Shape Changers, Dopplegangers, Shifters and Druids

-- New Dragon Form -- -- Old Dragon Form --

This is a continuation of Shifters and Druids. I changed how Druids and Shifters polymorph and that will force us to re-think our builds. Until now, Druids and Shifters SUCKED on BadLands. The newest change is how items are transferred from your "normal" form to your "shifted" form.

As is shown in the pictures, the old style copied item properties from some of your gear and onto a "monster skin". If you had AC +5 (3 times), you would loose AC +10. The same with Strength, Con, etc. My changes collect the totals and put it on as a single property.

The other thing I added was a small text display in your combat log window telling you what "set" each form is using. The three sets are: Weapon; Armor; Items;

1. Weapon Set is your right hand weapon only. If the new form uses a ranged weapon, you must be holding a ranged weapon before shifting. Monk Gloves are never used nor is ammo.
2. Armor Set includes Armor, Shield and Helm.
3. Items Set is every thing else. Bracers are NEVER used.

Only these items will be read for AC: Armor, Shield, Helm, Amulet, Boots. AC on other items will be ignored.

NOT EVERY ITEM PROPERTY can be put on a monster skin. The script attempts to transfer EVERY item property. If you don't see a property on your skin that is in the set, that's because it won't work on a skin.

Some forms don't use any of your items. To bad. Choose another.

There are over 120 polymorph shapes each using it's own combination of sets. The sets and how they are used is setup by Bioware, all I did was allow the item properties to become additive. I only included AC and Abilities because most everything else will stack. If you find something that's not stacking, let me know so I can add it in.

No, you can't get all 120. As an example of how some forms work: If you choose Air Elemental, there are four forms you may get. Male or female depending on your gender. Standard or Elder depending on how many class levels you have. Some forms want Druid as it's high class while others want Shifter. Different forms look for different levels to become "stronger" at.

I sent the Dye Guy to school and he learned how to examine your monster items. It is important that you open you inventory so they can be read properly. I'm not sure why, but that's how it works.

Now, by know which item a form uses, and being able to examine your build, you can adjust things so it works better.

Some time back, I made a few other changes that I did not document. While polymorphed, no matter what class you are, (possessing your familiar is a type of polymorph), you will not be saved while in combat. This needs an explanation. In order to 'save' your toon, Bioware un-polymorphs you; saves you; re-polymorphs you. That is hard-coded. The process must stop your combat actions first, leaving you flat-footed and vulnerable.

All characters are automatically saved every time certain things happen. This true for all builds and classes, not just Druids.

• Level up
• Die
• Change areas
• Sit on a bench
• Smoke your pipe
• Rest
• And ... while NOT in combat ... at random intervals (about 15 seconds)

As you could see, there was a big difference between those two Dragon Forms. All things were equal except the script version. That is the dragon from the Dragon Shape Feat. No doubt your Dragon will be different, but, way better than it had been.

My build suggestions are to use a shield and sword, even if you took some Monk levels. All your gear will be remove while shifted, so you usually will benefit from Monk AC. I took 3 monk levels to get the first 10% speed at Monk 3. The bigger your sword, the bigger the properties to be transferred. Be sure to get as much wisdom as you can.

At this point, the single biggest failing of being shifted is loosing Haste. There is a Boss Drop out there named "Shape Suit". This is armor with haste on it. I think it's Chain Mail.

I have also added Druid to the UBER list. The list now includes Barbarian, Dwarven Defender, Paladin and Druid. You will need 10 Druid levels and level 21. Then you can get Strength and Wisdom (+12) transferred from you gear to your person. I'm not sure how this will work when shifted. My tester that was used for these pictures was not UBER.