bekeleven
2013-08-12, 01:23 PM
The Shifter
Intro / Fluff
The shifter is focused on one thing: Being everything. They, like sorcerers, draw power from within themselves in order to fuel their own supernatural abilities. However, they channel this power all into their arcane shape ability, rarely bothering with spells. They can charge into battle as a cheetah, scout as a cat, reconnoiter as a eagle, or just plain hurt people as a war troll. They are versatile for their ability not to be themselves.
Adventures: Many shifters adventure to protect the land, and the creatures with whom they have come to identify. They also might simply to increase their own power. Many are sedentary, living in secret cabals, whereas others charge themselves with protecting settlements. The occasional one becomes an adventurer, and they serve as the visible face of the class, although most that deal with them don’t know it.
Characteristics: The easiest way to describe the shifter is by listing the forms it’s capable of assuming. As they advance in levels, they’ll spend less and less time in their own bodies. At first level, they could be baboons, badgers, dogs, eagles or small snakes for one hour a day. However, once they hit third, they’re already capable of infiltrating an enemy gnoll stronghold for nine hours. At 6th, they are the table on which the gnolls lay out their maps.
Alignment: Both good and evil creatures can become shifters. However, lawful beings are unable to be one, as they cannot tolerate the ever-changing forms they find themselves in. Chaotic beings are rare, due to their inability to concentrate on learning the intricacies of the class, but they are perfectly capable of being shifters, and they often end up being the most powerful.
Religion: The most common shifter deities are Ehlonna and Obad-hai. Fharlanghn is also popular with adventuring shifters, and some good or chaotic ones worship Corellon Larethian. However, some shifters do not have a religion at all; as they draw their power from within themselves, they do not really need to.
Background: Many shifters are outcasts from their homes, people seeking to blend into society. Others are people that grew up with an intuitive understanding that they are not comfortable in their own skin. However, the vast majority of them are taught by other shifters, either picked up while the shifter traveled through their town, or simply apprenticed by the local defender of the people.
Shifters all recognize each other as members of a brotherhood, although they rarely share much more. Most have never met each other, and they have no special ranks. If two meet, the one with a higher shifter level is usually treated as the better, although chaotic shifters and evil shifters sometimes have problems in the execution of this idea.
Races: Humans, with their adaptable form, are the most common candidates for this class. Shapeshifting races are also prone to want to explore their special abilities further. Elves are in tune with the environment and often like this class, but other civilized races are rare in the shifter ranks.
Other Classes: A shifter outwardly shares the most with a druid, but the source of their abilities draws them to Sorcerers and, to a lesser extent, other arcane spellcasting classes. However, some prefer rangers, fighters, and barbarians, with their straight-forwardness and less reliance on spells. All in all, they share little with other classes. They are generally looked down upon by sorcerers and wizards, but druids can identify with them. Barbarians and fighters often think of them as not straightforward enough, while rangers tend to agree with most of their policies.
Role: The shifter’s main asset is his versatility. While most forms they assume are for combat, they can also be fast or flying as travelers, or stealthy as scouts. All abilities of animals, humanoids, or any other form that they can assume are added to their vast repertoire of uses. They make some of the most elite spies in the game, able to actually look and sound like a specific person if they want to.
Game Rule Information
Abilities: Charisma helps a shifter bluff when in disguise, and is a key ability in higher levels, as they can’t arcane shape into a creature unless they have more charisma then it has hit die. As they will spend most of their time in arcane shape, Strength and dexterity are mostly unnecessary- However, constitution is important, giving hit points. Wisdom gives them keen senses, useful especially for scouts. Intelligence gives them more skills, which can be used to expand their numerous uses and help assume roles when shapechanged into another’s form.
Difficulty: Complex (as Wizard).
Starting Gold: 3D4*10 GP (100 GP).
Alignment: Any non-lawful.
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills
The shifter’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (int), Knowledge (local) (int), Knowledge (nature) (int), Knowledge (religion) (int), Knowledge (the planes) (int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Speak Language (n/a), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Table: The shifter
http://i.imgur.com/ilPvSUI.png
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the shifter.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shifters are proficient with all simple weapons. They are also proficient with all natural attacks (claw, bite, and so forth) of any form they assume with arcane shape (see below). Shifters are proficient with light armor but not with shields. If a shifter shifts while wearing medium or heavy armor, it counts as two arcane shape attempts (in addition to the standard penalties). If she only has one arcane shape left for the day, she cannot change while wearing it.
Arcane shape:
At 1st level, a shifter gains the ability to turn herself into certain Small or Medium animals and back again. Her options for new forms include all familiar creatures (see below). This ability functions "like" the polymorph spell (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19528526/updated_Master_of_Many_Forms_Bible__official_wild_ shape_rules?post_num=1#331922214), except as noted here.
A shifter loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.) Because of this, a shifter cannot cast spells when arcane shaped until she gets shifter’s speech.
A Shifter does not gain any ability that would increase the number of creatures shifted into, such as an ooze’s split ability or a symbiotic creature’s detach.
At 4th level, and every four levels after, a shifter can change into a new size category, although hit dice restrictions still apply. This progression is detailed on table: The Shifter. She can arcane shape into large creatures at 4th level, into tiny creatures at 8th level, into huge creatures at 12th level, diminutive creatures at 16th level, and gargantuan creatures at 20th level.
Times per day: Once per class level, with a minimum of her charisma bonus.
Duration: One hour per class level, or until shifted out of.
Time to shift: 1 standard action, without provoking an attack of opportunity (improves with fast arcane shape). Shifting out is the same type of action as shifting in.
