For those of you that like to play a more combat oriented shape shifter without the nature baggage of the druid, I have something you may like.
The class is rather focused, in that it does not give you multiple forms. But rather allows you to transform into a single powerful shape that gets gradually stronger. In addition you get spell-like abilities in both your normal and in transformed shape, that complement the creature.
Explanations for your powers are easy to adapt to your needs. Demonic Heritage, Druid who got infected with otherworldly power, Wizard that had an accident that burned his magic out, magical gift of an outsider, ill-worded wish spell,...
Personal Note: Initially I based this class on the nightmare (cause it’s a cool creature) but it can be adapted to pretty much any monster by selecting the right monster and spell-like abilities. I will attempt to add some suggestions for other monsters at the end. If interest is high I may do complete monsters too.
Monstrous Shifter:
Alignment: Any
Hitdie: d10 Skillpoints: 4+Int
Class Skills: Acrobatics, Climb, Craft, Disguise, Fly, Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge(nature), Knowledge(planes), Perception, Profession, Survival, Swim
Base Attack Bonus: Good Saves: Fort – Good, Ref – Bad, Will – Good
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Simple weapons and all natural attacks gained in the transformed state. Also proficient with light armor and shields (except tower shields).
Monstrous Shape: As a standard action the Monstrous Shifter (MS) can assume the form of a single alternative form. This form is always a distinct individual. Armor and equipment carried is melded into the new form. This ability counts as wild shape for the purpose of feats.
This ability can be used once per day at first level and an additional time every 2 levels after (it lasts 1hr/level). At 17th level you can change form at will.
The creature chosen can be any magical beast, aberration, plant or outsider that does not have a humanoid shape. You gain abilities and powers based on the form chosen. Outlined below are the powers for the NIGHTMARE.
At first level you get a +4 Bonus to Strength and Natural Armor. Your speed becomes 40 ft and you gain the scent ability. darkvision 60ft, 1 Bite (1d3) and 2 Hoof attacks (1d4). This shape is medium sized.
At 4th level you gain fire resistance 5 and your hoof attacks deal 1d4 fire damage (in addition your natural attacks in your normal shape deal 1 point extra fire damage). Also you gain the trample special.
At 6th level your fire resistance increases to 10 and you gain the burn special (your hoof attacks may set enemies on fire. The save is 10 + 1/2 HD + Con). Also you can emit a 15-ft cone of smoke that conceals like obscuring mist and lasts for 1 round. Emitting the smoke is a swift action.
At 8th level your fire resistance increases to 20 and you become vulnerable to cold. Your size increases to large which modifies your stats as follows: Str +6, Dex -2, Con +2, +6 natural armor, Speed 50 ft.
Also you are engulfed in flames which don’t hurt you and increase the damage dealt with hooves to 1d6. Creatures attacking you in melee take this damage as well. You must actively suppress the fire if you wish to touch someone/something without burning it.
In addition when you move you don’t actually touch the ground, but hover inches above it (as if wearing horse shoes of the zephyr). Finally you gain the powerful charge special.
At 10th level your fire resistance increases to 30 and your speed to 60 ft. You gain a fly speed equal to your land speed (maneuverability good). You leave a trail of fire whenever you run (even in midair) which deals 1d6 fire damage per round (can be suppressed, but cancels all fire damage). If there is no combustible material present the flames die 1 round later. You can use planeshift once per day as spell-like ability and the smoke you emit makes people choke (Fort save or be sickened for 1d6 minutes. DC equal to 10 + 1/2 HD + Con).
At 12th level your fire resistance increases to 40 and your fly speed to 80 ft. You can use Ethereal Jaunt once per day and can emit smoke as free action. Additionally you gain regeneration 2 in arid environments. The regeneration is suppressed by attacks that deal cold or acid damage or by simply being doused with water.
At 14th level you learn to adjust your shape so you resemble an ordinary equine (horse, zebra, mule, donkey, etc…) but you have no fire powers while in such a shape. Also you can now breathe fire once per day in a 15 ft cone (damage 1d6 per level, save is 10 + 1/2 HD + Con).
At 16th level you become immune to fire damage and your regeneration increases to 5. Your maneuverability increases to perfect and you can breathe fire an additional time per day.
At 18th level you can breathe fire 3 times per day and the cone increases to 30 ft.
At 20th level you and your otherwordly form have become one. You now count as outsider for the purpose of spells, but can still be resurrected like a member of your previous type. You can use the abilities of Planeshift and Ethereal Jaunt at will. Also fire breathing can be used once every 1d4 rounds. Your size increases to Huge which adjusts your stats as follows: Str +8, Dex -4, Con +4, Natural Armor +8)
Spell-like abilities:
In addition to shapeshifting you gain a limited amount of spell-like abilities which are usually based on Cha, but other mental stats are possible depending on what shape you chose. These abilities are usable in both forms but may have slightly different effects. Using the abilities does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Caster level is equal to levels in monstrous shifter.
