New Ability: Cloaked Form

[Dhampire]

Being that a non-tool using, non-bipedal species is rather limiting, and that certain adventures will have 5' hallways and staircases, some may find it worthwhile to provide Drakes with some manner of shapechanging so they don't get left out.

Cloaked Form
Once per adventure, you can take the form of a member of another species with the Folk or Fey type. This form may be up to two size categories smaller than your natural size (i.e. a large drake may assume the form of a small or medium creature). While in this form, your maximum wounds decrease by your Con x1/2, you lose your drake breath weapon, natural attacks, and winged flight, and your Reach becomes 1. You do not gain any species traits as a result of this transformation. This ability takes 1 full action to enact, but only 1 half action to release.

As an ability tacked-on to the species, I think this would work... but I had a few issues with it.

1)  A tacked-on ability is a inherent change to a race... and while good as a house-rule, it could also be done as a feat.  And, if made into a feat, I'd probably give it a little more power.
2) It's Drake-only, when there are other Large (2x2) races (Rootwalker, Giant) that could use an ability to tool around small and medium folk/fey lands.

CLOAKED FORM [Species Feat]
Prerequisites:  Drake, Giant, or Rootwalker
Benefit: Once per adventure, you can take the form of a member of another species with the Folk or Fey type. This form may be up to two size categories smaller than your natural size (i.e. a large drake may assume the form of a small or medium creature). While in this form, you lose all previous species traits, and gain the species traits of your new form. Your maximum Wounds are reduced to the normal amount for your new form. This ability takes 1 full action to enact, but only 1 half action to release.

Thoughts?

[Crafty_Alex]

Considering the lack of hands and the size of a drake being its key penalties, I'd say this feat removes them all. I don't know that I'd let them off the hook that easily, personally. The fact they can ALSO assume any other player race that is not a Rootwalker or Unborn RAW could lead to some horrible abuse, especially if it let them choose who and what they looked like each time. At the very least, I would stick to a single, definitive form (Choose a single folk or fey form...), and note they do NOT gain any benefits of species from that form.

Shapeshifting IMO is one of the most abusable and dangerous abilities in the hands of a player. I would suggest treading with a great deal of caution if you don't want everyone in your game playing a Drake (Drakes are already on the edge, but with this feat, I would see no reason not to, for any reason).

[Rhishisikk]

I have to agree with Alex on this one; it does too much for too little.  In other D20 games, I've had horror moments where wimpy mages would Shapeshift into Arrow Demons.  But that's a discussion for another time.

Seriously, if your Drakes need a pair of hands, buy a slave.  It's more what a drake would do, anyway.  Or, if you're a 'good' drake (a concept like a 'good' drow), consider the personal lieutenant feat.  (Sorry to all military buffs if I mis-spelled that rank.)  This also has the advantage of being someone you trust to do right by you.

I think it was Council of Worms that touched this issue; one dragon for outdoors, one trusted cohort for going into those tight spaces.  Of course, this gave way to the Shadowrun dragons.  You want money?  We HAVE money... we just need a small FAVOR...

But I'm losing focus again.  It's a good idea, and has basis in the Gold and Silver dragons from the SRD.  HOWEVER, it's like allowing humans, as the most flexible race, to select feats from any other race.  Sounds simple and good, but doesn't work so well in actual practice.

[Mister Andersen]

This is something you'd build into an expert class or build a masterclass around

[MugMug]

Drakes are already on the edge

Hah, I knew it!

I'm suspending final judgement pending actual play experience, but at the moment I'm leaning pretty heavily toward further limiting Drakes based on their body type (as opposed to reducing those limitations, as proposed by the OP). My thoughts are:

1) Not allowing for general equipment to be constructed in such a way as to be used by Drakes (e.g. no Drake-useable grooming case ).

2) Generally disallowing use of manufactured weapons (these are quadrapeds, after all). Instead, Drakes would be granted a stance:
Claws of Man: You may ready and use one-handed weapons. You may not move while in this stance (though you may still take Bonus 5-ft. Steps as normal).

