Sharing a body?

[danielxcutter]

What ways are there are for two or more beings to share a body? Not one-sided possesion, cases where both sides(or more) can switch or share control.

I know about Fusion(Egoist 8), but there aren't many others that come to mind.

[Zaq]

To be honest, it's kind of a rules nightmare, so I don't think there are too many other methods of this. I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Is there a particular reason for this, or are you just asking out of idle curiosity?

[danielxcutter]

To be honest, it's kind of a rules nightmare, so I don't think there are too many other methods of this. I can't think of any off the top of my head.

Is there a particular reason for this, or are you just asking out of idle curiosity?

Curiosity, so unoptimal choices are welcome!

[AOKost]

What ways are there are for two or more beings to share a body? Not one-sided possesion, cases where both sides(or more) can switch or share control.

I know about Fusion(Egoist 8), but there aren't many others that come to mind.

I'd be interested in how to run a split personality individual myself. How would you handle a character that one personality was that of a rage maniac Hulking Hurler Titan Maular War Hulk (think Incredible Hulk) and the other is an Arcanist or maybe a Warlock acting as an Artificer by crafting whatever they wanted. Only one personality can be active at a time, but having drastically different abilities. And how would you allocate experience between the personalities? Split it equally?

What about an Ettin? With two personalities inhabiting a single body, but one has complete control of one side, it's easy to see one being a Wizard and the other a Fighter/Barbarian...

[danielxcutter]

I'd be interested in how to run a split personality individual myself. How would you handle a character that one personality was that of a rage maniac Hulking Hurler Titan Maular War Hulk (think Incredible Hulk) and the other is an Arcanist or maybe a Warlock acting as an Artificer by crafting whatever they wanted. Only one personality can be active at a time, but having drastically different abilities. And how would you allocate experience between the personalities? Split it equally?

Oh, I think I forgot to mention this - it doesn't have to be viable or even possible for a PC. Encounter-specific stuff is good as well.


What about an Ettin? With two personalities inhabiting a single body, but one has complete control of one side, it's easy to see one being a Wizard and the other a Fighter/Barbarian...

Don't think this works by RAW, sadly.

[ryu]

Isn't there a template in savage species that literally exists as a method to staple one species to another as a symbiotic relationship? Would you count that?

[danielxcutter]

Isn't there a template in savage species that literally exists as a method to staple one species to another as a symbiotic relationship? Would you count that?

Never heard of it. What's it called?

[ryu]

Never heard of it. What's it called?

Symbiotic creature template. You can staple together two humanoids, two plants, two vermin, or two animals. The bigger of the two must be two size categories larger than the smaller. Physical stats of the bigger one. Mental stats of the smaller one. It gets into more detail and rules, but that's the basics. First mentioned in savage species page 131.

[danielxcutter]

Symbiotic creature template. You can staple together two humanoids, two plants, two vermin, or two animals. The bigger of the two must be two size categories larger than the smaller. Physical stats of the bigger one. Mental stats of the smaller one. It gets into more detail and rules, but that's the basics. First mentioned in savage species page 131.

Interesting... also, the creatures don't actually have to be the same type, if what I found is correct.

Edit: Got any good ideas for this?

[ryu]

Interesting... also, the creatures don't actually have to be the same type, if what I found is correct.

Edit: Got any good ideas for this?

Oh wait missed on not in there. You're right. Don't really actually make use of the thing at all. Just a thing I remembered existing.

[danielxcutter]

Oh wait missed on not in there. You're right. Don't really actually make use of the thing at all. Just a thing I remembered existing.

Huh? Because it's too powerful or because it doesn't work like I asked?

[the_david]

I've had this idea for a two-headed dragon for a while now. It's actually 2 creatures, each with it's own stat block. They just happen to be sharing the same body, more or less.

As for the Ettin, you can just give it spellcasting and alternate between spells and melee combat. Pathfinder has templates that could do this, while Trailblazer has a system that adds class features to monsters. I do think that my idea of a two-headed dragon would work better...

Pathfinder also has the Vigilante class. That one could work for someone with a split personality. (Dissociative Identity Disorder.)

[danielxcutter]

I've had this idea for a two-headed dragon for a while now. It's actually 2 creatures, each with it's own stat block. They just happen to be sharing the same body, more or less.

As for the Ettin, you can just give it spellcasting and alternate between spells and melee combat. Pathfinder has templates that could do this, while Trailblazer has a system that adds class features to monsters. I do think that my idea of a two-headed dragon would work better...

Pathfinder also has the Vigilante class. That one could work for someone with a split personality. (Dissociative Identity Disorder.)

Umm... I don't play PF.

[ryu]

Huh? Because it's too powerful or because it doesn't work like I asked?

I don't judge the LA to be worth for the stat buffing I'd get, and I could give a rip about natural attacks? Tier one caster games. If I want a nasty body I've effective options that don't cost anything.

[Jack_Simth]

There's a few ways to get inside a body and still be able to act; a Psion with a Skin of Proteus could turn into a Gutworm or Mindleech (both Fiend Folio ... or several other types of symbiont, I suppose, but those two become completely internal) and use Burrowing Power to manifest at things outside the host (alternately: Channel Power through a Psicrystal... maybe mount it on the host's helmet or something). You could then have an effectively gestalt character that gets two rounds' worth of actions (manifesting, regular). Two separate characters, of course.

[Bohandas]

Celestial channeling from Book of Exalted Deeds (and, I think, also Eberron)

[martixy]

Oh, I think I forgot to mention this - it doesn't have to be viable or even possible for a PC. Encounter-specific stuff is good as well.

Well, I wrote a vulcan mindmeld power for telepaths in my game. Does that count? :smallbiggrin:

I based it on this third-party pathfinder spell:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/3rd-party-spells/rite-publishing---3rd-party-spells/p/psychic-twin
...which, if you squint can be interpreted as sharing a mind.

Also, the Glimmerskin from MM2 kinda sorta does that - it bonds with a host and grants it +4 attack, +2 AC(armor the frick...?) and access to its feats.

The Celestial variant of possession, by necessity, is voluntary. Forgot what it was. It's in BoED.

[Nifft]

Option #1: Buy a slave and pass him or her around. "Sharing a body". Yep.

Option #2: One character plays a symbiont which explicitly can advance by class levels, for example a Tsochar.

Unfortunately the Savage Species Symbiotic Template only uses the mind of the "guest" creature; the "host" creature's mind is suppressed.

[ATHATH]

It's not 1st party, but...

http://theangrygm.com/return-of-the-son-of-the-dd-boss-fight-now-in-5e/
http://theangrygm.com/elemental-boogaloo/
http://theangrygm.com/oh-no-more-bosses-oozes-slimes-and-a-duplicating-wizard/

[Necroticplague]

The Celestial variant of possession, by necessity, is voluntary. Forgot what it was. It's in BoED.

Celestial Channelling.

On that note, there's also Fiend of Possession and the Ghost Ride feat. Despite the name, Fiend of Possession takes a few levels to actually turn into possession. Until then, it's just riding along.

[Bohandas]

The minds of the Kalashtar from Eberron are host to dream creatures that were chased out of the dream plane Dal Quor by the malevolent Quori

[Anxe]

The Giant's Champion PC class is kind of like this. You have a normal personality and then a Barbarian-like rage ability where you transform into a superhero.

The Schism psionic power also fits the bill in some ways.

[Bohandas]

What about an intelligent weapon crystal stuck on an intelligent sword (or other weapon)