Revision history for ShapeshiftingInTTU
Additions:
When therianthropes shift into their new form, they no longer feel out of place within their own skin (or fur, or scales), and so there is nothing pulling their resonance toward different forms. However, theris who began life in a human body do have a very powerful shapeshifting tool in their internal arsenal, should they choose to make use of it: **memory.**
Memory resonance does seem to come intuitively to some theris, but for most, it requires basic knowledge of magical effects or resonance theory (or decent instructions to follow). And attempting this sort of shift -- especially for the first time -- can be an unsettling experience, raising fears of getting stuck again in a form the theri wanted desperately to discard. So not all theris can access this ability. Some cannot even reshape their resonance back to their original form after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to use memory resonance.
Largely, this is limited to theris whose mythology includes shapeshifting prowess, such as werecreatures, [[WikiPedia:Obake obake]] and (a few) dragons. Theris whose form is that of a non-mythological animal also seem to have an innate shapeshifting ability, even those who don't think of themselves as "werecreatures"; some mages say this is due to a subconscious acceptance that they exist somewhere between the animal and human worlds, and can't be fully animal due to their status as a sapient being. In either case, innate shifting is limited to a small number of specific forms (generally 2, sometimes 3), and outside of the werecreature cases, does not necessarily include a human form!
Unfortunately, the great power of this ability comes with severe drawbacks. It tends to leave shifters mentally unstable, which magic use worsens (see the spell section below). As such, those Volitionists who have studied the phenomenon consider so-called "true shifting" (which mages generally call "multishifting") to be a malfunction, and a taboo has formed against seeking this kind of shapeshifting.
Some theri spellcasters also use basic shapeshifting spells to return to their original human form. [[TheriType Mythics]], in particular, seem to have a natural affinity for shapeshifting magic, and it is not rare to find mythics who intuitively realign their resonance as a temporary (spell) effect rather than a semipermanent (memory) effect. And at higher skill levels, mythic mages may cultivate this as a //deliberate// skill -- meaning that in a high-intensity situation, such as a fight, returning to their (more formidable) nonhuman form is literally easier than staying human!
===Negative Effects===
==Magical Mishaps==
Memory resonance does seem to come intuitively to some theris, but for most, it requires basic knowledge of magical effects or resonance theory (or decent instructions to follow). And attempting this sort of shift -- especially for the first time -- can be an unsettling experience, raising fears of getting stuck again in a form the theri wanted desperately to discard. So not all theris can access this ability. Some cannot even reshape their resonance back to their original form after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to use memory resonance.
Largely, this is limited to theris whose mythology includes shapeshifting prowess, such as werecreatures, [[WikiPedia:Obake obake]] and (a few) dragons. Theris whose form is that of a non-mythological animal also seem to have an innate shapeshifting ability, even those who don't think of themselves as "werecreatures"; some mages say this is due to a subconscious acceptance that they exist somewhere between the animal and human worlds, and can't be fully animal due to their status as a sapient being. In either case, innate shifting is limited to a small number of specific forms (generally 2, sometimes 3), and outside of the werecreature cases, does not necessarily include a human form!
Unfortunately, the great power of this ability comes with severe drawbacks. It tends to leave shifters mentally unstable, which magic use worsens (see the spell section below). As such, those Volitionists who have studied the phenomenon consider so-called "true shifting" (which mages generally call "multishifting") to be a malfunction, and a taboo has formed against seeking this kind of shapeshifting.
Some theri spellcasters also use basic shapeshifting spells to return to their original human form. [[TheriType Mythics]], in particular, seem to have a natural affinity for shapeshifting magic, and it is not rare to find mythics who intuitively realign their resonance as a temporary (spell) effect rather than a semipermanent (memory) effect. And at higher skill levels, mythic mages may cultivate this as a //deliberate// skill -- meaning that in a high-intensity situation, such as a fight, returning to their (more formidable) nonhuman form is literally easier than staying human!
===Negative Effects===
==Magical Mishaps==
Deletions:
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance back to their original form after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to use memory resonance.
Largely, this is limited to theris whose mythology includes shapeshifting prowess, such as werecreatures and (a few) dragons. Theris whose form is that of a non-mythological animal also seem to have an innate shapeshifting ability, even those who don't think of themselves as "werecreatures"; some mages say this is due to a subconscious acceptance that they exist somewhere between the animal and human worlds, and can't be fully animal due to their status as a sapient being. In either case, innate shifting is limited to a small number of specific forms (generally 2, sometimes 3), and outside of the werecreature cases, does not necessarily include a human form!
Unfortunately, the great power of this ability comes with severe drawbacks. It tends to leave shifters mentally unstable, which magic use worsens (see the spell section below). As such, those Volitionists who have studied the phenomenon consider so-called "true shifting" to be a soul malfunction, and a taboo has gradually formed against seeking this kind of shapeshifting.
Some theri spellcasters may also use a variant of the basic shapeshifting spell to return to human form. Rather than using a more stable method such as memory resonance, they shape their resonance with magic and keep the effect actively in place with willpower -- this means that in a high-intensity situation, such as a fight, returning to their (more formidable) nonhuman form is literally easier than staying human!
===Magical Mishaps===
Additions:
The earliest -- and still most common -- shapeshifting spells can temporarily detach a target's resonance from their sense of self, offering them a chance to alter themselves under conscious direction. This requires a willing target with a precise visualization of the intended result. When a subsequent spell (or mental effort) triggers a resonance cascade, shapeshifting occurs. This effect can be maintained for as long as the target's consciousness can //actively// assert the shift. (Once the target loses focus or consciousness, their soul will go "Hey, //waaaaaiiit// a minute!" and revert itself.) More advanced versions of the spell allow the resonance change to be wholly under the caster's direction, but the target still has to be willing, and has to have at least a basic idea of what they're turning into.
