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D&D 5E Skinwalker class

Shadowcortax

Dragon fanatic
Looking for help/advice. I'm making a skinwalker class, and I want to try to stay close or at least pay homage to the actual native american skinwalker myths. What I have so far is a shaman/witchdoctor/medicine man type with shifting similar to a druid's wild shape but with the stipulation they need something of the creature they are shifting into.
 

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I admit most of what I know about them from mythology comes from Tony Hillerman novels (I take their appearances in urban fantasy with a grain of salt, but most of them seem similar to what is described in the TH novels) , but they seem like they are pretty evil, with curses being the big thing after skin walking. Maybe make some kind of pelt pact implement for a warlock that lets them change shape into what they got the pelt from and use the hexblade pact (for hexblade's curse and accursed specter).
 


Looking for help/advice. I'm making a skinwalker class, and I want to try to stay close or at least pay homage to the actual native american skinwalker myths. What I have so far is a shaman/witchdoctor/medicine man type with shifting similar to a druid's wild shape but with the stipulation they need something of the creature they are shifting into.
Other than pretty much always evil, and can change into the creature that the pelt they wear belongs to, what sort of thing would this class do?

Melee combatant? - There was an Unearthed Arcana for primal Barbarians that could give ideas. Or reskin a monk possibly.
Spellcaster? Druid. Mood Druid if you want to emphasise the shapechanging and fighting as a beast. Land druid if they're primarily a spellcaster that just happens to be able to turn into an animal.

A Druid is able to turn into beasts that they are "familiar with". Changing that requirement to just having a piece of the creature won't break anything I think.

Can it turn into any animal, or just a single creature?
 

Minigiant

Legend
Supporter
I am working on a "super soldier" class and one subclass is a lycanthrope. It's unfinished

Class Features

As a paragon, you gain the following class features.

Hit Points

Hit Dice: 1d12 per paragon level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + your Constitution modifier
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + your Constitution modifier per paragon level after 1st
Proficiencies

Armor: All armor, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Strength, Constitution
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, Intimidation, History, Perception, and Religion
Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

(a) a longsword (b) a battleaxe or (c) a warhammer
(a) shortsword or (b) two simple weapons
(a) chain shirt (b) leather armor, or (c) chain mail
(a) a light crossbow and 20 bolts or (b) four javelins
A diplomat’s pack and a shield

Steel Skin
You may use Constitution instead of Dexterity when determining your Armor Class when wearing light armor, medium armor, or wearing no armor. You may use Constitution instead of Strength when determining whether your speed is slowedwhile wearing heavy armor.

Sharp Sense
You have trained one of your senses to be keener than a normal member of your race

- Excellent Balance: You have advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks that rely on balance. You also have advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks when not moving.

- Excellent Hearing: You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing. Also if you are able to hear, you have Blindsight an number of feet of you equal to your Constitution score.

-Excellent Sight: You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight. You also have darkvision 60ft. If you already have darkvision, its range increases by 30ft.

-Excellent Smell: You have advantage on Wisdom (Perception) and Wisdom (Survival) checks that rely on smell.

- Excellent Touch: You have advantage on Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) checks that rely on touch. Also if you are able to touch a surface, you have Tremorsense an number of feet of you equal to your Constitution score.

Cultural Weapons
At the 2nd level, you gain mastery of the weapons of your culture. You may choose 3 martial weapons to be cultural weapons for you.
You may choose to have 2 simple weapons to be cultural weapons in place of 1 martial weapon choice.
You may choose unarmed strikes to be a cultural weapon as a martial weapon choice. If you do, your unarmed attack deals 1d4 damage and you can use Constitution instead of Strength for the attack and damage rolls of your unarmed strikes.

Familiar Swing
Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a cultural weapon attack, you can roll 2d4. You add to the weapon's damage and gain temporary hit points equal to the number rolled.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Path to Perfection
At 3rd level, you choose a path that you use to perfect yourself. You can choose Stone Warrior, Fey Knight, Lycan Trooper, or Arcane Soldier. Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 11th, and 15th levels.

Ability Score Improvement
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Using the optional feats rule, you can forgo taking this feature to take a feat of your choice instead.

Extra Attack
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn

Familiar Thrust
Starting at 6th level, when you hit a creature with a cultural weapon attack, you can choose to shove the creature as a bonus action. After you roll for Strength (Athletics) check, you may choose use your Constitution score in place of your roll.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again.

Steel Jaw
At the 6th level, you are no longer incapacitated while shunned

each subclass gives you a long rest attack.

The Lycantrooper gets a 1d8 bite and 2d4 claw.

Their long rest attack allows you to bite/claw/claw as an action.
 

Shadowcortax

Dragon fanatic
Other than pretty much always evil, and can change into the creature that the pelt they wear belongs to, what sort of thing would this class do?

Melee combatant? - There was an Unearthed Arcana for primal Barbarians that could give ideas. Or reskin a monk possibly.
Spellcaster? Druid. Mood Druid if you want to emphasise the shapechanging and fighting as a beast. Land druid if they're primarily a spellcaster that just happens to be able to turn into an animal.

A Druid is able to turn into beasts that they are "familiar with". Changing that requirement to just having a piece of the creature won't break anything I think.

Can it turn into any animal, or just a single creature?
1. I'm not going for the always evil approach.
2. Melee/Spellcaster hybrid leaning toward one or the other depending on the subclass.
3. Main things are: can change into creatures, can commune with spirits, has herbal medicine knowledge.
4. The shape changing has a few limitations, such as: they need an item (tooth, claw, pelt, eye) of the creature they are turning into, they are limited by CR level as to what they can turn into, they need somewhere to gain or redirect mass to if they are becoming a different size, if they are in a different shape than their natural form when the sun rises they are stuck in that form until nightfall regardless of what time of day they changed.
5. The evil subclass allows them to change into other humanoids and undead but enforces extremely strict repercussions on them similar to a broken oath paladin.
 

GlassJaw

Hero
I'm usually anti-new classes but I like the concept of a martial striker that uses shape-shifting to adapt to his environment or change their fighting style. Sort of like a primal battlemaster with some barbarian and druid mixed together. No doubt it can easily be a reskin of an existing class/subclass but there's enough there to make a new class work.

However, to justify being a class unto itself, it needs a unique mechanic. One idea I've had for a while (certainly with inspiration from lycanthropes) is a mechanic that grants the class additional options as they either take or deal damage in combat (which could be a choice within the class or based on archetype).

I also would make the shape-shifting mechanic distinctly different than wild shape. Instead of assuming the form of an animal, the class grants "aspects" of various animals that each provide different abilities. The character's appearance changes as they assume more and more aspects during combat.

I also like the idea of the archetypes being dedicated to a single animal (wolf, bear, eagle, etc), and the animal would determine how the aspects are triggered (bear when taking damage, wolf/snake when dealing damage, etc).
 

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