Alter Shape

[ronpyatt]

How could I build a form of shapeshifting that allows the character to change their skin tone, move body fat, alter their bone structure, is painful to perform the change because it damages their tissue, and it heals back to "normal" as if they'd taken BODY damage or they can shift back with another painful use of this power?

[prestidigitator]

Re: Alter Shape

 

Transform might be a good one. Normally you shouldn't use Transform on yourself, but I don't see a reason not to when it is simply a cosmetic change, and we have the whole "Instant Change" example to go by.

 

Otherwise, I suppose Shapeshift with Side Effects and Reduced Endurance: 0 End, Persistent, and probably Time Limit?

[sobran]

Re: Alter Shape

 

Transform might be a good one. Normally you shouldn't use Transform on yourself, but I don't see a reason not to when it is simply a cosmetic change, and we have the whole "Instant Change" example to go by.

 

Otherwise, I suppose Shapeshift with Side Effects and Reduced Endurance: 0 End, Persistent, and probably Time Limit?

I agree that in this particular case, a Transform effect most closely resembles what the OP outlined, particularly because of the "heals back shapeshifting as BODY damage" thing. There is something to note here though. Body damage, in the absence of a Healing ability, comes back quite slowly.

 

Under 5th Edition Revised, Transform requires a character to heal back the amount of Body that was required to make a character transform in the first place (not the total amount rolled). A character heals REC in Body each month. This means that for a character with a modest 10 Body and a REC of 7 (kind of high), it would still take 3 months for the shapeshift to return to normal.

 

I'm not sure exactly what SFX you are going for here, but I suspect the second option outlined here would be a better bet. Set a Time Limit and use Side Effects, as Prest suggested. Assuming you want a character that can change their coloration, general shape (so long as it remains humanoid), and can imitate the appearance of others, but cannot change their total amount of mass, the clothes they are wearing, or the way their voice sounds, I would construct it something like this:

 

Shape Shift (Sight and Touch Groups, limited group of shapes), Imitation, Costs END Only To Change Shape (+1/4) (41 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (Drains 3 DEX when used; DEX returns at a rate of 1 per Turn; -1), Affects Body Only (-1/2)

Final Real Point Cost: 16. END Cost: 3. I might consider slapping Increased END on there if you want to make it more tiring to use. Note the use of Side Effect. To simulate the change being painful, I created a Side Effect that drains 3 DEX each time the change is used. The DEX returns at a rate of 1 per Turn, which means you could potentially change often enough that you begin losing DEX faster than you get it back. The fact that this Power is Constant rather than Persistent means that you would return to normal if knocked out or if you go to sleep. For a true time limit, you could replace Reduced END with Charges, but it would limit the amount of times you could shift per day. I believe 6th Edition includes a true Time Limit Limitation.

 

Obviously this is built with 5th Edition Revised rules. I am unsure how this would change under 6th Edition, but it should give you a baseline to get you started. Often, examining someone's build and going through the book to see what the Advantages and Limitations they used do, is a great way to increase your understanding of the Hero System.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Alter Shape

 

I'd re-invent shapeshifting, replacing the ability to shift mass (which no one will ever convince me is a matter of touch-sensing) with an adder. It is not the cost it is the verisimilitude.

 

....OK, working in the real world:

 

Shape Shift (Sight and Touch Groups, limited group of shapes) (18 Active Points); Side Effects, Side Effect occurs automatically whenever Power is used (3d6 normal damage; -1/2), Limited Power Power loses about a fourth of its effectiveness (Shape reverts to original form as character deals the side effect damage; -1/4) 18 AP 10 RP

 

Interestingly this would limit the number of new forms the character could take (or they die - 3d6 normal damage does (on average) 10 or 11 stun and 3 Body) and mean they could be revealed with a healing power application. That is pretty neat. Nice idea, ronpyatt!

 

NB the mass shifting does not need a limitation IMO as shapeshift can only work with what is there - you need stretching or growth/shrinking/DI to change actual mass or substantially chance volume, and is kind of covered by the 'limited group of shapes' bit anyway.

[sobran]

Re: Alter Shape

 

I like your build Sean. The time to heal a single shift would be about 2 weeks for a PC with a REC of 6, assuming only natural healing. This seems much more reasonable than the 3 months the Transorm power would result in. I would add the Only Affects Body Limitation to reflect that it doesn't Shape Shift clothes, as the base power does.

[Sean Waters]

Re: Alter Shape

 

I like your build Sean. The time to heal a single shift would be about 2 weeks for a PC with a REC of 6' date=' assuming only natural healing. This seems much more reasonable than the 3 months the Transorm power would result in. I would add the Only Affects Body Limitation to reflect that it doesn't Shape Shift clothes, as the base power does.[/quote']

 

 

Good point: we tend to forget clothes*.

 

 

 

*But the police tend to remind us

[sobran]

Re: Alter Shape

 

While I'm on the subject, I should probably add that Sean's construct could do with Reduced END and either Persistent or Uncontrolled. Probably the latter. Otherwise, the ability will have a practical limit of two uses per month before the user risks killing himself (unless he has some way to heal faster than normal). Actually, the Reduced END and Persistent/Uncontrolled won't increase the number of possible uses, but it will make each shift able to last longer than one day, giving it a chance to last about two weeks. Constant Powers (as Shape Shift as a default), will turn off if the user loses consciousness.