A variant of that spell lets the caster link the target's resonance to that of another willing participant -- synchronizing the target's resonance to the volunteer's, and freeing the target of the necessity to visualize a shift. The earliest of these spells required active concentration on the part of all participants; over time, more advanced versions began to merely "sample" the volunteer's resonance (not requiring their active maintenance); and then began binding the spell more deeply into the target (not requiring the mage's active maintenance either). The most advanced versions of this effect read the other participant's resonance so expertly that even nonconsenting third parties can be emulated. (Though if they are actively //resisting,// it will still cause the spell to fail.) In any case, the target can't maintain the shift without consciousness and focus, as above.
Some theri spellcasters may also use a variant of the basic shapeshifting spell to return to human form. Rather than using a more stable method such as memory resonance, they shape their resonance with magic and keep the effect actively in place with willpower -- this means that in a high-intensity situation, such as a fight, returning to their (more formidable) nonhuman form is literally easier than staying human!
===Magical Mishaps===
A variant of that spell lets the caster link the target's resonance to that of another willing participant -- synchronizing the target's resonance to the volunteer's, and freeing the target of the necessity to visualize a shift. The earliest of these spells required active concentration on the part of all participants; over time, more advanced versions began to merely "sample" the volunteer's resonance (not requiring their active maintenance); and then began binding the spell more deeply into the target (not requiring the mage's active maintenance either). The most advanced versions of this effect read the other participant's resonance so expertly that even nonconsenting third parties can be emulated. (Though if they are actively //resisting,// it will still cause the spell to fail.) In any case, the target can't maintain the shift without consciousness and focus, as above.
Some theri spellcasters may also use a variant of the basic shapeshifting spell to return to human form. Rather than using a more stable method such as memory resonance, they shape their resonance with magic and keep the effect actively in place with willpower -- this means that in a high-intensity situation, such as a fight, returning to their (more formidable) nonhuman form is literally easier than staying human!
===Magical Mishaps===
Deletions:
Additions:
This page discusses the various ways that people change the physical shape of their body in TTU, whether via spells or therianthropy. It also has some notes on the interaction of shapeshifting, [[TheriType shapeshifters]] and magic. Although it discusses the //mechanics// of therianthropy, it does //not// cover [[BecomingATheri how to become a theri]]; see that page for more.
However, this realignment requires dedication, clarity, and a specific endpoint; and (barring a life-changing shift in self-image) is not repeatable. Any subsequent changes -- and any shapeshifting by people who already match their self-image -- must come from one of the other methods listed below.
When therianthropes shift into their new form, they no longer feel out of place within their own skin (or fur, or scales), and so there is nothing pulling their resonance toward different forms. However, theris who began life in a human body do have a very powerful shapeshifting tool in their internal arsenal, and many (but not all!) make use of it: **memory.**
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into their **original human body**; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and prompt the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. (And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, their next return to true form will be even easier; ad infinitum.)
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance back to their original form after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to use memory resonance.
Memory resonance shifts are extended effects: they do not self-cancel with loss of focus or consciousness, but they are not truly permanent because the original human resonance is still not ideal. If a theri maintains their human form this way over an extended period of time, they will become increasingly uncomfortable, and an almost physical need will develop to spend time in their "true" form.
The amount of power necessary to turn someone into a theri is simply //not achievable// via spellcasting; in TTU, the stereotypical wart-nosed evil witch cannot go "poof, you're a frog", and there's no such thing as a Ring of Dragon Shape. When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body instinctively fights back ... and it's on its home turf, with nothing to lose.
However, this realignment requires dedication, clarity, and a specific endpoint; and (barring a life-changing shift in self-image) is not repeatable. Any subsequent changes -- and any shapeshifting by people who already match their self-image -- must come from one of the other methods listed below.
When therianthropes shift into their new form, they no longer feel out of place within their own skin (or fur, or scales), and so there is nothing pulling their resonance toward different forms. However, theris who began life in a human body do have a very powerful shapeshifting tool in their internal arsenal, and many (but not all!) make use of it: **memory.**
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into their **original human body**; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and prompt the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. (And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, their next return to true form will be even easier; ad infinitum.)
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance back to their original form after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to use memory resonance.
Memory resonance shifts are extended effects: they do not self-cancel with loss of focus or consciousness, but they are not truly permanent because the original human resonance is still not ideal. If a theri maintains their human form this way over an extended period of time, they will become increasingly uncomfortable, and an almost physical need will develop to spend time in their "true" form.
The amount of power necessary to turn someone into a theri is simply //not achievable// via spellcasting; in TTU, the stereotypical wart-nosed evil witch cannot go "poof, you're a frog", and there's no such thing as a Ring of Dragon Shape. When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body instinctively fights back ... and it's on its home turf, with nothing to lose.
Deletions:
However, this realignment requires dedication, clarity, and a specific endpoint; and (barring a life-changing shift in self-image) is not repeatable. Any further changes -- and any shapeshifting by people who already match their self-image -- must come from one of the other methods listed below.
When therianthropes shift into their new form, and the resonance asserts itself into something the soul decides is intuitively more correct, it's a basically permanent shift. They no longer have any reason to feel out of place within their own skin (or fur, or scales). However, theris do have a very powerful tool in their internal arsenal, and many (but not all!) make use of it: **memory.**
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into their **original human body**; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and prompt the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to use memory resonance.
Memory resonance shifts are extended effects: they do not self-cancel with loss of focus or consciousness, but they are not truly permanent because the resonance is still not ideal. If a theri maintains their human form this way over an extended period of time, they will become increasingly uncomfortable, and an almost physical need will develop to spend time in their "true" form.
