Shapeshifting

The Lunar Exalted have two separate magical skills granted them by Luna: their Charms, intuitive but powerful abilities, and an inherent ability to change their shapes, refined through Knacks. Both are integral to the lifestyle of a Child of Luna.

Shapeshifting

The Value of Changing Shape

Disguise is the simplest use of Lunar shapechanging. Want to look like that guard? Bite him. Need to be an inconspicuous horse? Hunt down a Marukani swift. In most cases, a Lunar disguising herself through shapechanging doesn't require a roll—as near perfect it is, nobody usually suspects anything. Only when the character must interact with people who know her victim well is there a chance. Perhaps the Lunar doesn't know that the guard always trades insults with his replacement at midnight or the doyenne who owns a noble steed has trained it to kneel for her when she whistles. Even then, people usually give the imposter the benefit of the doubt, because it has every blemish and feature of the original.

Beyond disguise, a Lunar might change shape for access to abilities that only another form can have. This is rarely the case for human shapes, but birds can fly, wolves have powerful noses, barracuda swim underwater and eight-tailed mole hounds can dig like the wind. A coral snake has poisoned fangs, while a gecko can climb anything. When a Lunar uses these innate abilities, it should manifest as automatic success or, when a roll is dramatically appropriate, bonus successes ranging from +1 to +3.

Lunars can also use their forms to gain bonuses in other respects. A Steward who becomes a monkey should receive a small bonus to Athletics due to increased flexibility. Taking the shape of anything small or nondescript, such as a mouse in a cellar or a cat in a city's alley, adds to a character's Stealth attempt to hide or blend in. Tiny creatures benefit significantly more from cover, gaining Defense Value bonuses from things as small as rocks or branches.

Having a broad library of creatures is like having scads of Charms the character doesn't have to buy. Use that to its greatest advantage.

As Luna shows many faces to Creation, so too do her Chosen, changing their shapes with skill and cleverness. Changing from any form to any other takes a single miscellaneous action. Other than the time required, changing shape requires no concentration and only a little Essence. No dice roll is needed. Essence spent on changing form is not committed, and changing does not count as Charm use. As with other miscellaneous actions, the shapechange is effectively instantaneous—its Speed determines only when the character next gets to act.

During the change, observers see the character's features shift. Hair grows or scales form on his skin, the face acquires a beak or loses the porcine snout, and hands become hooves or talons turn to feet as he changes to or from an animal form. When in a given form, the Lunar is really that creature. His skin is its skin, his voice the animal's voice, his blood its blood. It does not register as a magical disguise to Essence sight. Only the character's mind and the core of his Essence remain his own. Anything the character carries or wears disappears with the transformation. These tools usually fade into Elsewhere as the Lunar takes on a new form. When the new shape can use the equipment, it carries over instead. A character's clothing and knife go away when she changes from her human true form to her Spirit Shape, but remain when she changes into another person. Clothing and other fitted materials shift somewhat to make sure they fit. Lunars with Changing Plumage Mastery can shift their clothing even more.

When in a form other than her human form, the Lunar uses the Strength, Stamina and Appearance natural to the other form. A Lunar in animal form uses the lowest of her Dexterity or the animal's natural Dexterity—you just can't make a tortoise tap-dance or run like a racehorse... without the Internal Form Mastery Knack, anyway. (Human forms use the Lunar's own Dexterity.) Her other Attributes remain her own. Most characters in animal form suffer severe penalties trying to enter social combat with humans, if it is possible at all. The Lunar also gains any special attacks, such as trampling, and methods of movement, such as flight or speedy burrowing, available to the creature. Instincts that come with the animal form are under the Lunar's control, and they give the Exalt limited ability to communicate with animals of the same species.

No known physical or magical force can prevent one of Luna's Children from shifting shape. If a Steward chooses to wear a different form and it lies within her power, she can take the action to change, even when magic constrains her from taking any action at all. Only some force that prevents her from choosing to change shape, such as unnatural (or perhaps natural) mental influence or being unconscious. Some Charms may eliminate even that danger.

Although shapeshifting is not a Charm-based power, shapeshifting qualifies for the Obvious keyword. When observers see a Lunar transform, they know the character did something magical—no Essence display needed. On death, the Lunar always returns to the last worn of his true forms. Any Lunar's first true form is the shape he wore when he Exalted. The second is his spirit shape.

See Charm Concept: Natural Attributes.

Spirit Shape

At the moment of Exaltation, a Lunar gains her first animal shape. This is the character's spirit shape, reflecting the character's nature and temperament. Exalted who are sly might discover the snake or raccoon, the mighty could find bulls or bears, the wise sometimes see raitons or the lone wolf. Of the last, for example, a character who speaks with wise deliberation found over many travels might take the wolf as spirit shape; the one who prefers to spend more time with the dead and speak in cryptic squawks chooses raiton.

