Shifter Reply - 1st of 3
Hmm… actually I tried to make the abilities to enfold both sides of the shapechanger coin. There are 2 distinct types of shifters – Were-creatures and the Doppelganger/Slaad/Rakshasa group.
Lets look at it piece by piece.
1st - Disguise Class skill, Disguise & Bluff Skill Bonuses: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
1st - Alter Self: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
1st - Can Learn All appearance or shape altering spells: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
1st - Can Learn All Compulsion spells: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
8th – Were-Shape Animal/Hybrid: Were-creature based
14th – Improved Were-Shape: Were-creature based
20th – Were-Appearance: Were-creature based
20th – Darkvision: Shapechanger Type (All)
20th – Scent: Were-creature based
20th – Spell Resistance: Rakshasa/Slaad based
20th – DR 15/Silver: Were-creature based (Only by default, though other Shapeshifters get DR as well but to varied damage types and I didn’t want to bring something like “Holy” into the mix).
Shifter Lineage Spell List: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
0–prestidigitation; 1st-disguise self; 2nd-detect thoughts; 3rd-suggestion; 4th-polymorph; 5th-baleful polymorph; 6th-mislead; 7th-statue; 8th-iron body; 9th-shapechange
Overall it comes out to:
Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based: 6 abilities
Were-creature based: 5
Shapechanger all: 1 ability
I think it came out relatively balanced between the two types.
Now with that said, there is no reason you cant toss the Shifter and go with a design of your own taste. Again, these lineages are just examples of the overall template. Technically you could make 4 Lineages from this one concept, though there would be quite a bit of overlap.
For a purely Lycanthrope lineage I would grant something like this:
Skills: Handle Animal and Survival as class skills
Spells: Learn all Transmutation spells, and all spells with the Animal designator regardless of spell list.
Banned: Necromancy, energy descriptors
Abilities
1st – Feral Focus (3+Cha mod/day): Temporarily gain a +2 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Constitution, and a +1 morale bonus on Will saves, , but he takes a –1 penalty to Armor Class. The increase in Constitution increases the sorcerer’s hit points by 1 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the focus when their Constitution score drops back to normal. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.) While focused, a sorcerer cannot use any Charisma or Intelligence-based skills, or any abilities that requires social interaction or cognitive thought including casting spells or activating magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. They can use any feat they have except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats. A fit of feral focus lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the sorcerer’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A sorcerer may prematurely end their focus. At the end of the focus, the sorcerer loses the feral focus modifiers and restrictions and becomes fatigued (–2 penalty to Strength, –2 penalty to Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for the duration of the current encounter. A sorcerer can only use feral focus once per encounter. Entering a feral focus takes no time itself, but a sorcerer can do it only during their action, not in response to someone else’s action.
8th – Were-Shape Animal/Hybrid: As Shifter
14th – Improved Were-Shape: As Shifter
20th - At 20th level, a lycanthropic sorcerer gains the Lycanthrope (Natural) template, choosing an animal type based on alignment as follows, though the sorcerer’s alignment does not change to that of the typical lycanthrope’s.
Werebear if the sorcerer is LG, NG, LN or CG
Wereboar or Weretiger if the sorcerer is N, NG, NE, LN or CN
Wererat if the sorcerer is LE, LN or NE
Werewolf if the sorcerer is CE, CN or NE
• Also gain Darkvision out to 60’ (from Shapechanger subtype)
• The lycanthropic sorcerer’s damage reduction improves to 15/silver.
Shifter Lineage Spell List: 0–know direction; 1st-longstrider (or speak with animals); 2nd-bull’s strength; 3rd-greater magic fang; 4th-polymorph; 5th-overland flight; 6th-transformation; 7th-summon natures ally VII; 8th-animal shapes; 9th-shapechange
Thoughts?
Ferret said:The first paragraph or so on the shapechanger lineage split it between were's and other shape changers, "Shifter sorcerers are the descendant of a
natural shapeshifter such as a doppelganger or were-creature far in
their family's past. These sorcerers gain the following abilities and
restrictions."
Yet non of the abilities are suited to anything other then a Were creature's descendent.
