I've been working on my own house-rules for a revamped 3.5-rework that incorporates 4e aspects and a few other other concepts into the mix (like putting skill tricks and maneuvers into the core system). I'm still working through the ideas for those mechanics, but as a base concept so far this concept is still entirely compatible with 3.5, by tweaking it to use the expectations of 3.5 in terms of saves/classes/etc.
In my revamp, I'm working on differentiating the different power sources, and among other things, this was my idea for splitting the Druid into different classes, a Shaman spellcaster, the Ranger absorbing the animal companion focus, and this taking on the melee-combat aspect of Wild shape (though this is more reflective of the ph2 Shapeshift druid crossed with Astral Construct). As long as I'm at it, it also encompasses the concept of making lycanthropes and other shapeshifter concepts viable (like say a half-dragon who was born as a humanoid, but unlocks their true draconic form gradually, alongside multiclassing in DFA for the dragon-specific breathweapon and draconic SLAs).
I'm going to fill out the default class template as best I can, but I'm cutting out stuff I don't have yet rather than leave the template parts incomplete. Some of it might never get filled, like the epic stuff. (I also prefer to fill out my gametext in second person, rather than mess with gendered pronouns, so sorry if it bugs anyone.)
I'm also debating switching the name to something else. I prefer to keep base class names short single-word pieces, rather than long stuff like 'dread necromancer' or 'dragonfire adept'. (I usually rename those something like necromancer/necrolyte and dracolyte/dragonkin in my games) I might even go with something two-word like Beastform or something to keep it from retreading a commonly-used word, but I'd rather go with one word if I can swing it.
SHAPESHIFTERShapeshifters are exactly what their name describes, shapechangers who take the form of beasts. Each shapechanger is different, some prefer the flexibility of many different forms, while others concentrate their power to create a single form of incredible destructive potential.
MAKING A SHAPESHIFTER Abilities: Physical abilities are more prized than mental ones, though the exact mix depends on the shapeshifter and how they spread their forms' abilities. Multiclass shapeshifters often pick up Martial Adept levels to supplement their beast maneuvers, thus making Intelligence and Wisdom a priority, while some supplement their physical power with the abilities of Shamans, Sorcerers, or Warlocks.
Races: Humans, elves, and gnomes are the most common shapeshifters amongst the common races, while orcs and gnolls number among the most common savage shapeshifters.
Alignment: Any. Chaotic shapeshifters are more common than lawful ones, and shapeshifters tend towards neutrality rather than overt good and evil, but anyone can have a touch of the wilderness in their heart.
Hit Die: 1d10
Class Skills:The Shapeshifter's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Heal (Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Swim (Str).
Skill Points at 1st Level: (4 + Int modifier) × 4
Skill Points at Each Additional Level: 4 + Int modifier
Level | Base
Attack
Bonus |
Fort
Save |
Ref
Save |
Will
Save |
Special |
Maneuvers
Known |
Maneuvers
Readied | Form
Stances
Known |
| 1st | +1 | +2 | +2 | +0 | Shapeshift (first form), wild empathy | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 2nd | +2 | +3 | +3 | +0 | Bestial senses | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 3rd | +3 | +3 | +3 | +1 | Shapeshift (standard action) | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 4th | +4 | +4 | +4 | +1 | Shapeshift (second form or extra trait) | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| 5th | +5 | +4 | +4 | +1 | - | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 6th | +6 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Magic fang +1, prime trait | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 7th | +7 | +5 | +5 | +2 | Shapeshift (third form or extra trait) | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 8th | +8 | +6 | +6 | +2 | Shapeshift (swift action) | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| 9th | +9 | +6 | +6 | +3 | Magic fang +2 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| 10th | +10 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Shapeshift (fourth form or extra trait) | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| 11th | +11 | +7 | +7 | +3 | Prime trait | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| 12th | +12 | +8 | +8 | +4 | Magic fang +3 | 7 | 3 | 2 |
| 13th | +13 | +8 | +8 | +4 | Shapeshift (fifth form or extra trait) | 8 | 4 | 2 |
| 14th | +14 | +9 | +9 | +4 | Shapeshift (free action/immediate reaction) | 8 | 4 | 3 |
| 15th | +15 | +9 | +9 | +5 | Magic fang +4, prime trait | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 16th | +16 | +10 | +10 | +5 | Shapeshift (sixth form or extra trait) | 9 | 4 | 3 |
| 17th | +17 | +10 | +10 | +5 | - | 10 | 4 | 3 |
| 18th | +18 | +11 | +11 | +6 | Magic fang +5 | 10 | 4 | 3 |
| 19th | +19 | +11 | +11 | +6 | Shapeshift (seventh form or extra trait) | 11 | 5 | 3 |
| 20th | +20 | +12 | +12 | +6 | Prime trait | 11 | 5 | 3 |
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: You are proficient with simple weapons, as well as with all natural attacks (claw, bite, and so forth) of any form you assume with shapeshift.
