could change into anything that is an animal. For other types, say abberation, you'd really need Polymorph. Changing Alter Self to do this would make it into "Polymorph Self". But like I said, if the DM allows it, go for it. I'd still go for the Warshaper.
Horseshoe_Hermit 07-27-06, 03:57 PM	'Transmogrifier' is the word. You 'transmogrify' using 'transmogrification'. Alter Self does more than change you into another similar species. You can alter your self to become anything within the transmogrification limit - even into creatures which don't exist. You can grow up to two other limbs, for example. The main use of Alter Self is to create a Change Self illusion which is actually real, and to take advantage of this ability to alter your form physically in useful ways. For example, I once Altered Self, gained two extra arms, and though I wasn't dexterous with these other limbs, I could still use them to hold another two items. This gave me some sweet utility. If I could, I'd use Permanency on Alter Self to gain 4 arms permanently, and then become able with them. That would be sweet....
Black_Puffin 08-01-06, 09:26 AM	You could just permenency Girillion's Blessing (spelling). It's allowed by Savage Species. I think the arms are pretty dexterious too.