I'll work on that once I nail down the whole levitating an axe around.
oh, oh! Another Werebeast idea!
I really don't like the idea of trying to have non-human races with no drawbacks. Werebeasts get a lot of bonuses, and they have certain weaknesses. If you don't like that, play a human!
I play a human enough in RL.
Werebeasts do have a drawback...basically human stats, except slightly worse. A vuln...and the danger of autotransform. Granted autotransform is a double edged sword..but you get my point.
Werebeasts do have a drawback...basically human stats' date=' except slightly worse. A vuln...and the danger of autotransform. Granted autotransform is a double edged sword..but you get my point.[/quote']
I'm not saying they don't--I'm saying I am opposed to the idea of taking away their drawback.
Why? Humans have quest races open to them, and better stats for some classes. Not to mention having more than TWO DAMN CLASSES to pick from. So, taking autotransform away, and anyone who was going to play a human before, is still going to play one. It's really only going to slightly improve the survivability of werebeasts, not make them better than humans at...anything really.
it (taking autotrans away) would certainly open their choices in battle up much more. considering wbeasts can be berserkers, personally i dont i see why not. their stats are lower, except for STR maybe? but you know what, who cares, keep autotrans and just let them into the bard guild. master-pie first suggested that, and to me it makes perfect sense from an RP standpoint and gives a much needed extra class choice to this race. i dont see some crazy uber-bard rising up out of w-beasts but whatever, there are MANY, MANY riskier guild openings out there, like illithid clerics.
i dont feel sorry for w-beasts, except for the fools who choose the wrong animal for a berserker, or choose w-beasts berserker at all unless they really know what they're doing. just allowing w-beast bards would be a cool addition to the game. if that makes a zillion HBWillie's through abuse, oh well, change it back.
Werebeast vs Human:
Werebeast have less int and wis, better dex and less str (for the available classes I believe) and equal con. So its pretty much even.
Human:
Magic bonus.
No vuln.
Access to qclass - not relevant as then it becomes a undead or demon zerk vs werebeast zerk comparison NOT a human vs werebeast comparison (undead ranger not allowed or gimped so bards multi them). Both these qraces have their own drawback and powers - as is befitting a qrace.
Werebeast:
Bonus to certain skills (you figure it out, I'm not going to tell you, but it exists).
Transform.
Special powers while transformed.
Different damage noun on transform.
No chance of weaponloss on transform (tell me that isn't important next time you get disarmed becaues you can't find the weapon you want!!!).
Change of stats when transformed (never seen a human with THESE kind of stats have you??).
Super dodge on transform.
Hometown.
Silver vuln.
Autotrans (which can be undone).
Seems pretty balanced to me - you're not going to get something for nothing. Comparing to giant sized classes they don't suffer anything better/worse than the other non-giant races (though have their own racial bonuses).
On the other hand, if memory serves Viri opened werebeasts up to warriors but this seems to have been taken away. Unsure why (changes to transform a while back I think??).... Perhaps open to warriors again?
They are also a very RP specific race that doesn't fit a heap of guilds - I'm opposed to bards, personally. Ranger, zerk and warrior all seem to fit.
L-A
I think every race should be able to be a bard, but eh, thats just me and my crazy talk.
Illithid bards might be a little tough.
Lack of dual wield and dual parry would gimp them a fair bit.
Werebeast vs Human:
Werebeast:
Bonus to certain skills (you figure it out, I'm not going to tell you, but it exists).
Transform.
Special powers while transformed.
Different damage noun on transform.
No chance of weaponloss on transform (tell me that isn't important next time you get disarmed becaues you can't find the weapon you want!!!).
Change of stats when transformed (never seen a human with THESE kind of stats have you??).
Super dodge on transform.
Hometown.
Silver vuln.
Autotrans (which can be undone).
L-A
The different damage noun is all physical damage. It really doesnt matter. Although one form gives you a magical werepower.
No chance ofweaponloss on transform is due to fighting with your hands and you hand to hand proficiency. Don't believe me? Do a prof self weapons when transformed. This hurts when fighting giants and high AC classes.
Super dodge DOES NOT compensate for parry, duall parry, shield block, weapon block, and regular dodge together.
Silver vuln hurts big time because guess what most of the holy weapons are made of?
Autotransform can be undone with the revert command which cause a 2 round lag. After words you have a 2 hour timer before you can potentially autotransform again and repeat the whole process. This gets very tedious and annoying.
Werebeast bards dont make much sense....Werebeast warriors and to a lesser extent monks do make some sense.
Werebeast monks, lol. Let's not even get started on that one. 
I don't understand how a werebeast bard doesn't make sense, please elaborate.
Silver vuln hurts big time because guess what most of the holy weapons are made of?
This is incorrect and what it means is that aside from thieves, bards, and tracker rangers no one can hit the werebeast's vuln, so the only effective downside to the bonuses werebeasts get is the lack of parry with autotransform.
If there is a werebeast monk...bear + dragon...would that make them as big as a fire giant? Can they chakera strike while transformed? What about a weretiger in tiger...that just makes me smile.
This is incorrect and what it means is that aside from thieves' date=' bards, and tracker rangers no one can hit the werebeast's vuln, so the only effective downside to the bonuses werebeasts get is the lack of parry with autotransform.[/quote']
And these classes are the only ones to take elf/drow/storm/gnome/ect vulns as well. What's your point? Also this is more of a eq vuln, it hardly cause any "extra" damage. Throwing silver at a werebeast will not be akin to throwing icicles to a fire giant. I have tested this.
And these classes are the only ones to take elf/drow/storm/gnome/ect vulns as well. What's your point? Also this is more of a eq vuln' date=' it hardly cause any "extra" damage. Throwing silver at a werebeast will not be akin to throwing icicles to a fire giant. I have tested this.[/quote']
If you edge a rare item down into it's components, it becomes a thrown weapon that hits for the damage it's been made out of. Edge the mithril vest then throw at a drow... mithril damage.
a-g
And these classes are the only ones to take elf/drow/storm/gnome/ect vulns as well. What's your point? Also this is more of a eq vuln' date=' it hardly cause any "extra" damage. Throwing silver at a werebeast will not be akin to throwing icicles to a fire giant. I have tested this.[/quote']
You should test it more, Ex-D&Der is totally right. Attacking with a silver weapon doesn't do anything, but throwing silver daggers/shurikens or ranger throw with a silver weapon/shield does absolutely hit the vuln. Also, you mention gnomes, I don't believe there's any way to capitalize on their vuln using throw.
And these classes are the only ones to take elf/drow/storm/gnome/ect vulns as well.
Not true of gnomes or storms because they are also vulnerable to mental attacks. Gnomes are also vulnerable to charm spells. Elves and drows also have other drawbacks--especially lower strength and con.