Post by The Librarian on Jul 9, 2016 14:42:38 GMT -7
Good historical examples include
Tales of the Wolfman
Native American Mythology
Norse and Celtic Mythology
For good modern examples of shifters, look into the following books.
The Kitty Norville Series by: Carrie Vaughn
The Mercy Thompson Books by: Patricia Briggs
The Shifters Series by: Rachel Vincent
The Sookie Stackhouse Novels by: Charlaine Harris (True Blood)
Shifters
This is a broad category of races that often possess similar attributes. The defining trait is the ability to transform into animals or hybrid forms.
Names
The most well known type of shifter is the werewolf. These are also referred to as Lycanthropes. The term Lycanthrope is often wrongly used when describing other types of shifters as well. I say wrongly because the term specifically refers to canids, or shifters that transform into some form of canine.
Shifter is a common term that is general enough to cover many large groups. Other shifters are simply known by the animal they turn into: Coyotes, cougars, etc. Another common trick is simply adding the term were (wear) before or after the animal type: werewolf, foxwere.
Abilities
The first two things to consider when playing a shifter are "Where do your abilities come from?" and "What type of shifter are you?" These are related yet distinct. I'll start with the source of the abilities first.
Supernatural or Genetic?
This is the big question for ability source. Are your shifter abilities from some supernatural thing, or are they genetic. Many times it is a combo of the two.
Supernatural: The most common supernatural source is a curse, EG: you were cursed with lycanthropy and are now a werewolf. The supernatural source could also be something related to heritage (very close to genetics) such as a calling passed down among family members.
Genetics: There is something in your DNA that gives you the ability to shift forms. Perhaps it is simply a matter of being a different species. Perhaps your ancestors were cursed and the power is now genetic. Regardless, the power runs in your blood.
In many cases the line between these two are blurred.
Transformation
When deciding on a transformation, there are a few questions.
How does the transformation work?
What do I turn into?
a question that is over looked but important is the concept of conservation of mass. Is your animal/hybrid form the same mass as your normal human form? If your powers come from genetics the the answer is likely yes as there is no real way to explain mass increase or decrease through a genetic transformation. A good example is the Shifter series mentioned above. A bad example is Underworld. Underworld is genetic (caused by a virus) yet they clearly change mass during transformation.
If your mass changes, the transformation should be at least partly (if not fully) supernatural. A good example here is Mercy in the Mercy thompson books or Rachel Morgan in the Hollows series.
The ability that most defines shifters is their ability to transform into animal form. Some can only transform into a single form while others can transform into many. Many shifters also have a hybrid form that is a combination of human and animal features.
Some shifters have no abilities beyond this point. They can simply take on the abilities of their animal form(s) and that is it.
Other common abilities include:
Increased physical abilities: Strength, Speed, etc. These may be just above average, or truly superhuman.
Rapid healing: Often explained by increased metabolism or supernatural protection. In the shifter series it is explained as a side effect of the transformation itself. Since your body reconfigures into a different shape during transformation, wounds are simply reconfigured as well and stitched back together faster than normal.
Possible Superrnatural abilities: The array of possible supernatural abilities is limitless. In the Mercy Books she is resistant to magic and can speak to ghosts. The werewolves in the Mercy books have 'Pack Magic' which takes different forms including telepathy and being able to draw strength from other pack members. Similarly, the shifters in the Twilight books have a 'Pack Mind' and can be protected mentally through their alpha.
In many cases pack magic depends on the Alpha. The stronger the Alpha the better protected the pack is. On the other side, the stronger the pack is, the more power the Alpha can draw from them.
Different amounts of spellcasting ability may also be present, though these are not always related directly to the shifter ability.
Weaknesses
Not all shifters have specific weaknesses, but the most common is silver. Supernatural shifters are weak against silver because of it's uses in magic and divine practice while genetic shifters are often allergic: ranging from simple rashes to life threatening reactions.
Society
When shifters gather in groups, they are often organized along a pack/pride structure similar to animals.
Males are usually dominant with one being the Alpha of the pack.
Females are usually submissive with their standing decided by the rank of their mate. If females are rare for the particular shifter variety then they may be protected and guarded closely. In these cases their number of individual rights varies depending on how strict their protector is.
Reproduction
Supernatural shifters can often infect others with their curse, causing that individual to become a shifter.
Genetic shifters usually have offspring, thoug if it is a virus they may also be able to infect.
In some cases it is impossible for a shifter to bear a child because the act of shifting will abort the fetus. Depending on the type of shifter, this may be bypassed by simply not shifting for the duration of the pregnancy. If shifting can happen unwillingly then pregnancies almost never make it without some kind of intervention.
Children with non shifters fall into three categories.
1.They may breed true and become shifters themselves.
2.They are born human (or whatever race the non-shifter parent is) but with a few traits of shifter heritage.
3.They are born with no shifter traits at all and are completely human (or whatever the case may be.
