Wild Shape quirks

1. Is there any reason why all wild shaped druids move at speed 10? I'd imagine a bear can run as well as if not better than a human. My barb druid has a mvmt speed of 40 in human form, and only 20 in (polar) bear form, which I assume is 10 base + 10 bonus from barbarian levels (since I recall earlier I've had a druid w/o barbarian levels move at 10 speed).

2. Are brown and polar bear forms exactly the same? Seems so stats-wise at least, though I may be missing something.

3. Hill Giant form is seriously weak. STR is lower than bear forms, you don't get reach or size bonuses, and you can only use basic (unarmed) attacks. Feels like a waste of an item.

 

You should be getting size bonuses, I think. Are you using a halfling or gnome druid? Their wildshapes are nerfed.

 

Apparently the way to get your shape-shifted druid's movement rate up is to EMPTY his/her inventory before you change - I've seen movement rate 5 with a full inventory

 

I haven't looked at the SRD but doesn't a druid have to shed possessions and clothing before taking on wildshape in the PnP rules? The game is probably bugged but it may be accidentally mimicking the correct effect of wildshape while not "naked" so to speak.

 

Here's the scoop on wild shape with a Druid, you can find the info here SRD.

Wild Shape (Su)

At 5th level, a druid gains the ability to turn herself into any Small or Medium animal and back again once per day. Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type. This ability functions like the alternate form special ability, except as noted here. The effect lasts for 1 hour per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. Each time you use wild shape, you regain lost hit points as if you had rested for a night.

Any gear worn or carried by the druid melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When the druid reverts to her true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on her body that they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items worn in the assumed form fall off and land at the druid's feet.

The form chosen must be that of an animal the druid is familiar with.

A druid loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.)

A druid can use this ability more times per day at 6th, 7th, 10th, 14th, and 18th level, as noted on Table: The Druid. In addition, she gains the ability to take the shape of a Large animal at 8th level, a Tiny animal at 11th level, and a Huge animal at 15th level.

The new form’s Hit Dice can’t exceed the character’s druid level.

At 12th level, a druid becomes able to use wild shape to change into a plant creature with the same size restrictions as for animal forms. (A druid can’t use this ability to take the form of a plant that isn’t a creature.)

At 16th level, a druid becomes able to use wild shape to change into a Small, Medium, or Large elemental (air, earth, fire, or water) once per day. These elemental forms are in addition to her normal wild shape usage. In addition to the normal effects of wild shape, the druid gains all the elemental’s extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities. She also gains the elemental’s feats for as long as she maintains the wild shape, but she retains her own creature type.

At 18th level, a druid becomes able to assume elemental form twice per day, and at 20th level she can do so three times per day. At 20th level, a druid may use this wild shape ability to change into a Huge elemental.

 

Dito. The ground shakes but that is all there is. I consoled the Druid's vestment for testing. Anyone who plans on it being a useful level 10+ wildshape and spends the 35k on it is going to be disappointed.

The hillgiant needs a greatclub with 10' reach that does (2d8 +str) or something.

 

So basically, the MS shouldn't be bugging out

Also, what's that about being able to wear items in animal form? I wish that was implemented. Not armor or anything like that, but maybe jewelry, or even special items for animals. Imagine a bear with an amulet of mighty fists +5 on

 

You'd have to be wearing it before you shift shape ...

Kind of goes without saying, hunh?

 

Ogre shamans have weapons that are two-handed even in their hands, so giant weapons exist. I suppose an enlarged character would be able to make use of them.

 

Speaking of wildshape quirks, my druid's brown bear form is only getting 1 attack per round, instead of the three I got several editions ago. Not encumbered or under any other effects as far as I can tell. Was this changed deliberately? Bears definitely get three attacks normally.

 

As far as I can tell, wild shape, as distinct from polymorph, doesn't change character BAB, so the wild-shaped druid will get the same number of attacks/round as a human-form druid. I'm guessing this is in accordance with RAW.

 

I suppose that might be the reason, but a bear gets three attacks, no more, no less, regardless of BAB, as far as I can tell.
The bear form also has a movement of 5 (like pygmy has seen), incredibly slow -- again it's not encumbrance. Something is badly bugged in my game I think. It's a terrible hassle if the inventory has to be emptied completely before changing.

 

What annoys ME about Wild Shape is that, despite the fact that a wild shaped druid is supposed to have the physical attributes (STR, DEX, CON) of the assumed form, a druid who shapechanges into a stronger form (bear or even wolf, in Meleny's case) ends up just as encumbered as in his/her original form. This is especially (not) amusing when one realizes that all the good magic items one is carrying have become part of one's body, and thus aren't being CARRIED at all.

Any chance of fixing this?

 

I don't remember that happening in the older versions either, but maybe my memory is finally failing or something. I'm tempted to try an older version again and compare wild shapes.

 

Do it. Alot of us are curious and if you can trace the error than we can get it working again. Just use an old version and use the console to level up your druid and then test in hommlett or the vignete.