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Neverwinter Nights
Unofficial Shifter FAQ
version 1.15 - FINAL
Copyright 2003 Douglas Crews
Valid for NWN/SOU/HOTU v1.64
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==============================================================================
===== IMPORTANT UPDATE
===== This FAQ is no longer updated by its original author (that's me).
===== I have switched to playing PnP Shifters, using the Hak packs provided by
===== the Prestige Class Consortium (http://nwnprc.netgamers.co.uk/).
===== Thanks to all the readers who contacted me with questions, comments, and
===== tips.
===== If anyone has an interest in maintaining this list please contact me,
===== shifter@crewstopia.com.
==============================================================================
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Table Of Contents
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Introduction
(1) Character Creation
(1.1) Race
(1.1.1) Human
(1.1.2) Elf
(1.1.3) Dwarf
(1.1.4) Halfling
(1.1.5) Half-Orc
(1.1.6) Gnome
(1.1.7) Half-Elf
(1.2) Statistics
(1.3) Planning For Feats
(1.4) Shifter Builds
(1.4.1) The Pure Shifter build
(1.4.2) The Druid/Shifter/Monk build
(1.4.3) The Druid/Shifter/[Fighter-type] build
(1.4.4) The Druid/Shifter/[Rogue-type] build
(1.4.5) The Druid/Shifter/[Arcane-type] build
(1.4.6) The Druid/Shifter/Cleric build
(1.4.7) The Druid/Shifter/Weapon Master build
(1.4.8) The Druid/Shifter/Dwarven Defender build
(2) Equipment
(2.1) What equipment properties merge?
(2.2) What Shapes merge Weapons? Items? Armor?
(2.3) Choosing your equipment
(3) Which tertiary class abilities transfer to Shapes?
(3.1) Barbarian
(3.2) Bard
(3.3) Cleric
(3.4) Druid
(3.5) Fighter
(3.6) Monk
(3.7) Paladin
(3.8) Ranger
(3.9) Rogue
(3.10) Sorcerer
(3.11) Wizard
(3.12) Arcane Archer
(3.13) Assassin
(3.14) Blackguard
(3.15) Champion Of Torm
(3.16) Dwarven Defender
(3.17) Harper Scout
(3.18) Pale Master
(3.19) Red Dragon Disciple
(3.20) Shadowdancer
(3.21) Weapon Master
(4) Unarmed vs. Armed Shapes
(5) The Shapes
(5.1) Greater Wildshape I [Shifter Level 1]
(5.1.1) Wyrmling, Red
(5.1.2) Wyrmling, Blue
(5.1.3) Wyrmling, Black
(5.1.4) Wyrmling, White
(5.1.5) Wyrmling, Green
(5.2) Greater Wildshape II [Shifter Level 3]
(5.2.1) Harpy Shape
(5.2.2) Gargoyle Shape
(5.2.3) Minotaur Shape
(5.3) Greater Wildshape III [Shifter Level 5]
(5.3.1) Basilisk Shape
(5.3.2) Drider Shape
(5.3.3) Manticore Shape
(5.4) Humanoid Shape [Shifter Level 7]
(5.4.1) Drow Warrior Shape
(5.4.2) Lizardfolk Whipmaster Shape
(5.4.3) Kobold Commando Shape
(5.5) Greater Wildshape IV [Shifter Level 10]
(5.5.1) Dire Tiger Shape
(5.5.2) Medusa Shape
(5.5.3) Mindflayer Shape
(5.6) Epic Greater Wildshape II [Shifter Level 13]
(5.6.1) Epic Harpy
(5.6.2) Epic Gargoyle
(5.6.3) Epic Minotaur
(5.7) Epic Greater Wildshape III [Shifter Level 15]
(5.7.1) Epic Basilisk
(5.7.2) Epic Drider
(5.7.3) Epic Manticore
(5.8) Epic Humanoid Shape [Shifter Level 17]
(5.8.1) Epic Drow Warrior
(5.8.2) Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster
(5.8.3) Epic Kobold Commando
(5.9) Undead Shape [Shifter Level 10, Chosen Feat]
(5.9.1) Risen Lord Shape
(5.9.2) Vampire Shape
(5.9.3) Spectre Shape
(5.10) Outsider Shape [Shifter Level 10, WS 25+, Chosen Feat]
(5.10.1) Azer Chieftain Shape
(5.10.2) Rakshasa Shape
(5.10.3) Death Slaad Lord Shape
(5.11) Construct Shape [Shifter Level 10, WS 27+, Chosen Feat]
(5.11.1) Stone Golem Shape
(5.11.2) Demonflesh Golem Shape
(5.11.3) Iron Golem Shape
(5.12) Dragon Shape [Shifter Level 10, WS 30+, Chosen Feat]
(5.12.1) Ancient Red Dragon Shape
(5.12.2) Ancient Blue Dragon Shape
(5.12.3) Ancient Green Dragon Shape
(6) Feats
(6.1) Ratings
(6.2) Non-Epic Feats
(6.3) Epic Feats
(6.3.1) Bonus Feats available to an Epic Shifter:
(6.3.2) Other Bonus Feats available to other Epic classes:
(7) What's The Best Shape For...?
(7.1) Vs. Spellcasters
(7.2) Melee Damage Potential
(7.3) Vs. Undead/Construct/Dragon
(7.4) Defense
(7.5) Attack Bonus
(7.6) Rogue-ishness, Disarming Traps, etc.
(7.7) Searching
(7.8) Vs. Fire
(7.9) Vs. Cold
(7.10) Vs. Electricity
(7.11) Vs. Acid
(7.12) Vs. Sonic
(7.13) Vs. Invisible
(7.14) Vs. Poison
(7.15) Vs. Low Damage Reduction
(7.16) Vs. Medium Damage Reduction
(7.17) Vs. High Damage Reduction
(7.18) Vs. Epic Damage Reduction
(7.19) Druid/Shifter/Monk
(7.20) Smaller Or Larger Opponents
Appendices
(A) Definitions & Acronyms
(B) The Monk Unarmed Attack Bug
(C) Relevant Scripts And Toolset Objects
(C.1) How to examine scripts:
(C.2) How to examine objects:
(C.3) Shape Items & Scripts
(C.4) Alternate Shape Items & Scripts
(C.5) Iznoghoud's Greater Wildshape script
(C.6) Rod Of The ArchShifter hak pak
(C.6.1) Using the Rod in a user module
(C.6.2) Using the Rod in all modules
(C.6.3) Uninstalling the Rod
(D) Some options for alternate Shapes
(E) When And How To Boost ST, DX, CN
(F) The Multiclassed Shifter XP Penalty Bug
(G) Other Bugs
(G.1) The Bonus Attacks Bug
(G.2) Bonus Spell Items Bug
(G.3) The DR Attacker Bug
(G.4) The Epic Pink Soft Bunny Please Kill Me Now Bug (fixed in 1.64)
(G.5) The Persistent World Save Bug (fixed in 1.64)
(G.6) The CasterLevel Bug
(H) Revision History
(I) Who am I? Where's my car? And did I do this all alone? (Hint: no)
A kobold walks warily down a twisty underground corridor. A small and
unassuming figure, he would not strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, even
if they could detect his quiet, unseen movements.
The kobold peers into a large chamber roughly hewn from the solid undermountain
granite. A large number of fearsome Orcs mill about, unaware of the diminutive
invader in their midst. And there, upon a dais at the far end, stands the
chieftain, secure amongst his warriors that his treasure and his life are safe.
But he has a surprise in store.
The kobold sizes up the situation and makes a decision. Quietly and slowly he
winds his way through the middle of the throng of Orcish warriors. Though he
passes but inches from them at times, they are oblivious to his presence.
Reaching the dais, the kobold raises his short sword and plunges it deep into
the back of the Orc chieftain. The mighty Orc bellows in pain and surprise, but
although grievously wounded he is still strong. He raises his sword, preparing
to cut his tiny attacker, now running away, in two. His triumph is short lived,
however, as the kobold draws the shadows about him and *disappears*.
Shrugging his mighty shoulders the Orc chieftain turns back to his dais, only to
once again feel the bite of a sharp blade deep in his back. And what's this?
Poison, sapping his sword-arm strength! Sensing victory, this time the kobold
stays for the coup de grace.
The assembled Orc bodyguards howl their rage and quickly surround the tiny
assassin. They know that, surrounded by foes, he cannot disappear quite so
easily this time. Grinning in anticipation of vengeance well earned, they close
in for the kill.
But then a strange thing happens. The kobold makes an arcane gesture,
concentrates for a moment, and *Shifts*.
Suddenly the crowd of Orcs faces a young dragonling, who promptly begins to
breathe fire into their midst. Several Orcs are killed or badly wounded, but
they also have a secret -- they too have been trained in the dark art of the
sneak attack. With so many attacking a single foe, they find their sneak
attacks finding the mark again and again. They will pay a price for victory,
but they know they will kill this shapeshifting intruder.
But the intruder has another trick up his sleeve. Pausing for a moment to
gesture again, he once more *Shifts*. Suddenly the Orcs find themselves
surrounding a Vampire. A Vampire who regenerates his wounds and is immune to
sneak attacks. Many Orcs fall to the razor sharp claws of the Undead-
Dragonling-Kobold-What-The-Hell-Is-It?, while others have their very life
essences drained by the Vampire's bite. In the end, only the Shifter remains
standing.
But there is still work to be done. If these Orcs were trained in the Rogue
arts, then it is likely that they knew how to set a trap. An examination of the
treasure chests reveals nothing, but the Shifter is suspicious.
Once again Shifting, he becomes an Illithid, an obscenely intelligent brain-
sucking abomination of the Underdark. Re-examining the chests with a vastly
increased intellect, he sees and disarms the deadly traps he had missed
before.
One last problem remains for our intrepid shapeshifting adventurer: he cannot
possibly carry all the treasure without dragging it a few inches at a time.
That just won't do.
Moments later a heavily muscled Minotaur is seen carrying a large bag of booty
out of the Orc lair. He smiles to himself in satisfaction.
Are you sold yet? The Shifter is a very powerful and fun class to play in
Neverwinter Nights. A Shifter is the master of many skills, but specialist in
none. Whatever situation or opponent a Shifter faces, he or she has a Shape
appropriate to the challenge.
Your damage potential will never be the equal of a high level Weapon Master, but
that Weapon Master will have trouble against Critical-immune foes. You won't.
You have other options.
Your offensive spells will never be as mighty as a high level Sorcerer, but you
have several options he doesn't: unlimited use breath weapons of various types,
petrification, domination, mass charm, mind blast, Spectre attack, etc., etc.,
etc.
Your defensive spells will never be as powerful as a high level Cleric, but
again, you have many powerful options they don't: immunity to Critical Hits-
Death Magic-Disease-Level/Ability Drain-Mind Spells-Paralysis-Poison-Sneak
Attack, Damage Resistance, Damage Immunity, Spell Resistance, etc., etc., etc.
Your Rogue abilities will never be the equal of a true Rogue, but you have the
option of Hide In Plain Sight, Improved Evasion, Improved Invisibility, +8 to
Intelligence, etc., etc., etc.
Up against spellcasters? Take a Shape with Spell Resistance. Facing hordes of
dumb fighters? Use a mind attack that targets their low Will power. White
dragon? Choose a Shape with 100% immunity to cold. Invisible opponents? True
Seeing. Backstabbers? Undead or Construct is immune to their most powerful
trick. Same goes for Poison, Level Drain, Disease, Paralysis, Critical Hits,
and Death Magic. Whatever they've got, you've got an answer for.
That is the essence of the Shifter class: adaptability. And it makes for a lot
of fun and challenge. But the Number One Rule of Shifters is:
In order to make the most of your Shifter experience, you have to know what
Shape is best for any situation. That's why I created this FAQ. I hope it
helps you as much as it has helped me.
(1) Character Creation
What is the optimal Shifter build? There are as many answers as there are to
the question of what constitutes an optimal Pizza build. But there are some
guidelines to work with. To wit:
(1.1) Race
Since racial stat bonuses/penalties are largely overridden by the Shapes you
take, this more than any other class can be determined for purely roleplaying
reasons. That said, here's some commentary on the races available.
(1.1.1) Human
While the bonus Feat at 1st level and the extra Skill points are very handy, the
primary benefit is the ability to multiclass beyond Druid/Shifter without an XP
penalty (subject to the Shifter XP penalty bug, of course -- see Appendix F).
(1.1.2) Elf
Stat modifications are largely overridden, and you'll be subject to an XP
penalty unless you're a Druid/Shifter/[Prestige Class] or Druid/Shifter/Wizard.
Keens Senses is very handy, however, as well as Listen, Search, and Spot. Low-
light vision (or better) can be had by taking the appropriate Shape.
(1.1.3) Dwarf
A bonus to CN which is often overridden, and a penalty to CH which never is.
However, the racial abilities like Stonecunning and Hardiness vs. Spells/Poison
translate well into all Shapes. You'll be subject to an XP penalty unless
you're a Druid/Shifter/[Prestige Class] or Druid/Shifter/Fighter.
(1.1.4) Halfling
Stat modifications are largely overridden, as well as Small Stature, but Move
Silently, Listen, Lucky, and Fearless translate well. You'll be subject to an
XP penalty unless you're a Druid/Shifter/[Prestige Class] or
Druid/Shifter/Rogue.
(1.1.5) Half-Orc
A bonus to ST which is almost always overridden, coupled with penalties to IN
and CH which almost never are. Darkvision (or better) can be had by choosing
the proper Shape, and you'll be subject to an XP penalty unless you're a
Druid/Shifter/[Prestige Class] or Druid/Shifter/Barbarian. This would seem to
be the only race which offers no tangible benefits, only drawbacks. Nothing
serious, however, so if it fits with your roleplaying go for it.
(1.1.6) Gnome
Stat modifications are largely overridden, as well as Small Stature, but others
like Hardiness vs. Illusions, Offensive/Defensive training, etc., translate well
into most Shapes. Low-light vision (or better) can be had by taking the
appropriate Shape. You'll be subject to an XP penalty unless you're a
Druid/Shifter/[Prestige Class] or Druid/Shifter/Wizard.
(1.1.7) Half-Elf
No stat modifications, no bonus Feats or Skills at level up, but shares the same
ability benefits as Elves, with the major bonus of freedom to multiclass at will
beyond Druid/Shifter.
(1.2) Statistics
Each Shifter Shape has one or more statistics set, plus natural and spell-like
attacks available. Note that if your natural stat is higher than the Shifted
form's stat, yours will be decreased (most of the time) while Shifted.
Therefore, the only reason to put points into Strength, Dexterity, or
Constitution is to gain Feats. So, starting with the premise that we don't want
a bonus or a penalty on those three, we can begin with:
ST:10 DX:10 CN:10 IN: WS: CH:
That leaves (assuming a human character) 24 points to play with. Now, determine
the Feats you'll want to have in the long run:
(1.3) Planning For Feats
See Section 6 for detailed descriptions of Feats. Following each Feat is a
list of Shapes which already have it.
(1.3.1) Melee
Cleave: ST 13+ (Epic Drider, Epic Drow, Risen Lord, and Death Slaad)
Deflect Arrows: DX 13+
Disarm: IN 13+ (Lizardfolk Whipmaster, Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster)
Dodge: DX 13+ (Epic Drow Warrior, Kobold Commando, Epic Kobold Commando,
Rakshasa)
Expertise: IN 13+
Great Cleave: ST 13+
Improved Disarm: IN 13+
Improved Expertise: IN 13+
Improved Parry: IN 13+
Improved Stunning Fist (Epic): DX 19+, WS 19+
Improved Whirlwind Attack (Epic): IN 13+, DX 23+
Mobility: DX 13+
Spring Attack: DX 13+
Stunning Fist: DX 13+, WS 13+
Whirlwind Attack: DX 13+, IN 13+ (Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster, Risen Lord)
(1.3.2) Ranged Attacks
Rapid Shot: DX 13+
Zen Archery: WS 13+
(1.3.3) Monk
Circle Kick: DX 15+
(1.3.4) Clerics & Paladins
Divine Might: CH 13+, ST 13+
Divine Shield: CH 13+, ST 13+
Don't take ST, DX, or CN any higher than you have to in order to gain access to
the Feats you want, because they're often overridden by your Shapes. Then fill
in IN, WS, and CH as you desire. Keep in mind that to get the Outsider,
Construct, or Dragon Shapes your Wisdom will have to be very high. If you think
you'll be happy with Undead Shape (which only requires you to be an Epic
Shifter), you can buff IN and CH pretty high.
