The wolf pounced upon the barbarian, snarling and snapping its teeth but even as fangs found flesh and tore a wound open, its body was changing. Shifting and sliding into a new shape, the wolf was suddenly replaced by a great eagle. It screeched as its talons slashed at the warrior, wings unfurling and lifting it skyward. With an enraged shout, the berserker swiped at the avian who shouldered the blow before lifting upwards, soaring over his head. Midair, its form changed once more and the sorcerer dove for cover as a Tyrannosaurus rex landed with thunderous impact mere feet from her, roaring in a boneshaking display.
I've been running an adventure that heavily features villains that are all about savagery and the rule of the wild and it has inspired me to make an NPC that fits that theme. This concept also serves as a sort of send-up to the shifter from PF1e - a martial-focused animalistic shape shifter. This is done by using the untamed form focus spell and expanding the options it provides with insect form, dinosaur form, and aerial form, with its Endless Forms ability, while still equipping it with martial capabilities and no other spells. It has a high attack bonus normally with low damage but this bonus becomes extreme while the shifter is in a battle form - though its damage is just barely above moderate in most cases for its heightened forms.
Given the two actions of untamed form, I wanted to help the savage shifter's action economy a bit and included Flowing Fury, letting the shifter slip in a Strike when he shifts. On turns where he doesn't shift, he has his Shrinking Dodge reaction to drop into a diminutive shape to dodge an attack by adding a +4 bonus to its AC. This is a massive bonus but is similar to the bonus provided by greater cover, which felt right since the shifter does have to spend a Focus Point to use this effect. Like anybody that uses focus spells, the shifter only has 3 points but I wanted this enemy to be able to continually shift and change its shape, which led to the inclusion of Savage Surge, granting it additional Focus Points whenever it crits while in a battle form. With its extreme attack bonus, it has a high chance of doing so though I should mention at this point that its Armor Class is moderate normally and actually becomes almost low while shifter. This lends to it having between high and moderate Hit Points especially since it can keep gaining temporary Hit Points by shifting.
The shifter has a pretty standard area fear effect with Howl of the Wild, which also adds the quickened condition to the shifter's animal allies, representing his kinship with nature. After that though, I wanted to make each of its forms more distinct by including abilities limited to each one. Pounce is a pretty standard effect restricted to animal form and Soaring Strafe isn't too unique either, borrowing specifically from the roc. However, while in insect form, the shifter can put on a Sickening Display to leave a creature with sickened through a high Fortitude save. This may seem a little redundant with Howl of the Wild, but sickened is a slightly stickier condition, so I kind of like the idea of comboing them. Start with Howl to lower their saves then put on a Display so that it is more likely to hit. This also diversifies the saves it forces a bit though its final ability is also focused on Fortitude with Thunderous Footfalls. Limited to its dinosaur form, this is a passive effect that allows him to bring his size to bear by knocking opponents prone. This is limited to a moderate DC, since it is a constant passive effect that triggers whenever he moves.
Pathfinder 2e:
As I've said previously, I don't intend on building 1e versions of these menaces because it's kind of just building a character. But this time, Blue said making this in D&D 5e would be too complicated and we decided to simply forgo its inclusion.
ENCOUNTER HOOKS
Cull of the Wild: Farms on the outskirts of a settlement have come under assault, plagued by animals and beasts from the surrounding wilds. More than just simple attacks, livestock and even some families have been eradicated, torn to shreds. The heroes have been enlisted to put a stop to the threat and discover a figure leading the animals - a shifter who wants to drive out the humans and let the city be reclaimed by the natural world. The shifter has managed to build up a band of followers from animals and beasts within the woods, creating a stronghold that the heroes may have to fight through.
Walk on the Wildside: While the heroes are journeying through the wilds, they find themselves periodically beset and harried by animals that strike before disappearing back into the forest. These various animals dog them, giving them little time to rest, and savvy characters may realize that the different beasts share similar wounds as they are being attacked by a shifter that wants them out of its forest or dead, with little concern as to which comes first.
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Have a monstrous Monday!
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