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I'm planning to run my first Pathfinder campaign this summer with my friends. Unfortunately, we don't even live in the same state, so we were thinking about playing over skype.

How is GMing online different from being in person? Are there any programs that are strong to use? I hear good things about http://rptools.net/. Any other advice?

I'm preparing to run a short campaign this summer and one of my friends wants to play a shapeshifter. Aside from adjusting the the BAB and the available forms, how would you make this class suitable for play?

Adding 2 fast healing every three levels seems horrifically broken. If I keep the class feature at all, I would slow it down to every four levels and only give him +1 fast healing.

Additionally, I think the form mutations need to be reworked. Since giants and elementals are no longer their own type, I would move those bonuses around and also add an ooze mutation that made the shapeshifter immune to piercing damage. I don't see this campaign going past level 10, so we won't run into the problem of a character who can turn into a dragon that is immune to critical hits, flanking, mind-altering effects and has a +2 to strength besides.

In the interest of discussion, do you think the form mutations are a balanced class feature? I was thinking about making the mutations weaker, more frequent, and apply only to the non-shifted shapeshifter. These mutations would be similar to some alchemist discoveries, like the option to grow wings or new appendages.

All that said, this is my first time as a GM so I don't have all the mechanics of the game down. Am I on the right track or is this class unsalvageable?

So I downloaded the ARG in January, but didn't have a chance to play with it until last night. One thing that tripped me up a little was the use of the term "monstrous" as a race type and also as a term for power levels. Maybe it was just because it was 3 AM, but it the simultaneous use of those terms made things a little confusing.

Are monstrous races naturally monstrous? Perhaps they could change the type to xenian (or maybe beast, to avoid similarity with outsider) or change the power level to epic or grotesque.