Occasionally a child of two shifters may be born in the last two categories as well.
Tales of the Wolfman
Native American Mythology
Norse and Celtic Mythology
For good modern examples of shifters, look into the following books.
The Kitty Norville Series by: Carrie Vaughn
The Mercy Thompson Books by: Patricia Briggs
The Shifters Series by: Rachel Vincent
The Sookie Stackhouse Novels by: Charlaine Harris (True Blood)
Shifters
This is a broad category of races that often possess similar attributes. The defining trait is the ability to transform into animals or hybrid forms.
Names
The most well known type of shifter is the werewolf. These are also referred to as Lycanthropes. The term Lycanthrope is often wrongly used when describing other types of shifters as well. I say wrongly because the term specifically refers to canids, or shifters that transform into some form of canine.
Shifter is a common term that is general enough to cover many large groups. Other shifters are simply known by the animal they turn into: Coyotes, cougars, etc. Another common trick is simply adding the term were (wear) before or after the animal type: werewolf, foxwere.
Abilities
The first two things to consider when playing a shifter are "Where do your abilities come from?" and "What type of shifter are you?" These are related yet distinct. I'll start with the source of the abilities first.
Supernatural or Genetic?
This is the big question for ability source. Are your shifter abilities from some supernatural thing, or are they genetic. Many times it is a combo of the two.
Supernatural: The most common supernatural source is a curse, EG: you were cursed with lycanthropy and are now a werewolf. The supernatural source could also be something related to heritage (very close to genetics) such as a calling passed down among family members.
Genetics: There is something in your DNA that gives you the ability to shift forms. Perhaps it is simply a matter of being a different species. Perhaps your ancestors were cursed and the power is now genetic. Regardless, the power runs in your blood.
In many cases the line between these two are blurred.
Transformation
When deciding on a transformation, there are a few questions.
How does the transformation work?
What do I turn into?
a question that is over looked but important is the concept of conservation of mass. Is your animal/hybrid form the same mass as your normal human form? If your powers come from genetics the the answer is likely yes as there is no real way to explain mass increase or decrease through a genetic transformation. A good example is the Shifter series mentioned above. A bad example is Underworld. Underworld is genetic (caused by a virus) yet they clearly change mass during transformation.
If your mass changes, the transformation should be at least partly (if not fully) supernatural. A good example here is Mercy in the Mercy thompson books or Rachel Morgan in the Hollows series.
The ability that most defines shifters is their ability to transform into animal form. Some can only transform into a single form while others can transform into many. Many shifters also have a hybrid form that is a combination of human and animal features.
Some shifters have no abilities beyond this point. They can simply take on the abilities of their animal form(s) and that is it.
Other common abilities include:
Increased physical abilities: Strength, Speed, etc. These may be just above average, or truly superhuman.
Rapid healing: Often explained by increased metabolism or supernatural protection. In the shifter series it is explained as a side effect of the transformation itself. Since your body reconfigures into a different shape during transformation, wounds are simply reconfigured as well and stitched back together faster than normal.
Possible Superrnatural abilities: The array of possible supernatural abilities is limitless. In the Mercy Books she is resistant to magic and can speak to ghosts. The werewolves in the Mercy books have 'Pack Magic' which takes different forms including telepathy and being able to draw strength from other pack members. Similarly, the shifters in the Twilight books have a 'Pack Mind' and can be protected mentally through their alpha.
In many cases pack magic depends on the Alpha. The stronger the Alpha the better protected the pack is. On the other side, the stronger the pack is, the more power the Alpha can draw from them.
Different amounts of spellcasting ability may also be present, though these are not always related directly to the shifter ability.
Weaknesses
Not all shifters have specific weaknesses, but the most common is silver. Supernatural shifters are weak against silver because of it's uses in magic and divine practice while genetic shifters are often allergic: ranging from simple rashes to life threatening reactions.
Society
When shifters gather in groups, they are often organized along a pack/pride structure similar to animals.
Males are usually dominant with one being the Alpha of the pack.
Females are usually submissive with their standing decided by the rank of their mate. If females are rare for the particular shifter variety then they may be protected and guarded closely. In these cases their number of individual rights varies depending on how strict their protector is.
Reproduction
Supernatural shifters can often infect others with their curse, causing that individual to become a shifter.
Genetic shifters usually have offspring, thoug if it is a virus they may also be able to infect.
In some cases it is impossible for a shifter to bear a child because the act of shifting will abort the fetus. Depending on the type of shifter, this may be bypassed by simply not shifting for the duration of the pregnancy. If shifting can happen unwillingly then pregnancies almost never make it without some kind of intervention.
Children with non shifters fall into three categories.
1.They may breed true and become shifters themselves.
2.They are born human (or whatever race the non-shifter parent is) but with a few traits of shifter heritage.
3.They are born with no shifter traits at all and are completely human (or whatever the case may be.
Occasionally a child of two shifters may be born in the last two categories as well.