Request for a Species Feat and a couple of campaign ideas ...

[Arakor]

Okay, I've been a little bit busy in the past few weeks but I've delurked to ask some questions ...

1) Has anyone written a Species feat that can grant the Shapeshifter I quality to a player?
I've a player who wants to reprise a character from another campaign (HARP). A female thief with the ability to shift into the form of a mundane crow.

2) In terms of campaign settings, has anyone looked at the Ultima Series and more specifically the Virtues and Principles as foundation for the Priest class?

3) I've been reading the Necromancer series of books by Gail Z. Martin and the predominant religion is that of the Lady who has 4 Light Aspects (Childe, Lover, Mother, Avenger) and 4 Dark Aspects (Luck, Whore, Demon, Crone). It's an interesting premise and one I'm considering using in my next campaign.
Anyone got any ideas how they would generate these Aspects as Alignments?

[tenebrae]

Re: 2), I had the same idea myself about 6 months ago. I started work on it, but got distracted somewhat quickly and never got far. My idea was to have a central Path for each of the 3 principles (Truth, Love, Courage), with each of the virtues gaining a Path from each associated principle, and then having others that were specific to that virtue. I got a bit lost when it came to Ritual Weapons, and I was trying to do the 8 anti-virtues at the same time, so it never got far.

My suggestions would be:

Love: Path of Good
Courage: Path of Heroism
Truth: Path of Knowledge

Thus, Virtues (Alignments) could be as follows:

Honesty (Truth): Knowledge, Light, Order
Compassion (Love): Harmony (from CtA: Monk), Good, Life
Valor (Courage): Heroism, Righteousness (from CtA: Monk), Strength
Justice (Truth + Love): Good, Knowledge, Order
Sacrifice (Love + Courage): Good, Heroism, Protection
Honor (Truth + Courage): Discipline (from CtA: Monk), Heroism, Knowledge
Spirituality (Truth + Courage + Love): Good, Heroism, Knowledge
Humility (independent of the principles): Fortune, Harmony (from CtA: Monk)*, Purity (from CtA: Monk)
*I tried to avoid reusing any for Humility, but this one seemed to fit so well.

It would probably work best in a setting with the Benificent Universe campaign quality, so that all characters reflected their Virtue somewhat (while the Avatar might actually be a Priest who the GC eventually allows to gain Paths from all of the Virtues).

[Edited to list all virtues instead of some samples, since I was bored and thought I'd run with the idea]

[tenebrae]

If you wanted the anti-virtues too, I'd suggest starting with the principles as follows:

Falsehood: Path of Deceit or Path of Secrets
Hatred: Path of Destruction of Path of Evil
Cowardice: (the hardest to find suitable paths for) Path of Curses or Path of Darkness or Path of Travel

[Gentry]

Okay, I've been a little bit busy in the past few weeks but I've delurked to ask some questions ...

1) Has anyone written a Species feat that can grant the Shapeshifter I quality to a player?

Strictly for the sake of a quick fix in your campaign, Call it a variant of Animal Companion:

"You gain shapeshifter I. You may expand an Animal or Beast entry from the bestiary sufficiently to get it to an xp value of 50+5 for every Species feat your have. When in this form, your are considered an Animal or Beast (as appropriate) in addition to your normal type. Damage you suffer in one form carries over through a shapeshift."

Note that this means that at lower levels the character may suffer some severe handicaps when in animal form (the character would *not* have all her mental faculties in the body of a Crow, unless she built points into the mental stats of the crow).

[tenebrae]

I'd suggest putting some limits on how the creature is built, along the lines of 'the creature may not possess any class abilities you do not already possess, nor may it have any feats you do not possess.' Creating things using the NPC system can let a PC gain access to a bunch of stuff they shouldn't at their current level, which can make other PCs seem somewhat less useful by comparison.

Note that this means that at lower levels the character may suffer some severe handicaps when in animal form (the character would *not* have all her mental faculties in the body of a Crow, unless she built points into the mental stats of the crow).

Remember that Shapeshifter I states that "The shapeshifter always retains its own Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma, as well as this quality.", so while they may lose access to mental skills, they still have the same mental ability scores.

[Crafty_Alex]

I have written for a shapeshifting class ability in the Adventure Companion. It is the terminal class ability of a Master Class - available at Level 14 - and does not let the player choose the details of his form.

It is absolutely, positively worth the investment.

[Sletchman]

I have written for a shapeshifting class ability in the Adventure Companion. It is the terminal class ability of a Master Class - available at Level 14 - and does not let the player choose the details of his form.

It is absolutely, positively worth the investment.

You big tease, you.

Would you like to tease us with an ETA...?

