And another one question.
my wife is planning on playing a druid and i thought wild shape is really cool, until i realized i had no idea how the spell actually works and the spell description says surprisingly few things.
So basicly:
When you polymorph into an animal, do your ability scores change? If yes, all of them? Do i have INT 2 suddenly? None of them? So a STR:10 druid turns into a really weak Tiger? Do i get all of the attacks, special attacks and feats listed?
The core rule book doesnt even contain animals :-) where should i look to find out about their abilities?
Look up the referenced spells and the general description of polymorph spells in the Core Rulebook. For example, if I recall correctly, Beast Shape I (the first spell that Wild Shape can emulate) used to change into a Medium Animal gives you +2 to Str and +2 natural armor. No other ability scores change.
You also get the speed and natural attacks of the animal whose form you take. Those stats can be found in the Bestiary or in a rules reference source such as aonprd.com or d20pfsrd.com.
Wild shape mimics a spell, originally beast shape one. The spell mimiced says what special abilities you can get, if the copied animal has them.
Except for as the spell says (usually bonuses and/or penalties to STR and DEX) your attributes don't change.
Wild shape and the spells it mimics are polymorph effects. You should read about them here: Archive of Nethys
You can find the stats for various animals and other appropriate targets in the bestiarys. You can also find them online (the above site for example.)
Very well, thank you.
I would like to give her a Deinonychus Companion. She would be able to communicate with it, once she goes into a Deinonychus wild shape right?
Since you lose the effect of the armor, AC is an issue for a wild shaped druid. Would it be better to make it DEX-based with "Weapoon Finesse" and "Agile Amulett of Mighty Fists" or should i just go for strength and let the Natural AC-bonus handle things? The larger Forms at higher levels seem to come with a hefty bonus on strength anyway.
The usual method to shore up the weak AC is with spells - Barkskin, and Mage Armor (from a party member, possibly in wand form).
A dex-based WS Druid, while possible, would quickly fall behind on damage, for multiple reasons (smaller damage dice, lack of small forms with pounce, and you can't really go beyond small if you want to attack).
Not that cheesy, really. Wild shape duration makes this a reasonable tactic even without the faster options.
You can also just be a Goliath Druid and wildshape into giants, so you can wear your armor and use weapons.
Too many people overlook the power of smaller forms.
Too many people overlook post dates.
I'm not sure what your post has to do with this thread. This is a rule question thread, not a general advice thread on overlooked uses of Wild Shape.
Snakes make good battlefield control with Venom, or by grappling someone and constricting for damage.
Poison is too slow to be good in most battles, and snakes are not good at grappling at all. I you want to grapple, you want something with the Grab ability.
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Snakes make good battlefield control with Venom, or by grappling someone and constricting for damage.Poison is too slow to be good in most battles, and snakes are not good at grappling at all. I you want to grapple, you want something with the Grab ability.
Snake, Constrictor Snake Melee bite +5 (1d4+4 plus grab)
The main problem with snakes is that there are 2 generic ones: Constrictor Snake and Venomous Snake and 3 specific ones: Asp, Emperor Cobra, and Giant Anaconda (four with the Viper Familiar), with no large or huge constrictor snake, and no small or huge venomous snake.
Considering what we have in nature on Earth and what we could have in a fantasy world it is a lackluster list.
Third-party material can help here, if the GM allows it.
Generally, other forms work better.
Snake, Constrictor Snake Melee bite +5 (1d4+4 plus grab)
Dire Tiger Melee 2 claws +18 (2d4+8 plus grab), bite +18 (2d6+8/19-20 plus grab)
Hm, three chances to grab at or one... damn, tough decision!
I should have been more specific (my bad!), but the point still stands. The stock standard large combat form is way better than any snake when it comes to grappling.
The main problem with snakes is that there are 2 generic ones: Constrictor Snake and Venomous Snake and 3 specific ones: Asp, Emperor Cobra, and Giant Anaconda (four with the Viper Familiar), with no large or huge constrictor snake, and no small or huge venomous snake.
Considering what we have in nature on Earth and what we could have in a fantasy world it is a lackluster list.
Third-party material can help here, if the GM allows it.Generally, other forms work better.
Ignoring that yeah snake forms are underpowered, and maybe this is a valid question to raise in the rules forum, but I would assume you could fudge the size within at least one size category by simply wildshaping into a "dire" (read giant templated) or young template version of the creature. No Huge snakes, be a dire emperor cobra or young Giant Anaconda.
