Shape-shifting in 3rd and 3.5 was obviously in need of a re-work, but the results in Pathfinder are pretty lackluster. They're not broken, but that's because they're not dramatic; they're minor adjustments, which feels counter to what changing one's shape should entail.
I'm not looking for something that will work in every game ever; when I see one of my players trying to abuse a rule in a way that will result in a poorer experience for myself or other players, I put a stop to it, it being technically allowed or not.
Still, I'd like to see what other people have to say on the subject. Here's what I have, currently:
When taking on an animal's form, the shaman's physical attributes become those of the animal. Her Intelligence drops to a 3 and she takes a -4 penalty to Wisdom (this penalty cannot result in a lower score than the animal normally has. If the animal's score is normally higher, the shaman retains her original score).
Most shamans will remove equipment and clothing before changing their shape, as such items will be destroyed in the process.
A shaman may safely remain in animal form for up to 1 hour/level. After that, the shaman must make a Will save (DC15+1/hour beyond 1/level) or suffer a -1 penalty to her Charisma until she resume her true form.
Once this penalty is equal to get current Charisma score, the shaman becomes the animal, losing all abilities and memory until she is the subject of a Restoration and Remove Curse.
When attempting to retake her true form, a shaman must make a Will save (DC15+1/hour beyond 1 hour/level). Failure results in remaining in animal form. A shaman may attempt to
change once per hour.
The game I'll be running will start at lvl5, characters will not be "optimized", and the setting will include nomadic subarctic communities in the far north, much like the inuit tribes.
I have a few ideas for common forms that the Druid can use. Thoughts?
Snow hare-
Size: tiny; Str6 Dex18 Con14 Int 3 Wis12, Cha10; Speed: 50ft.; kick (1d8 nonlethal); low-light vision, scent, endurance, nimble moves, run; +4 to Acrobatics and Athletics for jumping, +4 to Stealth in snowy conditions
Snow owl-
Size: small; Str8 Dex17 Con13 Int 3 Wis12, Cha10; Speed: 10ft., fly 60ft. (good); +2 natural armor; two talons (1d3); darkvision 90ft., +8 to Acrobatics and Athletics for flying, +4 to Perception, +8/+4 to Stealth for moving silently/snowy conditions
White fox-
Size: small; Str9 Dex16 Con13 Int 3 Wis12, Cha10; Speed: 50ft.; +2 natural armor; bite (1d4); darkvision 60ft., scent, +2 to Acrobatics and Athletics, +4 to Perception for tracking by scent, +4 to Stealth in snowy conditions
Mountain goat-
Size: small; Str10 Dex15 Con16 Int 3 Wis16, Cha10; Speed: 40ft.; +2 natural armor; gore (1d4); low-light vision, scent, endurance, nimble moves, +4 to Acrobatics and Athletics for climbing, jumping and balancing.
Doe-
Size: small; Str9 Dex17 Con14 Int 3 Wis12, Cha10; Speed: 50ft.; +1 natural armor; 2 hooves (1d3); low-light vision, scent, endurance, nimble moves, run
Musk ox-
Size: medium; Str16 Dex12 Con16 Int 3 Wis12, Cha10; Speed: 40ft.; +4 natural armor; gore (1d6); low-light vision, scent, powerful charge (1d8), ram, endurance, +4 to Fortitude vs. cold
Great Seal-
Size: medium; Str14 Dex13 Con15 Int 3 Wis12, Cha10; Speed: 10ft., swim 50ft.; +2 natural armor; bite (1d6); low-lightvision, scent, improved grab, endurance, +8 to Acrobatics and Athletics for swimming
Bison-
Size: large; Str21 Dex10 Con17 Int 3 Wis12, Cha10; Speed: 40ft.; +6 natural armor; gore (1d8); low-light vision, scent, powerful charge (2d6), ram, endurance
Walrus-
Size: large; Str22 Dex8 Con19 Int 3 Wis12, Cha10; Speed: 10ft., swim 40ft.; +7 natural armor; gore (1d8 18-20×3); low-light vision, scent, hold breath, enduranc, +8 to Acrobatics and Athletics for swimming
Are those your own stats for Arctic animals, or do they all appear in various Pathfinder sources?
Those are just my first pass at them. I've found the printed materials to be sorely lacking in this regard.
I've come back to this project recently, and feel like I've made much better progress in my second attempt.
A little more info: the druid will have Str10, Dex 11, Con13, Int12, Wis16, Cha13 and has exchanged medium armor and shield proficiency for an extra 2 skill points per level.
They took a homebrew domain for their bond that gives them Bluff, Diplomacy, Sleight of Hand and such as class skills, a few other minor tricks and spontaneous casting of domain spells (illusions, charms and things that deal with smoke and fire) instead of summon spells.
Their feats are Blind Fight, Subtle Spell (like silent+still) and Spell Focus (enchantment). Natural Spell, Deadly Aim, Combat Expertise and Power Attack are all a given for everyone.
I would like wildshape to be able to make this character viable in physical combat, which means the usual +2 Str and such won't really cut it. So this version of wildshape will be significantly more powerful and come with some heavier drawbacks as well:
"When wearing another skin, the shaman's physical attributes become those of the animal. She takes a -4 penalty to intelligence (this penalty cannot result in a lower score than the animal normally has. If the animal's score is normally higher, the shaman retains her original score).
Most shamans will remove equipment and clothing before skinshifting, as such items will be destroyed in the process.
Skinshifting takes one minute of absolute concentration and physical effort as the shaman uses a token of the beast (usually a piece of hide, but a bit of bone or horn will suffice) to don their new skin.
This levies a -1 penalty to charisma while the shaman wears the animal . In dire situations, the shaman may increase the penalty by 1 to decrease the time required to a single standard action.
A shaman may safely wear the skin for up to 1 hour/2 levels. After that, the penalty to her charisma increases by 1 for every hour she continues to wear the skin. Shifting back takes either 1 minute and does not increase the penalty, or 1 standard action and increases the penalty by 1.
This penalty disappears when she takes off the skin, but reappears if she attempts to skinshift into any other form. If the penalty is ever equal to or greater than the shaman's current charisma score, she forgets she is wearing a skin at all, losing herself in the beast until she is the subject of a Restoration or Remove Curse spell.
The penalty resets when the shaman first prepares her spells each day."
I want to see how much I'd have to hand out before a form was viable, and to ensure there was at least some semblance of balance between forms.
What I've got so far:
1 for every point of Strength or Dexterity above 10
0.5 for every point of Constitution above 10 (since it's not influencing hit points)
1 for every 10ft of base speed above 30
1 for every 10ft of climb speed, 5ft of burrow or 20ft of swim
3 for a 10ft fly speed, +1 per 10dt (not sold on this one yet, but it's in the right general area, I think)
1 for every point of natural armor
1 for large size, 2 for huge
points equal to average die result of each natural attack
0.5 for +2 to a skill, halved for situational modifiers
1 for grab, scent or trip, 2 for blindsense, etc
half of average die result for pounce, powerful charge and constrict
If beast shape I gives you 17 points, II gives you 27 and III 37, I feel like you can at least capture the full feel of the form, if not the form exactly.
None of this works very well for the non-combat forms; a sparrow or a field mouse just won't be as effective as a mammoth. But I'm fine with that. When wildshape is being used as a utility ability, you're willing to sacrifice efficiency for the specific abilities you're getting.