Dragonscale Husk+Shapeshift Druid?

[Rossebay]

So what is Dragonscale Husk? It's a class feature, and I assume it's an extraordinary ability as that information doesn't seem to be listed. Is it armor, though? Just because you can't wear armor with it doesn't mean it's armor, it's just a stipulation of dragonscale husk. Am I right in thinking this?

Shapeshift druid says that I retain any special qualities/ex abilities/su abilities that I had before. This seems to help my case. However, it says I lose any gear, which melds into my form. Do I keep my husk in shapeshifted form? Do I retain my armor class?


Finally, does Dragonscale Husk stack with natural armor?

[Tvtyrant]

I believe that it, like adamantine plating, is a feat base bonus and as such you keep it while polymorphed/wildshape (you cannot wildshape in it though.)

[Rossebay]

Does it stack with natural armor and such, though?

[Snowbluff]

It's an armor bonus, so it should stack if I am not missing a line in the Dragonscale Husk description.

I prefer Luminous Armor, personally.

[nedz]

Dragonscale Husk is dysfunctional to the point where the DM has to re-write it in order for it to do anything.

It's neither an armor nor a natural armor bonus, read more here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13947180&postcount=911).

[Rossebay]

Dragonscale Husk is dysfunctional to the point where the DM has to re-write it in order for it to do anything.

It's neither an armor nor a natural armor bonus, read more here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13947180&postcount=911).

Oh boy.

Yep. Reworking that. That's dumb.

[Snowbluff]

Dragonscale Husk is dysfunctional to the point where the DM has to re-write it in order for it to do anything.

It's neither an armor nor a natural armor bonus, read more here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=13947180&postcount=911).

Okay, I was missing something.

Luminous Armor has always been the right choice for me, then. :smalltongue:

[Vaz]

Dragonscale Husk requires Heavy Armour; thought druids had medium only, making it unusable for them?

[eggynack]

Luminous Armor has always been the right choice for me, then. :smalltongue:
It's pretty great, stacking with both the high dexterity of a good old fashioned bat form, and the bonus provided from a monk's belt. It stacks with pretty much everything you'd want it to, really, and at a duration that's awesome.

[TuggyNE]

It's pretty great, stacking with both the high dexterity of a good old fashioned bat form, and the bonus provided from a monk's belt. It stacks with pretty much everything you'd want it to, really, and at a duration that's awesome.

For the low low price of being NG and a bit of Str damage you can probably ignore with Wildshape.

[eggynack]

For the low low price of being NG and a bit of Str damage you can probably ignore with Wildshape.
Indeed maybe. I dunno. The whole skipping strength damage with wild shape thing is weird. It's definitely reasonably negligible, especially when you consider the fact that you're taking 1d2 strength damage each day, and healing one of them at night. The damage is even taken at the end of the duration, so you might not see any impact. NG is probably the best druid alignment, mostly due to luminous armor, though also due to stuff like exalted wild shape.

[Rossebay]

Dragonscale Husk requires Heavy Armour; thought druids had medium only, making it unusable for them?

The magic of multiclassing!
Haha.

[Snowbluff]

For the low low price of being NG and a bit of Str damage you can probably ignore with Wildshape.

Yep. I usually follow it up with Lesser Restoration or a Rod of Bodily Restoration.

EDIT: I agree with Eggy that NG is the best druid alignment. Exalted Companion is great for giving your Fleshraker VoP.

[eggynack]

I agree with Eggy that NG is the best druid alignment. Exalted Companion is great for giving your Fleshraker VoP.
Indeed. All you really lose is a few reasonably strong spells that are easily replaceable, and noble salamander summoning I suppose. Not the longest list of stuff. Exalted companion is also neat, though not as good as wild shape. Blink dog form is just crazy buns.

[Snowbluff]

Indeed. All you really lose is a few reasonably strong spells that are easily replaceable, and noble salamander summoning I suppose. Not the longest list of stuff. Exalted companion is also neat, though not as good as wild shape. Blink dog form is just crazy buns.

