Arelith

Apologies if this is in the wrong area, as with the suggestion box still closed I wasn't sure where to post it.

As the title says, I'd like to raise a query/suggestion regarding the forms a Shifter can take.

Now I'm not the greatest of bookworms when it comes to the D&D/Forgotten Realms bestiary, but I believe that out of the many forms a Shifter is given, and the optional feats he/she can take, it would seem the vast majority are either downright evil or certainly monstrous at best.

The only ones that would be classed as "tolerable" to people of Good (or perhaps even neutral) alignment would be Wyrmlings (not even sure with them). Dire Tiger and Stone & Iron Golems. The rest (and please feel free to correct me) are deemed to be hostile or downright wary at best.

In the NWN single player campaign or any of the myriad of servers that don't bother with roleplay, this wouldn't be an issue, but of course our beloved Arelith prides itself on its roleplay, which is wherein the problem lies.

Since a Shifter's strength is the forms they can take, it seems to me that it's very difficult for a Shifter to roleplay alongside good orientated people when almost any shape you take on is liable to cause offence, abject horror or even downright hostility. (Would any Elf be happy for a Shifter to become a Drow in front of their eyes?)

With the options ranging from Drider to Manticore, Kobold to Medusa and Basilisk to Ilithid and the optional shape feats giving Undead and Outsider shapes it's hard to imagine how your Shifter could walk the server (shape-changed) let alone join a party.

Now don't get me wrong, I've played a Shifter for many years now (on and off) and have accepted how it goes, but wouldn't it be great (and more varied) if each Shifter's shapes reflected their alignment?

Instead of a Drow for a Good aligned Shifter, maybe an Archon etc.

I don't know if it's at all even possible to do this (which would render the whole point academic) or there's enough Shifters to warrant such time, energy and work to implement this, but from a Shifter who's spent years limiting her shapes around other players it would be nice to step out of the shadows and enjoy the sunshine

1. The suggestion box is closed. This does not mean suggestions should just be posted elsewhere, but that the team is not currently taking suggestions.

2. Shifter is long overdue for a complete rework.

A very good point, I never even dreamed of playing shifter in Arelith but your argument stands. Those shapes would give shifter free pass to UD, lol, if you are not outed by the languages.

Any attempt to fix shifter is met with the most vitriolic responses from druid/shifter players.

As one of the few longstanding shifter players I've always been quite excited to see possible changes to the class. Though I've managed to find a concept for mine I'm very happy with, the nature of the forms as they are certainly makes it a difficult class to play on a roleplay server. Until there's a developer interested enough in putting the time in to overhaul a class that's played by an extreme minority of players, and because it's a shapechanger that would really mean the equivalent work of overhauling several classes, I wouldn't expect any changes to happen.

If you're curious I did a much longer post on shifter feedback: viewtopic.php?f=37&t=35029&p=275229#p275229

A very insightful and well put post Aradin!

I was told, a long time ago by a good friend, and former player, who has since sadly passed away, that making a Shifter was asking for a "whole world of trouble and pain".

I'm certainly not the best of "builders" and my Druid/Shifter is certainly not even optimal for its build, so it is wholly inadequate for anything other than walloping Orcs and Goblins, but my only real issue is, as stated in the op, the problem the shapes present when trying to interact with other characters, let alone being in a party.

Alas the sad truth is probably that it's an awful lot of work for, at most half a dozen characters or so.

Great post though, Aradin, I really enjoyed reading it and found myself nodding in agreement countless times.

Personally I'd rather see Polymorph/Shapechange get a sort of -stream treatment that's 90% cosmetic to allow for people to adopt more shapes but not worry as much about balance implications of a full class overhaul. Slowly add them over time. Ex: Perform a ritual at the Minogon plant to have Shapechange: Iron Golem appear as a Minogon (Maybe that is already a thing, dunno), Night Hag warlocks unlock an option for Polymorph: Troll form that looks like a Night Hag etc.

I'm not saying that would then satisfy every PC concept, but would rather see an option that more players could enjoy than something that only has a limited number available, especially if it is chasing the meta.