After training with the Shifter tribes in the Eldeen Reaches (or wherever you might find tribes of Shifters), you have taken your first steps towards learning the way of the shifting skin, and your proficiency will only grow with practice.

Way of the Shifter focuses on single combat, using only your body, and relies on your ability to remain close to an opponent while maintaining a tactically superior position, and avoiding the pitfalls of a Grapple.

Your training has made you adept in the arts of unarmed and unarmored combat, and knowledgeable in the ways of nature and survival. You are able to survive in the wild with nothing but your cunning, wit, and your bare hands (or claws).  You are able to defeat most foes in single combat, and escape from those you cannot defeat.

This subclass explores a new Engage mechanic, and describes the benefits of Engaging an Opponent, being Engaged with Opponent, and maintaining that Engagement.

Optional - You may dedicate yourself to this subclass when you gain your first Rogue level in order to gain access to Shifting Defense and Shifter's Guile at Rogue level 1, and to gain access to Shifting Balance, Shifting Skin, and Shadow Shift, at Rogue level 2.  When you do this, you shift when you gain the normal Rogue weapon and armor proficiencies, as well as the normal Rogue cunning actions, which you instead gain later, when you gain your first Ability Score Increase.

Optional: Shifted Features - Rogue Level 1

Shifting Defense (Shifts proficiency with Light Armor) - You are adept at avoiding attacks without needing to rely on armor, especially those made by your Engaged Opponent.

• You may only benefit from Shifting Defense if you have at least two free hands (or claws).
• While wearing no armor, your Armor Class equals 10 + your Dexterity modifier + your Wisdom modifier
• You may add your Proficiency Bonus to your AC against attacks made by your Engaged Opponent.
• While you are Engaged with an Opponent, you benefit from half cover.
• You may add half your Proficiency Bonus (rounded down) to your saving throws against spells or abilities used by your Engaged Opponent.
• If you have a Natural AC, or are under the effect of a spell such as Mage Armor, you may use that AC calculation instead, and still benefit from Shifting Defense.

 
Shifter's Guile (Shifts Rogue weapon proficiencies) - You gain the ability to Engage your opponent.  While you benefit from Shifting Defense, whenever you make an Unarmed or Natural Weapon attack against an opponent at advantage, you may Engage that opponent.

While Shifting Defense applies, you gain the following benefits.

• The damage range of the die for your unarmed or natural weapon attacks increases, with a minimum of a d6.
• You may make an unarmed or natural weapon attack against your Engaged Opponent as a bonus action.
• If you are Engaged with an Opponent at the start of your turn, you may deal to them an amount of bludgeoning damage equal to your strength modifier.
• You may apply sneak attack damage to unarmed and natural weapon attacks as long as the other requirements for sneak attack are met.

Notes:
When an opponent is Engaged, the tactical and positional advantage you have over that opponent allows you to utilize the offensive and defensive options represented here. You may only Engage one opponent at a time. If you or your Engaged Opponent's turn ends, and they are outside of your melee range, you are no longer Engaged.  If you Engage an opponent, you are only Engaged with that opponent.  For an Engaged Opponent more than one size category larger or smaller than you, you crowd their space, but are not considered to be in a Grapple.

If you gain a shield bonus from an item, effect, or feature that does not occupy a hand (Such as the Artificer's Improved Battlefist feature), or if your race has more than two arms and you are wielding a shield, you can still benefit from Shifting Defense.

Optional: Shifted Features - Rogue Level 2

Shifting Focus (Shifts Cunning Action: Hide)
If you benefit from Shifting Defense, you may use a bonus action to prepare Shift Focus as a reaction. Until the start of your next turn, if your Engaged Opponent makes a melee weapon attack, you may use your reaction to Shift Focus. When you Shift Focus, the attack hits you.  If the attack was intended for another target, it hits you instead.  The attack counts as a hit, but never counts as a critical hit, and cannot benefit from sneak attack.  When the attack hits you, you attempt to unbalance the attacker. You may only use this reaction after dice are rolled, but before revealing the result or determining if the attack would have hit.  Your Engaged Opponent must make a Dexterity saving throw with a DC equal to the result of their own attack roll.  If they fail, the total amount of slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage you take from the attack is reduced by half, the attacker falls prone, and their attack action ends.  If the save is successful, the attack resolves normally.

