Hey everyone. I'm planning on making a druid/stalwart defender (crazy, I know) I was curious about how exactly the Wild Enhancement works.
All it says is that I maintain the armor and enhancement bonus while in wild shape. Under normal circumstances and with this exception, how does armor work in Wild Shape?
Reason I ask is because the first defensive stance power I'm going to pick up is Bulwark, which adds to the difficulty of enemies trying to maneuver around me based on the Armor Check Penalty of the armor.
With or without the Wild enhancement, would I take the armor check penalty while Wild Shaped?
Does the bulwark power mean, based of the armor check penalty of the armor you're wearing? If not, this seems to be a bite in the rear end for fighters because the armor check penalty starts to go away as they level up.
I'm sorry if my thoughts aren't very clear, if you need clarification, just ask.
|
When in Wildshape your gear merges with your form, and you lose any Armor or Shield bonuses you had prior.
With the Wild enchantment you keep those bonuses, but the gear still merges with your form.
The rules on what happens to your ACP in Wildshape have never been defined (to my knowledge). Most ppl assume they disappear.
Well, that's kind of cool, in regards to the fact you get all the bonuses and none of the penalties. Weirdly enough, for the sake of the class ability, I may need the armor check penalty though. Unless, like I said, bulwark increases the DC based off the armor check penalty itself, or the penalty the SD is actually taking.
When in Wildshape your gear merges with your form, and you lose any Armor or Shield bonuses you had prior.
With the Wild enchantment you keep those bonuses, but the gear still merges with your form.
The rules on what happens to your ACP in Wildshape have never been defined (to my knowledge). Most ppl assume they disappear.
No ACP Because +3 is a really expensive enchant.
|
No ACP Because +3 is a really expensive enchant.
You are mosssst impressssive, ssssir, even for a mammal.
But in this case the ACP is important, and the question still remains if the ability functions off the ACP of the armor even though he isn't hindered by it?
But in this case the ACP is important, and the question still remains if the ability functions off the ACP of the armor even though he isn't hindered by it?
I can't see the druid getting it both ways: if the armor isn't there to slow him down then its not there to slow down his enemies.
If it was my call I would say that Bulwark gives you a bonus based on your current ACP.
If he's wild shaped that would be nothing.
So, for the purpose of benefiting from Bulwark; would it be better to just get barding for my animal forms?
I'm not saying it makes sense but shield bonus does transfer into wildshape.
I'm not saying it makes sense but shield bonus does transfer into wildshape.
Magic doesn't have to make sense. It can make sense, but it doesn't have to. It's magic.
If you're planning on Wildshaping for long swaths of time you could save yourself some money (and arguments over ACP) by just buying armor to fit your animal form, and asking your party to put in on for you at the beginning of each day.
Alternately a wand of mage armor works well, assuming someone in your part can hit you with it.
I'm not saying it makes sense but shield bonus does transfer into wildshape.
While I would LOVE for this to be the case, unfortunately, it is not.
When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body. Items that provide constant bonuses and do not need to be activated continue to function while melded in this way (with the exception of armor and shield bonuses, which cease to function).
I think he meant the spell shield, but that would be only for a Wiz/druid. . .
A shield does not provide an armor bonus which is excluded, it provides a shield bonus which is not excluded AFAIK.
|
I'm not saying it makes sense but shield bonus does transfer into wildshape.While I would LOVE for this to be the case, unfortunately, it is not.
When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body. Items that provide constant bonuses and do not need to be activated continue to function while melded in this way (with the exception of armor and shield bonuses, which cease to function).
WILD - Armor with this special ability usually appears to be made from magically hardened animal pelt. The wearer of a suit of armor or a shield with this ability preserves his armor bonus (and any enhancement bonus) while in a wild shape.
Your shield bonus is excluded. I posted above the direct quote from the polymorph section of the magic rules. (unless I'm missing what AFAIK means)
AFAIK = As Far As I Know
AFAIK = As Far As I Know
Ah, thank you. I've seen the abbreviation around and couldn't figure it out.
Yes, technically you can get the shield bonus as long as it has the +wild enhancement (which is really expensive). While some may say you don't get the armor ACP, I don't see why you wouldn't.
As for putting on armor on top of your shape, you really limit yourself with that because you can shift into so many different things, that the armor is only effective in one form. The +wildshape form gives you armor that can earth-glide as an earth elemental or work while in wirlwind form as an air elemental.
Furthermore, be aware that a druid cannot wear metal armor, even while wild shaped. So, the best armor is dragon hide armor, but you'll need the heavy armor proficiency for it.
Personally, I usually stay in a Dire Tiger form 90% of the time and shift out of it when needed by the situation. 5 attacks on a POUNCE at level 8 combined with a touch attack spell equals dead opponent most of the time, and when they aren't dead they're grappled for another 5 attacks the next round, all while my lion companion makes mince meat of anything else.
The shield just turns you into part ankylosaurus or something.