Hit Die limits: The hit die of a chosen creature must be under the shifter’s current level, as well as under her charisma score. If she is familiar with a creature but gets level or charisma drained under the necessary value, she cannot shift into that creature until she meets the prerequisites again.
Ability type: Supernatural (moderate transmutation) until 8th level, at which point it is extraordinary.
Available Forms: A Shifter begins play knowing three one-HD animal forms of her choice. At every new level, a shifter does the following things, in order:
1. If the shifter gets a new type that level (see table), she chooses a new type of creature to be able to shift into.
2. She may then choose three creatures to be able to shift into. The creatures must be within the shifter’s (new) hit die and size limitations. These need not be creatures that the shifter has seen, but they must be ones she could reasonably have heard of. As such, almost every form should be available (Check with DM for any special cases). There is no advantage to not taking a shift slot, as they cannot be saved. If a template is presented with a list of sample forms (like skeletons), each can be taken individually as creatures (for instance, a shifter could take grey render and grey render zombie, but she must use template shifting to get a Roc zombie). Advancements of creatures cannot be takes as units, each form is a separate form to be familiar with. Any sample creature with class levels is ineligible to be taken as a form, although in the case of a 1HD creature whose single class level replaced its monster hit die, the 1HD monster form is allowed. Swarms cannot be taken as forms until level 7, and incorporeal creatures are unavailable until level 13.
3. Once time per level, she may swap one form of a single type for another of the same type. The new form gained must follow the familiarity and size restrictions, above.
For instance, consider a 1st level shifter that knows small snake, baboon, and eagle as her animal forms. When she gains second level, she may (1) learn how to shift into humanoids; (2) learn how to shift into one new animal, such as an octopus, as well as two humanoids, like Elves and Lizardfolk; and (3) forget how to shift into a small snake in order to learn how to shift into a new animal, such as the riding dog.
Shifter Creature Types:
http://i.imgur.com/B5cHyD6.png
Improved Arcane shape: At 2nd level, a shifter gains the aquatic, air, cold, earth, fire, and/or water subtype(s) during a shift if possessed by the chosen form. At 4th level, a shifter gets all extraordinary special qualities of the form she assumes. At 7th level, she gains the swarm subtype during a shift if the form has it. At 10th level, she gains all supernatural (but not spell-like) special attacks from her shifted form. At 13th level, she gains the incorporeal subtype during shifts if the form possesses it. At 19th level, she gains all supernatural (but not spell-like) special qualities from assumed forms.
However, it is much harder using supernatural (not extraordinary) abilities when shifting. When a shifter of at least 10th level changes shape, she must choose whether or not to use whatever supernatural attacks (and qualities if she is at least 19th level) of the creature she is shaping into. If she chooses to use them, she can only shift into a creature if its hit die plus its challenge rating is less than both her class level and her charisma. That is to say, when using supernatural abilities, her HD cap is decreased by the desired monster’s challenge rating.
At 16th level, a shifter gains the ability to add templates that she knows to the creatures she arcane shapes into. However, when arcane shaping into such a creature, the difference between her class levels and its hit die must be at least equal to the level adjustment of the template she is applying to it, taking into account its challenge rating if supernatural abilities are used, and the total templates applied can never have a level adjustment exceeding one fourth of her shifter level. Furthermore, if the template changes the creature's type, hit die, or size, both the original and the new forms must be available to the shifter. Templates may be layered, as long as all template stacking rules are observed, and every intermediate form is available to her, as well as every template used. For an example, when arcane shaping into a winged (+2 LA) Cloud Giant, she must be at least 19th level, because 17 HD + 2 LA equals 19. If a template has a specified increase in challenge rating, this must be factored into the challenge rating of the resulting creature for purposes of supernatural abilities. If a template has no level adjustment (generally because it cannot be applied to sentient characters), use the challenge rating adjustment as the level adjustment. Ignore any modifications to number or size of hit die given by templates. Templates can never reduce effective HD or Challenge Rating.
A shifter gains 5 templates of her choice at 16th level and gains one per level. This works otherwise like available forms, above. There is no exchanging of templates.
Shifter’s Speech (Ex): At 2nd level, a shifter can speak normally while in any arcane shaped form. This includes communication and the recitation of a spell’s verbal components. She can still make the normal sounds her form can make, as detailed above, to talk with other creatures of the same kind. This affects only the arcane shape ability, not any spells or class abilities with similar results.
Bonus Monstrous Feat: At level 3, a Shifter learns how to harness one aspect of shifting much better. She gets one of the following feats as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites: Improved Grapple, Improved Natural Attack (any one attack), Flyby Attack, or Multiattack. She gains the benefits of this feat whenever her form allows it.
Weapon Enhancement (Su): A shifter knows how to infuse her natural weapons with magical energy. At 4th level, she gains a +1 magical enhancement bonus to all of her natural weapons. This bonus improves by an additional +1 every 4 levels afterward, as shown on table: The Shifter.
Inanimate Arcane Shape (Su): At 6th level, a shifter can use a daily use of arcane shape to shape into an inanimate object that she is familiar with, with normal size restrictions. Treat this as an arcane shape into an Animated Object of the appropriate size, except that HD limits are ignored. Like normal arcane shape, this is extraordinary at level 8, and gains extraordinary and supernatural abilities as if it were an arcane shape of the appropriate size of animated object. (If the object has more HD than the she has levels, a shifter cannot use any abilities that would decrease her HD cap.)
For shifting into objects with craft DCs higher than 20 (most objects with moving parts, masterwork items, beautiful works of art, etc), the Shifter must make a craft check. Failure for a masterwork item means that she turns into the item’s mundane counterpart. Failure for a work of art means that she changes into a crude mockery (the level of crudeness depending on the check), and failure for a complicated item means that it is nonfunctional, parts fused together. Other items may have appropriate penalties.
