Dr. Guns-For-Hands's page

So I have been looking at the resonant powers of the Iridescent spindle when you put it in a wayfinder. The regular power of the ioun stone is just not needing to breathe. The resonant power is this:

"Endure elements, as the spell, as well as protection against exposure to vacuum and underwater pressure."

So I want to make sure, since the vacuum of space is kind of an uncharted area in rules and concepts whether or not this phrase and the previous not needing to breathe = Can survive in space. And if so, should I assume similar details to our own Earth, such as the 100 km range you would have to reach above the planet to break or achieve a sustainable orbit and become weightless?

So I have been hearing rumors that a Bestiary 4 is coming in the general future. I don't know if anyone else thinks of this when a new Bestiary comes out, but I always look forward to seeing if there are any interesting new Wild Shape options. Plant shape is particularly fun, and is one of the only ways for you to get Regeneration as an ability for any amount of significant time and without emptying your wallet.

Unfortunately, out of three Bestiaries there is still only one viable Druid Plant Shape that gives you Regeneration: the Tendriculos. Not that the Tendriculos is a bad monster or shape option, it's pretty cool. But when there is only one option for something like this, I can't help imagining how weird that must be to be taught as a Druid how to eventually get Regeneration. It's not really 'You can assume the powers of plants that regenerate much in the way that you can assume the scent ability of animals' as much as 'You can assume the powers of all these plants and the Regeneration powers of only the Tendriculos. Only the Tendriculos has this power, and there are other powers that other plants have that we don't learn, but we all love Tendriculos Regeneration.'

I'm not interested in gaming the system, I just no longer want to imagine every Druid standing around the water cooler saying 'Isn't it weird that we must all have been taught how to turn into a Tendriculos since it's the only way we could get plant regeneration? Isn't it weird that while there are certainly wild shape favorites, all of us know the Tendriculos transformation regardless of climate, regional background, and social background because it's the only way we could learn this power?'

So I want more plant monsters with Regeneration, just so I no longer have to imagine an army of druids saying "Alright, we just got done turning into a menagerie of different animals and creatures that can grab opponents. Our new orders are to change shape into something with Regeneration." And then all the Druids turned into the exact same Tendriculos.

Am I the only one that wants more plant monsters with Regeneration for the sole purpose of Plant Shape? Was there a reason Paizo never made more than one, or is it just a coincidence?

So I have a Druid conundrum. Once again, it involves the Powerful Shape feat, the Ant Haul spell, and the herculean amounts of weight that a druid can carry. It stems largely from an incident that happened recently in one of my games.

The setting: The Druid and the party were entering a castle keep to warn an important NPC. They knew a prominent bad guy had dispatched assassins to specifically kill this NPC, and may even be making an appearance himself to make sure the job gets done. The party gets there at the same time as the assassination team. The assassination team will stop at nothing to kill this NPC, and while they do want to kill the party too, they are going out of their way to kill this weak NPC first. The druid is in T-Rex form, because he also has Wild Speech and likes to be a talking dinosaur.

Since there are a lot of assassins, and a full attack from any one of these assassins could mean death for this weak NPC, the Druid stuffs the entire NPC in his giant T-Rex mouth, effectively making it impossible for the assassins to get at the NPC without first getting through a few layers of T-Rex. After a round of assassins trying to get through a few layers of T-Rex, the Druid sees an arrow slit, turns into a humming bird, and flies out through the arrow slit.

What happens to the NPC? Wild Shape works like a polymorph spell in that equipment and anything that you carry meld into the Druid when they Wild Shape and become inaccessible, effectively putting all of the Druid's possession into a "Druid Dimension". Because of the way Powerful Shape, Ant Haul, and the strength of the Druid affect carrying capacity, this is a humming bird capable of carrying with minimal difficulty 345 lbs, putting the frail NPC well within the Druid's carrying capacity. This NPC is a living person completely willing to let this Druid go to extreme measures to protect him from murder.

Does the NPC get folded into the "Druid Dimension"? Can the NPC get out of the "Druid Dimension" by choice if he changes his mind? Is there air in the "Druid Dimension"? Does the NPC have a bird's eye view of whatever part of the hummingbird he has been warped into? Does the NPC become inert? Does the NPC come bursting out of the Druid's animal body screaming 'The miracle of life!'as the size transformation takes place? Do they form an amorphous half hummingbird half man monstrosity begging for the sweet release of death?

All these and more are the mysteries of the "Druid Dimension". What are your thoughts?

So I have been looking at the Powerful Shape feat for druids:

Prerequisites: Wild shape class feature, druid level 8th.

Benefit: When in wild shape, treat your size as one category larger for the purpose of calculating CMB, CMD, carrying capacity, and any size-based special attacks you use or that are used against you (such as grab, swallow whole, and trample).

I've never really considered carrying capacity once you get to a high level druid because there comes a point where the weight of your own gear becomes a moot point. But then I sat down and started doing the actual math.

A druid with Wildshape high enough, Ant haul, and the Powerful Shape feat can move disturbing amounts of weight.

Sample: A druid with a 16 strength starting. He gets a belt of +4 strength, bringing his score to 20 strength. He wild shapes into a huge earth elemental, bumping that strength up to a 28.

On the chart, a max heavy load for a medium sized creature is 1200 lbs. But you've wild shaped into something Huge, which means you are treated as Gargantuan for your carrying capacity because of this feat. You're a solid stable rock, not standing on two legs, so you get the quadrupedal bonus. Multiply that 1200 lbs. by 12 = 14,400 lbs. Casting Ant Haul on yourself triples this amount: 43,200 lbs. You know what weighs almost that much? A 0-4-0 saddle tank steam locomotive. A druid can carry a solid iron steam locomotive on his back with some strain over long distances.

This gets crazier when you realize that a character is allowed to lift and carry at 5 feet around as a full round action double their maximum capacity. New amount: 86400 lbs. Do you know what weighs almost that much? An 18 wheeler super semi truck complete with 40 ft. trailer.

Then we get to push and drag. The druid can push or drag 5 times his maximum load. 43200 lbs times five = 216,000 lbs! Roughly 108 tons. Do you know what weighs almost that much? AN A380 AIRBUS JUMBO JET. I'm talking the modern, bigger than the Spruce Goose, multiple floors for seating, has a conference room, engineering marvels. The Druid can drag this jumbo jet without wheels.

So I guess my question at this point is, in this world of wooden, brick, and stone houses, what if this druid wants to do things like push over small buildings, yank the support pylons from a dock, drag a ship under water, etc? I know there are some checks for bursting objects, doing damage to objects, and so forth, but they all seem directed at smaller things, like knocking a door off it's hinges. The break DC for an Adamantine Door is 40 for instance. Impossible for even the brawniest raging Barbarian, but this druid has a +9 strength modifier and a +12 bonus for Gargantuan size while a huge Earth Elemental, he is capable of taking a 20 and folding that Adamantine Door like Superman. I feel like there is enough math for me to entertain the Druid's attempt at pushing over a house seriously.

What is the verdict on this? Is there a check for doing something within your weight limit? Can a Druid like this just decide to push the Blacksmith Shop down the street or literally knock over a liquor store?