I couldn't find rules for squeezing through narrow spaces (e.g. the 2x3 Drake squeezing through a 5-ft. wide passageway). Oddly, the ooze type is considered "2 categories smaller when squeezing into or through confined spaces," but I can't find any rules to hook that into. I would, however, allow squeezing into passageways no narrower than half the creature's smallest facing, applying the entangled and flat-footed conditions while so doing.

Walter

[EDIT: Named the stance.]

[Daedalus]

I'm suspending final judgement pending actual play experience, but at the moment I'm leaning pretty heavily toward further limiting Drakes based on their body type (as opposed to reducing those limitations, as proposed by the OP). My thoughts are:

1) Not allowing for general equipment to be constructed in such a way as to be used by Drakes (e.g. no Drake-useable grooming case ).

Actually, lizards and other scaled animals occasionally get gravel stuck under their scales, causing a "cowlick" effect.  I couldn't accept that restriction personally unless it also applied to Saurians.  Also the cost is somewhat prohibitive at lower levels.

2) Generally disallowing use of manufactured weapons (these are quadrapeds, after all). Instead, Drakes would be granted a stance:
<stance name>: You may ready and use one-handed weapons. You may not move while in this stance (though you may still take Bonus 5-ft. Steps as normal).

I agree with your sentiment for the most part, except that Drake will have to invest extra money into the base item and they will infrequently (if ever) find items made fr them in dungeons and be forced to enchant magic weapons themselves or have someone else do it on commission. ($)

As for the OP, Cloaked form as is does seem really powerful, but I don't see any way that Drakes, Giants and Rootwalkers can fit into "normal" sized buildings, making certain classes not viable unless the adventures are "custom fit", so to speak.  This, to me, is a HUGE disadvantage that more than compensates for certain racial features.  "Not in a giant town?  Sleep outside and wake up fatigued every day."  Kinda sucks.

[Agent 333]

I'm suspending final judgement pending actual play experience, but at the moment I'm leaning pretty heavily toward further limiting Drakes based on their body type (as opposed to reducing those limitations, as proposed by the OP). My thoughts are:

1) Not allowing for general equipment to be constructed in such a way as to be used by Drakes (e.g. no Drake-useable grooming case ).

Actually, lizards and other scaled animals occasionally get gravel stuck under their scales, causing a "cowlick" effect.  I couldn't accept that restriction personally unless it also applied to Saurians.  Also the cost is somewhat prohibitive at lower levels.

He wasn't objecting on the part that they need grooming, he was objecting on their ability to hold a scale-picker or whatever would be in a Drake Grooming kit. Saurians can at least hold tools.

[MugMug]

1) Not allowing for general equipment to be constructed in such a way as to be used by Drakes (e.g. no Drake-useable grooming case ).

Actually, lizards and other scaled animals occasionally get gravel stuck under their scales, causing a "cowlick" effect.  I couldn't accept that restriction personally unless it also applied to Saurians.  Also the cost is somewhat prohibitive at lower levels.

He wasn't objecting on the part that they need grooming, he was objecting on their ability to hold a scale-picker or whatever would be in a Drake Grooming kit. Saurians can at least hold tools.

Right. It's based entirely on Drakes being of type beast, and nothing to do with scales. Amongst other stuff, beasts "lack hands or other fine manipulators and can’t take actions requiring them. [They] can only use armor, handheld gear, and non-natural weapons specifically modifed for [their] use."

2) Generally disallowing use of manufactured weapons (these are quadrapeds, after all). Instead, Drakes would be granted a stance:
<stance name>: You may ready and use one-handed weapons. You may not move while in this stance (though you may still take Bonus 5-ft. Steps as normal).

I agree with your sentiment for the most part, except that Drake will have to invest extra money into the base item and they will infrequently (if ever) find items made fr them in dungeons and be forced to enchant magic weapons themselves or have someone else do it on commission. ($)

First, at +50% for weapons the additional price is trivial; silver just isn't going to be much of a limiting factor here. Second, magic item prices are based entirely upon reputation and have nothing to do with species-specific price modifiers for the non-magical version of the weapon. Third, people keep making assumptions about the world not being designed for one of the base species in the ruleset. That is campaign specific, and there is no reason to expect there to be an utter lack of market (or, for that matter, the existence of other role-playing penalties) regarding Drakes. It's the rules that need to be balanced, and I suspect they are not balanced as written (see earlier caveats about play experience).