She may turn into a book, but it is written in gibberish.
Sample Craft DCs:
http://i.imgur.com/KwdFvN7.png
A shifter may not shift into inanimate objects any other way. Familiarity with animated objects of any size cannot be conferred in any other way. This ability counts as Arcane Shape for purposes of integration into Multimorph.
Morphic Shifting: At 6th level, a shifter gains the ability to further improve her arcane shape. Unless otherwise noted, all abilities are usable only while arcane shaped, and last until the specific arcane shape ends. Unless otherwise stated, multiple uses of an ability do not stack. These may be used a total of once per two class levels plus her charisma modifier, per day.
Any number of these may be triggered as free actions when arcane shaping (but each one counts separately against the daily limit, above). Unless otherwise noted, they can also be used as move actions while arcane shaped.
A shifter may select two of the following abilities at 6th level, and one every two levels afterwards.
Morphic Aggression (Ex): When activated, all of the shifter’s natural weapons deal +1 damage per three levels.
Morphic Armor (Ex): A shifter with this ability can use morphic shifting to toughen her skin, gaining natural armor equal to her charisma modifier or improve her existing natural armor by the same amount. This is an enhancement bonus.
Morphic Body (Ex): A shifter with this ability can morph into better versions of the creatures she knows. She may improve either strength, dexterity, or constitution by two points per five levels. This ability can be used multiple times if it targets a different ability each time. This is an enhancement bonus.
Morphic Healing (Su): A shifter with this ability selected can use a daily use of morphic shifting to immediately heal damage equal to her class level. This is still a move action, and may be used regardless of form. Unlike other morphic abilities, this cannot be used while entering a shape; it is only available for use as a move action.
Morphic Health (Ex): When activated, this ability gives the shifter one bonus hit point per class level, as well as the benefits of the diehard feat. These immediately end if the arcane shape is terminated, and the granted hit points from this ability can never go above her class level.
Morphic Material (Ex): When used, the shifter may choose a weapon material (e.g. adamantine, silver, etc.) All of her natural weapons are considered to be made of this material until the end of the arcane shape, for purposes of bypassing damage reduction and hardness.
Morphic Movement (Ex): A shifter with this ability can expend a use of morphic shifting to gain a new movement type. In order to use this ability, she first finds the fastest movement speed on the creature. Then, she either grants herself a land speed, climb speed, swim speed, or average flight speed equal to this speed, or she grants herself a burrow speed equal to half this amount (rounded down to the nearest 5 feet). Alternatively, if she already has a fly speed in her current form, she can spend her use of morphic movement to increase her maneuverability by up to 2 steps. A shifter retains all of her old movement rates when using morphic movement. Morphic movement can be used multiple times to gain multiple new modes of movement, but multiple creations and/or improvements of flying speeds do not stack. If her form already has the chosen movement mode, use the larger value.
When used with multimorph, the granted type of movement speed does not change, although if the highest movement rate of the new form changes, then the granted movement speed will as well. For instance, if a shifter began as an eagle (with fly 80) that gained burrow, she could burrow at 40 feet per round, half of the eagle’s fastest movement mode. If she then morphed into an octopus, whose fastest movement is swim 30, her burrow speed would reduce to 15 feet per round.
Morphic Reach (Ex): A shifter with this trait can elongate limbs, tails, and snouts. She may improve her arcane shaped reach of one natural attack type (such as “claws”, “bite” or “tentacles”) by 5 feet per 10 levels. This is an enhancement bonus. This can be used multiple times if it targets a different natural attack type each time.
If activated during multimorph, this ability is active as long as the chosen natural weapon type is available to her current form. Should she choose to reactivate this ability using another use of morphic shifting, she may swap the natural weapon gaining reach, dismissing the old effect.
Morphic resistance (Ex): A shifter with this ability activated gains damage reduction X/magic and silver, where X is equal to her charisma modifier.
Morphic Sustenance (Ex): A shifter with this ability need not eat, sleep, or drink. It is always active, regardless of form.
Morphic Unmelding (Ex): A shifter with this ability can use it while arcane shaping to cause one worn magical item not to meld with her form. It must be appropriate for the new form (no helmets on oozes), and changes size if necessary. It cannot be a magical weapon. Multiple uses of this ability can grant multiple unmelded items. Unlike most abilities, this cannot be used in the middle of an arcane shape- it must be at the beginning of one.
If used during multimorph, the unmolded item works as normal, changing sizes as appropriate, until the shifter shifts into an incompatible form. If she does, the item will break or fall off (depending on the specific forms and sizes) unless she uses an additional use of morphic shifting during the form change to meld one or more incompatible items into herself, rendering themselves nonfunctional, as normal.
Morphic Weapon Enhancement (Su): By spending a variable amount of her morphic shifting, a shifter can give her natural weapons special abilities. By spending a number of uses of morphic shifting equal to double the equivalent bonus of a melee weapon special ability, she can impart that special ability on a single natural weapon (Should she have multiple of this natural weapon type, such as 2 claws, only one gains the ability). This cannot be any ability that offers benefits against a single, arbitrary group of creatures such as Bane, although abilities that offer bonuses against a set type (such as Disruption) are allowed. It cannot be any ability that grants the weapon the ability to move or act on its own, such as Dancing or Animated. The granted power must be able to apply to the attack (for instance, Disruption can be applied to bludgeoning attacks, such as a slam attack, but not a bite). Only one instance of this ability can be in effect at a time.
If used during multimorph, she loses the benefits of this ability when in a form lacking the chosen natural weapon, but can shift back into an appropriate form to regain it. She may choose to use this ability again to impart a different natural weapon with an ability (the same or a new one), in which case the old natural weapon’s enhancement is dismissed.
