Shifter

Shifter

The shifter has no form that she calls her own. Instead, she clothes herself in whatever shape is most expedient at the time. While others base their identities largely on their external forms, the shifter actually comes closer to her true self through all her transformations. Of necessity, her sense of self is based not on her outward form, but on her soul, which is truly the only constant about her. It is the inner strength of that soul that enables her to take on any shape and remain herself within.

At first, the shifter can risk only humanoid forms and familiar animal shapes. As she grows more comfortable with her own true shapelessness, however, she can assume more outlandish forms. Eventually, she knows herself so well that she feels just as comfortable in the shape of a completely different creature type as she does in her own. At that point, her past-even her race becomes irrelevant, since external form no longer matters to her.

The shifter's path is ideal for a spellcaster of any race who has experienced shapeshifting and yearns for more of it. Such a character can be a great force for either good or ill in the world; an evil shifter in particular poses a terrible threat, for she can appear anywhere, in any form. The same opponents may face her again and again, in one shape after another, never realizing that they actually face a single, formless enemy.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To become a shifter, a character must fulfill the following criteria.

Feats: Alertness, Endurance.

Spells : Able to cast 3rd-level spells.

Special : Alternate Form-ust either know polymorph self or have a natural alternate form, alter self, polymorph self, shapechange, or wild shape ability.

Class Skills

The shifter's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Animal Empathy (Cha, exclusive skill), climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (any) (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Survival (Wis). See Chapter 4 of the Player's Handbook for skill descriptions. Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

The following are class features of the shifter prestige class. Weapon and Armor Proficiency : Shifters gain no weapon or armor proficiencies.

Greater Wild Shape (Sp) : Beginning at 1st level, the shifter can take the form ofanother creature. Greater wild shape works like wild shape, with the following exceptions. As she rises in level, the shifter gains the ability to assume the forms of creatures with types other than animal (see Table 5-15 for details), though she cannot choose a form that normally has more Hit Dice than she herself does. She can designate at the time of the change which pieces of her equipment meld into her new form and which do not. Nonmelded equipment alters its size to match that of her new form, but retains its functionality. The shifter cannot, however, use any equipment unless she has either an appropriate appendage or a magical means of compensating for the lack of one. Any piece of equipment that is separated from her reverts to its original form.

At 1st level, the shifter is limited to humanoid forms of Small and Medium-size. Thereafter, she can use greater wild shape two more times per day for every two shifter levels she gains, and her range of available creature sizes and types increases as shown on Table 5-15. When she gains the ability to adopt an undead shape at 8th level, she may become incorporeal if she chooses the form of a creature with that subtype. If the shifter already has the wild shape ability from another class, she may convert her uses per < day of wild shape to uses per day of greater wild shape on a one-for-one basis. She may also mix and match the benefits of the two abilities as desired to gain the maximum advantage for any daily use. Thus, a Drd8/ shifterl has up to four uses per day of greater wild shape, and she could use the ability to become a Large humanoid (because an 8th-level druid can become a Large creature and a 1st-level shifter can adopt the form of a humanoid) In the same manner, a Drd8/Shifter2 could become a Large monstrous humanoid if she wished.

Supernatural Ease : At 6th level, the character's greater wild shape ability becomes supernatural rather than spell-like. It still requires a standard action and can be suppressed in an antimagic field, but its use no longer provokes attacks of opportunity and never requires a Concentration check.

Evershifting Form: At loth level, the shifter has reached the pinnacle of her shapechanging abilities. From this point on, she can use greater wild shape once per round, as a move-equivalent action, as many times per day as she wishes. Her type changes to shapechanger for determining what effects and items can affect her, and she gains darkvision (60 feet), which remains in effect regardless of her form.

In addition, the shifter no longer suffers ability penalties for aging and is not subject to magical aging, though any aging penalties she may already have suffered remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the shifter still dies of old age when her time is up