The amount of power necessary to turn someone into a theri is simply //not achievable// via spellcasting; in TTU, the stereotypical wart-nosed evil witch cannot say "poof, you're a frog". When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body instinctively fights back ... and it's on its home turf, with nothing to lose.
Additions:
This page discusses the various ways that people change the physical shape of their body in TTU, whether magical (via a spell) or innate (like therianthropes do). It also has some notes on the interaction of shapeshifting, [[TheriType shapeshifters]] and magic. Although it discusses the //mechanics// of therianthropy, it does //not// cover [[BecomingATheri how to become a theri]]; see that page for more.
====The basis of therianthropy====
Although many theris can voluntarily control their shape, not all of them do it in the same way!
==Therianthropic Shift==
However, this realignment requires dedication, clarity, and a specific endpoint; and (barring a life-changing shift in self-image) is not repeatable. Any further changes -- and any shapeshifting by people who already match their self-image -- must come from one of the other methods listed below.
Therianthropic shift is permanent (i.e., the resonance adapts to the new form completely, and that form is now the default unless another type of change is voluntarily undertaken).
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into their **original human body**; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and prompt the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to use memory resonance.
(Do note that inability/refusal to use memory resonance does NOT force unintentional theris to be stuck in an unwanted form. Reversion of a therianthropic shift is always possible. See BecomingATheri for more details.)
Memory resonance shifts are extended effects: they do not self-cancel with loss of focus or consciousness, but they are not truly permanent because the resonance is still not ideal. If a theri maintains their human form this way over an extended period of time, they will become increasingly uncomfortable, and an almost physical need will develop to spend time in their "true" form.
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to //inherently shapeshift//: their nonhuman body possesses some sort of innate capacity to rewire its own resonance. This is not an issue of memory -- a young ([[TheriType were]]) werewolf that was born in wolf form will still be able to instinctively become a human. The resonance that their body generates is full of small and subtle cues that can produce reorientations and resonance cascades with a thought.
Largely, this is limited to theris whose mythology includes shapeshifting prowess, such as werecreatures and (a few) dragons. Theris whose form is that of a non-mythological animal also seem to have an innate shapeshifting ability, even those who don't think of themselves as "werecreatures"; some mages say this is due to a subconscious acceptance that they exist somewhere between the animal and human worlds, and can't be fully animal due to their status as a sapient being. In either case, innate shifting is limited to a small number of specific forms (generally 2, sometimes 3), and outside of the werecreature cases, does not necessarily include a human form!
Innate shifts are permanent. (In a sense, all of the theri's innate forms are just parts of the same larger whole.)
A [[TheriType tiny minority]] of (un)lucky theris are truly shapeshifters in the traditional sense of the word: when they take a new form -- //any// new form -- their resonance immediately adapts to it. //All// of their physical changes come with the ease of an innate change -- even to totally new forms -- and are permanent. (At least until they make another shift.)
This ability isn't unlimited; the form has to be something that's within the power of their soul to create and animate (i.e., no 90-foot monsters). They also have to shift into living matter -- their soul's sense of self-preservation is strong enough to disallow anything it can't inhabit. But true shifting is still far beyond the capability of mages (or normal theris) to reproduce.
Unfortunately, the great power of this ability comes with severe drawbacks. It tends to leave shifters mentally unstable, which magic use worsens (see the spell section below). As such, those Volitionists who have studied the phenomenon consider so-called "true shifting" to be a soul malfunction, and a taboo has gradually formed against seeking this kind of shapeshifting.
Spell-based shapeshifting is complicated; see below.
Notably, spell-based shifting is transient -- it self-cancels with loss of focus or consciousness. And it is not limited to one's original form (like memory resonance) or a small pool of forms (like innate shifts). So even among theris able to shapeshift via some other method, spell-based shifting can have its advantages.
The amount of power necessary to turn someone into a theri is simply //not achievable// via spellcasting; in TTU, the stereotypical wart-nosed evil witch cannot say "poof, you're a frog". When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body instinctively fights back ... and it's on its home turf, with nothing to lose.
However, spells //can// produce shapeshifting effects -- they just have to do so indirectly!
The earliest -- and still most common -- shapeshifting spells can temporarily confuse a target's resonance, offering them a chance to alter themselves under conscious direction. This requires a willing target and a good visualization of the intended result. A subsequent spell can trigger a resonance cascade -- and the resulting shapeshifting effect can be maintained as long as the target's consciousness can //actively// assert the shift. (Once the target loses focus or consciousness, their soul will go "Hey, //waaaaaiiit// a minute!" and revert itself.)
====The basis of therianthropy====
Although many theris can voluntarily control their shape, not all of them do it in the same way!
==Therianthropic Shift==
However, this realignment requires dedication, clarity, and a specific endpoint; and (barring a life-changing shift in self-image) is not repeatable. Any further changes -- and any shapeshifting by people who already match their self-image -- must come from one of the other methods listed below.
Therianthropic shift is permanent (i.e., the resonance adapts to the new form completely, and that form is now the default unless another type of change is voluntarily undertaken).
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into their **original human body**; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and prompt the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to use memory resonance.
(Do note that inability/refusal to use memory resonance does NOT force unintentional theris to be stuck in an unwanted form. Reversion of a therianthropic shift is always possible. See BecomingATheri for more details.)
Memory resonance shifts are extended effects: they do not self-cancel with loss of focus or consciousness, but they are not truly permanent because the resonance is still not ideal. If a theri maintains their human form this way over an extended period of time, they will become increasingly uncomfortable, and an almost physical need will develop to spend time in their "true" form.
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to //inherently shapeshift//: their nonhuman body possesses some sort of innate capacity to rewire its own resonance. This is not an issue of memory -- a young ([[TheriType were]]) werewolf that was born in wolf form will still be able to instinctively become a human. The resonance that their body generates is full of small and subtle cues that can produce reorientations and resonance cascades with a thought.
Largely, this is limited to theris whose mythology includes shapeshifting prowess, such as werecreatures and (a few) dragons. Theris whose form is that of a non-mythological animal also seem to have an innate shapeshifting ability, even those who don't think of themselves as "werecreatures"; some mages say this is due to a subconscious acceptance that they exist somewhere between the animal and human worlds, and can't be fully animal due to their status as a sapient being. In either case, innate shifting is limited to a small number of specific forms (generally 2, sometimes 3), and outside of the werecreature cases, does not necessarily include a human form!
Innate shifts are permanent. (In a sense, all of the theri's innate forms are just parts of the same larger whole.)
A [[TheriType tiny minority]] of (un)lucky theris are truly shapeshifters in the traditional sense of the word: when they take a new form -- //any// new form -- their resonance immediately adapts to it. //All// of their physical changes come with the ease of an innate change -- even to totally new forms -- and are permanent. (At least until they make another shift.)
This ability isn't unlimited; the form has to be something that's within the power of their soul to create and animate (i.e., no 90-foot monsters). They also have to shift into living matter -- their soul's sense of self-preservation is strong enough to disallow anything it can't inhabit. But true shifting is still far beyond the capability of mages (or normal theris) to reproduce.
Unfortunately, the great power of this ability comes with severe drawbacks. It tends to leave shifters mentally unstable, which magic use worsens (see the spell section below). As such, those Volitionists who have studied the phenomenon consider so-called "true shifting" to be a soul malfunction, and a taboo has gradually formed against seeking this kind of shapeshifting.
Spell-based shapeshifting is complicated; see below.
Notably, spell-based shifting is transient -- it self-cancels with loss of focus or consciousness. And it is not limited to one's original form (like memory resonance) or a small pool of forms (like innate shifts). So even among theris able to shapeshift via some other method, spell-based shifting can have its advantages.
The amount of power necessary to turn someone into a theri is simply //not achievable// via spellcasting; in TTU, the stereotypical wart-nosed evil witch cannot say "poof, you're a frog". When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body instinctively fights back ... and it's on its home turf, with nothing to lose.
However, spells //can// produce shapeshifting effects -- they just have to do so indirectly!
The earliest -- and still most common -- shapeshifting spells can temporarily confuse a target's resonance, offering them a chance to alter themselves under conscious direction. This requires a willing target and a good visualization of the intended result. A subsequent spell can trigger a resonance cascade -- and the resulting shapeshifting effect can be maintained as long as the target's consciousness can //actively// assert the shift. (Once the target loses focus or consciousness, their soul will go "Hey, //waaaaaiiit// a minute!" and revert itself.)
Deletions:
====The basis of shapeshifting====
==Therianthropic Change==
However, this realignment requires dedication and a specific endpoint, and (barring a life-changing shift in self-image) is neither repeatable nor reversible. Any further changes -- and any shapeshifting by people who already match their self-image -- must come from one of the other methods listed below.
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into that body; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and prompt the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! (Do note that this will NOT prevent unintentional theris from being stuck in a form they don't want. See BecomingATheri for more details.) The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to do this.
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to //inherently shapeshift//: the body that their resonance has adjusted to possesses some sort of innate capacity to rewire its own resonance. This isn't an issue of memory; the activity that the body itself generates is full of small and subtle cues that can produce those resonance feedback loops with a thought, and so even a ([[TheriType were]]) werewolf that was born in wolf form will be able to instinctively become a human.
Largely, this is limited to theris whose mythology includes shapeshifting prowess, such as werecreatures and (a few) dragons. Theris whose form is that of a non-mythological animal also seem to have an innate shapeshifting ability, even those who don't think of themselves as "werecreatures"; some mages say this is due to a subconscious acceptance that they exist somewhere between the animal and human worlds, and can't be fully animal due to their status as a sapient being.
The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but also adjusting their resonance to make the change //permanent// -- isn't achievable via spellcasting alone. When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body will fight back -- and it's on its home turf, and it's got nothing to lose.
However, the earliest -- and still most common -- shapeshifting spells can temporarily //fool// a body into futzing with its own resonance under conscious control, producing a cascade and a shapeshift effect that can be maintained as long as the consciousness can actively assert the shift. (Once the spell's target loses focus or consciousness, the soul will go "Hey, //waaaaaiiit// a minute!" and kick off a resonance cascade to revert itself.)
A [[TheriType tiny minority]] of (un)lucky theris are truly shapeshifters in the traditional sense of the word: when they take a new form, their resonance immediately adapts to it. //All// of their physical changes come with the ease of an innate change -- even to totally new forms -- and are permanent. (At least until they make another shift.)
This ability isn't unlimited; they still have to shift into living matter (at least their soul's sense of self-preservation is strong enough to disallow anything it can't inhabit), and it has to be something that's within the power of their soul to create and animate (no 90-foot monsters). But it's still far beyond the capability of any other mages or theris to reproduce.
Unfortunately, the great power of this ability comes with drawbacks. It tends to leave shifters mentally unstable, which magic use worsens (as seen in the Magic section below). Those Volitionists who have studied the phenomenon consider so-called "true shifting" to be a soul malfunction, and a taboo has gradually formed against seeking this kind of shapeshifting.
Revision [742]
Edited on 2010-04-29 01:26:09 by BaxilDragon [fixes, shifters, +CategoryMagic: IN PROGRESS]Additions:
==Therianthropic Change==
As described above, after The Changes, some humans with strong self-images as different sorts of creatures found themselves able to [[BecomingATheri trigger a shift in form]] that realigned their physical body with their expectations. That is the essence of what TTU calls "therianthropy."
