[Base Class] The Animorph

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

Ok, so this has probably been done before, but I couldn't find it on these forums so I thought I'd take a crack at it. It was inspired by this thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44419) over on the Gaming board (and, obviously, by the Animorphs books that dominated my middle school years). After reading that thread the idea jumped into my head and wouldn't go away, so here it is. This is my first attempt at homebrewing a class and is probably horribly broken, so feel free to pick it apart. I've also included some new class-specific feats at the bottom, just cuz.

Update: Callix is working on some awesome prestige classes to help specialize your Animorph character. Check 'em out here:
Wildrunner (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48821)
Morph Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48880)
Aerialist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49112)

The Animorph

No one is quite sure where an animorph's power comes from. Some people claim they are descended from shapechangers, some believe they are the result of a magical experiment gone wrong, some believe the power is a gift from bizarre outsiders or pseudonatural creatures. Wherever they come from, they are powers unlike anything known. An animorph has the ability to physically reshape her body without the use of magic. By absorbing a creature's essence, she can literally become that creature, with all of its senses, abilities and even instincts. The act of morphing is physically strenuous, as the animorph reconstructs her entire body, and is not nearly as quick or smooth as a spell, but the end result is much more powerful. This power makes an animorph particularly adept at reconnaissance work and their ability to literally see through another's eyes has lent a helping hand to their people skills.

HD: d6

Alignment: Any

Abilities: Wisdom is probably the most important stat for an animorph, as it allows her to fight the instincts of the creatures she morphs. Charisma is also important as the animorph's unique perspective on life puts her in a good diplomatic position, as well as giving her plenty of opportunities to talk her way out of trouble. Most animorphs don't put much emphasis on physical abilities, but a good Strength score can be useful for acquiring new morphs.

Class Skills: Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis)

Skill Points: (4 + Int) x 4 at 1st level, 4 + Int each additional

Animorph
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+0|
+0|
+0|
+2|Acquire, Morph, Thoughtspeak

2nd|
+1|
+0|
+0|
+3|Trust the Instincts

3rd|
+1|
+1|
+1|
+3|

4th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Morph Empathy

5th|
+2|
+1|
+1|
+4|Battle Morph

6th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Frolis Maneuver (Same Species)

7th|
+3|
+2|
+2|
+5|Favored Morph

8th|
+4|
+2|
+2|
+6|

9th|
+4|
+3|
+3|
+6|Wild Empathy

10th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|Battle Morph

11th|
+5|
+3|
+3|
+7|

12th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8|Favored Morph

13th|
+6/+1|
+4|
+4|
+8|Power Morphing

14th|
+7/+2|
+4|
+4|
+9|Improved Morph Empathy

15th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+9|Battle Morph

16th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10|

17th|
+8/+3|
+5|
+5|
+10|Favored Morph

18th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|Chain Morphing

19th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+11|

20th|
+10/+5|
+6|
+6|
+12|Frolis Maneuver (Different Species) [/table]

Class Features:

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Animorphs are proficient with all simple weapons, but no armor and no shields.

Acquire (Ex) - By touching a living creature, an animorph can acquire its essence and henceforth morph into it. Acquiring an unwilling creature requires a successful grapple check that must be maintained for 3 rounds. Once acquiring starts, the creature must make a Will save vs. DC 20 + animorph level or become dazed until contact is broken. Any damage or hostile action towards the creature will break the dazed effect. Acquire is a free action that can be started as soon as a creature is grappled, but grapple must be maintained for 3 rounds for creature to be acquired. An animorph can not acquire any creature with the undead, construct, elemental, or outsider subtypes, nor any creature that lacks a corporeal form, and she must be in her original form to acquire a creature. With the DM's permission, a 1st level animorph may start play with up to 2 creatures already acquired.

Morph (Ex) - An animorph can take the form of any creature she has acquired. She gains the creature's size as well as all of the creature's extraordinary and supernatural abilities, movement modes, physical ability scores and natural weapons/armor but loses any extraordinary and supernatural abilities, movement modes, physical ability scores and natural weapons/armor of her own and her type changes to that of the creature. She may stay in morph for up to 2 hours, as an animorph that exceeds the 2-hour limit becomes trapped in that form permanently. A trapped animorph loses its Acquire and Morph abilities and can not take animorph levels until returned to its original form. Restoration, Wish, or Miracle can return a trapped animorph to their original form, or, at the DM's discretion, an atonement to the character's deity or source of morphing power.

