I came up with this new spell, with some help from a friend. What do you guys think? Anything in particular you think needs to be added? Anything that needs to be changed? I want to hear your thoughts!

I'm thinking this will also work well for superheroes like Ant-Man/Giant Man, the Atom, the Hulk, Mystique, etc.

Shape-Change: Make an Average Discipline check to shift one of your characteristic points (increase one characteristic while decreasing another). Can be used on an engaged target other than yourself using a contested Discipline vs Discipline check. You remain in shapeshifted form until you make another check to change back or until you are incapacitated, while other targets remain shapeshifted for rounds equal to your ranks in Knowledge.

· Range: Can affect targets an additional range band away (Can be taken multiple times)

· Additional Targets: Can affect one additional target (Can be taken multiple times)

· Greater Shape Change: Increase difficulty by 1 to increase number of characteristics points shifted by 1

· Size-Changing: Increase difficulty by 1 to increase or decrease Silhouette by 1 (Can be taken multiple times)

· Change Appearance: Increase difficulty by 1 to exactly match the appearance of another individual or otherwise shape the outward appearance as you see fit

· Bestial Change: Increase difficulty by 1 to gain natural weapons (Damage: +2, Skill: Brawl, Range: Engaged, Critical: 3, Vicious 1)

· Aquatic Change: Increase difficulty by 1 to gain the Aquatic ability

· Avian Change: Increase difficulty by 2 to gain the Flight ability

· Improved Bestial Change: Increase difficulty by 2 to gain natural weapons (Damage +4, Skill: Ranged (Heavy), Range: Medium, Critical: 2, Vicious 2)

· Supreme Shape Change: Increase difficulty by 2 to increase or decrease 1 characteristic (without decreasing/increasing another)

· Uncontrolled Change: Decrease difficulty by 1, but on a Despair on any check, or if your character goes above their strain threshold, the GM gains control of your character as they go on a rampage (cannot be used on a target other than yourself)

Not terrible, new magic action I'm guessing as well?

I'm still waiting for my copy here in Germany but I already like everything I've read so far coming from this community. Shape shifting would be a must have for a Druid, so all thumbs up from me

That’s a nice setup

Overall:

1 hour ago, Richardbuxton said:

That’s a nice setup

Just:

I'm aware that Flight is more versatile an ability than Aquatic, but I don't think the physical change is more difficult or extensive. I'd rather the difficulty increase (i.e. by 1) be the same, balance not so much being an issue here as narrative consistency.

This is very good. Where would you put "reshape your appearance for disguises and infiltration"? It could work as part of the "base" power?

What about changing another character besides yourself

And what about changing, age/species/gender/appearance (it's not just appearance because I'm assuming it's a biological change)

Also I'm not sure about how much greater shape change allows attributes to be shifted, for example could it change an int 4, presence 2 character into an int 1, presence 5 nymph, or is it limited to int 3 presence 3 or int 2 presence 4?

6 hours ago, Grimmerling said:

Overall:

Just:

I'm aware that Flight is more versatile an ability than Aquatic, but I don't think the physical change is more difficult or extensive. I'd rather the difficulty increase (i.e. by 1) be the same, balance not so much being an issue here as narrative consistency.

I’d disagree. Aquatic you are mostly just getting gills and perhaps some webbing between your fingers and toes. Flight means you are getting two entirely new limbs and potentially a completely different skeletal structure along with it. (Birds skeletons are very different from ours.) So for both gameplay balance and narrative consistency, I’d say a difficulty increase of 2 makes sense. Remember, you can always use magical items to make it easier.

3 hours ago, Cyvaris said:

This is very good. Where would you put "reshape your appearance for disguises and infiltration"? It could work as part of the "base" power?

I’ll add a “increase difficulty by one to exactly match the appearance of another individual you have seen before”.

1 hour ago, EliasWindrider said:

What about changing another character besides yourself

And what about changing, age/species/gender/appearance (it's not just appearance because I'm assuming it's a biological change)

Also I'm not sure about how much greater shape change allows attributes to be shifted, for example could it change an int 4, presence 2 character into an int 1, presence 5 nymph, or is it limited to int 3 presence 3 or int 2 presence 4?

I created the spell to work as the character being a shape-shifter, but it can easily be modified to be a polymorph spell as well. Just make it so it only works on engaged targets, and add the Ranged and Additional Target upgrades as possibilities.

Also, greater shape shifting can be added multiple times. So for an Average check you can move 1 characteristic point around, for a Hard check you can move a total of 2 characteristic points, Daunting 3, Formidable 4. So yes, if you made the check difficult enough, you could turn a genius into a nymph. Though personally I find the fact you want to change people into Int 1 bimbos somewhat disconcerting.

I made some edits, adding in some of your recommendations. It can now be used in a Mystique-like fashion or as a polymorph.

Interesting baseline for a classic fantasy trapping. I am not sure why this special power seems to be regularly left out of more current fantasy releases (Green Ronin had the same omission when they released Fantasy Age...last year?/year before?)