[aegis]

Or with a preview?

[Arakor]

I have written for a shapeshifting class ability in the Adventure Companion. It is the terminal class ability of a Master Class - available at Level 14 - and does not let the player choose the details of his form.

Neato ... but it probably won't help for this character.
The entire reason for asking for it as a Species feat (or an origin) is because the shapeshifting into a mundane animal is a core part of the character concept.

[Catodon]

I had some great help with the raven character species under "example new species for fantasy craft" it might be some help to you with this particular character.

[Mister Andersen]

Neato ... but it probably won't help for this character.
The entire reason for asking for it as a Species feat (or an origin) is because the shapeshifting into a mundane animal is a core part of the character concept.

Tell us more of the concept and setting it belongs to

[Arakor]

Okay, you asked for it 
This is the background from a HARP game I used to run in Mystara. This character belonged to my wife.
I was wrong about the animal: it was a ferret not a crow.

Vilecia Hararlorn – Thyatian Rogue
Birthday: Flaurmont 10th

You are the daughter of a prominent Thyatian Silversmith in Penhaligon. Although you loved your father dearly, your mother was a different matter. All she wanted was a shy, retiring woman that could be married off to make an alliance; what she got was a sullen, rebellious tomboy.

Through your schooling, you became great friends with two Traladaran youths; Imgunil and Masangrak, and the three of you used to get into a lot of trouble together. Of course this scandalised Mother but scandalising Mother was the whole purpose.

By the time Imgunil was Sheared, you were involved in the criminal underworld. You were taught several minor spells by a retired hedge-wizard thief, and during the course of one botched robbery, you discovered an unusual trait of your family: you could shape-change into the form of a ferret.

Further studies revealed that this was a female-only trait of your family, and regularly skipped generations. You spent many nights experimenting with the ability; at first only stress would set off the change but gradually, with much effort, you were able to effect the change at will.

Needless to say, this ability became a great boon in your chosen line of work.

Your mentor had warned you about the Kingdom of Thieves long ago, and you’ve had a couple of close shaves with them. Since you’d rather work alone and not take orders from anyone else, you’ve kept the thieving to a minimum. Even so, you were able to amass a respectable stash.

Things came to a head recently when your mother arranged a party that was to celebrate your betrothal to the son of another merchant without your knowledge.
Publicly and with great fury, you said that you’d rather be Sheared than marry a man whom you’d not chosen yourself. Mother was livid, not to mention highly embarrassed. The potential groom was somewhat relieved and Father just laughed. Your supposed Betrothal party swiftly became your Shearing feast as your Mother retired in shame.

It’s now the following day and you’re in the Town Square with your family, about to be Sheared. Unsurprisingly, your Mother is absent. You notice that there’s another Shearing going on, and it’s your old friend Masangrak.

Not only that, but there’s a very familiar figure standing outside the Golden Cup tavern: Imgunil

[Crafty_Alex]

I have written for a shapeshifting class ability in the Adventure Companion. It is the terminal class ability of a Master Class - available at Level 14 - and does not let the player choose the details of his form.

Neato ... but it probably won't help for this character.
The entire reason for asking for it as a Species feat (or an origin) is because the shapeshifting into a mundane animal is a core part of the character concept.

In a future supplement we can hopefully find something we are comfortable with from a game balance perspective. My point was that the ability to shapeshift into anything - mundane or otherwise - is far more valuable than a single feat in this designer's opinion.

[Gentry]

Do I even want to know what Shearing is?

[Arakor]

Do I even want to know what Shearing is?

"With the end of spring comes the Shearing*--all youth that hope to be Sheared this year must complete the traditional separation before the coming of summer, or wait another year. Many will seek an apprenticeship to a craft, perhaps even in the capital of Specularum. Others will join fleets and sail the world as aspiring merchants or sailors. But some few will take up a different calling, fulfilling a yearning to explore the ancient places of this land, to find secrets long-hidden, to right wrongs and help those who cannot help themselves."

*The Shearing is the time in which a Traladaran youth (generally between the ages of 14 and 18, though some are older and a few are younger), approaching adulthood, leaves home and sets out on his or her (for many young Traladaran women also take part in this custom) own. At a dinner celebration attended by all the family and friends, the parents dress their child in travelling gear; the bottom of the cloak is sheared and left ragged, symbolising that he or she is an impoverished traveller. From that time, the sheared youth is considered a friend of the family, but not part of it. He must go out into the world and survive until he has proved himself worthy to be asked back into the family, at which time he is considered a full adult. Some Thyatian immigrants are even taking up this tradition, seeing the benefits that it can bring in pushing a youth into successful adulthood.