Selfshaper (3.5e Class)

Selfshaper

A Selfshaper is a being that tries to be its very best at all times. However, as we all know, no one can be the best at everything. This is where this class comes into play: If you can't be the best at what you do, transmute yourself into being the best at what you do.

Making a Selfshaper

A Selfshaper can fill in every role by itself... Or at least that's what it would like to think. In reality, it is somewhat true, since it can indeed transform into whatever the situation requires. The problem is: It cannot do it all the time. A Selfshaper runs out of uses for its spell-like abilities sooner or later and is then pretty much helpless. In the party, he is very likely to be the skillmonkey.

Abilities: Intelligence is the most important ability score to a Selfshaper, as it decides just how many skill points it gains per level. Next comes Dexterity, given its proficiency with light weapons and the increase in armor class.

Races: Half-Humans, Humans, Changelings and Vashar are the most likely to join this class, but it can be choosen by anyone.

Alignment: Any evil.

Starting Gold: 3d4x10

Starting Age: Simple

Table: The Selfshaper

Hit Die: d6

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+0	+0	+0	+0	Favored Shape, Change Shape
2nd	+1	+1	+1	+1	Morphic Weapons
3rd	+2	+1	+1	+1	Morphic Body
4th	+3	+2	+2	+2	Battle Mastery +2
5th	+3	+2	+2	+2	Manifest Senses
6th	+4	+3	+3	+3	Morphic Reach
7th	+5	+3	+3	+3	Favored Healing
8th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+4	Battle Mastery +4
9th	+6/+1	+4	+4	+4	Adapt Qualities
10th	+7/+2	+5	+5	+5	Flashmorph
11th	+8/+3	+5	+5	+5	Incredible Variety
12th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+6	Battle Mastery +6
13th	+9/+4	+6	+6	+6	Increased Variety
14th	+10/+5	+7	+7	+7	Infinite Variety
15th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+7	+7	Reserves of Strenght
16th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+8	+8	Battle Mastery +8
17th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+8	+8	True Change
18th	+13/+8/+3	+9	+9	+9	Blasphemy
19th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+9	+9	Timeless Body
20th	+15/+10/+5	+10	+10	+10	Battle Mastery +10, Unique Tranformation
Class Skills (8 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level) Diplomacy (Cha), Disguise (Cha), Sense Motive (Wis), Survival (Wis), Search (Int), Listen (Wis), Spot (Wis), Knowledge (Local) (Int), Appraise (Int), Bluff (Cha), Hide (Dex), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha), Move Silently (Dex).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Selfshaper.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Proficient with all light weapons and armor.

Favored Shape (Su): A Selfshaper chooses two favored shapes at 1st level. A favored shape is a specific kind of creature whose form it can assume by means of Change Shape. A Selfshaper gains a number of advantages with his favored shapes, as noted in the following class feature descriptions. At its 2nd level and every 4 levels thereafter, a Selfshaper gains one additional favored shape. Thus, it has three at 2nd level, four at 6rd level, five at 10th level, six at 14th level, and seven at 18th level. Furthermore, once per Selfshaper level beyond 1st, a character can choose to lose a previously chosen favored shape and select a replacement.

Change Shape (Sp): At 1st level, a Selfshaper can change its general shape 1/day, as if affected by a Polymorph spell. Every odd levels after the 1st, you gain one additional use of this ability. At level 10 or higher, you are affected by a Polymorph Any Object spell instead. The caster level of these abilities equals the characters total HD.

Morphic Weapons (Su): As a move action, a Selfshaper can grow natural weapons such as claws or fangs, allowing a natural attack that deals the appropriate amount of damage according to the size of the new form (see Table 5—1 on page 296 of the Monster Manual). These morphic weapons need not be natural weapons that the creature already possesses. For example, a Selfshaper polymorphed into an ettin (Large giant) could grow a claw that deals 1d6 points of damage, or horns for a gore attack that deals 1d8 points of damage. If the Selfshaper's form already has a natural weapon of that type, the weapon deals damage as if it were one category larger. For example, a Selfshaper who used Change Shape to become a dire wolf (Large animal) could grow its jaw and snout, enabling a bite attack that deals 2d6 points of damage (as a for Huge animal), not the normal 1d8.

Morphic Body (Su): At 3rd level and higher, a Selfshaper can use its precise control over its form to make itself stronger and heartier. It gains +4 to Strength and +4 to Constitution while not in his original shape.

Battle Mastery (Ex): At 4th level, a Selfshaper gains a +2 competence bonus on all attack rolls he makes while in one of its favored shapes. This bonus increases to +4 at 8th level, to +6 at 12th level, to +8 at 16th level and to +10 at 20th level.

Manifest Senses (Su): At 5th level and higher, a Selfshaper gains the senses of its favored shape when it assumes its form. Senses include Extraordinary special qualities such as blindsense, blindsight, darkvision, low-light vision, scent, and tremorsense.

Morphic Reach (Su): A Selfshaper of 6th level or higher can suddenly stretch its limbs, neck, or other appendages outward, giving it 5 more feet of reach than the creature it's emulating. Unlike most creatures, Selfshapers don't appear to have a longer reach until they actually use it.

