Ways to qualify for Racial Substitution levels without being the right race?

[Jowgen]

Lets say you're playing race X but want to take the racial substitution level available to race Y.

What ways are there to accomplish this?

Looking for any and all methods, no matter how general or case-specific.

[Sian]

Racial Emulation feat for Changelings

completing Stoneblessed for racial substitution levels calling for you being dwarf, gnome or goliath

... thats about it

[Red Fel]

Racial Emulation feat for Changelings

completing Stoneblessed for racial substitution levels calling for you being dwarf, gnome or goliath

... thats about it

There's also that one for Elves... Was it Ruathar or something? Like Stoneblessed, but for Elves.

But yeah, you generally have to be of a given race to get the benefit of substitution levels. Does PAO do that? Maybe Reincarnation, if you rigged it somehow?

[Darrin]

Shaper of Form PrC in Dragon Compendium can switch your race. But... it's not entirely clear how it works.

[OldTrees1]

Having been the race might count depending on how you were transformed.
Dragonborn can take the old racial substituition level. I forget if Spellscales can as well.

[Psyren]

In Pathfinder, Half-X races can qualify for X archetypes from either parent.

Humans (and by extension, Half-human races) can qualify for any humanoid race's racial archetype in the game by taking Racial Heritage.

[dysprosium]

There's also that one for Elves... Was it Ruathar or something? Like Stoneblessed, but for Elves.

Sadly the Ruathar does not have the language that Stoneblessed does for being able to qualify as an elf for anything. It only allows the character to be recognized immediately as a friend to elf-kind.

[Red Fel]

Having been the race might count depending on how you were transformed.
Dragonborn can take the old racial substituition level. I forget if Spellscales can as well.

Dragonborn is a template that explicitly lets you count as your base race. Spellscale isn't a template, however; it's a separate race. Thus, a Spellscale is simply a Spellscale, not a Spellscale Elf or Spellscale Orc.

But yeah; if a template changes your type, that works. But not many change your type to another "base race." For example, the Unseelie Fey template changes your type to Fey, but not to a specific Fey creature; Mineral Warrior gives you the (Earth) subtype, but it's not the same as being of a specific Earth race, like an Earth Dwarf.

[OldTrees1]

Dragonborn is a template that explicitly lets you count as your base race. Spellscale isn't a template, however; it's a separate race. Thus, a Spellscale is simply a Spellscale, not a Spellscale Elf or Spellscale Orc.

Correction: There are 3 races that carry over traits from before. The Dragonborn race is the most well known since it carries over the most and is practically(but not technically) a template. Spellscale and Hellbred also carry stuff over but in a very very very much more limited manner. I am certain Hellbred would not work though since they only retain languages known.

[ranagrande]

A rather complicated way is to die, get Reincarnated as the race you need, take the substitution level, then get a Miracle or Wish to go back to your original race.

[Sian]

neither spellscale nor hellbred carries over, since they aren't templates that are put onto existing races

[OldTrees1]

neither spellscale nor hellbred carries over, since they aren't templates that are put onto existing races

I went and checked(did you?). The Rite of Spellscale Assumption (RotD pg 31) retains languages(like Hellbred does) and favored classes but not racial identity.

[Curmudgeon]

Dragonborn is a template that explicitly lets you count as your base race.
Actually, it's a "transformation" rather than a "template". It works mostly like a template, but it's called something else just to allow the D&D authors to exercise their linguistic creativity. (And, of course, it allows us to exercise our ability to suffer appreciate that linguistic creativity rather than the same old boring rules that we know how to use.)

[Sian]

as for Spellscale vs Dragonborn, note that Dragonborn has this to say in the sidebar on mechanics of rebirth:


You still count as a member of your original race for the purpose of any effect or prerequisite that depends on race.

Meanwhile Spellscale has no such thing and changes being much more throughout, explictly calling out that you leave behind every trace of heritage


all vestiges of one’s former race are wiped away

...

Hellbred in return is explicitly noted as being a reincanation with little to no memory of their past.

So yes ... i think i've read them close enough to come with a qualified opinion ... you?

[OldTrees1]

So yes ... i think i've read them close enough to come with a qualified opinion ... you?

Considering I read the entire section, know what things each of the 3 retain, and concluded only Dragonborn is useful to the OP? Yes.

Your previous post implied you did not know Spellscales and Hellbred retained anything at all. Hence my question.

[Darrin]

Hellbred in return is explicitly noted as being a reincanation with little to no memory of their past.


They remember languages, which is useful for getting into Fochlucan Lyrist.

[Jowgen]

I feel like I might have read about some Eberron feat/ritual type thing that might do something like this, vaguly recalling it having something to do with Orcs, although that might have been the specific example from the thread.

Ring any bells with anyone?

[Thrice Dead Cat]

Savage Species has rules for adding things like alignment and elemental subtypes. It might also have rituals for racial subtypes, too.

[Chronos]

Quoth Curmudgeon:

Actually, it's a "transformation" rather than a "template". It works mostly like a template, but it's called something else just to allow the D&D authors to exercise their linguistic creativity. (And, of course, it allows us to exercise our ability to suffer appreciate that linguistic creativity rather than the same old boring rules that we know how to use.)
The distinction does have some practical side-effects beyond linguistic variety, though. For instance, it's possible to Alter Self into a dragonborn, even though it's not possible to turn into anything with a template.