| MasterGeese |
Back in 1st edition, before the Shifter was released, I found myself wanting a class dedicated to shapeshifting, one that was more fleshed out than using a Druid's Wild Shape or a transformation spell from any other class. I wanted to make sure that it was up to the player what exactly they transform into, instead of pigeonholing someone into a Werewolf or demon or draconic form. That line of thinking eventually gave birth to the 1st edition homebrew class of the Shaper (1e) . It saw some playtesting in a homebrew campaign where it was able to keep up with other casters in a high-level party, but was otherwise never really expanded on.
Now with 2e having been released and expanded upon by Paizo, I took interest in re-designing the Shaper for 2e. The shifter was never especially well-received in 1e, making it unlikely Paizo will redesign the class for 2e anytime soon.
The result of this work is the Shaper (2e).
- - At its core, the Shaper is a class based around gaining and utilizing monstrous traits. It should not be designed specifically to emulate more traditional types of shapeshifters, but it should still be possible to build them.
- - It can hold its own in combat, but shouldn't out-perform pure martials in terms of damage or accuracy. It's niche is meant to be a dynamic combatant, able to immediately respond to unexpected situations and adjust to them
- - Thanks to the Alter Essence focus spell, the Shaper also has a role of being able to apply other party members' strengths and patch up their weaknesses.
I'd love to hear any feedback you have to give! Particularly on balance/mechanics; I've played about a dozen 2E Pathfinder Society scenarios, but haven't been able to dedicate time to larger undertakings. The level of balance here is based on reading other first-party classes and understanding what they can/cannot do, so firsthand experience would very valuable input. I'd also like to hear any ideas for further class feats!