World of Eberron

Shifters














Home | Races | Classes | History | Religion | Dragonmarked Houses | Contact Me | Links





Beast's at heart, but humaniod on the outside?
















Shifters, sometimes called "the weretouched," are descended from the humans and natural lycanthropes, now nearly extinct on Khorvaire. Shifters cannot fully change shape but take on animalistic features--a state they call shifting. Shifters have evolved into a unique race that breeds true. they havea distinct culture with its own tradions and identity.
Personality: The personality and behavior of shifters are influenced by their aniaml natures. Many are boorish and crude, while others are quiet, shifty, and solitary. Just as most lycanthropes are carnivores, shifters have a predatory personality and think of most activities in terms of hunting and prey. They view survival as a challenge, striving to be self-reliant, adaptable, and resourceful.
Physical Description: Shifters are basically humanoid in shape, but their bodies are exceptionally lithe. they often move in a crouched posture, sprining and leaping while thei companions walk normally alongside. Their faces havea beastial cast, with wide, flat noses, large eyes and heavy eyebrows, pointed ears, and long sideburns (in both sexes)> Their forearms and lower legs grown long hair, and the hair on their heads is thick and worn long.
Relations:Many races feel uncomfortable around shifters, the same way they feel around any large predator. Of course, some gro to appreciate individual shifters despite their natural aversion, and halflings in general get along well with them. For their part, shifters are accustomed to distrust and don't expect better treatment from members of other races, although some shifters try to earn respect and companionship through acts and deeds.
Alignment:Shifters are usually neutral, viewing the struggle to survive as more important than moral or ethical concerns about how survival is maintained.
Shifter Lands: Shifters have no land of their own. Being descended from human stock, they live in human lands. Unlike changelings, however, shifters often live in rural areas away from the crowded space of the cities. They are most commonly encountered in the Eldeen Reaches and other remote areas that can be found in all the nations. Many shifters earn their way as trappers, hunters, fishers, trackers, guides, and military scouts.
Dragonmarks:The fact that none of the dragonmarked houses includes shifters cements their place outside of the mainstream of society.
Religion:Most shifters incline toward the druid-based relgion of the Eldeen Reaches, believing in the divine power of the earth itself, the leements, and the creaturs of the earth. those shifters who rever the pantheon of the Sovereign Host are drawn towards the deities Balinor and Boldrei, while other shifters follow the Traveler. Shifters rarely wroship the Silver flame.
Languages:Changelings speak Common and rarely learn other languages.
Names:Shifters use the same names as humans, often ones that sound rustic to city-dweellers.
Adventurers:Moving from the rugged, self-reliant life of a shifter trapper or hunter to an adventuring life is not a big step. Many Shifters find themselves embarking on adventuring careers after something happens to disrupt their everyday routines- a monstorus incursion into their village or forest, for example, or a guide job gone sour.

SHIFTER RACIAL TRAITS

  • Shapechanger Subtype: Changelings are humanoids with the shapechanger subtype.
  • +2 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence, -2 charisma: Shifters are lithe and agile, but their fundamental bestial nature detracts from both their reasoning ability and their social interactions.
  • Medium: As medium creatures, shifters have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
  • Shifters base land speed of 30 feet.
  • Shifting (SU): a shifter can tap into her lycanthropic heritage to gain short burts of physical power. Oncer per day, a shift can enter a state that is superficially similar to a barbarian's rage. Each shifter has one of six shift traits--characteristics that manifest themselves when a chracter is shifting. Each shifter trait privdes 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.
    Shifitng 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 constiution modifier, use the newly improved modifier.) ashifter can take feats to improve this ability. These shifter feas are descirbe below.
    Every shifter feat a chracter takes increases the duration of shifting by 1 round. For every 2 shifter feats a chracter takes, the number of time per day she can tap into the ability increases by one. So, a character with two shifter feats can shift two timesper day ( instead of the usuak ine), and each use of the abilty 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 niether 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.
  • Low-Light Vision: Shifters can see twice as far asa human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. They retian the ability to distinguish color and detial under these condtions.
  • +2 racial bonus on Balance, Climb , and Jump checks: a shifter's animalistic heritgae enhances many of her physical skills.
  • Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Elven, Gnome, Halfling, and Sylvan.
  • Favored Class: Ranger. A multiclass shifter's ranger class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
Shifter Traits
Each Shifter has one of the following special traitis, whic is selected when a character is created and cannot be changed thereafter.
Beasthide (SU):Whire shfiting, a beasthide shifter gains a +2 bonus to constitution abd natural armor that provides a +2 bonus to AC.
Longtooth (SU):While shifting, a long tooth shifter gains a +2 bonus to Strength and grows fangs that can be used as a natural weapong, dealing 1d6 points of damge (plus and addtional +1 for every four character levels she has) with a succesful bite attack. She cannot attack more that onces per round with her bite, even if her base attack is high enough to giver her multiple attacks. She can use her bite asa secondary attack (taking a -5 penalty on her attack roll) while wielding a weapon.
Cliffwalk (SU): while shifting, a cliffwalker shifter gains a +2 bonus to dexterity and havea climb speed of 20 feet.
Razorclaw (SU): While shifting, a razorclas 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 and additona +1 for every four chracter levels she has ) with each succesful attack. She can attack with one clas asa standard action or with two clas as a full attack action ( as a primary weapon ). She cannot attack more thant once per round with a single claw, even if her base attack bonus is high enough to giver 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 longtride shift gians +2 bonus to dexterity and a bonus of +10 feet to her basel and speed.
Wildhunt (SU):While shifting, a wildhunt shifter gains a +2 bonus to constitution and the scent ability. This ability allows the shift to detect approaching enemies, sniff out hidden foes, and track by sense of smell. A wildhunt shifter can identify familiar odors just asa human does familiar sights. A wild hunter shifter can detect opponents withing 30 feet by sense of smell. if the opponet is upwind, the ranger increases to 60 feet; if downwind, it drops to 15 feet. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at twice the ranges noted above. Overpowering scentsm such as skunk musk or troglydyte stench, can be detected as triple normal range. These stronger scents block other scents, so the can sometimesb e sed to confuse or hamper this shifter trait.
When a wildhunt shifter detects a scent, the exact location of the source isn't revealed--only its presence somewhere within range. The shifter can take a move action to note the direction of the scent. Whenever the shifter comes withing 5 feet of the soruce, she pinpoints the source's location.
While shifting, a wildhunt shifter who hase the track feat can follow tracks by smell, making survival checks to find or follow a trail. The typical DC for a fresh trail is 10 ( regardless of the surface that holds the scent). This DC increases or decrease depending on how strong the quarry's odor, and the age of the trail. For each hour that the trail grows cold, the DC increases by 2. This ability otherwise follows the rules for the Track feat. Shifters tracking by scent ignore the effects of surface conditions and poor visibility.
When not shifting, a wildhunter shifter gains a +2 bonus on survival checks due to the lingering effects of the scent ability.
















shifters.jpg

Shifter