Multiclassing

What unintended benefits? I've read here that not stripping your druid naked before shifting will drop their move to 5. There are other flaws, which is why my current druid isn't planning on using wildshape. You think it's useful?

I also take a level of wiz with my druids, but for different reasons. I think all casters (except sor) benefit TREMENDOUSLY from Scribe Scroll. IMO it's a must have at 1st level. I take wiz to get the feat free, plus get a familiar (which in my pnp world is a druid ability, not wizard), and lastly to get access to arcane items. While fighters mesh well with rogues, merging feats and SA, I think priests and wizards benefit from taking a level of the other, allowing use of both divine and arcane items. The spellcasting ability may have some minor use, partiularly at low levels, or for crafting, but it's not a big factor for me.

 

I have yet to confirm this completely, but if the druid has a weapon equipped, the druid retains most benefits of the weapon. For instance, if Meleny has a sword +3 with flaming and flaming burst, her shape shifted melee attacks will benefit from the +3, flaming, and flaming burst properties (+3 to attack and damage, +2d6 fire damage for flaming and flaming burst, and whatever benefits flaming burst gives to crits). These bonuses are in addition to the bonuses she gets for being in bear form. The base damage is bludgeoning/piercing as per bear claws, and not slashing as per the sword.

If she has a shield equipped, the shield bonus to AC, along with whatever enhancement bonus the shield has, gets added to her shapeshifted AC. Same with a ring of protection. I think (though haven't confirmed) that if she's wearing a ring of freedom of movement, she benefits from that as well (as in, retains the benefit of the ring while shapeshifted). These things are not supposed to happen IIRC.

Now, if she's ONLY wearing a weapon, a shield, and one ring, she will shapeshift without any decrease in speed. Additional items will decrease her speed from 30, to 20, to 15, 10, and 5, maybe even 0. So one additional item, and her speed becomes 20, 2, and it becomes 15, etc. Longstrider does not add 10ft. to her movement speed under these conditions, but instead causes her speed to be what it would be if she were wearing one item less. So if she has enough gear on to be reduced to a move of 5 when in animal form, longstrider will cause her to move at a speed of 10. Now, even if you're not wearing a sword, ring or shield, any other item slot being equipped will slow your speed. Any item that slows your speed also denies you your dex bonus to AC

Taking a look at my previous post, you can see what I think the benefits are, though I should note two additional restrictions: charging in animal form causes temporary damage, and Meleny doesn't seem to make attacks of opportunity in animal form. Even with wild shape being so wonky, I'm having a tremendous amount of fun with her. I've never seen Meleny be effective in combat, and in bear form, she's more effective than a strength cleric at these levels. With the natural spell feat, she can cast while in animal form though I don't think she can use scrolls or wands. She can use potions though...and those potions won't be expended. Thus far I've only seen this with neutralize poison and healing potions.

So yeah, wild shape is buggy in the extreme, but by keeping both the negative and the "positive" bugs in mind, I'm finding it to be quite fun. I do hope one day it gets fixed though.

 

I'm trying to picture the bear daintily opening the vile of healing and sipping from it, then putting it back in her secret pocket.