For the Nightmare shape you gain these spell-like abilities at every uneven level:
1) Spark (at will) - Same in both forms.
3) Mass flare (at will) - Same in both forms.
5) Heat Metal (at will) - Same in both forms. The nightmare shape allows you to use the ability once per use of monstrous shape as immediate action to affect a metal weapon striking you in combat. After that you have to assume your normal form and change back to nightmare form before you can use heat metal again.
7) Burning Gaze (at will) – Same in both forms.
9) Ash Storm (3/day) – Same in both forms.
11) Wall of Fire (1/day, but split usage) – In normal shape you can cast and place the wall as usual. However you can also split the usage up, either making a wall at full length or create as many smaller segments as you like over several castings (minimum segment is 5ft) up to the maximum length of the wall.
In nightmare shape “casting” works differently. You can’t place the wall freely, but instead turn your trail of fire into a wall of fire as a free action. Again you can split up the uses freely in 5ft segments.
13) Obsidian Flow (1/day) – Same for both forms.
15) Sirocco (1/day, but split use) – Same for both forms. You can split up the duration over several uses.
17) Fire Storm (1/day) – Same for both forms.
19) Lava Wall (1/day, but split use) – This ability works similar to the wall of fire for the two forms, but instead creates a wall of lava.
Notes on the nightmare shape
Powerlevel: While some abilities sound rather strong, my estimate is that this class is on the lower end of the power spectrum. Fire is the main element in pathfinder and many enemies can resist it. Compared to a druid you give up a lot of power (full spellcasting, Natural bond and Wild Shape).
The class has its moments of course (such as using overrun maneuver with trample, powerful charge and the trail of fire ability) and I have not considered combinations with other classes.
Adapting this class to other creatures:
The pacing is simple. Extra wild shape and a new spell levellike ability at ever uneven level.
More powerful form at ever even level (exception is the 2nd level form which has been pushed to level 1 so you can start with shapeshifting).
It will be a bit of work, but you can adapt this class to most other creatures. As a guideline use the beast shape (or other appropriate transformation) spells to check when to add which abilities. Since this is the main focus it is okay to give some abilities earlier than would be possible otherwise. Ideally you choose abilities the monster has, but at higher levels you will probably run out, so any thematically fitting ability is okay.
For the spell like abilities you work in a similar manner. Since you gain a spell like ability at every uneven level (the same speed at which full spell casters gain access to new spell levels) you can simply use that as guideline for the powerlevel. As some spells are more powerful than others adjusting a spell one level up or down is okay.
Also your caster stat should be tied to the spell types you chose. Cha for arcane spells, Wis for divine spells. Exceptions can be made of course with good reason. I also mixed Sorcerer and Druid spells. Most important is that the spells complement the form.
Some possible ideas:
Shocker lizard: This type of form would play more into a trickster fighting style. You stay rather small and have a powerful electro attack. The electric sense could turn into blind sense/ blind sight/life sight (you feel the electric field of living things like a shark) at higher levels.
Spell like abilities would be of course lighting attacks, maybe clouds and even teleport like abilities (turn yourself into lightning to move to different place).
Unicorn: This form would be interesting for a paladin-like play style with smite and healing.
Winter Wolf: Rather similar to the Nightmare just with a cold theme (and more trippy than trample ;) )
Basilisk: Turning people into stone would be an interesting fighting style. However I would limit access to save or die abilities until higher levels (when flesh to stone becomes available). The spell calcific touch has mechanics for a gradual petrification for example.
Interesting concept, that I must say. Would a Kobold Monstrous Shifter aiming to change into Dragon form be an option?
*Checks* I don't see Dragon as an option, but maybe there would be an archetype for Kobold Shifters?
Nagaji turning into Naga sounds like an interesting option in regards to RP potential.
Yes. I haven't mentioned it specifically but you could adapt any monster (there are dragon transformation spells after all). Flavor is king in this case.
Kobold + Dragon and Nagaji and Naga are prime examples :)
Heh, this is pretty cool :) I may use this as a recurring enemy in my campaign :D
I added another monster. One of my favorite magical beasts <3
Monstrous Shape: SHOCKER LIZARD
At 1st level you turn into a small shocker lizard. This adjusts your stats as follows: +4 Dex, +2 natural armor. Also you gain the scent ability, low light vision and a single bite atk (1d4) that deals 1 point of electricity damage.
Once you reach 4th level you gain electrical resistance 5 and your trademark ability, the shock attack.
Shock Attack: The shock attack initially has a range of only 5 ft, but its range increases by 5 ft every 2 levels. By adjusting the voltage you can decide if the attack deals 1d8 non-lethal damage or 1d6 lethal damage. Every two levels the damage of the shock increases by 1 die. A reflex save halves the damage from this attack and the DC is 10 + 1/2 level + Dex).
Creatures in metal armor or wielding metal weapons have a -2 penalty on the save. You can use this ability a number times per day equal to your level + Constitution modifier.
In addition all your natural attacks (in both forms) deal 1 point of extra electricity damage as long as you have not used up all your shock attacks. Finally you gain the electrical sense of the shocker lizard, allowing you to notice and pinpoint any electrical discharge within 100 ft.
At 6th level your electrical resistance increases to 10. Shock has now a reach of 10 ft and deals 2 dice of damage. Creatures that fail their save against the shock are dazzled for 1 round from the bright discharge of energy.
At 8th level your electrical resistance increases to 20. Shock has now a reach of 15 ft and deals 3 dice of damage. Your senses for electrical fields have become so sensitive you can feel the electric field of living creatures, giving you blind sense against such creatures in 30 ft (under water the range of this ability is doubled).
At 10th level your electrical resistance increases to 30. Shock has now a reach of 20 ft and deals 4 dice of damage. Your form becomes even more compact, increasing the Dex bonus to +6 and the natural Armor bonus to +3.
Lightning rod: You can now attract lightning to yourself as free action. For this ability to work the attack has to pass by within the range of your shock ability. If the attack has only a single target, you become the target. If it has multiple targets you can redirect the attack from one target within range. If you get hit by a lightning attack that would deal at least 10 points of damage (if you wouldn’t resist it) you regain one use of your shock ability.
Finally if you use your shock ability or get hit by a lightning attack your skin charges and for 1 round every attacker using natural attacks or metal weapons suffers 1d6 electricity damage.
You can’t use your spell-like abilities to charge yourself except for call lightning.
At 12th level your electrical resistance increases to 40. Shock has now a reach of 25 ft and deals 5 dice of damage. Your electrical senses increase again increasing the range for your special blind sense to 60 ft.
Spark Jump: You have learned to change into pure electrical energy for a short moment. Once per transformation you can turn yourself into a lightning bolt and move in a straight line or through metal objects (allowing you to pass through a metal door for example). The end point of the movement has to lie within the reach of your shock ability.
Creatures you pass by on the way take damage as if hit by your shock attack and can dodge with a reflex save as normal. To use the ability again you have to assume normal form and transform back into a shocker lizard.
At 14th level Shock has now a reach of 30 ft and deals 6 dice of damage. You also learned to split your shock attack to hit multiple targets. Each extra target beyond the first reduces the damage by 2 dice. If this would reduce the damage below 1 you can’t hit additional targets. So at level 14 you could shock 3 targets for 2 dice of damage each, while at 16th level 4 targets for 1 die each.
Additionally your shock now dazes creatures for 1 round on a failed save.
You also learned to assume the shape of any small or medium lizard. While in this form you do not have access to your shock ability.
And your electrical senses can now accurately recognize any living creature within 30 ft, giving you blind sight against such creatures.
At 16th level you become immune to electricity. Shock has now a reach of 35 ft and deals 7 dice of damage. Your form becomes even nimbler increasing the Dex bonus to 8, but reducing Str by -2.
Advanced lightning rod:When you get hit by a lightning attack, you can now instead of regaining a use of your shock ability use the excess energy to increase the damage of your shock attack. If you use shock within one round after getting hit you add half of the damage of that attack to your shock’s damage. Except for call lightning you can’t use your spell-like abilities to charge yourself.
Advanced spark jump: When you use your spark jump ability you now create a loud thunder, that deafens anyone in a 30ft radius for 1d6 rounds unless they can succeed on a Fortitude save (DC is equal to the DC of Shock).
At 18th level Shock has now a reach of 40 ft and deals 8 dice of damage. Your blind sight ability increases to 60 ft range.
Magnetize: You gain the ability to magnetize metallic objects with your shock ability. Creatures wielding metal weapons get a -5 penalty to attacks as the unusual behavior of being attracted to other metals ruins their aim (GM may negate/reduce the penalty if the weapon is the only metal object in the vicinity). Creatures in metal armor have their armor check penalty increased by 5 since the metallic parts cling to each other, restricting movement.
At 20th level Shock has now a reach of 45 ft and deals 9 dice of damage. You now count as magical beast with the electricity subtype for the purpose of spells and abilities.
