Well my group finally retired our old campaign, giving me the opportunity to play the one race I've wanted to play since getting the Dragon Compendium: the Tibbit! Of course, only a few games into it and my DM and I have some questions that we're hoping you all can help us answer.
Nobody in my group has ever played a shapechanger so I appologize in advance if some of these questions are stupid.
1. What kind of ability is the humanoid/cat transformation? Spell-like? Supernatural? Is it even classified?
2. Can the transformation be suppressed in any way (i.e. does it function in an anti-magic field)?
3. If the transformation functions as per the Polymorph spell, does that mean that transforming causes the tibbit to regain lost hit points as if it had rested for a night?
4. Is the -8 Str in cat form in addition to the normal -2 Str (-10 Str total in cat form)? That doesn't seem right to me. A normal cat's physical racial adjustments are only -8 Str, +4 Dex but it appears as if a tibbit cat's adjustments are -10 Str, +4 Dex. Are tibbit cats more weak than normal cats? Please tell me this is just a misprint...
5. In cat form, is the tibbit just like a normal cat? In other words, cats have a number of skill bonuses, as well as Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. Do tibbits gain these bonuses while in cat form?
6. Here's a silly question that my DM is making me ask. Do tibbits in humanoid form give off any sort of "cat aura" or scent? Specifically he wants to know if dogs would have any sort of hostile reaction to a tibbit who is in humanoid form (i.e. would the dog be able to recognize the tibbit as a cat-like creature). Like I said, silly huh?
That's all for now. Any answers you all can provide would be greatly appreciated!
1. What kind of ability is the humanoid/cat transformation? Spell-like? Supernatural? Is it even classified?
It actually doesn't say in the text. My guess would be supernatural, as it varies pretty dramatically from the actual polymorph spell -- and I can't think of any "alternate form" style abilities offhand which are defined as being spell-like.
2. Can the transformation be suppressed in any way (i.e. does it function in an anti-magic field)?
Any spell-like or Supernatural ability is suppressed by an Antimagic Field. Spell-like (but not Supernatural) abilities can also be dispelled. There's an item in the DMG 2 (some pair of glasses) which can temporarily force a shapechanger into their true form, but that's all that springs to mind otherwise.
3. If the transformation functions as per the Polymorph spell, does that mean that transforming causes the tibbit to regain lost hit points as if it had rested for a night?
I don't see anything in the text prohibiting this, but I would personally be inclined toward disallowing it -- dopplegangers and lycanthropes gain no such benefit.
4. Is the -8 Str in cat form in addition to the normal -2 Str (-10 Str total in cat form)? That doesn't seem right to me. A normal cat's physical racial adjustments are only -8 Str, +4 Dex but it appears as if a tibbit cat's adjustments are -10 Str, +4 Dex. Are tibbit cats more weak than normal cats? Please tell me this is just a misprint...
A Tibbit in cat form will never be weaker than the average cat -- there is a note that the transformation cannot reduce their strength score below 3. The penalty (as well as the dexterity bonus) would stack with their racial modifiers.
5. In cat form, is the tibbit just like a normal cat? In other words, cats have a number of skill bonuses, as well as Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. Do tibbits gain these bonuses while in cat form?
Feline Transformation functions as Polymorph except where noted otherwise. Polymorph (except as noted in its spell description, functions as Alter Self, which states that Racial Skill Bonuses and Racial Bonus Feats are conferred with the transformation, and nothing in the text for Feline Transformation contends with this. It specifically does state that a Tibbit gains the scent ability, which Polymorph does not normally grant.
As for the last, there's no reason that they would have any "feline aura", exactly, but they probably would smell of anything that they had gone mucking through in their other form. If a werewolf in his humanoid form is still disconcerting to livestock, it wouldn't be unreasonable for a dog to be confused by or unusually aggressive toward a tibbit.
Thanks for the reply! That all makes sense, except for the strength stuff. That still doesn't make sense to me but I suppose I can live with it. My DM was also inclined to disallow the healing thing but he wanted me to ask for a second opinion. I can live with that too. The skill bonuses outweigh that stuff in my opinion.
Overall I think this is a great race! I've loved playing it so far. Again, I appreciate the response!
So the campaign is going great and I love playing my Tibbit! But last night another question came up that hadn't come up before. In cat form, can tibbits still speak all their normal languages or are they limited to Feline? My DM has said that unless I can get an official answer, then he's ruling that tibbits are incapable of reproducing any language other than Feline while in cat form.
So the campaign is going great and I love playing my Tibbit! But last night another question came up that hadn't come up before. In cat form, can tibbits still speak all their normal languages or are they limited to Feline? My DM has said that unless I can get an official answer, then he's ruling that tibbits are incapable of reproducing any language other than Feline while in cat form.
It would make sense since wildshaped druids can't speak in wildshaped form.