From that moment on, the Lunar Exalt can take on the shape of her spirit animal. This is one of the Lunar's true forms, the first she receives after her natural human shape, and Luna's first gift to the Lunar. Changing to this true form or to the Lunar's true human form costs only one mote, no matter what shape the Lunar wears at the moment. As a true form, the Strength, Stamina and Appearance of the spirit shape are considered natural. In her spirit shape, a Lunar displays her permanent moonsilver tattoos, which arrange themselves artfully along the natural contours of her animal body. Likewise, scars, losses of limb and other permanent damage suffered by one true form become visible in the other. Such markings benefit from the same magic as the Tell, becoming difficult to notice. It is the same for the war form. Players may only choose creatures that are valid targets for the sacred hunt as a character's spirit shape. In order to create a character with a mouse or yeddim totem, the character must take the appropriate Knacks.

War Form

Some of the Lunar Exalted also have a third true form, called the war form or the Deadly Beastman Transformation. In this form, the Lunar becomes a hybrid of man and beast, usually monstrous and several feet taller than the largest human and with great strength and resilience. Most Lunars prefer to enter combat using the war form, knowing that it affords them a tremendous advantage. Lunars who have a war form must spend five motes to don it.

Changing into the Deadly Beastman Transformation sends most mortal armors away into Elsewhere, and many weapons become too small to effectively use. Most artifact tools and weapons remain useable in this form, but only moonsilver armor is flexible enough to change with the Lunar into the war form. Moonsilver armor actually adopts a different shape ideal to the bestial man-beast form. Some characters have smaller war forms, closer to a human size, in which they can use normal armors.

A Lunar can spend as much time as he wants in his war form, but wearing it makes an open statement to other Lunars (and other entities who can recognize it) that the Steward is ready for battle to break out at any moment—perhaps even eager for it. Few Lunar Exalted would visit the territory of a Lunar or god in the war form, knowing that they are likely to be met with force rather than warm greetings. On the other hand, the war form can be a calculated insult, suggesting that the offended entity cannot keep its territories safe to visitors or lacks the power to force the Lunar into a more socially acceptable shape.

Despite the frequency of war forms that are terrifyingly huge and intended to tear through enemies in battle, some war forms are simply person-sized or even of slighter builds. Not all warriors, after all, focus on sheer might.

Other Shapes: The Sacred Hunt

Were Lunars limited to a spirit shape and a war form, they would never have received the renown for their versatility and mastery of disguise they touted in the First Age. Lunar Exalted can wear the shape of anything and anyone living. But a Lunar must first earn the right.

To earn a new shape, the Lunar must hunt and dedicate the pursuit and kill to Luna. The hunt typically takes, at most, six hours: The Exalt must find a superlative example of the animal he wishes to hunt, chase the animal to the ground and slay it at the climax of the hunt. The Silver Pact calls this the sacred hunt, or the blood hunt.

Targeting a species with the blood hunt requires a simple (Wits + Survival) roll and a point of Willpower. Each success on the roll reduces the required time by one hour, to a minimum of one hour. If an animal is rare in an area, the ritual hunt may take longer and may have a higher difficulty. Animals that cannot be found in an area are not valid targets for the sacred hunt. Once the Lunar declares the hunt, he cannot rest or pursue any other goal until he completes it or he fails. Lunars instinctively know the ins and outs of the hunt.

Once the desired animal lies at his feet, bleeding its last, the Lunar tastes its heart's blood and gains mastery of the creature's form. From that point on, the Lunar can take on the shape of the precise animal it killed by spending three motes of Essence. The Steward becomes a perfect facsimile, including any scars or distinguishing marks.

A Lunar is not limited to just one example of an animal. He may have two or more, with different colorations to confuse pursuers or for different purposes. (Small lap dogs are good for sneaking around as a prefect's pet, while big hounds are more effective in battle.) Each additional form requires another day and another hunt. Just because the Lunar must find an ideal animal to hunt does not mean that he must always hunt the largest, strongest and fastest. If he wishes to find a small, skulking bear instead of a massive, mountain-shaking grizzly, he must simply find the most perfect example of an atypical animal. It is effectively the same process.

Shapes, once learned, do not age. No matter how long since the original victim's death, the shape the Lunar knows does not grow old or weak. The shape's hair and fingernails may grow, but only time spent in the form contribute to such growth. Skin may tan, but only when that shape is actually under the sun. In either case, any changes to the false shape disappear once the character re-dons that shape—letting a shape tan, then shifting to another form and back produces a shape as it appeared before it tanned. With Changing Plumage Mastery, Lunars may control these aspects of their shapes. While in another shape, the character's true forms age but do not otherwise suffer the passage of time—hair and nails do not grow, skin does not tan (but may eventually wrinkle), etc.