(1.4) Shifter Builds
At a minimum, your Shifter career will include 5 levels of Druid. That's enough
for a couple 3rd level spells (with Wisdom bonus) and a natural wildshape
ability. Also, since you can't be an Epic Shifter (11th level Shifter) without
being an Epic Character (21 total levels), you'll need at least 5 more levels of
Druid or something...else.
(1.4.1) The Pure Shifter build
You are a Shifter. Whatever dim memory of your Druid roots you retain is only
what you consider the abilities of your first Shape (the one you happened to be
born in). You need to maximize your Wisdom at all costs in order to get the
better Epic Shapes. You don't remember what your human Strength is, and who
cares? As a minotaur, you can carry a *ton* of stuff. The purest Shifter you
can get is Druid 10/Shifter 30. A more balanced approach might be Druid
20/Shifter 20. Note that Dragon Shape will use both your Druid levels and your
Shifter levels for determining the strength of your breath weapon, but pure
Druids who take Dragon Shape can never be quite as good at it as Shifters.
Flame on!
To maximize your BAB, remember to keep your non-epic levels at intervals of 4
when you reach level 20. The difference between Druid 10/Shifter 10 (BAB +14)
and Druid 12/Shifter 8 (BAB +15) could make the difference in hitting versus
missing later on. After level 20, of course, all classes progress in BAB
equally.
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:10 IN:14 WS:18 CH:10
(1.4.2) The Druid/Shifter/Monk build
You've already got Cleave at first level (Monk), but boosting DX and IN to 13
opens up a range of available Feats which are quite attractive, while still
allowing a decent WS (which adds to your AC for ALL Shapes, remember, even if
you were wearing armor when you Shifted) and a small CN and CH bonus. Later on,
you might choose to boost DX two more to get Circle Kick, but that's your
choice. Also, almost 2/3 of your Shapes will are classified as unarmed, so they
benefit from your better attacks, Flurry Of Blows, and Stunning Fist. Your high
Wisdom does double duty as an AC bonus, but you pay the triple-classing BAB
penalty (unless you keep your classes to a multiple of 4, like Druid 8/Shifter
8/Monk 4). Altogether a very strong build. Humans and Half-Elves can get a
lot of mileage out of a single level of Monk (Cleave, AC bonus, Flurry Of Blows,
Stunning Fist, and the Monk Attack Bug -- see Appendix B) at very little cost.
While this is a very strong build in general, I would not recommend it for the
official HOTU campaign, because [SPOILER ALERT] the ability to upgrade your
weapon to +10/Keen/Hasted/etc. makes your armed Shapes so much better than your
unarmed Shapes that the bonus attacks are not worth it; however, the Monk AC
bonus is still very helpful. [END SPOILER ALERT]
In general, the Monk build can be very powerful in low magic situations, as many
persistent worlds tend to be.
Note also that if you're working for the best level 40 character, rather than a
character able to survive better at lower levels, it's best to delay taking the
Monk level(s) as long as possible. That way, you can maximize your Tumble,
Discipline, and Move Silently skills. Delaying the Monk level(s) until after
level 20 makes for higher BAB in the long run (unless, of course, you take a
multiple of 4 levels of Monk before level 20, which is another way to maximize
your BAB).
Recommended ST:10 DX:13 CN:12 IN:13 WS:16 CH:12
(1.4.3) The Druid/Shifter/[Fighter-type] build
This will work with Barbarian (Rage stacks bonuses on your already elevated
stats), Blackguard (sneak attacks and a summoned fiend), Fighter (Feats galore,
including Weapon Specialization), Ranger (although your dual-wielding is largely
wasted, and your Ranger Animal Companion takes the place of your Druid one),
Paladin (double-duty on the Wisdom bonus), Champion Of Torm (Feats galore, but
no Weapon Specialization), Dwarven Defender (stat boosts on your already
elevated stats, plus Damage Reduction; see section 1.4.8 for more details). It
doesn't tend to work well with Weapon Master, since you can only choose from
Druid weapons for Weapon Of Choice (see section 1.4.7 for an update, however).
It is incompatible with Arcane Archer (no arcane spells). You benefit from the
fighters' better BAB table progression (keep in mind that the number of attacks
you have at 20th level is the same you'll have at 40th) at the cost of
Shifter power and Druid spells, and a wide variety of armor and weapons to
choose from. To achieve BAB +16 (and therefore 4 attacks per round), you'll
need to take at least 4 Fighter-type levels in your first 20 levels (i.e.,
Druid 8/Fighter 4/Shifter 8). Boost Strength for Cleave and Greater Cleave,
Intelligence for Expertise and Disarm, and Dexterity for Dodge and its
descendants. Boost Constitution for extra HP since it's least often overridden,
and don't boost Wisdom excessively. You'll have a harder time getting the
higher Epic Shapes, but you'll have one nasty Risen Lord, Vampire, and Spectre.
Weapon Specialize in Scythe and in Unarmed Combat for bonus nastiness. Go forth
and slay.
This will work for Rogues (Sneak Attack, Improved Evasion, Use Magic Device),
Assassins (Death Attack), Harper Scouts, and Shadowdancers (although their
primary draw, Hide In Plain Sight, is already included in the Kobold Commando).
Since you don't have to worry about boosting Strength, Dexterity, or
Constitution, you can concentrate on boosting Intelligence for scads of Skill
points and Charisma for Use Magic Device and Persuade. The nice thing about
using the many Skills available to a Rogue is that you can tailor your Shape to
whichever stat you need to perform the Skill. Need stealth? Black or White
Wyrmling has good starting Dexterity, and Kobold Commando just oozes stealth.
Searching for traps? The Mindflayer's Intelligence boost gives you +4. And
since your armor is merged into your Shape, you can pile on the heaviest armor
you can wear and it doesn't affect your stealthiness at all. Imagine a minotaur
with a sneak attack. Now imagine a stealthy Death Slaad with a sneak attack.
Now stop drooling.
Note that Bards CAN sing while Shifted!
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:12 IN:16 WS:14 CH:14
(1.4.5) The Druid/Shifter/[Arcane-type] build
I confess I don't know if this is a viable build. On the one hand, your primary
stat is either Intelligence (Wizard) or Charisma (Sorcerer), neither of which is
overridden by your Shapes. On the other hand, you cannot cast spells while
Shifted. And you'll have an absolute dearth of armor and weapons to merge into
your Shapes. Perhaps a strategy of buffing to the max, then Shifting, would
work, but to try to cast offensive spells AND Shift seems to be trying to be
good at two things and excellent at neither. In the Underdark, you need to be
excellent to survive. Anyone who has done a Wizard or Sorcerer Shifter, let me
know. Note that Pale Master and Dragon Disciple Shifters are not possible,
since you don't have arcane spells as a Druid/Shifter.
Excellent buffing spells and armor choices, and the ability to turn undead make
for a good match for Shifters. Your BAB won't be any higher (and may, in fact,
be lower), but the benefits probably outweigh the disabilities of not being able
to cast healing spells quite so spontaneously any more. Furthermore, Wisdom is
a shared stat that does double duty, and you don't have to boost Strength,
Dexterity, or Constitution so you can concentrate on Charisma for Turning
Undead. Begone, Foul Spawn, lest I unleash upon you the Flurry of Bad Puns!
Update: FAQ reader Larry Strope1 suggests minimizing ST for Cleric builds to 8
(or lower if possible). Why? Because using the Divine Power 4th level spell
raises your Strength to 18 from whatever it is naturally. So if your Strength
is 8 naturally, you will get +10 ST from Divine Power, and it carries over to
your Shapes. So in this case, having 8 ST naturally is much *better* than
having 16 ST naturally. Note that Divine Power is a relatively short duration
spell, so you'll be unShifting/casting/Shifting to use this tactic.
Recommended ST:10 DX:10 CN:10 IN:12 WS:16 CH:16
(1.4.7) The Druid/Shifter/Weapon Master build
FAQ reader Bradley Sprigg (sathias@internode.on.net) suggests a powerful build
for Weapon Master Shifters: as soon as you get Greater Wildshape III take
levels in Weapon Master, choosing spear as your Weapon of Choice. This makes
your Drider a powerful force with his +2 poisoned spear. Once Weapon Master is
one of your classes, Weapon Proficiency Exotic (denied to Druids and Shifters)
becomes available as a chosen Feat. Take it and proceed to Weapon Master level
13, where you are allowed to choose a new Weapon of Choice. Choose scythe and
you'll have one nasty, nasty Risen Lord. If you play your cards right, it's
even possible to get Devastating Critical by level 40. Yee-ouch!
Recommended ST:13 DX:13 CN:14 IN:14 WS:14 CH:10
(1.4.8) The Druid/Shifter/Dwarven Defender build
FAQ reader Larry Strope1 suggests a powerful Risen Lord based Dwarven
Defender build. Start with a Dwarf of Lawful alignment, 20 CN, 13 IN, and as
much DX as you can get. Raise CN to 21 so that when you hit Epic levels you
can take Epic Damage Reduction. Five levels of Druid, then 10 levels of
Shifter, and the rest of your career as Dwarven Defender (with the exception
of one Epic level Shifter to get Undead Shape) will create a Damage-Soaking
brick wall of a character. The result: a Risen Lord with 50%
slashing/piercing immunity (from Risen Lord), immune to critical hits & sneak
attacks (Risen Lord), and DR 24 (from Dwarven Defender and Epic Damage
Reduction). A swordsman scoring 50 points of damage will actually damage you
only 1 point [*], you don't have to worry about Sneak Attacks, and
Devastating Critical is not a problem if you're immune to critical hits in
general. Hey, Mister Tough-Guy Assassin Scythe-Master, I heard some
interesting news about your mama's deviant sexual practices...
One of the best features of the Shifter class is the ability to merge your armor
and weapons into the skin of the Shape you take. Rarely will you ever encounter
a minotaur with an acid-dripping +1 battleaxe, but you can be one. It's not a
free ride, however. Not everything merges and not all Shapes merge all that you
wear. So what merges and what doesn't?
(2.1) What equipment properties merge?
Weapon All properties (extra damage, Keen, stat/ability bonuses,
bonus Feats, etc.), but not the magical bonus To Hit and not
the base damage (i.e., 1d8 for a longsword). Note also only a
handful of Shapes merge your weapon, and the merged properties
don't always show in the Character screen. Note that the
magical bonus for damage does merge, however, so a +3 weapon
merged into a minotaur's battleaxe will become a +1 battleaxe
with +3 extra damage.
Offhand Weapon No.
Armor Everything except Base Armor Class. Bonuses to AC, skill
modifications, and bonus Feats are melded.
Shields Everything except Base Armor Class. Bonuses to AC, skill
modifications, and bonus Feats are melded. Shields are
considered armor for purposes of which Shapes will merge them.
Note that a bug in the merge script prior to v1.64 does not
allow
merging of Tower Shields.
Gloves No. Sorry, Monks.
Gauntlets/Bracers No.
Helmets Yes. Helmets are considered armor for purposes of which
Shapes will merge them.
Cloaks Yes.
Belts Yes.
Rings Yes.
Amulets Yes.
Boots Yes.
Note that any AC enhancements, regardless of type, are converted into Deflection
enhancements when merging, and Deflection enhancements don't stack. So your +3
chainmail, +2 shield, +4 ring, and +2 cloak will only give you the highest AC
bonus, +4, instead of the +11 you get while unShifted.
(2.2) What Shapes merge Weapons? Items? Armor?
Shape Weapon Items Armor
----------------------------- -------- -------- --------
Wyrmling (Any) Y Y
Harpy Y Y
Gargoyle Y Y
Minotaur Y Y Y
Basilisk Y
Drider Y Y Y
Manticore Y
Drow Warrior Y Y Y
Lizardfolk Whipmaster Y Y Y
Kobold Commando Y Y Y
Dire Tiger Y
Medusa Y Y
Mindflayer Y Y
Epic Harpy Y Y
Epic Gargoyle Y Y
Epic Minotaur Y Y Y
Epic Basilisk Y
Epic Drider Y Y Y
Epic Manticore Y
Epic Drow Warrior Y Y Y
Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster Y Y Y
Epic Kobold Commando Y Y Y
Risen Lord Y Y Y
Vampire Y Y
Spectre Y
Azer Chieftain Y Y Y
Rakshasa Y Y Y
Death Slaad Lord Y
Stone Golem Y
Demonflesh Golem Y
Iron Golem Y Y
Dragon (Any) Y
A good rule of thumb seems to be: Has a weapon? Merges all. Unarmed, stands
on two legs? Merges items & armor. Unarmed, four or more legs? Merges armor
only. Exceptions to the rule are Death Slaad Lord, Stone Golem and Demonflesh
Golem.
(2.3) Choosing your equipment
As you can see from the chart in (2.2), all Shapes merge armor, most Shapes
merge items, and only the Shapes which carry a weapon merge your weapon. So if
you have both Chainmail of Speed and Boots of Speed, you're better off wearing
the chainmail because all of your Shapes will then be hasted. Choose your
armor, shield, and helmet carefully. Choose your armor & items for the bonus
Feats, ability increases, skills, etc., rather than the AC bonus (which is
converted to Deflection bonus, which does not stack), and tailor them to the
situation you will be facing. Choose your weapon for the bonus damage, Feats,
etc., rather than the magical To Hit bonus.
Be sure to activate any items you need (such as wands of summoning and the like)
before you Shift, since you won't be able to use them once you Shift.
(3) Which tertiary class abilities transfer to Shapes?
Anything marked with @CHECK is an intelligent guess. If I'm wrong, please let
me know at shifter@crewstopia.com.
(3.1) Barbarian
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Rage, Barbarian Fast Movement, Uncanny Dodge, Damage Reduction
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.2) Bard
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Bardic Knowledge, Bardic Music
Abilities which do not transfer:
Arcane Spellcasting
(3.3) Cleric
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Turn Undead, summoning Domain Powers
Abilities which do not transfer:
Divine Spellcasting, Spontaneous Cast, bonus spell Domain Powers
(3.4) Druid
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Animal Companion, Nature Sense, Woodland Stride, Trackless Step, Resist
Nature's Lure, Wild Shape, Venom Immunity, Elemental Shape, Dragon Shape
(merged with the Shifter Dragon Shape)
Abilities which do not transfer:
Divine Spellcasting
(3.5) Fighter
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Weapon Specialization (if the Shape uses the Specialized weapon)
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.6) Monk
Unarmed Attack - Unarmed Shapes use the Monk Unarmed BAB chart (an additional
attack each 3 levels, versus 5 for other classes). Shapes that
use a weapon do not. Monk unarmed damage is not.
Wisdom AC bonus - Yes. With 30 WS (to attain Dragon Shape), that's
a whopping +10 to AC for a single level of Monk. Sweet!
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Cleave, Evasion, Monk Speed, Deflect Arrows @CHECK, Still Mind, Purity Of
Body, Knockdown, Improved Knockdown, Wholeness Of Body, Improved Evasion,
Diamond Body, Diamond Soul, Empty Body, Perfect Self
Abilities which apply to unarmed Shapes only:
Improved Unarmed Strike, Flurry Of Blows, Stunning Fist, Ki Strike, Quivering
Palm
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.7) Paladin
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Divine Grace, Divine Health, Lay On Hands, Aura Of Courage, Smite Evil, Turn
Undead, Remove Disease
Abilities which do not transfer:
Divine Spellcasting
(3.8) Ranger
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Ambidexterity/Two-Weapon Fighting/Improved Two Weapon Fighting (not that it
will do you any good, since none of your Shapes is a Two-Weapon fighter),
Trackless Step, Favored Enemy, Animal Companion (replaces your Druid Animal
Companion, however; you can't have two)
Abilities which do not transfer:
Divine Spellcasting
(3.9) Rogue
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Sneak Attack, Evasion, Uncanny Dodge, Crippling Strike, Opportunist, Skill
Mastery, Slippery Mind, Improved Evasion, Defensive Roll
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.10) Sorcerer
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Summon Familiar
Abilities which do not transfer:
Arcane Spellcasting, Metamagic Feats
(3.11) Wizard
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Summon Familiar
Abilities which do not transfer:
Arcane Spellcasting, Metamagic Feats
(3.12) Arcane Archer
The Druid/Shifter/Arcane Archer combination is not possible.
