[Nightghaunt]

Hair. The metaform can usually have longer hair on their head than their natural form so...

How long would their hair be when they shift to metaform?
If they stay in metaform long enough will it grow longer?
If they then shift to their natural form and then back how long will it be?
If they cut it and shift to their natural form how long will it be?
How long will it be if they then shift back to the meta form?
If they dye their hair will it revert back to its natural color when they shift? Dye isn't really damage so...?
If it stayed the dyed color... what part of their fur would be the dyed color?


Foci.

What form could the foci be so you wouldn't lose it when you shift? The only one I can come up with is a choker type necklace with and elastic type of band since it could stretch and shrink as you shift. Rings, bracelets, belts, anklets, etc would fall off.


Ears. (As an example I'll use the Vulpine because I like them...)

The Keen-Eared and the Broadened Auditory Spectrum Qualities both say the ear is larger but the general descriptions of shapeshifters says they are almost impossible to tell the difference except for subtle differences in their metaform so... Do they not have larger ears? Do they have large but normal meta ears? If so how large? Do they have ears like their natural form? i.e. would Vulpine have fox ears, etc?


And this one is a technical question and relates to the Hero Lab program...

The Vulpine description says they retain their tail when they shift to their meta form but the program doesn't give them the Tail quality so, do they get the tail quality and the program is just wrong or do they not get the quality even though the description says they have a tail?


And finally...

I really think to much about this shit don't I? lol

[Nightghaunt]

Oh, I thought of another one...

It says Shapeshifters don't shed their animal hides when they shift. Does this mean Falconine keep their feathers?

[Kiirnodel]

Yeah, I think you might be overthinking some of this stuff just a little bit...


There are probably two ways appearance changes can be handled:

1. Each form is separate. The two forms are set, but not directly related in terms of appearance changes. Meaning that altering the appearance "cosmetically" in one form doesn't affect the other in any way.

2. The forms are related. Major changes in appearance in one form will have a related effect in the appearance of the other form.

I would say that usually Shadowrun probably lands in camp 1, since the "tells" that one is a shifter already pretty well handles what a lot of people would expect for the appearance of forms being related. It would seem kind of weird (to me) if a wolf shifter doing something like shaving one side of their head would suddenly mean that in wolf form they don't have fur there, that's not really how animals work.

I usually include other features that tie the two forms together as well, like the classic "different color eyes" trope where both forms have the same eye colors. Or something like that, but casual cosmetic changes in one form doesn't really carry over.

As far continuing appearance of your metahuman form, there are a few more options there as well.

In general, the Shift power indicates that you have a set metahuman form, it is the same every time. So you are consistently the same person each time you shift into your metahuman self. Again, two options. Either A) Each time you shift, that form resets. or B) Your metahuman form has its own continuity. For example, your hair would be the same length as it was last time, and if you got it cut, it would still be that length the next time.

As far as dying goes, I would generally categorize that in the same way as cosmetics (makeup). It would be really strange to assume that makeup would stay put, and be even more silly to think that it would still be in place on the animal form after a shift. So I would probably rule that it would just go away.


Foci.
Yeah, a necklace is probably your best bet, but even still, you should be cautious about trying too hard to keep things between forms. Remember, clothes tend to shred when you change forms, even elastic has its limits.



As far as those qualities go, the cosmetic changes in their descriptions are mostly meant for Changelings, as they give the physical effects of that changeling effect. Since changelings don't have a standardized appearance, these visual clues from the qualities are used for what the SURGE did to them. The metavariant (and metasapient) races have pre-determined appearances, so you mostly take the effects from those qualities, not the physical markers.

Same thing goes for the Tail. Vulpine shifters have a tail in human form, but they don't get the quality. It is physically there, but it has no significant effect. The Tail qualities in Run Faster all have rule effects, Shifters don't get those effects.

Oh, I thought of another one...

It says Shapeshifters don't shed their animal hides when they shift. Does this mean Falconine keep their feathers?

I have no idea what you're trying to say here. Do falconine shifters have feathers in their metahuman form? No, just like other shifters don't have fur. You might be thinking of some depictions of werewolves where the wolf form essentially sheds its skin to reveal the human underneath, but that isn't how shifters work in Shadowrun. There isn't any fur (or feathers) left behind by the transformation, except potentially loose hairs (or feathers) that are sloughed off naturally...

[Sphinx]

My opinions only ...

A shapeshifter's animal and (meta)human forms will exhibit similar distinctive characteristics. Permanent changes like scars or tattoos on one form are reflected on the other, within reason, but temporary changes are not. Shifting back and forth wouldn't "reset" their appearance; changes to either form's hair style or color would remain when they return to that form. If a shifter shaved their head in human form, for example, their animal form wouldn't be shaved, but their human head would still be bald when they shift back again.

For the most part, metahuman traits might hint at the animal form, but always fall within normal ranges. They don't have feathers or hooves or floppy ears in human shape. The fox shifter's tail is an exception, but purely cosmetic. Because it's not listed among the racial traits for Vulpine shapeshifters (RF p.105), the tail has neither the benefits of a functional tail (RF p.115) nor the penalties of a vestigial tail (RF p.123).

[Kiirnodel]

For the record, my own opinion on this matches pretty closely with Sphinx.

I was more expansive with my descriptions to account for table variation.

[Cabral]

The vulpine shifters should probably have the Vestigial Tail metagenic flaw in metahuman form.

[Kiirnodel]

Except that Vulpine Shifters don't suffer any negative effects for having the tail in metahuman form. The Vestigial Tail quality gives a dice pool penalty on a bunch of stuff because it "causes balance issues."

At best, Shifters might suffer from having one effective "Freak" quality, since each type of shifter has some sort of distinctive trait that serves as a 'tell'.

[Cabral]

I forgot about the balance penalties. I would actually just adapt Unusual Hair for Shapeshifters (Unusual Features).

[Kiirnodel]

Or, the identifying features aren't significant enough to warrant a negative quality.

Like I said, at best you might apply the "Freaks" rule which is a modifier to social interactions. For example, that's all having cat-like eyes of a Pantherine or Tigrine shifter would do (based on the 2 karma version of Low-Light Vision metagenetic quality).

But really, there's no need to make it more complicated.

[Michael Chandra]

But really, there's no need to make it more complicated.

But this is Shadowrun! What use is playing it if not making things more complicated?