Wild Shape in Pathfinder?


Rules Questions


Okay so I'm a long time player of 3.5 but a first time pathfinder. I decided to roll a druid and all has been going well. However, looking forward at how beast shape works I have several questions!

Exactly what do I get and what don't I get when I transform shapes?
The druid entry and Beast-Shape 1 don't mention anything about natural attacks... which I am assuming you get? So that lead me to wonder what else do I/don't I get?

Let's say i'm playing a human druid with stats like these:
str 14 +2 Movement 30ft
con 13 +1 AC 15 (1 from dex, 4 from armor)
cha 13 +1
dex 13 +1
wis 15 +2
int 11 +0

I am level 4 and I transform using Beast Shape 1 into a boar.

Beast Shape 1 states that I get +2 str and +2 natural armor as well as gaining his low-light vision and scent.
I assume I get a gore attack now?

This would change me to look like this:
str 16 +3 Movement 30ft
con 13 +1 AC 13 (1 from dex, 2 from BeastShape armor)
cha 13 +1
dex 13 +1
wis 15 +2
int 11 +0

My major concerns are these:
-Do I gain the boar's 40ft movement?
-Is it right that my AC drops from 15-13? or do i keep the boars base natural armor and THEN add the beast shape na bonus?
-Do I get the gore natural attacks?
-Is there anything else that changes in my example I should be aware of?

Sorry for the crit-wall of text and thanks so much for your time.


I'm trying to wrap my mind around this as well.
In the description of the Transmutation school, it lists how polymorph affects you (PHB PG. 211).

You would gain the Boar's base speed of 40ft. Even if your's was better.
You would loose your Armor bonus to AC.
Gore is a natural attack, so you would get it. If you have the Bestiary
refer to Table 3-1 on PG 302 for a list of natural attacks. My group just noticed that the Primary and Secondary rules changed a little from 3.5 as well. Look at the same table. Most creatures Bite/Claw/Claw routine are now all Primary attacks.

I'm trying to find rules for flight. I see some details for skill checks under the Fly Skill, but I don't see where it differentiates between Average, Poor, etc....


You have it pretty much exactly right. You get the natural attacks of the creature you wildshape into, and your armor class will go down. As far as special qualities of the shape you choose, the ones you get are specifically listed in the beast shape spell that your wildshape ability tells you it emulates. As you go up in level, the level of beastshape or elemental body that your wildshape emulates increases, and an increasing number of special qualities are added to what you would gain from the form.


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My group's having a little trouble about the abilities lost section of the Polymorph description. PG 212 PHB.

You lose all Extaordinary and Supernatural abilities that depend on your original form.

Some are straight forward and easy to understand.
If I'm a Dwarf, I'd loose darkvision.
But would a Dward loose his Hardy Trait? He has it because he's a Dwarf after all.

Our group is very confused on this issue. I loose Darkvision (EX) because I'm no longer a "Dwarf", but I'm still a Dwarf and keep all my Dwarf Racial Traits except that one. What about the Hardy trait?

I know the PG 212 description says supernatural and extraordinary, but which ones are which for the race? Which apply and don't? Under the Darkvision description later in the book it state's it's an extraordinary ability. So Darkvisions gone. Do the rest stay?

Then we get into the "You lose any class features that depend on form..." part. Which class features depend on form? If I'm a Druid/Barbarian, Fast Movement is an (EX) ability, so do I loose it? I would assume that it's not based on my being a "human barbarian", but because I'm a Barbarian and thus doesn't matter about my form. Since most class features are (EX) abilities, does the polymorph section not cover them?

So, by the polymorph description, if it's a racial Supernatural or Extraordinary ability, you loose it.
What about Class abilities?


Okay so to be sure so I can use this list to template all of my shapes.

YOU DO:
gain the Str/NA bonuses from the spell shape
gain the natural attacks from the shape you've chosen
gain special qualities listed in the spell list that your chosen shape has
gain the base land movement speed of your new shape
gain other movement speeds your shape has based on the spell list

YOU DONT
Gain the creatures natural armor class
Keep your armor bonus to AC
Keep EX/SN abilities that would have depended on you being a certain form(I assume that's DM discretion and affects very few things like breath attacks)

Is there anything we can use as a rule of thumb for determining what qualities you do lose/don't lose?

Is there anything I'm missing from this list of Do's/Don'ts.

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