(3.13) Assassin
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Death Attack, Uncanny Dodge, Poison Resist, Assassin Bonus Spells
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.14) Blackguard
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Smite Good, Dark Blessing, Turn Undead, Create Undead, Sneak Attack (and it
does stack with Kobold Commando's Sneak Attack), Summon Fiend, Blackguard
Bonus Spells
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.15) Champion Of Torm
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Lay On Hands, Sacred Defense, Smite Evil, Divine Wrath
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.16) Dwarven Defender
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Defensive Stance, Defensive Awareness, Damage Reduction
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.17) Harper Scout
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Harper Knowledge, Favored Enemy, Deneir's Eye, Tymora's Smile, Lliira's
Heart, Harper Scout Bonus Spells, Craft Harper Item
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.18) Pale Master
The Druid/Shifter/Pale Master combination is not possible.
(3.19) Red Dragon Disciple
The Druid/Shifter/Red Dragon Disciple combination is not possible.
(3.20) Shadowdancer
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Hide In Plain Sight, Uncanny Dodge, Darkvision, Evasion, Shadow Daze, Summon
Shadow, Shadow Evade, Defensive Roll, Slippery Mind, Improved Evasion
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
(3.21) Weapon Master
Abilities which apply to all Shapes:
Ki Damage
Abilities which transfer only to Drider, and only if Weapon Of Choice is spear:
Weapon Of Choice, Increased [Critical] Multiplier, Superior Weapon Focus, Ki
Critical
Abilities which do not transfer:
(None)
Since there are so many Shapes that do not use weapons (including some of the
better melee fighters such as Dire Tiger and Death Slaad), it might be a good
idea to take Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Improved Critical and any
other Weapon XXX Feats that can be chosen for Unarmed Combat. For the same
reason, Monk makes a natural choice of tertiary class for the Druid/Shifter.
The Shapes which are classified as unarmed are Wyrmling (All), Harpy, Gargoyle,
Basilisk, Manticore, Dire Tiger, Medusa, Mindflayer, Vampire, Spectre, Death
Slaad Lord, Golem (All), and Dragon (All).
Shapes which wield a weapon are Minotaur, Drider, Drow Warrior, Lizardfolk
Whipmaster, Kobold Commando, Risen Lord, Azer Chieftain, and Rakshasa.
Wyrmling Shape (Red/Blue/Black/White/Green)
Your first Shifter shape.
Red is the best in melee and has the best breath weapon, unless you come
across an opponent with fire immunity or a vulnerability to one of the other
elements. Immunity from paralysis and True Seeing helps you last long enough
to choose a more appropriate Shape if available. Even after attaining
Greater Wild Shape IV, I still find myself spending most of my time as a Red
Wyrmling.
Common To All
HP: +15
Special: True Seeing
Immune: Paralysis
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor, Items
(5.1.1) Wyrmling, Red
ST:16 DX: CN:15 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 15 (+5 Natural)
To Hit: BAB+3
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 1d6+3/1d6+3/1d8+3 (20/x2)
Special: Breath Attack, unlimited use
(SL/3+1)d10 fire [Refl 1/2 DC=SL/2+15], 15 ft cone
DI 100% fire
DV 50% cold
(5.1.2) Wyrmling, Blue
ST:15 DX: CN:15 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 15 (+5 Natural)
To Hit: BAB+2
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 1d4+2/1d4+2/1d6+2 (20/x2)
Special: Breath Attack, unlimited use
(SL/3+1)d8 elec [Refl 1/2 DC=SL/2+15], 30 ft line
DI 100% elec
(5.1.3) Wyrmling, Black
ST:15 DX:17 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 18 (+5 Natural +3 DX)
To Hit: BAB+2
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 1d3+2/1d3+2/1d4+2 (20/x2)
Special: Breath Attack, unlimited use
(SL/2+1)d4 acid [Refl 1/2 DC=SL/2+15], 30 ft line
DI 100% acid
(5.1.4) Wyrmling, White
ST:15 DX:17 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 18 (+5 Natural +3 DX)
To Hit: BAB+2
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 1d3+2/1d3+2/1d4+2 (20/x2)
Special: Breath Attack, unlimited use
(SL/2+1)d4 cold [Refl 1/2 DC=DC=SL/2+15], 15 ft cone
DI 100% cold
DV 50% fire
(5.1.5) Wyrmling, Green
ST:15 DX: CN:16 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 15 (+5 Natural)
To Hit: BAB+2
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 1d4+2/1d4+2/1d6+2 (20/x2)
Special: Breath Attack, unlimited use
(SL/2+1)d6 corrosive [Refl 1/2 DC=DC=SL/2+15], 15 ft cone
DI 100% acid
(5.2) Greater Wildshape II [Shifter Level 3]
3/day (infinite at Shifter level 7)
(5.2.1) Harpy Shape
She's got slightly better damage potential than a Red Wyrmling, but her real
benefit is her Captivating Song against low-Will warriors, Wizards (but not
Sorcerers), Rogues, Shadowdancers and the like.
Damage Reduction is the major draw of this Shape, combined with the best CN
bonus and AC (tied with the Harpy). Useful for defensive slugfests against non-
magic-wielding hordes, you'll shrug off their pitiful little damage as you tear
through them at your leisure.
Gargoyles are consistently at the bottom of the damage potential lists (see
Section 7), so be sure to buff your ST for additional damage and To Hit bonuses.
Combining the best damage potential of the II's with a +1 weapon to get past
Damage Reduction, along with the best HP bonus and a hefty CN bonus for major
hit points, this is a natural early choice for wading into the middle of the
melee. Watch his pitifully low AC, though. If you have a naturally high DX, he
makes a most excellent tank for early encounters, and he can carry a ton of
loot.
While his bonus HP are on par with the Manticore, he doesn't get the Manticore's
CN bonus and his bite attack won't put fear into nearly anyone, he does have an
excellent ranged attack against low-Fort spellcasters, Rogues, Bards and the
like. Kinda hard to think straight when you're stoned, dude. He does have the
best Natural AC of the III's however, so if you have good DX he could be a
serious defensive tank, but then again none of your items merge so it could be a
wash.
If the spellcasters seem to be making their saves against the Basilisk's gaze,
you may find the Drider's Spell Resistance useful. He's also got a +2 weapon
for bypassing Damage Reduction and can cast Darkness at will for unseen
escapes.
ST:16 DX:16 CN:15 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 21 (+8 Natural +3 DX)
HP: +20
To Hit: BAB+5
Attacks: +2 Drider Spear 1d8+3 (20/x3) +2 piercing
OnHit: Poison [DC=16] 1d2 ST
Special: Darkness, (SL/10+1)/day, 6 rounds
SR 14
Freedom of Movement
Discipline +2
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.3.3) Manticore Shape
The best stat upgrades, plus major HP (tied with the Basilisk) and three attacks
for pretty good damage make this by far the best melee fighter of the III's.
Oh, yeah, don't forget the tail spikes -- it's one of the few distance attacks
you have.
One of the few Shapes that modifies your existing stat (CN) rather than setting
it to a fixed value (the other is the Mindflayer). Against spellcasters the
high Spell Resistance is invaluable, and the +3 Venomblade helps bypass Damage
Reduction and poisons the target for 1d2 Strength damage.
ST:18 DX:19 CN:(-2)IN: WS: CH:
AC: 22 (+8 Natural +4 DX)
HP: +30
To Hit: BAB+7
Attacks: +3 Drow Venomblade 1d8+4 (19-20/x2) +3 physical
OnHit: Poison [DC=16] 1d2 ST
Special: SR 26
Darkness, (SL/10+1)/day, 6 rounds
Save vs. Poison +2
Unarmed: No
Merge: Armor, Weapon, Items
(5.4.2) Lizardfolk Whipmaster Shape
Sure, 1d2 is pitiful damage for a character of your stature, but this scaly
beastie has some nifty benefits going for it, not least is Damage Reduction
to melee and acid. Throw in immunity to most slowing/entangling effects as
well as poison, and gain the Disarm Feat, and you've got a potentially lethal
warrior-stopper. He's also got the most temporary HP of the Humanoids.
ST:16 DX:20 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 24 (+9 Natural +5 DX)
HP: +35
To Hit: BAB+6
Attacks: +3 Shocking Whip 1d2+3 (20/x2) +1d6 electrical +3 slashing
OnHit: Stun [DC=22] 10% 4 rounds
Special: Disarm, Alertness, Ambidexterity, Weapon Prof Exotic
Freedom of Movement
DR 5/+1
DR 5/- acid
Listen +4, Discipline +10
Immune: Poison
Save Universal +2
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.4.3) Kobold Commando Shape
Ah, the slip of a sharp blade in the back of the unsuspecting. Is anything
sweeter? Then draw the shadows around you and slip away before that big, nasty
sword gets pointed your way. Lather, rinse, and repeat. With Weapon Finesse,
he's got the best Attack Bonus of any non-Epic Shape.
Wanna be a Rogue or Assassin? Now you can! The bad news? You'll have to spend
skill points in Search and Disable Trap to work effectively as a Rogue. Search
and Disable Trap both use IN for a modifier, so if you've pumped that up you're
better off.
ST: DX:22 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 26 (+10 Natural +6 DX)
HP: +10
To Hit: BAB+9
Attacks: +3 Kobold Commando Sword 1d6 (19-20/x2) +3 slashing
OnHit: Poison [DC=18] 1d2 ST
Special: Hide In Plain Sight, Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Use Poison,
Alertness
Darkvision
Sneak Attack +2d6
Freedom of Movement
Hide +10, Listen +5, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +7,
Set Trap +7, Spot +5, Tumble +10
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.5) Greater Wildshape IV [Shifter Level 10]
3/day (infinite at Shifter level 16)
(5.5.1) Dire Tiger Shape
Nothing hidden here. Awesome ST, major HP, and three strong attacks makes for
the best melee fighter of the non-Epic Shapes. Items don't merge, though.
She's got a poison bite and fairly good claw damage, but let's face it -- you're
going to use her to stop those spellcasters & Rogues with their low Fort saves.
Will they save or turn to stone? Only her hairdresser knows for sure.
One of the few Shapes that modifies your stats (IN & WS) instead of setting them
to a fixed value (the other is Drow Warrior). Inertial Barrier and Spell
Resistance make for a powerful defense, but his most valuable feature is the
psionic Mind Blast. The tanks in your party will love you for providing them
nice, docile opponents to beat up on. I had a Mind Blast back in college, but I
don't smoke that stuff any more.
Use the nifty +4 bonus from IN when using your Appraise, Craft, Disable Trap,
Lore, and Search skills.
ST: DX:19 CN: IN:(+8) WS:(+2) CH:
AC: 22 (+7 Natural +5 DX)
HP: +30
To Hit: BAB+2
Attacks: Tentacle/Tentacle 2d4/2d4 (20/x2) +2 slashing (+2 attack bonus)
Special: Mind Blast, 15 ft cone
[Will DC=19] Stun 1d4 rounds
(SL/3)d6 damage if already stunned
Inertial Barrier
DR ((SL/3+1)/2, min 10)/+(SL/3+1, max 20)
SL/3+1 rounds/level, SL/3+1 per day
Level 10: DR 10/+4, 4 rounds, 4/day
15: DR 10/+6, 6 rounds, 6/day
20: DR 10/+7, 7 rounds, 7/day
25: DR 10/+9, 9 rounds, 9/day
30: DR 11/+11, 11 rounds, 11/day
SR 24
Listen +6, Spot +6
Immune: Mind Spells
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor, Items
(5.6) Epic Greater Wildshape II [Shifter Level 13]
Replaces your lower level Greater Wildshape II Shapes with Epic versions.
If the DR Attacker bug (see Appendix G.3) gets fixed, the Epic Drider's
seemingly useless 5/+20 Damage Reduction makes him the best melee opponent
against Epic Damage Reduction (DR ?/+6 or better).
ST:19 DX:17 CN:18 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 25 (+8 Natural +3 DX +4 Natural)
HP: +60
BAB: +9
Attacks: +5 Drider Spear 1d8+4 (20/x3) +5 piercing
OnHit: Poison [DC=20] 1d2 ST
Special: Darkness, (SL/10+1)/day, 6 rounds
SR 18
Freedom Of Movement
Discipline +6, Hide +8, Move Silently +8
Cleave
DR 5/+20
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.7.3) Epic Manticore
If the DR Attacker bug (see Appendix G.3) gets fixed, the Epic Manticore's 5/+20
Damage Reduction comes in handy against Epic Damage Reduction (DR ?/+6 or
better) opponents, although the Epic Drider is still better.
ST:20 DX:19 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 30 (+12 Natural +4 DX +4 Deflection)
HP: +60
To Hit: BAB+5
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 2d4+5/2d4+5/1d8+5 (20/x2)
Special: Tail Spikes 1d3+2d8 (20/x2) piercing
SL/2 per day, ranged touch, attack bonus 9+SL/2
targeted as Isaac's Missile Storm
DR 5/+20
Power Attack
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor
(5.8) Epic Humanoid Shape [Shifter Level 17]
Replaces your lower level Humanoid Shapes with Epic versions.
ST:21 DX:20 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 27 (+12 Natural +5 DX)
HP: +75
To Hit: BAB+6
Attacks: +5 Epic Shocking Whip 1d2+5 (20/x2) +2d8 electrical +5 slashing
OnHit: Stun [DC=26] 10% 4 rounds
Special: Disarm, Alertness, Ambidexterity, Weapon Finesse,
Weapon Prof Exotic, Whirlwind Attack
Freedom of Movement
DR 15/+5
DR 15/- acid
Listen +8, Discipline +15
Immune: Poison
Save Universal +4
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.8.3) Epic Kobold Commando
ST: DX:25 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 29 (+13 Natural +6 DX)
HP: +70
To Hit: BAB+13
Attacks: +6 Kobold Commando Sword 1d6 (19-20/x2) +2d4 acid +6 slashing
Massive Criticals 2d6
OnHit: Poison [DC=24] 1d2 DX
Special: Hide In Plain Sight, Weapon Finesse, Dodge, Use Poison,
Improved Evasion
Darkvision
Sneak Attack +5d6
Freedom of Movement
Hide +10, Listen +5, Move Silently +10, Open Lock +7,
Set Trap +7, Spot +5, Tumble +10
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.9) Undead Shape [Epic Shifter, Chosen Feat]
Common To All
Special: Can be turned by Clerics & Paladins.
Immune: Critical Hits, Death Magic, Disease, Level/Ability Drain,
Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison, Sneak Attack
Dramatically greater damage from Holy traps.
Like true undead, you are healed by negative energy spells.
Unlike true undead, you are harmed by negative energy traps.
(5.9.1) Risen Lord Shape
Hefty Damage Reduction, plus 50% Immunity to slashing and piercing weapons,
makes for a melee monster. He'll need it, though, with his pitiful AC. Luckily
he'll Regenerate 2 HP for each hit with Vampiric Regeneration (up to +10 HP per
round for a Hasted Druid/Shifter/[Fighter-type] or even more using Whirlwind).
Add Spell Resistance and Whirlwind Attack, and you've got one nasty scythe-
wielding skeleton there, bub.
ST:21 DX: CN:19 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 23 (+13 Natural)
HP: +60
To Hit: BAB+10
Attacks: +5 Risen Lord Scythe 2d4+7 (20/x4) +5 slashing
Vampiric Regeneration +2
Special: Cleave, Whirlwind Attack
DR 15/+3
DI 50% slashing/piercing
SR 20
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.9.2) Vampire Shape
One of the two Shapes which give you Regeneration +5 (the other is Death Slaad
Lord), he also has a nasty bite for level drain and a Dominating Gaze that puts
your high Wisdom to good use. For Monk Shifters, his unarmed attacks count as
+5 weapons against Damage Reduction while still benefitting from the Monk
unarmed attack bonuses. Recommended: Dominate, then bite for level drain.
Still, the Risen Lord is consistently better on offense, and both Risen Lord and
Spectre are better on defense unless you're up against cold or electricity.
ST:18 DX:20 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 28 (+13 Natural +5 DX)
HP: +30
To Hit: BAB+9
Attacks: Claw/Claw 2d4+4/2d4+4 (20/x2) +5 slashing/piercing (+5 attack bonus)
Massive Criticals 1d6
Bite 1d8+4 (20/x2) +5 slashing/piercing (+5 attack bonus)
Massive Criticals 1d10
OnHit: Level Drain 2
Special: Dominating Gaze [Will DC=15+SL/2+WSmod]
Dominate Person, (SL/5+1)/day
DR 15/+1
DR 20/- cold
DR 20/- elec
Regeneration +5
Opponents who use garlic have +2 AB against you
SR 20
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor, Items
(5.9.3) Spectre Shape
A natural choice for taking out that big, dumb tank in his +30 Plate Mail -
sneak up on him invisibly and drain his Strength until he's as helpless as a
little kitten. Awww, how cute...Squish! Watch out, though, if the big, dumb
tank is actually a big, dumb Cleric tank.
