Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Alas Apr 08, 2015 11:50:17	Here's my situation:   I like shapechanging characters-- changelings, hengeyokai, the old transmogrifier prestige class from 3rd edition, and so forth. I like the visuals and the variety. I very much like the way Wild Shape works in 5th edition, and would love a chance to play with it in a game I'm likely to get into in the fall. However, for thematic/character purposes, I'm much more drawn to arcane classes-- particularly the warlock-- than the druid for whom Wild Shape is a main feature.   Now, I could probably be satisfied playing a Circle of the Moon druid with judicious skill and spell selection and a little palette swapping. If my character casts mainly charm and fire spells, makes Arcana and Intimidation checks, and chats in Infernal instead of druidic, that's enough to justify putting "warlock" on my business card (even if it's not on the character sheet).   But I also like the way the warlock is built-- Pact Magic, the patrons, all that. I experimented for a while with creating a "Pact of the Skin" that was basically Wild Shape lite, with follow-up invocations to improve the feature at appropriate levels. Though the more I think about it, the more I wonder, what if I just swapped a warlock's Pact Boon and Invocations entirely for a moon druid's Wild Shape feature?   The warlock and druid have fairly similar chassis to start with-- d8, comparable armor/weapon proficiencies, comparable saving throws-- so I'm more comfortable mixing with those two than with, say, the druid and wizard. I wouldn't give the warlock the ability to burn spells for Wild Shape healing, because that doesn't seem fair with the renewable Pact Magic slots. On the other hand, most of the warlock's pact features (the feylock's misty escape, or the fiendlock's later resistance) seem like they probably would still work while wild shaped. But! Without invocations, the warlock loses several good ways to power up Eldritch Blast. The warlock has a lot of concentration spells that could synergize with Wild Shape, but if he goes frontline as a beast he's going to face concentration checks quite a lot.   In the end, it *looks* to me like a warlock who traded Pact Boon and Invocations for Wild Shape just about breaks even, trading one set of combat and exploration abilities for another. But I feel I could be overlooking something. Wise people have said, "Go not to the boards, for they will tell you both yes and no," but this is a situation where I wouldn't mind a little kibbitzing. The group I roll with has played multiple editions of D&D and WoD and other games together for about 20 years, but I'm a little more into the theory/houseruling than they are. I've DM'd several campaigns with them, so if I told the gang my assessment, they'd probably accept it. With that in mind, I want to be doubly sure I'm not selling them a super hero with this proposal (I'd accept a net power loss, though).
#2 steelwulf99 Apr 08, 2015 12:57:45	Mask of Many Faces is an at-will disguise self available at level 2. Then there's Sculptor of Flesh and Master of Forms as you level up. Will support any patron or pact.
#3 Kentus Apr 08, 2015 14:18:14	You have to be careful, since Wild Shape is a vital part of any druid and shouldn't be come into other classes lightly. But in the end, if you really want this kind of twirk and your DM is OK with this, there is no reason not to try to do it.   The warlock is much different from other classes, since there are more options to customization and Pact Magic. If you have access to Wild Shape like a moon druid, this will throw off the balance of the warlock class a bit off, since he doesn't have enough spells to not Wild Shape if the mechanic is exactly the same. A druid must consider spell power vs. animal power, a warlock don't need to, since these up to 4 spell slots are easily spent.   I would begin to think about, how you want to fit Wild Shape in and I would go with a new Otherworldly Patron, since it's easier to add features rather than replacing them. I will call it The Skinwalker, a pact with a powerful shapechanger or beast god (like Malar), to gain their shapeshifting abilities.   The feature on 1st level are all over the place in terms of direction, but most of them are useful in combat or exploration. Since the goal is not to be as good in wild shape as a moon druid, we'll wait until later. First, we should get a minor boost to make your more changeable state clear: At 1st level you get the shapeshifter subtype and can grow either claws, fangs or a horn as a bonus action. Claws go with d4 finesse and light, the bite with d6 finesse and the horn with d8. You have proficiency with all kind of natural attacks. Additionally your beasty nature allows you to roll animal handling and charisma checks with advantage, as long as you interact with beasts.   Your pact spells could be: 1st - Beast Bond (EE Player Guide), Longstrider 2nd - Pass without Trace, Moonbeam 3rd - Bestow Curse, Nondetection 4th - Locate Creature, Greater Invisibility 5th - Commune with Nature, Reincarnate   At 3rd level you have to take a new form of a pact boon, Pact of the Beast. This will be your wildshape-kinda feature, even though it is more restricted. You can only use it once per short rest and have to spend a spell slot to do so. Otherwise it works like wildshape, even though you can use it as a bonus action (but not spend spell slots to heal yourself). And even though you should name it differently, you also get the Circle Forms.   At 6th you get the Primal Strike like a Moon Druid.   At 10th level when you're in beastform, you have resistance to non-silvered, non-magical weapons to increase the unholiness of the shapeshifting nature.   At 14th level you can use your form of wild shape as often as you want, as long you have spell slots. You can even change your shape when you're still in another.   You can add some druidic spells as invocations, like speak with animals at-will, conjure animals once per day by spending a spell slot, etc. I would choose those, who would make your warlock more like a leader of a pack or an animal master.         Since Wild Shape levels with the character, the other features aren't too impressive, but it should be a good way to embrace the beast while remaining a warlock in all other aspects.
#4 mellored Apr 08, 2015 14:52:09	why not simply multi-class? druid 2/warlock the rest.
#5 cowleymen Apr 09, 2015 15:48:54	mellored wrote: