69
The shifters 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 ter-
rible 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 Formmust either know polymorph
self or have a natural alternate form, alter self, polymorph
self, shapechange, or wild shape ability.
Class Skills
The shifters 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), Knowl-
edge (nature) (Int), Listen (Wis), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str),
and Wilderness Lore (Wis). See Chapter 4 of the Players
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 of another creature. Greater wild
shape works like wild shape, with the following excep-
tions. As she rises in level, the shifter gains the ability to
assume the forms of creatures with types other than
animal (see Table 515 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 functional-
ity. The shifter cannot, however, use any equipment
unless she has either an appropriate appendage or a mag-
ical 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 515. When she
gains the ability to adopt an undead shape at 5th 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/
shifter1 has up to four uses per day of greater wild shape,
and she could use the ability to become a Large hu-
manoid (because an 8th-level druid can become a Large
Table 515: The Shifter
Class
Base
Fort
Ref
Will
Level
Attack Bonus
Save
Save
Save
Special
1st
+0
+2
+2
+0
Greater wild shape 1 /day (Small or Medium-size, humanoid shape)
2nd
+1
+3
+3
+0
Greater wild shape (animal shape, monstrous humanoid shape)
3rd
+2
+3
+3
+1
Greater wild shape 3/day (Large or Tiny, beast shape, plant shape)
4th
+3
+4
+4
+1
Greater wild shape (giant shape, vermin shape)
5th
+3
+4
+4
+1
Greater wild shape 5/day (Diminutive, magical beast shape)
6th
+4
+5
+5
+2
Greater wild shape (aberration shape, ooze shape), supernatural ease
7th
+5
+5
+5
+2
Greater wild shape 7/day (Huge, dragon shape)
8th
+6
+6
+6
+2
Greater wild shape (undead shape, construct shape)
9th
+6
+6
+6
+3
Greater wild shape 9/day (Fine, elemental shape, outsider shape)
10th
+7
+7
+7
+3
Greater wild shape (Gargantuan), evershifting form
CHAPTER 5: PRESTIGE CLASSES