Curious about the ranged attack and the doubled damage from the melee listing. Would it better (purely speculative) to have it be a baseline +2 and establish how much of a damage increase occurs per difficulty point added?

2 minutes ago, Grymmie said:

Interesting baseline for a classic fantasy trapping. I am not sure why this special power seems to be regularly left out of more current fantasy releases (Green Ronin had the same omission when they released Fantasy Age...last year?/year before?)

Curious about the ranged attack and the doubled damage from the melee listing. Would it better (purely speculative) to have it be a baseline +2 and establish how much of a damage increase occurs per difficulty point added?

Yeah, I found it interesting they didn’t add it in, but it was easy to create, so I’m not upset.

The ranged attack was my friend’s idea, because some creatures you could change into have natural ranged attacks, like a Manticore flinging its tail spikes, or creatures that spit acid. I wasn’t sure how exactly to make it work, but that was what I came up with.

Is there a reason you went with a new magical action instead of building on the augment action? I only ask because your bestial change is already covered by the augment action's primal fury effect: +Knowledge ranks to unarmed damage and a crit of 3.

Instead of moving around characteristic points, I'd add the ability to upgrade chosen characteristics an additional time. Limited changes (only needing to remember one special thing instead of multiple) goes over better at the table. The more you have to remember, the more likely something will be forgotten.

Most of the rest of your upgrades can be added to the augment action with little modification.

8 minutes ago, c__beck said:

Is there a reason you went with a new magical action instead of building on the augment action? I only ask because your bestial change is already covered by the augment action's primal fury effect: +Knowledge ranks to unarmed damage and a crit of 3.

Instead of moving around characteristic points, I'd add the ability to upgrade chosen characteristics an additional time. Limited changes (only needing to remember one special thing instead of multiple) goes over better at the table. The more you have to remember, the more likely something will be forgotten.

Most of the rest of your upgrades can be added to the augment action with little modification.

Because changing your shape is often not about just being augmented. It often is a trade-off. When you grow really big, you gain Brawn but lose Agility. When you shrink really small, you lose Brawn but gain Agility. When you turn into a bird, you don’t just gain wings, you also lose Brawn and gain Agility. When you become a werewolf, you don’t just get greater Brawn & Agility, you also lose some Willpower and Intellect. The Hulk loses Intellect and gains Brawn when he changes. Mystique is pretty hot, but when she changes her body to someone like Wolverine, she gives up some of that Presence to gain a bit of Brawn and Agility. It isn’t so much about augmenting yourself as it is becoming something else.

Just now, Johan Marek Phoenix Knight said:

Because changing your shape is often not about just being augmented. It often is a trade-off. When you grow really big, you gain Brawn but lose Agility. When you shrink really small, you lose Brawn but gain Agility. When you turn into a bird, you don’t just gain wings, you also become physical weaker, but also faster. When you become a werewolf, you don’t just get greater Brawn & Agility, you also lose some Willpower and Intellect. The Hulk loses Intellect and gains Brawn when he changes. Mystique is pretty hot, but when she changes her body to someone like Wolverine, she gives up some of that Presence to gain a bit of Brawn and Agility. It isn’t so much about augmenting yourself as it is becoming something else.

Fair points, all.

this could lead into an entire discussion about transhuman settings where stats are half based on the consciousness within, the other half based on the sleeve/frame.

I don't have the book in front of me, so pardon my question if it's a sidetrack, but how does a caster maintain the new shape? I recall reading that spell maintenance is a maneuver, so effectively that means if they do anything other than stand still and take an action, they're going to be on a very short timer before running out of strain. Two maneuvers per round is a 2 strain cost, correct?

Related question: is maintaining a spell as a maneuver per spell ? The fuse keeps getting shorter.

5 minutes ago, Dragonshadow said:

I don't have the book in front of me, so pardon my question if it's a sidetrack, but how does a caster maintain the new shape? I recall reading that spell maintenance is a maneuver, so effectively that means if they do anything other than stand still and take an action, they're going to be on a very short timer before running out of strain. Two maneuvers per round is a 2 strain cost, correct?

Related question: is maintaining a spell as a maneuver per spell ? The fuse keeps getting shorter.

Maybe you can add the caveat that the spells duration lasts 1 round/minute/etc per rank in Knowledge : Nature for a magical primal spell, or per rank in Discipline for your Supers example?

Allows them to have an extended duration of effect that gets better the more skilled they are, but does not require them to be stationary or burning through their strain over much.

...or maybe just give it a flat "until the end of the encounter" clause for a simple solution.

14 minutes ago, Dragonshadow said:

I don't have the book in front of me, so pardon my question if it's a sidetrack, but how does a caster maintain the new shape? I recall reading that spell maintenance is a maneuver, so effectively that means if they do anything other than stand still and take an action, they're going to be on a very short timer before running out of strain. Two maneuvers per round is a 2 strain cost, correct?

