 Swarm Shifter
Source Wilderness Origins pg. 7
Swarm shifters channel the essence of the basest and most overlooked animals, vermin.
Vermin Aspect (Su): As a swift action, a swarm shifter can transform into a swarm of vermin. While in her vermin form, she gains a +2 bonus to natural armor. Her size increases by one size category (as enlarge person, except her reach does not increase to 10 feet), but she can occupy the same space as a creature of any size. She must still attack a target as normal, even if occupying the same space as her target. She can maintain this form for a number of minutes per day equal to 3 + her shifter level. The duration does not need to be consecutive, but it must be spent in 1-minute increments.
At 5th level, a swarm shifter becomes immune to bull rush, grapple, and trip combat maneuvers while in vermin form. At 10th level, the swarm shifter’s bonus to natural armor increases to +4 while in vermin form.
At 15th level, a swarm shifter gains the distraction universal monster ability while in vermin form.
At 20th level, the swarm shifter becomes immune to critical hits and flanking while in vermin form, but unlike a normal swarm, doesn’t become immune to normal weapon damage.
This replaces wild shape, shifter aspect, and all improvements to shifter aspect.
Swarmer (Su): Starting at 4th level, while a swarm shifter is in her natural form, she can transform her hands into living vermin as a swift action at will. This grants her a touch attack that deals 1d6 points of piercing damage and counts as an area attack for the purpose of overcoming the damage reduction of swarms. She doesn’t add her Strength modifier as a bonus on damage rolls for this attack. This damage increases by 1d6 at 7th level and every 4 levels thereafter (maximum 6d6 points of damage at 20th level). A swarm shifter can’t use her normal shifter claws while her hands are transformed in this way.
At 10th level, a swarm shifter can use this ability to automatically deal her touch attack damage to foes that she is grappling.
At 15th level, a swarm shifter can use this ability while in her vermin form to automatically deal her touch attack damage to foes within her squares.
Swarm Flow (Su): At 9th level, when a swarm shifter uses her vermin aspect ability, she gains a swarm ability from the list below. She can select a different ability each time she uses her vermin aspect ability.
Crawling: The swarm shifter gains a climb speed equal to her base speed.
Flying: The swarm shifter gains a fly speed equal to her base speed, with good maneuverability.
Undulating: The swarm shifter gains a burrow speed equal to her base speed.
This replaces chimeric aspect.
Greater Swarm Flow (Su): At 14th level, when using her vermin aspect ability, a swarm shifter also gains a greater swarm ability from the list below. She can select a different ability each time she uses her vermin aspect ability.
Crawling: The swarm shifter gains tremorsense with a range of 60 feet and a +4 bonus on Perception checks.
Flying: The swarm shifter’s claws change to venomous stingers that deliver poison on each attack. (Poison: injury; save Fort DC = 10 + half the swarm shifter’s level + her Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Dexterity damage; cure 2 consecutive saves).
Undulating: Whenever the swarm shifter is subject to a critical hit, she gains fast healing equal to 1/3 her level for a number of rounds equal to 3 + her Wisdom modifier.
This replaces greater chimeric aspect.
Final Aspect (Su): At 20th level, a swarm shifter becomes an embodiment of swarms and can cast swarm skin as a spell-like ability at will with a caster level equal to her character level. She can separate into up to five swarms, regardless of the number of levels required per swarm. When transforming into swarms with this ability, the swarm shifter still selects swarm abilities granted by the swarm flow and greater swarm flow abilities to apply to her swarm forms. The chosen swarm abilities apply to all swarms.
This modifies final aspect.
Alternate Natural Attacks A shifter can draw on her chosen animal aspect to transform her hands into deadly weapons, as represented by the shifter’s claws class feature, but not every animal has prominent claws. The following list provides alternate natural attacks for the shifter claws class feature. Each time the shifter activates her shifter’s claws ability in her natural form, she can manifest one of the alternate natural attacks listed below for any of her chosen aspects, or those that relate to her archetype. Each alternate natural attack replaces one of the shifter’s claw attacks. The shifter can gain up to two different alternate natural attacks with this method. These alternate natural attacks modify only the damage type of the shifter’s natural attacks and otherwise function exactly as the shifter claws class feature.
Swarm (Swarm Shifter Archetype): Bite (B, P, S), pincers (B), sting (P).
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