[3.5] How to get at will limited shapechange?

[A.A.King]

Are there ways to get something like the vampire abillity to change into a Wolf/Bat or something like the Tibbit ability to change into a cat?

I'm looking for a way to make a vampire wannabe and who has trained to get a bat form (and hopefully just a bat form). Is there a low cost template or feat that gives someone such a limited form of an animal aternate form?

[shaikujin]

Lycanthrope wolf (aka werewolf) or bat?

Minimal LA 2 though, not sure if that's considered cheap.
Training is basically the ranks into the Control Shape skill.

Hengeyokai as a race might work too if you are willing to fluff sparrow to bat.

[Psyren]

Lycanthrope wolf (aka werewolf) or bat?

Minimal LA 2 though, not sure if that's considered cheap.

It's not just the LA though, you also gain a big fat pile of RHD to really FUBAR your build.

[cakellene]

Any of the splatbooks have a dhamphir race or template?

[Crake]

It's not just the LA though, you also gain a big fat pile of RHD to really FUBAR your build.

Not only that, the template bonuses to con only apply to your racial HD when determining HP calculations, so getting something like a werebear isnt as great as it initially seems.

[Brookshw]

Any of the splatbooks have a dhamphir race or template?

There's the half vampire in libris mortis, does that match what you're looking for?

[Epsilon Rose]

Could something be done with warlock. I know they can get a swarm of bats and a darkness filled with... Things.

[A.A.King]

Yeah Lycantropy costs too much and I don't really all it offers. All I want is for my guy to have accss to a bat form as soon possible. Hopefully in a way that it doesn't also offer much more powerfull forms (like polymorph) because that usually means it takes long to get and can't be used a lot

[Grim Reader]

I have a vague memory that kobolds can have an alternate form ability?

Wildshaping would work, but give more than a bat form.

[JeminiZero]

Instead of a man that changes into a bat, how about the other way around?

Start with an Anthropomorphic Bat from Savage Species. This is a small man-bat that can fly around and what not. Take either 13 levels in Druid to get Thousand faces, or 1 level in Egoist Psion with the Change Shape (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070314a) ACF. Both let you change your physical appearance, and disguise your man-bat as any appropriate small humanoid (such as Gnome or Halfling).

Your ground speed with be terrible though.

[AMFV]

It's not just the LA though, you also gain a big fat pile of RHD to really FUBAR your build.

You can always take the Savage Progressions version and then you'd only have 1 buy-off LA and then not take anything else. I mean if it's just the shapechange you want.

Edit:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/sp/20040117a

Here it is, just take 1 level of the class, since you don't have to complete the Savage progressions classes that leaves you with +1 LA, which you can buy off and you get the ability you want. Also +2 Wis, and a few other nice things, although you don't get wolf abilities just the shape, but if that's what you're going for, it's that easy.

[Mutazoia]

Sorry but this is the first thing I though of when I read "Limited shapechange (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf1-xVUQAsE)"

[A.A.King]

The idea is nice, but I'm not looking to obtain the wolf form. I would like a bat form.

Anthropomorphic Bat is a nice idea but the character is trying to obtain some kind of bat form to resemble a vampire more, would be a pointless exercise for the dude if he was a bat all along :smalltongue:

Wildshape is comes into play a bit to late and I don't want this dude to be either Druid or Wild Shape Ranger

I looked up Half Vampire and it doesn't have the Alternate Form abillity that normal vampires do

Does anyone know something about Kobolds gaining the alternate form abillity..?

EDIT:

Sorry but this is the first thing I though of when I read "Limited shapechange (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf1-xVUQAsE)"

xD but yeah, that's basically the kind of shape shifting ability that I want. A single form with limited power mostly for utility

[shaikujin]

You can have a lycanthrope bat.

Use the savage progression as an example to reduce LA to 1.

Symbiont template will reduce it to 1 as well.

Also, Hengeyokai bat (use same stats as the sparrow).

[JeminiZero]

Anthropomorphic Bat is a nice idea but the character is trying to obtain some kind of bat form to resemble a vampire more, would be a pointless exercise for the dude if he was a bat all along :smalltongue:

How about this instead: Start off as a Winged Humanoid, and then apply the Quasilycanthrope (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20040721a) Bat template. This provides the ability to ... shift to a form that looks bat-like. That's it, no flight or anything by default. Which is why you have to start off as a Winged Humanoid to supply said Flight (Raptoran works best, but see if you can convince your DM to combine both Dragonborn and Quasilycanthrope).

[A.A.King]

The Lycantrope things just don't feel right for this guy. I was hoping there was a feat or a template which allowed you to change to one specific animal form (like those Animagi from Harry Potter for example). Though nice it's not 100% necessary for this build, so I'd rather only do it by a simple way.

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

The Divine Minion (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a) template seems the best way to go. Gods who grant a single form to choose from tend to have a Level Adjustment of +1, so I'd recommend that.

In brief, here's what this +1 Level Adjustment would get you:

Size and Type: The creature's type changes to outsider, and any alignment subtypes it has changes to match the corresponding alignment subtypes of its deity. Divine minions encountered on the Material Plane have the extraplanar subtype. Do not recalculate the creature's Hit Dice, base attack bonus, saves, or skill points.

Special Qualities: A divine minion retains all the special qualities of the base creature and gains the following special qualities. Any alignment-based special attacks the base creature had are replaced by equivalent abilities that match its new alignment, if any, or are lost entirely if no equivalent substitutions exist.

Fast Wild Shape (Su): A divine minion can wild shape as an 11th-level druid into one or more animal forms that depend on the deity it serves (In your case, substitute "bat" as the animal form). The divine minion can use this ability at will, can change form as a free action, and can spend time in animal form indefinitely. They prefer to keep their shapechanging abilities secret so that they can use them to surprise their enemies in combat. Unlike a druid, minions can use this ability even if they're wearing metal armor.

Fear Immunity (Su): Divine minions are immune to fear effects.

[Grim Portent]

The Lycantrope things just don't feel right for this guy. I was hoping there was a feat or a template which allowed you to change to one specific animal form (like those Animagi from Harry Potter for example). Though nice it's not 100% necessary for this build, so I'd rather only do it by a simple way.

I don't think there's any RAW way to get bat form shapeshifting specifically.

You could speak to your GM about homebrewing something for the build. A single form shapechange isn't much more than a utility provided the form isn't powerful. Bats can fly and are very small though which makes them good at scouting and getting into hard to reach places of course and your GM might not want easy/early access to flight in his/her game. Ask for something simple like at will shapechange into a bat as a full round action for +1LA.

EDIT: Nevermind, ninja'd by a very good suggestion.

[Ruethgar]

Refluff Winged Watcher to be a bat instead of a bird. Then just get a custom item of it.

[A.A.King]

The Divinon Minion one might definitely work, thanks for that great suggestion :smallsmile:
(and everyone else ofcourse also thanks for all the suggestions :smallsmile:)