Shifter

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Ambigue
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Re: Shifter

Post by Ambigue » Tue Oct 10, 2017 6:57 pm

Sab1 wrote:Can a totem become a shifter? They seem the direct opposite of each other. One has no form to call their own the other is so comfortable with one animal that's all they do.
Yes, but there's a price for it. Shifter forms almost always use one (or two) of your physical scores and totem druids get -4 across the board to them all.

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Beernerd81
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Re: Shifter

Post by Beernerd81 » Wed Oct 11, 2017 4:29 pm

Ambigue wrote:That is a good point. But given how weak the class is overall, monk is basically the default 'right answer' to the problems posed by playing a shifter . That's not good mechanically and it's not good for RP. You are expected to play your class levels and having just about every shifter and druid also be former asceticists gets dumb.
I love this response and I have a few notes/tips based on the fact that I went Druid/Monk/Shifter:

Firstly, I took the monk levels because it "softens the blow" of the inherent weaknesses of a lot of the shapes. I'm a diehard roleplayer who is not fond of grinding or PVP, but it still sucks to go into an area designed for characters 5 levels below you and have to run for your life every time. Since there is literally only 1 possible alignment, LN, which will fill the requirements for both druid and monk, it does limit the RP options a bit, but I found ways to justify it fairly well without being too silly. I'll give my character's class and philosophical justifications below for reference and to hopefully help others. Please keep in mind that this is all based on the character's own beliefs and personal philosophies and may or may not reflect the actual mechanics of the AD&D 3.5 universe.

Personal Beliefs: Based on his experiences as a druid, through monastic training, and as a shifter, Aston expanded his definition of "balance" to a very large scale. He believes that the entire universe (perhaps even the multiverse) is connected through a constant ebb and flow of energy in many forms, connecting not only all "natural" creatures on the Prime, but all beings and perhaps all things. He believes that disruptions in balance are caused by either an overabundance or a lack of certain energies in certain places which "disrupt the flow." Furthermore, he believes that if the relationship between these energies can be not only proven but understood at its deepest levels, it is possible to reach a level of enlightenment that would allow someone to simultaneously "become one" with all of creation through the energies that flow through all things. In so doing, one could become the ultimate scion of balance.

Druid: Aston was and still considers himself to be a druid. He draws his druidic powers directly from Toril, but does not worship Toril in a traditional "omnipotent deity/subservient worshipper" kind of way. He sees the land more like a well balanced concentration of the energies of the Prime and strives to maintain that balance. He uses the energies Toril provides in an effort to do so. He sees the land as True Neutral, a manifestation of the natural energies of the Prime Material plane and an example of how a greater harmony can be achieved. In order to do so, he strives VERY hard to remain not only morally detached, but completely objective on a philosophical level. Ultimately, the goal right now is to understand the flow of energies and the true nature of balance without bias or preconceived notions. That is where the LN alignment comes in.

Monk: In his quest to delve deeper into the idea of energy and balance, Aston sought out monks to learn about how they channel internal energies (ki) and how that relates to the external energies he learned to channel from Toril. He reasoned that if balance (which he believes is related to the flow of energies) is to be maintained, he must learn to balance his own energies, not just external energies, and learn to reconcile the two in a harmonious way. He trained with druids IC and learned the fundamentals of their methods of controlling their own internal energies along with picking up some martial arts techniques along the way. He does not consider himself a true monk in a traditional sense, but he does have at least a rudimentary understanding of how they do what they do on both a physical and philosophical level.

Shifter: The very first time Aston was able to take animal forms, he noticed that he shared not only their physical appearance, but also their base instincts and urges. He found himself experiencing the world from the actual perspective of those animals. This experience led him to wonder whether or not these perspectives may hold the key to understanding the deeper truths of balance. He reasoned that just as if several people were to view the same object from different angles they would see different aspects of the object itself, so may experiencing existence from the perspective of as many creatures as possible give a more complete understanding of existence (and by extension balance) itself. He remains unsure whether the ability to do so is something within his blood or if it is something anyone can learn to do, but he does know that he must learn to make his own energies sympathetic to the creature whose form he is taking so that he can experience their natural inclinations and perspectives in a visceral and genuine way.

TL;DR - A druid with a broader sense of balance may become a shifter to learn more about the connections between creatures. Monk levels make sense when used as a means of conditioning the mind and learning to understand one's own energies in pursuit of that broader understanding of balance.
Hunter548 wrote:Variety is often overrated. Sucking at 15 things is not better than being good at 3.
Wytchee wrote:Please roleplay all classes listed on your character sheet.

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Jagel
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Re: Shifter

Post by Jagel » Fri Oct 27, 2017 3:11 pm

Beernerd81 wrote: - If you want monk/unarmed bonuses, why not take monk levels?

- I'm not sure I understand what you mean by a shifter totem shape. If you mean a single shape for which the shifter eschews all others, that seems contradictory to the entire idea of being a shifter in the first place.
- The point is to make monk less of a "duh" choice when multiclassing. I might as well have suggested just to disable some of the monk synergy, but that would not adress the weakness of a lot of shapes. The unarmed shapes are all in a pretty bad place because of the way merging works so I thought that making the armed shapes more offensive and unarmed more tanky would be an idea. It also wouldn't nerf any current monk/shifters but simply bring other shifter choices somewhat on par.
- What I meant by totem shape is, that shifters lack a "bread and butter" shape. Giving them a shape that uses the totem progression would supply such a shape. Could be tied to a dialogue that lets shifters choose from a range of beasts (purely cosmetic): basilisk, gorgon, mountain lion, dire tiger, jaguar, blink dog, giant spider and so on.

Also: the dragon shape adjustment really hits shifters with the nerf-bat as shifters do not have access to the more powerful druid spells that allows a druid dragonshaper to make up for some of short-comings of the current shape.

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