ST:16 DX:22 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 31 (+15 Natural +6 DX)
HP: +40
To Hit: BAB+3
Attacks: Claw/Claw 1d8+3/1d8+3 (20/x2)
Special: Shadow Attack
Touch attack, ignores armor, once/round
1d6 ST [None]
Improved Invisibility, 5 rounds, unlimited use
DR 15/+4
DR 5/- cold
DR 5/- elec
DV 25% divine
Immune: Knockdown
Hide +15, Move Silently +15
Improved Evasion
Turn Resist +2
Darkvision
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor
He's got Burning Hands and a ranged touch Fire Stream, but neither does much
damage. His main benefit is his +5 Flaming Waraxe, and unlike the Risen Lord,
he can't be turned by Clerics. Against high Damage Reduction (i.e., DR 20/+5),
he's got the best melee potential of all Shapes.
ST:20 DX: CN:21 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 23 (+13 Natural)
HP: +50
To Hit: BAB+10
Attacks: +5 Azer Flaming Waraxe 1d10+5 (20/x3) +2d4 fire +5 slashing
Special: DI 100% fire
DV 50% cold
SR 12
Power Attack, Knockdown
Burning Hands 5d4 fire damage [Refl 1/2]
unlimited use, 30 ft cone
Fire Stream
(SL/3)d4 +WSmod fire damage [Refl DC=15+SL/2]
ranged touch attack, unlimited use, single target
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.10.2) Rakshasa Shape
Spell Immunity up to 8th level plus Dispel Magic at will makes this strange
Shape a natural for mage killing. Remember also that Ice Storm, which you can
cast at will, does not allow a saving throw (although Spell Resistance still
applies unfortunately).
FAQ reader Mars Healey notes that since the Rakshasa can cast Ice Storm at will,
it can also cast the Maximized and Empowered versions if you have the Druid
spell memorized. Put the spell(s) in your quickbar since your Druid
spellcasting menu is not available while Shifted.
ST:17 DX:20 CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 27 (+12 Natural +5 DX)
HP: +30
To Hit: BAB+8
Attacks: +5 Rakshasa Staff 1d6+3 (20/x2) +1d10 fire +5 bludgeoning
Special: Save Universal +2
True Seeing
DR 15/+5
Spell Immunity: 0th through 8th level spells
Knockdown, Dodge
Dispel Magic, unlimited use
Ice Storm, unlimited use
Mestil's Acid Breath, unlimited use
Discipline +5, Hide +10, Move Silently +11, Spellcraft +15,
Spot +10
Blessed weapons will kill you, no saving throw
Unarmed: No
Merge: Weapon, Armor, Items
(5.10.3) Death Slaad Lord Shape
Three strong attacks (albeit at a much lower BAB rating than the Azer
Chieftain's axe), plus Regeneration of 5 HP per round and Damage Reduction for
almost everything. Although he has the lowest damage potential of the
Outsiders, he's got the best elemental defense, and the only resistance to sonic
damage of any Shape. Think Tasmanian Devil on speed.
ST:22 DX:19 CN:18 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 30 (+16 Natural +4 DX)
HP: +70
To Hit: BAB+6
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 3d6+6/3d6+6/2d10+6 (20/x2)
Special: Cleave
DR 10/+5
DR 10/- acid
DR 10/- cold
DR 10/- elec
DR 10/- fire
DR 10/- sonic
Immune: Fear
Regeneration +5
Chaos Spittle (SL/3)d6 [None]
unlimited use, ranged touch attack, single target
!!! BUG in game engine, actually uses d4 instead of d6 !!!
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor
Common To All
Immunity: Critical Hits, Death Magic, Disease, Level/Ability Drain,
Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison, Sneak Attack.
(5.11.1) Stone Golem Shape
Damage Immunity to slashing & piercing is what distinguishes this Golem from the
others, plus the ability to hurl boulders (seemingly created out of thin air).
When it gets to close quarter fighting, however, he's not quite as strong as the
Iron Golem, and he's vulnerable to acid.
ST:31 DX: CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 23 (+13 Natural)
HP: +90
To Hit: BAB+10
Attacks: Slam 2d10+10 (20/x2)
Special: DR 15/+3
DI 25% slashing
DI 50% piercing
DV 50% acid
SR 22
Hurl Rocks (SL/5)d6 +10 bludgeoning (+1 for purposes of DR)
Huge radius around chosen target
[Reflex DC=15+SL/2]
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor
(5.11.2) Demonflesh Golem Shape
The best Golem for wading into hordes of foes due to his huge Damage Reduction
(equivalent to an always-on Premonition spell). Hefty resistance or immunity to
elemental damage rounds out the best defense of the Construct Shapes.
ST:31 DX: CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 23 (+13 Natural)
HP: +90
BAB: +10
Attacks: Slam/Slam/Claw 2d6+10/2d6+10/2d6+10 (20/x2)
Special: DR 30/+3
DR 20/- acid
DR 20/- cold
DR 20/- fire
DI 100% elec
SR 22
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor
(5.11.3) Iron Golem Shape
Poison Breath and slightly better Spell Resistance are the distinguishing
characteristics of this Golem. His Damage Reduction works against +4 weapons,
the best of the Constructs, and his damage potential is the best of the
Constructs, especially against low or medium Damage Reduction. Vulnerable to
fire.
ST:33 DX: CN: IN: WS: CH:
AC: 23 (+13 Natural)
HP: +90
BAB: +11
Attacks: Slam 2d10+11 (20/x2)
Special: DR 20/+4
DV 50% fire
DI 90% elec
SR 26
Poison Breath [Fort DC=17] 2d2 CN/death, 10 ft cone
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor, Items
Well, this is it. The pinnacle of your Shifter achievements. Dragon Strength
(they all share the same stats) is 50% higher than the nearest competitor (Iron
Golem), Dexterity 40% higher than Epic Kobold Commando, and Constitution 50%
higher than Azer Chieftain, making for your best melee Shape yet. Add an
unlimited use Breath Attack for up to 24d10 damage and standard Dragon
immunities for a very strong Shape.
Some experienced players, however, question whether this Shape is worth the
expense of attaining it, especially since it does not include the Fear aura that
real dragons have. Damage Reduction (a pitiful 5/+1 prior to v1.64) is now a
healthy 40/+6, making this Shape much more melee friendly. Statistics show
(see Section 7)
that the Dragon is consistently the strongest melee presence of all Shapes by a
large
margin. Still not making a dent? Flame 'em, Sparky!
Update: since version 1.62 the Dragon Shapes no longer share the same Adult Red
Dragon skin. Each now has a Adult Dragon skin appropriate to its color.
Update: since version 1.64 the Dragon claws are upgraded to +6 attack bonus,
2d8 slashing/piercing damage, and Damage Resistance 40/+6. Sweet! Also, it
appears that with this release, a bug was fixed which was incorrectly
calculating
breath damage on the last Shift of the day.
Common To All
ST:48 DX:36 CN:32 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 43 (+20 Natural +13 DX)
HP: +100
BAB: +19
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 2d6+25/2d6+25/2d8+19 (20/x2) (+6 Bonus on claws)
Special: True Seeing
DR 40/+6
SR 20
Immune: Paralysis, Sneak Attack
Breath Attack [Refl DC=15+(SL+DL)/2]
damage dice = 2 for each 3 levels over 4:
1 <= SL+DL <= 6 : 1
7 <= SL+DL <= 9 : 2
10 <= SL+DL <= 12 : 4
13 <= SL+DL <= 15 : 6
16 <= SL+DL <= 18 : 8
19 <= SL+DL <= 21 : 10
22 <= SL+DL <= 24 : 12
...
37 <= SL+DL <= 39 : 22
SL+DL = 40 : 24
(pure Druids have a -4 penalty -- i.e., max is 20!)
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor
(5.12.1) Ancient Red Dragon Shape
This should be your standard Dragon Shape, unless your opponent is immune to
fire.
Special: Breath Attack (see above)d10 fire, 50 ft cone, unlimited use
DI 100% fire
DV 50% cold
(5.12.2) Ancient Blue Dragon Shape
Since the only difference between this and the Red is the Breath Attack type,
choose this only when you meet an opponent immune to fire or vulnerable to
electricity.
Special: Breath Attack electrical (see above)d8, 100 ft line, unlimited use
DI 100% elec
(5.12.3) Ancient Green Dragon Shape
Since the only difference between this and the Red is the Breath Attack type,
choose this only when you meet an opponent immune to fire or vulnerable to acid
and poison.
Special: Breath Attack acid (see above)d6 + Poison [None]
50 ft cone, unlimited use
DI 100% acid
(*) Worthless
(**) Okay
(***) Good
(****) Very Good
(*****) Must Have
[nothing] No opinion, base your decision on role playing
(6.2) Non-Epic Feats
Alertness
+2 Bonus to all Listen and Spot checks.
(*****) Required to become a Shifter. 'Nuff said.
Ambidexterity
Prerequisite: DX 15+
Required for: Improved Two Weapon Fighting
Reduces penalty of off-hand weapon by +4. Rangers get it for free at Level
1.
(*) None of your Shapes is a two-weapon fighter. Do the math.
Arcane Defense
Prerequisite: Spell Focus in the chosen school
+2 bonus to saving throws versus the chosen school of magic.
Armor Proficiency Heavy
Prerequisite: Armor Proficiency Medium
Allows use of Heavy Armor.
Note: Blackguards, Clerics, Dwarven Defenders, Fighters, and Paladins receive
this feat for free.
(****) Access to more types of magical armor, which is merged into every one
of your Shapes without any of the resultant skill penalties. Sweet!
Armor Proficiency Light
Required for: Armor Proficiency Medium
Allows use of Light Armor.
Note: Arcane Archers, Assassins, Barbarians, Bards, Blackguards, Champions Of
Torm, Clerics, Druids, Dwarven Defenders, Fighters, Harper Scouts, Paladins,
Rangers, Rogues, and Shadowdancers receive this feat for free.
(*) You already have it as a Druid.
Armor Proficiency Medium
Prerequisite: Armor Proficiency Light
Required for: Armor Proficiency Medium
Allows use of Medium Armor.
Note: Arcane Archers, Barbarians, Bards, Blackguards, Champions Of Torm,
Clerics, Druids, Dwarven Defenders, Fighters, Paladins and Rangers receive
this feat for free.
(*) You already have it as a Druid.
Artist [1st Level Only]
Prerequisite: Perform skill
Use: Selected
+2 Perform, +2 Spot.
Blind Fighting
Removes Concealment and Attack penalties for fighting invisible creatures or
while blinded.
Blooded [1st Level Only]
+2 initiative, +2 Spot.
Brew Potion
Prerequisite: Spellcaster Level 3+
Create potions from known spells for a small XP and gold cost. Requires
empty potion bottles.
(*) For some reason known only to the Gods, you can't drink Brewed potions
while Shifted. You can drink regular potions, however. Let's hope this bug
gets fixed.
Bullheaded [1st Level Only]
+2 versus Taunt, +1 Will saving throws.
Called Shot
Prerequisite: BAB +1
Use: Selected
Grants the ability to make a potentially disabling attack against an
opponent's arms or legs at a -4 penalty.
Circle Kick
Prerequisite: DX 15+, Improved Unarmed Strike, BAB +3
One extra attack on hitting with an unarmed strike.
(***) About 2/3 of your Shapes are unarmed. Assuming you hit at least once,
that's one extra attack per round. You'll need to pump DX to get it, though.
Cleave
Prerequisite: ST 13+, Power Attack
Gain one immediate additional melee attack after killing a creature. Can only
gain one additional attack per round.
(*****) Indispensible as a general rule for all melee characters. Note that
the Azer Chieftain, Epic Drider, Epic Drow Warrior, and Risen Lord already
have it.
Combat Casting
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 1st level spells
Removes the -4 penalty to Concentration when within 3 meters of an enemy.
(**) Your strength is in buffing spells and Shape abilities, but sometimes
it's useful to cast a few offensive spells at the beginning of combat.
Courteous Magocracy [1st Level Only]
+2 Lore, +2 Spellcraft.
Craft Wand
Prerequisite: Spellcaster Level 5+
Create wand from known spell at a small XP and gold cost. Requires bone wand
materials.
(*) Can't use wands while Shifted.
Curse Song
Prerequisite: Bardic Music
Character receives a Celine Dion CD and a boombox.
Deflect Arrows [Unarmed]
Prerequisite: DX 13+, Improved Unarmed Strike
Successful Reflex saving throw [DC=20] deflects one ranged attack per round.
Note: Monks receive this feat for free at level 2.
Dirty Fighting
Prerequisite: BAB +2
Use: Combat Mode (does not stack with other selected combat modes)
Sacrifice all other attacks for one with 1d4 bonus damage.
Disarm
Prerequisite: IN 13+
Required for: Improved Disarm
Use: Selected
Attempting to disarm incurs a -6 Attack penalty, and the combatant with the
larger weapon gains a +4 bonus per size category of difference. A successful
hit deals normal damage, and if the opponent fails a discipline check, the
weapon flies from the opponent's hands. Disarm provokes an Attack of
Opportunity.
(**) Lizardfolk Whipmaster gets it for free.
Divine Might
Prerequisite: CH 13+, ST 13+, Turn Undead, Power Attack
Use: Selected
Up to 3 times per day add CH modifier to damage for number of rounds equal to
CH modifier.
Divine Shield
Prerequisite: CH 13+, ST 13+, Turn Undead, Power Attack
Use: Selected
Up to 3 times per day add CH modifier to AC for number of rounds equal to CH
modifier.
Dodge
Prerequisite: DX 13+
Required for: Mobility
+1 Dodge Bonus to AC.
Empower Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 2nd level spells
Spell does 150% rated damage and range. Uses a spell slot two levels higher.
Expertise
Prerequisite: IN 13+
Required for: Improved Expertise
Use: Combat Mode
+5 AC, -5 Attack.
(****) There are reports from seasoned adventurers that using Expertise mode
while using Gaze/Breath/Dominate/MindBlast/etc. is pretty awesome.
Extend Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 1st level spells
Doubles the duration of a spell. Uses a spell slot one level higher.
(***) Since you can't cast buff spells while Shifted, extended is a godsend.
Extra Music
Prerequisite: Bardic Music
Bard Song four extra times per day.
Extra Smiting
Prerequisite: Smite Evil or Smite Good
Increases Smite to 3 times per day.
Extra Stunning Attacks
Prerequisite: Stunning Fist, BAB +2
Three extra stunning attacks per day.
(***) For Monk Shifters, note that your stunning attacks have no penalties to
hit, and they use your WS modifier.
Extra Turning [Special]
Prerequisite: Exclusive to Cleric, Paladin or Blackguard.
Can attempt to turn undead an additional 6 times per day.
Great Cleave
Prerequisites: ST 13+, Power Attack, Cleave, BAB +4.
Benefit: This feat works like Cleave, except that there is no limit to the
number of times you can use it per round.
(**) I find it not as useful as one would think, since most things that can
be killed in a single stroke are not much of a threat to you anyway. Weapon
Masters with their awesome critical hit power, however, could conceivably
make good use of this against hordes of moderate level opponents.
Great Fortitude
+2 bonus to Fortitude saves.
Greater Spell Focus
Prerequisite: Spell Focus in the chosen school
DC bonus for spells cast improves to +4.
(*) Your strengths are not direct damage spells, but finding the right Shape
to exploit vulnerabilities. You're not going to win an offensive spell
fight.
Greater Spell Penetration
Prerequisite: Spell Penetration
DC bonus to overcome spell resistance improves to +4.
(**) Your strength is in buffing spells and Shape abilities, but sometimes
it's useful to cast a few offensive spells at the beginning of combat.
Improved Critical
Prerequisite: Weapon Proficiency, BAB +8
Doubles the chances of a critical hit with selected weapon.
(****) For Monk Shifters, Improved Critical Unarmed is a major bonus.
(*) For straight Druid Shifters, your poor selection of weapons doesn't allow
you to take this for any of the weapons your Shapes use.
Improved Disarm
Prerequisite: IN 13+, Disarm
Use: Selected
Disarm does not provoke an Attack of Opportunity and penalty is cut to -4.
(***) If you spend a lot of time whipping weapons out of your opponents'
hands, otherwise not useful.
Improved Expertise
Prerequisite: IN 13+, Expertise
Use: Combat Mode
+10 to AC, -10 to Attack.
(****) There are reports from seasoned adventurers that using Expertise mode
while using Gaze/Breath/Dominate/MindBlast/etc. is pretty awesome.
Improved Initiative
+4 initiative.