Morphing is a full-round action that provokes an attack of opportunity. An animorph is considered flat-footed while morphing but if attacked she does not need to succeed on a concentration check to continue morphing. De-morphing behaves in the same fashion, and the animorph must de-morph (return to her original form) before she can morph again. After de-morphing, the animorph must wait 3 rounds before morphing again or become fatigued. She may de-morph while fatigued without penalty, but morphing while fatigued will cause exhaustion. When morphing or demorphing, an amount of damage equal to the animorph's HD + her Constitution modifier is converted to double the amount of subdual damage, and any non-magical diseases currently affecting her are cured. When morphing a creature for the first time, the animorph must make a Will save DC 20 - creature's Intelligence modifer to avoid being controlled by the creature's instincts. Treat creatures with no Intelligence score as having a modifier of -6. If this check is failed, the animorph can try again in 5 rounds, but she behaves as a creature of that type under the DM's control until then. For a creature that she has already morphed, the animorph must make a Will save DC 10 - creature's Int modifier to avoid being controlled, and she may retry every round. Using the Morph ability to impersonate a specific person or creature grants +10 to the Disguise check.

When morphing into a creature larger than her size category, any armor or non-skintight clothing currently worn by the animorph is destroyed. Otherwise, the armor and clothing simply fall to the ground. An animorph may use any weapon she is proficient with while morphed as long as the morph is able to hold the weapon. However, the weapon is used as if she is non-proficient.

Thoughtspeak (Ex) - While in morph, an animorph can communicate telepathically with anyone close enough to hear her speak normally. Thoughtspeech can be directed at a specific individual, group, or made public, so that anyone in range can hear it. This is a one-way communication, and does not allow the animorph to hear the thoughts of others unless they are also in morph and using thoughtspeak. Thoughtspeak can be understood regardless of language.

Trust the Instincts (Ex) - Starting at 2nd level, by sacrificing some of her control, the animorph can take advantage of her morph's natural abilities. By making a Will save for control (DC 20 - creature's Int modifier for first-time morph, DC 10 - Int mod otherwise), she gains a +2 competence bonus to Bluff, Disguise, and any skill her current morph has 5 or more ranks in, but loses -2 to all subsequent Will saves. This effect lasts for 10 minutes. An animorph can use Trust the Instincts as many times as she wishes, but the control DC increases by 5 each time it is used in the same form without demorphing. If the Will save is failed, the same penalties apply for losing control of the morph, as outlined under the Morph ability. - Thanks to Callix

Morph Empathy (Ex) - At 4th level, when making a Diplomacy check against a creature other than her own species, the animorph can add her animorph levels to the check if she is in that species' morph. This ability can only be used against creatures with an Intelligence of at least 3.

Battle Morph (Ex) - At 5th level, and again at 10th and 15th, the animorph chooses one morph she already knows to be a battle morph. She has had so much experience fighting in this form that her combat skills are on par with actual creatures of that form. When in Battle Morph the animorph replaces her base attack bonus and base reflex save with that of the morphed creature. If the Battle Morph is physically able to use a weapon the animorph is proficient with, she may use the weapon with the proficiency intact. Morphing into a Battle Morph is a standard action.

Frolis Maneuver (same species) (Ex) - By 6th level, the animorph has learned to merge the essences of up to 4 different creatures of the same species. This ability works as a disguise check against looking like an exact duplicate of a specific creature. Each merged essence above 2 adds +5 to the disguise check. Performing a Frolis Maneuver is always a 2-round action. The benefits of a Battle Morph or Favored morph do not apply when used in a Frolis Maneuver.

Favored Morph (Ex) - At 7th level, and again at 12th and 17th, the animorph chooses one morph she already knows to be a favored morph. She has had so much experience in this form that her behavior is nearly indistinguishable from that of the creature. When in Favored Morph the animorph replaces her skill modifier in any Strength, Dexterity, and Wisdom based skills with those of the morphed creature. Morphing into a Favored Morph is a standard action.

Wild Empathy (Ex) - At 9th level, the animorph's time in animal form has given her a better understanding of their behaviors. The animorph can use body language to make herself appear less threatening to any class of animal (e.g. bird, bear, cat, etc.) she has previously morphed. This works exactly like the Wild Empathy druid ability, except that it is only applicable to animal types the animorph has already morphed.

Power Morphing (Ex) - At 13th level, the animorph is getting used to the physical strains morphing takes on her body, and now must only wait one round before re-morphing to avoid getting fatigued.

Improved Morph Empathy (Ex) - At 14th level, the animorph's experience in morph has made her familiar with the behavior of those creatures. When making a Diplomacy check against a creature other than her own species, the animorph can add her animorph levels to the check while in her original form, as long as she has previously morphed that species. While in that species' morph, she can add her animorph levels to the check, as well as a +2 competence bonus. This ability can only be used against creatures with an Intelligence of at least 3.

Chain Morphing (Ex) - At 18th level, the physical strain of morphing is like second nature, and the animorph can now morph directly after de-morphing as many times in a row equal to her Constitution modifier before getting fatigued.