Morphic Weapons (Ex): A shifter with this ability can choose one of her natural attack types (claw, bite, etc.). This attack deals damage increased by one size category. For example, a shifter who used arcane shape to become a dire wolf (large animal) could grow its jaw and snout, enabling a bite attack that deals 2d6 points of damage (as a huge animal), not the normal 1d8. This ability can be used multiple times if it targets different natural attacks each time.
If activated during multimorph, this ability is active as long as the chosen natural weapon type is available to her current form.
Immunities (Ex): A shifter gains fine control over her body. At 7th level and every two levels afterwards (9th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 17th, and 19th), she gains immunity to one of the following types of harm:
Stunning
Poison
Paralysis
Diseases
Sleep effects
Immunity To Flanking (Improved uncanny dodge) (minimum level 13): treat shifter level as rogue level.
Critical Hits and sneak attack (minimum level 15)
Fast Arcane shape: Starting at 9th level, a shifter can use her arcane shape ability (to change into a form or back out of it) as a move action rather than a standard action.
At 18th level, she can Arcane shape as a swift action.
A Thousand Faces (Ex): At 11th level, a shifter gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as though using disguise a self spell that affects her body but not her possessions. This is not an illusion but a physical alteration. She can change her hair, skin and texture, size (to a point), facial features, etc, within the limits described by the spell. She reverts to her other form when killed. This can be used in any form as a standard action. For instance, a goblin shifter could arcane shape into a human and use this ability to look like an elf, or use it in her natural form to look like a kobold.
Multimorph: At 17th level, a Shifter gains multimorph. Multimorph enables a shifter to change multiple times during the duration of a single arcane shape. This means that at 17th level, a shifter could wake up, turn into an elf to go to an elven town, then change into a tiger to defend it- all while using up the same instance of the arcane shape ability. A morphic shift applied stays active throughout the duration. Changing forms still requires the appropriate action type (at 17th level, a move action).
Every time a Shifter changes forms during a multimorph, she may decide whether to change into a form up to her hit die, or to change into a form with reduced hit die and gain its supernatural abilities, as is normal when arcane shaping.
As changing form inside multimorph does not count as a new arcane shape, she does not regain hit points. For purposes of attacks and qualities with limited uses, morphing back to a previously used form counts as the same instantiation of creature as before.
Evershifting Form: At 20th level, a shifter gains the shapechanger subtype if she does not already have it; she takes no further penalties for aging, although she can gain bonuses; and she is immune to all transmutation effects that she does not accept onto her person. She does not die unless killed.
Epic Shifters
An epic shifter is a sight to behold, although you can’t behold one for too long. The shifters able to make it to this level have a vast repertoire of forms, and the experience to know when to use each. Shifters this powerful are difficult to classify- most continue to adventure, while some become content with what power they possess and settle down in a community. The most evil become warlords, fierce tyrants that demand absolute loyalty and are able to back it up with unmatched espionage.
Hit Die: D8.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4+ Int Modifier.
Arcane Shape (Ex): A shifter’s maximum hit die, duration, and times per day continue to scale with her level, as normal.
At 24th level, a Shifter can arcane shape into fine creatures; at 28th level, she can arcane shape into colossal creatures.
Familiarity: A shifter may continue to take new forms (and swap some) every level, as normal. However, she must forgo the ability to learn more creature types, as she knows all of them.
Morphic Shifting: A shifter’s morphic shifts per day and number of abilities continue to go up with her levels, as normal.
Improved Arcane Shape: At levels higher than 20, a shifter no longer needs to take a reduction in her maximum hit die when using supernatural special qualities or special attacks. Her maximum hit die goes back up to her Shifter level/charisma bonus, even when using such abilities. She also gains a new template every level, as normal.
At level 22, a shifter may gain all spell-like abilities of a creature she shifts into. This causes her maximum effective hit die to be reduced by the creature's challenge rating when using such abilities, like how supernatural abilities reduce hit die caps for non-epic shifters.
At 25th level, a shifter may take advanced forms of the creatures she arcane shapes into, to the maximum HD indicated in the creature’s statistics block. Use the rules for advancing monsters in the Monster Manual.
Weapon Enhancement: A shifter’s bonus with her natural weapons improves by +1 every fourth level past 20, to +6 at 24, +7 at 28, etc.
Fast Arcane Shape: At 27th level, arcane shaping is a free action.
Bonus Feats: A shifter may take a bonus feat every five levels.
Epic Shifter Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Blinding Speed, Devastating Critical, Energy Resistance, Epic Endurance, Epic Fortitude, Epic Prowess, Epic Reflexes, Epic Reputation, Epic Speed, Epic Weapon Focus, Epic Will, Fast Healing, Great Charisma, Great Constitution, Overwhelming Critical, Penetrate Damage Reduction.
Ex-Shifters
A shifter who changes to a lawful alignment can no longer arcane shape or gain any new shifter levels until she changes back to an allowed alignment.
Arcane Shape Vs. Wild Shape
For purposes of prestige class prerequisites, feat prerequisites, and benefits, arcane shape counts as wild shape. If a character has both arcane shape and wild shape, she must choose which will be affected by the prestige class or feat. All abilities of any one prestige class must apply to only one of the abilities, decided at the time that the first such feature of such a prestige class is gained.
However, most benefits gained by taking abilities improving wild shape will not stack with shifter class abilities.
Intro / Fluff
The shifter is focused on one thing: Being everything. They, like sorcerers, draw power from within themselves in order to fuel their own supernatural abilities. However, they channel this power all into their arcane shape ability, rarely bothering with spells. They can charge into battle as a cheetah, scout as a cat, reconnoiter as a eagle, or just plain hurt people as a war troll. They are versatile for their ability not to be themselves.
