Animal shape, Barding and Armor Spikes

[gorambrowncoat]

So I have a Kitsune character that took the fox shape racial trait. Meaning that I can choose to be a fox as per beast shape spell at will. This effectively makes me the sneak of the party.

I have a few questions about how barding would work in this case. I understand that I can make barding for my fox form by doubling the cost of an armor from the list of armors. As my dex is quite high I was thinking of just going for a simple padded barding for 1 etra AC and up to 8 dex bonus (though currently I am at 7).

Question 1:
My humanoid shaped armor melds into my body as I change shape to a form that does not support it. Would the reverse also be true if I had fox sized barding? As in would it meld into my body when I went to humanoid form? I would assume strictly RAW this would not be the case. Would there be any other reasonable way around having a party member put on my barding every time I change shape?

Question 2:
My character is a magus. She thus has proficiency in all martial weapons and also the ability to use her arcane pool to temporarily enchant any melee weapon she wields. Would it be possible to add armor spikes to animal barding to use it to attack with in fox shape instead of with my bite attack? This way I could at least enchant it with my arcane pool and have a magical attack in case of need for that (or later even iterative attacks).

[Jakkedin]

gorambrowncoat wrote:

So I have a Kitsune character that took the fox shape racial trait. Meaning that I can choose to be a fox as per beast shape spell at will. This effectively makes me the sneak of the party.

I have a few questions about how barding would work in this case. I understand that I can make barding for my fox form by doubling the cost of an armor from the list of armors. As my dex is quite high I was thinking of just going for a simple padded barding for 1 etra AC and up to 8 dex bonus (though currently I am at 7).

Question 1:
My humanoid shaped armor melds into my body as I change shape to a form that does not support it. Would the reverse also be true if I had fox sized barding? As in would it meld into my body when I went to humanoid form? I would assume strictly RAW this would not be the case. Would there be any other reasonable way around having a party member put on my barding every time I change shape?

Question 2:
My character is a magus. She thus has proficiency in all martial weapons and also the ability to use her arcane pool to temporarily enchant any melee weapon she wields. Would it be possible to add armor spikes to animal barding to use it to attack with in fox shape instead of with my bite attack? This way I could at least enchant it with my arcane pool and have a magical attack in case of need for that (or later even iterative attacks).

Question 1: Investigating Kitsune, they are Humanoids. So anything you wear while in fox form would not meld into your humanoid form when you revert back to your normal humanoid form. So 3 options:

1) get Wild enhancement on a set of armor.
2) somehow get Mage Armor cast on you (though I realize this might not be your choice because of question 2)
3) buy Armiger's Panoply and have a party member put it on your fox body.

Question 2: Barding is armor so you can certainly add armor spikes to it. Note: If you use your arcane pool to enchant the spikes, this doesn't make the armor bonus increase. AND you can attack with the armor spikes and your bite attack, though at -5 to the bite, as a full attack action each round.

[gorambrowncoat]

Thanks for the insights.

Number 2 is indeed less the preferred option as I would not be able to have armor spikes then and those are the only way Ive found so far that seem reasonable to wield an enchantable weapon in fox form. Nevertheless mage armor would still be interesting because whatever barding i pick will be fairly low AC because I dont want to give up dex bonus. The problem is though, that for some reason I can not comprehend, Mage Armor is not a magus spell (you know, the class specifically meant to be a magical fighter .. I'm sure there's a good reason for that).

Number 1 I had also seen as a possibility but it is way too expensive for a 'just in case I ever have to do any fighting in fox form' situation. The idea is very much to be in humanoid form while in combat whenever possible (as I lose the ability to cast spells in fox form as well as wield my black blade).

Number 3 is interesting and I was not aware of it. Its still way too expensive for what would be a fringe benefit for my character but nonetheless interesting as I was not aware of it before, so thanks for that :)

Fortunately the problem is resolved another way as I've talked to the DM to see what he thinks and he seems ok to let the barding meld into and out of my humanoid form, regardless what the RAW says. The fox shape feat is described as working like the spell but flavourwise it is not really casting a spell it is more shapeshifting between forms that a kitsune might naturally have. So he is graciously siding with flavor over RAW as good DMs do!

[Firebug]

Armor for Unusual Creatures: Note the * next to Tiny or Smaller. That means the armor bonus is halved. It also only is a 1x multiplier on the cost, not 2x.

Literally until its enchanted all armor is worse than Mage Armor on a tiny creature. Full Plate +1 is finally a higher armor bonus of 5 compared to 4.

If you don't want ranks in UMD, and have no one in the party able to buff you with Mage Armor, I would recommend taking the Spell Blending Magus Arcana. Otherwise a rank in UMD, and a Wand Key Ring will succeed more often then not.

[avr]

Doesn't sound like you need it, but Serren's swift girding is a 1st level magus spell which puts armor on you (and your friends if they need it). It takes a standard action so it can be cast using spell combat if desired.

[gorambrowncoat]

Firebug wrote:

Armor for Unusual Creatures: Note the * next to Tiny or Smaller. That means the armor bonus is halved. It also only is a 1x multiplier on the cost, not 2x.

Literally until its enchanted all armor is worse than Mage Armor on a tiny creature. Full Plate +1 is finally a higher armor bonus of 5 compared to 4.

If you don't want ranks in UMD, and have no one in the party able to buff you with Mage Armor, I would recommend taking the Spell Blending Magus Arcana. Otherwise a rank in UMD, and a Wand Key Ring will succeed more often then not.

Its honestly more about having a weapon to use my arcane pool on (armor spike) than it is about gaining AC. Doesnt mean Mage armor wouldnt be cool ofcourse, but that aside :)

avr wrote:

Doesn't sound like you need it, but Serren's swift girding is a 1st level magus spell which puts armor on you (and your friends if they need it). It takes a standard action so it can be cast using spell combat if desired.

This would not have worked sadly because I can't cast vocal spells in fox form.

[The Guy With A Face]

Quote:

This would not have worked sadly because I can't cast vocal spells in fox form.

A ring of eloquence will let you speak in fox form.

[gorambrowncoat]

The Guy With A Face wrote:

Quote:

This would not have worked sadly because I can't cast vocal spells in fox form.

A ring of eloquence will let you speak in fox form.

Now that is good to know if I'm ever a bit more flush with cash. Right now a new body armor and shield for my humanoid form is a priority but certainly something to keep in mind for later :)