Frolis Maneuver (different species) (Ex) - At 20th level, the animorph has mastered the technique of blending essences, and can now merge the essences of 2 different creatures, regardless of species. The resulting creature has the highest physical ability scores between the two creatures and the highest natural armor scores. The first time she merges 2 creatures she can choose which creature's supernatural/extraordinary ability set, movement modes and natural attacks the new creature has. Anytime the animorph performs a Frolis Maneuver with these 2 creatures, the same creature will be the result. Since a Frolis Maneuver is such a delicate process it can fail when two essences simply refuse to merge. Each new merge has a 5% chance of failing, in which case the resulting creature has the lowest ability scores and natural armor between the 2 creatures and the other abilities are chosen by the DM. Performing a Frolis Maneuver is always a 2-round action. The benefits of a Battle Morph or Favored morph do not apply when used in a Frolis Maneuver.

New Feats:

Morphing Talent [Animorph]
You've developed a talent for morphing quickly and smoothly.
Benefits: Morphing Battle and Favored morphs is now a move action, and morphing anything else is a standard action.
Normal: Morphing Battle and Favored morphs is usually a standard action, while all other morphs are a full-round action.

Estreen [Animorph]
You are so talented at morphing you can control the change to an extent.
Prerequisite: Morphing Talent
Benefits: When morphing, you can choose to control the morph so that anyone seeing you morph for the first time must make a Will save DC 10+animorph level+Charisma modifier or be either fascinated for one round or shaken for 5 rounds. You may choose which effect to create.

Morph Dancer [Animorph]
You can incorporate your morphing ability into your performances.
Prerequisite: Morphing Talent, Estreen, Perform (Dance) 3 ranks
Benefits: You can make a Perform (Dance) check to Fascinate anyone watching you, as the bardic music skill.

Last-Minute [Animorph] - posted by Callix
By maintaining focus on your original form, you can demorph just beyond the two-hour limit.
Benefits: By making a Will save, DC 10 + number of rounds over two hours, you can demorph over the two hour limit. This takes two full rounds.
Normal: After two hours in a specific morph, you are permanently trapped in that form.

Combat Morphing [Animorph] - posted by Callix
Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Dodge, Morphing Talent
You have learned to keep your mobility while morphing.
Benefits: When morphing, you are not denied your Dexterity bonus to AC, but you still draw an attack of opportunity for morphing.
Normal: While morphing, you are considered flat-footed.

Morph Regeneration [Animorph] - posted by Callix
Prerequisites: Con 13+, Endurance, Rapid Healing, Morph class feature
Benefits:As you shed your shape, you also shed your injuries. The healing from morphing is tripled: convert three times the normal amount of damage to an equal amount of subdual damage whenever you morph or demorph.
Normal: Convert an amount of damage equal to your HD + your Con modifier to double the amount of subdual damage.

New Flaw:

Morphing Allergy [Animorph]
You are allergic to a certain species' essence.
Effect: The DM chooses or randomly generates a creature and does not tell you what this creature is. If you acquire this creature, you are treated as having the disease Morphing Allergy, described below. If you have already acquired the creature when this flaw is taken, you immediately contract the disease. You may take this flaw multiple times. Each time it is taken a new creature is chosen.

New Disease:

Morphing Allergy - DC 15, 1d3 Wis, 1 day incubation
Caught by acquiring a creature whose essence the animorph is allergic to. Each day the save is failed, there is also a 25% chance for the allergy to assert itself in any high-stress situation. This includes combat rounds, attempts at morphing, spell effects that simulate strong emotions (fear, crushing despair), and any situation that requires a will save. If the allergy asserts itself, the animorph immediately starts to morph into the allergic creature, even if it is already in morph. The animorph has no control over the morph, and automatically fails her will save for control. She may retry every five rounds at DC 20 - creature's Int modifier. If the animorph fails the save by 5 or less, she immediately starts to morph into a randomly chosen morph she already knows. She still automatically fails the control save, but if she has morphed this creature before, she may make a control save at 15 - creature's Int modifier, every round. Making a control save while in this state returns to animorph to her original form. Any attempt to voluntarily morph into the allergic creature results in the same assertion effect.

Making the Fortitude save two days in a row results in the essence being purged from the animorph in the form of a separate creature of the type the animorph is allergic to. Depending on the creature, it may be hostile upon being purged. Purging the creature cures the disease.

At the DM's discretion, this disease can be used at random or in conjunction with the Morphing Allergy flaw.

[ClericofPhwarrr]

This looks well thought-out. I'm not sure about the balance, but it seems that it would be very fun to play.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Do (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38103) I sense a bit of synergy (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37082)?

[Fizban]

Hmm, did my comment find a mark?

Aside from the obvious cheesability with getting supernatural abilities, it looks good, though I can't tell what the point of the Frolis Maneuver is. As long as the player is in it to be an animorph and not to power-game, it should work out fine.

