Shifters

Those who Change

Application Only, Sightings Must be Approved by Lore Team

History

Shifters are long forgotten creatures that have been lost to the forces of time throughout history due to their ability to blend in with society. They are fabled to be heretical in nature due to their eldritch looking natural appearance, though in reality they have only been trying to blend in with society in order to be accepted. No one is entirely sure what sort of series of events led up to the shifters creation, though the tale often spun is that they were byproducts of a demon's hard work.

Others say that they were the creation of a mad mages own self-ambition, rendering himself changed forever down to his very body due to his abuse of shapeshifting magic. This mage was told to be the first shifter created, having spread his madness to others through some form of manipulation. Due to the dark rumors surrounding their creation, they were often persecuted and witch hunted by paladins of righteous gods. This caused the shifters to become fearful, innately imbuing this into their evolution and giving them a desire to blend in and be accepted. This is the reason as to why the shifters are rarely ever seen, as one does not know they are a shifter due to their exquisite methods of blending into civilization.

Physical Description

In their natural pure form they are seen to be creatures of a pure monochrome color scheme that tends to favor darker colors. They lack faces, simply having a purely round skull with no crevices on its form. Shifters have six long arms, and are often seen ‘stuttering’ passively. This sometimes gives them the perception of having multiple heads that grow out of their shoulders and back at random. They can take on “masculine” or “feminine” body types, however overall they are androgynous. It is entirely possible for a shifter to have hair atop their heads in their pure form but this is a rare occurrence and the hair usually does not grow past the shoulders. Their eyes usually blend in with their body, and they do not have a nose nor normal ears, rendering them unable to smell while in their base form. They hear through small holes in the side of their head, much like a bird. While shifted, a shifter can take on any appearance. It is entirely possible for them to mix up races as well, such as being able to create a human who has both Hanese and Hestark heritage. This however does not mean they can create a Sinnehliv-human hybrid.

• Common Height:
  • Male: 5’5 - 5’10”
  • Female: 5’2 - 5’7”
• Common Build: Ectomorph
• Common Eyes: White, Gray, Black
• Common Hair: White, Gray, Black
• Common Skin Tone: White, Gray, Black

Culture

A shifters culture is entirely dependent on what sort of race they decide to take up as their main form. Shifters are known to hide in just about any and every culture in the world, practicing their religions and very way of life in order to not be exposed for what they truly are. Naturally shifters are paranoid of being found or witch hunted for who they are, giving them a reason to have such precise and intricate forms of adapting to other societies. They tend to enjoy the same foods and activities as the rest of the normal populous of their chosen race do. Rarely ever does a shifter decide to pick a race to go by and live in a place that they would seldom be seen, as usually when a shifters home society were to collapse, they will simply take upon a new form and blend in with another crowd in order to avoid being outcasted as a shifter.

Mechanics

• Lifespan: 400 years
• Able to shapeshift into other races in three turns. This process is extremely painful and can only be done once every two hours. They can naturally transform into any core-race, however can only transform into event races if they are familiarized with the race.
  • The shifter gains all mechanics of the race while in that particular form. A shifter can shift from one race to another with no issue assuming the cooldown has passed. It takes only two turns to shift back to their original form.
    • A shifter young is not able to transform until they are ten years of age.
• A shifter is forced out of their shifted form and into their normal form when they are forced into unconsciousness [Comatose, knocked out with a hammer, etc.] This does NOT include sleeping.
  • While in their basic form, shifters are inherently weak to all forms of harm, magic, divine, or physical. They have higher stamina, endurance and flexibility while unshifted to the point of it being obviously inhuman to compensate for their weaker strength.
  • A shifters strength in base form is equivalent to that of a goblin’s.
  • It takes them twice the amount of time to heal while in a form rather than in their base form, they are able to heal and passively regenerate at twice the speed of a normal person while unshifted.
    • A broken bone that would normally take two months IC [6 OOC days] to heal will take a shifter four months IC [12 OOC days] if they remain shifted, however if they unshift it will only take a month IC [3 OOC days] to heal assuming they are unshifted this entire time.
  • If attacked while regenerating, their regeneration will stop until they haven’t been hurt for 30 OOC minutes.
• Unable to contract diseases and have most other traits.
  • Shifters can take on the appearances of Vallah, Lycanthropes, etc., but not gain their mechanics.
  • This goes the same for any other trait or ability unless aesthetic in nature.
• Two shifters who procreate will create a shifter baby. Shifters cannot procreate with other species, even when transformed.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier