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Message no. 1
From: Hairy Smurf <ab130f92@*******.adelphi.edu>
Subject: Changeling
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1996 10:19:17 -0400 (EDT)
Well, the list seems a little quiet, actually a lot quiet but I'll post this
anyway. My biggest concern in making this race was the munchy factor. I
didn't want something that would unbalance of the game so I was, I think, a
little harsh on the Changeling's ability. So that is where I'd like the most
input, but anything you notice would be fine. :) Its a bit long but I
think I covered everything. Its also in the form of the race descriptions
and has a GM's section so there are no decker comments. I'm wondering if I
should add so regardless. I;m not sure though.



Changeling
Homo Sapien Mutabilis

Identification: The average changeling is 2.0m tall and weights 100 k. His
natural coloring is usually pale white to pink, but yellow is possible.
Female Changelings have 2 mammae, and all Changelings have 32 teeth. Body
and head hair is sparse to non- existent, the later being more common. Their
ears tend to be pointed. This description is based on observance of only a
few members of this subspecies. The actual appearance of the subspecies can
vary beyond these parameters. The Changeling also has the ability to assume
the form of any other sentient bipedal critter, ie (Metahumans, Sasquatch,
Vampires, etc. The Changeling's assumed form cannot include appendages
beyond the natural form, meaning no wings, tails, etc. The Changeling's
natural sex does limit the sex of any assumed form. Female Changelings can
only assume female forms and male assume male. Changelings spend most of
their lives in their assumed forms out of fear of destruction by the hands
of the rest of (Meta)humanity. The exact nature of this ability and how they
control it is not exactly known. The ability appears to be the same as that
possessed by other shapechangers such as Shapeshifters, Talis Cats and
Kluddes. However unlike the majority of the above mentioned species the
Changeling is not a threat to or a predator of (Meta)humanity.

Habitat: This subspecies adopts the habitat of the assumed form. In their
natural form they prefer roofed structures in remote areas.

Habits: Again this subspecies adopts the habits of their assumed form. In
natural form they prefer daytime activities. They also have definite
isolationist tendencies. Life expectancy is expected to be about 90 years.
Their natural diet is omnivorous, but shows a definite vegetarian leanings.
Gestation is about 280 days.

Young: One. Twins are uncommon and higher multiples undocumented. Again, it
is not known if they are possible or not due to the limited information
available. Birth weight is 5.4 of mother's weight. Suckling time is 13 months.

Commentary: It is not known if this subspecies is newly awakened or not.
The changelings show acute paranoia at the idea of becoming known to the
rest of (Meta)humanity. However in their assumed form the socialize normally
with the rest of (Meta)humanity. (Again out of their paranoia.) The basis of
this information was based on the fevered ranting's of a wounded Changeling.
The rest was compiled from continued digging and the subsequent autopsy of
the above individual.



GM Rules: The Changeling's shapeshifting ability is innate. The ability is
also accompanied by a skill. A Changeling starts off with one assumed form.
This form is taught to the Changeling at infancy. Infant Changelings have
been known to randomly try to assume forms, usually with bizarre results, as
part of the learning process. The changeling can learn additional forms as
the mature. These forms ar limited however.
First off the Changeling is limited by sex. Male Changelings can only
assume male forms and female Changelings can assume female forms. The
Changeling can only assume the form of a sentient bipedal creature.
(Critters can only be considered if they meet both of these criteria. Sorry
no Merrows, Nagas, or Spirits.) The number of forms is limited by the level
of skill the Changeling possesses.
The Changeling character has a level in the Forms skill. The skill
determines the Changeling's ability to impersonate others and how many forms
he can have. The Changeling has this skill at level one upon creation. For
every 2 levels beyond that he can attempt to learn another form, but this
gets more difficult the more forms the Changeling knows. The character rolls
his intelligence dice against the level of his skill. If he succeeds they he
has learned that new form. He can now assume that form whenever he wants for
as long as he wants. Once a form is learned it is permanent and cannot be
forgotten or replaced by another form.
These forms gain the racial modifications to the physical attributes. The
Changeling's natural mental attributes remain. The Changelings have an
intelligence and charisma bonus. These bonuses reflect the Changeling's need
to remain one step ahead of discovery. Intelligence and social skills are
paramount in that pursuit. The assumed forms do not gain any over the forms
special abilities. A Changeling in the form of a Dwarf does not have
thermographic vision or an increased resistance to disease. the only
exceptions to this rule are abilities that are inherent in the form's
appearance. So the Troll form would have the additional dermal armor bonus
because the form would have the bony deposits.
It is possible for a Changeling to assume the form of an existing person,
or to create one suddenly to escape a situation. This is not easy however.
To assume a form that is not known requires a skill test against a target
number of 6, modified by the situation, of course. Success can be
distributed as per the published skill success rules. While the Changeling
holds this form he is distracted because of the concentration required to
maintain this form. Apply a +2 modifier to a tests the Changeling makes
while maintaining this form.
The Changeling can also assume the form of an existing person. The
Changeling should learn this form as one of his permanent forms. However he
could try to maintain this form as an unknown form. The target number of the
skill test is 10. The modifiers also still apply. The Changeling must also
make opposed skills tests using his Form skill against the perception of
anyone who knows the person being mimicked. This applies whether this form
is learned or temporary. The Changeling does get a modifier depending on how
long he studied the target. He gets a - 1 for every 2 months he studies his
target. The Changeling must overcome his own mannerisms, inflections, and
tendencies in preference to the target's own persona.
A changeling is also limited in what cyber/bio he can have. The addition of
cyberware into the Changeling's body limits the forms he can have. Extensive
cyberware like limbs limit the Changeling to the (Meta)human races of the
same general size as the Changeling was when he received the cyber. If he
was a human when he got the limb then he is limited to Humans, short Elves,
and short Orks. Extensively invasive cyber such as wired reflexes or VCR's
will limit the Changeling to the race he was in when he received the cyber.
Again if he was human then he stays human. Bioware is even more limiting,
because it replaces the Changeling's natural organs. These new organs, for
some unknown reason, do not change size when the Changeling changes shape.
The Changeling will be limited to the race the Changeling had assumed when
he received the bioware. Because of these reasons, and one other, it is rare
for Changelings to get cyberware.
Changelings have a disproportionate number of magically active individuals.
Almost all Changelings found in regular (Meta)human society are magically
active and initiated. The reason for this is that while a Changeling can
change his form his aura remains the same, exactly like Shapeshifters. This
fact is known to the Changelings and that only fuels their paranoia. Despite
this paranoia the Changelings hope for the day when they can make themselves
known to the rest of the world. While they exhibit all of the personalities
of the rest of (Meta)humanity they are not one large Illuminati group bound
for the domination of the world. They, as a group, tend to hunt those
organizations down to both keep themselves a secret and so as not to become
a target of racists of all races.

