The Morphling [3.5] a shape changing base class

[Quirp]

Morphling

Morphlings are shape changers, warriors and free spirits of the woodlands. No Morphling is the same and even if they were, they probably wouldn´t look like it.

The Morphling is my attempt to build a strong, melee class that is variable enough to fill more roles in a party than damage dealer or tank.

HD: d12
Proficient with simple weapons, light armor and medium armor
Alignment: cannot be lawful

6+Intmod Skillpoints, x4 at first level
Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (dungeoneering, geography, nature), Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Swim, Use Rope

Morphling
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|

+1

|

+2

|

+2

|

+0

|Track, Minor Shapeshift
2nd|

+2

|

+3

|

+3

|

+0

|Everchanging Mind
3rd|

+3

|

+3

|

+3

|

+1

|Wild Shape
4th|

+4

|

+4

|

+4

|

+1

|Minor Shapeshift
5th|

+5

|

+4

|

+4

|

+1

|Everchanging Mind
6th|

+6

|

+5

|

+5

|

+2

|Major Shapeshift
7th|

+7

|

+5

|

+5

|

+2

|Minor Shapeshift
8th|

+8

|

+6

|

+6

|

+2

|Everchanging Mind
9th|

+9

|

+6

|

+6

|

+3

|Extraordinary Wild Shape
10th|

+10

|

+7

|

+7

|

+3

|Minor Shapeshift
11th|

+11

|

+7

|

+7

|

+3

|Everchanging Mind
12th|

+12

|

+8

|

+8

|

+4

|Major Shapeshift
13th|

+13

|

+8

|

+8

|

+4

|Minor Shapeshift
14th|

+14

|

+9

|

+9

|

+4

|Everchanging Mind
15th|

+15

|

+9

|

+9

|

+5

|Swift Wild Shape
16th|

+16

|

+10

|

+10

|

+5

|Minor Shapeshift
17th|

+17

|

+10

|

+10

|

+5

|Everchanging Mind
18th|

+18

|

+11

|

+11

|

+6

|Major Shapeshift
19th|

+19

|

+11

|

+11

|

+6

|Minor Shapeshift
20th|

+20

|

+12

|

+12

|

+6

|Everchanging Mind, Living Change[/table]


Track: bonus feat

Minor Shapeshift: Every time you get this class feature choose one of the abilities below.

-Natural Armor +2**
-DR 2/-**
-+10 ft base land speed**
-Fighter bonus feat*
-Can breathe water and air
-Grow Tail (1d4+Str(m), can be used like a hand)
-Grow 2 claws (1d6+Str(m))
-Grow Bite (1d8+1,5xStr(m))
-Grow or shrink one size category (does not stack with itself if used several times) as a move action (Su)
- Fast Healing 2**

*can be taken more than once
**can be taken more than once, stacks

Everchanging Mind: You get a bonus feat, which you can change with one uninterrupted hour of concentration. If you want to change several feats, the time needed to change each feat can overlap. You can also gain abilities like trapfinding, evasion, mettle, slow fall (lvl*10) ft, scent or blindsight (lvl*5) ft instead of a feat.

Wild Shape: A Morphling can use Wild Shape as a supernatural ability like a druid of her class level. A Morphling can change only into small and medium animals and doesn´t get any new or bigger forms as a druid would. She gains one use of this ability per three class levels and the ability lasts for one hour per class level or until the Morphling changes back. Changing into an animal or back is a standard action.

Major Shapeshift: Every time you get this class feature choose one of the abilities below.

-Natural (greater) invisibility
-Get the ability to teleport (lvl*5) ft as a move action or 10 ft as an immediate action every 1d4 rounds. You can take your equipment and up to a medium load with you. You can, as a full-round action, teleport your full distance in intervals not smaller than 10 ft and make your attacks from a full attack between those teleports (one attack per interval). (Su)
-Grow burrowing claws (20 ft burrow speed, two claw attacks 1d6+Str(m) or enhance existing claws by one size category)
-Wings (60 ft fly speed, two wing attacks 1d4+Str(m))
-Miss Chance 20 %
-Regeneration 2 (pierced by acid or silvered weapons)*

*can be taken more than once, stacks

Extraordinary Wild Shape: You get all extraordinary abilities of the forms you change into.