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

Quite a bit of synergy, it seems :smallsmile:

I loved the Hork-Bajir and Andalite you did, and if someone can help me balance this, we could be well on our way to a whole Animorphs campaign setting. Kind of a scary thought, actually.

And I wasn't really sure how useful the 10th level Frolis Maneuver would be, but I wanted to include it somehow. Basically, it's good for infiltration. Say, you wanted to sneak into a goblin town as a goblin. You could knock out a goblin and sneak in as him. But you don't know anything about him or who he knows, which could be awkward if you're trying to impersonate him. So instead you knock out a couple goblins, acquire all of them and combine them to make a new goblin (like what Ax did with his human morph in the books).

An excuse my newbishness, but what's cheesability?

[DracoDei]

Have only glanced at this, but a few comments.

I actually did this class at least for 2nd edition... not sure if I ever converted it for 3.0... Mine was a lot more complex so don't let me rain on you parade in that regard however.

Acquire should be a touch attack, not a grapple.

Morphing allergy has some really nasty short term effects when you first find out about it... basically puts you out of commission for a week or so. Every time you feel strong emotions you start randomly morphing with no stop-over in base form between shifts. It ends with a duplicate of the creature you have an allergy to binary fissioning off of your body. Leave it out or make it work true to the book IMHO.

[Fizban]

So the Frolis Maneuver just lets you duplicate a creature you acquire exactly? Isn't that supposed to be the default?

Cheesability: ability to be cheesified. Baisically, anything a player can really mess up a game with, in such a way that other players or the DM aren't having fun. A lv1 spell that caused death to multiple opponents with no save for example, would be cheese (cheese, broken, and also an extreme example). The ability to use the supernatural ability of any creature you can aquire (which with the right magic items becomes very easy) can be easily abused. Genies for example have wish as a supernatural ability. Finding a friendly dragon means you just got it's breath weapon, at will, for free. This is why there's normally HD, size, and types of abilities gained limits, which is why an Animorph class is inherently difficult for DnD to handle. It requires player cooperation in not abusing it.

[Bogardan_Mage]

So the Frolis Maneuver just lets you duplicate a creature you acquire exactly? Isn't that supposed to be the default?
It is the default. Read it again:

Frolis Maneuver (same species) (Ex) - At 10th level, the animorph has learned to merge the essences of up to 4 different creatures of the same species. This ability works as a disguise check against looking like an exact duplicate of a specific creature. Each merged essence above 2 adds +5 to the disguise check. Performing a Frolis Maneuver is always a 2-round action. The benefits of a Battle Morph or Favored morph do not apply when used in a Frolis Maneuver.

I don't know if it should be 10th level, though. I think the only ones who have ever used it are Ax and Elfangor, but that's only because nobody else needed to. I wouldn't expect Ax to be a very high level in The Message, and he managed it.

I would also apply (Su) to some of these in place of (Ex). Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, after all.

That said, this looks like fun. And it makes more sense than Psion for an Andalite's favoured class.

[Baron Corm]

the majority of andalites are fighters, not morphers (or psions heh).

i think the BaB should be like a commoner's... none of the animorphs had any fighting ability in their human form. they gain the BaB of their battle morph anyway.

honestly though, i don't think it's possible to convert animorph to a DnD class. they have ONE ability, which anybody can gain from technology, without taking the class. even the one you made has half dead levels... because there's really nothing that the class needs to give. if i was running an animorphs campaign i would have the characters be commoners with morphing technology, but with some feats like Estreen and stuff.

[DracoDei]

Of the top of my head:
They had Bluff, Gather Information, and Diplomacy as class skills at the least.
Plus good will save progression... The "drop the anvil" maneuver in particular meant that Cassie's will save had to be pretty good... "I'm X thousand feet in the air, there is something deadly below me, and I have to focus on turning into a whale." And favored battle morph makes sense...

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

Thanks for all the replies :smallbiggrin:

And thanks for the definition. Yes, it would definitely be very cheesable, it would be up the DM to make sure the party didn't come across a friendly dragon, or the equivalent, at an early level. (And I thought the wish ability was spell-like, but I could be wrong. It doesn't matter though, since they can't morph outsiders.) I considered putting HD or size limits in, but it didn't feel very animorphs, so I left them out. Maintaining a grapple check to acquire something that wants to kill you seemed like a good way to keep the player from finding the nastiest thing around and trying to acquire it, but in play it might not be as hard as I thought. If this is the case, adding an HD limit would probably be a good idea. This draft was more about being true to the books then crafting a viable class, especially since I don't have a lot of experience with the latter. Any ideas anyone has about making it a more viable class are appreciated.

I like the idea about using Commoner BAB progression, it makes the player feel a little more vulnerable outside of morph. Also, moving down the 10th level Frolis Maneuver makes sense, I think I just put it there because I had the other one at level 20. And I originally debated between making the morphing power extraordinary or supernatural, and went with extraordinary because, well, it wasn't magic. But the whole advanced technology thing makes sense too, so I might change it.