Adventures: Many shifters adventure to protect the land, and the creatures with whom they have come to identify. They also might simply to increase their own power. Many are sedentary, living in secret cabals, whereas others charge themselves with protecting settlements. The occasional one becomes an adventurer, and they serve as the visible face of the class, although most that deal with them don’t know it.
Characteristics: The easiest way to describe the shifter is by listing the forms it’s capable of assuming. As they advance in levels, they’ll spend less and less time in their own bodies. At first level, they could be baboons, badgers, dogs, eagles or small snakes for one hour a day. However, once they hit third, they’re already capable of infiltrating an enemy gnoll stronghold for nine hours. At 6th, they are the table on which the gnolls lay out their maps.
Alignment: Both good and evil creatures can become shifters. However, lawful beings are unable to be one, as they cannot tolerate the ever-changing forms they find themselves in. Chaotic beings are rare, due to their inability to concentrate on learning the intricacies of the class, but they are perfectly capable of being shifters, and they often end up being the most powerful.
Religion: The most common shifter deities are Ehlonna and Obad-hai. Fharlanghn is also popular with adventuring shifters, and some good or chaotic ones worship Corellon Larethian. However, some shifters do not have a religion at all; as they draw their power from within themselves, they do not really need to.
Background: Many shifters are outcasts from their homes, people seeking to blend into society. Others are people that grew up with an intuitive understanding that they are not comfortable in their own skin. However, the vast majority of them are taught by other shifters, either picked up while the shifter traveled through their town, or simply apprenticed by the local defender of the people.
Shifters all recognize each other as members of a brotherhood, although they rarely share much more. Most have never met each other, and they have no special ranks. If two meet, the one with a higher shifter level is usually treated as the better, although chaotic shifters and evil shifters sometimes have problems in the execution of this idea.
Races: Humans, with their adaptable form, are the most common candidates for this class. Shapeshifting races are also prone to want to explore their special abilities further. Elves are in tune with the environment and often like this class, but other civilized races are rare in the shifter ranks.
Other Classes: A shifter outwardly shares the most with a druid, but the source of their abilities draws them to Sorcerers and, to a lesser extent, other arcane spellcasting classes. However, some prefer rangers, fighters, and barbarians, with their straight-forwardness and less reliance on spells. All in all, they share little with other classes. They are generally looked down upon by sorcerers and wizards, but druids can identify with them. Barbarians and fighters often think of them as not straightforward enough, while rangers tend to agree with most of their policies.
Role: The shifter’s main asset is his versatility. While most forms they assume are for combat, they can also be fast or flying as travelers, or stealthy as scouts. All abilities of animals, humanoids, or any other form that they can assume are added to their vast repertoire of uses. They make some of the most elite spies in the game, able to actually look and sound like a specific person if they want to.
Game Rule Information
Abilities: Charisma helps a shifter bluff when in disguise, and is a key ability in higher levels, as they can’t arcane shape into a creature unless they have more charisma then it has hit die. As they will spend most of their time in arcane shape, Strength and dexterity are mostly unnecessary- However, constitution is important, giving hit points. Wisdom gives them keen senses, useful especially for scouts. Intelligence gives them more skills, which can be used to expand their numerous uses and help assume roles when shapechanged into another’s form.
Difficulty: Complex (as Wizard).
Starting Gold: 3D4*10 GP (100 GP).
Alignment: Any non-lawful.
Hit Die: d8.
Class Skills
The shifter’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (arcana) (int), Knowledge (dungeoneering) (int), Knowledge (local) (int), Knowledge (nature) (int), Knowledge (religion) (int), Knowledge (the planes) (int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Speak Language (n/a), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) x 4.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Table: The shifter
http://i.imgur.com/ilPvSUI.png
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the shifter.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Shifters are proficient with all simple weapons. They are also proficient with all natural attacks (claw, bite, and so forth) of any form they assume with arcane shape (see below). Shifters are proficient with light armor but not with shields. If a shifter shifts while wearing medium or heavy armor, it counts as two arcane shape attempts (in addition to the standard penalties). If she only has one arcane shape left for the day, she cannot change while wearing it.
Arcane shape:
At 1st level, a shifter gains the ability to turn herself into certain Small or Medium animals and back again. Her options for new forms include all familiar creatures (see below). This ability functions "like" the polymorph spell (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19528526/updated_Master_of_Many_Forms_Bible__official_wild_ shape_rules?post_num=1#331922214), except as noted here.
A shifter loses her ability to speak while in animal form because she is limited to the sounds that a normal, untrained animal can make, but she can communicate normally with other animals of the same general grouping as her new form. (The normal sound a wild parrot makes is a squawk, so changing to this form does not permit speech.) Because of this, a shifter cannot cast spells when arcane shaped until she gets shifter’s speech.
A Shifter does not gain any ability that would increase the number of creatures shifted into, such as an ooze’s split ability or a symbiotic creature’s detach.
At 4th level, and every four levels after, a shifter can change into a new size category, although hit dice restrictions still apply. This progression is detailed on table: The Shifter. She can arcane shape into large creatures at 4th level, into tiny creatures at 8th level, into huge creatures at 12th level, diminutive creatures at 16th level, and gargantuan creatures at 20th level.
Times per day: Once per class level, with a minimum of her charisma bonus.
Duration: One hour per class level, or until shifted out of.
Time to shift: 1 standard action, without provoking an attack of opportunity (improves with fast arcane shape). Shifting out is the same type of action as shifting in.
