Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sci_geek Sep 04, 2008 17:06:07	My player, who's playing a changeling, suggested the following feat and I thought I'd check here on the forums for advice on its impact on the game balance: Racial Impersonation (Heroic Feat) Requisite: Changeling Whenever you use your shape change power to take the shape of a specific race, you also gain that race descriptor for the purpose of being eligible for racial feats. You can only use those feats when you are in the appropriate shape. This feat does not grant you any racial ability other than being eligible for racial feats. So, what do you guys think of it?
#2 wyld_mutation Sep 04, 2008 19:43:26	Hmmm... It makes you want to focus o a apecific race. And theoretically makes you better at emulating that race. I like the feel. Balance is probably a little off. Maybe a Wisdom or Charisma requirement? Possibly even Constitution. I'd say 15 minimum on the requirement.
#3 sci_geek Sep 04, 2008 22:58:22	Hmmm... The idea of an attribute requirement sounds good. I'll have to think of what makes the most sense in terms of a requirement. Con would make it more of a physiology thing to me, while Cha would make it something on the lines of "being able to get into someone else's shoes" and being more comfortable with your specific form than a regular changeling, on a subconscious level as well. I think I'll go with Charisma, though requiring a 13 or 15 Con would be a way to tax the player for the flexibility he is getting. Also, with the new retraining mechanics it's possible for the Changeling to switch his focus from one race to another over the course of his adventures, which is also an interesting idea. The player who suggested this also thought of the feat extending to apply for any thing that has a race restriction, including wards and items, though I'm not 100% sure there are such in the core books (though I'm sure I can create some of my own).
#4 wyld_mutation Sep 04, 2008 23:02:47	Hmmm... Technically a warforged has racial only items. Though I thnk becoming a living construct might be ab bit much...
#5 darkstorn42 Sep 04, 2008 23:20:25	I am currently playing a changeling in a game and suggested a similar feat to my DM. You need to remember that this is completely to emulate the race it has nothing to do with actually BEING the race. So if the doppelganger wanted to look and feel like a war forged there is no reason why but he would not gain any access to any of the special racial powers of it. I think its a great idea but watch the retraining it could get abusive. Remember as a DM you do have the right to say no but you should try to avoid it. For the attribute requirement I think a 13 int and a 13 cha. Yes not very hard for a doppelganger to get but its int to understand how the other races work and cha to be able to emulate it and pull it off. Plus you need to realize that a lot of racial feats alter racial powers, which the doppelganger won't have access to. This is your call, but the change shape power only lets you change into medium humanoids so no hafling feats, or atleast they would be worthless. All in all i think its an awesome idea but keep all that stuff in mind.
#6 catt Sep 05, 2008 8:21:03	It wouldn't really work all that well with retraining, you know. You can only change one feat at each level, so a changling with this feat and two more racial feats that they now qualify for would have to retrain over 5 levels to change focus - 2 levels to "unlearn" the two racial feats, 1 to change to a new race, and then 2 more levels to relearn new racial feats. That's not necessarily a bad thing...just keep it in mind. It doesn't seem terribly unbalanced for me, except for maybe in a highly social game. Changlings racials are basically "you get +20 to bluff checks for disguises." Which is really quite good for social situations, and not really all that good at all for a dungeon crawl. So in most of your "normal" D&D situations, changlings are sort of on the weak side of the racial power curve. They're the best at pulling pranks on the rest of the party though...
#7 Tredekka13 May 23, 2009 19:23:12	Personally, I think it is balanced. All it lets you do is have a racial feat(s) IF you're in that form... nothing else. This does not give additional power, but essentially trades power with a pretty severe penalty of having to be shaped in that race. T13
#8 Sabin_Stargem May 24, 2009 18:50:58	Perhaps instead of the Changling requiring some amount of CHA or CON, he instead needs to have the favored stats of the race it is adopting? For example, humans can have +2 to any one of their stats, so the doppelganger can imitate a Human if one of the stats give a +2 or higher, while Goliaths add a base +2 to STR and +2 to CON, which means the doppelganger needs at least +2 to each of those statistics. This means that the doppelganger can imitate any race, so long as his Ability Modifiers are equal or superior to their favored abilities. Even creatures like Dragons, but he would need an huge amount of ability to mimic that kind of creature. Furthermore, he could imitate their special abilities, like Dragon Breath and such. I don't think this would be unbalanced, especially if that aspect was a Paragon Path or feat for Doppelgangers. Take a look at a young dragon's stats and compare with an Ancient Dragon. Young Black Dragon Str 16 (+5) Dex 20 (+7) Wis 15 (+4) Con 16 (+5) Int 12 (+3) Cha 10 (+2) Ancient Black Dragon Str 26 (+21) Dex 30 (+23) Wis 18 (+17) Con 22 (+19) Int 18 (+17) Cha 16 (+16) A doppelganger that can adopt the shape and special abilities of an very powerful creature would be in the Epic tier by the time he could do so. Yet an Young Black Dragon may be within the Paragon tier for a Doppelganger if he or she took care in the placement of statistics. I think this can make Doppelgangers both powerful, unique, and needy. Starting Doppelganger Ability: False Shape - grants you the form of a creature, but no special abilities associated with it. The doppelganger requires their Ability Modifiers to be equal or superior to the favored Base Modifiers of the race they are adopting. +20 to Bluff for checking against disguise, if they eat the liver of the creature they are attempting to imitate. Paragon Path Ability: Perfect Mimicry - Grants you the form of a creature, with all of it's special abilities. The doppelganger requires their Ability Modifiers to be equal or superior to the favored Base Modifiers of the race they are adopting. +20 to Bluff in checks against disguise. Eating the liver of the being they are imitating will nullify the need for the required Base Ability Modifier, but adopting the form of a creature will not grant increased base abilities.
#9 bartleby42 May 24, 2009 22:11:23	I'm going to say no to all of this. I don't know why you want to have the racial descriptor, but I think that it's a good idea to avoid all of the insanity that spawns from polymorphs of any sort acting how they used to. While letting you take other races racial feats would be nice, and not that huge of a boon, it starts the slippery pun-pun slope. So unless you want low level kolbolds usurping your pantheon I say no.