Improved Knockdown
Prerequisite: BAB +7, Knockdown
Use: Selected
Character is counted as one size larger than they really are for Knockdown.
Note: Monks receive this feat for free at 6th level.
(****) Very useful, especially against spellcasters or if you have some sort
of Sneak Attack. Huge creatures such as Dragon Shape have a special
advantage here as well.
Improved Parry
Prerequisite: IN 13+.
Gain a +4 bonus to the Parry Skill.
Improved Power Attack
Prerequisite: ST 13+, Power Attack
Use: Selected
-10 penalty to hit and +10 damage bonus to any damage given.
Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Prerequisite: Two-Weapon Fighting, Ambidexterity, BAB +9
Gain additional off-hand weapon attack at -5 attack penalty.
Note: Rangers receive this feat for free at level 9.
(*) None of your Shapes is a two-weapon fighter. Do the math.
Improved Unarmed Strike.
Required for: Stunning Fist, Deflect Arrows
No Attack of Opportunity when fighting unarmed against armed opponents.
Note: Monks receive this feat for free at level 1.
(*) Shifted unarmed forms don't need it.
Iron Will
+2 Bonus to all Will saving throws.
Knockdown
Required for: Improved Knockdown
Use: Selected
A successful attack at -4 penalty results in your attack roll being compared
with opponents discipline check, if successful, opponent is knocked down to
the prone position. The opponent gets a +4 bonus for every size category he
is larger than the attacker or a -4 penalty for every size he is smaller.
Attackers receive a +4 attack bonus against prone opponents in melee, but a
-4 attack penalty with a ranged weapon.
Note: Monks receive this feat for free at level 6.
(****) Very useful, especially against spellcasters or if you have some sort
of Sneak Attack. Huge creatures such as Dragon Shape have a special
advantage here as well.
Note that the Azer Chieftain and Rakshasa get it for free.
Lightning Reflexes
+2 Bonus to all Reflex saving throws.
Lingering Song
Prerequisite: Bardic Music
Bard Song effects last an extra 5 rounds.
Luck Of Heroes [1st Level Only]
+1 to all saving throws.
Maximize Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 3rd level spells
Spell does maximum damage and affects maximum number of targets (as
applicable). Uses a spell slot three levels higher.
(**) Might be useful for lobbing a few damage spells before Shifting, but
your main strength is your Shapes.
Mobility
Prerequisite: DX 13+, Dodge
+4 Dodge bonus to AC against Attacks of Opportunity.
Point Blank Shot
Required for: Rapid Shot
Eliminates the -4 attack penalty when targeting opponents engaged in melee
and gives +1 to attack and damage rolls within 15 feet.
Power Attack
Prerequisite: ST 13+
Required for: Cleave, Improved Power Attack
Use: Selected
Every attack made is at a -5 to the attack roll and +5 to damage.
(**) Useful for bashing chests and for low AC opponents. Shapes which
already have it: Azer Chieftain, Epic Manticore, Iron Golem.
Quicken Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 4th level spells
Cast a spell instantaneously. Uses a spell slot four levels higher.
Rapid Reload
Prerequisite: BAB +2
You can fire a crossbow as quickly as you would a normal bow.
Rapid Shot
Prerequisite: DX 13+, Point Blank Shot
Use: Selected
One extra ranged attack per round but all attacks are at -2.
Resist Disease
+4 Fortitude vs. disease
Resist Poison
+4 Fortitude vs. poison
(*) If you continue to Druid 9, you'll be immune to all poison.
Scribe Scroll
Prerequisite: Spellcaster Level 1+
Create scrolls from known spells for a small XP and gold cost. Requires
blank scroll parchment material.
(*) Can't read scrolls while Shifted.
Shield Proficiency
Allows use of any shield.
Note: Arcane Archers, Barbarians, Bards, Blackguards, Champions Of Torm,
Clerics, Druids, Dwarven Defenders, Fighters, Paladins and Rangers receive
this feat for free.
(*) You already have it as a Druid.
Silent Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 1st level spells
Allows the spell to be cast without a verbal component. Uses a spell slot
one level higher.
Silver Palm [1st Level Only]
+2 Appraise, +2 Persuade
Skill Focus
Prerequisite: Able to use desired skill
+3 Bonus on all skill checks with selected skill. May be taken multiple
times for different skills, but effects do not stack.
Snake Blood [1st Level Only]
+2 Fortitude vs. Poison, +1 Reflex
Spell Focus
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 1st level spells
+2 Bonus to DC for all saving throws from a particular school of magic. May
be taken multiple times for different schools.
(*) Your strengths are not direct damage spells, but finding the right Shape
to exploit vulnerabilities. You're not going to win an offensive spell
fight.
Spell Penetration
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 1st level spells
+2 Bonus to caster level checks to beat spell resistance.
(*) You're not going to win a spell penetration contest. Your strength is in
buffing spells and Shape abilities -- Shift into a basilisk and stone 'em!
Spring Attack
Prerequisites: DX 13+, Dodge, Mobility, BAB +4
Character does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity when moving in combat.
Stealthy
+2 Hide, +2 Move Silently
Still Spell [Metamagic]
Prerequisite: Ability to cast 1st level spells
Allows the spell to be cast without a somatic component. Uses a spell slot
one level higher.
Strong Soul [1st Level Only]
+1 Fortitude, +1 Will, +1 vs. Death Magic
Stunning Fist
Prerequisite: DX 13+, WS 13+, Improved Unarmed Strike, BAB +8
Use: Selected
-4 Attack and -4 Damage penalty. Stuns opponents [Fort DC=15 + 1/2 CL +
WSmod] for 3 rounds. Can be used 1/day for every 4 levels.
Note: Monks receive this feat for free at level 1. Monks suffer no
attack/damage penalty when using this skill and may use it once per day per
level. Any creatures that are immune to critical hits are immune to this
skill.
(*) This can be used by all of your unarmed Shapes, but if you want it it
might be better just to take level(s) in Monk.
Thug [1st Level Only]
+2 initiative, +2 Persuade.
Toughness
+1 Hit Point per level (gained retroactively).
Two-Weapon Fighting
Required for: Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Penalties for fighting with two weapons are reduced by 2 for each hand.
Note: Rangers receive this feat for free at level 1.
(*) None of your Shapes is a two-weapon fighter. Do the math.
Weapon Finesse
Prerequisite: BAB +1
Use DX modifier for attack rolls instead of ST.
Note: dagger, handaxe, kama, kukri, light hammer, mace, rapier, short sword,
sickle, unarmed strike and whip.
(****) This will give a To Hit bonus to the following forms: Black Wyrmling
(+1), White Wyrmling (+1), Gargoyle (up to +3, depending on Strength),
Lizardfold Whipmaster (+2), Mindflayer (up to +4, depending on Strength),
Vampire (+1), Spectre (+3). If you pump your Dexterity to 18 or so, it will
also help Red Wyrmling (+1), Blue Wyrmling (+2), Green Wyrmling (+2),
Basilisk (+1). The Kobold Commando (both base and Epic) and the Epic
Lizardfolk Whipmaster already get this for free. And yes, it does help with
unarmed Shape claws and bites.
Weapon Focus
Prerequisite: Weapon Proficiency, BAB +1
Required for: Weapon Specialization (Fighters only)
+1 Bonus to Attack rolls with selected weapon.
(****) Weapon Focus Unarmed Strike will enhance the melee abilities of almost
2/3 of your Shapes.
Weapon Proficiency Druid
Allows use of club, dagger, dart, sickle, scimitar, spear, sling, and
quarterstaff. Does NOT allow any other Weapon Proficiency Feats to be
selected unless allowed by another class (i.e., Druids can only be proficient
in these weapons, but Fighter/Druids get Simple and Martial, and can choose
Exotic as well).
(*) You already have it.
Weapon Proficiency Exotic
Allows use of dire mace, double axe, dwarven waraxe, kama, katana, kukri,
scythe, shuriken, two-bladed sword, and whip.
(***) More possibilities for weapons to be merged into your Shifted form.
You'll need a tertiary class to even be given the choice to take it, since
neither Druids nor Shifters have access to it normally.
Weapon Proficiency Martial
Allows use of bastard sword, battleaxe, greataxe, greatsword, halberd,
handaxe, heavy flail, light flail, light hammer, longbow, rapier, scimitar,
short sword, shortbow, throwing axe, and warhammer.
Note: Arcane Archers, Barbarians, Blackguards, Champions Of Torm, Dwarven
Defenders, Fighters, Paladins, and Rangers are automatically proficient with
all martial weapons.
(***) More possibilities for weapons to be merged into your Shifted form.
You'll need a tertiary class to even be given the choice to take it, since
neither Druids nor Shifters have access to it normally.
Weapon Proficiency Simple
Allows use of club, dagger, mace, sickle, spear, morningstar, quarterstaff,
light crossbow, dart, sling, and heavy crossbow.
Note: Arcane Archers, Assassins, Barbarians, Bards, Blackguards, Champions Of
Torm, Clerics, Dwarven Defenders, Fighters, Harper Scouts, Shadowdancers,
Paladins, Rangers, and Rogues are automatically proficient with all simple
weapons.
(***) More possibilities for weapons to be merged into your Shifted form.
You'll need a tertiary class to even be given the choice to take it, since
neither Druids nor Shifters have access to it normally.
Weapon Specialization
Prerequisite: Fighter with Weapon Focus in desired weapon, BAB +4
+2 Bonus to damage rolls with selected weapon.
(****) For Fighter Shifters, Weapon Specialization will help immensely.
Unarmed Strike (all unarmed Shapes), battleaxe (Minotaur), spear (Drider),
longsword (Drow), Whip (Whipmaster), shortsword (Commando), scythe (Risen
Lord), dwarven waraxe (Azer). For some reason the Rakshasa staff is not
considered a quarterstaff, so Weapon Specialization won't work with it at
all.
Whirlwind Attack
Prerequisite: DX 13+, IN 13+, Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, BAB
+4.
Use: Selected
When you use the full attack action, you can give up your regular attacks and
instead make one melee attack at your full base attack bonus against each
opponent within 5 feet.
When you use the Whirlwind Attack feat, you also forfeit any bonus or extra
attacks granted by other feats, spells, or abilities.
(***) Requires lots of prerequisites, but most of them are pretty useful
anyway. Surrounded by a mob of nasties? This'll ruin their day.
Zen Archery
Prerequisite: WS 13+, BAB +3
Use WS modifier instead of DX for ranged attacks.
(****) If you go for the higher level Epic Shapes (Outsider, Construct,
Dragon) you're going to need massive Wisdom. Why not put it to use in ranged
attacks? Since many of your Shapes have a DX component, there's not much
need to boost Dexterity. The downside is that, as a Shifter, you may be
spending most of your time in forms that don't have a ranged attack. This
will help with the Manticore's Tail Spike attack, however, which already
benefits from ignoring any armor worn by the target(s). The Azer Chieftain's
Fire Stream and Death Slaad Lord's Chaos Spittle are also ranged touch
attacks which will benefit from this Feat.
(6.3) Epic Feats
Common To All:
Available To: Epic Character (21+ levels total)
(6.3.1) Bonus Feats available to an Epic Shifter:
Automatic Quicken Spell
Prerequisite: Quicken Spell, Spellcraft 30+, 9th level spells
May use Quickened 0th-3rd, then 4th-6th, then 7th-9th (if chosen three times)
spells at the same level as the base spell.
(**) Can't cast spells in Shifted form. Could be useful for a quick damage
or buff spell before Shifting, however.
Automatic Silent Spell
Prerequisite: Silent Spell, Spellcraft 24+, 9th level spells
May use Silent 0th-3rd, then 4th-6th, then 7th-9th (if chosen three times)
spells at the same level as the base spell.
(*) Can't cast spells in Shifted form.
Automatic Still Spell
Prerequisite: Still Spell, Spellcraft 24+, 9th level spells
May use Stilled 0th-3rd, then 4th-6th, then 7th-9th (if chosen three times)
spells at the same level as the base spell.
(*) Can't cast spells in Shifted form.
Construct Shape (Shifter 11+)
Available To: Epic Shifter, WS 27+
Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem Shapes.
(*****) Very nice Shapes for melee, with nifty immunities to sneak attacks,
level drain, and such.
Dragon Shape (Druid 18+, Shifter 11+)
Prerequisite: Wildshape 6/day or Greater Wildshape IV, WS 30+
Ancient Red, Blue, or Green Dragon Shape.
(****) Seasoned adventurers question whether it's worth the effort, but
there's no doubt that dragon breath and dragon claws are fearsome.
Energy Resistance
DR 10/- for a chosen type of energy (up to 100/- if chosen ten times).
(**) Wyrmling Shapes have 100% immunity to 4 of the 5 elements (fire, cold,
electricity, acid). Azer Chieftain also has 100% fire immunity. Demonflesh
and Iron Golem have high immunity to electricity. Could be
useful for sonic resistance, however.
Epic Spell Focus
Prerequisite: Spell Focus, Greater Spell Focus
+6 to DC for spells cast from the chosen school.
(*) Your strengths are not direct damage spells, but finding the right Shape
to exploit vulnerabilities. You're not going to win an offensive spell
fight.
Epic Spell Penetration
Prerequisite: Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration
+6 against spell resistance.
(*) Your strengths are not direct damage spells, but finding the right Shape
to exploit vulnerabilities. You're not going to win a Spell Penetration
fight.
Great Wisdom
+1 WS (up to +10 if taken ten times).
(*****) You'll need this several times to achieve Outsider, Construct, and
Dragon Shapes.
Improved Combat Casting
Prerequisite: Combat Casting, Concentration 25+
Do not incur Attacks of Opportunity when casting while threatened.
(*) You should be Shifting if threatened, not casting.
Outsider Shape (Shifter 11+)
Available To: Epic Shifter, WS 25+
Azer Chieftain, Rakshasa, and Death Slaad Shapes.
(*****) Azer Chieftain and Death Slaad are great in melee, and the Rakshasa's
spell immunity makes a great mage-killer. Be warned, though, that Clerics
with the Planar Turning Feat can turn you like undead.
Undead Shape (Shifter 11+)
Available To: Epic Shifter
Risen Lord, Vampire, and Spectre Shapes.
(*****) Very nice Shapes available as soon as you hit Epic Shifter status.
Damage Reduction/Damage Immunity/Whirlwind Attack for the Risen Lord; Level
Drain bite for the Vampire; Strength Drain touch attack and improved
invisibility for the Spectre. Be careful if you come up against Clerics,
though - you can be turned just like the undead form you take, and unlike
real undead, you're not healed by negative energy traps.
(6.3.2) Other Bonus Feats available to other Epic classes:
Armor Skin
Available To: Epic Barbarian, Cleric, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Blackguard,
Champion Of Torm, Dwarven Defender, Red Dragon Disciple, or Weapon Master
+2 bonus to AC.
(****) Good general purpose Feat which will help any melee Shape.
Bane Of Enemies (Ranger 20+, or Ranger/Harper Scout 16+/1+)
Available To: Epic Ranger
Prerequisite: 5+ favored enemies
Any weapon used against favored enemies is +2 to hit and +2d6 damage. Harper
Scouts also choose a favored enemy, but only one, so this is effectively
limited to Rangers.
Blinding Speed
Available To: Epic Ranger, Rogue, Shadowdancer, or Weapon Master
Prerequisite: DX 25+
Haste for short periods.
(*) No question it's a great Feat, but boosting your Dexterity high enough to
get it wastes a lot of upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape you take.
That said, it could be very helpful if you spend a lot of time in the non-DX-
modified Shapes: Red Wyrmling, Blue Wyrmling, Green Wyrmling, Epic Harpy,
Minotaur, Epic Minotaur, Basilisk, Risen Lord, Azer Chieftain, Stone Golem,
Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem.
Damage Reduction
Available To: Epic Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Champion Of Torm, Dwarven
Defender, Red Dragon Disciple, or Weapon Master
Prerequisite: CN 21+
DR 3/- (up to 9/- if chosen three times).
(**) No question it's a great Feat, but boosting your Constitution high
enough to get it wastes a lot of upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape
you take. That said, it could be very helpful if you spend a lot of time in
the non-CN-modified Shapes: Black Wyrmling, White Wrymling, Harpy, Epic
Gargoyle, Basilisk, Epic Basilisk, Epic Manticore, Lizardfolk Whipmaster,
Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster, Kobold Commando, Epic Kobold Commando, Medusa,
Mindflayer, Vampire, Spectre, Rakshasa, Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem, and
Iron Golem.
FAQ reader Stephen Hawking suggests this is very valuable for the Risen Lord.
