Druid Wild Shape Questions

[Rumo]

Hi,

as my Druid has reached Level 5 recently, a number of questions regarding Wild Shape came up:

1. The rule book says that Wild Shape works like the Polymorph spell, where it says that I gain the Strenght, Dexterity and Constitution of the new form. Does that mean that having Con 18, I would suffer a temporary hit point loss of 6 when morphing into a Black Bear (Con 15)?

2. I assume that my claw attack is my BAB +3 plus 4 strenght bonus =7. But how do I calculate the bite? Do I just add the -5 from the default Black Bear for a +2 bite attack?

3. Is my assumption correct that for saves I add my changed attribute bonuses to the Druid's base saves?

4. Is my assumption correct that I am only allowed to use the animal's skill list, and change the values where my changed attributes add to or subtract from them?

Help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[Snowbluff]

1. It's been awhile, but I think your HP stays the same.

2. If it's a secondary attack (it should say, or it should be at the -5), it will have the -5 and and 1/2 your str.

3. Yes.

4. Use your skills. Some animals have a racial bonus to a certain skill, which you would get, IIRC.

[Karnith]

Wild Shape has had numerous rules errata since the Player's Handbook was first released. Check the Player's Handbook and Monster Manual errata (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20040125a) for the most up-to-date rules on how it works. The hyperlink SRD, which I will be linking to throughout this post, also contains the most recent rules revisions.
1. The rule book says that Wild Shape works like the Polymorph spell, where it says that I gain the Strenght, Dexterity and Constitution of the new form. Does that mean that having Con 18, I would suffer a temporary hit point loss of 6 when morphing into a Black Bear (Con 15)?Wild Shape (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/classes/druid.htm#wildShape), as an ability based on Alternate Form (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#alternateForm), never changes your maximum HP total, even if the new form changes your Constitution score. When you Wild Shape you do regain HP as though you have rested for a night, however.

2. I assume that my claw attack is my BAB +3 plus 4 strenght bonus =7. But how do I calculate the bite? Do I just add the -5 from the default Black Bear for a +2 bite attack?A black bear's bite is a secondary natural attack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#naturalWeapons), so you take a -5 penalty on attack rolls made with it.

3. Is my assumption correct that for saves I add my changed attribute bonuses to the Druid's base saves?
You are correct. When Wild Shaped, you use the physical attributes of your new form in place of your own.

4. Is my assumption correct that I am only allowed to use the animal's skill list, and change the values where my changed attributes add to or subtract from them?
You may use all of your skills as normal (well, form-permitting), but you use the assumed form's physical attributes to determine bonuses on skills, rather than those of your natural form.

Some animals have a racial bonus to a certain skill, which you would get, IIRC.
You would get them were Wild Shape still based on Polymorph (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/polymorph.htm) (and, by extension, Alter Self (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/alterSelf.htm)), but since it's based on Alternate Form now, you don't (excepting racial bonuses from certain movement modes).

[Togo]

1) No, hp remain the same.

2) Yes. Don't forget to add any size changes to the mix. You also get the animals racial feats, if any, which can include things like weapon focus, weapon finesse, and multiattack.

Secondary natural weapons (like the bear's bite) are at -5 and only add half strength bonus. That will be reflected in the bear's stats. Again, some creatures have feats that will change this. Unless they are racial feats, you don't get them. Racial feats are marked by a symbol in the monster manual and other books.

3) Yes. Again, watch for racial feats.

4) No, you can use any skills you possess. However, some of them will be pretty useless in a form with no hands. You don't get the animal's skill list at all. You do, however, get the animal's racial skill bonuses.

[Rumo]

Thanks a lot all three of you, that pretty much solves my problems for now!

[Rumo]

Oh, another question just came to my mind. Assume that I shape into a Dire Wolf as a Level 8 Druid. Do I get the second attack that I would be entitled to thanks to my BAB progression?

[ZamielVanWeber]

No. Natural weapons do not use iteratives.

[Urpriest]

Oh, another question just came to my mind. Assume that I shape into a Dire Wolf as a Level 8 Druid. Do I get the second attack that I would be entitled to thanks to my BAB progression?

Nope, it's a natural weapon. The second attack that you would be entitled to is called an "iterative attack", and you never get iterative attacks with natural weapons except for unarmed strikes. This is to balance out the fact that you always can attack with all of your natural weapons regardless of BAB.

By the way, a lot of these sorts of questions are answered in my Monster Handbook, link in sig.

[Togo]

Not when biting people, as you don't get iterative attacks with natural weapons. You would, however, still get iterative attacks if you were using them to make grapple checks in a grapple.