TOPIC: Updated Powers for Iktomi’s Shaper Necklace - V2

The fine folks in the Lords and Ladies section gave some great feedback on changes to be made to the Relic and Legendary Druid Neck items. After careful consideration, here is what we decided to go with:

Changes to Shaman's Greater Necklace & Iktomi's Shaper Necklace

Change #1
Relic - One may not polymorph into more than one creature (nor into different elemental sub-types) per room, but transforming into and out of the same creature more than once per room is allowed–assuming one has the means to do so
Legendary - One may polymorph twice (including two different elemental sub-types) per room.

Change #2 (Relic and Legendary)
New Benefit for All Elemental Forms
All - Elemental Forms are not required to breathe

Change #3 (Relic and Legendary)

Air Elemental: Druid may use a Melee attack to strike a Ranged target.

Earth Elemental: Adds +10 Blunt damage to base Melee damage attack

Fire Elemental: Adds +10 points of Fire Retribution Damage

Water Elemental: With a successful Melee hit, Druid can apply 1/2 the total damage to second target in Melee range.

Notes:
Change #1 allows one to polymorph twice using the Legendary. This gives a little additional power to the Legendary beyond the allowance of spellcasting.
Change #2: Earth Elemental: Adds +10 Blunt damage to base Melee damage attack, which per Elemental Form ability is transformed to Sonic damage if it hits.
Change #3: Ice Elemental (beta name) is now referred to as Water Elemental, although it still mitigates Cold Damage and delivers Cold Damage.

Note that we left the damage reduction at 10 since the "20 pt max reduction" rule comes into play easily at high level.

See attachment for the wording for both entries into the tokendb.com website. Thanks all!

Thanks, Jeff!

As a druid player with Iktomi's, neat!

As a combat DM at Origins... when will this change take effect?

I'd tone down the +10 damage bonus on the Earth Elemental form, for two reasons:

1. It's so good that I think it will be in play almost all the time, unless a room happens to have 2 monsters or a ranged only opponent.

2. +10 damage matches the highest damage bonus from any of the class legendries (or on any token at any rarity), and is coupled with a bunch of other good effects.

Especially at the Relic level, getting your choice of +10 melee damage or one of the other elemental effects of your choice seems really good.

I think this token's design would work better as:

* 4 situationally good effects
* Or one pretty-good universal effect (e.g. +5 to polymorph damage) and 3 situationally good effects

As opposed to a game-wide highest +10 to damage effect that is coupled with 3 other situational effects that might be even better than that.

Matthew Hayward wrote: I'd tone down the +10 damage bonus on the Earth Elemental form, for two reasons:

1. It's so good that that is the elemental mode that seems like it will be in play unless a room has unless a room has 2 monsters or a ranged only opponent.

2. +10 damage matches the highest damage bonus from any of the class legendries, indeed on any token ever printed at any rarity, and is coupled with a bunch of other good effects.

Especially at the Relic level, getting your choice of +10 melee damage or one of the other elemental effects of your choice seems really good.

I think this token's design would work better as:

* 4 situationally good effects
* Or one pretty-good universal effect (e.g. +5 to polymorph damage) and 3 situationally good effects

As opposed to a game-wide highest +10 to damage effect that is coupled with 3 other situational effects that might be even better than that.

I agree with this 100% and as stated in the L&L thread, I really think the air elemental ability needs to be rethought.
A couple other ideas I pulled from air elemental abilities are:

Force Fields: Creating barriers of swirling air to deflect attacks or trap opponents. This would give melee DR.

Wind Embodiment: Their enhanced speed and agility make them difficult to hit. This could possibly grant evasion.

Precognition: Some air elementals are depicted as having precognitive abilities, often linked to sensing subtle changes in air pressure or wind patterns. Possible initiative bonus

Construct Creation: Creating objects or weapons out of compressed air. Possibly have air be the +5 bonus damage and make the Earth Element something else.

I think these changes are solid and are great.

I personally think the damage on earth is fine, but one option if a change is warranted is “guided strike” for that elemental. Thematically sonic critting constructs and undead feels appropriate with the sound wave of damage shattering solid objects, bones etc.

I would avoid any +damage on the earth elemental. Iktomi's already has one of the highest average damage wheels in the game, and Druids already have the highest single attack +damage build in the game that additionally heals like a cleric:

tdcharactercreator.com/#/character/edit/212d86e5-cc35-461c-adb1-98b457c51ad2

The prior suggestion for the earth elemental to have immunity to retribution damage would be thematic, move the tracking to the player, and not push damage even higher.

Love the changes.

+1 on Orions comment about being good with the Earth damage, or having Guided Strike as a replacement

This is great. Thanks Jeff. I am ok with either the original or some of the other earth suggestions.

Change #3 (Relic and Legendary)

Air Elemental: Druid may use a Melee attack to strike a Ranged target.

Earth Elemental: Adds +10 Blunt damage to base Melee damage attack

Fire Elemental: Adds +10 points of Fire Retribution Damage

Water Elemental: With a successful Melee hit, Druid can apply 1/2 the total damage to second target in Melee range.

My comments come are from the non-druid player.

The first two changes look great. Legendary tokens should be awesome.

I like the air and water benefits. I would not add additional damage. The Druids I play with at nightmare regularly do more damage than any other class and just don’t need any help in that area. For the earth form, DR 10 would be good. For the fire form, perhaps 10 retribution damage (fire).

Mythic Ioun Stone of Judgement is +8 to damage. So maybe the +10 for the Earth Elemental is OP.

Interesting update! I missed the L&L thread, but I guess in my head I was hoping for an eventual party buff update from either the druid or the bard... something like:
Earth - erects earthen bulwark for the party, granting all characters +2 AC and DR 2 (melee)
Air - commands swirling vortexes, granting all characters +2 reflex saves and DR 2 (ranged)
etc

The changes are pretty good, though I do echo that +10 damage is really high. I get it, legendary should feel legendary but this is a bigger bonus than the mythic token which takes WAY more components to build. Perhaps +10 to first strike only?