Devastating Critical
Available To: Epic Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Arcane Archer, Blackguard,
Champion Of Torm, Dwarven Disciple, or Weapon Master
Prerequisite: Cleave, Greater Cleave, Improved Critical, Overwhelming
Critical, Weapon Focus, Power Attack, ST 25+
Critical hits force a Fort save to avoid instant death.
(*) No question it's a great Feat, but boosting your Strength high enough to
get it wastes a lot of upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape you take.
That said, it could be very helpful if you spend a lot of time in the tiny
number of non-ST-modified Shapes: Gargoyle, Kobold Commando, Epic Kobold
Commando, Mindflayer. Only the Dire Tiger, Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem,
Iron Golem, and Dragons will not nerf your awesome Strength, but they will
waste your precious, hard-fought ST boosts.
Epic Dodge
Available To: Epic Rogue or Shadowdancer
Prerequisite: Dodge, Improved Evasion, Defensive Roll, Tumble 30+, DX 25+
Ignore all damage from the first attack each round.
(**) No question it's a great Feat, but boosting your Dexterity high enough
to get it wastes a lot of upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape you
take. That said, it could be very helpful if you spend a lot of time in the
non-DX-modified Shapes: Red Wyrmling, Blue Wyrmling, Green Wyrmling, Epic
Harpy, Minotaur, Epic Minotaur, Basilisk, Risen Lord, Azer Chieftain, Stone
Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem.
Epic Fiend (Blackguard 15+)
Available To: Epic Blackguard
Prerequisite: Blackguard 15+
Gain an Epic Vrock as your summoned fiend, which grows in power as you do.
Epic Fortitude
+4 Fortitude saves.
(*) Shifter Fortitude saves are in the good column, and many Shapes will give
you a CN boost to help out as well.
Epic Prowess
Available To: Epic Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Arcane Archer,
Blackguard, Champion Of Torm, Dwarven Defender, Red Dragon Disciple or Weapon
Master
+1 to all attacks.
(****) Good general purpose Feat which will help any melee Shape.
Epic Reflexes
Available To: Epic Arcane Archer, Assassin or Shadowdancer
+4 Reflex saves.
(*) Shifter Reflex saves are in the good column, and many Shapes will give
you a DX boost to help out as well.
Epic Reputation
Available To: Epic Paladin, Rogue, Blackguard or Red Dragon Disciple
+4 Bluff, Intimidate, Persuade, and Taunt.
Epic Skill Focus
Available To: Epic Bard, Rogue, Assassin or Shadowdancer
Prerequisite: 20 ranks in the chosen skill
+10 on the chosen skill.
Epic Shadowlord (Shadowdancer 11+)
Available To: Epic Shadowdancer
Gain an Epic Shadowlord as your summoned shadow, which grows in power as you
do.
Epic Toughness
Available To: Epic Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Arcane Archer,
Blackguard, Champion Of Torm, Dwarven Defender, Red Dragon Disciple or Weapon
Master
+20 hit points (up to +200 if chosen ten times).
Epic Weapon Focus
Available To: Epic Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Arcane Archer,
Blackguard, Champion Of Torm or Dwarven Defender
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus
+2 to attack with the chosen weapon.
(****) Epic Weapon Focus, Unarmed Strike will benefit almost 2/3 of your
Shapes. Or choose the weapon of your favorite weapon-bearing Shape:
battleaxe (Minotaur), spear (Drider), long sword (Drow), whip (Whipmaster),
short sword (Commando), scythe (Risen Lord), or dwarven waraxe (Azer
Chieftain). Note that the Rakshasa's staff is not the same as a
quarterstaff.
Epic Weapon Specialization (Fighter 20+)
Available To: Epic Fighter
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus, Epic Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization
+4 damage with the chosen weapon.
(*****) A no-brainer for Fighter Shifters. Start by specializing in Unarmed
Strike to benefit almost 2/3 of your Shapes. Or choose the weapon of your
favorite weapon-bearing Shape: battleaxe (Minotaur), spear (Drider), long
sword (Drow), whip (Whipmaster), short sword (Commando), scythe (Risen Lord),
or dwarven waraxe (Azer Chieftain). Note that the Rakshasa's staff is not
the same as a quarterstaff.
Epic Will
Available To: Epic Bard
+4 Will saves.
(*) Although Shifter Will saves are bad, Druid Will saves are good. So
unless you've chosen a low-WS, low-Druid route (which will disallow the
Outsider, Construct, and Dragon Shapes as well as higher level Druid spells),
you'll already have awesome Wisdom, which translates to Will saves. Several
Shapes (Mindflayer, Risen Lord, Vampire, Spectre, and all three Golems) are
naturally immune to Mind Spells.
Great Charisma
Available To: Epic Bard
+1 CH (up to +10 if taken ten times).
Great Constitution
+1 CN (up to +10 if taken ten times).
(*) Many Shapes will override your Constitution.
Great Dexterity
Available To: Epic Bard, Arcane Archer or Assassin
+1 DX (up to +10 if taken ten times).
(*) Most Shapes will override your Dexterity if Dexterity is important to
them.
Great Intelligence
Available To: Epic Wizard
+1 IN (up to +10 if taken ten times).
Great Smiting (Paladin, Blackguard)
Available To: Epic Paladin or Blackguard
Prerequisite: CH 25+, Smite Evil or Smite Good
A successful Smite adds twice the character's level to damage. May be taken
up to 10 times.
Great Strength
+1 ST (up to +10 if taken ten times).
(*) Most Shapes will override your Strength if Strength is important to them.
Improved Ki Strike (Monk 16+)
Available To: Epic Monk
Prerequisite: WS 21+, Ki Strike +3
+4 bonus when attacking unarmed (+5 if chosen twice).
Improved Sneak Attack (Rogue 15+, Blackguard 28+, or some combination)
Available To: Epic Rogue, Assassin or Blackguard
Prerequisite: Sneak Attack 8d6
+1d6 Sneak Attack damage (up to +10d6 if chosen ten times).
Improved Spell Resistance
Available To: Epic Monk
Spell Resistance +2 (up to +20 if chosen ten times).
(***) Good general purpose Feat which will help all Shapes.
Improved Stunning Fist
Available To: Epic Fighter, Monk or Champion Of Torm
Prerequisite: Improved Unarmed Strike, Stunning Fist, DX 19+, WS 19+
+2 to DC for Stunning Fist (up to +20 if chosen ten times).
(**) No question it's a great Feat, but boosting your Dexterity high enough
to get it wastes a lot of upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape you
take. That said, it could be very helpful if you spend a lot of time in the
non-DX-modified Shapes: Red Wyrmling, Blue Wyrmling, Green Wyrmling, Epic
Harpy, Minotaur, Epic Minotaur, Basilisk, Risen Lord, Azer Chieftain, Stone
Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem.
Improved Whirlwind Attack
Available To: Epic Fighter, Champion Of Torm, Shadowdancer or Weapon Master
Prerequisite: Dodge, Expertise, Spring Attack, Whirlwind Attack, IN 13+, DX
23+
Use: Combat Mode
Perform a full attack action, plus one melee attack at full BAB against all
opponents within range.
(**) No question it's a great Feat, and the prerequisite Feats are all quite
useful, but boosting your Dexterity high enough to get it wastes a lot of
upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape you take. That said, it could be
very helpful if you spend a lot of time in the non-DX-modified Shapes: Red
Wyrmling, Blue Wyrmling, Green Wyrmling, Epic Harpy, Minotaur, Epic Minotaur,
Basilisk, Risen Lord, Azer Chieftain, Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron
Golem.
Lasting Inspiration (Bard)
Available To: Epic Bard
Prerequisite: Bardic Music, Perform 25+
Bardic Music lasts 10 times longer than usual.
Mighty Rage (Barbarian 15+)
Available To: Epic Barbarian
Prerequisite: Greater Rage, ST 21+, CN 21+
(*) The number of Shapes which won't nerf either your awesome Strength or
your awesome Constitution (or both) is small: Kobold Commando, Epic Kobold
Commando, Mindflayer, Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem, and Dragon.
The last four will waste your precious, hard-fought ST and CN boosts.
Overwhelming Critical
Available To: Epic Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, Arcane Archer, Blackguard,
Champion Of Torm, Dwarven Defender or Weapon Master
Prerequisite: Cleave, Great Cleave, Improved Critical, Weapon Focus, Power
Attack, ST 23+
Critical hits improve by +1d6 for x2 critical multiplier weapons, by +2d6 for
x3 weapons, and by +3d6 for 4x weapons.
(*) No question it's a great Feat and the prerequisite Feats are all quite
useful, but boosting your Strength high enough to get it wastes a lot of
upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape you take. That said, it could be
very helpful if you spend a lot of time in the tiny number of non-ST-modified
Shapes: Gargoyle, Kobold Commando, Epic Kobold Commando, Mindflayer. Only
the Dire Tiger, Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem, and Dragons will
not nerf your awesome Strength, but they will waste your precious, hard-
fought ST boosts.
Perfect Health
Available To: Epic Paladin, Blackguard or Dwarven Defender
Prerequisite: Great Fortitude, CN 25+
Immune to all disease and poison.
(*) Could be a useful Feat, but boosting your Constitution high enough to get
it wastes a lot of upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape you take. That
said, it could be very helpful if you spend a lot of time in the non-CN-
modified Shapes: Black Wyrmling, White Wrymling, Harpy, Epic Gargoyle,
Basilisk, Epic Basilisk, Epic Manticore, Lizardfolk Whipmaster, Epic
Lizardfolk Whipmaster, Kobold Commando, Epic Kobold Commando, Medusa,
Mindflayer, Vampire, Spectre, Rakshasa, Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem, and
Iron Golem.
Planar Turning (Cleric, Paladin, Blackguard)
Available To: Epic Cleric, Paladin, Blackguard, Champion Of Torm
Prerequisite: Turn Undead, WS 25+, CH 25+
Can turn outsiders like undead. If the character has twice as many levels as
the outsider's Hit Dice, the outsiders are instantly destroyed.
Self Concealment (Rogue 10+, Monk 9+)
Available To: Epic Monk, Rogue, Assassin or Shadowdancer
Prerequisite: Improved Evasion, DX 30+, Hide 30+, Tumble 30+
10% Concealment (up to 50% if chosen five times).
(**) No question it's a great Feat, but boosting your Dexterity high enough
to get it wastes a lot of upgrades when it's overridden by the Shape you
take. That said, it could be very helpful if you spend a lot of time in the
non-DX-modified Shapes: Red Wyrmling, Blue Wyrmling, Green Wyrmling, Epic
Harpy, Minotaur, Epic Minotaur, Basilisk, Risen Lord, Azer Chieftain, Stone
Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem.
Superior Initiative
Available To: Epic Barbarian, Fighter, Rogue, Assassin, Champion Of Torm,
Shadowdancer or Weapon Master
+8 initiative.
(***) Especially for classes with a Sneak Attack, sometimes the first attack
is also the last.
Terrifying Rage (Barbarian 21+)
Available To: Epic Barbarian
Prerequisite: Epic Barbarian, Intimidate 25+
While raging, opponents must save Will vs. Intimidate or panic 1d6 rounds.
Opponents with up to twice the Barbarian's Hit Dice will instead have -2
attack and -2 saving throws. Opponents with more than twice the Barbarian's
Hit Dice are not affected.
Thundering Rage (Barbarian 21+)
Available To: Epic Barbarian
Prerequisite: Epic Barbarian, ST 25+
Any weapon the Barbarian wields while raging does +2d8 extra damage on a
critical hit.
(*) No question it's a great Feat for a Barbarian, but boosting your Strength
high enough to get it wastes a lot of upgrades when it's overridden by the
Shape you take. That said, it could be very helpful if you spend a lot of
time in the tiny number of non-ST-modified Shapes: Gargoyle, Kobold
Commando, Epic Kobold Commando, Mindflayer. Only the Dire Tiger, Stone
Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem, and Dragons will not nerf your awesome
Strength, but they will waste your precious, hard-fought ST boosts.
These are just rough approximations. There are far too many variables (Bull's
Strength, weapons/armor/items merged into your Shape, multiclass abilities,
etc.) to calculate all the options, but these suggestions might help you to
choose the best Shape for the situation you're in. Which is, after all, the
strength of the Shifter class.
Something I didn't realize until I playtested it is that the number of attacks
you have as a human is *not* altered when you Shift. Therefore, as a Druid
5/Shifter 1 your BAB is +3 in human form. Since your Wyrmling Shapes list their
attacks as Claw/Claw/Bite you might expect to get three attacks each round, but
in practice you only get the first Claw. If you continue to gain Shifter levels
you'll get the second Claw attack at Druid 5/Shifter 4 (BAB +6/+1) and the Bite
attack at Druid 6/Shifter 10 (BAB +11/+6/+1). This is undoubtedly to keep the
Shifter class balanced in relation to the other classes, but to me it seems
wrong. Anyway, that's the reality.
Therefore, don't let the number of attacks listed fool you. If your
Fighter/Druid/Shifter has a BAB of +16/+11/+6/+1, then your Shapes will all have
4 attacks:
Note: Unless noted otherwise, "Average damage" is calculated as a
Druid 10/Shifter 10 with no stat bonuses or magical equipment, in
melee against an AC 30 opponent)
(7.1) Vs. Spellcasters
Rakshasa - Spell Immunity: 0th through 8th level spells, Save Universal +2,
True Seeing, Dispel Magic unlimited use
Epic Kobold Commando - Hide In Plain Sight, Sneak Attack +5d6, Freedom of
Movement (kill 'em before they have a chance to buff!)
Epic Drow Warrior - SR 30, Improved Evasion
Iron Golem - SR 26, Immune: Death Magic, Disease, Level/Ability Drain,
Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison
Drow Warrior - SR 26
Mindflayer - SR 24, Immune: Mind Spells
Stone Golem - SR 22, Immune: Death Magic, Disease, Level/Ability Drain,
Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison
Demonflesh Golem - SR 22, DR/DI vs. acid/cold/elec/fire, Immune: Death Magic,
Disease, Level/Ability Drain, Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison
Dragon - SR 20, True Seeing, Immune: Paralysis
Risen Lord - SR 20, Immune: Death Magic, Disease, Level/Ability Drain,
Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison
Vampire - SR 20, Immune: Death Magic, Disease, Level/Ability Drain,
Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison
Kobold Commando - Hide In Plain Sight, Sneak Attack +2d6, Freedom of Movement
(kill 'em before they have a chance to buff!)
Drider - SR 14, Freedom of Movement
Wyrmling (Any) - True Seeing, Immune: Paralysis
Lizardfolk Whipmaster - Stun [Fort DC=22] 10%, Freedom of Movement, Save
Universal +2
Basilisk/Epic Basilisk/Medusa - Petrify Gaze [Fort DC=12+SL/2]
Epic Drider - SR 18, Freedom Of Movement
Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster - Stun [DC=26] 10%, Freedom of Movement, Save
Universal +4
Spectre - Improved Evasion, Immune: Death Magic, Disease, Level/Ability Drain,
Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison
Azer Chieftain - SR 12
Death Slaad Lord - Immune: Fear, DR vs. almost everything
(7.2) Melee Damage Potential
Average damage per round vs. normal opponent:
@FIX: this needs to be recalculated to account for the Dragon Shape's new
(v1.64)
+6 2d8 claws.
Azer Chieftain, Red Wyrmling - DI 100% fire
Demonflesh Golem - DR 20/- fire
Death Slaad Lord - DR 10/- fire
Epic Whipmaster - Save Universal +4
Whipmaster, Rakshasa - Save Universal +2
(7.9) Vs. Cold
White Wyrmling - DI 100% cold
Vampire, Demonflesh Golem - DR 20/- cold
Death Slaad Lord - DR 10/- cold
Spectre - DR 5/- cold
Epic Whipmaster - Save Universal +4
Whipmaster, Rakshasa - Save Universal +2
(7.10) Vs. Electricity
Blue Wyrmling, Demonflesh Golem - DI 100% elec
Iron Golem - DI 90% elec
Vampire - DR 20/- elec
Death Slaad Lord - DR 10/- elec
Spectre - DR 5/- elec
Epic Whipmaster - Save Universal +4
Whipmaster, Rakshasa - Save Universal +2
(7.11) Vs. Acid
Black/Green Wyrmling - DI 100% acid
Demonflesh Golem - DR 20/- acid
Epic Whipmaster - DR 15/- acid, Save Universal +4
Death Slaad Lord - DR 10/- acid
Whipmaster - DR 5/- acid, Save Universal +2
Rakshasa - Save Universal +2
(7.12) Vs. Sonic
Death Slaad Lord - DR 10/- sonic
Epic Whipmaster - Save Universal +4
Whipmaster, Rakshasa - Save Universal +2
@FIX: this needs to be recalculated to account for the Dragon Shape's new
(v1.64)
+6 2d8 claws. One would assume this would pump it up to the top of the
list.
