Oozemorph shifter and spell casting.

[thorin001]

When in ooze form it says cast spells. Is this a mystic ban on casting or is it simply a result of not being able to use verbal, somatic, and material components?

Fluidic Body (Su): An oozemorph’s base form is not that of her race but rather that of a protoplasmic blob that has the same volume and weight. An oozemorph treats her creature type as both ooze and her base creature type from her race for the purposes of effects targeting creatures by type (such as bane weapons and a ranger’s favored enemy). In this form, the oozemorph is immune to critical hits and precision damage and can’t be flanked. However, she has no magic item slots and she cannot benefit from armor; cast spells; hold objects; speak; or use any magic item that requires activation, is held, or is worn on the body.

So if a character had feats or class abilities to remove those casting components could the character cast spells while in ooze form?

[Pizza Lord]

I would be inclined to say it is not merely based on being unable to speak or other factors. The base shifter class mentions being unable to speak (using only animal sounds), but does not go into the same detail of the oozemorph's restrictions on casting.

As for whether something like Natural Spell would allow casting... I will leave that to others.

[Azothath]

Fluidic Body(Su) is just saying you can't cast spells or activate magic items (even magical tattoos or ring of eloquence) in that form even if you had metamagic feats etc... they just tried to keep it simple. It's why it generally got a big thumbs down in reviews. At best it's a good class for (sentient) Oozes.

It would take a GM to allow it if you had spell casting and could cover verbal, somatic, and material components.

Ooze Form 1:T5 is better.
Squeeze:T2 is just as good for squeezing and way easier.

[thorin001]

Pizza Lord wrote:

I would be inclined to say it is not merely based on being unable to speak or other factors. The base shifter class mentions being unable to speak (using only animal sounds), but does not go into the same detail of the oozemorph's restrictions on casting.

As for whether something like Natural Spell would allow casting... I will leave that to others.

SLAs are not prohibited, so that heavily implies that it is not some mystic inability to use magic

[thorin001]

What I was contemplating was multiclassing with psychic. Psychic casters do not have verbal or somatic components. Nor material components for the most part.

[Pizza Lord]

You didn't ask about using spell-like abilities, nor did you ask about the ability to 'use magic'.

'thorin001 wrote:

So if a character had feats or class abilities to remove those casting components could the character cast spells while in ooze form?

Removing a component from a spell being cast does not turn it into a spell-like ability, even if you remove all Verbal, Material, Somatic, and Focus components.

Spellcasting and using spell-like abilities are different. Though they are functionally identical (in that an SLA magic missile works the same as one cast by a wizard, other than components). You asked about casting spells, which is expressly prohibited. Unless you have an ability that says you can now cast spells in ooze form or some other wording, then you can't.

Take the wording from baleful polymorph:

Baleful Polymorph wrote:

...

If the spell succeeds, the subject must also make a Will save. If this second save fails, the creature loses its extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities, loses its ability to cast spells (if it had the ability), ...

Note how spell-like abilities and spellcasting/casting spells are listed separately and individually called out? They are similar, but not the same.

[Azothath]

again, it is a simple ban in the way RAW is written.

Using the occult(psychic) way is clever but it is still spellcasting. The oozemorph in Ult Wilderness late 2017 is newer than Occult Adventures 2015 so the issue was known.

SLAs are typically tied to the user's body or form. So that is not helpful for a shapechanger or polymorpher.

And again, only GM caveat is going to 'fix' intentional RAW.

On the other side of the table (GMs) it is different. He could assign wizard classes to a sentient otyugh or shuggoth (its been done). Using this method is nonstandard and Home Game territory.

Another way is to Posses a sentient ooze or possibly simulacra ooze. You get the best of both but this is a higher spell level trick.