Wolf Druid Ouity

Gi, your hesitance about secretion is partially the reason WHY I've made it this way. Can you honestly think of any better drawback than one that compromises a secret? I actually anticipate the order outlawing multiple forms (at least among those who know) to prevent the secret getting out. If you have a better proposal, feel free to share, but for the best chance of acceptance, the drawback has to be a legitimate one, and on all fronts, this one is. Nevermind my personal aopinion on shifting, that was just an added bonus that the best drawback Callax and I could think of happened to fit into my style.

That sort of thing is already hashed over in the origional lore, so I haven't bothered to restate it. Essentially, the size of your character determines the practical size of their transformation.

Whoops. Figured I put it in the wrong forum. I like the ideas of strange eating habits and lessened time in each form, those will be edited in later. Thank you, you two. As for things mentioned like changing into animals you relate to, that is already covered in the origional lore. While I agree shapeshifting should and is an elite druid ability that should only be taught to a few, I find that it rarely ever becomes more than something to boast about. Shifting rarely if ever sees the light of day, and only once in a blue moon will anybody outside the druids ever even encounter a shifted druid. I don't think it was ever meant to be something to be done in a locked room- what's the point in that? In creating this lore, I found that one of my best options to create a drawback was also an opportunity to enhance the RP in general by bringing it to a more diverse audience. Furthermore, because it is kept so carefully secret, a druid will have to think hard on the consequences of pursing an additional form. I find the weakness of simply becoming weaker physical as one progresses magically to be boring and overused, and I avoid it whenever I can in favor of more dynamic options.

OOC: I talked with cmack a few months back when he left LOTC (cmack being the original shapeshifting lorewriter) and he expressed that one of the things he wished he had time to do was write this revision to the lore, allowing shapeshifters to take more than one shape. The basis is simple- allow a Druid with knowledge of shapeshifting to now pursue 3 animal forms, but at a cost. A user with more than one form finds it increasingly difficult to maintain a single shape. A wolf shifter sees the moon, and suddenly he's howling into the sky, covered in furr and claws. A tasty looking fish transforms an unsuspecting Druid into a bear and so on. Furthermore, Druids who might chose animals who differ significantly from eachother (which is already almost impossible according to the original lore) will find themselves suffering strange side effects as the two spirits clash. For example, one who shifts into a herbivore and carnivore would find it difficult to find something he could happily eat. Finally, a Druid who uses multiple spirits will be able to spend less time in any animal form. With this lore, I hope to bring Shapeshifting to a wider audience as well as create interesting drawbacks for those who would chose to advance along this path. If anybody else has suggestions for drawbacks or advantages of multiple shapes, feel free to let me know. Even though I'm a GM and technically a lore master, I want my lore to go through the same processes everyone else's does. More to come on the Druid side as I look to certain things which have long gone unexplained. IC: The wolf's neck twisted with a sickening snap, its legs twitching sporadically. Ouity lets the beast drop, placing a hand on its now still chest, murmuring thanks to the creature. Its spirit would live on, he knew, yet a single tear fell to the animal's fur. It was beautiful, flawlessly white, massive enough to be considered almost dire. Ouity winced, wrapping his torn cloak more securely about himself against the cold. This had never been attempted in Druidic history. He had chosen an animal close to his first form for fear that any serious deviation would yield... unfortunate results. This was a time of great need, perhaps one of the greatest. It was only a matter of time before the real war began. These trivialities that the Undead played with would soon end. Already the Dwarvern city lay in ruin. Ouity looked to it now from the frigid mountainside he had spent the last few months. Solutions had to be devised, new mechanisms of war. He began to skin the animal, carefully preserving its pelt. After a time, the Wolf Druid was finished. He preserved the meat with smoke, and wrapped the pelt about his shoulders. The bones were buried with a murmured prayer. and a silent blessing upon the land. It was known that the most difficult phase was ahead. Was he being foolish? Hasty? No. It was necessary. He had pushed the envelope before. Done what others would easily call impossible. This was no different. The trek back to his secluded home took perhaps a day. Back to the Birch forests of the elves where he made his secluded home. In the entrance of his rough cave, he dropped to his knees, wolf pelt wrapped tight around him. This was a holy place. Ouity could feel it in the trees who refused his thoughts. Once, Druids had thrived here. Though the fauna refused to obey him, the Aspects heard him. He felt the power, the raw presence of life all about him. Eyes peeked from the shadows. Though the artifact refused them his voice, they knew the look of an ancient Druid when they saw one, such as all beasts do. "Blessed Aspects, hear my cry." Such simple words. A phrase scoffed at by soldiers, priests and doubters. Words spit on by adversaries. Words uttered in boastful mocking in tavern halls. Words which brought the storm, the claws, the blood, and the wrath. Ouity's form contorted, his face stretching into a grimace of agony. It felt a thousand times worse than the first ritual. Perhaps that was his penance. He cleared all doubt from his mind as pain filled every pore of his body, pricked every nerve. The Aspects were with him. The fur fused with his skin, creating a feeling of fire as the Heirophant collapsed to all fours.

Both sides have acknowledged the denial of the warclaim, and it will now be locked. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to message me.