I was thinking of putting bonus feats in some of the dead levels (if anyone has anymore feat ideas, feel free to post them), but I thought it would just make the class more overpowered and doesn't change the fact that it is a one-trick class. It seems like something someone would dip into just for the morphing ability, if the DM allowed it. Any ideas on fixing this?

Thanks again for all of the ideas so far!

[Bogardan_Mage]

the majority of andalites are fighters, not morphers (or psions heh).
Yeah, but they're fighters that can morph if they have to. Really, the Andalite military is incredibly dumb. The Animorphs practically win the entire war on Earth by themselves, and the Andalites are like <Oh, no, we have this technology but it's still a better strategy to hit our enemies with sharp things. Dur dur dur.> You can see why the Andalites were mad at Seerow, giving the Yeerks technology that they were much better at using made the Andalites look like morons in comparison.

Discrepancies can be handled by some prestige classes that use morphing. The Animorphs are pure Animorphs, but few other morphers are. Prestige classes would allow some limited (probably specialised) morphing capabilities to be given along side other abilities.

For example, the Andalite War-Prince prestige class might require the Morph class feature, base attack bonus of +6, Andalite race, and approval from another War-Prince. This is possible for pure animorphs but easier for multiclasses (especially if you give them Commoner base attack progression).

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

Edited.

Added Commoner BAB progression, moved up Frolis Maneuver (same species), and added an Improved Morph Empathy ability.

[Callix]

As far as feats go, how about:
Trust the Eagle [Morper]
By taking a -2 penalty to your control saves, you gain a +2 bonus to all Bluff and Disguise checks to impersonate either the creature you are morphing or a generic member of the species you are morphing. You also gain +2 on any skills the morph has 5 or more ranks in.

Last-Minute [Morpher]
You can demorph just beyond the two-hour limit. You need to make a Will save, DC 10 + number of rounds over two hours, to demorph, and this takes two full rounds.

Also look at Savage Species. I really think Rachel has Large and In Charge for bear and elephant shapes, and probably Trample as well.

And why does it take a feat to get the gross-out factor? That's standard.

[stolenchariot]

One thing I was thinking about was that if I can recall correctly, Tobias was able to morph while he was trapped in his eagle form.

[Enlong]

One thing I was thinking about was that if I can recall correctly, Tobias was able to morph while he was trapped in his eagle form.

A Wizard The Ellimmist did it. Some form of time-travel allowed him back his morphing powers, and gave him the opprotunity to aquire his Tobias morph.


As for the Morphing Allergy flaw, shouldn't we have something akin to the "DNA vomiting" that Rachel had to go through to flush the croc out of her system?

[Poppatomus]

It's interesting, and I agree it's got some potential cheesability with the transformations, leading to one of those situations where it's either way to powerful, or far too weak. [although the ability to morph, wait three rounds, demorph, wait three rounds, remorph, an so on... while gaining hit ppints as though one had rested a full night is also potentially unsettling.]

You have done an excellent job capturing the story though. This actually might be better as an NPC class than a PC class. Something equivalent to the gleaner, but focused on the transformation rather than nature based character of the druid.

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

Hey, new comments, I haven't checked this in awhile.

I really like those feats Callix. Trust the Eagle might require a slightly steeper Will save penalty, since it's pretty easy to make the save for a creature you've already morphed, but I really like the concept. It might even work well as a class feature instead of a feat.


And why does it take a feat to get the gross-out factor? That's standard.

Morphing is usually gross since it's so random, but the purpose of the feat is that the animorph can control the morphing process to make it either beautiful (the fascinate effect) or deliberately play up the scary parts (the fear effect). Putting a fear effect into the Morph ability as standard seemed a little too powerful, especially since in your average D&D world, morphing is not the scariest thing someone might see.


As for the Morphing Allergy flaw, shouldn't we have something akin to the "DNA vomiting" that Rachel had to go through to flush the croc out of her system?

I was actually considering having allergies as part of the Morph ability, where every time a morph is acquired, the animorph has a small chance of being allergic to it, and they become ill for a certain number of days until the morph is expelled. A flaw sounded simpler, but it's true that it doesn't quite capture the full extent of the morphing allergy.

Again, thanks for the feedback!

[NullAshton]

You forgot to add that you can only 'acquire' creatures in your natural form. In Animorphs, you can't acquire creatures while morphed, which makes it slightly dangerous for the animorphs to do.

Morph needs to be made more clear I think. Int modifier as in round down to the nearest even number, subtracting 10, and dividing by two? If so, then a will save of 28 for most animals seems a bit excessive. And that would mean that even morphing into a human would mean that you'd basically lose your mind to 'instincts'.

