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My World View - Shifters

General

Pure-blooded shifters are the only ones referred to as shapeshifters in their community - the rest are merely shifters. The number of pure-bloods, however, has been constantly diminishing. Because of their abilities, shapeshifters (and shifters) can mate with any species they are capable of transforming into. With this great diversity of choice, it is little wonder that open-minded shapeshifters often end up falling for one not of their own kind, thus watering down the species. This has caused some shapeshifters to attempt a rescue of the species, encouraging shifters to mate with other shifters, and shapeshifters to mate with other shapeshifters.

Anyone with a drop of shapeshifter blood if referred to as a shifter. If you're a tomato plant, and several generations back some shapeshifter spent some time as a tomato plant and pollinated one of your ancestors, then you're a shifter and may be capable of changing your form. However, shapeshifters are often mistrusted in communities because of the deceitful nature of their powers. Therefore, when desiring to live among humans (for example), a shapeshifter will approach the community in human form, perhaps never revealing that he is a shapeshifter, even to his wife and children. Though the children are shifters, they will likely never discover that they can change their forms. Even if, when they are grown, they discover the secret, it is more than likely they will be unable to shift. They have lived their entire lives in one body, and that body is likely closely intertwined in their sense of self. Unless they can somehow reject the idea that their body is an unmutable part of their own identity, they will never be able to change their forms.

Shapeshifters and shifters tend to be exceptionally long lived. They also tend to be very open minded and tolerant individuals, without any sort of racial bias, since it is difficult to find a species that has not mothered or fathered a shifter.

Abilities

Pure-blooded shapeshifters can generally do all of these things, with varying degrees of success. For this reason, they are generally far too powerful to use in a roleplaying scenario. Shifters may only be able to do a few, with little success, depending on how watered down their shifter blood is. It is rather unpredictable which abilities a shifter will have, and what degree of success they will have with them.

Increasing and decreasing mass - One measure of a shapeshifter's power is the ability to increase and decrease mass. The largest size he can achieve in any form, and the smallest size he can achieve in any form. Shapeshifters are generally able to increase and decrease their mass in any form; shifters may not be able to do so at all, or may only be able to do so when going from one form to another.

Changing shape - Perhaps one of the most important measures of a shapeshifter's power is how flexible it is in changing its shape. There are two facets to this: becoming a different creature or object, and modifying your appearance in any form. Injuries and scars, however, carry over from form to form not matter how good you are at this. Shapeshifters are often able to turn into just about any object they can dream up, as well as stretch their limbs and bodies as though made of rubber, make strategic holes in themselves, create clothing from part of their mass, change their hair color or the shape of their nose, and so forth. Shifters are generally confined to changing into only a few different animals and objects, and can only make minor modifications, such as changing hair color. Their have been a very few number of shifters who are capable of stretching their limbs and making holes in themselves, and often those few cannot change their shape in any other way (i.e. they only have the one form they were born with.) Some shapeshifters can use this ability to change the shape of their own blood, even after it has left their bodies, though this is somewhat tiring. Shifters have been known to be capable of such things, but the energy drain is far worse for them; often they pass out afterwards. Healing is also possible through this ability, but it is quite difficult and requires total concentration. It is a slow process, not particularly useful in combat, and also tends to use up massive amounts of energy.

Changing aura - Shapeshifters are capable of disguising their magical/spiritual/mental/etc auras. This is a rare talent, and even most pure-blooded shapeshifters aren't very good at it. Those that are generally seem less capable in other areas. Shifters seem to have had better luck with this ability, but the same rule of being mediocre in other areas applies.

Taking items into your own body - Shapeshifters can generally store objects in the same place they store their extra mass. This is easier when the shapeshifter is more familiar with the object he or she is trying to store. While shapeshifters can generally do this after examining an object for a day, it often takes months of being familiar with an object for shifters with this ability to even attempt such a thing. Objects stored in this way can be retrieved instantaneously; shifters commonly use this for clothing.

Creating multiple bodies - An odd talent, some shapeshifters can create multiple bodies for themselves, often up to ten. This is generally only attempted by those who are particularly hyperactive, have short attention spans, or are very, very good at multi-tasking. You see, while the shapeshifter can split his body, he has only one mind with which to control all the copies of himself running about...this will often lead to several of the bodies idling, standing still and staring off into space, while the others run around and do things. The most useful part of this technique is that, even if one of the bodies is destroyed, so long as one body remains alive, the shapeshifter lives. Shifters have never been known to split themselves into more than three, and that is very rare indeed. Shapeshifters and shifters will feel pain from all of their bodies, no matter which one they happen to be concentrating on at the time. They can reabsorb their other bodies, living or dead, but doing so makes them feel suddenly fatigued (particularly when reabsorbing a body that is dead.)

Hreni

Hreni means "tainted" in the shifter tongue. Hreni are shapeshifters born with a rare genetic disorder which causes them to lose all control over their shifting abilities. This means that, every few minutes, they become something else entirely. It is seen as a mercy to kill these children at birth, because they often are driven insane by their constantly changing forms. Some parents cling to hope, however, and allow their tainted children to live.