I had a Fleshraker named Lassie, but he died. He was succeed by Friar Tuck.

I use Frozen Wildshape, usually. I'll try out exalted sometime. Thanks for the tip. :smallsmile:

[eggynack]

I use Frozen Wildshape, usually. I'll try out exalted sometime. Thanks for the tip. :smallsmile:
Frozen isn't all that amazing, primarily because it effectively comes online at the same time as dire tortoise form. Dragon wild shape is probably the best one, though exalted isn't all that far behind, especially when you consider the free Ex and Su ability upgrade to all of your animal forms.

Edit: I dunno where aberration ranks though, especially before adding on assume supernatural ability.

[Snowbluff]

Frozen isn't all that amazing, primarily because it effectively comes online at the same time as dire tortoise form. Dragon wild shape is probably the best one, though exalted isn't all that far behind, especially when you consider the free Ex and Su ability upgrade to all of your animal forms.

Edit: I dunno where aberration ranks though, especially before adding on assume supernatural ability.

Cryohydra Wildshape is good, since you do not need a feat to have (Ex) abilities. Enhance Wildshape, SpC.

I don't like the pre-epic dragon one, since it's medium only, IIRC. I'd rather cast the Sanctified flying spell and be a really big bear or something...

Aberration is mediocre without Assume (Su), at best.

[eggynack]

Cryohydra Wildshape is good, since you do not need a feat to have (Ex) abilities. Enhance Wildshape, SpC.
It's decent, but it doesn't really have as much utility as the other options, and as I mentioned, dire tortoise. It pretty much consumes all other huge options in its voracious lightning striking maw.


I don't like the pre-epic dragon one, since it's medium only, IIRC. I'd rather cast the Sanctified flying spell and be a really big bear or something...
You can do some pretty cool stuff with it. For example, there's always on FoM from tarterian dragon (Draconomicon, 189), and always on true seeing from deep dragon (MoF, 40) and song dragon (MoF, 44), and both shadow blend and an energy drain breath weapon from shadow dragon (MoF, 43), and a free earthquake from li lung (OA, 156), and a bunch of other stuff, like obscure immunities, and great vision and movement modes. It's pretty much the only level of stuff-having that would be able to compete with and find victory against dimension door every round as a free action.

Aberration is mediocre without Assume (Su), at best.
Seems accurate enough, and I haven't really found anything yet that would make it better than that.

[Thurbane]

The magic of multiclassing!
Haha.
Only problem with that is that the husk improves based on the level of the class that the heavy armor proficiency was sacrificed from.

[nedz]

I actually started a thread on this forum last September to discuss options for fixing Dragonscale Husk. The conclusion we can to was


Just call it Armour, and dump the doesn't stack bit.
This would mean that it would stack with Natural Armour.


Only problem with that is that the husk improves based on the level of the class that the heavy armor proficiency was sacrificed from.

So AC 6 then.

Ed: found the thread (http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&cad=rja&ved=0CFcQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.giantitp.com%2Fforums%2Fshowt hread.php%3Ft%3D302562&ei=XLP1UvzwFq707AaEgYH4CA&usg=AFQjCNEvEUN6QoNiKN8J0cc1Cd9BsmlKVw&bvm=bv.60983673,d.ZGU).

[Chronos]

If you have some way of gaining (Ex) special qualities (such as the Improved Wild Shape spell), then aberration wild shape to a Will-o'-wisp isn't bad, with continual invisibility, perfect flight, and immunity to most spells. Not much offense, but that's why you have Natural Spell.