In my campaign world, Tibbets are one of the default PC races, and I had a great Tibbet bard/mindbender who basically stayed in cat form and telepathically controlled his thrall in most combat situations.
El Skootro
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My DM has said that unless I can get an official answer, then he's ruling that tibbits are incapable of reproducing any language other than Feline while in cat form.It would make sense since wildshaped druids can't speak in wildshaped form.
I'm gonna have to agree with el_skootro on this one.
Thanks for the quick replies! That makes sense. I guess I'll have to figure out another way to communicate in cat form.
So, as I mentioned above, Tibbits are a standard race in my campaign world. I've always altered the natural spell feat to allow tibbits to use it (instead of having the pre-reqs be 13 wis and wild shape ability, I made the only pre-req be shapechanger subtype). Does anyone think this makes the tibbit too powerful?
Thanks,
El Skootro
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Contributor
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So, as I mentioned above, Tibbits are a standard race in my campaign world. I've always altered the natural spell feat to allow tibbits to use it (instead of having the pre-reqs be 13 wis and wild shape ability, I made the only pre-req be shapechanger subtype). Does anyone think this makes the tibbit too powerful?
Thanks,
El Skootro
I don't, but YMMV. If you've been using that in your campaign and it hasn't resulted in an overabundance of tibbit spellcasters I'd probably say it's sounds balanced.
I don't, but YMMV. If you've been using that in your campaign and it hasn't resulted in an overabundance of tibbit spellcasters I'd probably say it's sounds balanced.So, as I mentioned above, Tibbits are a standard race in my campaign world. I've always altered the natural spell feat to allow tibbits to use it (instead of having the pre-reqs be 13 wis and wild shape ability, I made the only pre-req be shapechanger subtype). Does anyone think this makes the tibbit too powerful?
Thanks,
El Skootro
Thanks. It hasn't been an issue before, but I now have a player who created a tibbet druid. I think I'm going to rule that she'll need to take the feat twice, but I'm not positive. Any advice?
Thanks so much Mike.
El Skootro
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Thanks. It hasn't been an issue before, but I now have a player who created a tibbet druid. I think I'm going to rule that she'll need to take the feat twice, but I'm not positive. Any advice?
I subscribe to the Jacobsian school, which states "Natural Spell should just be a class feature of druids; making them take a valuable feat for the ability is lame."
So no, I wouldn't require the tibbet druid to take Natural Spell twice, but I'm pretty forgiving of druids in general. Let her try her character without the second feat and if it seems like she's becoming overpowered force her to take it again. Let her know up front it's a probationary thing. She might purposefully try to keep herself underpowered, then, which is the same net effect. :)
Thanks so much Mike.
Hai, hai. :)
I would like to add another Tibbit Druid question. This one dealing with the Wild Shape variant in PHBII. If a Tibbit is in feline form when "wild shaping" does new form take the Tibbit's normal size (small) or the cat's size (tiny)?
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I would like to add another Tibbit Druid question. This one dealing with the Wild Shape variant in PHBII. If a Tibbit is in feline form when "wild shaping" does new form take the Tibbit's normal size (small) or the cat's size (tiny)?
That's a very interesting question. I'd probably say, if I were DMing such a character, that the new form takes whatever size the Tibbit is at the time he wild shapes. I'd see how that works out for the character and then adjust my ruling as necessary if it's too good or too weak.
Um, by the current rules, don't polymorphed creatures lose all their normal abilities, including class abilities? That would mean that a tibbit in feline form can't use wild shape at all.
Maybe, but the shaftshift alternate class feature in "Player's Handbook II" doesn't use the polymorph rules. It allows you to retain all your abilities except those requiring a body part that the new form doesn't have.
Maybe, but the shaftshift alternate class feature in "Player's Handbook II" doesn't use the polymorph rules. It allows you to retain all your abilities except those requiring a body part that the new form doesn't have.No, no, my point is that you can't use the shapeshift ability when you're in cat form, because feline transformation is a polymorph effect. The druid wouldn't regain his class abilities until he resumed his humanoid form.
I thought only spells with the polymorph subschool eliminated your ability to use class abilities.
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If anybody comes across this thread soon, I have a few Tibbit questions of my own that I would like some assistance with.
How would a Tibbit spellcaster treat a cat familiar? Partner in crime? Romantic interest? Sidekick? Would it see the situation as a master/slave scenario and avoid it? A kinship or brotherhood? Doting parental figure watching the intelligence of a fellow feline slowly advancing with their own power? I'm just completely in the gray on how a tibbit would treat or act with having a feline familiar, if it would even come up. I would just like some feedback. Thanks >O.O<
I'm not quite sure on what I would say would be common for a tibbit spellcaster, but I think that all the suggestions that you made are very reasonable for any given tibbit. I could see one tibbit wizard treating his familiar as a partner and another treating their familiar like a unworthy slave. It depends on the personality of the given tibbit.