Lair Larrikin
Posts: 17
Joined: Friday, 16th March 2018, 19:22
Species Proposal - Shapeshifter
Shapeshifters start the game with two special abilities, Learn Shape and Change Shape. They also start with one ‘Shape Slot’, so they can learn a single new shape to begin with. Every three levels they will gain a new Shape Slot (1, 4, 7, etc.) with a final slot gained at level 27. Once a Shapeshifter learns a shape, that slot is permanently filled and can never be changed. The MP and hunger costs for Change Shape will vary with the HP of the chosen shape.
Shapeshifters have a permanent -Cast effect. However, this shouldn’t affect abilities granted by a shape, e.g. Spit Poison for Naga’s or Breathe Fire/Cold/etc for Dragons.
Attribute increases would be random.
Arm Ddg Sth Shd Inv Evo HP MP Exp MR
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Shapeshifter 0 +2 +1 -3 0 0 +0% 0 0 +5
Fgt SBl LBl M&F Axs Pla Stv UC Thr Slg Bws Crb
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Shapeshifter +1 -2 -2 -1 -2 -2 0 0 -1 -2 -3 -3
Spc Coj Hex Cha Sum Nec Trl Trm Fir Ice Air Ear Poi
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Shapeshifter -1 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2 0 -2 -2 -2 -2 -2
Special Abilities
Ability - do what? Cost Failure
l - Learn Shape None 0%
Learn the shape of a corpse on the current square. You must have an empty Shape Slot. Learning a shape is permanent.
Learning a shape requires the player to be standing over a fresh corpse of the race whose shape they want to learn. The corpse is completely used up in the process (no skeleton is left). This also reduces hunger by an amount that is the same as if the player had butchered and eaten all chunks from the corpse. Learning a shape also changes the Shapeshifter into that shape (without any chance of failure and without the usual MP/hunger costs). After learning their first shape a Shapeshifter is no longer able to change back into their original ‘larval’ form, but will always be in one learned shape or another.
This ability costs: nothing.
Ability - do what? Cost Failure
c - Change Shape 1-9MP, Hunger 30%
Change your shape to one selected from your learned shapes. On failure you will change into a shape randomly selected from your learned shapes. Failure chance would decrease with XL, but never below 5% (10%?).
This ability costs: 1-9MP depending on the strength (HP) of the chosen shape. Hunger also increases with strength.
Options
Do away with the -Cast effect, but decrease aptitudes for magic skills.
I suspect early game would be very difficult for a Shapeshifter, so their larval form could have fangs and/or claws. Having both might make it tempting to stay in the larval form for the entire game. Which might be fun, too.
Add a permanent effect that randomly changes the player’s shape similar to the rate of a Ring of Teleportation. Maybe with MP and hunger cost, maybe not.
Or have the first permanent mutation that a player gets automatically be the random shifting one. Once gained it could never be removed.
Each Change Shape could have a chance to remove one temporary effect from the player (beneficial or harmful), and/or heal some damage. That could include magical contamination. Lower chance of it happening for lower power shapes. Maybe 2-4% per MP cost.
Allow a Shapeshifter to learn spells even if they can’t cast them, so they can learn magic skills, so they can use magical staves as weapons? Alternatively, allow any character to learn the appropriate magic skill when a magical staff is equipped (but that's another discussion).
I can see a strong case for preventing the use of Change Shape while polymorphed, since then polymorph would no longer be any threat to a Shapeshifter. I think allowing Change Shape while polymorphed would be in character, but might be unbalanced.
Notes
My concept of a Shapeshifter is largely built on the True Game books by Sheri Tepper, so that influnces most of my ideas here.
A person who could take on so many useful shapes would have very little need for technology or magic, so lower aptitudes the more 'advanced' a weapon. I can even see changing most of the -2's to -3's.
Shapeshifters would never be able to learn shapes that don’t leave a corpse, so no undead, demons, jellies, etc.
Named monsters would not provide any benefit over normal monsters of the same race. Same for stronger versions of a race, e.g. Centaur Warrior, Big Kobolds.
Current shape would influence size, movement speed and abilities (fly, water, etc), resistances in some cases, natural weapons (claws, fangs, etc) and in some cases special abilities like a Dragon's breath weapon. It might also determine the presence or absence of some equipment slots with equipment in missing slots 'melded' as with Transmutations. Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence would also be influenced toward the normal range for the race. HP, MP and all skills would remain the same.
Strategy would be slightly less dependent on chance than a Transmuter finding appropriate spell books, but the Shapeshifter would still need to find, kill and get a corpse from a desired race. That means that before they can shift into a Gold Dragon or Titan or other powerful creature, they would have to be able to kill one. I’m not sure if this chicken/egg problem would be surmountable or not. They would also need to balance the needs of a new shape now, versus saving slots for powerful shapes later in the game.
Two different strategies might involve going all in on unarmed combat and choosing shapes with natural weapons, or instead going for shapes with high strength/dexterity and training an appropriate weapon with all the benefits of having branded/bonused weapons. Either way, a wide variety of movement, resistance and ranged abilities would be important.
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