A better way would be to alter it slightly. 10 + Creature's Racial HD for first morph would be a lot better. Also would be good to make it not DM controlled, as that makes the player bored(Yay! I get to do absolutely nothing except roll dice every 5 minutes!) Rather, you should simply trust the player to roleplay as if he was completely under the control of the creatures instincts.

[Callix]

Null: Two problems
1. Termites are harder to control than elephants. If HD is a factor, then any book truth goes out the window. Small, dumb animals are the real tricky ones
2. When Cassie morphs Rachel, she is overcome with the instinct to do stupidly dangerous things (the talk show book with the croc.), so being overcome by a human shape's instincts is entirely possible.

On the other hand, Wis or even Cha might be better than Int. Then again...

Where are you gettting DC 28 from? The highest it can be is 26. The problem is more that the DC will always be either 25 or 26 for any animal or vermin, which is impossible for a first-level character without clerical Wis.

[Callix]

Duchess, do you mind if I try and make some PrCs for this class? I'll direct them here to see the base. I have a few ideas already.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Duchess, do you mind if I try and make some PrCs for this class? I'll direct them here to see the base. I have a few ideas already.

As an unofficial member of the Animorphs project, I support this idea.

[doliemaster]

I would LOVE to get in on this project, maybe make the Taxxons, yeerks, and other races, maybe the super beings, can I please get in on this? I will refer them over here which has a link to the others.

[Gaelbert]

I remember I used to love the Animorph series. I would help with something, but I gave all of my books away.

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

Duchess, do you mind if I try and make some PrCs for this class? I'll direct them here to see the base. I have a few ideas already.

Prestige classes would be totally awesome, I have a few ideas too, but haven't written anything out yet, so be my guest :smallbiggrin:

Clarifications:

The stipulation that you have to be in your natural form to acquire is there, under the Acquire ability.



An animorph can not acquire any creature with the undead, construct, elemental, or outsider subtypes, nor any creature that lacks a corporeal form, and she must be in her original form to acquire a creature.

As for the Will save to control the morph, I chose Int because, in general, the more intelligent a creature was and as they approached sentience, the less demanding their instincts were. I have no problem with first level characters being unable to morph vermin, seeing as (aside from the flea in book 2, which is one of those pesky exceptions) the first vermin the Animorphs morphed was the ant in book 5, and they had a hard time with it.

I don't want animals to be off-limits at first level though, so I might drop the save down to 15 - creature's Int modifier. Charisma might be a viable alternative, since it essentially represents a creature's sense of self, so I'll look into that.

Also, as long as no one minds, I'm going to repost contributed feats in the first post with the name of the poster, just to make it easier to read for newcomers.

[Callix]

Another two feats you might like:

Combat Morphing
Prerequisites: Dex 13+, Dodge, Morphing Talent
You have learnt to keep your mobility while morphing. You still draw an attack of opportunity for morphing, but are not denied your Dexterity bonus to AC.

Morph Regeneration
Prerequisites: Con 13+, Endurance, Rapid Healing, Morph class feature
As you shed your shape, you also shed your injuries. The healing from morphing is tripled: that is, three nights' rest.

EDIT: On Trust the Eagle, how about a -4 on saves? So the skill bonuses aren't the same as the penalty. Probably only good for things you know well.

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

I like Combat Morphing a lot, makes sense if you're naturally agile. I added it to the original post. Morph Regeneration I'm going to hold off on, though, because I think I want to rethink how morphing heals you, since, as someone said above, there's nothing to stop someone from just morphing and demorphing over and over out of combat to fully heal themselves.

I've been thinking about Trust the Eagle, what do you think of this:

Trust the Instincts
By sacrificing some of your control, you can take advantage of your morph's natural abilities.
Benefits: By making a Will save for control (DC 20 - creature's Int modifier for first-time morph, DC 10 - Int mod otherwise), gain a +2 competence bonus to Bluff, Disguise, and any skill your current morph has 5 or more ranks in, but lose -2 to all subsequent Will saves. This effect lasts for 10 minutes. You can use Trust the Instincts as many times as you wish, but the control DC increases by 5 each time it is used in the same form without demorphing. If the Will save is failed, the same penalties apply for losing control of your morph, as outlined under the Morph ability.

Could be too complicated for a feat, but it might actually work as a class feature, to fill one of those dead levels.

[Callix]

I'm going to do a shameless plug: I've finished 3 PrC's, and I'd like people to have a look at them. They are:
Wildrunner (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48821) for the nature-minded
Morph Warrior (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48880) for the combat freaks amongst us
and Aerialist (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49112) for those who like to fly.

Oh, and I like the feat changes, Duchess.

[Anxe]

This looks like a really good class. Should put a HD limit on what you can acquire based on your level. Maybe only your level * 2 or something like that.

[Advance Strat..]

I still have all the animorph books I ever owned. Have most of them, but I'm still missing about 10 or 15 of them.

