Aside from werecreatures, there are various other paths to becoming a beastkin. In some cases, a deity or a nature spirit may grant a chosen individual the power to transform. Others have gained the powers of beastkin through a trick of the fey or an unusual reaction to polymorph magic. There are even rumors that some rare beastkin might be shapeshifting animals that somehow gained the form of a sapient ancestry, rather than the other way around.
Beastkin typically weave themselves into their ancestral societies, hiding their true nature as much as necessary. Some societies, particularly nomadic or frontier societies, are more accepting of beastkin, allowing them to live in their preferred form without judgment. Beastkin tend to live in independent communities with other beastkin and werecreatures with the same inherent animal, finding that their association with the same animal instills a sense of fellowship. These communities usually reside in or near environments that match the habitats of their inherent animals. Other beastkin instead live on the fringes of society or away from it altogether, preferring to live on their own.
Most people don't understand that beastkin don't have to contend with the curse of moon frenzy and loss of self, nor do they have any way of telling beastkin apart from werecreatures by appearance alone. Because of this, many people treat beastkin just as they would a werecreature who wasn't free of the curse and might eat them on a full moon. People who know of beastkin and can identify them as such are usually much less apprehensive about associating with them. Beastkin are sometimes given the misnomer of “skinwalkers” by those who are only mildly aware of their existence. This name is derived from ignorant rumors about the evil origins of beastkin, but beastkin reject this name both to distance themselves from the evil associations and to clarify the diversity among the countless beastkin types throughout Golarion.
Physical Description
Beastkin come in all shapes and sizes due to the countless combinations of ancestry and inherent animal. Most beastkin resemble a typical member of their base ancestry so closely that they are indistinguishable as a beastkin when in their humanoid form. On rare occasions, a beastkin is born with features that belie their animalistic nature at all times.
A beastkin's nature is more obvious when they are transformed into their hybrid shape, their features shifting to resemble the animal to which they are connected. The manifestation of these features varies from beastkin to beastkin, but typically, their teeth become more prominent, their skin toughens like hide, their hair lengthens, and their eyes reshape. Beastkin that can transform into actual animals keep some traits that tie them to their humanoid form, such as retaining their eye color.
Beastkin Versatile Heritage
Uncommon |
The blood of a beast flows through your veins, granting you the ferocity and might of animals. Only creatures with the humanoid trait can take the beastkin versatile heritage. Choose a type of animal such as bat, eagle, shark, spider, tyrannosaurus, wasp, or wolf. This is the type of animal tied to your heritage and is known as your inherent animal. You gain the beast and beastkin traits, in addition to the traits from your ancestry. You gain the Change Shape ability. You can choose from beastkin feats and feats from your ancestry whenever you gain an ancestry feat.
Change Shape [A]
You change into your humanoid or hybrid shape. Each shape has a specific, persistent appearance, and most beastkin remain in their hybrid shapes by default. In hybrid shape, you appear as a mix between your ancestry and your inherent animal. While in hybrid shape, you gain a jaws unarmed Strike resembling the features of your inherent animal (fangs for bats, beaks for eagles, mandibles for wasps, and so on). Your jaws deal 1d4 piercing damage, have the agile, finesse, and unarmed traits, and are in the brawling weapon group. In your humanoid shape, you retain the appearance of your original ancestry.
1st Level Beastkin Feats
Animal Senses (Feat 1)
Beastkin |
You gain one of the following senses available to your inherent animal: darkvision, low-light vision, or scent (imprecise) 30 feet. You must have low-light vision before you can gain darkvision with this feat. If your inherent animal doesn't typically have a specific type of sense, you can't gain that sense with this feat.
Special You can select this feat multiple times, choosing a different sense each time.
Critter Shape (Feat 1)
Beastkin |
Once per hour, you can use Change Shape to enter a critter shape. While in critter shape, you gain the effect of a 1st-level pest form, except you can only transform into an animal matching your inherent animal. You can remain in critter shape for up to 10 minutes, after which you transform back into your hybrid shape and can't enter your critter shape again for 1 hour. You can instead use Change Shape to return to your humanoid or hybrid shape at any time during the duration of Critter Shape. If your inherent animal is normally larger than Tiny, you transform into a smaller, younger version of the animal, such as a Tiny bear cub. If your inherent animal has a fly Speed, you can turn into that animal (unlike normal for 1st-level pest form), but you still don't gain a fly Speed.
Quick Shape [FA] (Feat 1)
Beastkin |
Trigger You roll initiative
Your instincts kick in and you take on an aggressive stance. You use Change Shape to enter your hybrid form or a new form granted by a beastkin feat.
5th Level Beastkin Feats
Greater Animal Senses (Feat 5)
Beastkin |
Your senses advance to match those of your animal aspect. You gain one of the following senses available to your inherent animal: echolocation (imprecise) 30 feet or tremorsense (imprecise) 30 feet. If your inherent animal doesn't typically have a specific type of sense, you can't gain the sense with this feat.
Special You can select this feat multiple times, either choosing a different sense or improving an imprecise sense granted by this feat to a precise sense.
9th Level Beastkin Feats
Animal Magic (Feat 9)
Beastkin |
Your shapeshifting grants you a magical connection to the animal world. You can cast animal messenger, calm emotions (animals only), and speak with animals as 2nd-level primal innate spells once per day each. These spells use your class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher.
Pack Tactics (Feat 9)
Beastkin |
You have mastered how to hunt with your pack. If an enemy is within reach of you and at least two of your allies, that enemy is flat-footed against you.
13th Level Beastkin Feats
Animal Shape (Feat 13)
Beastkin |
You have full control over your shape and can transform into your inherent animal. You can use Change Shape to enter an animal shape. When you gain this feat, choose either aerial form or animal form; after you choose a form, you can't change the form. While in animal shape, you gain the effects of a 4th-level casting of your chosen form spell, except you always transform into an animal matching your inherent animal and can use your humanoid form's AC if it's higher than what the animal form grants. If your inherent animal isn't among the animals listed in the form, you default to the statistics and abilities of the bird battle form for aerial form or cat battle form for animal form (at the GM's discretion, you instead default to a different form that is closest to your inherent animal). You can remain in animal shape indefinitely and can use Change Shape to return to your humanoid or hybrid shape at any time.
If you have the Critter Shape feat, you can choose to gain the effects of a 4th-level pest form, can remain in critter shape indefinitely, and can return to your critter shape at any time after leaving the shape, just as you can with Animal Shape.
At 17th level, you gain the effects of a 5th level casting of your chosen form spell.
Dire Form (Feat 13)
Beastkin |
Your hybrid shape is a hulking beast. While in your hybrid shape, you gain the effects of enlarge.
Gift of the Moon (Feat 13)
Beastkin |
You can share your power with others, but they can't escape the werecreature's curse as easily as you can. You can cast a 5th-level moon frenzy as a primal innate spell once per day. At 15th level, you cast a 6th-level moon frenzy instead. At 17th level, your 6th-level moon frenzy grants its standard effects, except the temporary Hit Points increase to 15 and the silver weakness increases to 15. At 20th level, you cast a 10th-level moon frenzy instead. The spell uses your class DC or spell DC, whichever is higher.
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