Related question: is maintaining a spell as a maneuver per spell ? The fuse keeps getting shorter.

You can put a time limit on it if you want, but I honestly wasn’t planning on putting any time limit on it. Characters like the Hulk or Mystique don’t have time limits on how long they can stay in their “shapeshifted” form, and while I haven’t played D&D, in WoW druids don’t have a time limit on their animal forms. Also, the other shapeshifting type abilities I have seen used in this system (Mongrel species in Genesys and Clawdite species in EotE) don’t have a time limit on their changes.

The main thing with this is that it is more about versatility than enhancement. If you feel it still needs a time limit, feel free. I don’t see the need though. I would, instead, make it so you need to make another check to change back.

13 minutes ago, Johan Marek Phoenix Knight said:

You can put a time limit on it if you want, but I honestly wasn’t planning on putting any time limit on it. Characters like the Hulk or Mystique don’t have time limits on how long they can stay in their “shapeshifted” form, and while I haven’t played D&D, in WoW druids don’t have a time limit on their animal forms. Also, the other shapeshifting type abilities I have seen used in this system (Mongrel species in Genesys and Clawdite species in EotE) don’t have a time limit on their changes.

The main thing with this is that it is more about versatility than enhancement. If you feel it still needs a time limit, feel free. I don’t see the need though. I would, instead, make it so you need to make another check to change back.

I think my question might have implied something I didn't mean it to. I'm not arguing in favor of a timer. I'm pointing out that the rules as written seem to impose a rather severe timer. I agree that some effects shouldn't require concentration (or only minimal) and should NOT cause strain simply to maintain. Shapeshifted druids would be a great example, as they're typically able to effortlessly maintain a form indefinitely, or at least quite a long time.

My question was asking for clarification of the rules as written on the topic, which would most likely lead me to realize I have yet another friction point in need of house ruling. Buff spells are another biggie with largely the same set of questions.

34 minutes ago, Palomarus said:

Maybe you can add the caveat that the spells duration lasts 1 round/minute/etc per rank in Knowledge : Nature for a magical primal spell, or per rank in Discipline for your Supers example?

Allows them to have an extended duration of effect that gets better the more skilled they are, but does not require them to be stationary or burning through their strain over much.

...or maybe just give it a flat "until the end of the encounter" clause for a simple solution.

Seems like a perfectly reasonable way to handle the issue. I like the "1 minute per rank in X" Perhaps there could be a similar limit to the # of concurrent effects a caster is maintaining, as well as a chance that getting bonked on the head will end the effects.

1 hour ago, Palomarus said:

Maybe you can add the caveat that the spells duration lasts 1 round/minute/etc per rank in Knowledge : Nature for a magical primal spell, or per rank in Discipline for your Supers example?

Allows them to have an extended duration of effect that gets better the more skilled they are, but does not require them to be stationary or burning through their strain over much.

...or maybe just give it a flat "until the end of the encounter" clause for a simple solution.

For shapeshifting yourself I decided to make it remain until you make a check to shift back or until you are incapacitated, but for changing other people (polymorph) I am using your idea for it lasting rounds equal to your Knowledge ranks.

7 hours ago, Grymmie said:

Interesting baseline for a classic fantasy trapping. I am not sure why this special power seems to be regularly left out of more current fantasy releases (Green Ronin had the same omission when they released Fantasy Age...last year?/year before?)

Curious about the ranged attack and the doubled damage from the melee listing. Would it better (purely speculative) to have it be a baseline +2 and establish how much of a damage increase occurs per difficulty point added?

I'm honestly almost glad it was left out on the first pass, since almost every fantasy setting seems to make it the only "default" magic option for Primal/Druid style characters. I know turning into an animal is a stock Primal spell, but I hate how things like D&D make it practically the only thing the character can truly specialize in.

13 hours ago, Johan Marek Phoenix Knight said:

I created the spell to work as the character being a shape-shifter, but it can easily be modified to be a polymorph spell as well. Just make it so it only works on engaged targets, and add the Ranged and Additional Target upgrades as possibilities.

Also, greater shape shifting can be added multiple times. So for an Average check you can move 1 characteristic point around, for a Hard check you can move a total of 2 characteristic points, Daunting 3, Formidable 4. So yes, if you made the check difficult enough, you could turn a genius into a nymph. Though personally I find the fact you want to change people into Int 1 bimbos somewhat disconcerting.

Shifting attributes from their primary attack Stat to presence could be an effective magical combat tactic. While the int 1 "bimbo" would be effective way to deal with wizards, changing a barbarian to Brawn 1 presence 5 would be effective, change an archer to agility 1 presence 5 would be effective, changing a druid to cunning 1 presence 5 would be effective, changing a cleric to willpower 1, presence 5 would be effective. Presence is currently the only attribute that doesn't have an offensive use. Mentioned "nymph" specifically (and not the others) because I think the bimbo stereotype is funnier than the others.