d20 Rifts - Shifter

Another iconic Rifts caster is the Shifter. Because how can you have a setting called Rifts and NOT give someone the ability to create and control rifts?

Shifter

This is a prestige class.

Shifters are, perhaps, the most unfairly maligned group on Rifts Earth.  At heart, they are simply mages who specialize in dimensional and summoning magic.  However, far too many shifters encounter evil beings in their travels, which are willing to offer them extraordinary power in return for service.  Stories of shifters kidnapping children to sacrifice for the power to open a rift are far too prevalent, even outside the Coalition States, for their name to ever be cleared.

Abilities:  The core ability for a shifter is Intelligence.  Many shifters also have a high Wisdom and/or Charisma.

Vitality:  1d8 plus Constitution modifier per level.

Requirements

            Agent Level: 5+

            Caster Level: 5+

            Cultures: 4+

            Knowledge (Spellcraft): 8+

            Languages: 4+

            Ability to tap ley lines for PPE

            Feats: Unshakable, Mystic

Class Skills

            The Shifter’s class skills and key abilities are:

Class Skill                   Key Ability

Appraise                      Int

Bluff                           Cha

Bureaucracy                Cha

Computers                   Int

Concentration             Wis

Craft                            Wis

Cryptography              Int

Cultures                       Wis

First Aid                      Wis

Gather Information     Wis

Hobby                         Wis

Innuendo                     Wis

Intimidate                   Str/Cha

Knowledge                 Int

Languages                   Wis

Listen                          Wis

Profession                   Wis

Read Lips                    Int

Search                         Int

Sense Motive              Wis

Sleight of Hand          Dex

Spot                             Wis

Surveillance                 Wis

Survival                       Wis

Swim                           Str

Skill Points at Each Additional Level:  8 + Int modifier.

Class Features

            All of the following are class features of the Shifter:

            Class Feats:  The Shifter gains the following feats at 1^st level:

                        Armor Proficiency (Light)

                        Weapon Group Proficiency (Melee)

                        Weapon Group Proficiency (Handgun)

            Casting Class:  Levels in this class add to your caster level.

            No Place Like Home:  One of the primary advantages that a Shifter has is the ability to return home, no matter how far she may wander.  At any time, she may spend an action die to return to her plane of origin.  This ability only affects the shifter, her personal gear, and her familiar if any.  She will return to a random location within fifty miles of her original point of departure.  This is the shifter’s core ability.

            Soul Bond:  At 1^st level, the shifter may gain either the Familiar or Bound by Blood feat.  If she already has Familiar, she may choose Improved Familiar instead.  If she has already has Bound by Blood, she may choose Your Soul is Mine instead.

            Have Magic, Will Travel:  A shifter is particularly adept at moving both herself and others between the worlds.  Beginning at 2^nd level, she may reduce the PPE cost of any teleportation, gate, or summoning spell by 5% per class level.  At 7^th level, the cost is reduced by 5% per caster level (maximum 90%).  Note that this ability does not affect the cost of any metamagic feats applied to the spell.

            Bonus Spell:  Beginning at 3^rd level, the shifter may choose any one spell to add to her grimoire.  She may add an additional spell at 5^th level, and every 2 levels thereafter.

            Bonus Feat:  At 4^th level, the shifter gains a bonus feat from either the mystic or style feat trees.

            Tapping the Vein:  The shifter may select one additional source of PPE to draw on.  In addition, the shifter now increases her personal reserve by 5 PPE per class level.

            Sense Rifts:  By 6^th level, the shifter has become so attuned to the threads of the universe, that she can instinctively sense when they are disturbed.  A successful Concentration check can tell the shifter the approximate direction and distance to a given dimensional anomaly or disturbance.  The base DC for each check is listed below:

                        Anomaly                     DC

                        Rift                              10 + 5/10 miles

                        Stable gate                  10 + 5/mile

                        Teleportation               10 + 2/100 ft

                        Summoning                 15 + 2/100 ft

                        Bridged reality*          20 + 1/10 ft

                        *A creature or object is considered to be “bridging realities” when it is simultaneously existing in one or more worlds.  This would include ethereal beings, among others.

            Enhanced Teleportation:  When using any teleportation spell, or other spell that involves magical transportation, the shifter is far more efficient than other mages.  Beginning at 8^th level, the shifter can move 10 times as much weight as the spell normally allows.

            My Way, or the Highway:  At 10^th level, the shifter’s control of rifts is beyond the pale.  She can exert her will to force a rift to lead to a destination of her choice.  The rift will open to the proper dimension, and within 10 miles of a pre-selected location.  Note that this ability only works with pre-existing rifts, and is not capable of creating them itself.  This ability also does not affect how long the rift will remain open.

BAB:  Low

Fort:  Low

Ref:  Med

Will:  High

DB:  Med

Init:  High

BP:  Med

GP:  Med