Swift Wild Shape: You can use Wild Shape as a swift action.

Living Change: You get immunity to any transformation effect you do not wish to effect you (examples include flesh to stone, baleful polymorph, disintegrate(you still take the damage), ….).
You can, as a standard action, force an involuntary shape change of any creature you meet in a range of up to 60 ft. You can reduce or enhance the size category of the target by up to three steps and grow or disable up to Conmod natural weapons on the target. You can also disable three senses and any form of regeneration or fast healing. Each round the creature can make a fortitude save against a DC of 15+0,5*Lvl+Conmod to end the effect.

and a version with lower power level and some other abilities:

Spoiler

Show

Morphling

HD: d12
Proficient with simple weapons, light armor and medium armor
Alignment: cannot be lawful

6+Intmod Skillpoints, x4 at first level
Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Handle Animal, Heal, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (dungeoneering, geography, nature), Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Search, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, Swim, Use Rope

Morphling
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|

+1

|

+2

|

+2

|

+0

|Track, Wild Empathy
2nd|

+2

|

+3

|

+3

|

+0

|-
3rd|

+3

|

+3

|

+3

|

+1

|Minor Shapeshift
4th|

+4

|

+4

|

+4

|

+1

|-
5th|

+5

|

+4

|

+4

|

+1

|Woodland Stride
6th|

+6

|

+5

|

+5

|

+2

|Everchanging Mind
7th|

+7

|

+5

|

+5

|

+2

|Minor Shapeshift
8th|

+8

|

+6

|

+6

|

+2

|-
9th|

+9

|

+6

|

+6

|

+3

|Swift Tracker
10th|

+10

|

+7

|

+7

|

+3

|Major Shapeshift
11th|

+11

|

+7

|

+7

|

+3

|Minor Shapeshift
12th|

+12

|

+8

|

+8

|

+4

|Everchanging Mind
13th|

+13

|

+8

|

+8

|

+4

|Camouflage
14th|

+14

|

+9

|

+9

|

+4

|-
15th|

+15

|

+9

|

+9

|

+5

|Minor Shapeshift
16th|

+16

|

+10

|

+10

|

+5

|-
17th|

+17

|

+10

|

+10

|

+5

|Hide in Plain Sight
18th|

+18

|

+11

|

+11

|

+6

|Everchanging Mind
19th|

+19

|

+11

|

+11

|

+6

|Minor Shapeshift
20th|

+20

|

+12

|

+12

|

+6

|Major Shapeshift[/table]


Track: bonus feat

Wild Empathy: as the druid class feature

Minor Shapeshift: Every time you get this class feature choose one of the abilities below.

-Natural Armor +2**
-DR 2/-**
-+10 ft base land speed**
-Fighter bonus feat*
-Can breathe water and air
-Grow Tail (1d4+Str(m), can be used like a hand)
-Grow 2 claws (1d6+Str(m))
-Grow Bite (1d8+1,5xStr(m))
-Grow or shrink one size category (does not stack with itself if used several times) as a move action (Su)
- Fast Healing 2**

*can be taken more than once
**can be taken more than once, stacks

Woodland Stride: as the druid class feature

Everchanging Mind: You get a bonus feat, which you can change with one uninterrupted hour of concentration after eight hours of rest. If you want to change several feats, the time needed to change each feat can overlap. You can also gain abilities like trapfinding, evasion, mettle, slow fall (lvl*10) ft, scent or blindsight (lvl*5) ft instead of two feats.

Swift Tracker: as the ranger class feature

Major Shapeshift: Every time you get this class feature choose one of the abilities below.

