Epic Plant Shape Feedback
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 2:23 pm
I've been messing around and testing out the Shambler shapes from the feat Epic Plant Shape on the live server and have a few points to bring up in feedback about it:
It's too big! The hitbox is so big that this cannot go through any doorways and gets stuck in any area that isn't very open (and also free from permanent placeables). You only have 3 uses of the feat, so dropping out of the form and changing into it again just to get through a doorway is a terrible tax when trying to do any content that isn't super open. Even in more open areas, e.g. Orclands, you get stuck on rocks, bones, and other bits and pieces in the way, can't make it across bridges, can't go inside the doorway of the citadel.
There isn't variety in playstyle. It feels like there is on the surface and the different shapes do get varying roles. However, the choice is: Fungal Shambler when you're whacking things with higher AC, Deep Fungal Shambler when you want sneaks/poison hits (which don't work coupled with rogue levels, shadowdancer, or blackguard for various reasons in each case). They just end up too similar and you're either making an aesthetic choice or picking the 'strongest' for the place you're in.
It's incredibly strong. It gets immediately capped out to +20 AC, has a bunch of immunities, 56 STR for the Shambler/FungalShambler, which is going through DR with a +5AB weapon. This isn't a huge problem at 30, because that's roughly where it becomes balanced out, but it is a problem when you consider the next point below.
It's too available. 25 Wisdom + Druid 18 or Shifter 10 + being an epic general feat or bonus feat for Druid/Shifter. This means that you're either a Druid buffed Shambler with a potential of 12 levels in something else (not great), or a Shifter with a potential 6-17 levels in something else depending on how you build it. It makes this feat available for characters at level 21, which at the time is a huge jump up. Having a minimum character level before being able to take this feat could be the solution here.
I think the potential solutions are to either make it smaller or consider other models (which could in turn do significantly different things to one another), to make the feat available only later on in a character's career, and to potentially give it more uses/day.
Overall it's pretty great, but the fun is severely diminished when you find yourself in an open area and stuck due to hitbox and need to waste your last use of the feat to unstick yourself.
It's too big! The hitbox is so big that this cannot go through any doorways and gets stuck in any area that isn't very open (and also free from permanent placeables). You only have 3 uses of the feat, so dropping out of the form and changing into it again just to get through a doorway is a terrible tax when trying to do any content that isn't super open. Even in more open areas, e.g. Orclands, you get stuck on rocks, bones, and other bits and pieces in the way, can't make it across bridges, can't go inside the doorway of the citadel.
There isn't variety in playstyle. It feels like there is on the surface and the different shapes do get varying roles. However, the choice is: Fungal Shambler when you're whacking things with higher AC, Deep Fungal Shambler when you want sneaks/poison hits (which don't work coupled with rogue levels, shadowdancer, or blackguard for various reasons in each case). They just end up too similar and you're either making an aesthetic choice or picking the 'strongest' for the place you're in.
It's incredibly strong. It gets immediately capped out to +20 AC, has a bunch of immunities, 56 STR for the Shambler/FungalShambler, which is going through DR with a +5AB weapon. This isn't a huge problem at 30, because that's roughly where it becomes balanced out, but it is a problem when you consider the next point below.
It's too available. 25 Wisdom + Druid 18 or Shifter 10 + being an epic general feat or bonus feat for Druid/Shifter. This means that you're either a Druid buffed Shambler with a potential of 12 levels in something else (not great), or a Shifter with a potential 6-17 levels in something else depending on how you build it. It makes this feat available for characters at level 21, which at the time is a huge jump up. Having a minimum character level before being able to take this feat could be the solution here.
I think the potential solutions are to either make it smaller or consider other models (which could in turn do significantly different things to one another), to make the feat available only later on in a character's career, and to potentially give it more uses/day.
Overall it's pretty great, but the fun is severely diminished when you find yourself in an open area and stuck due to hitbox and need to waste your last use of the feat to unstick yourself.