You are proficient with light armor, but can only wear non-metal armor if you intend to take bestial shape. See the Shapeshift special ability.
Bonus Languages: Your bonus language options include Sylvan, the language of fey and woodland creatures, and Druidic, a secret language known only to those who defend nature. These choices are in addition to the bonus languages available to your character because of race. Druidic can also be learned through the Speak Language skill as usual.
Wild Empathy (Ex): You can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. Roll 1d20 and adds your shapeshifter level and your Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result.
The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, you and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that you must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
You can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but you take a -4 penalty on the check.
Shapeshift (Su): You gain the ability to transform yourself into the form of a beast. This form represents some aspect of your inner nature, and once chosen, cannot be changed. Choose an animal, vermin, or nonintelligent magical beast. All traits you select for this form must be representative of that creature in some fashion. For example, if your shapeshifted form is a wolf, you cannot choose Entangling Tentacles and Skyborn Wings, but Agile Runner, Brutish Size, Fanged Jaw, Raking Claws, and Night Prowler are all acceptable traits.
At first, changing forms from humanoid to animal, or animal back to humanoid, takes a full-round action, and can be performed at will. At 3rd level, your skill in shapeshifting improves, reducing the time required to a standard action. At 8th level, you can assume a form as a swift action, and at 14th level, you can shapeshift as an immediate action. If you are knocked unconscious or killed, your body reverts to your normal, unchanged form, also known as your prime form. This also applies to any limbs or other parts severed from your body. Any severed body part which your prime form lacks disintegrates into dust.
While shapeshifted, you are considered non-proficient with all armor and non-natural weapons, your bestial limbs are incapable of manipulating any equipment, and your mouth is incapable of speaking command words or any other verbal communication beyond simple animal noises. If you are wearing metal armor, or clothing including metal components, you are prevented from shapeshifting, feeling pain when trying to do so. Metal items which do not encase you, such as weapons or shields, drop at your feet. All other equipment, armor, and weapons meld into your form and become nonfunctional, although these items still occupy your magic item slots. Passive magic bonuses still apply, but triggered effects are nonfunctional.
At first level, you gain your first form. You gain one natural weapon for free, either a Bite, Claw, or Hoof attack, dealing 1d4 damage + 1/2 your Str modifier. All damage listed is for Medium size; adjust as necessary for larger or smaller characters and forms. All natural weapons have normal reach for a long creature of your size unless otherwise noted. Choose three traits from the list below. At 4th level and every third level following, you can choose to either gain an additional shapeshift form, selecting three traits, or to add a single new trait to an existing form, which scales retroactively based on your total levels in Shapeshifter. These traits are locked once chosen.
- Agile Runner: You are swift on your feet, able to dash through the battlefield with ease. Your base land speed in this form increases by 10 feet. At 5th level, your base land speed increases an additional ten feet, and you gain the benefit of the Spring Attack feat with a natural weapon. At 9th level, you gain an additional ten feet of movement, and can make an additional attack with another or the same natural weapon, at a -5 penalty, provided they are on separate targets. At 13th level, you gain an additional ten feet of movement, and can make a third attack, as before, at a -10 penalty. At 17th level, you gain an additional ten feet of movement, and a fourth attack, as before, at a -15 penalty.
- Armor Hide: Your form has a toughened hide, armor plating, or a thick furred coat. You gain +2 Con, +4 natural armor and DR 2/-. This improves with levels; 4th level, +4 Con, +6 natural armor and DR 3/-; 8th level, +8 natural armor and DR 4/-; 12th level, +6 Con, +10 natural armor and DR 6/-; 16th level, +12 natural armor and DR 8/-; 20th level, +8 Con, +16 natural armor and DR 10/-.