Hit Die limits: The hit die of a chosen creature must be under the shifter’s current level, as well as under her charisma score. If she is familiar with a creature but gets level or charisma drained under the necessary value, she cannot shift into that creature until she meets the prerequisites again.
Ability type: Supernatural (moderate transmutation) until 8th level, at which point it is extraordinary.
Available Forms: A Shifter begins play knowing three one-HD animal forms of her choice. At every new level, a shifter does the following things, in order:
1. If the shifter gets a new type that level (see table), she chooses a new type of creature to be able to shift into.
2. She may then choose three creatures to be able to shift into. The creatures must be within the shifter’s (new) hit die and size limitations. These need not be creatures that the shifter has seen, but they must be ones she could reasonably have heard of. As such, almost every form should be available (Check with DM for any special cases). There is no advantage to not taking a shift slot, as they cannot be saved. If a template is presented with a list of sample forms (like skeletons), each can be taken individually as creatures (for instance, a shifter could take grey render and grey render zombie, but she must use template shifting to get a Roc zombie). Advancements of creatures cannot be takes as units, each form is a separate form to be familiar with. Any sample creature with class levels is ineligible to be taken as a form, although in the case of a 1HD creature whose single class level replaced its monster hit die, the 1HD monster form is allowed. Swarms cannot be taken as forms until level 7, and incorporeal creatures are unavailable until level 13.
3. Once time per level, she may swap one form of a single type for another of the same type. The new form gained must follow the familiarity and size restrictions, above.
For instance, consider a 1st level shifter that knows small snake, baboon, and eagle as her animal forms. When she gains second level, she may (1) learn how to shift into humanoids; (2) learn how to shift into one new animal, such as an octopus, as well as two humanoids, like Elves and Lizardfolk; and (3) forget how to shift into a small snake in order to learn how to shift into a new animal, such as the riding dog.
Shifter Creature Types:
http://i.imgur.com/B5cHyD6.png
Improved Arcane shape: At 2nd level, a shifter gains the aquatic, air, cold, earth, fire, and/or water subtype(s) during a shift if possessed by the chosen form. At 4th level, a shifter gets all extraordinary special qualities of the form she assumes. At 7th level, she gains the swarm subtype during a shift if the form has it. At 10th level, she gains all supernatural (but not spell-like) special attacks from her shifted form. At 13th level, she gains the incorporeal subtype during shifts if the form possesses it. At 19th level, she gains all supernatural (but not spell-like) special qualities from assumed forms.
However, it is much harder using supernatural (not extraordinary) abilities when shifting. When a shifter of at least 10th level changes shape, she must choose whether or not to use whatever supernatural attacks (and qualities if she is at least 19th level) of the creature she is shaping into. If she chooses to use them, she can only shift into a creature if its hit die plus its challenge rating is less than both her class level and her charisma. That is to say, when using supernatural abilities, her HD cap is decreased by the desired monster’s challenge rating.
At 16th level, a shifter gains the ability to add templates that she knows to the creatures she arcane shapes into. However, when arcane shaping into such a creature, the difference between her class levels and its hit die must be at least equal to the level adjustment of the template she is applying to it, taking into account its challenge rating if supernatural abilities are used, and the total templates applied can never have a level adjustment exceeding one fourth of her shifter level. Furthermore, if the template changes the creature's type, hit die, or size, both the original and the new forms must be available to the shifter. Templates may be layered, as long as all template stacking rules are observed, and every intermediate form is available to her, as well as every template used. For an example, when arcane shaping into a winged (+2 LA) Cloud Giant, she must be at least 19th level, because 17 HD + 2 LA equals 19. If a template has a specified increase in challenge rating, this must be factored into the challenge rating of the resulting creature for purposes of supernatural abilities. If a template has no level adjustment (generally because it cannot be applied to sentient characters), use the challenge rating adjustment as the level adjustment. Ignore any modifications to number or size of hit die given by templates. Templates can never reduce effective HD or Challenge Rating.
A shifter gains 5 templates of her choice at 16th level and gains one per level. This works otherwise like available forms, above. There is no exchanging of templates.
Shifter’s Speech (Ex): At 2nd level, a shifter can speak normally while in any arcane shaped form. This includes communication and the recitation of a spell’s verbal components. She can still make the normal sounds her form can make, as detailed above, to talk with other creatures of the same kind. This affects only the arcane shape ability, not any spells or class abilities with similar results.
Bonus Monstrous Feat: At level 3, a Shifter learns how to harness one aspect of shifting much better. She gets one of the following feats as a bonus feat, even if she does not meet the prerequisites: Improved Grapple, Improved Natural Attack (any one attack), Flyby Attack, or Multiattack. She gains the benefits of this feat whenever her form allows it.
Weapon Enhancement (Su): A shifter knows how to infuse her natural weapons with magical energy. At 4th level, she gains a +1 magical enhancement bonus to all of her natural weapons. This bonus improves by an additional +1 every 4 levels afterward, as shown on table: The Shifter.
Inanimate Arcane Shape (Su): At 6th level, a shifter can use a daily use of arcane shape to shape into an inanimate object that she is familiar with, with normal size restrictions. Treat this as an arcane shape into an Animated Object of the appropriate size, except that HD limits are ignored. Like normal arcane shape, this is extraordinary at level 8, and gains extraordinary and supernatural abilities as if it were an arcane shape of the appropriate size of animated object. (If the object has more HD than the she has levels, a shifter cannot use any abilities that would decrease her HD cap.)
For shifting into objects with craft DCs higher than 20 (most objects with moving parts, masterwork items, beautiful works of art, etc), the Shifter must make a craft check. Failure for a masterwork item means that she turns into the item’s mundane counterpart. Failure for a work of art means that she changes into a crude mockery (the level of crudeness depending on the check), and failure for a complicated item means that it is nonfunctional, parts fused together. Other items may have appropriate penalties.