 

Hmm. I suppose you could forgoe Reduced END and Persistent/Uncontrolled and instead opt for lots of Meth use. I suspect that might come with some Side Effects though. Judging by Sean's comments, they may go something like:

 

Transform: self only; normal person to person with no clothes

[Sean Waters]

Re: Alter Shape

 

While I'm on the subject, I should probably add that Sean's construct could do with Reduced END and either Persistent or Uncontrolled. Probably the latter. Otherwise, the ability will have a practical limit of two uses per month before the user risks killing himself (unless he has some way to heal faster than normal). Actually, the Reduced END and Persistent/Uncontrolled won't increase the number of possible uses, but it will make each shift able to last longer than one day, giving it a chance to last about two weeks. Constant Powers (as Shape Shift as a default), will turn off if the user loses consciousness.

 

Hmm. I suppose you could forgoe Reduced END and Persistent/Uncontrolled and instead opt for lots of Meth use. I suspect that might come with some Side Effects though. Judging by Sean's comments, they may go something like:

 

 

This touches on one of my (many) issues with 'side effects': although they provide the same cost break, a side effect that causes 9 Stun and a side effect that causes 3 Body have massively different impact in terms of recovery.

 

You'll be rid of the Stun loss within seconds, whereas it can take weeks to lose the Body damage.

 

The same concern applies to some Disadvantages/Complications.

 

I think this needs a good hard look at.

 

Anyway, probably not the place to discuss it...

[prestidigitator]

Re: Alter Shape

 

Hmm. Well, Sean, your proposal sparked a couple more ideas on my end too. What about a Suppress Body for that Side Effect? Or some of the character's Body bought with the Lockout Limitation or something? Things that make you go, "Hmmmm."

[ronpyatt]

Re: Alter Shape

 

Those are great ideas.

 

The idea I had for this power was for a psychic (in a Heroic world with Psionics) that could alter his flesh even down to the cellular level, rewiring himself with new features. It's would not be just cosmetic.

 

However, the resetting of bone and moving tissues would be a very painful and damaging process. Doing it too often would kill him or at least put him in the hospital for a while. The recovery back to normal should take as long as his BODY takes to heal naturally.

He could remake himself back to what he thinks is normal for himself, but again he would take more damage to "change back". (He will most likely befriend a healer of some sort.)

 

He could change his features into a wide variety of things, but limited to whatever (real world) flesh can be shaped into: claws; hardened or silky skin; fangs; elongated webbed feet. If he were to push his abilities for even more drastic changes, he could move the placement of the eyes in his skull or greatly increase the capacity of his lungs.

 

He would not have the ability to add mass, though I guess he could increase his mass by altering his metabolism and eating a lot. Then he'd have more flesh to work with.

 

If I were to use Transform, I'd go with 25% of the Transform damage would also be BODY damage to represent the ruptured tissue. Partial Transform would be a must.

 

I also thought about using a VPP.

[prestidigitator]

Re: Alter Shape

 

"Cosmetic" in the context of Transform is really referring to how much game effect the change has. The change in question affects how the character appears (maybe even to unusual senses and at a microscopic level), but does it affect his Characteristics, Powers, or the way he interacts with the world in a mechanical sense? If not, I think I'd call it Cosmetic.

[sobran]

Re: Alter Shape

 

Those are great ideas.

 

The idea I had for this power was for a psychic (in a Heroic world with Psionics) that could alter his flesh even down to the cellular level, rewiring himself with new features. It's would not be just cosmetic.

 

However, the resetting of bone and moving tissues would be a very painful and damaging process. Doing it too often would kill him or at least put him in the hospital for a while. The recovery back to normal should take as long as his BODY takes to heal naturally.

He could remake himself back to what he thinks is normal for himself, but again he would take more damage to "change back". (He will most likely befriend a healer of some sort.)

 

He could change his features into a wide variety of things, but limited to whatever (real world) flesh can be shaped into: claws; hardened or silky skin; fangs; elongated webbed feet. If he were to push his abilities for even more drastic changes, he could move the placement of the eyes in his skull or greatly increase the capacity of his lungs.

 

He would not have the ability to add mass, though I guess he could increase his mass by altering his metabolism and eating a lot. Then he'd have more flesh to work with.

 

If I were to use Transform, I'd go with 25% of the Transform damage would also be BODY damage to represent the ruptured tissue. Partial Transform would be a must.

 

I also thought about using a VPP.

This is a whole other ball of wax when compared to what I thought you were saying. Ordinarilly I would suggest Multiform, but that doesn't work to well with a metamorph that can mix and match the attributes they use. I can see this working two ways.

 

1) A VPP with the Side Effect that 1 Body damage is inflicted for each X Active points that are swapped out in the VPP. Just work backwards to find X. First decide what a reasonable amount of Body would be, so you don't kill yourself if you swap out the whole pool while at full health. Divide Body into the Active points of the pool. Assign Side Effect value. Or that's how I'd do it. Presti's suggestion of a Suppress Body is actually a good one. Move it up the time table so it stays suppressed for the length of time you desire, with an additional limitation stating that the VPP empties of powers when the Suppression ends. For increased realism at the cost of book keeping, pro rate the Active Points of the VPP over the time period, so that the powers heal back gradually.

 

2) A Multipower with a variety of Fixed and Variable slots corresponding to the various modifications the character tends to make to himself. This is more straightforward at the cost of versatility.

 

Honestly, I would go with the VPP and simply stat out a bunch of powers as if you were going the Multipower route. This is actually recommended for VPPs anyway, to keep the game flowing smoothly during play.