(*) Unarmed Shape, uses Monk attack progression and is eligible for Flurry Of
Blows and Stunning Fist.
It should go without saying that Flurry Of Blows is only helpful against
low AC opponents, since it reduces your chance to hit by -2 for all attacks
(see Appendix G, however, since a bug affects Shifted Flurry Of Blows and
Haste).
(7.20) Smaller Or Larger Opponents
One of the advantages of being a Shifter is being able to tailor your body
*size* to the task at hand. Smaller Shapes are better at hitting larger
opponents, while larger shapes have an advantage at throwing their weight around
against smaller opponents. Specifically, for each level of size increase over
an enemy, you take a -2 penalty to Attack Bonus, but a +4 advantage on
Knockdown. If you use Knockdown frequently as a tactic (and it works wonders
against single opponents, especially spellcasters), then having a huge Shape can
give you a distinct advantage. Likewise, when facing an ancient dragon, small
Shapes like the Kobold Commando get an effective +6 bonus to AC.
Tiny Shapes (+4 AB, -8 Knockdown vs. human size):
(none)
Small Shapes (+2 AB, -4 Knockdown vs. human size):
Wyrmling (any), Kobold Commando
Medium Shapes (human size):
Harpy, Gargoyle, Basilisk, Manticore, Drow, Lizardfolk Whipmaster, Dire
Tiger,
Medusa, Mindflayer, Risen Lord, Vampire, Spectre, Azer Chieftain,
Rakshasa
Large Shapes (-2 AB, +4 Knockdown vs. human size):
Minotaur, Drider, Death Slaad Lord, Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron
Golem
Huge Shapes (-4 AB, +8 Knockdown vs. human size):
Dragon (any)
Note: Harpies and Demonflesh Golems were incorrectly categorized prior to the
1.64 patch.
AB - Attack Bonus
AC - Armor Class
BAB - Base Attack Bonus
CH - Charisma
CL - Character Level (total of all class levels)
CN - Constitution
DC - Difficulty Check (the dice roll an opponent must beat to save)
DI - Damage Immunity
DL - Druid Level
DR ##% - Damage Resistance (ignore ##% of the specified damage)
DR ##/+# - Damage Reduction (ignore up to ## damage unless the weapon is +#
or better)
DV ##% - Damage Vulnerability (take an additional ##% damage of the specified
type)
DX - Dexterity
Fort - Fortitude Saving Throw
IN - Intelligence
PnP - Pen 'n Paper AD&D rules
Refl - Reflex Saving Throw
SL - Shifter Level
SR ## - Spell Resistance (spellcasters must make a save to cast a spell at you,
d20 + caster level vs. your SR rating)
ST - Strength
WS - Wisdom
WSmod - Wisdom modifier (i.e., +4 for 18 WS)
Will - Will Saving Throw
Multiclassed Monks benefit from a bug in the game engine which calculates
secondary attacks from the Monk table whenever the character is unarmed or using
kamas. So for example, according to the PnP rules, a Fighter 11/Monk 1 should
get his choice between the following attacks:
+11/+6/+1 (as a Fighter) or +0 (as a Monk)
Obviously the Fighter has better attacks. But since Monks get additional
attacks every 3 levels when unarmed, the game calculates it thus:
+11/+8/+5/+2
Yes, it's a bug. Is it delightful to exploit? Oh, yes!
(C.1) How to examine scripts:
Load the Aurora toolset and open any available module (or create one). Under
the Tools menu, select Script Editor. Ctrl-O to open a file. Choose "All
Resources" from the option at bottom right. Type the first few letters of
the script and the list will filter itself. Of course, it helps to have a
bit of a background in computer programming to understand the script.
Scripts are identified here by the ".nss" extension.
(C.2) How to examine objects:
Load the Aurora toolset and open any available module. Doubleclick any Area
to view it. On the right side of the screen, select the icon that looks like
a fox head (Paint Creatures). Select any creature from the list, rightclick
and select "Edit Copy". Under the picture of your creature, click
"Inventory". Now you can examine weapons, armor, claws, bites, skins, etc.,
by using the same "Edit Copy" command to view them.
(C.3) Shape Items & Scripts
(C.3.0) General
x2_i0_spells - Spells include file
x2_inc_shifter - Shifter include file
x2_inc_itemprop - Item Properties include file
(C.3.1) Azer Chieftain
Weapon x2_it_crewmazera [Creature Items->Melee Weapons->Azer Flaming Waraxe +5]
(Dwarven Waraxe 1d10 (20/x3); Feats: Cleave, Knockdown, Power Attack; Damage
+2d4 fire; Bonus +5; Use Limitation: Outsider)
Skin x2_it_creitem005 [Creature Items->Skin/Hide->Azer Properties] (DI fire
100%; DV cold 50%; SR 12)
Fire Stream x2_s2_gwburn.nss
Weapon x2_wdrowls004 [Creature Items->Melee Weapons->Drow Venomblade +3]
(Longsword 1d8 (19-20/x2); Bonus +3; OnHit: Poison DC=16 1d2 ST; Save +2 Poison;
listed inaccurately in the properties screen as x2_wdrowls002, but Drow
Longsword +3 also has that tag and the properties of this match the actual sword
used)
Skin nw_it_creitem058 [Creature Items->Skin/Hide->Drow Level 15 Properties] (SR
26)
Slam nw_it_crewpb017 [Creature Items->Slam->Slam2d10] (2d10 bludgeoning (20/x2))
Skin x2_it_shstogopro [Creature Items->Skin/Hide->Shifter Stone Golem
Properties] (DR 15/+3; DV acid 50%; DI piercing 50%; DI slashing 25%; Immune:
Critical Hits, Death Magic, Disease, Level/Ability Drain, Mind Spells,
Paralysis, Poison, Sneak Attack; SR 22)
Hurl Rock x2_s1_hurlrock.nss
Slam nw_it_crewpb017 [Creature Items->Slam->Slam2d10] (2d10 bludgeoning
(20/x2))
Skin x2_it_shirongolp [Creature Items->Skin/Hide->Shifter Iron Golem
Properties] (Feats: Knockdown, Power Attack, Weapon Proficiency Creature; DR
20/+4; DV fire 50%; DI elec 90%; Immune: Critical Hits, Death Magic, Disease,
Level/Ability Drain, Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison, Sneak Attack; SR 26)
Spell 263 = Golem Poison Breath, nw_s1_golemgas.nss
Spell 715 = Golem Slam, x2_s1_golemslam.nss
(C.4.13) Ancient Green Dragon
Claw nw_it_crewpsp027 [Creature Items->Claw->Claw2d8] (2d8 slashing/piercing
(20/x2))
Bite nw_it_crewps020 [Creature Items->Bite->Bite4d6] (4d6 slashing (20/x2))
Skin nw_it_creitemdrl [Creature Items->Skin/Hide->Ancient Green Dragon
Properties] (DR 15/+2; DI acid 100%; Immune: Mind Spells, Paralysis, Sneak
Attack; SR 26; True Seeing)
Spell 798 = Green Dragon Breath
Spell 412 = Dragon Fear Aura
(C.4.14) Ancient Blue Dragon
Claw nw_it_crewpsp027 [Creature Items->Claw->Claw2d8] (2d8 slashing/piercing
(20/x2))
Bite nw_it_crewps020 [Creature Items->Bite->Bite4d6] (4d6 slashing (20/x2))
Skin nw_it_creitemdre [Creature Items->Skin/Hide->Ancient Blue Dragon
Properties] (DR 15/+2; DI elec 100%; Immune: Mind Spells, Paralysis, Sneak
Attack; SR 26; True Seeing)
Spell 796 = Blue Dragon Breath
Spell 412 = Dragon Fear Aura
(C.4.15) Ancient Red Dragon
Claw nw_it_crewpsp027 [Creature Items->Claw->Claw2d8] (2d8 slashing/piercing
(20/x2))
Bite nw_it_crewps020 [Creature Items->Bite->Bite4d6] (4d6 slashing (20/x2))
Skin nw_it_creitemdro [Creature Items->Skin/Hide->Ancient Red Dragon
Properties] (DR 15/+2; DI fire 100%; DV cold 50%; Immune: Mind Spells,
Paralysis, Sneak Attack; SR 28; True Seeing)
Spell 797 = Red Dragon Breath
Spell 412 = Dragon Fear Aura
(C.5.16) Chicken From Hell
Claw x2_it_crewpsp033 [Creature Items->Claw->Raven Familiar Claw Level 30] (1d4
monster (20/x2), Bonus +5, OnHit: Slow DC=26 5% 5 rounds, OnMonsterHit: Poison
Shadow Essence)
Peck x2_it_crewps019 [Creature Items->Bite->Dire Rat Animal Companion level 30
Bite] (1d10 monster (20/x2), Bonus +5, OnHit: Disease DC=22 Filth Fever)
Skin x2_it_creitem030 [Creature Items->Skin/Hide->Raven/Faerie FM HD 35
Properties] (DR 5/+2, Immune: Mind Spells, SR 18)
Spell 267 = Cluck Of Death
Spell 271 = Cluck Of Concussion
Spell 269 = Cluck Of Fear
(C.5) Iznoghoud's Greater Wildshape script
The script which controls your Greater Wildshape Shifting in the game has a
couple of bugs, and some "features" which many players don't agree with. Forum
participant "Iznoghoud" has posted a script which fixes these items and makes
some enhancements to the Shifting of your items & armor. You can read what it
does by reading the comments in the code.
If you choose to use this script, it will override the existing script. You
have two options:
1) Use the script in your own module, or a someone else's module you modify.
This is easily accomplished by copying the script into the script editor in
the Aurora toolset and saving it as "x2_s2_gwildshp" as a module script.
2) Use the script in all modules, including the Official Campaigns.
This is accomplished by copying the script into the NWN "override" directory
as "x2_s2_gwildshp.nss" and compiling it with the command line compiler
provided by BioWare. Open up a DOS window in the
[NWN install directory]\override directory and type the following:
..\utils\clcompile x2_s2_gwildshp.nss
If it compiles without errors you'll see two new files, x2_s2_gwildshp.ncb
and x2_s2_gwildshp.ncs, and you're good to go. If for some reason it doesn't
compile it will simply be ignored.
Iznoghoud's script modification can be found here:
After creating the instructions to modify Shifter Shapes in Appendix D, I
decided to make it a little easier on everyone and configurable during game
play. Thus was forged the (drumroll, please)
Rod Of The ArchShifter
This is a hakpak consisting of an item (you can guess the name), a dialog, and
over 250 scripts to completely control your Shifter experience. Using the Rod
Of The ArchShifter, you can:
* Override Shapes to use Polymorph Self, Shapechange, and any other Shape
listed in the polymorph.2da file. In addition, I've added the alternate
Shapes in Appendix C.3 and several others.
* Control whether to use Iznoghoud's modifications or not. I do. They're
awesome.
* Control whether to require a Concentration check to use the new merging
power from Iznoghoud. This tries to balance the huge additional power
granted by Iznoghoud's modifications by requiring you to spend Skill points
where you otherwise might not. Fail your Concentration check, and maybe
your belt doesn't merge correctly.
* Control the difficulty of the Concentration check.
* List currently overridden Shapes.
* Reset all Shapes to original.
* Override groups of Shapes as a package. Packages include
+ Unarmed Frenzy (Monks will love it)
+ Weaponmaster (most Shapes now have a weapon)
+ Dragon (replace the nerfed Adult dragons with Ancient ones)
+ Disguise & Infiltration (not big on combat, but great for roleplaying)
+ Elementals (replace some higher level Shapes with Elementals)
+ My personal favorites (hey, I created the thing for me, not for you!)
* Does not allow access to higher level Shapes until you've earned them (so,
for example, you can't override Red Wyrmling with Balor until you've gained
the Outsider Shape Feat, since a Balor is a high-level Outsider creature).
All of this can be done without exiting the game, simply by activating the Self
Use Unlimited power of the item. Due to game engine limitations, you can't use
the Rod while Shifted, but when in human form you can use it as often as you
want.
The latest version of the hak pak can always be found on NWVault:
The only game resources overridden by this hak pak is the Greater Wildshape
script, x2_s2_gwildshp.nss, and the Polymorph data file, polymorph.2da. If
BioWare chooses to modify either of these files as part of a game update, it is
likely the Rod will malfunction. Use at your own risk. All other scripts and
item templates are new.
There are two ways to use the Rod:
(C.6.1) Using the Rod in a user module
If you're comfortable with creating and editing modules, it's as simple as
adding the hak pak to the module and providing the Rod to your player
characters. Hak paks are added to modules like this:
Edit->Module Properties->Custom Content
You must also make sure that the OnActivateItem event (also in Edit->Module
Properties) is set to use the "x2_mod_def_act" script. This script looks for a
script with the same name as the item activated, and runs it if found. Pre-HOTU
modules from BioWare and user-created modules may not have this set correctly to
use the Rod.
(C.6.2) Using the Rod in all modules
This will enable your Rod Of The ArchShifter to be used in any module, even the
Official Campaigns. Simple use the hak pak utility, nwhak.exe, located in the
"utils" directory, to open up the Shifter Rod hak pak. Then choose
Resource->Export All
and export them into the "override" directory. In order to create a Rod Of The
ArchShifter to use, you'll have to resort to Debug commands. In the game, type
the following:
`DebugMode 1
`dm_runscript get_shifter_rod
(it will say "Entered Target Mode" -- target yourself)
(the console should say "acquired Rod of the ArchShifter")
`DebugMode 0
Examine your inventory to see if you have it.
(C.6.3) Uninstalling the Rod
If you chose to export the Rod into your "override" directory, but don't want it
any more, delete the following items from "override":
shifter_rod.* (item template, item activation script, dialog)
shft_*.* (scripts used by the dialog)
x2_s2_gwildshp.* (overrides the default Greater Wildshape script)
polymorph.2da (overrides the Polymorph Self/Lycanthrope/Shifter
data file)
Bored with your early-career Shapes? Wish you could truly Shift into *any*
Shape you desire? It's possible, but not for the faint hearted. You'll need to
get into the raw data guts of the NWN engine, but you can do it (UPDATE: see
Appendix C.6 for a game item which makes this *much* easier). I have faith
in you. Ready?
Open up the following file in a text editor (if you insist on using Word or some
other word processing program, make sure you save as file type "plain text"):
[NWN_install_directory]\data\polymorph.2da
You may have to extract this file from the [NWN_install_directory]\data\2da.bif
file. This is not for the faint of heart. But if you're feeling adventurous,
here's how:
1. Make a copy of [NWN_install_directory]\data\2da.bif.
2. Edit the copy in a text editor. I use TextPad; you can't use Notepad
due to file size, but you could use WordPad as long as you remember to
save as file type "plain text".
3. Search for "POLYMORPH_TYPE_".
4. Copy the block of text from "2DA V2.0" all the way down to the last
"POLYMORPH_TYPE_" line. Save it in the [NWN_install_directory]\override
directory as "polymorph.2da". Make sure to save as type "plain text".
5. Continue with the modifications listed below.
I've heard rumors of programs which will extract resources from BIF files, so if
you have one, more power to you.
If your text editor has an option to not wrap long lines, make it do so. Now
you should see some data with column headings like this:
Name AppearanceType RacialType (...)
Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to modify certain lines to change
the Shape you Shift into. For example, if you choose to switch Minotaur to
Gelatinous Cube, change the line that starts like this:
66 POLYMORPH_TYPE_MINOTAUR
Your radial Shifter menu will still list it as "Minotaur" but now you should
Shift into a Gelatinous Cube instead. Following are several suggestions to
spice up your Shifting experience.
Alternately, you could download my hak pak, Rod Of The ArchShifter, from
NWVault. See Appendix C.6 for details.
(D.1) Gelatinous Cube
This is one of the more visually stunning Shapes to take.
Suggested replacement: Basilisk
ST:15 DX: CN:19 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 10 (+0 Natural)
HP: +30
To Hit: BAB+2
Attacks: Slam 1d6+6 (20/x) +1d6 acid
OnHit: Gelatinous Cube Poison, level 6
Special: DI 100% elec
Immune: Critical Hits, Knockdown, Mind Spells, Paralysis, Poison,
Sneak Attack; True Seeing
Paralyzing Touch [Fort DC=14], unlimited use, like Pale Master
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor, Items
Hey now, what're you doing so far from home, you cute little Aaauuugghh! Run
away! How many did we lose? Hector, Gawain, and Bors, that's five. (Three,
sir). Three. We'd better not risk another frontal assault -- that penguin's
dynamite!
