Say I play an Oread Druid and use wildshape to turn into a medium earth elemental (8th level). Do I/can I ...
- have the ability to wear armor I could wear normally?
- use weapons normally?
- retain my racial slow movement
- retain my racial acid resistance?
- add my racial AC bonus I get with an alternate racial trait to the bonus from earth elemental?
- retain the use of my spell-like ability?
- speak normally? (Wildshape only states that animals can't speak)
And as a side question: If I change into another elemental that has a size dependant special ability like the fire elemental and it's burn ability, is it affected by the powerful shape feat? I would guess so but I'm not sure.
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).
If you had the adopted (orc) trait to get the bite attack (from the race trait, not the alternate racial trait, I know the difference), would you keep that in Elemental form?
- have the ability to wear armor I could wear normally?
- use weapons normally?
Polymorph: "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)."
As to picking up weapons or equipping armor, I'm not sure elementals can do that.
The Elemental Subtype says:
"Proficient with natural weapons only, unless generally humanoid in form, in which case proficient with all simple weapons and any weapons mentioned in its entry."
Earth elementals are described as "roughly humanoid" so it's possible it could pick up and use weapons.
Also "Proficient with whatever type of armor (light, medium, or heavy) it is described as wearing, as well as all lighter types. Elementals not indicated as wearing armor are not proficient with armor. Elementals are proficient with shields if they are proficient with any form of armor."
The subtype doesn't prohibit it, and I don't think you lose proficiency. I'm not sure elementals (rather than other creatures with the elemental subtype) are really supposed to wear armor, but I don't see anything really prohibiting it other than access to armor created for unusual (non-humanoid) creatures of the appropriate size.
- retain my racial slow movement
"While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form (such as keen senses, scent, and darkvision), as well as any natural attacks and movement types possessed by your original form."
Slow Speed is a movement type possessed by your original form.
- retain my racial acid resistance?
- add my racial AC bonus I get with an alternate racial trait to the bonus from earth elemental?
- retain the use of my spell-like ability?
- speak normally? (Wildshape only states that animals can't speak)
It doesn't say you lose them.
If I change into another elemental that has a size dependant special ability like the fire elemental and it's burn ability, is it affected by the powerful shape feat?
I don't see anything in Burn (Ex) that says it's a size-based special attack.
If you had the adopted (orc) trait to get the bite attack (from the race trait, not the alternate racial trait, I know the difference), would you keep that in Elemental form?
"While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form (such as keen senses, scent, and darkvision), as well as any natural attacks and movement types possessed by your original form."
The bite attack is a natural attack possessed by your original form.
Thanks for the answers so far.
For armor it looks like it's back to wild armor (expensive).
The burn ability doesn't state it is size dependant but elementals of different sized deal different abounts of damage. And the elemental body spell states:
Elemental abilities based on size, such as burn, vortex, and whirlwind, use the size of the elemental you transform into to determine their effect.
But as it states it uses the size you change into and not the appropriate size or something similar I'm not sure it's affected.
The bite attack is a natural attack possessed by your original form.
In the case of adopted -> toothy/tusked (I always mix those up) the attack is not gained by my form but by training. But that might be nit-picky.
|
- have the ability to wear armor I could wear normally?
Your equiped gear melds into your new form. You do, however, retain proficiency. If you plan on staying in one form most of the time, consider having armor crafted for that form.
- use weapons normally?
You retain existing proficiencies and most elementals can use items.
- retain my racial slow movement
- retain my racial acid resistance?
- add my racial AC bonus I get with an alternate racial trait to the bonus from earth elemental?
Sorry, you loose all (Su) and (Ex) abilities. Even if you did retain your natural armor, bonuses of the same type do not stack.
- retain the use of my spell-like ability?
Spell like abilities are retained
- speak normally? (Wildshape only states that animals can't speak)
Elementals are capable of speach.
And as a side question: If I change into another elemental that has a size dependant special ability like the fire elemental and it's burn ability, is it affected by the powerful shape feat? I would guess so but I'm not sure.
Burn is not a sized based special ability.
And as a side question: If I change into another elemental that has a size dependant special ability like the fire elemental and it's burn ability, is it affected by the powerful shape feat? I would guess so but I'm not sure.Burn is not a sized based special ability.
But Elemental body (which the druid uses when wildshaping into an elemental tells us that burn indeed IS size based:
Elemental abilities based on size, such as burn, vortex, and whirlwind, use the size of the elemental you transform into to determine their effect.
I was just confused by the last part of my quote: use the size of the elemental you transform into to determine their effect. So does powerful shape trump that part? Or do I use the size of elemental I transform to even if I have powerful shape?
I was just confused by the last part of my quote: use the size of the elemental you transform into to determine their effect. So does powerful shape trump that part? Or do I use the size of elemental I transform to even if I have powerful shape?
If burn is a size-based special attack, then I don't see how powerful shape wouldn't change it. The feat only works when in wild shape, so you would have to apply the stuff from wild shape first before modifying it with the feat.