Why not a lunar lineage that is seperate?
Hmm… actually I tried to make the abilities to enfold both sides of the shapechanger coin. There are 2 distinct types of shifters – Were-creatures and the Doppelganger/Slaad/Rakshasa group.
Lets look at it piece by piece.
1st - Disguise Class skill, Disguise & Bluff Skill Bonuses: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
1st - Alter Self: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
1st - Can Learn All appearance or shape altering spells: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
1st - Can Learn All Compulsion spells: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
8th – Were-Shape Animal/Hybrid: Were-creature based
14th – Improved Were-Shape: Were-creature based
20th – Were-Appearance: Were-creature based
20th – Darkvision: Shapechanger Type (All)
20th – Scent: Were-creature based
20th – Spell Resistance: Rakshasa/Slaad based
20th – DR 15/Silver: Were-creature based (Only by default, though other Shapeshifters get DR as well but to varied damage types and I didn’t want to bring something like “Holy” into the mix).
Shifter Lineage Spell List: Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based
0–prestidigitation; 1st-disguise self; 2nd-detect thoughts; 3rd-suggestion; 4th-polymorph; 5th-baleful polymorph; 6th-mislead; 7th-statue; 8th-iron body; 9th-shapechange
Overall it comes out to:
Doppelganger/Rakshasa/Slaad based: 6 abilities
Were-creature based: 5
Shapechanger all: 1 ability
I think it came out relatively balanced between the two types.
Now with that said, there is no reason you cant toss the Shifter and go with a design of your own taste. Again, these lineages are just examples of the overall template. Technically you could make 4 Lineages from this one concept, though there would be quite a bit of overlap.
For a purely Lycanthrope lineage I would grant something like this:
Skills: Handle Animal and Survival as class skills
Spells: Learn all Transmutation spells, and all spells with the Animal designator regardless of spell list.
Banned: Necromancy, energy descriptors
Abilities
1st – Feral Focus (3+Cha mod/day): Temporarily gain a +2 bonus to Strength, a +2 bonus to Constitution, and a +1 morale bonus on Will saves, , but he takes a –1 penalty to Armor Class. The increase in Constitution increases the sorcerer’s hit points by 1 points per level, but these hit points go away at the end of the focus when their Constitution score drops back to normal. (These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are.) While focused, a sorcerer cannot use any Charisma or Intelligence-based skills, or any abilities that requires social interaction or cognitive thought including casting spells or activating magic items that require a command word, a spell trigger (such as a wand), or spell completion (such as a scroll) to function. They can use any feat they have except Combat Expertise, item creation feats, and metamagic feats. A fit of feral focus lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the sorcerer’s (newly improved) Constitution modifier. A sorcerer may prematurely end their focus. At the end of the focus, the sorcerer loses the feral focus modifiers and restrictions and becomes fatigued (–2 penalty to Strength, –2 penalty to Dexterity, can’t charge or run) for the duration of the current encounter. A sorcerer can only use feral focus once per encounter. Entering a feral focus takes no time itself, but a sorcerer can do it only during their action, not in response to someone else’s action.
8th – Were-Shape Animal/Hybrid: As Shifter
14th – Improved Were-Shape: As Shifter
20th - At 20th level, a lycanthropic sorcerer gains the Lycanthrope (Natural) template, choosing an animal type based on alignment as follows, though the sorcerer’s alignment does not change to that of the typical lycanthrope’s.
Werebear if the sorcerer is LG, NG, LN or CG
Wereboar or Weretiger if the sorcerer is N, NG, NE, LN or CN
Wererat if the sorcerer is LE, LN or NE
Werewolf if the sorcerer is CE, CN or NE
• Also gain Darkvision out to 60’ (from Shapechanger subtype)
• The lycanthropic sorcerer’s damage reduction improves to 15/silver.
Shifter Lineage Spell List: 0–know direction; 1st-longstrider (or speak with animals); 2nd-bull’s strength; 3rd-greater magic fang; 4th-polymorph; 5th-overland flight; 6th-transformation; 7th-summon natures ally VII; 8th-animal shapes; 9th-shapechange
Thoughts?