-DRUID- Determine what Creatures I can Wild shape into.

[Croe]

So I'm new to the whole Druid thing, and have a question or two about wild shape.

My first question, The rule book says a druid at lvl 4 gets wild shape and "the form chosen must be that of an animal with which the druid is familiar"
How do I know what animals my druid is familiar with?

Question 2, My GM isnt allowing Animals of the Dinosaur type in our game. What animals are best for packing a punch for Beast form I, II, & III?

Thanks in advance!

[mplindustries]

Knowing about an animal is a Konwledge Nature check. The DC is the CR plus a variable based on how common the creature is (5, 10 or 15).

Most of the best forms are Dinosaurs (or at least prehistoric), so that's a big restriction.

The best Beast Form I then, is probably a leopard. The best for Form II is a Dire Tiger (that's actually the best including dinosaurs, too). If you can't use Dire animals (since the Dire Tiger is basically a Smilodon), then you're kind of screwed. I don't even know of natural Huge animals, to be honest. You might want to focus on Elemental and Plant forms instead. Quickwood is a ridiculously amazing combat form, for example, since it has 60' reach with its root attacks.