Not all creatures are valid victims of the sacred hunt. Beasts that have been tainted by the Wyld are too unnatural for the Stewards to master their shapes without the Luna's Hidden Face Knack. Also, some creatures are too small or large to hunt with the basic ritual: Any beast smaller than a housecat or larger than a moose is considered an invalid target without Humble Mouse Shape or Towering Beast Form, respectively. Attempts to hunt invalid targets with the blood hunt result in a rejection from Luna. The Lunar immediately knows that the attempt failed and does not spend the Willpower, though he does lose the 15 minutes or so necessary to begin the ritual.

There is a sacred hunt for human victims. Not all Lunar Exalted know it, unlike the rite for animals. Some Stewards consider it distasteful to take human forms. Most consider it too useful to quibble over the morality of it, however. With Prey's Skin Disguise, the Lunar learns to take on the shape of other humans (and humanoid creatures) and knows the ritual for claiming one. Just as for animals, the character takes on all the qualities of the human whose shape he takes—appearance, scent, voice. He gains the target's Strength and Stamina. Other Shifting Knacks allow Lunars to master other forms.

In no case does a Lunar gain anything other than the target creature's natural abilities when he dons its form. Some targets might have Essence-based powers. Constant or effortless powers usually function, but anything that requires Essence expenditure to activate does not. Lunar characters may begin with a collection of shapes by taking the Heart’s Blood background.

Wyld Taint and Tattoos

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Tells

Just as all Lunars have a spirit shape, all Lunars also have a Tell. A Tell is a specific characteristic of the spirit shape that always manifests on the Lunar, no matter what form she wears. Similar to the spirit shape, the Tell usually reflects some special quality of the animal that the character displays. A deceitful Lunar might show the forked tongue of her snake-spirit, an unmannered boar might walk around with the natural, pungent musk of her totem animal and a talkative Lunar's voice might echo with the chattering of her squirrel totem. Tells can take any form as long as they are something that can be perceived with unenhanced senses. Visual Tells are often white or silver, or reflect moonlight supernaturally well.

Tells manifest however they can in any form the character wears. At the very least, the theme remains constant. A character whose Tell is a pair of hooves can take on shapes that do not actually display hooves—but his steps may click on the ground as a horse's would. A Lunar whose Tell is a barbed scorpion's tail might have strange markings on the fur of her wolf shape or a small barb hidden in the fur. The Tell of a Lunar may show up in his shadow if nowhere else. The Tell is usually thematic and only occasionally blatant. It must be noticeable, if not noticed. (No, you can't put a birthmark at a human shape's tailbone and then cover it with clothing.)

This does not mean that Tells are easy to detect. The Lunar Exalted could not wear others' skin with impunity if they were always recognizable by a specific tuft of fur or a wolf's fangs. Most of the time, the Tell goes unnoticed. The Lunar radiates a powerful and unnoticeable mental influence on people who perceive the Lunar in any form, commanding them to ignore the Tell. This counts as natural mental influence, despite its obviously magical nature. The Tell acts as an attack with 12 successes on the roll, automatically slipping into the blind spot (or the equivalent for other senses) of any target with a Dodge Mental Defense Value of 11 or less. The Tell is most important in false human and animal forms—in any true form, the Lunar is not concealing his identity.

Spotting the Tell

Modifiers to Spotting the Tell

Observer is...	MDV gains...
Normal	+0
Observing a true form	x2*
Looking for shapeshifters	+1**
Looking for Lunars	+2**
Knows what the Lunar’s Tell is	+2

* Apply this modifier first.
** These modifiers do not stack with each other.

The Tell is not always equally effective. When the Lunar is wearing a false skin, that disguise becomes nearly perfect, and the Tell is most powerful. When a Child of Luna throws off the deceits and reveals his true glory as an Exalt of Luna, the Tell assails the senses to proclaim the character’s allegiance. In a true form, the Lunar's Tell is only half as effective: Double observers' effective Mental Defense Values before any other modifications. Someone who has seen the Tell before more easily sees it again, increasing their Dodge Mental Defense Value by two. People on the lookout for shapeshifters increase their effective Mental Defense Value by one; those specifically looking for Lunar Exalted increase it by two. If the Lunar desires, he can consciously choose to make the Tell completely evident when in a true form. The Tell is, of course, completely irrelevant to a Lunar's hybrid war form: The animal characteristics are all openly displayed. However, someone who sees a Lunar's war form might then guess what to look for in his other forms.

For most purposes, the Tell is nearly inviolate. No mortal can see through the disguise at its best, and only the most clear-minded notice Tells even when faced with a Lunar in human true form. Gods and Exalted are more likely to notice the Tell, especially once Excellencies enter play. If a Tell fails to conceal itself with its magic, it draws attention to itself. Such is the nature of the Tell. The Tell becomes increasingly prominent as a Lunar Exalt expends Peripheral Essence, manifesting along with her caste mark and anima banner.

See Also

• Charm Concept: Natural Attributes
• Knacks
• Moonsilver Armor (Artifact • or more)
• Moon-Faced Mail (Artifact •)