However, this realignment requires dedication and a specific endpoint, and (barring a life-changing shift in self-image) is neither repeatable nor reversible. Any further changes -- and any shapeshifting by people who already match their self-image -- must come from one of the other methods listed below.
As described above, after The Changes, some humans with strong self-images as different sorts of creatures found themselves able to [[BecomingATheri trigger a shift in form]] that realigned their physical body with their expectations. That is the essence of what TTU calls "therianthropy."
However, this realignment requires dedication and a specific endpoint, and (barring a life-changing shift in self-image) is neither repeatable nor reversible. Any further changes -- and any shapeshifting by people who already match their self-image -- must come from one of the other methods listed below.
Revision [741]
Edited on 2010-04-29 01:11:50 by BaxilDragon [fixes, shifters, +CategoryMagic: IN PROGRESS]Additions:
This page discusses the various ways that people change the physical shape of their body in TTU, whether magical (via a spell) or innate (like therianthropes do). It also has some notes on the interaction of shapeshifting, [[TheriType shapeshifters]] and magic. Although it has some background information on the mechanics of therianthropy, it does //not// cover [[BecomingATheri how to become a theri]]; see that page for more.
Deletions:
Revision [740]
Edited on 2010-04-29 01:07:03 by BaxilDragon [fixes, shifters, +CategoryMagic: IN PROGRESS]Additions:
But here's the trick: That volition is always active, whether its owner is consciously directing it or not. Volition's most important and immediate job is to subconsciously maintain itself exactly as it is. So a person's soul is constantly coursing through their body, giving and receiving feedback -- being shaped by the limits of the physical form, and reinforcing that form in return.
Deletions:
Revision [739]
Edited on 2010-04-29 01:05:46 by BaxilDragon [Fixes, shifters, +CategoryMagic: IN PROGRESS]Additions:
So far, only mages who work within the [[MagicalSchools Volitionist school of thought]] have managed to come up with a theory that coherently explains shapeshifting within the rules of magic. The rest of this page will examine shapeshifting from within this Volitionist view. (Alternate hypotheses generally claim that there's something arbitrarily exceptional about theris. While such theories make sense within their traditions, they don't offer any real understanding of shapeshifting, so we'll ignore them here.)
-- CharacterDennisRedwing, in "We Walk Among You," describing the basis of [[MagicalSchools volitionist]] willworking
According to the Volitionists, it is this willpower that mages tap to power magic in TTU: just as the soul provides the energy to sustain life, it can also loan its energy to sustain whatever effects its owner creates in the world outside.
But here's the trick: That volition is always active, whether its owner is consciously directing it or not. A person's soul is constantly coursing through their body, giving and receiving feedback -- being shaped by the limits of the physical form, and reinforcing that form in return. Volition's most important and immediate job is to subconsciously maintain itself exactly as it is.
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into that body; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and prompt the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but also adjusting their resonance to make the change //permanent// -- isn't achievable via spellcasting alone. When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body will fight back -- and it's on its home turf, and it's got nothing to lose.
==True Shifting==
A [[TheriType tiny minority]] of (un)lucky theris are truly shapeshifters in the traditional sense of the word: when they take a new form, their resonance immediately adapts to it. //All// of their physical changes come with the ease of an innate change -- even to totally new forms -- and are permanent. (At least until they make another shift.)
This ability isn't unlimited; they still have to shift into living matter (at least their soul's sense of self-preservation is strong enough to disallow anything it can't inhabit), and it has to be something that's within the power of their soul to create and animate (no 90-foot monsters). But it's still far beyond the capability of any other mages or theris to reproduce.
Unfortunately, the great power of this ability comes with drawbacks. It tends to leave shifters mentally unstable, which magic use worsens (as seen in the Magic section below). Those Volitionists who have studied the phenomenon consider so-called "true shifting" to be a soul malfunction, and a taboo has gradually formed against seeking this kind of shapeshifting.
====Spells and Shapeshifting====
===Spells and Theris===
===Spells and Shapeshifters===
----
CategoryMeta CategoryConcepts CategoryMagic
-- CharacterDennisRedwing, in "We Walk Among You," describing the basis of [[MagicalSchools volitionist]] willworking
According to the Volitionists, it is this willpower that mages tap to power magic in TTU: just as the soul provides the energy to sustain life, it can also loan its energy to sustain whatever effects its owner creates in the world outside.
But here's the trick: That volition is always active, whether its owner is consciously directing it or not. A person's soul is constantly coursing through their body, giving and receiving feedback -- being shaped by the limits of the physical form, and reinforcing that form in return. Volition's most important and immediate job is to subconsciously maintain itself exactly as it is.
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into that body; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and prompt the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but also adjusting their resonance to make the change //permanent// -- isn't achievable via spellcasting alone. When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body will fight back -- and it's on its home turf, and it's got nothing to lose.
==True Shifting==
A [[TheriType tiny minority]] of (un)lucky theris are truly shapeshifters in the traditional sense of the word: when they take a new form, their resonance immediately adapts to it. //All// of their physical changes come with the ease of an innate change -- even to totally new forms -- and are permanent. (At least until they make another shift.)
This ability isn't unlimited; they still have to shift into living matter (at least their soul's sense of self-preservation is strong enough to disallow anything it can't inhabit), and it has to be something that's within the power of their soul to create and animate (no 90-foot monsters). But it's still far beyond the capability of any other mages or theris to reproduce.
