Survey: What kind of were-creature would you play?

[scobie]

Rats. I love rats and they are perfect for any *punk setting. But don't make them to "ebil"- rats might be mangy sewer dwellers but they also thrive in human enviroments, are very very intelligent and resourcefull.

Gotta admit, rat is the punk animal of choice (although ferret does seem to get a good run here in Melbourne).

I agree that rats tend to get badly slandered in rpgs, as do all animals=human stereotype options.  Actually, I think the way that rpgs deal with this issue, and the question of 'race' generally says a lot about where many writers are coming from.  Not limited to rpgs, look at fantasy sci/fi racial stereotyping - urgh!

The whole racial essentialism thing needs serious consideration in any game that has racialised elements.  While the LOTR film tried to bring genetic engineering in as an excuse, the whole 'evil race' thing is inexcusable.

Yeah, animals - gotta go with the ratties.

[Daniel Solis]

Right. I'll try to have a more three-dimensional representation of the rats then :) Actually, one thing I'm trying to avoid is factions exclusively composed of one or or several lycanthrope-types over another. Just a general effort to avoid ground well-treaded by Palladium and White Wolf.

[Jason Lee]

The format I'm working with is something like this. I have a list of abstracted abilities like "claw," "striker," or "bite." As well as a variety of funky things like camoflage, speed and so forth. I'm trying to be as general as possible without missing fun little abilities like "high-impact spit," "venom," or "webs."

Seems pretty solid.  Keeping with the it depends on the detail level you want disclaimer; claw, striker, and bite could all be the same abstract item - hand-to-hand weapon.  If you level it based on damage (1, 2, 3), you could have horse bite(1)/scorpion tail(2)/shark bite(3).  Plus you could only charge for the most powerful weapon.  If you want claws(1) and teeth(3), you just take weapon(3) because the claws don't give you an extra action, right?

Anyway...I'm adding weregorilla to my list:  the ultimate thug.

[taalyn]

Me, I'd go for the insects - I have a thing for spiders.

As for complex parentage - I'd love to do a spider/fox, or a raven/fox - a variety of enfield. Would a unicorn be a horse/rhino mix? Chimera proper, manticore, all sorts of traditional combinations become options.

Aidan

[Dr. Velocity]

Wow. Interesting. I also go with the create-a-were idea and I did enjoy the TMNT rules, though I never got to play (still thought they were a little overdone but good nonetheless).

I think you need a reason for this were stuff, and with that, you need to really think about the downside of cool things like 'armor, removable'.

Hermit Crabs, for example don't just have armor which they can take off if they want to - they begin in small shells they find, because their exoskeleton just isn't tough enough to help them survive normally, so they take cast-offs and have to keep changing as they grow, etc. What if you can't find a new shell?

There is a lot of personal dynamics and vital requirements here, and I am sure, with all animals and their unique traits and things they do so I think a good eye needs to be kept on the needs for the game and the applicability of weaknesses as well (dogs sensitive to high pitched noises, etc etc) so people will understand more of the animals themselves that they are considering, and will know what sets of traits are more interesting to them to play (the good and bad).

The thing I hate most about 'races' and things like that is they're just like 'costumes' you dress characters up in - this 'race' is short and has a beard, this race is pointy eared - occasionally you get a generic personality guideline (Taciturn, Haughty) but more or less, they're just 'race costumes' because there's no real 'melding' as far as the player considering the races - same potential hazard here (I'll take a were turtle cuz its got really tough armor - no thought about anything else really or if it would be a good or bad thing to be a were-turtle - would it be boring? Slow? Would you be 'ugly'?)

For my two cents, I like Armadillos (they can jump three feet, straight up, ya know, but on the downside, may carry leprosy), also Sloths and Crabs and Owls.

[Daniel Solis]

I think you need a reason for this were stuff, and with that, you need to really think about the downside of cool things like 'armor, removable'.

