Note: I will fully admit copy/pasting this entire thing from a late-night facebook conversation, so pardon the poor formatting.
So, a bit of a project I've had for a while is working on a shapeshift-focused character with more versatility than the Druid's wildshape. In 3.X this was not a hard lot. My original was a 3.0 doppleganger transmuter, then I went with a Master of Many Forms...etc. But they were all...kinda broken. Pathfinder fixed a lot about polymorph, but made this style of play a LOT harder.
My most recent pondering has been Eldritch Knight: arcane polymorph versatility, martial combat capability to make use of it. But I haven't quite been able to make it work yet. I think Advanced Class Guide has given me some leeway though. Arcanist has that remarkable blend of prepared/spontaneous caster that balances the difficulty between wizard relying on what morphs they have prepared and sorc having significantly fewer spells known. Advanced Class Origins added Shift Caster, which is just...incredible. And Altered Shifting, which is nifty but not as great. So I've been toying with that.
My thought currently is a hobgoblin, mainly because I like them. The two bonuses to physical stats with no penalty is icing on the cake, and the concept can just as easily work with a number of other races. Drawing strongly on lessons from playing Severina, my Barbarian 1/Scarred Witch Doctor X, I like the idea of martial at first level. I'm leaning towards Ranger (Trapper, Trophy Hunter, Wild Hunter), mainly to get Animal Aspect as a little "mini shift" to allow the character to fit concept from level 1 (albeit for a mere 1 minute per day), and net a few extra interesting benefits while keeping strongly in theme. I'm envisioning something of a hunter turned "naturalist" who studies and emulates animals, then after entering "polite" society picks up a spellbook and discovers himself a quick study (probably taking that exploit at 1st).
To analyze viability, I wanna do some comparisons to a core druid, assuming both will have similar stat buys and item selections. By 5th, a Ranger 1/Arcanist 4 will have the same BAB, comparable saves, worse special abilities (picking up Shift Caster before any polymorph spells is wonky, but allowable by rules; this is one reason I archetype'd-out at level 1), be behind the ranger on shifting (druid gets wild shape at 4th whereas arcanist can just start casting alter self), and awful spells per day (a couple 2nd when druid is getting a 3rd), but with a better list and prep mechanic. By 10th, our Ranger 1/Arcanist 6/EK 3 will still be at equal BAB, skewed but comparable saves, Druid's wildshape keeps growing but most of his abilities are oddities while EK gains a bonus feat and access to Fighter feats (...ehh...), and spellcasting is still falling behind (2 4th vs 2 5th). Flash forward to 15th level. R1/A6/EK8 finally pulls ahead in BAB, saves still comparable, Druid is getting largely useless things (even extra wildshape by this point) while EK has picked up...another feat, and this is the killer: Druid is a full TWO SPELL LEVELS ahead of EK!
So this seems like a crap shoot. But I have to throw in comparison on forms. Druid gets the early strong start. By 6th, they're getting beast shape II and elemental body I without expending spells, whereas a Ranger 1/Arcanist 5 is still stuck with beast shape I from their flexible spell slots. At 8th, druid upgrades again and adds plant shapes, which I'm probably just going to ignore because they're utterly pointless. R1/A6/EK1 gets no spell advancement, so mostly gets druid's last tier, plus adds Monstrous Physique and Undead Anatomy, which may be useful at lower levels when you're still relying heavily on gear, but not if you're already unarmored and investing in an Amulet over weapons. At 10th, druid is stuck at beast 3 but gains elemental 3 and plant 2; EK catches up on beast and elemental and adds Monstrous 2 and Vermin 1 (and Adjustable Polymorph...'meh, especially considering Altered exploit). At 12, druid gets their last upgrade: elemental 4 and plant 3; EK is up to druid capability with beast 3 but behind with elemental 2, but monstrous, undead, and vermin grow and plant comes online and you get...Geniekind (as well as...actual polymorph). At 14th Druid is capped and I realize that EK has been getting magical beast options it hasn't all this time as he graduates to 4, elemental 3, Form of the Dragon 1 (NOW WE'RE TALKING!), monstrous 4, plant 2, undead 3 (where it actually starts to get good).