She may turn into a book, but it is written in gibberish.
Sample Craft DCs:
http://i.imgur.com/KwdFvN7.png
A shifter may not shift into inanimate objects any other way. Familiarity with animated objects of any size cannot be conferred in any other way. This ability counts as Arcane Shape for purposes of integration into Multimorph.
Morphic Shifting: At 6th level, a shifter gains the ability to further improve her arcane shape. Unless otherwise noted, all abilities are usable only while arcane shaped, and last until the specific arcane shape ends. Unless otherwise stated, multiple uses of an ability do not stack. These may be used a total of once per two class levels plus her charisma modifier, per day.
Any number of these may be triggered as free actions when arcane shaping (but each one counts separately against the daily limit, above). Unless otherwise noted, they can also be used as move actions while arcane shaped.
A shifter may select two of the following abilities at 6th level, and one every two levels afterwards.
Morphic Aggression (Ex): When activated, all of the shifter’s natural weapons deal +1 damage per three levels.
Morphic Armor (Ex): A shifter with this ability can use morphic shifting to toughen her skin, gaining natural armor equal to her charisma modifier or improve her existing natural armor by the same amount. This is an enhancement bonus.
Morphic Body (Ex): A shifter with this ability can morph into better versions of the creatures she knows. She may improve either strength, dexterity, or constitution by two points per five levels. This ability can be used multiple times if it targets a different ability each time. This is an enhancement bonus.
Morphic Healing (Su): A shifter with this ability selected can use a daily use of morphic shifting to immediately heal damage equal to her class level. This is still a move action, and may be used regardless of form. Unlike other morphic abilities, this cannot be used while entering a shape; it is only available for use as a move action.
Morphic Health (Ex): When activated, this ability gives the shifter one bonus hit point per class level, as well as the benefits of the diehard feat. These immediately end if the arcane shape is terminated, and the granted hit points from this ability can never go above her class level.
Morphic Material (Ex): When used, the shifter may choose a weapon material (e.g. adamantine, silver, etc.) All of her natural weapons are considered to be made of this material until the end of the arcane shape, for purposes of bypassing damage reduction and hardness.
Morphic Movement (Ex): A shifter with this ability can expend a use of morphic shifting to gain a new movement type. In order to use this ability, she first finds the fastest movement speed on the creature. Then, she either grants herself a land speed, climb speed, swim speed, or average flight speed equal to this speed, or she grants herself a burrow speed equal to half this amount (rounded down to the nearest 5 feet). Alternatively, if she already has a fly speed in her current form, she can spend her use of morphic movement to increase her maneuverability by up to 2 steps. A shifter retains all of her old movement rates when using morphic movement. Morphic movement can be used multiple times to gain multiple new modes of movement, but multiple creations and/or improvements of flying speeds do not stack. If her form already has the chosen movement mode, use the larger value.
When used with multimorph, the granted type of movement speed does not change, although if the highest movement rate of the new form changes, then the granted movement speed will as well. For instance, if a shifter began as an eagle (with fly 80) that gained burrow, she could burrow at 40 feet per round, half of the eagle’s fastest movement mode. If she then morphed into an octopus, whose fastest movement is swim 30, her burrow speed would reduce to 15 feet per round.
Morphic Reach (Ex): A shifter with this trait can elongate limbs, tails, and snouts. She may improve her arcane shaped reach of one natural attack type (such as “claws”, “bite” or “tentacles”) by 5 feet per 10 levels. This is an enhancement bonus. This can be used multiple times if it targets a different natural attack type each time.
If activated during multimorph, this ability is active as long as the chosen natural weapon type is available to her current form. Should she choose to reactivate this ability using another use of morphic shifting, she may swap the natural weapon gaining reach, dismissing the old effect.
Morphic resistance (Ex): A shifter with this ability activated gains damage reduction X/magic and silver, where X is equal to her charisma modifier.
Morphic Sustenance (Ex): A shifter with this ability need not eat, sleep, or drink. It is always active, regardless of form.
Morphic Unmelding (Ex): A shifter with this ability can use it while arcane shaping to cause one worn magical item not to meld with her form. It must be appropriate for the new form (no helmets on oozes), and changes size if necessary. It cannot be a magical weapon. Multiple uses of this ability can grant multiple unmelded items. Unlike most abilities, this cannot be used in the middle of an arcane shape- it must be at the beginning of one.
If used during multimorph, the unmolded item works as normal, changing sizes as appropriate, until the shifter shifts into an incompatible form. If she does, the item will break or fall off (depending on the specific forms and sizes) unless she uses an additional use of morphic shifting during the form change to meld one or more incompatible items into herself, rendering themselves nonfunctional, as normal.
Morphic Weapon Enhancement (Su): By spending a variable amount of her morphic shifting, a shifter can give her natural weapons special abilities. By spending a number of uses of morphic shifting equal to double the equivalent bonus of a melee weapon special ability, she can impart that special ability on a single natural weapon (Should she have multiple of this natural weapon type, such as 2 claws, only one gains the ability). This cannot be any ability that offers benefits against a single, arbitrary group of creatures such as Bane, although abilities that offer bonuses against a set type (such as Disruption) are allowed. It cannot be any ability that grants the weapon the ability to move or act on its own, such as Dancing or Animated. The granted power must be able to apply to the attack (for instance, Disruption can be applied to bludgeoning attacks, such as a slam attack, but not a bite). Only one instance of this ability can be in effect at a time.
