Shapeshift
| Effect: Variable | Action: Move (active) |
| Range: Personal | Duration: Sustained |
| Saving Throw: None | Cost: 8 points per rank |
You can transform into different forms, gaining the physical traits (abilities, skills, feats, and powers) of the assumed form. You gain (rank x 5) power points worth of traits. You can also redistribute power points spent on your own physical traits (lowering your Strength to apply those points elsewhere, for example). For shape-changers who don|t acquire a subject|s physical traits, use the Morph effect. To assume larger or smaller forms, apply points from your Shapeshift to appropriate ranks of the Growth or Shrinking effects.
Countering
Shapeshift can potentially counter alteration effects used on you by shifting you back to your normal form. This requires the normal action to counter unless you spend a hero point to counter instantaneously (in which case it requires only a reaction). So you could, for example, make a Shapeshift power check against an opponent|s Transform power check to overcome the effect and return to your normal form. Shapeshift doesn|t counter non-alteration effects like Damage, Nauseate, or Stun unless the GM rules that the descriptors of the two powers should permit it.
Sample Shapeshift Traits
- Appearance: Shapeshift can change just your appearance, providing you a +5 bonus to Disguise checks per Shapeshift rank. This effect is automatic: when you assume the traits of a particular form you take on its appearance as well. So when you turn into a wolf or a wall, for example, then you also look like one!
- Alternate Form: You may alter the material composition of your body altogether, essentially assuming an alternate form (see the Alternate Form power for a number of different examples of forms you could assume by shapeshifting into a different material, substance, or even energy).
- Body Armor: You gain tougher skin, armored plates or scales, or some similar form of the Protection effect, improving your Toughness.
- Body Weapons: You can reshape your hands or arms into weapons, growing claws or spines, or turning your fingers or arms into blades or bludgeoning weapons. These are all generally all Damage effects with the Mighty power feat to allow you to apply your Strength bonus to them.
- Creature Forms: You take on the form (and traits) of another creature, such as an animal, or perhaps an even more fantastic being (see the various animal and creature archetypes in Mutants & Masterminds, beginning on page 229, for ideas of various creature traits and their power point costs, using them as guidelines for assuming different forms). For example, an elephant|s physical abilities, skills, feats, powers, and saving throws cost 51 points, so a character needs a total of 51 points in physical traits and power points from Shapeshift to allocate to turn into an elephant (retaining mental abilities and combat traits, modified by the elephant|s size).
- Insubstantial: You can alter the composition of your body, becoming less substantial and acquiring one or more ranks of the Insubstantial trait. Your descriptors may limit you to certain ranks of Insubstantial, but otherwise you can apply the trait normally.
- Machine Forms: You take on the form (and traits) of a machine or even an inanimate object, although the latter form only offers its Toughness unless you turn into an animated version (see the Animate Objects power for ideas). Apply your Shapeshift power points to the traits of the machine or object.
Extras
- Affects Others: This extra allows you to grant someone else the ability to change shape. To impose changes of shape on someone else, acquire a Transform effect (see Transform in the previous chapter).
- Attack: A "Shapeshift Attack" is the Transform effect. The Attack modifier does not apply to Shapeshift.
Flaws
- Limited (-1): You can only shapeshift into a limited category of forms, like only animals, only machines, only people, and so forth. The GM determines if a particular category is suitably limited. This modifier is recommended for most acquisitions of Shapeshift, to help limit its usefulness.
MMPoderes