Favored Healing (Ex): At 7th level or higher, a Selfshaper gains Fast Healing 2 due to its ability to now manipulate the regeneration of its cells whilst in a favored shape.

Adapt Qualities (Ex): At 9th level and higher, a Selfshaper has all the Extraordinary special qualities/attacks of any favored shape it assumes. For example, it could change into a troll to make use of the troll's regeneration ability, or take the form of a green hag to gain spell resistance 18.

Flashmorph (Su): At 10th level and higher, a Selfshaper can use its Change Shape class feature as move action instead of a standard action. In addition, the Selfshaper now counts as Outsider for the purpose of its Change Shape class feature.

Incredible Variety (Ex): At 11th level, a Selfshaper gains the ability to create completely imaginary forms when it uses Change Shape. To create an imaginary form, it chooses one of his favored shapes as a base form. It can then choose a single aspect of a second monster whose form it could assume and add it to the first creature. Its available options include the following.

- Replace the base form's natural armor bonus with that of the second form.

- Add the second form's movement modes.

- Add one of the second form's natural attack types (with the appropriate reach), if the base form doesn't have that attack type already.

- Add an extraordinary special attack of the second form.

- Add an extraordinary special quality of the second form.

- Replace one of the base form's physical ability scores, if both the base form and the second form are the same size category.

For example, if a young red dragon is the base form and a giant octopus is the second, a Selfshaper could add the octopus's eight tentacle rakes (damage 1d4 + Str bonus) to the dragon's available natural attacks.

Increase Variety (Ex): At 13th level, a Selfshaper can choose an additional trait of the second monster OR one trait of a third monster OR a supernatural ability/attack of the second monster OR a spell-like or psi-like ability of the second monster and add it to the first creature.

Infinite Variety (Ex): At 14th level, a Selfshaper can choose an additional trait of the second monster OR one (additional) trait of a third monster OR a supernatural ability/attack of the third monster OR a spell-like or psi-like ability of the third monster and add it to the first creature.

Reserves of Strenght (Ex): At 15th level, a Selfshaper can call upon his determiation to change his shape to his will. This works as the feat Reserves of Strenght, but applied to Change Shape instead of a spell. Multiple uses of this ability don't stack.

True Change (Ex): At 17th level, a Selfshaper can use Change Shape as an extraordinary ability instead of a spell-like ability.

Blasphemy (Sp): A Selfshaper of 18th level or higher can expand one use of Change Shape to cast Blasphemy at a caster level equal to its hit die instead.

Timeless Body (Ex): Upon attaining 19th level, the Selfshaper has absolute control over his body and changes its aging process changes dramatically. It no longer takes penalties to its ability scores and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that it has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, penalties continue to apply, and it still dies of old age when its time is up.

Unique Transformation (Ex): At 20th level, at the begining of each day, a Selfshaper selects one unique creature and adds it to its list of favored shapes. It can transform into this creature with its Change Shape ability, even if this would not be allowed normally, as long as the caster level is sufficient.

Playing a Selfshaper

Religion: Selfshapers tend to fall from faith due to their will to be independent from their possible faith in the lower planes. Others still worship deities, using the races normal deities.

Other Classes: This class favors arcane casters like bards and wizards, but tends to dislike classes overly attached to Deities.

Combat: At lower level a Selfshaper lacks in combat, acting like a fighter for the most part, whereas in later levels it can highly influence the outcome of the battle using spellcasting granted by its favored shapes.

Advancement: Selfshapers are often dipped into, thanks to their Change Shape working of HD instead of Class Level. A pure Selfshaper, however, nearly never strays from this path until epic levels.

Selfshapers in the World

“	"I can be everything you want."	”
—Layla Swiftcraft, Changeling Selfshaper

If you want to know where you can find a Selfshaper, just ask yourself: Where would be easy money to make? And when you go there and a monkey steals your gold, you have probably found yourself one.

Daily Life: A Selfshaper uses his abilities to steal from others, and as such, his life is that of a thief and deciever. Some higher level Selfshapers can also be found in... places of pleasure. After all, if you can imagine it, chances are they can become it.

Notables: Selfshapers make their abilities rarely known, however some say that a few religious leaders are actually Selfshapers trying to destroy the worlds faith from within.

Organizations: Characters of this class tend to work alone.

NPC Reactions: NPCs tend to be rather afraid of this class, even though it is more the fear of losing privacy than it is the fear of death.

Selfshaper Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge (Local) can research Selfshapers to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Knowledge (Local)

DC	Result
5	Selfshapers are thieves that use their abilities to take the form of animals, mainly to avoid being recognised.
10	Most Selfshapers are only able to keep up combat for a few minutes per day, after which they are relatively harmless.
15	A few Selfshapers can alter the properties of what the turn into, even if the applications are very limited.
20	Some say that old and powerful Selfshapers have souls so vile that so much as a single word spoken by them can kill those of good heart.

Selfshapers in the Game

A Selfshaper will likely be encountered at early levels as a simple thief trying to steal something or as a character in charge of a religious order et cetera at higher levels.

Adaptation: .

Sample Encounter: .

EL : .

---

Back to Main Page → 3.5e Homebrew → Classes → Base Classes