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Afgncaap5
2011-01-07, 10:05 PM
My character is apparently a werewolf (bitten a while back) and is aware of it now and so I'm updating his character sheet accordingly. Gaining access, as I do, to bonus skill points from the werewolve's animal hit dice, I was pondering dumping them all into Control Shape.

The oddity: I'm seeing it reported all over the Internet that once you become aware of your lycanthropy, you gain Control Shape as a class skill that you can put ranks into. However, I'm not finding where it says that you get it as a "class skill." I see it listed as something that you become aware of, and I see it listed as something that you can put points into, but I don't see where it says you gain it as a class skill.

Is this knowledge based on asking Wizards of the Coast for clarification somewhere, or is it just a kind of "as we see it" thing that the Internet has agreed to?

Greenish
2011-01-07, 10:08 PM
It's the first sentence of the skill description for Control Shape, at least in SRD.

[Edit]: Likewise in MM.

Halae
2011-01-07, 10:09 PM
This is almost definitely an "As we see it" thing, as it would be several kinds of stupid to have Control Shape as a cross-class skill no matter what

Afgncaap5
2011-01-07, 10:14 PM
Ahhh, many thanks. I don't look at SRD very often.

Trouble is, I don't know if my DM will accept SRD as D&D 3.5 canon. (Worst case scenario, I only get half as many skill points in Control Shape as I'd like. No big loss.)

Thanks again. :-)

true_shinken
2011-01-07, 10:15 PM
What Greenish said.

Any character who has contracted lycanthropy and is aware of his condition can learn Control Shape as a class skill.
Bolded for emphasis.

Greenish
2011-01-07, 10:26 PM
Trouble is, I don't know if my DM will accept SRD as D&D 3.5 canon.Well, then point at the page 303 of Monster Manual. Says the very same thing, in black and white, printed right there in the core book.

Afgncaap5
2011-01-07, 10:44 PM
Well, then point at the page 303 of Monster Manual. Says the very same thing, in black and white, printed right there in the core book.

Aha! There it is. Excellent.

In a tangentially related question since I'm on the subject, would there happen to be any spells that cause lycanthropy apart from Were-Doom in the BoVD?

No worries, if not. My DM is, surprisingly, willing to let me invent a few spells pending his approval. (Haven't really used it much, though, with the exception of a level 0 spell to dramatically shuffle cards in a big cloud around me, and a level 1 variant that looks identical but it stacks the dack.)

true_shinken
2011-01-07, 10:59 PM
No worries, if not. My DM is, surprisingly, willing to let me invent a few spells pending his approval. (Haven't really used it much, though, with the exception of a level 0 spell to dramatically shuffle cards in a big cloud around me, and a level 1 variant that looks identical but it stacks the dack.)

Oh, man. You are a werewolf spellcaster? My condolences.

Afgncaap5
2011-01-07, 11:11 PM
Oh, man. You are a werewolf spellcaster? My condolences.

Well, thanks, but it's really not that bad. I'm not worried about my character level. I'm a mystic theurge.

More to the point, I'm a "showmanship" wizard who puts on magic demonstrations as he goes from place to place (really effective considering the massive war of ant people crossing the landscape.) So far I'm a Wizard 3/Cleric 3/Mystic Theurge 1/Virtuoso 1/Magical Trickster 2. Turning into a Werewolf is Awesome, and as a Cleric of Showmanship, I have to stay a Werewolf because curing it would be hindering my ability to be Awesome.

true_shinken
2011-01-07, 11:20 PM
Well, thanks, but it's really not that bad. I'm not worried about my character level. I'm a mystic theurge.

That's not the problem. It's transforming.

Changing form is a standard action. If the change is involuntary, the character performs the change on his next turn following the triggering event.
Meaning if you take enough damage, you will lose your next standard action. This ruins action economy like no one's business. If you are a Mystic Theurge, I believe decent Wisdom will help with those Control Shape checks, though.

Afgncaap5
2011-01-07, 11:34 PM
Oh, yeah. I've got a Wisdom modifier of 5, and currently 12 points in the skill, so I'm only really going to fail that check on a die roll of 8 or less (and that's assuming that I'm caught by surprise without being able to hit myself with Owl's Wisdom.) By the next time I level, I'll get the Tricky Magic class feature which, with the Conceal Spellcasting skill trick (not to mention another point that can be put into the class skill) I'll only really need to worry about that roll 1/5th of the time.

I'm sure it'll come up and get in the way from time to time. But it'll be a dramatic problem. And as long as his problems are dramatically timed, the showmanship theurge is happy.

true_shinken
2011-01-07, 11:36 PM
I'm sure it'll come up and get in the way from time to time. But it'll be a dramatic problem. And as long as his problems are dramatically timed, the showmanship theurge is happy.
Definitely. I think lycanthropy is one of the few true 'cool weaknesses' you can get in D&D. I bet you'll have a blast playing this; I know I would.

Afgncaap5
2011-01-07, 11:52 PM
Thanks. I'm looking forward to it. :smallsmile: