Wears Another Shape

You carry a pattern alongside your human form — animal, elemental, or symbolic — that is as much you as your face and name. When you will it, you can shift between states, move with inhuman grace, and perceive through senses your other form carries. The pattern deepens as you do.

Connection: Choose one of the following.

1. Pick one other PC. They know what you are, and they helped you gain early control of your shifting. Whether that makes them an ally or a liability is still an open question.
2. Pick one other PC. They have seen you in your other shape and have never treated you quite the same since. Whether they are frightened, fascinated, or envious is up to them.
3. Pick one other PC. They are resistant to your animal presence in a way you don’t understand — your other shape causes them no discomfort and your senses cannot read them clearly.
4. Pick one other PC. When they stand close, the shift comes more easily. The first focus ability you use in any 24-hour period costs 2 fewer points.

Additional Equipment: Clothing designed to survive partial or full transformation intact.

GM Intrusion: The transformation takes longer than expected. The other shape’s instincts override yours at a critical moment. People are frightened or aggressive toward shapeshifters. Even beasts have vulnerable spots.

Geas: The other shape has its own appetites. Under sufficient grief, rage, or terror, the shift happens whether you choose it or not — and the person is simply absent for however long the other shape requires. You cannot fully recall what happens during an involuntary shift. You have an inability on tasks requiring fine emotional regulation when you are under serious duress.

Minor Effect Suggestion: Your animal instincts give you a split-second advantage — you act first in the next round regardless of initiative.

Major Effect Suggestion: The sight of you in your other shape terrifies a target, who flees or is stunned for one round.

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Tier 1

Beast Shape (3+ Intellect points): You shift into an animal form for up to ten minutes. You may take a different animal shape each time you transform; your equipment is absorbed into the transformation and becomes unusable unless passive (such as armour). Your stats remain the same, but you move and attack using your animal form’s capabilities (attacks from most animals are medium weapons, which you can use without penalty). Tasks requiring hands are hindered in full animal form. You gain two minor abilities from your animal shape — scent and climbing for a wolf, perception and flight for a bird, and so on. If you apply a level of Effort, you take a hybrid form instead: human in shape but carrying animalistic features. In hybrid form you can speak, use all abilities, attack as your animal form, and perform hand tasks without penalty. Action to initiate; action to revert.

Animal Sense: Even in human form, one sensory ability from your other shape — scent, acute hearing, low-light vision — bleeds through constantly. You are trained in perception tasks that rely on this sense. Enabler.

Aspect (1 Intellect point): You manifest one minor physical quality from your other shape for up to ten minutes: claws suited to climbing surfaces that would otherwise require a task, a brief coalescence of hide or scale that provides +1 Armour, eyes adapted to low light or thermal vision, or a comparable limited expression of your pattern. This is not a shift; you remain in human form throughout, and the quality fades at the end of the duration or when you dismiss it. Enabler.

Tier 2

Communication (2 Intellect points): You convey a basic concept to a creature that normally cannot speak or understand speech, and the creature can give you a basic answer to a simple question. Action.

Soothe (2 Intellect points): You calm a non-human animal within short range. You must be able to speak to it (it need not understand you) and it must be able to perceive you. It remains calm for one minute or for as long as you give it your full attention. Action.

Tier 3

Ability Choice. Choose either Larger Shape or Greater Beast Form as your tier 3 ability.

Larger Shape: When you use Beast Shape, you may now become a creature larger than yourself — up to the size of a large bear or equivalent. Your attacks in this larger form are heavy weapons. Enabler.

Greater Beast Form (3+ Intellect points): In hybrid form, you extend your animal nature further: natural attacks deal 5 points of damage, you gain +1 Armour from hide or natural defences, and you gain +1 to your Might Edge for the duration. If you apply a level of Effort, the hybrid form lasts for one hour rather than ten minutes. Enabler.

Tier 4

Animal Instinct: Your other shape’s instincts now serve you. You gain an asset to initiative tasks and perception tasks. When you use Beast Shape, your recovery rolls cost one fewer action than normal. Enabler.

Tier 5

Enhanced Beast Form: When in beast or hybrid form, your attacks deal 2 additional points of damage and you gain +1 to Armour. Enabler.

Tier 6

Ability Choice. Choose either Perfect Control or Apex Form as your tier 6 ability.

Perfect Control: Involuntary shifts can no longer occur. You are immune to any effect that would force you to transform against your will. Additionally, you may shift as a free action (no cost, no action) once per round. Enabler.

Apex Form (4 Intellect points): Your beast form reaches its fullest expression. When you shift, choose one of the following for the duration: gain +2 Armour, deal 3 additional points of damage with all attacks, or move an additional short distance as part of any action. Enabler.