[2ed CofD/WtF] Guide for creating new homebrew shapeshifters/changers for 2 edition

[Luchya]

Hi how are yall? I wanted to know if there was a guide of or atleas some ruleset or something that guide you in creating a new species of shapeshifters/shapechangers for second edition

I know shapechangers and skinchangers (and also changing breeds) existed for frist edition but i dont know any guide or anything for 2 edition that helps you in regards on how to make/add new shapeshifters

And i would be interested if anyone know of homebrews that add that into 2ed cofd

And sorry if i did something wron and for the bad gramma its my frist time making a topic here 😅

[Eric Zawadzki]

Skinchangers got a quick 2E update in the form of a Merit in the Under the Skin era of the first Dark Eras book. It's nowhere near as extensive as a full supplement, but it's something.

[Luchya]

Skinchangers got a quick 2E update in the form of a Merit in the Under the Skin era of the first Dark Eras book. It's nowhere near as extensive as a full supplement, but it's something.

But nothing in the lines of making new shapeshifters like the urathra for 2e?

[nofather]

Acrozatarim, one of the writer developers for Werewolf in second edition, had a write-up about the Bull-Headed here. And Dark Eras 2's Ancient Egypt chapter has a write-up about the Sobeki crocodile-shifters.

But there is no 'Make Uratha, but another animal' guide.

[Luchya]

Acrozatarim, one of the writer developers for Werewolf in second edition, had a write-up about the Bull-Headed here. And Dark Eras 2's Ancient Egypt chapter has a write-up about the Sobeki crocodile-shifters.

But there is no 'Make Uratha, but another animal' guide.

Could it maybe be possible to create other shapeshifters with out guide then 😅 (following some rulesets of 2ed)

[nofather]

Could it maybe be possible to create other shapeshifters with out guide then 😅 (following some rulesets of 2ed)

Of course, just a matter of what the creator wants out of them.

[LostLight]

Acrozatarim, one of the writer developers for Werewolf in second edition, had a write-up about the Bull-Headed here.

I was not aware of that update. Thanks for bringing it up.

Also, as someone who has designed a shapeshifter once and made a lot of "variant templates" through the years, my recomendation is to take the closest existing relative (in this case, werewolf, but also Claimed or some other template could work), follow through the whole template's structure and note what of it makes sense for the new template, what needs to be changed and what needs to be outright removed. Than you should think about what makes that new template unique and interesting, and add things accordingly. Sure, it is not na guide as much of a guidline, but I think that if you have a solid concept for your new template, a lot of it will work on its own by using some other existing template as a reference.

[Sith_Happens]

Acrozatarim, one of the writer developers for Werewolf in second edition, had a write-up about the Bull-Headed here.

That is not clear to me whether they’re supposed to have Gifts and Renown.

[nofather]

That is not clear to me whether they’re supposed to have Gifts and Renown.

They aren't, which is why neither are mentioned.

Gifts and Renown are (except for Geryo) uniquely werewolf. The former reflect the werewolf's predatory nature, the latter awards from Luna (one of their progenitors) for their achievements. The bull-headed, the Sobeki, the Siten Uzu, and the Lyrebirds and Rot Dogs (bird-shifters and another thing from Acrozatarim's Patreon) don't have Gifts or Renown, but do have their own abilities.

[Tessie]

That is not clear to me whether they’re supposed to have Gifts and Renown.

Neither are listed and neither would make sense. All Gifts and Renowns are designed for werewolves only. Moon and Wolf Gifts are pretty obvious why that is, but to explain Shadow Gifts: They are expressions of the Uratha's own spiritual powers focused through a theme bestowed by a spirit of a specific nature. That's why so many of them focus on werewolf specific stuff like territory, hunting, tracking, etc.

While some Shadow Gifts would work for the gudthabak, like the Gift of the Elements, but the fact that they're designed for uratha makes them generally a bad fit for any other type of shapeshifter. As such I recommend either skipping Gifts altogether for a set of innate abilities, or design/convert a very limited list of possible Gifts (or equivalent powers; you could even base them on Disciplines or Haunts, etc) for anyone who seeks to design their own shapeshifters. Same thing with Renown.

Here's an example of what I mean. I skipped the Renown completely because they didn't make sense for these particular shifters, and simplified the Gifts to work without them. The Gifts available are just a limited set of thematically appropriate Shadow Gifts, which saved a whole lot of work. If I were to put in some effort in making these guys interesting as either PCs or NPCs I'd slap on a few more innate abilities (which could possibly make the Gifts redundant) and maybe a few (mutually exclusive?) Merits relating to the individual forms since the forms are their most interesting aspect.

[LostLight]

If you are looking for more references, the Lyrebirds that nofather have mentioned are found here, while my Cernunni could be found in the STV (see my sig). In my case, I have included Shadow Gifts for the weredeer, but that's due to their strange connection to the Uratha, as werewolves can gain their Gifts by hunting them through a Sacred Hunt (so it is there both to given some edge to the weredeer and to give more reasons for the Uratha to hunt them down). I do, however, agree that Gifts and Renown should not be simply given to any shapeshifter, and definitely not in the same way as the Uratha without having a good reason to do so.

[nofather]

If you are looking for more references, the Lyrebirds that nofather have mentioned are found here, while my Cernunni could be found in the STV (see my sig). In my case, I have included Shadow Gifts for the weredeer, but that's due to their strange connection to the Uratha, as werewolves can gain their Gifts by hunting them through a Sacred Hunt (so it is there both to given some edge to the weredeer and to give more reasons for the Uratha to hunt them down). I do, however, agree that Gifts and Renown should not be simply given to any shapeshifter, and definitely not in the same way as the Uratha without having a good reason to do so.

Ah, thanks, I must have typo'd my search for them because they weren't coming up, nice that the Lyrebirds are on the forum.