Shapeshifter

Shapeshifters are creatures who can change their physical form.

Transformation Features

Description

Shapeshifters are creatures who can change their physical form. Whether they were born with this ability, gained it as a result of magical craft or a curse, or received this power from an otherworldly entity, shapeshifters have a unique relationship with their identity. Because shapeshifters can transform into any ancestry — one moment living as a small and nimble faerie and the next as a large and tough galapa — their experiences with the outside world can vary greatly from day to day.

While a shapeshifter is typically indistinguishable from another member of the ancestry they transform into, each shapeshifter has one characteristic that doesn’t change no matter their form, such as their eyes, their coloring, or a unique birthmark. They also can’t mimic a specific person’s appearance, as they become a different version of themselves in a new body.

Taking on a new form also doesn’t allow them to immediately have or use all the new form’s characteristics—they must focus their efforts on the physical characteristics they most want to use. Shapeshifters might need time to learn how to embody a new form, sometimes leading to an uncanny appearance or behavior until they’re accustomed to their body.

Transformation Questions

• You believe you have a “true form,” but you haven’t seen it. What do you think it is, and how do you know it’s there?
• What trick have you developed to identify other shapeshifters?
• Someone you loved dearly abandoned you when they found out about your ability to change shape. Who was it, and what happened?
• What is one form you’ve vowed to never take, and why?
• Which ancestry do you live as more than others? Why do you spend so much time in this form?
• Someone you know can instantly recognize you, no matter your form. How do they claim to identify you and what does their familiarity mean to you?

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Hope & Fear

Shapeshifter

Shapeshifters are creatures who can change their physical form.

Change Shape: During a rest, you can use a downtime move to swap your current ancestry with another. When you do, describe how your appearance changes.

Only Skin Deep: You gain the benefit of only one of your chosen ancestry’s features, which you select when you choose the ancestry. You can use a downtime move to choose a different feature from that ancestry.

Transformation