- Brutish Size: Your form is a towering beast, perhaps a dire animal. You gain +4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Dex. At 2nd level, you grow by one size category, doubling your height and length, increasing natural attack damage, as well as adding all size-derivative modifiers to attacks, AC, and skills as appropriate. At 8th level, the modifiers improve to +8 Str, +4 Con, -4 Dex, and at 14th level your size increases again to two size categories above normal size. At 20th level, the modifiers improve to +16 Str, +8 Con, -8 Dex.
- Crashing Tail: Your form has a large, muscular tail which it uses as a weapon. You gain a tail slam attack which deals 1d8 damage + 1/2 your Str modifier. At 3rd level, you can use this tail slam attack as a move action, and the tail grants you a +4 bonus to balance, jump, and swim checks. At 6th level, the damage improves to 1d10 + your Str modifier, or you can use the tail slam to knock back a foe of equal or lesser size, pushing them back five feet for every five points of damage the attack would normally deal. At 9th level, you can use this tail slam as a swift action special attack rather than a natural weapon (removing it from use in full attacks and maneuvers during the turn the special attack is used), and the bonus to balance, jump, and swim checks improves to +8. At 12th level, the tail slam doubles its reach. At 15th level, the damage improves to 2d6 + 1 and 1/2 times your Str modifier (as a two-handed weapon). At 18th level, the damage improves to 3d6 + double your Str modifier.
- Deadly Venom: Choose one natural attack you possess. This attack now deals piercing damage if it didn't already, and if the attack successfully deals damage to the target, injects a venom which slows and debilitates the target. The Fortitude DC is equal to 10 + 1/2 your effective Shapeshifter level + your Con modifier, and is made at the end of your turn. If you have the ability to use this attack multiple times on your turn (either via separate limbs or a maneuver which allows multiple attacks), each repetition increases the DC of the venom by +2 per successful attack. If the target fails the save, they are dazed until the end of their next turn. At 6th level, they are dazed until the end of their next turn, and sickened for rounds equal to your Con modifier. At 13th level, on a failed save, they are stunned as well as dazed, and act as though entangled for rounds equal to your Con modifier. At 20th level, in addition to the previous effects, they fall prone and are paralyzed until the end of their next turn.
- Entangling Tentacles: Your form has long tentacles with which it can grapple foes. You gain two tentacle attacks which deal 1d4 damage + your Str modifier. At 3rd level, you gain a +2 bonus to grapple checks, which improves to +4 at 7th level, +8 at 11th level, +12 at 15th level, and +16 at at 19th level. At 5th level, the damage improves to 1d8 + your Str modifier, then again at 9th level to 2d6 + your Str modifier. At 13th level the tentacle attacks double their reach, and the damage improves to 3d6 + your Str modifier, which improves again at 17th level to 4d6 + your Str modifier.
- Fanged Jaw: Your form has a strong jaw filled with razor-sharp fangs. You gain a bite attack which deals 1d6 damage + your Str modifier. At 4th level, if you hit with this attack, you can trip as a free action. At 7th level, the bite damage improves to 1d8 + 1 and 1/2 times your Str modifier (as a two-handed weapon). At 10th level, if you successfully trip the target, you can make a second bite attack at -5 to hit. At 13th level, the bite damage improves to 2d6 + 1 and 1/2 times your Str modifier, and the second bite is at no penalty. At 16th level, the bite damage improves to 3d6 + double your Str modifier. At 19th level, if the target is rendered prone, the secondary bite hits automatically.
- Fins of the Ocean: Your form is partially or fully aquatic. You can hold your breath for a number of rounds equal to four times your Con score before risking drowning. You gain a 10 foot swim speed, and can choose to lose some or all of your land speed, in 10 foot increments, to add this speed to your swim speed. This choice is made once, when you select this trait, and cannot be changed. Your swim speed increases by 10 feet every four levels, starting with 2nd level, then 6th level, 10th, 14th, etc.