Shift Balance - Starting at 5th Level, whenever you could use Uncanny Dodge against your Engaged Opponent, you may use Shift Balance instead.  The total amount of damage from the attack is reduced by half, regardless of type, even if your Engaged Opponent succeeds the saving throw.  If your Engaged Opponent fails the saving throw, their attack deals the minimum possible amount of damage to you, setting the result of each damage die for the attack to 1 (damage dice for the attack cannot be re-rolled).  The result is then further reduced by half.  The attacker falls prone, and their attack action ends.


Shifting Skin (Shifts Cunning Action: Dash)
You may use a bonus action to Foil attacks made by your Engaged Opponent until the start of your next turn. When you take the Foil action, your Engaged Opponent has disadvantage on all attacks they make until the start of your next turn.

In addition, you may use a bonus action on your turn to escape a Grapple with your Engaged Opponent, or a reaction to immediately escape a Grapple with your Engaged Opponent. You may make a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by your Engaged Opponent's Strength (Athletics) to escape a Grapple with your Engaged Opponent. You have advantage on all Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made to escape a Grapple with your Engaged Opponent, and may add your proficiency bonus and your wisdom modifier to the result.

You may Engage one opponent involved in a Grapple with you at the beginning of your turn.
When you escape a Grapple, you may Engage one opponent that was involved in that Grapple.

Improved Shifting Skin - Starting at 5th Level, when you take the Foil action, you gain the benefit of the Dodge action until the start of your next turn. You also gain the benefit of three quarters cover against attacks made by anyone other than your Engaged Opponent until the start of your next turn.  In addition, you may add double your proficiency bonus, as well as your wisdom modifier to the result of any Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks made to escape a Grapple with your Engaged Opponent.


Shadow Shift (Shifts Cunning Action: Disengage)
If you benefit from Shifting Defense, you may use Shadow Shift as a reaction to any of the following triggers.

• Whenever your Engaged Opponent moves outside of your melee range.
• Whenever a ranged attack is made against you.
• Whenever an attack misses you.
• Whenever your Engaged Opponent moves close enough to make a melee weapon attack against you.
• Whenever an opponent ends their turn while they are close enough to make a melee weapon attack against you.

 Whenever you deal Sneak Attack damage to your Engaged Opponent, you may Shadow Shift without using your reaction.

When you Shadow Shift, you may move up to half your speed immediately, or before the end of the current turn.  If moving your full speed would allow you to end your movement within your melee range of your Engaged Opponent, you may move your full speed instead.  This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity from your Engaged Opponent. If an ability would allow an opportunity attack to be made against you anyway, that attack has disadvantage.

When using Shadow Shift, you may freely move through your Engaged Opponent's space and it does not count as difficult terrain for you. If you move into your Engaged Opponent's space, you may crowd their space but are not considered to be in a grapple, even if this would not normally be allowed.

 

Tack of the Shifter

Starting at 3rd level, your tack and cunning have no parallel.

If you have not already gained access to these features, you gain Shifter's Guile and Shifting Defense.

Shifter's Ambush - Starting at 3rd level,  If you are not Engaged with an opponent, when you make an unarmed or natural weapon attack against an opponent at advantage, you may use Shifter's Ambush.  When you do, you Engage that opponent.  If the attack misses, you deal damage equal to your Strength Modifier.  If the attack hits, it deals extra damage equal to your Rogue level.  If the hit is a critical hit, it deals extra damage equal to twice your Rogue level.

Shifter's Versatility - Starting at level 3, you gain a fighting style from among the following options.  You gain a second fighting style at Rogue level 7, a third at Rogue level 11, a fourth at Rogue level 15, and a fifth at Rogue level 19.  You may select a listed fighting style more than once, and the effects stack, increasing the bonus or effective range each time you choose the fighting style.  At the end of a long rest, you may replace one of your fighting styles with another from this list.

