Can you cast spells while shape changed?

[thedarkcrash]

Can you cast spells say I turn from my PC to Larry the bar keep, can I cast spells as Larry? Now say I turn into a Titan who can communicate and move his hands, can I cast spells as a titan?
Now I would assume that if I become a penguin I can't cast spells but for ****s and giggles can I cast spells as a penguin?

Also does the enchantments on my gear persist through shapechange? I.E. my +6str helm or my +6 INT Ring?

[sleepyphoenixx]

If your form can speak it can use spells with verbal components. If it has limbs capable of fine manipulation it can use somatic components.
Items meld into your form unless you use a Wilding Clasp (MIC), so you couldn't cast any spell with a material component or focus unless you dropped those before shifting and picked them up again after.

Or you could just take the Natural Spell feat which is made for exactly that.

Regarding enhancements on gear see again the Wilding Clasp. That's what it's for. Any item without one will meld into your form and become nonfunctional while wildshaped.

[ryu]

Also note the magic item combining rules which allow two items to stacked with the added cost being half again the price of the cheaper item. In some situations it may be cheaper to do this than buy an extra clasp.

[PrismCat21]

~snip~

While Natural Spell and Wilding Clasps would work for Wild Shape, the question didn't specify it was Wild Shape. We don't want to confuse the person.

[Crake]

While Natural Spell and Wilding Clasps would work for Wild Shape, the question didn't specify it was Wild Shape. We don't want to confuse the person.

There is in fact a non-wildshape feat that does the same thing: the Surrogate Spellcasting feat from savage species allows you to use your form's natural sounds and movements to cast spells even if they wouldn't normally allow it, for example using a bird's sqawks and wing flaps in place of verbal and somatic components.

[ryu]

I thought we were assuming wildshape because if it's Shapechange this question probably would've come up earlier for the character.

[Psyren]

I thought we were assuming wildshape because if it's Shapechange this question probably would've come up earlier for the character.

It could have just been Polymorph?

@OP: 3.5 or PF? The answer is mostly the same but there are subtle differences too.

[ryu]

It could have just been Polymorph?

@OP: 3.5 or PF? The answer is mostly the same but there are subtle differences too.

While I thought Shapechange unlikely for stated reasons I did still assume it was something with shape in the name which could reasonably cause this misunderstanding because change is a common word. That said we could all be wrong it legitimately is shapechange. I suppose best to wait until we get confirmation on EXACTLY what form shifting ability we're dealing with to avoid confusion with rules that don't apply.

[Crake]

I thought we were assuming wildshape because if it's Shapechange this question probably would've come up earlier for the character.

Druids aren't the only ones capable of casting shapechange though?

And he may have been using shapechanged in the english definition sense, not in the Shapechange spell sense.

[ryu]

Druids aren't the only ones capable of casting shapechange though?

And he may have been using shapechanged in the english definition sense, not in the Shapechange spell sense.

Thing is, barring shenanigans, shapechange is an extremely lategame spell to the point where pretty much literally any other form of form shifted would likely come up before it. Also each individual method that comes first in progression is a separate chance to bring it up.

The point? This question coming up on Shapechange is profoundly unlikely. Not literally impossible, but certainly confusing. That's why I was assuming wildshape. It's the closest name to the title that's likely.