- Green of the Wood: This form is some manner of mobile plant. You lose 10ft from your base land speed and cannot run, but gain immunity to critical hits as a plant and two slam attacks that deal 1d6 damage + your Str modifier. At 6th level, your slam attacks double their reach and deal 2d4 + your Str modifier, which improves at 12th level to 2d8 + your Str, and at 18th level, triple their normal reach and 3d8 + your Str modifier damage.
- Heart of the Earth: You gain an elemental connection to the living Primal world. You gain immunity to mind-affecting spells and effects. At 3rd level, you gain +4 Con and tremorsense out to 10 feet, which improves to +8 Con and 20ft at 9th level, and +16 Con and 40 ft at 15th level. At 7th level you gain resist 10 to one energy type (acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic), which improves to resist 20 at 13th level, and again to resist 30 at 19th level.
- Hunter's Senses: You gain the Scent special quality, and can smell creatures out to a range of 30 feet. At 2nd level, you gain a +2 bonus to Listen, Spot, and Wisdom checks for tracking by scent, which improves by +4 every 4 levels after (6th, 10th, 14th, etc). At 10th level, you gain a blindsense of 10 feet, which improves by 10 feet every 4 levels after.
- Hybrid Form: You can take a partially-humanoid form, much like a lycanthrope. As a swift action, you take on this hybrid form instead of the full form. This form gains all the standard benefits of the base form, except that all numeric benefits are halved. Movement speeds and distances are halved, and speed and sense improvements gain measures of 5 feet rather than 10 feet. Immunities granted are reduced to half of the typed damage, or a 50% chance of immunity to the given effect. Ability score modifiers are halved, rounding up to the nearest even number. Natural weapons granted by the base form are treated as one size category smaller. You are treated as a tall creature of your size. Your armor and equipment does not meld into this hybrid form, and you can thus wear metal armor without issue.
- Jagged Horn: Your form has a single horn or set of horns or antlers which it uses as a weapon. You gain a gore attack which deals 2d4 damage + your Str modifier. (You cannot use this attack in the same attack sequence as a Bite attack, as they are considered equipped to the same limb.) At 2nd level, you deal an additional 1d6 bonus damage with this attack on a charge, which stacks with Powerful Charge and similar abilities. At 5th level, the gore damage improves to 2d6 + your Str modifier. At 8th level, the bonus damage improves to 2d6. At 11th level, the gore damage improves to 2d8 + 1 and 1/2 times your Str modifier (as a two-handed weapon). At 14th level, the bonus damage increases to 3d6. At 17th level, the damage improves to 2d10 + double your Str modifier. At 20th level, the bonus damage increases to 4d6.
- Night Prowler: Your form is known for its capacity for stealth and surprise attacks. You gain a +2 bonus to Hide and Move Silently checks, which improves by +2 at 2nd level and every four levels after (6th, 10th, etc). At 4th level, you gain Sneak Attack for 1d6 damage, improving every 4 levels (2d6 at 8th, 3d6 at 12th, etc). At 18th level you gain Hide in Plain Sight.
- Raking Claws: Your form has needle-sharp claws. You gain two claw attacks which deal 1d4 damage + your Str modifier each. At 4thd level, you gain Pounce with your natural weapons. At 7th level, the damage improves to 1d6 + your Str modifier. At 10th level, when you charge, you can make two additional rake attacks with your back legs at the same claw damage + 1/2 your Str modifier each. At 13th level, the claw damage improves to 1d8 + your Str modifier. At 16th level, if you hit with any two claw or rake attacks, you can rend for double your claw damage plus 1 and 1/2 your Str damage. At 19th level, the claw damage improves to 2d6 + your Str modifier.
- Seaborn Gills: Your form is native to the ocean, and doesn't need to breathe air. You gain the aquatic subtype, and can breathe underwater. At 3rd level, you gain a bite attack that deals 1d8 + your Str modifier, which improves at 9th level to 2d6 + your Str modifier, and again at 15th level to 3d6 + 1 and 1/2 your Str modifier. At 6th level you gain +4 to Swim checks, which at 12th level improves to +8, and improves again at 18 to +16.
- Skyborn Wings: Your form has the gift of flight. You reduce in size by one category, reduce your base land speed to 10 feet, and gain a 30 foot flight speed with poor maneuverability. Your flight ability improves every three levels, gaining either a 10ft speed increase or a maneuverability improvement, starting with 2nd level, then 5th, 8th, 11th, etc.
