Rougarou Campaign Clarification?

[Dustin Knight]

Come one, come all and feast your eyes on the phenomina known as the Rougarou!

Spoiler:

So there's been some debate on the discord as to how the Rougarou's only notable racial feature works. The end result was "ask your GM how they rule it works", but given the feature completely changes how a character operates that should instead be worded: "Ask your GM if you can play the character". So I'm taking the advice of the Venture-Person who made the ruling and asking here for a clarification, because honestly none of us are quite sure how it works.

Given the race has no archetypes, favored class bonuses, feats or alternate racial features, I feel its only fair that we at least have a consensus as to how its only ability works (and put to rest whether or not the Wolfpack is a viable party.)

Change Shape

1.) What is the duration of the ability?

Spoiler:

The Universal Monster Rules for Change Shape states that it last indefinately unless it says otherwise. The Race Entry says it functions "as Beast Shape I", which has a duration. But all Change Shape (Su) abilities function as a polymorph spell. And the monster entry lists it in the same identical format as Lycanthropes and Proteans, which last indefinately. This is brought up in the FAQ.

2.) Does it change the monster's ability scores?

Spoiler:

Currently the idea most GMs have is that it shouldn't last indefinately, as a +4 Str race is too broken. But since its a Change Shape ability, it shouldn't modify the ability scores of the creature (as per the universal monster rules).

UMR wrote:

This ability functions as a polymorph spell, the type of which is listed in the creature's description, but the creature does not adjust its ability scores (although it gains any other abilities of the creature it mimics). Unless otherwise stated, it can remain in an alternate form indefinitely.

So this leaves us with 4 possible answers:

A.) Indefinate duration. +2 Strength.
B.) Indefinate duration. No ability score adjustment.
C.) Minute/Level Duration. +2 Strength.
D.) Minute/Level Duration. No ability score adjustment.

[BigNorseWolf]

B.) Indefinate duration. No ability score adjustment.

Pretty much the same as the kitsune

[Tomppa]

B. Indefinate duration, no ability score adjustment.
Universal Monster Rules state that it does not adjust ability scores and that it last indefinitely. The "as Beast Shape II" refers to everything else.

... I think even A would be fair, considering that the boon is much rarer than the skinwalkers, and skinwalker as a race is much more flexible and powerful, but that's a personal opinion and not how I think the rules should be interpreted.

[Grauhardt]

Booping this snoot for clarity.

Someone official should stick their nose in here and put this to rest.

[Pirate Rob]

Grauhardt wrote:

Booping this snoot for clarity.

Someone official should stick their nose in here and put this to rest.

That's not generally how things work around here. There was a question that appears to have been answered succinctly and correctly, why need anything else?

[Anonymous Visitor 198 128]

Robert Hetherington wrote:

Grauhardt wrote:

Booping this snoot for clarity.

Someone official should stick their nose in here and put this to rest.

That's not generally how things work around here. There was a question that appears to have been answered succinctly and correctly, why need anything else?

Because unfortunately, the organized play discord venture staff feel the ability works differently and have produced a different ruling:

That it is no stat change, and it is minutes / level duration. Which doesn't make sense at all.

Per the UMR and basically every other thing that uses change shape:SU, it should be no adjustment to stats, indefinite duration. "Per Beast Shape 1" indicates whether it grants scent, trip, etc and so on.

[BigNorseWolf]

Okay, so by that ruling it's at will and you keep spamming it and what changes?

[David knott 242]

And do they make the same ruling with kitsune?

[Richard Lowe]

Anonymous Visitor 198 128 wrote:

Because unfortunately, the organized play discord venture staff feel the ability works differently and have produced a different ruling:

Please note that this is not accurate, the online region VOs do not offer rulings or any such response, we're not Paizo and we we're not Devs, we can't issue rulings or any such thing outside of resolving situations that are causing problems at a table when we're running a convention.

We do offer our interpretation of rules or abilities that people argue about how they work, but that's all it is, our advice on how it might work. We will sometimes be wrong, we will sometimes have no idea, but when someone comes to us and asks we try to offer the best advice we can (typically with a more conservative leaning if it's very unclear, so as to avoid players facing disappointment at every table when a GM disagrees with them), but that's all it is and we are very clear on that, so please don't suggest otherwise, thank you for understanding.