Modifications: +2 intelligence, +1 charisma, shapechange


Sasquatch

--------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| If Stormtroopers can't hit the side of a barn, and |
| Star Trek Red Shirts always die before the first commercial. |
| What happens when they fight each other? |
| |
| ab130f92@*******.adelphi.edu |
| tech@*******.adelphi.edu blair@*****.adelphi.edu |
| No Website (yet) |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 2
From: "'Spaceman' WD Lee" <spaced@*.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Changeling
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1996 14:02:33 -0700 (PDT)
Great idea! I'm going to have to introduce this into my campaign.
One problem, tho', might be the racial bonuses. I'd just leave the
attributes at normal human level, with the added bonus of
shapechange........

The Spaceman |God said, "Let there be light." And God
spaced@*.washington.edu |separated the light from the dark. And
Check out the Bill Page! |did two loads of laundry. -Genesis 1:2.5
http://weber.u.washington.edu/~spaced/bill.html
GCC/GL d- s:++ a-- C++ U+ P+ L>L++ !E W++ N++ o+ K w !O M-- V--
PS+ PE Y+ PGP t 5++ X+ R+ tv b+++ DI+ D+ G+ e+ h r z+
MPA/SH/TA S G Q+ 666 y W C++ N+ PEC+++ Dr
Message no. 3
From: Hairy Smurf <ab130f92@*******.adelphi.edu>
Subject: Re: Changeling
Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1996 17:08:26 -0400 (EDT)
At 14:02 6/17/96 -0700, you wrote:
>
>
> Great idea! I'm going to have to introduce this into my campaign.
>One problem, tho', might be the racial bonuses. I'd just leave the
>attributes at normal human level, with the added bonus of
>shapechange........
>
>The Spaceman

I thought about that, but the Changeling spends its entire lifetrying to
stay hidden from the rest of the world. It takes intellingence to do it
right under the world's nose. My original thought was to just give it a +1
intellingence bonus and no charisma bonus, but every other meta type gets a
+3 average on attributes so I kicked the score up. I would suggest keeping
the smaller intellingence bonus though. Is my idea after all. :)

Sasquatch

--------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| If Stormtroopers can't hit the side of a barn, and |
| Star Trek Red Shirts always die before the first commercial. |
| What happens when they fight each other? |
| |
| ab130f92@*******.adelphi.edu |
| tech@*******.adelphi.edu blair@*****.adelphi.edu |
| No Website (yet) |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 4
From: "Sascha Pabst" <Sascha.Pabst@**********.Uni-Oldenburg.DE>
Subject: Re: Changeling
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 1996 10:07:34 +0200
On 17.06.96, Hairy Smurf wrote about "Re: Changeling":
> I thought about that, but the Changeling spends its entire lifetrying to
> stay hidden from the rest of the world. It takes intellingence to do it
> right under the world's nose. My original thought was to just give it a +1
> intellingence bonus and no charisma bonus, but every other meta type gets a
> +3 average on attributes so I kicked the score up. I would suggest keeping
> the smaller intellingence bonus though. Is my idea after all. :)
But Intelligence isn't intelligence but mostly used for perception. What
you want would be (sum of skills) for intelligence as in IQ, IMHO and AFAIK
(hm.. no, can't think of any more matching abbr.)