If you take levels in a class other than Shapeshifter, you can add one-half of your non-Shapeshifter class levels to your Shapeshifter levels for the purpose of trait improvements.
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of two martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to you are Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw, and if you qualify,
Aerial Ace.
Once you know a maneuver, you must ready it before you can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by shapeshifters is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. Your maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you initiate one.
You learn additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown above. You must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it. If you take levels in a class other than Shapeshifter, you can add one-half of your non-Shapeshifter class levels to your Shapeshifter levels for the purpose of initiator level.
Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered shapeshifter level after that (6th, 8th, 10th, and so on), you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. In effect, you lose the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe your restriction on the highest-level maneuvers you know; you need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. For example, upon reaching 10th level, you could trade in a single 1st-, 2nd-, 3rd- or 4th-level maneuver for a maneuver of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new maneuver. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready both of the maneuvers you know at 1st level, but as you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, you must choose which maneuvers to ready, and for which of your shapeshift forms, including your prime form. You ready your maneuvers by meditating for 5 minutes; this allows you to reconfigure your maneuvers for each of your forms at once. The maneuvers you choose remain readied until you decide to mediate again and change them. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready your maneuvers; any time you spend 5 minutes in meditation, you can change your readied maneuvers.
You begin an encounter with all your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you might have already used them since you chose them, or in what forms. When you initiate a maneuver, you expend it for this form in the current encounter, so each of your readied maneuvers can be used once per form and per encounter until refreshed. When you shift forms, the expended maneuvers of the prior form remain expended, and the new form's selection of maneuvers becomes available. If you shift back, the expended maneuvers remain expended until you refresh them.
You can refresh your maneuvers by sounding a ferocious roar, screech, or howl, as appropriate to your current form, as a full-round action. If in your prime form, you shout a war-cry of wordless savagery. This does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but is audible to everyone and everything in a 500 foot radius, and possibly further, depending on sound conditions. This refreshes all of your maneuvers for each of your forms.
When an encounter ends, you automatically recover all expended maneuvers. Even a few moments out of combat is sufficient to refresh all maneuvers expended in the previous battle. In the case of a long, drawn-out series of fights, or if you are out of combat entirely, assume that if you make no attacks of any kind, initiate no new maneuvers, and are not targeted by any enemy attacks for 1 full minute, you can recover all expended maneuvers. If you can’t avoid attacking or being attacked for 1 minute, you can’t automatically recover your maneuvers.
Form Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of two 1st-level stances from any discipline open to shapeshifters, one for your Prime form, and one for your shapeshifted form. These do not need to be different stances. When you gain new shapeshifting forms, you can select a number of stances for which your qualify for use in that form. At the levels specified above, you can choose additional stances for each form you possess. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and you do not have to ready them. All the stances you know in a given form are available to you at all times while in that form, and you can change the stance you are currently using as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description. Unlike with maneuvers, you cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one you already know.
Bestial Senses (Ex): At 2nd level you gain low-light vision if you didn't already possess it, or superior low-light vision if you already did, increasing the range of your vision by one factor. For example, an elf with this ability would be able to see three times farther than a normal human, whereas other elves would only be able to see twice as far. This factor increase stacks with any other low-light vision improvements, including shapeshift traits.
Magic Fang (Su): At 6th level all of your natural attacks derived from shapeshift traits gain a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage, as if the spell Magic Fang was cast upon them. This bonus increases every three levels (9th, 12th, 15th, and 18th).
Prime Trait (Su): As you gain more familiarity with shapeshifting, you learn to manifest bestial traits even in your normal form, traits which define you as a shapeshifter compared to other shapeshifters. At 6th level, you can choose one trait from the shapeshift traits list which you can activate as a Swift action by itself, enabling you to benefit from that trait while in your prime form at all times. This trait is automatically activated when you take any of your shapeshifted forms (bypassing the usual restriction about traits needing to match the animal chosen for the form), but can be suppressed while shapeshifting if desired, or as a Swift action once changed. If any form already possesses this trait, you can select a new trait to take its place. You cannot choose Hybrid Form as a prime trait. You may choose an additional prime trait at 11th, 15th, and 20th level.
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