Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Xeviat-DM May 16, 2015 22:00:00	Hey there! Back in 3E, my group really liked the Wildshape varient "Shapeshift" from the PHB2. Instead of choosing animal forms, you learned beastial forms that simply modified your own stats. They gave strength bonuses, natural weapons, natural armor, and some bonus feats that improved as levels were gained. It was simple, and it felt balanced, and it required far less math then the standard wildshape.   In 4E, we got Ranger Animal Companions in the Martial Characters book (name escaping me). Rather than using the monster stats, they were stat blocks created for the player following different animal themes.   How much desire is there for these types of things to return? Not as "patches", but maybe as alternates for those groups who would like to do things differently? I've been studying over the beasts in the MM, and I'm tempted to start putting together some guidelines. Who would be interested in seeing it? Who has any input?
#2 rampant May 18, 2015 7:47:14	I want.   I'd avoid huge bonuses to Ability scores with the shapeshift, +4s tops.
#3 rampant May 18, 2015 7:47:14	I want.   I'd avoid huge bonuses to Ability scores with the shapeshift, +4s tops.
#4 SterlingRat May 18, 2015 8:58:15	Xeviat-DM wrote:
#5 mellored May 18, 2015 9:14:55	sounds like a 4e warden.
#6 Mechatarrasque May 18, 2015 9:43:54	I agree with mellored, that sounds a lot like a warden.  I could also see it as a barbarian, maybe a skinwalker way.  And like sterlingrat, I am not sure I would limit it to animals--it seems like it could support a synthesyst summoner or denarian from the Dresden files, which might make a paladin the best way since it dips its toes into a wider range of things.
#7 SterlingRat May 18, 2015 11:03:40	Yeah, a Dresden Files reference! +1 to you, sir!   and I would love a single-form shapeshifter... someone that learns one neat trick, but hones their abilities with that to a razor's edge. Something like...   Level 3 = Natural Weapons - Pick between unarmed attacks doing 1d8 (finesse & light) or a bonus action attack from extra limbs Level 6 = Defenses - pick between some way to heal, some way to be tougher to hit & some way to resist damage Level 9 = Movement - flight, burrowing, increase running speed... Level 11 = Freaky power - summoning snakes, splitting into 1000 little bugs and eating people, being the most awful, evil, and reasonable villain there is Level 15 = second ability from Level 3-9 Level 20 = Imortality
#8 LuisCarlos17f May 18, 2015 13:46:27	I would rather the name "skinwalker", and my suggestion for powers like monter traits (natural armour and weapons, wings..) is to use the game mechanic of the souldmelds from "Magic of incarnum", an at-will power what can be improved using points of essentia and "chakras" (the body slots for magic item).
#9 Xeviat-DM May 21, 2015 0:47:30	The concept could easily be applied to other things, I'm sure, but mostly I wanted to avoid what feels like imbalances in the current Circle of the Moon druid. I don't care if it ends up balanced in play (which I'll see soon), but that it's so clunky and foreign among the other options in the game. I personally feel that a wildshape focused druid who spends all of their spell slots on self healing (which is my favorite part of the circle of the moon druid frankly) should be comparable to a fighter, maybe even a little weaker since the druid would have some increased flexibility.   I would love to see a shapeshifting Barbarian subclass (Bear-shirt style Berserker) and some more shapechanging spells for the other casters too.
#10 Lady_Auralla May 21, 2015 1:09:30	I think the designers need to go back to the drawing board in regards to all pets and their design philosophy when it comes to pets, companions, followers, etc.
(Reply to #10) Xeviat-DM	Lady_Auralla wrote:
#12 Lady_Auralla May 22, 2015 2:35:13	Xeviat-DM wrote:
#13 Xeviat-DM May 22, 2015 3:21:12	Since Wildshape is more pressing to my upcoming game, I'm taking a stab at a variant wildshape first. I already have a test Champion built, I've already shown in another thread that it compares okay to the Battlemaster's damage (though the battlemaster is still getting maneuvers, like trip, that the Champion wasn't getting).   I'm beginning my thought process with thinking about what a wild shape druid player is going to want. They're going to want to be a comparable warrior to the fighter, or maybe the barbarian (the barbarian is harder to analyze; I may look at it later). Having combat wildshape forms grant AC comparable to a fighter is super easy. But what about HP? Well, the fighter has a d10 HD, and the druid only has a d8. This means the fighter starts with 2 more hp, and gains 1 more hp per level. I'm ignoring Con; if wildshape doesn't give you a monster's hp, a druid will have just as much incentive to pump con as a fighter (it could even be their secondary stat, like a heavy armor fighter). In addition to the extra HP that the fighter gets, they also get extra healing from their Hit Dice; this is another 1 hp per level. Last, the fighter gets their second wind, granting 1d10+1 healing per short rest.   The druid, on the other hand, gets combat wildshape's bonus action healing from burning spell slots. So how do they compare? First, we need some assumptions about the "typical" combat day. The DMG says to average 6 encounters per day and 2 short rests per day. Hit Dice and base HP are regained at a long rest, as are spells; second wind is per short rest, so it's daily healing ability is trippled (you'll have it when you wake up, and recover it twice over the day). If we assume that a wildshape druid will burn all of their spell slots for healing, we find that the Fighter outclasses the Druid in daily HP at level 2, they're nearly even at level 3, and then the druid outpaces the fighter forever more. Thus, if everything else were equal, the druid is going to need to be using some of their spell slots for their own offense (or for party healing during rests, when Cure Wounds and Heal are more efficient than Combat Wildshape).   The thought then drifts to this: What if the druid has to use their spell slots to take on different forms? They get a base form that puts them on similar AC footing as the fighter, but they need to use spell slots for utility things like movement modes or sensory abilities, as well as combat things? This might be tough to design, but I feel like I'm onto something.   Of course, I think the fighter should be a better combatant than a wildshape focused druid, only because the druid has more versatility, but I don't think the gulf should be that big. The current druid may be balanced (outside of level 2 and 3, most likely), but I don't like that you get the beast's hp when retaining your own hp would be simpler (it seems that polymorph uses the hp mechanic too). Heck, polymorph lets you change someone's form to a beast of CR equal to their level, and while the T-Rex is the highest CR beast (8), that is a beast that's out of the range of the druid's wildshape.
#14 Lady_Auralla May 22, 2015 4:09:18	Wildshape being comparable to the fighter has been a balance issue that should be avoided, D&D designers for several editions lacked the brain power to figure that out.
#15 rampant May 22, 2015 11:01:11	Agreed any class feature that lets you be comprable to an entire other class is a bad idea.
#16 rampant May 22, 2015 11:01:11	Agreed any class feature that lets you be comprable to an entire other class is a bad idea.
(Reply to #16) Xeviat-DM	rampant wrote:
#18 BRJN May 23, 2015 19:46:02	I would like to see a way for a druid to specialize in Creature Types.   Traditional Druid - turns into animals / beasts Abyssal Druid - turns into demons Infernal Druid - turns into devils Insane Druid - turns into aberrations Mythic Druid - turns into monstrosities
#19 rampant May 23, 2015 21:36:23	If the druid was a less effective caster maybe, but it's starting off as a powerful and versatile caster so letting them run around as an off everything else can be problematic, I like the concept of burning those same spells however as it lets us force a more equitable trade, you wanna be an off-rogue you're gonna loose some spells to do it. That Said I'd focus more on damage and special effects than AC.