Ultimately this doesn't ultimately change the abilities you get, just the size you can be (and thus stat adjustments) when you get those exact ability combos, as you can do wildshape 3 and pick a wildshape 1 size while getting all 3 abilities (but only the 1 stats). It's certainly not the most unbalanced part of wildshape relative, even if there is some RAW reason you couldn't do the above.
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Snake, Constrictor Snake Melee bite +5 (1d4+4 plus grab)Dire Tiger Melee 2 claws +18 (2d4+8 plus grab), bite +18 (2d6+8/19-20 plus grab)
Hm, three chances to grab at or one... damn, tough decision!
I should have been more specific (my bad!), but the point still stands. The stock standard large combat form is way better than any snake when it comes to grappling.
Agreed. Felines are always better!
Ignoring that yeah snake forms are underpowered, and maybe this is a valid question to raise in the rules forum, but I would assume you could fudge the size within at least one size category by simply wildshaping into a "dire" (read giant templated) or young template version of the creature. No Huge snakes, be a dire emperor cobra or young Giant Anaconda.
Wildshape is a Polymorph effect. And Polymorph says:
Polymorph spells cannot be used to assume the form of a creature with a template or an advanced version of a creature.
A Druid can't wildshape into a templated creature. The creature needs to exist in some of the Bestiaries as a specific entry or it should have been added to the "official" fauna of the world by the GM.
Wildshape is a Polymorph effect. And Polymorph says:
Polymorph spells cannot be used to assume the form of a creature with a template or an advanced version of a creature.A Druid can't wildshape into a templated creature. The creature needs to exist in some of the Bestiaries as a specific entry or it should have been added to the "official" fauna of the world by the GM.
Alright but if that's the only delimiter, then it's just a matter of if your GM wants to pretend there is (if not actually make) a version of the appropriate size. Especially so if they at all play with splatbooks, rip "unique versions" of monsters from APs/modules, or do anything 3pp.
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Best Wild Shape (no templates etc) thread, 2017
Best Wild Shape Druid 6 thread, 2013
Polymorphamory Guide, last edit 2017(?)
Not sure about wildshape allowing you to breathe air when you take an aquatic form by RAW (but it allows you to breathe air when becoming a fire elemental, so probably it does), but my Gm allowed it and I had a lot of fun turning into an Air walking giant octopus.
Cthulhu times. ;-)
Not sure about wildshape allowing you to breathe air when you take an aquatic form by RAW
RAW, it does. "If the form grants a swim or burrow speed, you maintain the ability to breathe if you are swimming or burrowing." CRB pg. 212 That's the only rule on the topic. It says "maintain" (i.e. keep something you already have), and no rule says you lose the ability to breath air.
It makes no sense, of course, as how to breathe is a feature of the body, and thus should be dictated by the body. Not by what your pre-polymorphed body was or that your mind knows how to breath air.
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It makes no sense, of course, as how to breathe is a feature of the body, and thus should be dictated by the body. Not by what your pre-polymorphed body was or that your mind knows how to breath air.
I agree, it should be one of the abilities that depend on how your body works, but Pathfinder polymorph is essentially a guy donning a rubber suit and putting up a bit of makeup to play at being a monster.
While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form (such as keen senses, scent, and darkvision), as well as any natural attacks and movement types possessed by your original form.
RAW, the ability to breathe air is neither SU nor EX, so you can breathe air.
Mostly, it Is one of those things that is glossed over, as resolving it is complicated.
Wait, "If the form grants a swim or burrow speed, you maintain the ability to breathe if you are swimming or burrowing." doesn't imply you retain the ability to breathe air, well maybe the burrow option does, but it can also be read that you only breathe in the swimming (in water) or burrowing state, i.e. not breathing air.
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Wait, "If the form grants a swim or burrow speed, you maintain the ability to breathe if you are swimming or burrowing." doesn't imply you retain the ability to breathe air, well maybe the burrow option does, but it can also be read that you only breathe in the swimming (in water) or burrowing state, i.e. not breathing air.
It is not on the list of abilities you lose.
If you lose the ability to breathe air when you change to a form that normally doesn't do it, all the undead anatomy, plant shape, and elemental body forms are useless.It is one of the problems that was overlooked when Paizo decided that using one of those spells doesn't change your type.
I'm still not entirely sure its saying you inherently lose it in all cases, just that if you would be in a form that can swim, you breathe water. It's not like undead and elementals need to breathe, and plants technically already breathe air.
Effectively you are adding a template to the character. The exact details depend on the specific spell effect and the specific critter.
Stat modifications are based on the spell and the size of the critter.
Special abilities are those in common with the spell and the critter. The critter has to have the ability AND the spell has to allow that ability.