Wild Shape adjustments

[alientude]

I've created a series of adjustments for Druids using Wild Shape. All eligible animals, plants, and elementals from Bestiaries 1, 2, and 3 are incorporated.

Each individual creature is a Spell Adjustment corresponding to the spell Wild Shape mimics - Beast Shape I, II, and III, Plant Shape I, II, and III, and Elemental Body I, II, III, and IV. Some creatures are listed in multiple adjustments. This is because they have abilities that the lesser versions of the spells do not grant.

As an example, say you're a 6th level Druid Wild Shaping into a Woolly Rhinoceros. You'd go to Spell Adjustments and add Beast Shape II - Woolly Rhinoceros. The changes this does to your character are:

Adjust size to Large.
+4 STR
-2 DEX
+4 natural armor
Add Scent ability.
Add Gore attack at 2d8 damage.
Change Reach from 10' (default for Large) to 5' (specific to Woolly Rhinoceros).
+4 CMD against Trip (+2 for each leg above 2).
Sets base speed to 30.

Your druid adventures for awhile, and is now 8th level and wants to again Wild Shape into a Woolly Rhinoceros. Since this is now effectively Beast Shape III, he gets everything listed above, and a Trample attack at 2d6 damage.

A few caveats about these adjustments:

1) They work best with basic races with no natural attacks. Most creatures with natural attacks work fine with the adjustments, but there's been a few cases where the base creature's natural attacks interfere with the ones added by the adjustments (ie a Troll's claws seem to interfere with a lot of claw attacks by creatures, messing up the damage dice). While the adjustments nominally work for creatures of all sizes and all types, it's not perfect.

2) There's a whole lot of these adjustments, and I haven't verified that every one is perfect. I'm fairly confident there's no major mistakes, but I fully expect there to be a good number of minor ones. If you find one, feel free to post in this thread or email me at mets3am at gmail dot com and I'll try to fix the mistake.

3) These adjustments require the Bestiary 1 package to be purchased and the license activated.



*** IMPORTANT INFORMATION ***

It has come to my attention that these adjustments do not play nicely with each other. You should make sure there is only one of these adjustments added to your character; even if an adjustment is not checked, it can interfere with one that is checked. To prevent these problems, simply ensure only one Beast Shape/Elemental Body/Plant Shape adjustment is added to your character at a time.



CHANGELOG:

6/17/13
- Added this Readme file.

12/10/2012
- Added "Wild Shape Adjustments" option to the Configure Hero dialog. The adjustments will only show up in the Spell Adjustments section if this box is checked. This helps de-clutter the spell adjustment list when you're not playing a character that has access to these spells.
- Changed file name to "Wild Shape Adjustments.zip" for more accuracy.

10/9/2012
- Removed trip from cheetah and hyena in Beast Shape I.
- Corrected various adjustment descriptions.
- Updated all creatures that have grab to conform with Hero Lab's normal creatures (adding it to the damage display).
- Added + poison to several creature's weapons as appropriate.
- Added 3d6 acid to Viper Vine's bite.

10/1/2012
- Corrected dire tiger bite - changed 2d8 to 2d6.



KNOWN ISSUES:

- Equipment is supposed to merge into your form when you polymorph, which should remove its weight. This is not currently calculated, so encumbrance can be an issue. Workaround: when using the adjustment, go to the configure hero dialog and check "No Encumbrance' under Optional Rules.
- Armor without the Wild enchant will still add to your AC. Workaround: Unequip your armor when you have a wild shape adjustment enabled.
- (Repeated from above) It has come to my attention that these adjustments do not play nicely with each other. You should make sure there is only one of these adjustments added to your character; even if an adjustment is not checked, it can interfere with one that is checked. To prevent these problems, simply ensure only one Beast Shape/Elemental Body/Plant Shape adjustment is added to your character at a time.




INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS

Download the file and extract it to your Hero Lab Pathfinder data folder. You can find the Pathfinder data folder by going into Hero Lab and clicking on the Tools menu, then Explore Folders, then Game System Data Folder. After you've extracted the file, you'll need to restart Hero lab. To use the adjustments, in the "Configure Your Hero" window, you'll need to check the "Wild Shape Adjustments" checkbox, which should be below "User Content."

 

[Mathias]

2) I cannot seem to get creatures immune to trip attacks to list it with the adjustment selected. This seems to be because Hero Lab sets this through a Field called Helper.Snaky (named Snaky Body), and I have no clue how to add that to a creature through a script.

perform hero.assign[Helper.Snaky]

 

[alientude]

Thanks for that. I've updated the files and the attached zip file.

 

[dref]

Thanks for doing this!

One thing I noticed is that the AC from armor is still in effect when wild shaped. This should only be if the armor/shield has the "wild" enhancement bonus.

 

[Sendric]

Is this something we should look into adding to a community set or on the d20pfsrd site?

 

[ShadowChemosh]

Is this something we should look into adding to a community set or on the d20pfsrd site?

Yes especially as it was done before already. But people like to re-invent the wheel. Totally mean this is a nice way!!!

Well at least their are different options now actually. I planned to put a copy up at d20pfsrd as soon as I get a few minutes.

 

[alientude]

If you're referring to the PFRPG_druid_Wildshape.user file on the d20pfsrd Community Repository, ShadowChemosh, this is hardly reinventing the wheel. No offense intended to the author of them, but that series of templates is incredibly generic - add the stats, change creature size, and add multiple types of natural attacks to the character.

My adjustments are far, far more complete. Every single creature has its own adjustment tailored to it specifically. The character receives exactly what the spell would give them, including swim speed, poison, fly speed and maneuverability, grab, trip, constrict, the specific attacks that creature gets, etc.

 

[ShadowChemosh]

My adjustments are far, far more complete. Every single creature has its own adjustment tailored to it specifically. The character receives exactly what the spell would give them, including swim speed, poison, fly speed and maneuverability, grab, trip, constrict, the specific attacks that creature gets, etc.

They sound sweet!

I have uploaded your stuff to d20pfsrd into the zMisc folder under the file name "Wildshape Polymorph Adjustments.zip".

I know people can get it from your first post but this thread will very soon fall away and I would like people to find everything in one place.

 

[axxys]

Hi there. Two years later, I know is a very long time and this is a long shot, but I really haven't been able to find something like this elsewhere...

I tried putting the .user files in C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Hero Lab\data\pathfinder
When I start HL and select Pathfinder, get an error message saying

"The data files could not be loaded due to errors. Hero lab will not attempt to load them in recovery mode. Once loaded, you can access the editor as normal to correct any errors.

The following errors have occurred:

Thing 'pBS3MonLiz' - Bootstrap thing 'raMonPoiso' does not exist"

Anyone out there reading this? Any idea of how to fix?

 

[alientude]

I posted these just a little over a week ago, not two years.

I'm not sure what to say about the error you're getting, though. It's complaining about not finding the Monitor Lizard's poison. Have you purchased and activated the license of the Bestiary I package? I imagine not having that would prevent it from finding that racial special ability.

 

[axxys]

I have not. When I do buy it, I'll try again and post results.

Don't know where I had the 2 years from Glad you're still around!

 

[alientude]

Judging from axxys's experience, I think it's pretty likely that these adjustments are only workable if all 3 Bestiary packages are purchased. I'll update the first post to note this.

 

[Sendric]

Judging from axxys's experience, I think it's pretty likely that these adjustments are only workable if all 3 Bestiary packages are purchased. I'll update the first post to note this.

Not at all. I only have Bestiary 1, and they work for me.

 

[alientude]

Not at all. I only have Bestiary 1, and they work for me.

Good to know.

 

[axxys]

Update

Added bestiaries 1, 2, and 3. No more bug.

Thanks for the help

 

[Grand Moff Vixen]

alientude, I have been playing around with the adjustments and so far I have to say I am really impressed. I am in the process of starting at 25th level epic pbp on paizo.com and was wondering about a way to add the bonuses on my character.

