Shifter druid in wild shape

[blargney the second]

If a shifter druid is wild shaped into an animal form, what happens when he shifts? Does he gain the benefit of shifting added on top of the animal form, or does he revert back to humanoid form with the shifter bonusses?

Thanks!
-blarg

 

[blargney the second]

Any Eberron-users who can give me a hand with this please?
-blarg

 

[Urbanmech]

You cannot shift while in animal form. You loose your racial abilities when you wildshape and gain those of your new form. So you loose lowlight vision, bonuses to Climb, Jump and Balance and your ability to shift. Though certain shifter feats may apply to your new form (Improved Natural Attack springs to mind).

 

[blargney the second]

That makes sense!

 

[ohGr]

Actually, you only lose extraordinary racial abilities; you specifically keep supernatural and spell-like racial abilities. Since shifting is a supernatural ability, you would be able to use it while wild shaped.

From the alter self description, which polymorph is based upon, which in turn wild shape is based upon:

You retain all supernatural and spell-like special attacks and qualities of your normal form, except for those requiring a body part that the new form does not have (such as a mouth for a breath weapon or eyes for a gaze attack).

 

[blargney the second]

Good catch, ohGr! Does shifting require specific body parts? I get the impression that shifters change specific aspects of the body when they shift. If so, that'd indicate to me that they would lose the ability while wild-shaped. What do you think?

-blarg

 

[Muaythaidaddy]

This is an excellent thread.

 

[ohGr]

Shifting doesn't require any specific body parts, but i imagine the lack of one may affect your shifting depending upon your shifter type.

A razorclaw shifter wild shaped into a form without arms wouldn't gain his claw attacks, but would receive the other benefits of shifting (+2 Strength, any shifter feats he had), for example. The same would be true if that same razorclaw shifter was in the form of a bear; the bear already has claws, so he probably couldn't grow claws while shifting. (Or, he would simply use the more damaging of the two claw types, his or the bear's.)

Note, none of this is explicitly stated anywhere in the rules; it's simply how i would rule it. The rules on shifting while polymorphed are dreadfully thin (read: nonexistant).