[3.5] Warshaper Help

[MrBananaBeak]

Hey guys,

I'm starting a new campaign soon at sixth level, we aren't expecting it to get above 10th level. I'm wanting to roll a Warshaper PrC for it. Do you guys have any advice on quickest way to meet the prereqs?

Warshaper Prereqs:
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Race: Any (but see below).
Special (The hard one): Must be able to change shape in one of the following five ways:
Change shape supernatural ability (aranea, hound archon, barghest, doppelganger, rakshasa, slaad).
Shapechanger subtype (lycanthropes, phasm).
Polymorph as a spell-like ability (astral deva, planetar, solar, couatl, marilith, bronze dragon, gold dragon, silver dragon, efreeti, leonal guardinal, night hag, ogre mage, pixie).
Able to cast the Polymorph spell.
Wild shape or similar class feature (bear warrior, druid).

The alternate form ability (possesed by quasits, vampires, and others) is insufficient to become a warshaper.


Thanks for the help!:mitd:

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

The most important thing to remember about Warshaper is the first paragraph under Class Features:

All of the following are class features of the warshaper
prestige class. The class features function only when the
warshaper is in a form other than her own.

With that in mind, the easiest way to qualify is with a Changeling (MM3, various Eberron books) and four levels of full BAB classes, preferably Lion Spirit Whirling Frenzy Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/ Warblade 2. However, whether or not you can use any of the Warshaper class features with this build depends entirely on how your DM interprets the interaction between the Changeling's Minor Change Shape ability and what defines "a form other than your own."

Many will argue that since it's a physical change it counts. Others, myself included, will argue that it emulates Disguise Self which cannot turn you into another creature, even though it can make you appear as another creature, thus you're still in your own form when using that ability. Basically, ask your DM first if this is going to work.


The second earliest you can start taking it is with a Divine Minion (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050209a), preferably of Anhur (CG), and again four levels of full BAB classes as above. Say you bought off the +1 LA (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm) for 3,000 xp, so you'll only be half a level behind starting out and you'll be able to catch back up since you'll get more xp per encounter. Note that a Divine Minion can wild shape at will and as a free action, and that wild shaping heals you of hp damage as though you rested for a night. You can activate wild shape while another use is still in effect, so if a Druid is in the form of a hawk he can turn into a bear to fight, then dismiss the one that made him a bear to go back to being a hawk. You could go around in the form of a lion, and use it to take the form of a less hurt lion, but any Morphic Weapons will go away, and I wouldn't use that more than once per round. You don't want to press your luck with unlimited healing.

[icefractal]

Are Changelings allowed? If so, be one. Then you can just take four levels of any full-BAB class and enter Warshaper at 5th level. Also, no annoying limits on how often you can change shape. My favorite trick with this is to take a bunch of the Abberant feats, and then use the Changeling's ability to hide how bizarre you really look. Pretend to be a normal dude until it's time to throw down, and then suddenly beast mode!

Alternately - Wild Shape Ranger. Just one level later, and you can turn into animals for some versatility.


Edit: Ninja'd!

Also, if you're going Divine Minion, you could go full-out madness and do something like:
Barbarian 1/Master of Many Forms 4/Warshaper ...
One more level, but you can turn into a wide variety of ass-kicking forms.

Oh, and you probably should just pretend that Divine Minion's Wildshape doesn't give you healing. Because if it did, it would give you unlimited healing each round for free, which makes it unsuitable for almost all campaigns.

[MrBananaBeak]

With that in mind, the easiest way to qualify is with a Changeling (MM3, various Eberron books) and four levels of full BAB classes, preferably Lion Spirit Whirling Frenzy Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/ Warblade 2. However, whether or not you can use any of the Warshaper class features with this build depends entirely on how your DM interprets the interaction between the Changeling's Minor Change Shape ability and what defines "a form other than your own."

Yeah, it's a little weird there with changelings. The issue I see with it is that changelings don't really have a "form of their own." Their form is whatever they want it to be.

[MrBananaBeak]

Sorry. I'm new. Suck at quotes.

[mythmonster2]

With that in mind, the easiest way to qualify is with a Changeling (MM3, various Eberron books) and four levels of full BAB classes, preferably Lion Spirit Whirling Frenzy Wolf Totem Barbarian 2/ Warblade 2. However, whether or not you can use any of the Warshaper class features with this build depends entirely on how your DM interprets the interaction between the Changeling's Minor Change Shape ability and what defines "a form other than your own."

Yeah, it's a little weird there with changelings. The issue I see with it is that changelings don't really have a "form of their own." Their form is whatever they want it to be.

I'm pretty sure changelings do have a "natural form"; it's the mostly featureless, grey-skinned humanoids that you can see on the page of changelings in the Eberron campaign book. However, I would be able to understand a DM ruling that it's not quite enough to count for Warshaper.

[zyggythorn]

Shifter is another LA0 race that qualifies. As a shapeshifter sub-type, it also gets a rage-like ability, the total effect of which depends on your sub-race.
That said, you almost need to take were touched master to maximize your racial goodies.
http://dndtools.eu/classes/weretouched-master/

Be careful you don't end up under optimizing, however.
I'll let you know how my playtest build goes with this

(Long tooth shifter CN lvs in ranger, eldeen ranger PrC, WTM PrC, and WarShaper are my current plans)