That's hardly a limitation. Change into a chimp, or other roughly metahuman-sized primate. You keep your hands, you can find armor that fits, you get boosted physical attributes, AND you can throw feces at people. Well, I suppose you could do that before, but being a giant monkey makes it somewhat more acceptable, I think.

Is his partner played by Clint Eastwood?

If we're going to get a [Metahuman] Form spell, then I'd strongly suggest combining it with Endowment:Sapience and Empower Animal: Linguistics. This way, runners who aren't into bestiality can join the First Church of Zoophilla and marry their pets without feeling icky.

As for the original concept, it has been impossible in all editions because it would essentially be an unresistable version of Physical Mask. Then nothing would stop you from disguising yourself as Damien Knight, tossing the real DK into a closet, and taking complete control of Ares.

I love the houserule of Shapechange being an addictive spell, especially an addiction for a particular form. I like the common stories where you change into a wolf/bird/fish too much, eventually you won't ever want to change back. The addiction rules are perfect for that.

There's also the option from Animorphs (which, aside from the ending, was an overall awesome story) that if you spend too much time in one form... you're stuck and can't change back, period.

Ugh ...

Then again, that was SR 3, and it was always dodgy to define if it were possible to do that.

Though I wouldn't exclude specific shapechange spells that can really change you into another metahuman. It's easily done in SR 4th edition.

Wrong!

Nothing in the spells says you can look like a SPECIFIC critter.


An imprentable 'not you' would be possible. Heck nothing even says you would look 'normal' you very likely be a perfect 'generic human' which may not even look actually real (since almost all of us have 'flaws').

Now Tiger form, few people are going to be:
1) Familiar enough with tiger bodies to recognize the difference between an absolute 'generic' tiger and a normal tiger.
2) Few people are going to look close enough to notice, EVEN if they had the above knowledge.

Now 'Human' form, though is different.
1) Human regularly distringuish one from another, by slight imperfections / differences. While a Dragon might have problems (by sight) telling one human from another, Human do it all the time.
2) As a (meta)Human, it is far more likely there will be times people scruntinize you are realize that you look more like a CGI generate 'perfect' human, rather then Joe Average.


Nothing in shapechange says you could impersonate: Peggy the Pregenant Panda that is getting to do a photo-op with the mayor... You might be a Panda, but nothing says you could look like a particular panda. (Now Panda form, Physical Mask, and extended masking (to hide the spells) might work well.)


Now shapechange (metahuman) is a very good way to hide 'yourself' it will blur any sight based (and more then likely scent based) means of identifing you, though it does leave (normally) a nice notiable aura, the risk of being disrupted / dispelled with possible painful results. (and if used regularly a good candidate for addiction).

Thanks buster.

I generally feel addiction or other 'logical' penalties are the preferred way to deal with potential issues.

I would much rather allow something, but give enough drawbacks, to balance it then out-rght disallow it, save for when it clearly does not fit the setting.

And in SR, we have had other use shape-change to appear as meta-humans / chagne gender / etc.

So Elf form, I really dont see as 'out of setting'. So I would want to allow it, yet there is a large potential for abuse.

Addiction issues is the perfect way to settle this (IMO), since it allows the occasional 'oh crap' but if abused I get to abuse the player back just as hard.

Just providing a canon reference from a sourcebook. SR3 it may be, but it's source material rather than printed rules, so still imho valid.

...yes...

Yes it did, but the reference is from the fluff bit, fluff is still valid. If you want to say no to it, that's fine, it's your game you interpret the rules as you see fit. Personally, I have no issue with it, there's a canon reference to it being done, and it's not exactly game breaking; the spell still needs sustaining and you neeed to buy new clothing/armour to go with it.

Same with physical mask, there's reference in UB where they use it to disguise themselves as guards; again it's a none issue to me if they want to use it to do that.

OOOK !!

How do you get this?

SR4 we dont have the all the books. (Atleast I dont have a 'critter' book yet, though dont have the SR4 DM screen so dont know if it came with one).

But SR3:

Spells says it allows the shape of any non-paranormal critter.

Right next to 'standard animals' in the 'Critters' book for SR3 it gives: Standard Meta-human types.

(meta)Humans are critters / animals.

Now the only possible question is are the paranormal critters.... which I would say base line meta(humanity) is not, Ghouls / Vampires and other infected (meta)humans I would consider paranormal.

But humans are listed in the critters book (for SR3) thus Humans are critters, thus shapechange into human is perfectly valid in SR3 raw.