[eggynack]

If you have some way of gaining (Ex) special qualities (such as the Improved Wild Shape spell), then aberration wild shape to a Will-o'-wisp isn't bad, with continual invisibility, perfect flight, and immunity to most spells. Not much offense, but that's why you have Natural Spell.
That immunity to magic at least seems to be a rather unique ability, even if the invisibility and flight really aren't (the former is provided by lung dragon forms, and that is ever the comparison point, and flight is everywhere). The AC bonus is also very interesting, though I am troubled by the fact that I cannot identify the source of that +9 deflection bonus. I don't think you get that through alternate form, which puts the AC at a much more common 20.

[Snowbluff]

It's decent, but it doesn't really have as much utility as the other options, and as I mentioned, dire tortoise. It pretty much consumes all other huge options in its voracious lightning striking maw.
I'm usually decked out in other ways to win init, anyway. I'm also usually the person doing the ambushing, or battering people in the middle of their evil monologues. :smalltongue:


You can do some pretty cool stuff with it. For example, there's always on FoM from tarterian dragon (Draconomicon, 189), and always on true seeing from deep dragon (MoF, 40) and song dragon (MoF, 44), and both shadow blend and an energy drain breath weapon from shadow dragon (MoF, 43), and a free earthquake from li lung (OA, 156), and a bunch of other stuff, like obscure immunities, and great vision and movement modes. It's pretty much the only level of stuff-having that would be able to compete with and find victory against dimension door every round as a free action. Li lung doesn't deserve to be mentioned. IIRC, you can earthquake with SNA, and the Li Lung (you) can only do it once a day. Special senses are neat, but you're only a level away from true seeing at level 12, but without the hour/level duration. Normally I go for abilities I can't replicate with my spell list.

I think my next druid will use it for flavor.

[eggynack]

I'm usually decked out in other ways to win init, anyway. I'm also usually the person doing the ambushing, or battering people in the middle of their evil monologues. :smalltongue:
True enough, though if you're winning initiative and getting the surprise round from dire tortoise, that's like double action based awesomeness. It also stops you from getting hit too hard by an enemy teleporting right next to you, because even in that case the surprise round is yours. If you're usually getting the surprise round anyway, dire tortoise is obviously less good, but I figure that if you're already getting the surprise round, then you've probably already succeeded at whatever you're trying to do and it doesn't matter if you're a hydra either.

Li lung doesn't deserve to be mentioned. IIRC, you can earthquake with SNA, and the Li Lung (you) can only do it once a day.
I think it does. Lung dragons get qualities above and beyond those available to those of the ordinary kind, and the li lung's status as the best lung dragon is relevant. The list is something like natural invisibility, blindsight instead of blindsense, really crappy detect thoughts, and alternate form for large humanoid forms. The latter is actually interesting, because I think you're stuck with medium forms through other methods. Yu lungs might actually be a reasonable form on the basis of those traits alone, particularly because you get a greater age category, and thus better blindsight and detect thoughts. Anyway, to get back to the li lung, they also get access to every movement mode at a decent rate, including the ability to burrow through solid stone, the ability to deafen everyone in a 60 foot radius with no save, and immunity to the very earthquakes you create. It's some pretty cool stuff.

Special senses are neat, but you're only a level away from true seeing at level 12, but without the hour/level duration. Normally I go for abilities I can't replicate with my spell list.
Minutes/level and hours/level are pretty insanely different, I think. It's basically a thing that gives you a better version of a lot of things that I suppose you can replicate to some extent. For example, mist dragon gets you gaseous form, and while passage of the shifting sands was already kinda doing that, the gaseous form of a mist dragon grants a move speed of 75 feet, and you get to cast spells. It's basically constant spontaneous access to a bunch of pretty high power abilities. You can kinda do some of this stuff anyway, but that's true of nearly everything in existence, and you weren't doing it nearly as well.

I think my next druid will use it for flavor.
Nifty.

Edit: Also, you can spontaneously earthquake through oreads, in a significantly better fashion at that, but as I have been very occasionally known to say, more earthquakes is better.

[Rossebay]

With some DM shenaniganry, it scales with level always, it's an armor bonus, and I retain it through forms since it's a class feature.