Hi all!
Ive just started running the Savage Tide A.P, and my goups resident powergamer wants to trade wild shape for a variant ability in Unearthed Arcana:
Druid
The druid might choose to give up her wild shape ability in exchange for becoming a swift and deadly hunter.Gain
Bonus to Armor Class when unarmored (as monk, including Wisdom bonus to AC), fast movement (as monk), favored enemy (as ranger), swift tracker (as ranger), Track feat (as ranger).Lose
Armor and shield proficiency, wild shape (all versions).
I'm always suspicious of unearthed arcana, and Im not worried about saying no, but I dont want to just dismiss it out of hand.
So I'm asking - how balanced/broken is this as an alt class feature?
Why suspicious of unearthed arcana? That said, wild shape in 3.5 was extremely powerful, and your going to have to weight it against the value of pathfinder's wild shape which is much different.
Does the player just want to not go into wild shape? I can understand wanting to be a caster druid but not be a beastie.
Got this idea for a beach bum water/wind focused druid who hires himself to merchant ships as a wind-charmer. He doesnt feel turning into an animal fits - plus I think he feels its less paperwork.
I know 3.5 wild shape is hideously powerful - In many ways I suppose im glad he doesnt want it! I think I distrust UA because its so open to abuse - early in my DMing career I was face by a player who would switch an ability for an alternate, then switch part of the alternate for another etc etc - so im instantly wary of it now. Ive had far more experience as a DM, but the easiest solution is simply to say No to UA.
Well I like the variant and I don't think its hideously overpowered or anything like that. At best he saves a bit on buying armor/shields at the cost of having slightly less AC than he could have. He's probably not going to be a beast in melee even against favored enemies with his 3/4 BAB.
I'd stick with the PF rules. There's enough options there already with archetypes and all that stuff. No need to allow homebrew/3.5 adaptions.
That said trading away wild shape gives away lot of power and versatility. The Feral Child archetype does it, gaining some barbarian and some ranger (though not favored enemy) features.
Dip one level of monk onto that for Wis to AC when unarmored and fast movement. Dip Ranger for FE if you have to (Guide archetype, or Woodland Skirmisher perhaps?). Or just get the track feat normally.
If he goes into a casting prestige class before druid 4 he will loose wildshape too.
The Nature Warden prestige class is easy to qualify for a feral child druid btw.
Super Genius Games' The Genius Guide to: Martial Archetypes lists the spontaneous casting, wild empathy, and wildshape class abilities (including all improvements to wildshape) as the druids beastlord archetype package. If i understand their rules correctly he can trade that away for any other archetype package of theirs and be balanced, among them the ranger's Scout archetype package :
The Scout archetype grants a ranger the favored enemy, combat style feat, favored terrain, and hunter's bond class abilities. A ranger that gives up this package never receives any of these abilities.
@ Thanael - :-) Im running an old paizo 3.5 campaign as written, with a group of 3.5 characters, so no pathfinder stuff for me! (I had been running a PF homebrew campaign but no time to prep atm so we switched to something prewritten that weve planned to do for a while.)
@ MrSin - true - I just worry that everything is then Keyed off wisdom.
@ MrSin - true - I just worry that everything is then Keyed off wisdom.
It does, but with 22 wisdom he only gets a +6 to AC, as much as a breastplate gives. A regular druid could wear a dragonscale full plate with a dark wood shield for an easy 8.
He also won't get any nice natural armor boost or extra movement speeds outside of spells, and he won't ever benefit from a dragonscale full plate with wild enchant.
In retrospect - thats a ridiculous fear - one allip and hes toast - thanks guys - youve made one very hippy druid very happy.