Unfortunately, the great power of this ability comes with drawbacks. It tends to leave shifters mentally unstable, which magic use worsens (as seen in the Magic section below). Those Volitionists who have studied the phenomenon consider so-called "true shifting" to be a soul malfunction, and a taboo has gradually formed against seeking this kind of shapeshifting.
====Spells and Shapeshifting====
===Spells and Theris===
===Spells and Shapeshifters===
----
CategoryMeta CategoryConcepts CategoryMagic
Deletions:
-- CharacterDennisRedwing, in "We Walk Among You," describing the basis of [[MagicalTraditions volitionist]] willworking
According to the Volitionists, it is this willpower that mages tap to power magic in TTU. Just as ... **#**
#... loaning its volition to whatever effects its owner decides to call into being in the world outside it. But that volition is always active, whether its owner is a mage or not.
Their soul constantly courses through their body, giving and receiving feedback, not only being shaped by the physical limits of that person's form but also //shaping// them in return, giving that form constant feedback and reinforcement, adding subconscious volition into maintaining itself exactly as it is.
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into that body; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and force the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but also adjusting their resonance to make the change //permanent// -- isn't generally achievable via spellcasting. When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body will fight back -- and it's on its home turf, and it's got nothing to lose.
Additions:
This page discusses the various ways that people change the physical shape of their body in TTU, whether magical (via a spell) or innate (like therianthropes do). It also has some notes on the interaction of shapeshifting, [[TheriType shapeshifters]] and magic. It does //not// cover how to [[BecomingATheri become a theri]]; see that page for more details.
The one-sentence summary of what happened to the Earth when it was struck by TheChanges would be: "It became possible for people to directly manifest their beliefs within reality." In other words, **magic** started working. But "magic" in the traditional spellcasting sense was not the first sign of The Changes: shapeshifting was, as therianthropes changed from human form into Something Else.
In TTU, it's a common belief that shapeshifting is merely a facet of the greater "magic" phenomenon. Shapeshifters change in the same way mages cast spells: they create physical effects via the manifestation of their beliefs (in this case, a belief that they possess a different physical form from the human one they started with).
However -- as some scholars of magic point out -- if "manifesting beliefs" was //solely// responsible for all of The Changes' effects, physical shapeshifting //certainly// shouldn't have been the first manifestation! Shapeshifting is a huge and hugely intricate effect -- including (but hardly limited to!) creating/destroying/rearranging large amounts of matter; making said matter organically functional; and changing a living organism's biofeedback loops on the fly without internal injury or disruption. It's one thing to light a candle by willing a flame into existence; it's quite another for a theri to grow a set of arms or wings and immediately be competent at their use. There's a LOT of extra power that goes into that latter process -- seemingly without any effort!
In the early days after the Changes, it was only theris who seemed to be able to tap that "something extra"; it remained elusive for others. But as mages began to study shapeshifting and what made it behave differently from their spells, the insights they gained would ultimately bring about magic that unlocked the possibility of shapeshifting for everyone.
So far, only mages who work within the [[MagicalTraditions volitionist school of thought]] have managed to come up with a theory that coherently explains shapeshifting within the rules of magic. The rest of this page will examine shapeshifting from within this volitionist view. (Alternate hypotheses generally claim that there's something arbitrarily exceptional about theris. While such theories make sense within their traditions, they don't offer any real understanding of shapeshifting, so we'll ignore them here.)
-- CharacterDennisRedwing, in "We Walk Among You," describing the basis of [[MagicalTraditions volitionist]] willworking
According to the Volitionists, it is this willpower that mages tap to power magic in TTU. Just as ... **#**
===Methods of Shapeshifting===
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to //inherently shapeshift//: the body that their resonance has adjusted to possesses some sort of innate capacity to rewire its own resonance. This isn't an issue of memory; the activity that the body itself generates is full of small and subtle cues that can produce those resonance feedback loops with a thought, and so even a ([[TheriType were]]) werewolf that was born in wolf form will be able to instinctively become a human.
The one-sentence summary of what happened to the Earth when it was struck by TheChanges would be: "It became possible for people to directly manifest their beliefs within reality." In other words, **magic** started working. But "magic" in the traditional spellcasting sense was not the first sign of The Changes: shapeshifting was, as therianthropes changed from human form into Something Else.
In TTU, it's a common belief that shapeshifting is merely a facet of the greater "magic" phenomenon. Shapeshifters change in the same way mages cast spells: they create physical effects via the manifestation of their beliefs (in this case, a belief that they possess a different physical form from the human one they started with).
However -- as some scholars of magic point out -- if "manifesting beliefs" was //solely// responsible for all of The Changes' effects, physical shapeshifting //certainly// shouldn't have been the first manifestation! Shapeshifting is a huge and hugely intricate effect -- including (but hardly limited to!) creating/destroying/rearranging large amounts of matter; making said matter organically functional; and changing a living organism's biofeedback loops on the fly without internal injury or disruption. It's one thing to light a candle by willing a flame into existence; it's quite another for a theri to grow a set of arms or wings and immediately be competent at their use. There's a LOT of extra power that goes into that latter process -- seemingly without any effort!
In the early days after the Changes, it was only theris who seemed to be able to tap that "something extra"; it remained elusive for others. But as mages began to study shapeshifting and what made it behave differently from their spells, the insights they gained would ultimately bring about magic that unlocked the possibility of shapeshifting for everyone.
So far, only mages who work within the [[MagicalTraditions volitionist school of thought]] have managed to come up with a theory that coherently explains shapeshifting within the rules of magic. The rest of this page will examine shapeshifting from within this volitionist view. (Alternate hypotheses generally claim that there's something arbitrarily exceptional about theris. While such theories make sense within their traditions, they don't offer any real understanding of shapeshifting, so we'll ignore them here.)
