Natural Spell for Druids

[Calirion]

Yes, I know, this is a known issue--the feat only works for shifters and is not compatible with Bioware wildshape.  I noticed in earlier forum posts that the question of creating a compatible wildshape system for druids was raised by never answered; I'm guessing it would have been a lot of trouble.

I'm raising the issue again only because I noticed an anomaly with druid cohorts summoned using the leadership feat--natural spell works for them!  That's right!  They can turn into bears, for example, and spellcast like crazy.  I checked the feat list for one of them, and natural spell is indeed there, and apparently working.

This situation makes me assume that somehow the druid cohorts are coded in a way that allows them to use natural spell as intended under PNP.  If this is the case, then would it really be so hard to adapt to player druids?  It seems as if the code for it must already exist somewhere in the leadership scripts.

[xwarren]

I've added dynamic wild shape system some time ago, so natural spell will also work with druids. Go to PRC Options menu/misc options - it should be there.

AFAIK cohorts don't have any special coding, so this is probably another NWN bug.

[Calirion]

Thanks!  It is there.   I have never looked in miscellaneous options before.

I should mention for the benefit of other people who have never explored this part of the PRC menu that "dynamic" means you can use PRC to connect any of the Bioware wild shapes with any one of a number of animal shapes, so the druid has a selection much more like PNP.  Aside from being able to use natural spell as a druid, this feature adds tremendous variety to the gaming experience, just as the PRC always does.  This is yet another great addition, and one that I don't think got advertised and praised enough.

Thanks again!

[xwarren]

Yeah, I suck at advertising ;p

There is another feature of dynamic wild shape i like - If you shift into a creature that can fly (raven, parrot etc) you can really fly! (using 'Jump' option from class radial menu)

[barna10]

I don't see Natural Spell as an option.  What are the prereqs?  Also, my PRC menu does not list any misc options.

[marohair39]

you need to be 5-6 lvl druid (get wildshape), you'll then, also, get the additional misc shift options.

[barna10]

Ok, after level 5 shifter (may have appeared earlier but received first feat at level 5) Natural Spell appeared as an option.  Why the level of Shifter would be an issue is beyond me, but it did work

Also, still not seeing any Misc Options in PRC Options.

[xwarren]

Also, still not seeing any Misc Options in PRC Options.

Currently this menu only contains dynamic wild shape for druids and it should not appear if you don't have 'Wild Shape' feat.

[Calirion]

I have not yet played a shifter but plan to in the future, so just to make sure I understand, the PNP shifter can use natural spell and does not use the misc options, instead using a different method to work around Bioware coding?

[marohair39]

i think only druids are able to choose natural spell (feat as a druid) meaning, even if you got wildshape/4th druid spells, you won't see it listed on shifter..i think @@
as for using the feat, yea, pnp shifter is able to use it, tho he dosn't need it for ALL his shapes, some creatures don't need it, but it's safe to take it.
pnp shifter use a different dilogue system, different from misc one, but similar, each level you get to select a new shape from packages (you specialize later in one, ie: undeads, outsiders, dragons etc ..) ..you cna also use the feats coming with class to shift into any creature you see ... just try the class, it's addicting *_*

[CapnQ]

as for using the feat, yea, pnp shifter is able to use it, tho he dosn't need it for ALL his shapes, some creatures don't need it, but it's safe to take it.

I would go farther: *many* of the PnP Shifter shapes can use spells without Natural Spell. It tries (not very accurately, sometimes, unfortunately--it has to guess, based on race I believe) to allow you to cast spells if the shape you're in can normally cast spells. Before taking the Natural Spell feat, make sure you really need it.

The easiest way to tell which shapes have this ability is that the info that prints out when you shift into a shape or get info on a shape contains a line that tells whether casting spells requires Natural Spell or not. I forget the exact wording, but it should be fairly obvious if you're looking for it.

Mike