Shapeshifet Adepts Options

[xaos]

I was making a Shapeshifer Adept character, and wanted to take Increased Attribute (Str) and (bod). My Question - Do these powers apply to both the human and animal form? Just the human? Just the animal?

[REM]

Just the human. No Physad powers work on animal as far as i know.

[Lilt]

By canon it's just the human, although there are many people with houserules on that.

[spotlite]

Yeah. Just human. Its never come up in our games, but if it did I'd allow the powers to work in animal form if they paid for them again. Alternatively if a player only wanted their powers to work in animal form I'd let them do that too. Basically I'd make them specify when they buy a power which form it can be used on, and let them pay double if they wanted it to work in both.

[Glyph]

If you want to houserule adept powers for shapeshifters, you will have to decide how some of the powers work. Take improved reflexes, for example. Do you allow only the highest initiative bonus to work, or do you "stack" the bonuses, since the 'shifter's normal initiative bonuses are "natural"? Plus, since 'shifters use the critter rules for combat in their animal form, they use Reaction to attack. So how would improved ability for combat work? Plus, improved reflexes increases Reaction. A 'shifter with improved reflexes: 3 gets +6 Reaction, so that power is essentially giving them a high initiative and 6 bonus dice to combat (only since the actual Reaction is increased, it is even better, since they can spend more Combat Pool). You also have to decide if powers work in both forms, or have to be bought separately for each form.

[The Burning One]

While I'm sure the reaction for attack works fine for NPC shifters in the case of PC shifters I fully expect them to have the necessary unarmed combat form to use their natural attacks. A variant of cyber-implant combat seems appropriate as that covers the use of implanted claws, fangs and horns which duplicate many of the natural weapons seen on animals.

At the same time though I disagree with adept abilities only working in human form. You're being penalized enough by playing a magically active shapeshifter that (initially at least) you'll be grossly underpowered compared to the rest of the group. As far as I'm concerened adept abilities work equally well in human or animal form and stack with what's already there. I mean the idea that buying an ability to increase reaction/initiative would actually slow down some shape shifters (those with +2D6 Init) seems somewhat absurd.

Does this mean that some shifters will potentially end up with 6D6 initiative? Yup but a sammy at character generation can technically end up with 5D6 initiative by buying Boosted Reflexes and Synaptic Accelerators, so I fail to see how it's unbalanced considering what is already possible.

TBO

[Grey]

I wouldn't make them use a seperate skill for their natural weapons.

[Lilt]

Personally I'd give them a free melee combat skill for their animal form, usable only for animal-form attacks, equal to their reaction (possibly maxxed at 6). They would need to buy and use skills normally for their human form.

I've never had anyone try to play a shifter in my game, let alone a shifter adept, but I'd probably allow a shifer adept to at-least choose which form each ability applies to (similar to how they have two sets of physical attributes). Some abilities could apply to both or give you the same power at a reduced (halved?) level in the other form if I felt kind.

[The Burning One]