• Shifter's Sense. The range of your darkvision increases by 60 feet. The range of your blind sight increases by 10 feet.
• Shifter's Grit. While you benefit from Shifting Defense, you gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class and a +1 bonus to Saving Throws.
• Shifter's Vigor. While you benefit from Shifting Defense, your unarmed and natural weapon attacks gain a +1 bonus to hit and a +1 bonus to damage.
• Shifter's Jaunt. When using the movement granted to you by your Shifter's Grace class feature, you may move up to 10 additional feet.
• Shifter's Might. When you hit with an unarmed or natural weapon attack, you may roll one additional damage die when determining damage for the attack.

 

Shifter's Grace

Starting at 3rd level, if you have not already gained access to these features, you gain access to Shifting Focus, Shifting Skin, and Shadow Shift.

While you benefit from Shifting Defense, you may move up to 10 feet without spending any movement. This movement may be used to walk, swim, or climb, but does not increase your base speed. You may use this movement, even if your speed is reduced to 0, but not if you are grappled or restrained.  When using this movement, you ignore effects that reduce the distance you move, such as difficult terrain.

If you spend no more than 10 feet of movement on your turn, you have advantage on Initiative rolls, Stealth checks, and Perception checks.
As long as you move no more than 10 feet on your turn, you may treat any die roll of a 7 or lower as an 8 for Initiative rolls, Stealth checks, and Perception checks.

In addition, your senses have been refined, and you have learned much about the daily lives of Shifters, and how they survive.

You gain proficiency with the Nature and Survival skills. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any skill check that uses Nature or Survival.
You gain proficiency with the Herbalism Kit.

If you do not have darkvision, or the range of your darkvision is less than 120 feet, you gain darkvision with a range of 120 feet.
If you do not have blind sight, you gain blind sight with a range of 10 feet.

Lightly obscured areas no longer impose disadvantage on your perception checks, and creatures may only hide from you if they are heavily obscured, or if they benefit from full cover.
While in darkness, you are invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision to see you in that darkness.

 

Gift of Grace

At 9th level, your allies gain extra movement, blind sight, ignore difficult terrain, and other benefits.

When using the movement granted to you by your Shifter's Grace class feature, allies within range of your blind sight may move up to the distance you moved immediately, or at the end of the current turn, without spending any of their own movement.  This movement may be used to walk, swim, or climb, and ignores difficult terrain.

Allies within range of your blind sight gain the ability to see using your blind sight.  While sharing your blind sight in darkness or dim light, your allies may use the result of any Stealth or Perception check you make in place of their own, and may ignore difficult terrain when they move.

Additionally, while sharing your blind sight in darkness, your allies are invisible to any creature that relies on darkvision to see in that darkness.

Shifter's Fury

Starting at 9th level, you gain the following benefits.

You have advantage on unarmed and natural weapon attacks you make against your Engaged Opponent.

Whenever you deal Sneak Attack damage to your Engaged Opponent, if they are resistant to that damage, your attack ignores that resistance. If they are immune to that damage, your attack treats that immunity as resistance.

When you make an unarmed or natural weapon attack against your Engaged Opponent, you score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20.

Leader of the Pack

Starting at 13th level, your intuition gives you an edge over your opponents, allowing you to act first in most situations.
Your grace, and tack when dealing with your Engaged Opponent has become truly masterful.

You and your nearby allies may add your proficiency bonus to their initiative rolls, as long as they are within range of your blind sight.
All attacks made against your Engaged Opponent have advantage.

While you are Engaged with an Opponent, attacks made against you are made with disadvantage, you benefit from three quarters cover, and you have advantage on saving throws.
Your Engaged Opponent has disadvantage on attack rolls, skill checks and contests, concentration checks, and saving throws.
You may Shadow Shift at the end of each of your Engaged Opponent's turns without using your reaction.

You are immune to the Charmed and Frightened conditions while you are Engaged with an Opponent.

As a reaction, you may interrupt your Engaged Opponent's action, causing them to lose that action.

 

Follow Through

Starting at 17th level, when you score a hit, you follow through.

Once per turn, when you score a hit against your Engaged Opponent, you may make one additional attack against that opponent. This additional attack can benefit from Sneak Attack, even if you've already used it this turn.  In addition, this additional attack counts as a critical hit on a roll of 18, 19 or 20.