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The animal devotion feat allows you to gain the power of a specific animal for one minute per day. Bonus include a +2 sacred/profane strength bonus, a +5-foot sacred/profane bonus to your base land speed, gaining flight, etc.

My question is, can a druid with this feat use these abilities whilst wildshaped? The rules for alternative forms say (emphasis mine):

  • The creature loses the natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, and extraordinary special attacks of its original form.

  • The creature gains the natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, and extraordinary special attacks of its new form.

  • The creature retains the special qualities of its original form. It does not gain any special qualities of its new form.

  • The creature retains the spell-like abilities and supernatural attacks of its old form (except for breath weapons and gaze attacks). It does not gain the spell-like abilities or supernatural attacks of its new form.

What I'm not sure of is what part of this, if any, would apply to this feat ability.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I have a druid character with this feat, but he isn't high enough level to wildshape yet. But I was pondering on this feat and then realised the potential to become a flying bear or whatever. It looked to me like you could do it, but I wasn't entirely sure. \$\endgroup\$
    – Vic Smith
    Dec 15, 2014 at 14:30
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    \$\begingroup\$ The second answer answers the question more directly with the rule that 'any domain feat is a spell-like ability'. But I've already accepted the first. I never know what to do when that happens! \$\endgroup\$
    – Vic Smith
    Dec 15, 2014 at 14:31

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First of all, just to be sure, you always can use animal devotion with different animal than the one you are using for wildshape. Because animal devotion would have nothing to do with the original form of your wildshape, no rules could possibly cross-apply.

As far as I understand, even if the animal you select for both wildshape and animal devotion is the same, there is nothing to prevent them being used together. You don't get things from shaping into animal, but Animal Devotion is not about form, so is not affected by form-limiting rules.

For the "can I activate it at all" part, it is not natural weapons, natural armor, movement modes, or extraordinary special attacks of original form, so it is not lost due to these rules. It does not require speech, so that's also not a problem. And there is nothing in wildshape rules against that. I admit that Hawk's Flight on Rhinoceros looks scary, but yes, you can do that.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Cool. My confusion was over whether you would be allowed to use the ability while in wildshape, not that it would somehow be assuming two forms at once. So there is definitely no reason why you can't use an ability like this while in wildshape? \$\endgroup\$
    – Vic Smith
    Dec 15, 2014 at 13:34
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    \$\begingroup\$ @VicSmith at first I understood you wanted to activate Devotion first. But I fixed my answer to include the second option, too. \$\endgroup\$
    – Mołot
    Dec 15, 2014 at 13:57
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Animal Devotion is a spell-like ability, as [Domain] feats generally are, per Complete Champion pg. 52.

Unless otherwise noted, the benefit granted by any domain feat is a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to your character level.

Wild Shape functions per Alternate form, as stated on SRD > Classes > Druid:

This ability functions like the alternate form special ability, except as noted here.

And when using an Alternate Form ability, you retain spell-like abilities of your original form, per SRD > Special Abilities > Alternate Form.

The creature retains the spell-like abilities and supernatural attacks of its old form (except for breath weapons and gaze attacks).

Animal Devotion isn’t a breath weapon or gaze attack, so you retain it.

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