shapechagning shapes

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any druids, polymorphing spellcasters shapechangers....

How do you determine WHAT you can become?

is it:
1) simple; you fight it, summon it or encounter it it's yours, otherwise
forget it?
2) a knowledge check(appropriate creature type) + above?
3) free for all?

My 24th level druid is considerng Magical Beast wildshape, but my list of
MBs that I've encountered is on the low side. My DM has recommended that
maybe I could use knowledge Arcana (DC 10+HD) ...of which I have 0
ranks....to change to other things. As a druid, this isn't particularly
helpful (unless I had thought ahead and taken cc Knowledge Arcana..too
late). The next feat I want (dragon Wildshape) would be pretty tough to use
considering we've never fought a dragon.

What about the Shapechange spell?
 
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Eyebyte wrote:
> any druids, polymorphing spellcasters shapechangers....
>
> How do you determine WHAT you can become?
>
> is it:
> 1) simple; you fight it, summon it or encounter it it's yours,
otherwise
> forget it?
> 2) a knowledge check(appropriate creature type) + above?
> 3) free for all?
>
> My 24th level druid is considerng Magical Beast wildshape, but my
list of
> MBs that I've encountered is on the low side. My DM has recommended
that
> maybe I could use knowledge Arcana (DC 10+HD) ...of which I have 0
> ranks....to change to other things. As a druid, this isn't
particularly
> helpful (unless I had thought ahead and taken cc Knowledge
Arcana..too
> late). The next feat I want (dragon Wildshape) would be pretty tough
to use
> considering we've never fought a dragon.
>
> What about the Shapechange spell?

Well, I would assume as a druid that you can be assumed (esspecially at
that level) to have at least rudimentary knowledge of most creatures
that inhabit a forest, so as long as the magic beast's tag says it
likes whatever your terrain is (probably temperate woodlands) then you
should be ok with an arcane check to think of anyhting past that.

And I think it's a bit of a far cry to assume that anyone in a fantasy
setting doesn't know what a dragon is. Heck, almost everyone on earth
knows what a dragon is.

Also, at that power level do you mean to tell me you can't talk to
someone who knows these things, or look around for examples of them, or
read a book on the subject?
 
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Eyebyte wrote:
> any druids, polymorphing spellcasters shapechangers....
>
> How do you determine WHAT you can become?

Just for the sake of ease, I let people shift into anything in the MMI
as the rules allow without their characters having to go out of their
way to do research. IMO, monsters in that book represent the "basics"
that most people have either seen or heard about in some fashion,
particularly adventurers.

Critters from other books may require special permission or
circumstances. Character background and experience definitely comes
into play with the latter; if the bulk of the PCs life/career has been
spent at sea, she'll be able to shift to most aquatic forms without a
problem, but desert creatures might require skill checks or info
gathering.

Not the most realistic way to handle it, but it works well for me.

--
Jay Knioum
The Mad Afro
 
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>>
>> How do you determine WHAT you can become?
>>
>> is it:
>> 1) simple; you fight it, summon it or encounter it it's yours,
> otherwise
>> forget it?
>> 2) a knowledge check(appropriate creature type) + above?
>> 3) free for all?

> Well, I would assume as a druid that you can be assumed (esspecially at
> that level) to have at least rudimentary knowledge of most creatures
> that inhabit a forest, so as long as the magic beast's tag says it
> likes whatever your terrain is (probably temperate woodlands) then you
> should be ok with an arcane check to think of anyhting past that.
>
> And I think it's a bit of a far cry to assume that anyone in a fantasy
> setting doesn't know what a dragon is. Heck, almost everyone on earth
> knows what a dragon is.
Yes, but must you experience something to Know it??????????? (eerie silence)
>
> Also, at that power level do you mean to tell me you can't talk to
> someone who knows these things, or look around for examples of them, or
> read a book on the subject?

A good point...I've proposed the rule "anything we've fought, summoned,
encountered etc (IOW, anything I've interacted with) and any creature that
is 1/2 or less of my HD. At 24th level, this would mean 12 HD and lower
creatures were within my expertise, information, study, etc.
There are some tremendously powerful MBs that my DM might wish to keep me
away from...and I don't blame him. Phoenix and chronotrym are two kick ass
examples.

Rich
 
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Eyebyte <rbrouwer@rogers.com> wrote:
>My 24th level druid is considerng Magical Beast wildshape, but my list of
>MBs that I've encountered is on the low side.

How about using Summon Nature's Ally (x), commanding them to show
you everything about them? Alternatively, at 24th level, it shouldn't
be hard to go places where you could summon, meet, and perhaps
converse with all sorts of MBs... there are all these high-level
spells (Commune with Nature and Tree Stride are 5th, and Transport
via Plants is 6th) that make finding them and getting to them
reasonably easy...

Antilife shell (6th) can usually keep you alive for awhile so you
can study the 'beast from up-close, though 8+23d8 HP (+ con bonus)
and some overtly defensive spells usually do a pretty good job as
well.

Donald