If used during multimorph, she loses the benefits of this ability when in a form lacking the chosen natural weapon, but can shift back into an appropriate form to regain it. She may choose to use this ability again to impart a different natural weapon with an ability (the same or a new one), in which case the old natural weapon’s enhancement is dismissed.
Morphic Weapons (Ex): A shifter with this ability can choose one of her natural attack types (claw, bite, etc.). This attack deals damage increased by one size category. For example, a shifter who used arcane shape to become a dire wolf (large animal) could grow its jaw and snout, enabling a bite attack that deals 2d6 points of damage (as a huge animal), not the normal 1d8. This ability can be used multiple times if it targets different natural attacks each time.
If activated during multimorph, this ability is active as long as the chosen natural weapon type is available to her current form.
Immunities (Ex): A shifter gains fine control over her body. At 7th level and every two levels afterwards (9th, 11th, 13th, 15th, 17th, and 19th), she gains immunity to one of the following types of harm:
Stunning
Poison
Paralysis
Diseases
Sleep effects
Immunity To Flanking (Improved uncanny dodge) (minimum level 13): treat shifter level as rogue level.
Critical Hits and sneak attack (minimum level 15)
Fast Arcane shape: Starting at 9th level, a shifter can use her arcane shape ability (to change into a form or back out of it) as a move action rather than a standard action.
At 18th level, she can Arcane shape as a swift action.
A Thousand Faces (Ex): At 11th level, a shifter gains the ability to change her appearance at will, as though using disguise a self spell that affects her body but not her possessions. This is not an illusion but a physical alteration. She can change her hair, skin and texture, size (to a point), facial features, etc, within the limits described by the spell. She reverts to her other form when killed. This can be used in any form as a standard action. For instance, a goblin shifter could arcane shape into a human and use this ability to look like an elf, or use it in her natural form to look like a kobold.
Multimorph: At 17th level, a Shifter gains multimorph. Multimorph enables a shifter to change multiple times during the duration of a single arcane shape. This means that at 17th level, a shifter could wake up, turn into an elf to go to an elven town, then change into a tiger to defend it- all while using up the same instance of the arcane shape ability. A morphic shift applied stays active throughout the duration. Changing forms still requires the appropriate action type (at 17th level, a move action).
Every time a Shifter changes forms during a multimorph, she may decide whether to change into a form up to her hit die, or to change into a form with reduced hit die and gain its supernatural abilities, as is normal when arcane shaping.
As changing form inside multimorph does not count as a new arcane shape, she does not regain hit points. For purposes of attacks and qualities with limited uses, morphing back to a previously used form counts as the same instantiation of creature as before.
Evershifting Form: At 20th level, a shifter gains the shapechanger subtype if she does not already have it; she takes no further penalties for aging, although she can gain bonuses; and she is immune to all transmutation effects that she does not accept onto her person. She does not die unless killed.
Epic Shifters
An epic shifter is a sight to behold, although you can’t behold one for too long. The shifters able to make it to this level have a vast repertoire of forms, and the experience to know when to use each. Shifters this powerful are difficult to classify- most continue to adventure, while some become content with what power they possess and settle down in a community. The most evil become warlords, fierce tyrants that demand absolute loyalty and are able to back it up with unmatched espionage.
Hit Die: D8.
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4+ Int Modifier.
Arcane Shape (Ex): A shifter’s maximum hit die, duration, and times per day continue to scale with her level, as normal.
At 24th level, a Shifter can arcane shape into fine creatures; at 28th level, she can arcane shape into colossal creatures.
Familiarity: A shifter may continue to take new forms (and swap some) every level, as normal. However, she must forgo the ability to learn more creature types, as she knows all of them.
Morphic Shifting: A shifter’s morphic shifts per day and number of abilities continue to go up with her levels, as normal.
Improved Arcane Shape: At levels higher than 20, a shifter no longer needs to take a reduction in her maximum hit die when using supernatural special qualities or special attacks. Her maximum hit die goes back up to her Shifter level/charisma bonus, even when using such abilities. She also gains a new template every level, as normal.
At level 22, a shifter may gain all spell-like abilities of a creature she shifts into. This causes her maximum effective hit die to be reduced by the creature's challenge rating when using such abilities, like how supernatural abilities reduce hit die caps for non-epic shifters.
At 25th level, a shifter may take advanced forms of the creatures she arcane shapes into, to the maximum HD indicated in the creature’s statistics block. Use the rules for advancing monsters in the Monster Manual.
Weapon Enhancement: A shifter’s bonus with her natural weapons improves by +1 every fourth level past 20, to +6 at 24, +7 at 28, etc.
Fast Arcane Shape: At 27th level, arcane shaping is a free action.
Bonus Feats: A shifter may take a bonus feat every five levels.
Epic Shifter Bonus Feat List: Armor Skin, Blinding Speed, Devastating Critical, Energy Resistance, Epic Endurance, Epic Fortitude, Epic Prowess, Epic Reflexes, Epic Reputation, Epic Speed, Epic Weapon Focus, Epic Will, Fast Healing, Great Charisma, Great Constitution, Overwhelming Critical, Penetrate Damage Reduction.
Ex-Shifters
A shifter who changes to a lawful alignment can no longer arcane shape or gain any new shifter levels until she changes back to an allowed alignment.
Arcane Shape Vs. Wild Shape
For purposes of prestige class prerequisites, feat prerequisites, and benefits, arcane shape counts as wild shape. If a character has both arcane shape and wild shape, she must choose which will be affected by the prestige class or feat. All abilities of any one prestige class must apply to only one of the abilities, decided at the time that the first such feature of such a prestige class is gained.
However, most benefits gained by taking abilities improving wild shape will not stack with shifter class abilities.