-- CharacterDennisRedwing, in "We Walk Among You," describing the basis of [[MagicalTraditions volitionist]] willworking
According to the Volitionists, it is this willpower that mages tap to power magic in TTU. Just as ... **#**
===Methods of Shapeshifting===
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to //inherently shapeshift//: the body that their resonance has adjusted to possesses some sort of innate capacity to rewire its own resonance. This isn't an issue of memory; the activity that the body itself generates is full of small and subtle cues that can produce those resonance feedback loops with a thought, and so even a ([[TheriType were]]) werewolf that was born in wolf form will be able to instinctively become a human.
Deletions:
The one-sentence summary of what happened to the Earth when it was struck by TheChanges would be: "It became possible for people to directly manifest their beliefs within reality." In other words, magic started working. But "magic" in the traditional spellcasting sense was not the first sign of The Changes: shapeshifting was, as therianthropes changed from human form into Something Else.
At heart, shapeshifting is just a different aspect of the same phenomenon. Shapeshifters are doing the same thing mages are: manifesting their beliefs on reality (in this case, a belief that they possess a different physical form from the human one they started with).
However, most mages agree that -- if "manifesting beliefs" was solely responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting should have been virtually impossible, and //certainly// shouldn't have been the first demonstrable spell! Shapeshifting is a huge and hugely intricate effect -- including (but hardly limited to!) creating/destroying/rearranging large amounts of matter; making said matter organically functional; and changing a living organism's biofeedback loops on the fly without internal injury or disruption. It's one thing to light a candle by willing a flame into existence; it's quite another for a theri to grow a set of arms or wings and immediately be competent at their use. There's a lot of extra power and effort that goes into that latter process.
In the early days after the Changes, it was only theris who seemed to be able to tap that "something extra"; it remained elusive for others. But mages studied it, gaining insight into the process -- and would ultimately use that knowledge to craft spells that unlocked the possibility of shapeshifting for everyone.
-- CharacterDennisRedwing, in "We Walk Among You," describing the basis of the [[MagicalTraditions volitionist]] school of magical thought
It is this willpower that mages tap to power magic in TTU. Just as ... **#**
===Methods Theris Use To Shapeshift===
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to //inherently shapeshift//: the body that their resonance has adjusted to possesses some sort of innate capacity to rewire its own resonance. This isn't an issue of memory; the activity that the body itself generates is full of small and subtle cues that can produce those resonance feedback loops with a thought, and so even a ([[TheriTypes were]]) werewolf that was born in wolf form will be able to instinctively become a human.
Revision [700]
Edited on 2009-12-02 18:43:14 by BaxilDragon [Slight rewrite, +MagicalTraditions, IN PROGRESS]Additions:
This page discusses the various ways that people change the physical shape of their body in TTU, whether magical (via a spell) or innate (like theris do). It also has some notes on the interaction of shapeshifting, [[TheriType shapeshifters]] and magic. The complete process of BecomingATheri is outside the scope of this document; see that page for more details.
At heart, shapeshifting is just a different aspect of the same phenomenon. Shapeshifters are doing the same thing mages are: manifesting their beliefs on reality (in this case, a belief that they possess a different physical form from the human one they started with).
However, most mages agree that -- if "manifesting beliefs" was solely responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting should have been virtually impossible, and //certainly// shouldn't have been the first demonstrable spell! Shapeshifting is a huge and hugely intricate effect -- including (but hardly limited to!) creating/destroying/rearranging large amounts of matter; making said matter organically functional; and changing a living organism's biofeedback loops on the fly without internal injury or disruption. It's one thing to light a candle by willing a flame into existence; it's quite another for a theri to grow a set of arms or wings and immediately be competent at their use. There's a lot of extra power and effort that goes into that latter process.
In the early days after the Changes, it was only theris who seemed to be able to tap that "something extra"; it remained elusive for others. But mages studied it, gaining insight into the process -- and would ultimately use that knowledge to craft spells that unlocked the possibility of shapeshifting for everyone.
//"Every living being has a life force -- let's call it a "soul." Most of my fellow mages do, even though the mechanism by which this "soul" acts doesn't match the image the word traditionally conjures up.
"Your soul is the //total// of what it means to be you. It is your consciousness -- but it is not just what happens when you're conscious. It is your life itself. It's more than the memories and emotions in your brain. It's more than the nervous system's bodywide control and biofeedback. It's more than the cellular processes that keep the body alive to receive those messages. It is //all// those things, and more. It's the way that your body interacts with itself, reacts to itself, remembers itself, directs itself -- from molecules to cells up to organs, from mitochondria metabolizing glucose to your arm reaching for a soda. It's the gestalt of the incredible society of moving parts that goes into what we call a person.
//"Cogito, ergo sum//, Descartes said, and he was more right than he knew. Life itself is matter deciding to assert that it is alive, continually throwing willpower behind this assertion until one day it gets a little too distracted and can't fight off the universe's suggestions to the contrary any more."//
-- CharacterDennisRedwing, in "We Walk Among You," describing the basis of the [[MagicalTraditions volitionist]] school of magical thought
It is this willpower that mages tap to power magic in TTU. Just as ... **#**
#... loaning its volition to whatever effects its owner decides to call into being in the world outside it. But that volition is always active, whether its owner is a mage or not.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! (Do note that this will NOT prevent unintentional theris from being stuck in a form they don't want. See BecomingATheri for more details.) The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to do this.
At heart, shapeshifting is just a different aspect of the same phenomenon. Shapeshifters are doing the same thing mages are: manifesting their beliefs on reality (in this case, a belief that they possess a different physical form from the human one they started with).