Your connection to the elements has strengthened to a point where you are partially an elemental. This gives you a +4 bonus on saves against bleed, paralysis, poison, sleep and stun effect as well as 50% fortification.
Thunder: Once per day you can call a powerful lightning bolt to strike down on your position. The bolt hits everything in a cylinder with a 20 ft radius and 80ft height, dealing 20d6 points of damage. A successful reflex save halves the damage. Every creature taking damage must make a fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d6 rounds and deafened for 2d6 rounds. On a successful save every effected creature is deafened and dazed for 1 round.
If there is less than 80 ft space above you (such as in a cave) you cannot use this ability. However the lightning bolt is strong enough to simply penetrate most artificial structures (like the roof of a house). Only large buildings with several levels can block the bolt (GM’s decision).
(Why yes this ability was inspired by Pikachu from the Smash Bros games… and I just realized the shocker lizard is basically Pathfinder’s version of Pikachu… how could I overlook that for so long)
Spell-like abilities:
1) Touch of fatigue (at-will) – Same in both forms (your muscles go soft from a high volt charge)
3) Obscuring mist (at-will) – Same in both forms. The cloud is charged, making your hair stand up.
5) Shocking Grasp (3/day) – Same in both forms (can be cast as swift action when hitting with a bite attack in lizard form)
7) Call lightning (1/day, but split use) – Same in both forms (the only spell-like ability that can be used to re-charge yourself)
9) Hold Person (3/day) – Same in both forms. You shock your enemies, paralyzing their muscles for a few moments. The range is only close but it works on all living creatures and requires a fortitude save instead of a will save. Resistance to electricity does not help against this spell-like ability, but immunity does.
11) Shout (3/day) – Always sounds like a thunderclap. Works exactly as the spell in normal form, but in lizard form it is a 20ft area spread (like a fireball), where the point of detonation must be in range of your shock ability. You are immune to the effect.
13) Repel or attract metal (1/day, but split use) – As the spell Repel metal or stone, except you can only affect metallic objects and can repel and attract them.
15) Defibrillate (1/day) – Like the spell Breath of Life. However the ability cannot be used to heal a creature that is still alive. It only grants temporary hit points that last for 1 round per caster level. If the target does not receive normal healing until then, it stabilizes 1 point away from death (negative Con score + 1).
17) Greater Shout (1/day) – Works exactly like the Shout spell-like ability, just more powerful. In lizard form the spread is 40 ft. You are immune to the effect.
19) Mass Hold Person (1/day) – Same restrictions as the Hold Person spell-like ability, but with more targets.
Any thoughts on using the eidolon evolutions as the basis for your shifting? Might be a little more managable then having to do a complete writeup on every creature someone wants to shift into, and its flexible enough that you probably can build towards just about any creature in the long run.
Any thoughts on using the eidolon evolutions as the basis for your shifting? Might be a little more managable then having to do a complete writeup on every creature someone wants to shift into, and its flexible enough that you probably can build towards just about any creature in the long run.
Pretty much what I did for a lycanthropic shapeshifter class (The Primal).
I found it was easy to create archetypes for to accomplish other themes, as well. Main annoyance for the Primal was designing the base forms & limiting some of the evolutions due to it covering multiple lycanthrope types.
For the archetypes, tailoring it to a specific creature was far easier.
Any thoughts on using the eidolon evolutions as the basis for your shifting? Might be a little more managable then having to do a complete writeup on every creature someone wants to shift into, and its flexible enough that you probably can build towards just about any creature in the long run.Pretty much what I did for a lycanthropic shapeshifter class (The Primal).
I found it was easy to create archetypes for to accomplish other themes, as well. Main annoyance for the Primal was designing the base forms & limiting some of the evolutions due to it covering multiple lycanthrope types.
For the archetypes, tailoring it to a specific creature was far easier.
I made something similar, without polymorphy but with evolution points used to slowly change into monster/humanoid hybrid here: Metamorph.
I made something similar, without polymorphy but with evolution points used to slowly change into monster/humanoid hybrid here: Metamorph.
Your metamorph provided a great deal of inspiration for the primal. I straight-jacked your Resurgence mechanic.=)
I made something similar, without polymorphy but with evolution points used to slowly change into monster/humanoid hybrid here: Metamorph.Your metamorph provided a great deal of inspiration for the primal. I straight-jacked your Resurgence mechanic.=)
From which I moved away in mean time :P
Oh man, I'd want to shift into a big horrible pumpkin like creature that strangles people with long, green hands and has a wicked Jack O'Lantern face.
Alternatively, Hulk.
I know it is not the most effective way. Initially it was made for a single character in mind.
And I did work on a more general shapeshifter class, but there was no interest in it.
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2nlb8?Shapeshifter-Base-Class-First-Draft