Shapechanger Kit for Thieves v0.9

semiticgoddess

I've always wanted to create a kit with a bunch of completely different shapeshifting abilities, and I finally decided to put one together. The Shapechanger kit lets you transform into 14 different critters altogether, each of which has a unique function. You can turn into a werebadger to club your enemies, switch to a bombardier beetle to stun people, become a beholder to blast everyone with eye lasers, shapeshift into a demilich to Maze enemies, and then stomp all over the opposition in frost giant form.

The kit hasn't been playtested yet, however, and I don't have unique icons for each of the 14 shapeshifting spells. I'll need another modder's assistance to create those icons and make it easier for the player to tell one spell from the other. Could anyone point me in the right direction?

I've considered making Dili, the little shapeshifting girl from Spellhold, into a joinable character and giving her this kit, since she's adorable, but I'm not familiar with creating NPCs and would need some guidance giving her a proper soundset (the Female_Fighter_3 soundset from IWD might work).

The kit description is here:

[spoiler]

Little is known about the source of a Shapechanger's powers. Alternately theorized to be the descendants of doppelgangers, lycanthropes, or some type of extraplanar being, Shapechangers have the power to radically transform their bodies--not just into humanoid forms, but also alien forms foreign to the Material plane. Shapechangers are adept at disguising themselves, but their true power lies in the ability to take on the forms of more powerful creatures.

CLASS FEATURES:

Advantages:

- 30% bonus to pickpocketing, hide in shadows, and move silently
- Learns new shapeshifting abilities as the Shapechanger gains levels:

Level 1: Cat
Level 3: Werebadger
Level 4: Grizzly Bear
Level 6: Phase Spider
Level 8: Bombardier Beetle
Level 9: Orog Shaman
Level 11: Red Half-Dragon
Level 13: Umber Hulk
Level 14: Clay Golem
Level 16: Beholder
Level 18: Glabrezu
Level 19: Young Green Dragon
Level 21: Frost Giant
Level 23: Demilich

Disadvantages:

- Cannot wear armor
- Only gets 10 skill points per level (20 at level 1)
- Cannot set traps
- Backstab multiplier is 1 point lower than a normal thief's (starts at no multiplier at level 1)

High-Level Abilities:
- Whirlwind Attack
- Hardiness
- Resist Magic
- Evasion
- Stoneskin
- Simulacrum
- Polymorph Other

- Hit Die: d6
[/spoiler]

OlvynChuru

While this kit does seem cool, I don't think that they should be able to turn into a demilich that early. A level 23 thief hasn't even gotten HLAs yet. And it seems weird for a demilich form to come right after a frost giant form; there's a huge difference in power there.

Note: For comparison, the two demiliches in Baldur's Gate 2 are both level 27.

semiticgoddess

@OlvynChuru: The demilich form is nowhere near as strong as an actual demilich. The demilich attack only Mazes the target for 6 seconds on a failed save vs. spell at -4 (50% chance of bypassing MR) and deals 4d6 damage with a save for half; the spell level immunities only got up to level 5; the physical damage resistances only go up to 30%; and the Shapechanger gets no weapon immunities from this form (you have to go Glabrezu or Clay Golem for that, and even then, it only gives you immunity to nonmagical weapons). The demilich form might be overpowered depending on what the player can do with the Maze effects, but this thief does not get Imprisonment or even a fraction of a real demilich's defensive powers. I might be able to balance the demilich form just by nerfing the APR (currently at 3) or the THAC0 bonus (at +20).

Part of the idea behind these forms is that they only get a portion of the real form's abilities. A lot of the stats are distinctly worse than the actual critters they mimic, and despite this being is a melee-oriented build, it has to work with a thief class's THAC0 values. The Frost Giant shouldn't even break a THAC0 of 1 without items or party assistance.