-Natural (greater) invisibility
-Get the ability to teleport (lvl*5) ft as a move action or 10 ft as an immediate action every 1d4 rounds. You can take your equipment and up to a medium load with you. You can, as a full-round action, teleport your full distance in intervals not smaller than 10 ft and make your attacks from a full attack between those teleports (one attack per interval). (Su)
-Grow burrowing claws (20 ft burrow speed, two claw attacks 1d6+Str(m) or enhance existing claws by one size category)
-Wings (60 ft fly speed, two wing attacks 1d4+Str(m))
-Miss Chance 20 %
-Regeneration 2 (pierced by acid or silvered weapons)*

*can be taken more than once, stacks

Camouflage: as the ranger class feature

Hide in Plain Sight: as the ranger class feature

[Realms of Chaos]

So let me get this straight. By level 20, we've got a character with 15 bonus feats (7 of which can be changed at will or exchanged for other abilities), the ability to teleport (either as a move, defensive action, or full attack), permanent invisibility, and regeneration. Furthermore, the capstone allows you to be gargantuan and possess around 8 natural attacks to make via full attacks. All of this is topped off with excellent skills, full BAB, two good saves, and the best HD possible. All of this and I'm not even talking about an optimized build or anything.

I can see where you are coming from but I can also see something of an error (or what I see to be an error) in that logic:

On the one hand, this is an incredibly weakened druid, turned from a full caster with better wildshaping into a less versatile and weaker melee front-liner. This thing is somewhere in mid to low tier 3 so it's power level isn't that great.

On the other hand, this class is pretty much the absolute best at what it tries to be (a front-liner that uses no maneuvers or spells) and is exceedingly obvious about it. The moment that this class is introduced to a campaign, every single other class in the same category (classes that are already weak and lack versatility) becomes strictly and directly inferior to this.

I know that the ToB already does this to some degree but unless I see some indication to the contrary, I tend to assume that homebrew classes are intended to be dropped into any sort of campaign, including a core-only campaign (where this guy's power level makes a mess of things).

[Morph Bark]

Hi, I'm Morph, and I don't think this is balanced.


A freely changeable bonus feat is exceptionally powerful. The Chameleon PrC, which is limited to Changelings and Humans, gets one at level 2 but can only change it at the start of the day. Also, it only gets ONE. Furthermore, you have certain prerequisites and all too. If you really want to do this, you could give them one at level 10 and one at 20, changeable only at the start of the day. Furthermore, Blindsight and Mettle are much stronger than a feat, make no mistake with regards to that.

For Minor Shapeshifting you should take a look at the Totemist from Magic of Incarnum for some inspiration with regards to what is balanced.

The fact that they gain Wildshape earlier than level 5 means physical ability scores become meaningless earlier on whereas everyone else can't shapeshift at all until level 5. (Besides other homebrew shapeshifting-specific classes, but those generally don't rely on wildshape.) Extraordinary Wildshape is useless because you could already use the Extraordinary attack forms of creatures you shift into.


I'm also sad to see that this misses a ton of fluff, even with regards to explanations why they can get certain abilities (like greater invisibility or miss chance) or why they have to be nonlawful.

[Quirp]

Thanks for your replies.
I knew this class is powerful, but I thought it would be on one level (or a bit above) with the ToB classes.
My classes are normally not dropped into any campaign, so I doubt this one will ever see play.
I would be interested in your opinion what the tier of this class would be.

@Morph: Sadly I don´t own MoI, but I think the totemist is available online.
Would it be better to make class features like mettle cost two feats, then?
Remember that Morphlings do not get bigger animals to change in. It was my intention that minor and major shapeshifts only apply in your natural form. You would lose them, when you change into an animal.
The extraordinary abilities like senses, special attacks/defenses could still be useful.

I´m not very good with fluff.
Most abilities try to mimic those of other creatures (displacer beast, blink dog, will-o-wisp, ...).
The alignment of a Morphling has to be non-lawful, because change is chaotic.