Convince DM to allow changling

[Drizzcon]

I currently play in a 3.5/PF homebrew combo.
Currently a lvl 4 human rogue.
Basically I'm bored with my rogue and how he feels like such a flat one sided character, he doesn't seem to stand out and have a real identity like all the other characters in the campaign.

So I'm hoping to convince my DM to allow me to play him as a changeling, for the back story my rogue will have just been holding a human form, sense I haven't had any deaths or effects that would reveal a changeling yet.

Now before i propose this to my DM, i want to have some stuff that i could use to help convince him that a changeling wouldn't be OP in the game. He created his homebrew combo to nerf and change certain Dnd rules and stats more to his liking, so the key thing would be keeping the changeling simple so he doesn't outshine the rest of the party.

I was considering something like i would only be able to change shape as a daily spell so the ability i want is still there but it would restrict me to make sure that I really want to change my shape. It could lead to things like, if i changed into an orc to infiltrate a clan in a dungeon or something, I would have to ensure that I wait a day before i enter a town again so that townspeople wouldn't attack what they believe to be an orc.

Let me know what you think and please provide some advice on how I could convince my DM to allow a changeling character.

[Amnestic]

How about "Humans tend to be drastically more optimal from a gameplay standpoint, and if you allow those, then disallowing Changelings for balance reasons is silly"?

I mean, unless his homebrew steals everything that makes humans special, I have to assume that they're still one of the top races for player classes simply due to the bonus feat/skill points.



I was considering something like i would only be able to change shape as a daily spell so the ability i want is still there but it would restrict me to make sure that I really want to change my shape.

I always thought that the essence of a Changeling is the ability to seamlessly swap personas at a moment's notice when they were called to do so. Making their change shape ability 1/Day is...it's like creating a non-gelatinous gelatinous cube. The whole point is that it's gelatinous! And the whole point of a Changeling, to me at least, is that it changes. Often and freely.

[Kelb_Panthera]

If your DM thinks being able to change your physical appearance on a moments notice (as a full-round action, mind) is in any way remotely powerful, he's showing a very pronounced lack of system mastery.

If he's worried about Warshaper, just agree beforehand that you won't take the PrC.

I really don't understand how your DM could even think (beyond warshaper) that there's anything even remotely abusive about being a changeling. You get a cosmetic ability and the vulnerability of being a shapechanger (revealed by trueseeing, subject to spells that target the subtype, subject to witch-hunts by a paranoid populace, etc). About the only thing changelings have going for them over humans is the fact that they're basically immune to offensive transmutations that don't do HP or ability damage. (even then, bear in mind that flesh-to-stone renders you unconcious, and a succesful baleful polymorph robs you of the knowledge that you're not supposed to be a <insert inocuous animal>)

[Madara]

Point to Hat of Disguise. Its only like 1000-something gp, and mimics your whole racial abilities.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Point to Hat of Disguise. Its only like 1000-something gp, and mimics your whole racial abilities.

Not the whole of it, but the major, active portion.

[Madara]

Not the whole of it, but the major, active portion.

Does the changling get anything else? They don't get any skill bonuses, nor ability bonuses.

[Amnestic]

Does the changling get anything else? They don't get any skill bonuses, nor ability bonuses.

They get +2 on Bluff, Intimidate and Sense Motive, +2 on saves vs. Charm/Sleep and Speak Language as a permanent class skill.

[Darius Kane]

If your DM thinks being able to change your physical appearance on a moments notice (as a full-round action, mind) is in any way remotely powerful, he's showing a very pronounced lack of system mastery.

If he's worried about Warshaper, just agree beforehand that you won't take the PrC.

I really don't understand how your DM could even think (beyond warshaper) that there's anything even remotely abusive about being a changeling. You get a cosmetic ability and the vulnerability of being a shapechanger (revealed by trueseeing, subject to spells that target the subtype, subject to witch-hunts by a paranoid populace, etc). About the only thing changelings have going for them over humans is the fact that they're basically immune to offensive transmutations that don't do HP or ability damage. (even then, bear in mind that flesh-to-stone renders you unconcious, and a succesful baleful polymorph robs you of the knowledge that you're not supposed to be a <insert inocuous animal>)
I might be wrong, but I think that the OP didn't yet talk with his DM.

Now before i propose this to my DM, i want to have some stuff that i could use to help convince him that a changeling wouldn't be OP in the game. He created his homebrew combo to nerf and change certain Dnd rules and stats more to his liking, so the key thing would be keeping the changeling simple so he doesn't outshine the rest of the party.
Note the bolded part.


Point to Hat of Disguise. Its only like 1000-something gp, and mimics your whole racial abilities.
Not whole. Changelings transform their bodies physically. Hat of Disguise is just illusory.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Does the changling get anything else? They don't get any skill bonuses, nor ability bonuses.

As amnestic said, plus the shapechanger subtype comes with a few perks and drawbacks.

Technically the hat is actually better than minor shape-change since it includes clothing when the changeling ability doesn't.

[2xMachina]

Not whole. Changelings transform their bodies physically. Hat of Disguise is just illusory.

Doesn't really matter, as True seeing reveals your form anyway. Only thing HoD is bad at, is if someone is touching you.