As for the OP, Cloaked form as is does seem really powerful, but I don't see any way that Drakes, Giants and Rootwalkers can fit into "normal" sized buildings, making certain classes not viable unless the adventures are "custom fit", so to speak.  This, to me, is a HUGE disadvantage that more than compensates for certain racial features.  "Not in a giant town?  Sleep outside and wake up fatigued every day."  Kinda sucks.

If you're running around the wilderness or a dungeon everyone is sharing the same pain. If you're running around in an urban campaign it is totally campaign-dependent, and if your campaign doesn't well support Drakes you suffer. Nothing says you can't have a holding fitted to your size (converted barn, gutted apartments, whatever). Further, nothing in the rules says there don't exist typical lodgings for characters of these species -- these are, after all, core species.

Now, I plan to figure out just how "close to the edge" Drakes really are, and adjust any campaign I run to bring them closer to center (if necessary). I prefer to do that by emphasizing the species differences in ways such as noted above (I'm solidly in the camp that has no problem with banned checks), and reserving interpersonal and lodging challenges for moments of particular drama. It feels to me like many (most?) other people are unconsciously assuming the relationship/lodging drama, in which case piling on further limitations might seem overkill.

Walter

[Dhampire]

I couldn't find rules for squeezing through narrow spaces (e.g. the 2x3 Drake squeezing through a 5-ft. wide passageway). Oddly, the ooze type is considered "2 categories smaller when squeezing into or through confined spaces," but I can't find any rules to hook that into. I would, however, allow squeezing into passageways no narrower than half the creature's smallest facing, applying the entangled and flat-footed conditions while so doing.

I'd accept the entangled and flat-footed conditions while Squeezing, and that it's for moving into or through a space up to half your footprint's width.


The d20 SRD has Squeezing rules which would translate to:
Squeezing
-4 to attack and Defense
double movement costs while Squeezing
An Athletics roll is necessary to squeeze through or into a space less than half your footprint's width.

[Dhampire]

Third, people keep making assumptions about the world not being designed for one of the base species in the ruleset.

With Large creatures (and potentially Huge (3x3) with the Truly Massive species feat) standard to the ruleset, and aside from player-made Squeezing rules (see above), buildings meant to have Drakes, Rootwalkers, and Giants enter them would have to be built to accommodate their footprints.

While this is largely a matter of play-style, it says about how Large creatures are viewed, and probably will come up in a campaign.

My intent with Cloaked Form was to give some way to get around having a Drake be forced to sit outside a tower with a 5' entrance while the rest of the party explores it, and also for adventurers which include a Large (2x2) character to be able to get rooms at an inn.

Yes, granting traits from other species is overpowered.  I must not have been thinking straight when I suggested that.  Would allowing it as a Feat with removing Drake species traits, and only granting the creature type and speed of the new species be acceptable?

At the very least, I would stick to a single, definitive form (Choose a single folk or fey form...), and note they do NOT gain any benefits of species from that form.

Funny enough, I had been given advice to "let the drake make it up as they go along a little bit and drop the "set form" clause," I originally had.  I'll reword it for these revisions shortly.

[Dhampire]

Okay, a generic feat for assuming other forms, while not removing unintentional things (Iconic Classes, Achilles Heel, Banned Actions,... and keeping more inherent things like Inquisitive Mind is rather tough.

So, here's my original idea,... dressed up a little as a feat.

Cloaked Form [Species feat]
Prerequisites: Drake
Benefit: Choose a single Folk or Fey species up to two size categories smaller than your natural size (i.e. a large drake may assume the form of a small or medium creature).  Once per adventure, you may assume this form.  While in this form, your maximum wounds are decreased by your Con x ½.  You also lose your breath weapon, natural attacks, winged flight, and have Reach 1.  Your speed is now the normal for your new form.  This is the only gained trait from the new form.  This ability takes 1 full action to enact and 1 half action to release.