So, here's what I'm gonna do. I'mma build this character. In doing so, I'm going to ignore gear but also assume he's still getting a couple spells known per level in EK levels (that ruling is bad and I don't know a single GM who uses it). I know he won't be optimal anyway, so I'll stick to standard array, but I wanna know: can he be *viable*?
Malgrim the Lettered
Hobgoblin
Str 14 Dex 13 +2 = 15 Con 12 +2 = 14 Int 15 Wis 10 Cha 8
Sneaky, Darkvision
Skills go into Climb, Knowledge (nature), Perception, Spellcraft, Stealth, Survival, Swim, and one cross-class into Acrobatics (because Frog aspect) or Disable Device (if you think it'll matter)
Feat: Power Attack (will probably be a two-hander at level 1)
Animal Aspect, Track, Improved Track (this guy is getting +7 to follow tracks and +6 to a DC 15 knowledge check for extra info; not bad)
Arcanist 1 gets resivoir, Quick Study, cantrips plus mage armor, color spray, silent image, vanish, enlarge person, consume spells
Skills from this point forward are assumed to be split among spellcraft and whatever knowledge skills reflect the forms you want to take, plus maybe a point here and there into Fly
Arcanist 2 Combat Casting, learn feather fall and unseen servant
Arcanist 3 Shift Caster (wonky), learn comprehend languages and...I dunno, shield
Arcanist 4 improved initiative, learn stone call and alter self for the hell of it
Arcanist 5 Altered Shifting as it'll be useful later, plus pyrotechnics and mirror image because they're great spells
Arcanist 6 Toughness, learn beast shape 1 and haste (!)
EK 1 Arcane Strike
EK 2 Hover, learn monstrous physique 1 and sleet storm
EK 3 learn Dimension Door and Elemental Body
EK 4 Dimensional Agility, grab vermin shape 1 and summon monster IV
EK 5 Get annoyed that your feat tree isn't tagged (COMBAT); take Barroom Brawler due to indecisiveness, learn polymorph and wall of stone
EK 6 Dimensional Assault, plant shape, teleport
EK 7 Form of the Dragon 1, Contingerncy
EK 8 Dimensional Dervish, Undead Anatomy III, Summon Monster VI
EK 9 [INSERT COMBAT FEAT], Greater Polymorph, Greater Teleport
EK 10 Spell Critical, Dimensional Savant, Giant Form 1, Limited Wish (keep a few diamonds handy and do whatever the hell you want on the off chance you roll a 20)
Apologies; I haven't been on these forums in a while.
The big advantage of the druid is of course hours per level vs. minutes/level. Wild shape feats can be handy too.
Is Shift Caster an IP-scrubbed name for Lepidstadt Shifter?
Anyway, a suggestion: since the delayed spell levels of arcanist combined with the lost caster levels in ranger/EK is hurting you, why not play an exploiter wizard instead of an arcanist? An extra half-spell level may be well worth it. Also look up the Energy Attunement feat, it may be better than Altered Shifting if you can spare the feat.
I'm fully acknowledging the numerous big advantages of sticking with druid, while also trying to find ways to minimize the damage.
Correct on Lepidstadt Shifter; I've recently moved and am building from SRD not books these days.
My problem with building wizard was always prepared casting, not the lack of exploits. I feel like the entire idea of playing a shifter character is being able to adapt to situations and adjust accordingly, and having a prepared list doesn't bode well for that. I get that delaying spellcasting is near-suicide in builds, but I have a hard time imagining the ability to predict every morning how to balance how many morphs, and WHICH ones you need, ahead of time (without even considering the need for everything that non-morph spellcasting can do). I'll take it into consideration though.
I was not aware of Energy Attunement, and that...is amazing. Halving the duration of short buffs is painful (I'd be throwing in Extend if not for the delayed progression), but the feat is still solid. My build isn't terribly feat-intensive so far (Dimensional was thrown in as an afterthought), so I'll definitely consider this as a strong add. Thanks!