Shifters

Shifter Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, –2 Charisma: Shifters are lithe and agile, but their fundamental bestial nature detracts from their social interaction.
• Medium: Shifters are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Normal Speed: Shifters have a base speed of 30 feet.
• Low-Light Vision: Shifters can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light (see low-light vision).
• Agile: Shifters receive a +2 racial bonus on Acrobatics and Climb skill checks.
• Shifting: A shifter can tap into her lycanthropic heritage to gain short bursts of physical power. Once per day, a shifter can enter a state that is superficially similar to a barbarian’s rage. Each shifter has one of six shifter traits—characteristics that manifest themselves when a character is shifting. Each shifter trait provides a +2 bonus to one of the character’s physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution) and grants some other advantage as well. Shifter traits are described in the following section. Shifting is a free action and lasts for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the shifter’s Con modifier. (If a shifter trait or other effect increases the character’s Con modifier, use the newly improved modifier.) A shifter can take feats to improve this ability. Every shifter feat a character takes in creases the duration of shifting by 1 round. For every two shifter feats a character takes, the number of times per day she can tap into the ability increases by one. So, a character with two shifter feats can shift two times per day (instead of the usual one), and each use of the ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to 5 (instead of 3) + the shifter’s Con modifier. Shifting, though related to and developed from lycanthropy, is neither an affliction nor a curse. It is not passed on by bite or claw attacks, and a shifter can’t be cured—shifting is a natural ability for the race.
• Languages: Shifters begin play speaking Common. Shifters with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Elven, Gnome, Halfling, and Sylvan.

Shifting:

• Beasthide (Su): While shifting, a beasthide shifter gains a +2 bonus to Constitution and natural armor that provides a +2 bonus to AC.
• Longtooth (Su): While shifting, a longtooth shifter gains a +2 bonus to Strength and grows fangs that can be used as a natural weapon, dealing 1d6 points of damage (plus an additional +1 for every four character levels she has) with a successful bite attack. She cannot attack more than once per round with her bite, even if her base attack bonus is high enough to give her multiple attacks. She can use her bite as a secondary attack (taking a –5 penalty on her attack roll) while wielding a weapon.
• Cliffwalk (Su): While shifting, a cliffwalk shifter gains a +2 bonus to Dexterity and has a climb speed of 20 feet.
• Razorclaw (Su): While shifting, a razorclaw shifter gains a +2 bonus to Strength and grows claws that can be used as natural weapons. These claws deal 1d4 points of damage (plus an additional +1 for every four character levels she has) with each successful attack. She can attack with one claw as a standard action or with two claws as a full attack action (as a primary natural weapon). She can not attack more than once per round with a single claw, even if her base attack bonus is high enough to give her multiple attacks. She can attack with a claw as a light off-hand weapon while wielding a weapon in her primary hand, but all her attacks in that round take a –2 penalty.
• Longstride (Su): While shifting, a longstride shifter gains a +2 bonus to Dexterity and a bonus of +10 feet to her base land speed.
• Wildhunt (Su): While shifting, a wildhunt shifter gains a +2 bonus to Constitution and the scent ability. This ability allows the shifter to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. A wildhunt shifter can identify familiar odors just as a human does familiar sights. When not shifting, a wildhunt shifter gains a +2 bonus on Survival checks due to the lingering effects of the scent ability.