In case folks are really interested in the origins of lycanthropy in this setting: A long time ago, when earth was still fluid and hot, a huge chunk was blasted off and sent into orbit to become the moon. Inside the moon was a vast reservoir of mystical energy. The earth cooled, began housing life, yada yada, until 2017 when an asteroid strikes the moon, shattering it to a quarter of its size. The falling debris releases the mojo into the atmosphere, returning a bit of that fluidic unity the earth had so long ago. This partial re-unification manifests itself in a variety of ways, most notably by merging human souls with the archetypal aspects of the animal kingdom, turning them all into lycanthropes.

Hermit Crabs, for example don't just have armor which they can take off if they want to - they begin in small shells they find, because their exoskeleton just isn't tough enough to help them survive normally, so they take cast-offs and have to keep changing as they grow, etc. What if you can't find a new shell?

Food for thought, thanks.

a good eye needs to be kept on the needs for the game and the applicability of weaknesses as well (dogs sensitive to high pitched noises, etc etc) so people will understand more of the animals themselves that they are considering, and will know what sets of traits are more interesting to them to play (the good and bad).

I'm definitely keeping the less advantageous traits in mind, though I'm not quite sure how to implement them without it encouraging min-maxing.

more or less, they're just 'race costumes'

I'm using a special category of traits called "behaviors" that represent the general disposition and instinctual activity of the animal. When role-playing those behaviors, the player gains instinct points (because they're acting according to their nature) to use in buying new traits or increasing existing traits.

[Little_Rat]

For chimera? I always thought a "ratbat" would be a pretty neat pet. Just an ordinary rat with wings on its back. Or a "ratdog", because, face it, walking a rat the size of a collie down the street would be really cool.

(needless to say, my baby did not grow wings or large enough to walk down the street... But if you need any rat info, I'll be happy to help)

[Daniel Solis]

After surveying a few other boards I frequent, the standings are as follows:

Bat
Cat (Big, Domestic)
Ferret
Rat
Elephant
Bear
Gator
Wolf
Eagle
Otter
Dolphin
Rhino
Snake
Shark
Fox
Monkey
Crab
Penguin
Snail
Amoeba
Gorilla
Platypus
Flamingos
Spiders
Sloth
Lemur
Porcupines
Elk
Toad

Still room for a few more :)

[Simon W]

Don't forget the Puffin. Thinks...he's confused it with a Penguin.Gotta be room for a were-mole too. All that super-tunelling expertise!

[Daniel Solis]

Whoops, forgot about about the puffin. ::adds puffin and mole::

[RobMuadib]

Gobi


Umm, I'd want to be able to make a Were-Wolverine, a Wereverine, and like a gorilla, and coolest as possible a Were Wolverine/Gorilla that is also a ninja:)

[buddha]

I'm definitely keeping the less advantageous traits in mind, though I'm not quite sure how to implement them without it encouraging min-maxing.

Just a thought, you could do it kinda like Nobilis, which, if I remember correctly, gives you a bennie (XP, Power points, or some such) each time a disadvantage you've taken actually hinders you.

Hmmm... I hope that was Nobilis, and that I'm not getting my rpgs mixed up....

Buddha

[Jeph]

I second Were-Lemur.

And monkey, for those who admire Bruce Lee.

[permacultureguerilla]

I'd like a cat with wings, opposable thumbs, and gills. I can swim, fly, climb, chase . . . and I have the intelligence to sit at a computer and type. I would prefer not having to be a carnivore, but at least I could chomp humans I don't like. Of course, I'd want some powers like maybe telleportation.

Did I take this just a little off topic? Lol.

[Daniel Solis]

I'd like a cat with wings, opposable thumbs, and gills. I can swim, fly, climb, chase . . . and I have the intelligence to sit at a computer and type. I would prefer not having to be a carnivore, but at least I could chomp humans I don't like. Of course, I'd want some powers like maybe telleportation.

Did I take this just a little off topic? Lol.

Actually, not really. I planned on all the powers available for werecreatures to be things any animal on the planet can do, possibly to an exagerated degree. So basically everything you listed would be doable in the game. Except for teleportation. ;)