So, about to start running Reign Of Winter, and upon reading the AP I realized that this is a great opportunity to try an idea I've been banging around. Instead of the listed bonus for adopting the mantle, here's what I was thinking.
Players gain the ability to transform into monstrous forms - not just like wildshape, but something similar to the old Savage Species rules. What I'm currently thinking is:
Players will start as a normal character - core races only. No Wild shaping - the bonuses from wildshape wouldn't stack with the bonuses from monster form anyway.
Then when they gain the Mantle, and they will gain the ability to transform into a monstrous form.
Rulez:
1) Players can change form at will, taking a full round action. This is a polymorph effect, thus would not stack with modifiers from other polymorph spells & effects (for example, Beast Shape). Other NON-Polymorph transmutation effects will work just fine (for example, Reduce Person or Animal Growth)
2) HP will use the monster form's hit dice, even when not in monster form.
3) Players retain all their class abilities, as well as gain all the abilities of the new form - including, but not necessarily limited to:
a) Movement modes
b) Natural Armor
c) Natural Attacks
d) Extraordinary, Supernatural and Spell-like abilities
e) Size
f) Stat adjustments
g) PC counts as both creature types
4) You will keep your base race abilities even in monstrous form
5) Every time a new level is gained, the player would choose a new monstrous form that they're able to change into. The forms will be the same CR as the character level (kind of like gestalt). When a new monstrous form is gained, the player may re-choose ALL of their feats and re-allocate ALL of their skill points. Other features may be changed at DM discretion (for example, changing a favored weapon style if the PC is a Ranger, or bloodlines for Sorcerors, etc)
6) Magic items will transform as Wild Shape. In other words, if they have a constant effect, but the new form lacks the ability to wear it, it will merge with the new form and remain functional. Unlike Wildshape, non-constant items will either meld or not, it is up to the player.
7) Players can choose weapon and one armor that will resize/reshape with form changes. This can be changed once a week with a one hour ritual, costing 10% of the item cost. This CAN be a weapon morphing into a necklace of natural weapons.
8) All players gain Natural Spell and Toughness as bonus feats once the 1st monstrous form is gained. These are gained in either base or monstrous form.
Example - deaturing Bob, the level 1 Human Fighter.
Bob's player chooses Mongrelman as hist 1st form.
He would reroll hps, using 2d10 (as usual, max at 1st, then roll two dice taking the best for the second HD)
He would gain Toughness and Natural Spell as bonus feats
In monstrous form, he would gain:
Monstrous Humanoid creature type
Darkvision and Low-light Vision
+2 Natural Armor
Slam natural attack
Sound Mimicry ability
Racial bonus of +4 Sleight of Hand, +4 Stealth
+4 Str, +2 Sex, +4 Con, +2 Wis, -4 Cha
Then when moving to level 2, the player would choose a monster from the CR2 list of the same color - for this example, we
assume he chose the Sasquatch (example character B). The character would:
1) Lose all the Mongrelman abilities:
Monstrous Humanoid creature type
Darkvision and Low-light Vision
+2 Natural Armor
Slam natural attack (1d4 damage)
Sound Mimicry ability
Racial bonus of +4 Sleight of Hand, +4 Stealth
+4 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Con, +2 Wis, -4 Cha
2) gain the Sasquatch abilities:
Humanoid creature type (with Sasquatch subtype)
Darkvision, Low Light Vision, and Scent
+2 Natural Armor
Slam natural attack of 1d4 damage
Move speed of 40
Racial bonus of +4 to Perception, Stealth, and Survival
Pungency ability
Woodland Stride ability
Rock Throwing ability
+12 Str, +4 Dex, +6 Con, -2 Int
3) reroll HPs all over again using 3d8 hit dice
4) Advance to 2nd level in a character class, gaining all abilities except hit dice
5) If he wishes, he can re-allocate all feats and skill points
How the lists of monsters from which they can choose, will match an aspect of Lamashtu's personality to
embody. In rules terms, each player would choose one of 5 colors - and each color can only be chosen once.
Red - The color of vicious hand-to-hand combatants (Example Troglodyte, Chokers, Ettercaps, Minotaurs, etc)
Yellow - The color of monsters that strike at range, whether through spells or force of arms (Example Lantern Archon, Mephit, Djinn, Bralani Azata, etc)
Green - The color of beasts - those who walk on four legs (including dragons) (Example Giant Weasel, Dire Wolf, Wyrmling Red Dragon, Triceratops, etc)
Blue - The color of lumbering, huge creatures - generally humanoid. (Example Sasquatch, Ogre, Troll, Ettin, etc)
Purple - The color of those who strike through trickery or misdirection. (Example Skulk, Dark Creeper, Doppleganger, Succubus, etc)
To put these together I went through all the Bestiaries, and broke out big lists of monsters by CR that fall into each of these categories - at least 3 per CR.
So... I guess what I'm looking for is feedback. I already know this is gonna make mighty players - so I'll be going through and beefing up encounters in the modules.
And there will be a storyline thing with Lamashtu once the AP is over, but don't want to get into too many details as some of my players are on here.
Some of my concerns are:
1) Size of some of the monsters might be rough on the player - thinking about letting players apply the Young template to any monster they choose if they wish it.
2) Some character concepts will not be perfectly suited to a monster form at each level - thinking about allowing players to add a simple template to their current monster instead of choosing a new one. So in the example, instead of going from Mongrelman to Sasquatch at level 2, they could instead have a Giant Mongrelman as their monstrous form.
3) Any class interactions I should avoid?
4) As most APs, I worry about replacing dead PCs - maybe something like if characters die, they return to life 1d10 rounds later or when combat ends, whichever comes first. The monster form in which they died is lost forever, they must choose a new one from the same CR.
5) Any pitfalls that don't occur to me?