My party just purchased the Hero's Call expansion, and I'm going through the Amber Wizard cards, as I play one when not DM'ing, and what do I see? No Rank 4 Beastform?!?! That's not right; that makes the beastform progression look like:

Rank 1: Wolf

Rank 2: Crow

Rank 3: Bear

Rank 4: Nothing

Rank 5: Anything

Which one of the above is not like the others?

I then decided to try and make one that's a little different (and more powerful) than the others. I am submitting my draft for feedback to these forums; please post suggestions and criticism. Keep in mind the following when reading the physical statistics:

This is intended to be an Epic , Rank 4 spell; the difficulty reflects this. This is also intended to give the amber wizard something new while they play the Rank 4 Master Wizard/Battle Wizard career. Finally, this form is intended to be stronger than the previous ones, but not as strong as the Rank 5 "change into anything" form.

I decided to go with a Panther/Lion beastform. The following is dump/draft of the ideas I've had so far; it needs editing and tweaking before it can be used.

Conservative

Form of the Panther

Nature Lore (Int) 8 power, Must perform the prepare manoeuvere

Difficulty: Challenge x2 Failure x1

Success: You assume the form of a panther. (etc.)

Boon x2: You may heal 1 normal wound as you change form.

Bane x1: Suffer 1 stress and 1 fatigue.

Star x1: Your animal instincts take over. You add M to all mental checks except Observation and Intuition while in beastform.

Physical Statistics:

St: 5F

To: 5

Ag: 6FF

Trained Skills:

Athletics x2 (Specializations: Climbing, Jumping, Running)

Coordination x2 (Specialization: Balance)

Stealth x2 (Specializations: Silent Movement (Wilderness), Hide)

DR: 6

Soak: 3

Defense: 4

Jungle Predator : In a wilderness setting, gain F to Initiative checks.

Quick as a Cat : Gain the Improved Dodge Active Defense Action regardless of its normal requirements. Recharge rules on the card apply.

Excluded Skills: Ballistic Skill, Ride

Reckless

Form of the Lion

Nature Lore (Int) 8 power, Must perform the prepare manoeuvere

Difficulty: Challenge x2 Failure x1

Success: You assume the form of a lion. (etc.)

Boon x2: You may heal 1 normal wound as you change form.

Bane x1: Suffer 1 stress and 1 fatigue.

Star x1: Your animal instincts take over. You add M to all mental checks except Observation and Intuition while in beastform.

Physical Statistics:

St: 6FF

To: 5F

Ag: 5F

Trained Skills:

Athletics x1 (Specialization: Running)

Coordination x1

Intimidate x1

Stealth x1 (Specialization: Silent Movement (Wilderness), Ambush)

Weapon Skill x2 (Specialization: Lion Claws)

DR: 6

Soak: 3

Defense: 2

Jungle Predator : In a wilderness setting, gain F to Initiative checks.

Big Paws with Large Claws : Gain the Improved Parry Active Defense Action regardless of its normal requirements. Recharge rules on the card apply.

My What Big Teeth You Have : All Melee Attack actions gain Pierce 1.

King of the Jungle : When using the Beastspeech spell, gain F to all social interactions with the target(s).

Excluded Skills: Ballistic Skill, Ride

I am trying to give the amber wizard some staying power when he travels with his Rank 4 party and encounters the nightmares that such a party encounters while at the same time keeping his abilities below those of Rank 4 combat specialized characters. Bear in mind the Epic talents that such a party will be equipped with. Did I overdo it? Is it too powerful for a Rank 4 form? Is it too weak? What do you think?

This would make a nice entry for a single page article in Liber Fanatica 10.

jh

I may agree with you that there should be something at rank 4, but I will look for something different from what you propose.

In my opinion a panther or a lion are not stronger or tougher than a bear and secondly these are animals that are hardly seen in the Empire, may be in the zoo of Altdorf. What you propose would make more sense for a rank 3 transformation spell of an Amber wizard in Ind or Araby or a High Elf wizard of Ulthuan where they are familiar with these animals.

Another possibility for a rank 4 spell would be to transform into one of the creatures of the lower ranks but together with one of the creature enchanmtment cards appearing in Heroes call.

As a side note, it would be nice that Amber wizards could transform in something small, like a rat, a rabitt, mouse….for once we would have a spell with a lot of use outside combat situations.

Yepesnopes said:

Yeah; I have to agree with you on the strength factor. It does seem like a Rank 3 transformation of a country more familiar with these animals. I thought adding some exotic aspect to the form would be how a Rank 4 Wizard distinguishes himself from the Rank 3 standard wizards. Winds of Magic paints an image that some wizards can get petty about that especially where Master Wizards are concerned (since they just research the esoteric) and that establishes a pecking order, and a Battle Wizard wants something exotic to inspire awe in allied troops and terror in opposing ones. However, you're probably right; it's TOO exotic.

Yepesnopes said:

That's something I hadn't thought of; maybe an Epic , Enhance, Rank 4 spell that targets "Form of …" and grants some bonuses as a base, and more as they remove more from their Nature Lore(Int) pool? It looks like the Hero or Lord enhancements would be compatible provided you only use the modifiers on the physical statistics and/or the DR, Soak and Defense ratings. So, something like +Hero physical statistics as a base, and then as they remove dice from their pool, it adds skill training depending on the stance, the dice removed and the form. If they elect to remove all possible dice from their pool, use the +Lord physical statistics? Difficulty modifier might be Challenge x 1 and Failure x 1 (or just a flat Failure x 2)? What did you have in mind?

As a side note, it would be nice that Amber wizards could transform in something small, like a rat, a rabitt, mouse….for once we would have a spell with a lot of use outside combat situations.

Just out of curiosity, has the crow ever been too big? Personally, I think one of those small lizards or gecko's that change their color slightly to match their backdrop after a few seconds would be neat for a small animal form since they can be real tiny.

Thanks for all the constructive feedback! That helps out a lot.

Lazy route: Just have the the Rank 4 spell turn you into a bigger, sexier version of on of the previeos three critters (+1 all stats/skills/etc).

More complex: Are gryphons considered Chaos beasts or natural? Though maybe that is too powerful for Rank 4? I haven't seen Heroes Call yet.