Anyone got a good use for Animal Shapes

[PhoenixPhyre]

Another spell I've not seen used--animal shapes. It's kinda a mass-polymorph, except limited to CR 4 and below. And 8th level. And willing targets only.

Pros:
-- everyone keeps mental stats. Great!
-- you can swap them for new shapes every round. Depending on reading, that might give people a crap-ton of "buffer" HP.
-- really long duration (24 hours, but concentration)

Cons:
-- by the time you've got 8th level spells, CR 4 isn't all that hot.

Anyone got a story of a time they used this well?

[SharkForce]

Not a personal experience, but it is worth pointing out that the spell does not restrict you on the CR of the being you transform into an animal by their own hit die or CR; you are only limited to a CR of 4, regardless of the original being's stats.

By which I mean, if you are a necromancer with an army of skeletons and zombies, this spell can turn you into a necromancer with an army of elephants (or, if you don't like elephants... you can apparently go suck on a lemon, because that's the only CR 4 beast the average person is likely to have stats for).

Of course, that requires a druid to team up with someone who has an army of skeletons or zombies, but the basic point remains the same even if you apply it to something other than undead minions. It can turn a lot of weak allies into a lot of not-quite-so-weak elephants (that's not-quite-so-weak in relative terms, of course. By the time you're level 15 and can cast this spell, CR 4 is not exactly strong compared to you).

[JackPhoenix]

Not a personal experience, but it is worth pointing out that the spell does not restrict you on the CR of the being you transform into an animal by their own hit die or CR; you are only limited to a CR of 4, regardless of the original being's stats.

By which I mean, if you are a necromancer with an army of skeletons and zombies, this spell can turn you into a necromancer with an army of elephants (or, if you don't like elephants... you can apparently go suck on a lemon, because that's the only CR 4 beast the average person is likely to have stats for).

Of course, that requires a druid to team up with someone who has an army of skeletons or zombies, but the basic point remains the same even if you apply it to something other than undead minions. It can turn a lot of weak allies into a lot of not-quite-so-weak elephants (that's not-quite-so-weak in relative terms, of course. By the time you're level 15 and can cast this spell, CR 4 is not exactly strong compared to you).

It's also large or smaller, so no elephants or big dinosaurs for you!

[Amnestic]

The "large or smaller" restriction stops you from using elephant, so your best combat form is probably Giant Scorpion.

Two 'pros'
- No restriction on movement modes, so you can get a full team of burrowers or fliers. Or hotswap between them as needed. You can also get very tiny; if Druid Wild Shape was useful for sneaking in, this lets you do it to the whole party. Depending on the reading of the spell, you might be able to retransform them after they get knocked out of the transformation, so even if your team of rats gets discovered, as long as you hold the spell you can switch back into rat-form after a combat is concluded (assuming you don't drop concentration, mind you).

- No restriction on number of targets, so long as they're within a 30ft radius. While it may not be super great for a typical adventuring party, if you end up with NPC assistance, especially 'weaker' NPC assistance, it can help buffer them up into a more potent fighting force. A dozen CR1/8 Guards (11hp, one attack per turn) turning into a dozen CR3 Giant Scorpions (52HP, three attacks per turn, auto grapple) is a very noticeable improvement. While their attack modifier isn't anything to write home about, well...they'll crit eventually, right?

I've not got experience seeing it in use personally, but I expect it's not an 'adventuring party combat' spell to deploy like Sunburst, it's either a 'utility' spell for infiltration/fleeing purposes or it's a force multiplier when you have NPC assistance.

[KorvinStarmast]

Another spell I've not seen used--animal shapes.

I used it last week. My NPC archdruid was in negotiation with the party. Me DM.

She could not allow them to set foot on her territory, or the region to the east, since she had a deal with a local dragon not to let humans/dangerous creatures past her domain and into his hunting preserve. (Which has about a 60 mile radius).