Sascha

--
+---___---------+----------------------------------------+--------------------+
| / / _______ | Jhary-a-Conel aka Sascha Pabst |The one who does not|
| / /_/ ____/ |Sascha.Pabst@**********.Uni-Oldenburg.de| learn from history |
| \___ __/ | | is bound to live |
|==== \_/ ======| *Wearing hats is just a way of life* | through it again. |
|LOGOUT FASCISM!| - Me | |
+------------- http://www.informatik.uni-oldenburg.de/~jhary -----------------+
Message no. 5
From: Hairy Smurf <ab130f92@*******.adelphi.edu>
Subject: Re: Changeling
Date: Tue, 18 Jun 1996 17:06:44 -0400 (EDT)
At 10:07 6/18/96 +0200, you wrote:
>On 17.06.96, Hairy Smurf wrote about "Re: Changeling":
>> I thought about that, but the Changeling spends its entire lifetrying to
>> stay hidden from the rest of the world. It takes intellingence to do it
>> right under the world's nose. My original thought was to just give it a +1
>> intellingence bonus and no charisma bonus, but every other meta type gets a
>> +3 average on attributes so I kicked the score up. I would suggest keeping
>> the smaller intellingence bonus though. Is my idea after all. :)
>But Intelligence isn't intelligence but mostly used for perception. What
>you want would be (sum of skills) for intelligence as in IQ, IMHO and AFAIK
>(hm.. no, can't think of any more matching abbr.)
>
> Sascha
>

True but the changeling also spends their lives as someone else. They need
to be able to recognize each other. I forgot to include that section in the
post. I'll send it along soon. Sorry. Also I've alway kinda thought the
attribute bonuses that already exist are a bit abbitrary anyway. Lets face
it just because someone is bigger the average does not mean that they are
stupid. I still think the intelligence bonus gives them an edge.

Sasquatch

--------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| If Stormtroopers can't hit the side of a barn, and |
| Star Trek Red Shirts always die before the first commercial. |
| What happens when they fight each other? |
| |
| ab130f92@*******.adelphi.edu |
| tech@*******.adelphi.edu blair@*****.adelphi.edu |
| No Website (yet) |
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 6
From: Mike and Jill Johnson <shadow@*****.com>
Subject: Re: Changeling
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 1996 21:22:05 -0600
At 08:17 AM 6/17/96 -0500, you wrote:
>
>Well, the list seems a little quiet, actually a lot quiet but I'll post this
>anyway. My biggest concern in making this race was the munchy factor. I
>didn't want something that would unbalance of the game so I was, I think, a
>little harsh on the Changeling's ability. So that is where I'd like the most
>input, but anything you notice would be fine. :) Its a bit long but I
>think I covered everything. Its also in the form of the race descriptions
>and has a GM's section so there are no decker comments. I'm wondering if I
>should add so regardless. I;m not sure though.
>
>
>
>Changeling
>Homo Sapien Mutabilis
>

I love this idea but rather than being a "Changling" ala DS9 why not have it
be a
"Doppleganger" ala "never Deal with a Dragon"?

mnj
Message no. 7
From: Hairy Smurf <ab130f92@*******.adelphi.edu>
Subject: Re: Changeling
Date: Sat, 29 Jun 1996 22:55:15 -0400 (EDT)
At 21:22 6/28/96 -0600, you wrote:
>At 08:17 AM 6/17/96 -0500, you wrote:
>>
>>Well, the list seems a little quiet, actually a lot quiet but I'll post this
>>anyway. My biggest concern in making this race was the munchy factor. I
>>didn't want something that would unbalance of the game so I was, I think, a
>>little harsh on the Changeling's ability. So that is where I'd like the most
>>input, but anything you notice would be fine. :) Its a bit long but I
>>think I covered everything. Its also in the form of the race descriptions
>>and has a GM's section so there are no decker comments. I'm wondering if I
>>should add so regardless. I;m not sure though.
>>
>>
>>
>>Changeling
>>Homo Sapien Mutabilis
>>
>
>I love this idea but rather than being a "Changling" ala DS9 why not have it
>be a
>"Doppleganger" ala "never Deal with a Dragon"?
>
>mnj
>

Nah the doppleganger was a creation of tech and magic, from what I remember.
It didn't really fit with the race, considering what it was made for. As for
the changeling name its not from DS9. I also play Palladium's Rifts. Their
changeling where so much fun to play I wanted to bring them to SRII, so the
name came from Rifts. Thanks for the idea though. Kinda suprised me to see
such a late reply. :)

Sasquatch

--------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
| If Stormtroopers can't hit the side of a barn, and |
| Star Trek Red Shirts always die before the first commercial. |
| What happens when they fight each other? |
| |
| ab130f92@*******.adelphi.edu |
| tech@*******.adelphi.edu blair@*****.adelphi.edu |
| No Website (No time to make one) |
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Further Reading

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