If it helps at all, the reason morphs like the ant were so insane was because of the hive minds in them that would make them go nuts. Maybe you could put in something about morphing hive minded creatures, to get the point across with some of the harder morphs, and not have to worry as much about the inconsistencies that would come up with similar morphs like the flea or a fly that isn't so hive minded.

EDIT: Oh and, dibs on Marco if this ever does become a campaign!

[Dragonmuncher]

Hm... for the "repeatedly morphing in battle" thing, I can think of a few fixes:

1. Make morphing take longer. I always got the impression from the books that a full morph took about a minute, and got faster as they became more experienced (although I could be wrong). A round is... 6 seconds? I can see why you'd want to keep it faster for fun, though.

2. Make it so you DO have to make a Concentration check to keep morphing if you're damaged. Animorphs are going to have higher mental stats anyway, so they can spare the skill points. Just make it a class skill, and figure out the DC.


I like 2 better than 1, but both would work, I think.


On the subject of "dead levels," maybe add in some clothing abilities? That is, at first level they only have the ability to morph tight clothing (almost all equipment simply drops off), and maybe 11th all clothing but shoes (equipment is merged into new form, doesn't give you abilities... or should it? Probably not.)?


Another ability idea: A bonus on Sense Motive checks, to detect people in morph. Animorphs got very good at deciding how animals and people "naturally" act (both from their morphs and their dealings with Yeerks). And it'd give them an ability to use demorphed.


Cool stuff! I've always liked Animorphs. Whatever happened to Applegate, anyway?

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

Edited: Added Trust the Instincts at 2nd level, adjusted the way healing works when you morph, posted Callix's Morph Regeneration feat with slight changes, and fixed the Morphing Allergy flaw so it's more in line with the books.

I like the Sense Motive ability idea, Dragonmuncher. I've already got something similar in flavor with the Morph Empathy abilities, but you're right about them being able to tell what's a morph and what's not. As for clothing, I added in a comment about clothing and armor falling off, unless you morph something with a bigger size category, in which case its destroyed. I only realized today that I hadn't even addressed that issue. Armor should never be able to be morphed, but I might be able to put in something about being able to morph heavier clothing.

[Advance Strat..]

Crud, I forgot about clothing too, how did we all manage to forget about that?

I'd say not too heavy clothing. I can understand being able to wear some more normal clothing then leotards and bike shorts, but armor, winter coats and really big bulky stuff like that shouldn't have a chance of making it.

Besides, think how much money they'd save on buying armor and such, that they can use to buy new clothing or shoes everytime they have to lose it, or it gets ripped apart. That's a lotta shoes.

[ForzaFiori]

for when u fight for controll of an animal, any animal with a hive mind (termites, ants, etc.) should give u a penelty to your check, as they dont really have a mind to controll, they just do what the queen says to do.

[Wolfman42666]

wow.

I'm in awe.
This is awesome.

I'd love to help, but i only saw the first serais(?) i think, and only read two of the books.
Still the slugs should be included to this, maybe I dunno...

At 5th level an animorph gains a +5 against (I forgot their name:smallredface: :smallmad: ) slugs.

At 10th level an animorph gains a +8 against all forms of mind control.

[Advance Strat..]

Yeerks?

Yeah that would be odd to get a plus against them, at least in the mind control aspect. They get inside your head through your ears and cram themselves in your cranium. Then they just control everything about you except your own thoughts. They can read your mind like an open book to figure out exactly how to impersonate you. Only reason that the others found out Jake was under yeerk control early in the series, was because of rather blatent stupidity on the yeerks part. All they had to do after that was tie Jake up for three days until the Yeerk in it's head starved to death.

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

Hmm, has anyone statted out a Yeerk yet? I know Andalites and Hork-Bajir have been done.

[Wolfman42666]

As i said i could barely remember the tv episodes so.

Still i thought jake did better against it than most people, but if the yeerk died what do they live on that red stuff?

Maybe a +2 disguse bonus against yeerks then?

[Duchess_of_Elysian]

The TV show isn't really a good basis if you're looking for canon. It was, and I say this as a dire fan who watched almost every episode, really bad. Jake was just as helpless as anyone else as a Controller, the only difference was the others actually know about Yeerks (unlike most of the human race) and are thus paranoid. So when the Yeerk wasn't acting quite like how Jake usually acts, they couldn't discount the possibility that he was a Controller, and thus tied him up. An animorph might have a bonus to spotting a Controller, but I wouldn't put that as a class feature as it would limit its use to settings where Yeerks exist. It might work well as a feat, though.

And Yeerks live on Kandrona rays, which they absorb through the liquid in their pools, which is why they have to leave their host every 3 days.

[Advance Strat..]

You want exactly how it worked? Alright here we go.