After some discussion, as I looked at the spell list and the players tried to figure out a way not to kill her, and to still approach the dragon's lair, one of them asked something along the lines of "can you cast pass without a trace on us?" and her answer was:

If you fly past my territory, you'll not have set foot into it, and you will leave no trace

She gave them a choice; Giant Eagles or Giant Owls.
They went with the Eagles.

And they never set foot on the territory that they flew over. :smallbiggrin:

[kingcheesepants]

It's weird that it specifies CR 4 beasts and Large or smaller. Because to my knowledge the only CR 4 beast of that size is the Giant Coral Snake from Ghosts of Saltmarsh. All the other CR 4 beasts are huge.
Anyways one popular way to use the spell is to combine it with someone else casting Insect Plague. Then you get lots and lots of giant scorpions, preferably raining down from the sky onto the target.
I've also seen this used in a game where the druid made friends with an ant colony and transformed them into thousands of rhinos and used them to break a siege. Just tons and tons of rhinos surrounding a fortress and charging into the walls. Quite the display.

[KorvinStarmast]

The "large or smaller" restriction stops you from using elephant, so your best combat form is probably Giant Scorpion. A good choice, and one that gives me a very "Dark Sun" feel.

[SociopathFriend]

It definitely feels like an, "All in one" spell that's useful in a lot of situations.

Like you could prepare Water Breathing, Wind Walk, or whatever spell you might use when you need a lot of people burrowing- or you could have Animals Shapes and have access to any/all of those things.

It'd also be excellent for sneaking- who cares about a few spiders crawling up a wall into a base? Or a bunch of bats flying around at night?

For the power of this spell- you basically give the entire party the basic powers of a Druid Wild Shape. Or am I understanding the spell wrong?

[RSP]

One issue with it: it doesn’t appear to affect the caster. So the Druid has to supplement it with their own WS, if they’re joining.

Does seem a fantastic spell for direct assaults of strongholds, assuming you can get ants or whatever to play along.

[Psyren]

The main thing I've seen is that you're not required to use it on the party, so if you ever have a throng of NPCs e.g. villagers or commoners or followers or some other noncombatants that need to help you defend their homes against an invading force, this is a quick and easy way to deputize/weaponize them.'

You can also use this on other animals as noted earlier, so if you're defending say a grove that's full of squirrels, you can have a much deadlier army in a few moments.

[KorvinStarmast]

You can also use this on other animals as noted earlier, so if you're defending say a grove that's full of squirrels, you can have a much deadlier army in a few moments. heh. Squirrel-scorpions also feel kind of Dark Sun to me... except where did those trees come from? :smallconfused:

[PhoenixPhyre]

Ok, ya'll have convinced me. I'll keep it in my hack.

[Unoriginal]

This spell can also be useful if you need to transport a bunch of people who risk to die easily through an hostile zone, but can't teleport (or similar).

Or, if you need to transport a lot of items/parts of the terrain, or big ones. An herd of clever enough, brawny enough animals can move a lot more than what most casters could otherwise.

[Amnestic]

One issue with it: it doesn’t appear to affect the caster. So the Druid has to supplement it with their own WS, if they’re joining.

The druid is presumably a creature that the can see within range, so they can affect themselves.

[follacchioso]

I loved this spell, and made some great use of it in a campaign that mixed D&D with Diplomacy.

One of the strong points is that the HP of the forms resets every time you change them. Take a group of brave peasants, transform them into rhinos and lead the charge; next turn, morph them into elephants, full HP, to tramp the enemy; then, use another action to transform them into scorpions; and so on.

It is an excellent spell for mobility, as the giant eagle form can fly very fast over long distances. The duration of the spell is 24H, so you can fly very far. It is also good for infiltration, if you transform the whole party into dogs or common animals, or badgers with a burrowing speed, or many other options.

I think lv8 is fair for this spell. It's a Mass Polymorph that lasts for longer and allows changing form every turn. If this was lower level, it would be abused by many players.

[RSP]

The druid is presumably a creature that the can see within range, so they can affect themselves.

Sure, but the first line of the spell: “Your magic turns others into beasts.” Not sure I can read that to equal “your magic turns you into beast”. It pretty clearly says “others”.