OIF Armor and Shape Shift

[Sociotard]

If I'm wearing some armor, and I shape shift, does the armor shift to match? What if it's not just a human to human shift? If I turn into a horse can it turn into barding? What about related odds and ends? If I wear a backpack and turn into a dog, does the pack change into a pack a canine could wear? Or would these things require a cosmetic transform?

[tesuji]

Re: OIF Armor and Shape Shift

 

The answer to all those questions is "maybe"? It all depends on how you want the power your character to have to work, and then buying the right effects for it.

 

For example: lets say you want to be able to turn into many shapes and to have the defense of barding if you shift into such a form. YOU DECIDED to answer the question for yourself as "YES".

 

So you buy a bunch of shapeshift to suit your needs. I will leave that to you.

 

You then need the armor stuff, so you buy an amount of armor up to the maz hardness you think you will be able to copy. So lets assume you think steel plates and such like old fantasy armor is about the toughest your character can do... YOU decide that for yourself.

 

So then you buy:

 

ARMOR 10 rPD and 10 rED (30 ap)

-1/4 (linked to constant power: Shapeshift)

-1/4 (visible, note that some GMs might say this is part of shapeshift linkage)

final rp cost for the ability to have armor if you shift to a form with armor: 20 rp.

 

If YOU decided that your shifting would simply look like armor but still be "flesh" and not be protective, don't buy the armor power.

[tesuji]

Re: OIF Armor and Shape Shift

 

Whether shapeshift would take your foci along with you, is a matter of SFX.

 

if its a wizard spell, i could see them going along, maybe.

if its a werwwolf shift or other more natural transform, i would doubt it. This could be considered an aspect of the foci limitation, with "while shapeshifted to innappropriate form being a case where "you cannot have your focus" along the same lines as not being able to take your gun to a dinner party.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: OIF Armor and Shape Shift

 

I'd echo Tesuji's answer - MAYBE. It's up to you to define it.

 

As I read your question, the character is a natural shapeshifter with artificial OIF armor. SO you would decide whether the armor shapeshifts as a function of the character's powers (ie no matter what shape he takes, the armor modifies its own shape to conform) or is immutablke, such that a nonhumanoid form results in the armor becoming nonfunctional.

 

As the armor is OIF, it would have to be obvious regardless of what form the character takes. If he wants to shapeshift into, say, a mouse so he can eavesdrop, he may need to take the armor off to be an inobtrusive mouse. That's part of the OIF limitation.

 

If the armor won't shapeshift, a further limitation should be applied that the Armor doesn't work when in inappropriate forms. The value of that limitation will depend on how often the character will be unable to use his armor (ie how often he would expect to use his nonhumanoid form). If I was looking over the character, I'd have to assess whether this should be a limitation on the Armor ("Does not work outside humanoid form") or the Shapeshift ("armor does not add to DEF in such forms" on the relevant adders").

 

Another option would be to buy the Armor OIF and the relevant shapeshift adders as two slots in the same multipower, but that relies on your GM being willing to allow only some shapeshift adders as a multipower slot, with the rest of your shapeshift outside the MP. [i suppose you could buy all the Shift in the MP and make it a standard slot, but that provides more choice than the concept should).

[PhilFleischmann]

Re: OIF Armor and Shape Shift

 

I'm not sure if this is part of your concern, but I'd say that in general, equipment not paid for with character points, should not be included in the shapeshift. If you paid points for it, then in general, it wouldn't be a problem to include it in the SS.

[Hugh Neilson]

Re: OIF Armor and Shape Shift

 

I'm not sure if this is part of your concern' date=' but I'd say that in general, equipment not paid for with character points, should not be included in the shapeshift. If you paid points for it, then in general, it wouldn't be a problem to include it in the SS.[/quote']

 

D'OH! I'm assuming because he says OIF that he did pay points for it, but I agree that equipment not paid for in character points should not carry over through a shape shift.

[Dust Raven]

Re: OIF Armor and Shape Shift

 

As a default, Shapeshift doesn't change any of your Powers in any way. So if you paid for OIF Armor, you'd have it regardless of how you shapeshifted. On the downside, it'd would not only still be obvious, but also look like the type of armor (with the same design) the unshapeshifted character has.

 

If you wanted a character that couldn't take Foci with him, you could put a Limitation on the Shapeshift (-1/4 to -1, depending upon the natur of your Shapeshift Power and the Foci you have). In this case, you'd have the option to say that any Foci (along with other possessions) are dropped, or absorbed. In either case you don't have them while shifted, but in the latter you'd automaticlaly have them when you unshift (and won't be naked).

 

If you wanted the armor to alter to an appropriate style to fit your altered shape, you could put Variable SFX on the Armor (at the +1/4 level). If you wanted to have the protection of the armor, but not have it visible at all, just leave off the Focus Limitation in the first place, and define it's appearance in your normal shape as part of it's SFX.