The Dragon Shapes all shared the same skin, with pitiful 5/+1 Damage
Reduction and no fear aura, and although it claimed to be an Ancient dragon
skin it was actually Adult dragon skin. This fixes that.
Update: version 1.62 replaces the original Adult Red Dragon skin with Adult
Green Dragon skin, but still allows only 5/+1 DR and no fear aura.
Suggested replacement: Green Dragon
ST:48 DX:36 CN:32 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 43 (+20 Natural +13 DX)
HP: +100
BAB: +19
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 2d8+19/2d8+19/4d6+19 (20/x2)
Special: DR 15/+2
DI 100% acid
Immune: Mind Spells, Paralysis, Sneak Attack
SR 26
True Seeing
Breath Attack acid (see Section 5.9)d6 + Poison [None]
50 ft cone, unlimited use
Dragon Fear Aura, unlimited use
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor, Items
The Dragon Shapes all shared the same skin, with pitiful 5/+1 Damage
Reduction and no fear aura, and although it claimed to be an Ancient dragon
skin it was actually Adult dragon skin. This fixes that.
Update: version 1.62 replaces the original Adult Red Dragon skin with Adult
Blue Dragon skin, but still allows only 5/+1 DR and no fear aura.
Suggested replacement: Blue Dragon
ST:48 DX:36 CN:32 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 43 (+20 Natural +13 DX)
HP: +100
BAB: +19
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 2d8+19/2d8+19/4d6+19 (20/x2)
Special: DR 15/+2
DI 100% elec
Immune: Mind Spells, Paralysis, Sneak Attack
SR 26
True Seeing
Breath Attack elec (see Section 5.9)d8, 50 ft cone, unlimited use
Dragon Fear Aura, unlimited use
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor, Items
The Dragon Shapes all shared the same skin, with pitiful 5/+1 Damage
Reduction and no fear aura, and although it claimed to be an Ancient dragon
skin it was actually Adult dragon skin. This fixes that.
Suggested replacement: Red Dragon
ST:48 DX:36 CN:32 IN: WS: CH:
AC: 43 (+20 Natural +13 DX)
HP: +100
BAB: +19
Attacks: Claw/Claw/Bite 2d8+19/2d8+19/4d6+19 (20/x2)
Special: DR 15/+2
DI 100% fire
DV 50% cold
Immune: Mind Spells, Paralysis, Sneak Attack
SR 28
True Seeing
Breath Attack fire (see Section 5.9)d10, 50 ft cone, unlimited use
Dragon Fear Aura, unlimited use
Unarmed: Yes
Merge: Armor, Items
Shapes which don't override your base Strength:
Gargoyle, Kobold Commando, Epic Kobold Commando, Mindflayer
Shapes which don't override your base Dexterity:
Red Wyrmling, Blue Wyrmling, Green Wyrmling, Epic Harpy, Minotaur, Epic
Minotaur, Basilisk, Risen Lord, Azer Chieftain, Stone Golem, Demonflesh
Golem, Iron Golem
Shapes which don't override your base Constitution:
Black Wyrmling, White Wrymling, Harpy, Epic Gargoyle, Basilisk, Epic
Basilisk, Epic Manticore, Drow Warrior*, Epic Drow Warrior*, Lizardfolk
Whipmaster, Epic Lizardfolk Whipmaster, Kobold Commando, Epic Kobold
Commando, Medusa, Mindflayer, Vampire, Spectre, Rakshasa, Stone Golem,
Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem
* (does modify by -2, however)
Shapes which DO modify IN, WS, or CH:
Mindflayer (IN +8, WS +2)
Currently (as of version 1.61 at least), Shifters with a tertiary base class
(i.e., Druid/Shifter/Fighter or Druid/Shifter/Monk) suffer from a nasty bug
which penalizes them 20% of earned experience points. Why? Simple enough, from
game mechanics: since you actually *become* a Minotaur, Wyrmling, Basilisk,
etc., you are no longer Human or Elf or whatever. None of the races you Shift
into lists Druid as its Preferred Class. So you're earning experience points as
a Minotaur, but since Minotaur is your Preferred Class while Shifted you suffer
the 20% multiclassing penalty, no matter what race or class you are naturally.
As always with the 20% XP penalty, if you're careful to keep your base classes
within 1 level of each other it can be avoided.
Pure Druid/Shifters of any race do not suffer from this bug, nor do Shifters
with a tertiary prestige class (i.e., Druid/Shifter/Champion Of Torm or
Druid/Shifter/Assassin).
Currently the only known solution is to cheat: at level up, use debug commands
to grant yourself 20% of the XP toward the next level. For example, if you've
just made 15th level, you'll need 15,000 XP to make it to 16th. And 20% of
15,000 is 3,000. So type this while in-game:
`DebugMode 1
`GiveXP 3000
(the cursor changes to a select cursor - select yourself)
`DebugMode 0
(check your character sheet to see if it worked)
Let's hope they fix this pronto, especially for Shifters on Persistent Worlds
who may not even have access to the debug commands.
FAQ reader Jamie (jamie13@cox.net) reports a Shifter bug while Hasted:
It would appear that Haste, which should give an extra attack at your highest
Attack Bonus, instead just gives you an additional attack at the low end of your
existing attack sequence.
I think you'll agree, +9 is not nearly as good at +24, and +2 is no substitute
for +18. Let's hope BioWare fixes these bugs soon.
(G.2) Bonus Spell Items Bug
FAQ reader Jeremy Jones reports that items which grant bonus spell slots seem to
lose their settings after each Shift.
(G.3) The DR Attacker Bug
According to the PnP rules, creatures with natural Damage Reduction face no
Damage Reduction penalty when attacking creatures with Damage Reduction equal or
lesser to their own. Since several Shapes have natural Damage Reduction (even
as high as 5/+20 for Epic Manticore and Epic Drider), this rule should apply to
them. Playtesting, however, shows that only a magical weapon is sufficient to
bypass Damage Reduction; natural DR does not.
This makes a difference for all unarmed Damage Reduction Shapes (Gargoyle, Epic
Gargoyle [if the bug gets fixed], Epic Manticore, Spectre, Death Slaad Lord,
Stone Golem, Demonflesh Golem, Iron Golem, and Dragon), since by definition they
do not have a magical weapon, against any opponent with Damage Reduction.
Furthermore, it affects the armed Shapes which have higher DR than their weapon
(Epic Drider is the only one). If and when this bug is fixed, the Epic Drider
(with DR 5/+20) even beats the Dragon against DR 20/+20 opponents!
Update: FAQ reader Larry Strope1 suggests a solution for this problem: take
enough Monk levels to get Ki Strike. Ki Strike +1 is gained at Monk 10 and
maxes out at +3 at Monk 16. With WS 21+ you can take Improved Ki Strike twice
for +5 total.
(G.4) The Epic Pink Soft Bunny Please Kill Me Now Bug (fixed in 1.64)
The game resource listed as the Epic Gargoyle's skin, x2_it_egargprop, is
missing from the game. Whatever properties are defined in this skin (very
likely including some form of epic Damage Reduction) are therefore missing from
the Epic Gargoyle.
Effectively this turns your Epic Gargoyle into an Epic Pink Soft Bunny Please
Kill Me Now. Yes, I am copyrighting that name.
No real game effect, as I can't imagine anyone spending much time in Epic
Gargoyle Shape anyway.
Fixed in version 1.64. The Epic Gargoyle now has Damage Reduction 25/+7 and
Damage Resistance 25 against piercing.
(G.5) The Persistent World Save Bug (fixed in 1.64)
In playing on a Persistent World, I've noticed a bug which occurs when the
server pauses a moment to save all active characters. It's good that they do
this, but unfortunately to do so they have to unShift you momentarily, then
Shift you back. When the engine automatically Shifts you back, it fails to
properly merge your item properties.
So, for example, if you have a weapon with +1d6 acid damage you will see it
listed in your character sheet when you shift into Minotaur. But after the
engine saves your character all you have is the standard +1 battleaxe.
ReShifting will fix the problem easily, at least until the next save sequence,
but with a limited number of Shifts available this could be a problem on a
quick-saving world.
Version 1.64 claims to have fixed this:
"Fixed problem with shifters losing their merged item properties while in
shifted form after a server save occurred, and when switching directly from one
form to another using the radial menu."
(G.6) The CasterLevel Bug
There appears to be a bug in certain Shapes (notably the Rakshasa) which can
cast normal spells (as opposed to the Vampire's Dominate gaze, etc.) where the
caster level is calculated using the first class you took, rather than the
highest spellcasting class. So, for example, if you start your career as a Monk
for one level, then take 10 levels of Druid and 19 levels of Shifter, your
Rakshasa's Ice Storm will do a whopping 1d6 of damage (using Monk as the
spellcasting class rather than Druid). Breath weapons and monster abilities
appear to be immune to this bug, so the spells which should theoretically be
affected are Darkness (Drider, Drow Warrior, Epic Drider, Epic Drow Warrior),
Dispel Magic, Ice Storm, and Mestil's Acid Breath (Rakshasa). The Improved
Invisibility available to the Spectre is a special version, and is immune to the
bug.
It appears you can avoid the bug by taking your spellcaster class before your
non-spellcaster class.
Things that need to be checked are marked @CHECK
Things that need to be fixed are marked @FIX
Things that are 100% verified are marked @VERIFIED
Date Version Comments
-------------- -------- --------------------------------------------
09-MAY-2005 1.15 FINAL VERSION.
22-OCT-2004 1.14 Fixed a bug with the Dwarven Defender build (DD requires
Dodge, which requires DX 13+). Added Section 7.20 on
Shape size. Updated for Bioware bug fixes in 1.64.
15-JUN-2004 1.13 Added racial types affected to the Harpy's cry. Added
commentary on Cleric build with Divine Power. Added Ki
Strike commentary for DR Attacker bug. Added a Dwarven
Defender build. Updated Knockdown/Improved Knockdown
Feat commentary. Added Azer and Death Slaad to Zen
Archery commentary. Added rating to Great Cleave.
Added CasterLevel bug. Added Introduction. Disable
Trap uses IN rather than DX (the manual appears to be
wrong).
13-MAY-2004 1.12 Added the Persistent World save bug. Added commentary
on the Monk/Shifter and the official HOTU campaign
[SPOILER ALERT]. Added a new Weapon Master build.
Added more discussion of Monk levels pre- and post-Epic
status.
19-MAR-2004 1.11 Moved Epic Greater Wildshapes to their own categories.
Updated Druid/Shifter/[Fighter-type] and
Druid/Shifter/[Arcane-type] recommended stats.
Expanded section 3 to list all tertiary class Feats &
abilities, not just Monk. Added Appendixes G.3 and G.4.
Revised section 7 for DR opponents -- since having DR
does not help in attacking DR opponents, the original
numbers were correct.
09-MAR-2004 1.10 Updated Dragon Shape to reflect bug fixes in v1.62.
Added Bonus Spell Slot bug to Appendix G.
03-MAR-2004 1.09 Added Bonus Attacks Bug appendix. Damage Reduction
had been listed everywhere as Damage Resistance -- they
are different. Fixed section 7 stats for Damage
Reductive Shapes -- they should have no penalty against
Damage Reduction equal or lower to their own. Added
a Best Shape Vs. Epic Damage Reduction section for
PvP'ers.
01-MAR-2004 1.08 Fixed the Best Shape vs. Undead/Dragon/Construct
section. Added Vampiric Regeneration to Risen Lord's
commentary. Upped "Valid for" in the header to
version 1.62, since the release notes don't claim to
have fixed any of the bugs described herein.
06-FEB-2004 1.07 Added URL to Iznoghoud's script instead of the script
itself. Cleaned up some SR percent signs left over.
Fixed a typo on Undead Shapes and negative energy.
Reordered Vs. Acid list from best to worst. Fixed a
typo in the Half-Elf table of contents listing. Fixed
Medusa attacks. Misc anal-retentive formatting fixes.
Added instructions for uninstalling the ArchShifter Rod
and using the Rod in a user module.
04-FEB-2004 1.06 Weapon Finesse working for unarmed claws & bites is
not a bug. Cut down the Table Of Contents for
Appendices C and D. Updated URL for ArchShifter hak
pak.
21-JAN-2004 1.05 Fleshed out the Chicken From Hell. Removed % from
Spell Resistance display. Removed Elf racial abilities
from Drow & Epic Drow. Fixed spells for Epic Gelatinous
Cube. Modified Epic Troll Mage into Epic Troll Shaman.
Added a link to gamefaqs.com for the most recent version
of this FAQ. Fixed infinite Greater Wildshape levels.
Fixed Undead Shape vs. negative damage. Added Shifter
Rod hak pak.
13-JAN-2004 1.04 Reworked section 2 to add more info and a
Weapons/Items/Armor chart. Fixed the Weapon Finesse
discussion (Rakshasa? Minotaur? What was I thinking?).
Fixed a suggestion to use Red Wyrmling for rogue-ing
(Black/White has DX, not Red), and a typo about the
Minflayer's IN bonus searching, rather than lock
picking. Fixed Wyrmling breath DC formulas. Fixed
description of how SR works. Added Construct Shapes
to Epic Will discussion. Vampires aren't quite as good
as I first calculated for raw melee damage potential
(not that I'd want to meet one in a dark alley anyway).
Updated the multiclassed XP penalty discussion in
Appendix F. Added Iznoghoud's script to Appendix C.
Actually tried out the Alternate Shapes in Appendix D
and it's really cool! Updated Appendix D to match.
09-JAN-2004 1.03 Fixed Epic Minotaur and Vampire damage. Added
Demonflesh and Iron Golem BAB. Reworked section 7
to include Epic Shapes and take into account the
proper number of attacks per round. Added some more
instructions to Appendix D. Added more info to section
2. Added DR to Dragon. Fixed DR on Epic Manticore.
08-JAN-2004 1.02 Fixed a typo in the Drow Warrior commentary. Added
Ice Storm to Rakshasa commentary. Fixed an error in
Iron Golem commentary. Standardized format of DI, DV,
and DR. Standardized listing of Kobold Commando and
Lizardfolk Whipmaster in section 7.
08-JAN-2004 1.01 Fixed a typo in the revision history date. Added
Improved Critical to the suggested Feats in section 4.
07-JAN-2004 1.00 Initial version.
(I) Who am I? Where's my car? And did I do this all alone? (Hint: no)
Your humble author, Doug Crews, can be reached at shifter@crewstopia.com. All
comments, suggestions, corrections, retractions, elocutions, visions, and even
criticisms are welcome. I will not accept money under any circumstances, unless
it is offered to me.
Thanks to Stephen Hawking for suggestions on Zen Archery & Manticores, Epic
Damage Reduction, a low WS build, Empowered Ice Storm, and some error
corrections.
Thanks to PyroDrew suggestions on stat settings, and a error correction on Rogue
Shifters.
Thanks to Dark Delirium for insight into the Fighter build, gauntlet merging,
and for correcting the DC for Wyrmling breath.
Thanks to Dyss for pointing out that although Spell Resistance is displayed as a
percentage, it is really calculated as d20 + caster level.
Thanks to Iznoghoud for posting an excellent modification to the merging script,
which I have blatantly and unceremoniously plagiarized for my own nefarious
purposes.
Thanks to Zelle Qyllvan for pointing out that apparently you don't get Keen
Senses as a Drow Warrior. Bunk!
Thanks to Mrcdbph for clarifying the multiclassed XP penalty.
Thanks to ReneP for pointing out that Weapon Finesse is designed to work for
unarmed claws and bites -- it's not a bug.
Thanks to Ben Escoto for pointing out an error in the Best Shape vs. Undead...
section, and for reminding me that Damage Reductive Shapes should face no
penalty in melee against Damage Reduction equal or lower to their own (later
proved false, probably due to a bug).
Thanks to Jamie for discovering the Bonus Attacks bug.
Thanks to Jeremy Jones for reporting the Bonus Spell Slot bug.
Thanks to Bradley Sprigg (sathias@internode.on.net) for suggesting a powerful
Weapon Master build.
Thanks to ARM Claude for pointing out an error in the suggested
Druid/Shifter/Monk build, and a suggestion for the pure Shifter build.
Thanks to Mars Healey for tips on using the Rakshasa's Ice Storm to Empowered
and Maximized advantage.
Thanks to Larry Strope1 for suggestions on a Cleric bug, Ki Strike, a Dwarven
Defender build, Zen Archery and Knockdown.
