D&D 3E/3.5 Evolving Into A Monster?

[Samloyal23]

I am sketching out a campaign setting where reality just isn't what it used to be, characters can alter their fates almost retroactively, choosing to evolve into an extinct race or monster. My idea is that characters would gain levels in a creature class, slowly gaining attributes and abilities of the creature they are trying to become, until there is nothing left of their humanity. The more powerful the creature, the more required levels. Can this be done without chucking balance out the window?

 

[Richards]

Well, Savage Species has rules for running monster races, wherein each monster is broken down into a number of levels where you gain some of the aspects of that creature. I'm currently running a lizardfolk PC (in a 3.5 campaign) whose first three levels were "lizardfolk" - it wasn't until 3rd level that I got the full stats of a standard, by-the-Monster Manual lizardfolk and it wasn't until 4th level that I got to add my first character class. That would be my first suggestion: check out Savage Species and see if adding "1st level of a monster class" as a class later in a PC's career would do what you're looking to do.

Johnathan

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

And WotC web had got articles about "savage progresions", templante classes, or transition classes. Have you seen the racial classes from the complete psionic?

I miss the monster classes.

 

[Samloyal23]

I am picturing an adventurer joining a sort of cult dedicated to a specific monster and progressing up through the ranks of the order by gaining levels as the monster totem. Mostly this would be done to get in touch with the past, before the totem species went extinct.