I am seeing one thing that I would love you to add. The stats for a small & medium magical beast as per Beast Shape III.

This spell also allows you to take on the form of a Small or Medium creature of the magical beast type.

Thanks.

 

[LifeofReilly]

Damage adjusting with size.

First and foremost, thank you for making this. It is invaluable and it has to represent a tremendous amount of time. I'm really excited to use it!



I'm seeing discrepancies in some damage outputs. Here's what I'm seeing:

Dire Tiger form you have the mouseover descrition set as

"Polymorph into a Dire Tiger (Bestiary I, pg 265)\n\nLarge\n+4 STR\n-2 DEX\n+4 natural AC\n\nLow-light vision\nScent\n2 Claws 2d4 plus Grab\nBite 2d6 plus Grab\nPounce\nReach 5'\nRake 2d4" (emphasis mine)

In test below you have it listed as

"</bootstrap>
<bootstrap thing="wBite">
<containerreq phase="First" priority="500"><![CDATA[fieldvalIsOn <> 0]]></containerreq>
<autotag group="wMain" tag="2d8_204"/>
<assignval field="livename" value="Bite + Grab"/>
</bootstrap>"

The damage for the bite appears to be inconsistent. I know so very little about how HeroLab works- it's entirely possible that I've just got it wrong.


The hero I'm playing (size M) uses a greataxe (d12) and this modification changes that damage to 3d6. The hero also has a 1d4 bite if that has any effect on things.


When I use the Shambling Mound adjustment, the damage for the Slam and Constrict both increase from 2d6 to 3d6. Your entry in the .User file for Plant Shape 2 calls out 2d6 for both attacks.

This happens with several of the different forms. In Bat form damage per the bestiary is 1d3, but after the adjustment it becomes "-".

My guess (from reading the earlier messages) is that the size adjustments are still modifying the the damages of these forms in at least some of the attacks. I don't know which chart HeroLab uses for damage size increase or decrease.

Any ideas?

 

[alientude]

1) The 2d8 damage was a mistake - it should be 2d6. I've corrected that and updated the files in the first post.

2) The greataxe die increasing is something I can't do anything about - when Hero Lab runs the size increase/decrease, it automatically changes the dice for all weapons. Since polymorph effects cause your weapons to merge into your body, this really shouldn't be much of an issue. If the greataxe stays at 3d6 after the adjustment is clicked off, please let me know exactly which creature is doing this - it's a simple fix.

3) The Shambling Mound adjustment works for me - it correctly lists 2d6 as the damage dice. Can you attach a portfolio of yours that has it at 3d6?

4) I've noticed the Bat adjustment going to "-" damage on the druid I play myself. I'm not sure what's causing it, or how to fix it. It doesn't always happen, but it seems to be mostly when I have a lot of adjustments clicked on. At this point, it's not something I'm going to be able to fix, as I just have no idea what the problem is. Which creatures other than the Bat have you seen it on?

 

[alientude]

I am seeing one thing that I would love you to add. The stats for a small & medium magical beast as per Beast Shape III.

I might get around to doing this at some point, but the primary driving force for me to create these adjustments was so that I could easily play a wild shaping druid, so I focused only on the animals, plants, and elementals.

 

[futurekill]

Hi,

First, thanks for making these. I'm glad someone has taken the time to set these up.

I'm running into a bit of a problem. When I apply the Beast Shape I - Deinonychus spell effect it adds the natural weapons and ability scores increases and I get the extra attacks by for some reason my melee attack bonus goes much lower. Normally I have a +7 (+4 BAB +1 size (small) +2 str) in my unpoly'd form. With the spell applied it goes down to a +2. The way I've interpreted the spell it should be +4 BAB +3 str +0 size.

It also doesn't appear to account for strength in damage bonuses. After the spell is applied I wind up with a flat +1 damage bonus to all attacks.

Perhaps I've interpreted the ability/spell incorrectly or maybe there's a bug. Does this sound odd to anyone else?