One day, your invited by someone to go to a club called "The Sharing", which seems like a mix of boy scouts and girl scouts, but for the whole family. Promotes family values and all that fun stuff. You visit a lot, and decide you want to become a full member. When that happens, you find out what the sharing really is. A front for how to get humans to they're yeerk pool deep underground.

You see underground a huge greyish pool that leads on for miles. It easily takes up most of underground the entire town, with entrences from all over town that you learn are in places like a dressing room at the gap, a freezer in mickey d's, the janitor's closet at school, an area on the beach, ect.

Assuming you end up trying to get free, you then see these 6 foot death looking aliens with blades coming out of elbows, knees, and their head, all controllers, that will force you down a pier, and force your head to the water, your head sideways with your ear to the pool. A greyish slug then jumps up into your ear from the pool, and crawls into your head. You may struggle all you want, but you can't do anything about it with them holding you down. After a few seconds, you lose control of everything. You try to say something, but your mouth won't move. You try to grab at your ear, but your arms won't move. You want to run, but your legs don't listen. Then you suddenly stand up by yourself seemingly, and walk out. The yeerk now in your head says hi to you and tells you just what is going on.

They are going to enslave the entire human race in total secrecy. All they have to do is lure people in to the pool somehow, and then there's nothing you can do. Once there were enough controllers, they could easily force the remaining million people in the world into being controllers, or would kill them if they were unfit somehow.

You talk to your friends at school for the next couple days. You try to tell them what's happening, but you can't do anything to warn them as your body tells them about a cool club called the sharring and asks them if they want to check it out sometime. You may cry in your head pleading to let them alone, you may try to lash out in anger at it, you can try to annoy the crap out of it, but there is nothing you can do to it.

After 3 days, you return to the pool. You've found out that they have to return every three days to feed at the pool. They feed on Kandrona Rays, a replication of the rays of the sun from they're home world. They have to come back to the pool every three days to feed or else they would starve inside your head. After the yeerk leaves your head, you are forced into a cage along with other humans that have become trapped in this endless cycle. Some try to threaten the yeerks, some are crying, some are just emotionless and have given up all hope. In a corner you see a couple humans outside a cage watching television, and later find out they had become controllers voluntarily, and thus didn't have to be forced into a cage. After a little while, you are dragged down to the pier again as the yeerk returns to your skull, and you go back to watching helplessly as your family, friends, even your wife/husband or girlfriend/boyfriend soon become controllers as well. Nobody seems to notice anything strange about you, because the yeerk can look into your memories quite quickly and find out any sort of information they would need to know to seem normal. And there's nothing you can do about it, except watch....


The Animorphs found out about the Yeerks through Elfangor, and knew to be careful about it. They knew anybody could potentially be a controller, even if they seemed completly normal. Your brother, the church pastor, the old lady down the street, the cop you see on patrol, the clerk at wal-mart, the cute girl that sits two seats in front of you in class, anybody.

Jake didn't do anything to the Yeerk really. The Yeerk made a stupid mistake and insulted their andalite friend in a way that was clear to the other animorphs who knew all about the Yeerks, that something was amiss. Even so they were never completly sure 100% that there was a yeerk in his head. All Jake could do was annoy and irritate the Yeerk. If Jake had ended up staying a controller, not only would the animorphs be completly screwed over, because everyone would know who they were, Jake would eventually have broken down, no question.

[Falconsflight]

...Is it sad that I have read (And own) all the animorph books. All of them. Even the choose your own adventure and the extra's. The general term for me is "collector" Once I'm into a series, I must have every book. So annnnyway. Onto the class.

I really like it. But I don't think you should mess with the clothing aspect. I mean if you are thinking in terms of campaign, nobody really cares about clothing, unless their character needs different styles and stuff. So I say, don't worry about clothing. Change it to armor. I see two options

1) Make it so they can't morph if they are in certain armor. And then level it up at later levels. You can automatically morph with light armor. Then later add in Medium. Then even later add in Heavy.

2) Say when you morph, you lose all armor and must don it again after combat.

The first one assumes you can use your orignal form for combat as well and aren't relying on your morphing abilities. Because I can so see a Rogue and a barbarian Multiclassing into this.
Rogue: Well, let me just see wha'ts happening in the next room *morphs into a rat and slips under the door*
A barbarian can use such fun tactics as, slip into the middle of a group of bad guys as a rat. then unmorph( Using the feat/favored morph ability to do it quickly). Suprise round, No AoO's. And with the favored morph or the feat, it's only a move action. Free action to Rage. And you still have your attack action.

But yeah, I know how the series ends and everything... I haven't read those books in a long time though.

[Cruxador]

To deal with balance:
How about limit what you can turn into by creature types:
Lv1: Animals only
Lv3: Also Humanoids
Lv5: Magical Beasts
.
.
.
Lv20: anything.

And probably some high HD limit just to keep from ever morphing a tarrasque at level 5 (hyperboly)