Shifter, Variant (3.5e Race)

Shifters

Personality

Shifters are by nature crude and savage. They have a pack instinct to form groups, often lead by a Alpha Male and Alpha Female. Shifters eat with their hands or face, ignoring such formalities such as forks, spoons and napkins. They have a loyalty to their 'alpha', but if their leader shows weakness they are often fast to take over.

Physical Description

Shifters are covered in a coarse (For Males) or fine (For females) fur, often the same colour as human skin patterns. Grey, white and black are other colours available. Shifters have deep green or bronze eyes with slitted pupils. Hair on their head grows to lengths like normal Humans, and can be a different colour to their other body fur. Their faces are angled, and teeth pointed. Females stand significantly lower than most males.

Relations

Shifters are accepted, but not overly well-recieved by most civillized races. They are great friends with the elves as they share a similar respect for nature and the wild. They are also good friends with half-orcs, sharing a common savagery from their ancestors. Shifters have a relationship with Gnomes like a hunter has with prey; they often hunt gnomes as sport(although rarely killing them).

Alignment

Shifters are chaotic; instinct just as influentual as logic or judgement. Some shifters are more disciplined than others, but truly lawful shifters are rare. Shifters are not so much good or evil; instead a mostly neutral species. However; some species carry more of their lycanthrope ancestry, leaning towards evil savagery.

Lands

There are no shifter cities, towns or villages. A shifter lives with his or her pack as nomads, wandering around the lands looking for hunting grounds. Some shifters turn to raiding towns and villages if food becomes scarce.

Religion

Religious shifters are few. Those that are most often follow gods of the wilderness; Ehlonna and Obad-Hai for example. Others such as Kord are worshipped for their strength for the hunt.

Language

Shifters speak common by necessity, though not necessarily well. They may also know elvish if they were brought up around elven lands. Others more savage in background may know Giant, having hunted in the hills and mountains.

Names

Male shifters are often named after objects. Some are named after sounds or other things of beasts and the wilds. Female shifters are more commonly named after things of nature, such as weather.

Racial Traits

• +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom −2 Intelligence. A shifter's animalistic side, their movements fluid and instinctual. However, this reliance on following their "instincts" also makes them less likely to pursue academics.
• Humanoid/Shapechanger (Kin). A shifter has lycanthropy in their ancestry. For any ability that requires a type, Shifters are treated as Shapechangers.
• Medium
• Shifter base land speed is 35 feet: they can move on all fours fluidly.
• Shifter Survival Skills (Ex): A shifter is adept at hunting their prey; they gain Track"" as a bonus feat.
• Wild Side (Ex): A shifter fights with all their strength, and rarely falls unconscious in a fight. They gain Diehard as a bonus feat (Endurance not required).
• Keen Eyes (Ex): A shifter has low-light vision, and can see clearly in both dim and bright light.
• Automatic Languages: Common. Bonus Languages: Elvish, Giant.
• Favored Class: Barbarian

Vital Statistics

Table: Random Starting Ages

Adulthood	Simple	Moderate	Complex
20 years	+1d4	+1d6	+1d12

Table: Aging Effects

Middle Age1	Old2	Venerable3	Maximum Age
40 years	50 years	60 years	+4d20 years
At middle age, −1 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At old age, −2 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha. At venerable age, −3 to Str, Dex, and Con; +1 to Int, Wis, and Cha.

Table: Random Height and Weight

Gender	Base Height	Height Modifier	Base Weight	Weight Modifier
Male	5' 6"	+3d6	150 lb.	× (2d4) lb.
Female	4' 11"	+3d6	120 lb.	× (2d4) lb.

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