However, most mages agree that -- if "manifesting beliefs" was solely responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting should have been virtually impossible, and //certainly// shouldn't have been the first demonstrable spell! Shapeshifting is a huge and hugely intricate effect -- including (but hardly limited to!) creating/destroying/rearranging large amounts of matter; making said matter organically functional; and changing a living organism's biofeedback loops on the fly without internal injury or disruption. It's one thing to light a candle by willing a flame into existence; it's quite another for a theri to grow a set of arms or wings and immediately be competent at their use. There's a lot of extra power and effort that goes into that latter process.
In the early days after the Changes, it was only theris who seemed to be able to tap that "something extra"; it remained elusive for others. But mages studied it, gaining insight into the process -- and would ultimately use that knowledge to craft spells that unlocked the possibility of shapeshifting for everyone.
//"Every living being has a life force -- let's call it a "soul." Most of my fellow mages do, even though the mechanism by which this "soul" acts doesn't match the image the word traditionally conjures up.
"Your soul is the //total// of what it means to be you. It is your consciousness -- but it is not just what happens when you're conscious. It is your life itself. It's more than the memories and emotions in your brain. It's more than the nervous system's bodywide control and biofeedback. It's more than the cellular processes that keep the body alive to receive those messages. It is //all// those things, and more. It's the way that your body interacts with itself, reacts to itself, remembers itself, directs itself -- from molecules to cells up to organs, from mitochondria metabolizing glucose to your arm reaching for a soda. It's the gestalt of the incredible society of moving parts that goes into what we call a person.
//"Cogito, ergo sum//, Descartes said, and he was more right than he knew. Life itself is matter deciding to assert that it is alive, continually throwing willpower behind this assertion until one day it gets a little too distracted and can't fight off the universe's suggestions to the contrary any more."//
-- CharacterDennisRedwing, in "We Walk Among You," describing the basis of the [[MagicalTraditions volitionist]] school of magical thought
It is this willpower that mages tap to power magic in TTU. Just as ... **#**
#... loaning its volition to whatever effects its owner decides to call into being in the world outside it. But that volition is always active, whether its owner is a mage or not.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! (Do note that this will NOT prevent unintentional theris from being stuck in a form they don't want. See BecomingATheri for more details.) The TheriType page has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to do this.
Deletions:
===Is shapeshifting magic?===
At heart, shapeshifting is just a different aspect of the same phenomenon. Shapeshifters are doing the same thing mages are: manifesting their beliefs on reality (in this case, a belief that they possess a different physical form).
However, most mages agree that -- if "manifesting beliefs" was solely responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting should have been virtually impossible. Shapeshifting is an intricate and immense effect -- including (but hardly limited to!) creating/destroying/rearranging large amounts of matter; making said matter organically functional; and changing a living organism's biofeedback loops on the fly without fatal internal injury!
It's one thing to light a candle by willing a flame into existence; it's quite another for a theri to grow a set of arms or wings and immediately be competent at their use. There's a //huge// extra effect that goes into that latter process.
In the early days after the Changes, it was only theris who seemed to be able to tap that "something extra"; it remained elusive for others. But mages did quickly decipher the process -- and were able to use that knowledge to begin crafting more complex and efficient spells that unlocked the possibility of shapeshifting for everyone.
Every living being has a life force -- we'll just call it a "soul," even though the mechanism by which it acts doesn't necessarily match the image the word conjures up.
That soul is the //total// of what it means to be that living being. It's more than just the memories and emotions in the brainmeats. It's more than the nervous system's bodywide control and biofeedback. It's more than the cellular processes that keep everything alive to receive those messages. It is the //sum// of all these things, and more. It's the way that the body interacts with itself, from molecules to cells up to organs -- the gestalt of the incredible society of moving parts that goes into what we call a person.
//Cogito, ergo sum//, Descartes said; some mages go farther and assert that life itself is matter deciding to assert that it is alive, continually throwing willpower behind this assertion until one day it gets a little too distracted and can't fight off the universe's suggestions to the contrary any more.
It is this soul that powers magic in TTU, loaning its volition to whatever effects its owner decides to call into being in the world outside it. But whether someone is a mage or not, that volition is always active.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! (Do note that this will NOT prevent unintentional theris from being stuck in a form they don't want. See BecomingATheri for more details.) TheriTypes has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to do this.
Additions:
=====Shapeshifting In TTU=====
====The basis of shapeshifting====
===Is shapeshifting magic?===
The one-sentence summary of what happened to the Earth when it was struck by TheChanges would be: "It became possible for people to directly manifest their beliefs within reality." In other words, magic started working. But "magic" in the traditional spellcasting sense was not the first sign of The Changes: shapeshifting was, as therianthropes changed from human form into Something Else.
At heart, shapeshifting is just a different aspect of the same phenomenon. Shapeshifters are doing the same thing mages are: manifesting their beliefs on reality (in this case, a belief that they possess a different physical form).
However, most mages agree that -- if "manifesting beliefs" was solely responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting should have been virtually impossible. Shapeshifting is an intricate and immense effect -- including (but hardly limited to!) creating/destroying/rearranging large amounts of matter; making said matter organically functional; and changing a living organism's biofeedback loops on the fly without fatal internal injury!
It's one thing to light a candle by willing a flame into existence; it's quite another for a theri to grow a set of arms or wings and immediately be competent at their use. There's a //huge// extra effect that goes into that latter process.
In the early days after the Changes, it was only theris who seemed to be able to tap that "something extra"; it remained elusive for others. But mages did quickly decipher the process -- and were able to use that knowledge to begin crafting more complex and efficient spells that unlocked the possibility of shapeshifting for everyone.
===How souls shape theris===
Every living being has a life force -- we'll just call it a "soul," even though the mechanism by which it acts doesn't necessarily match the image the word conjures up.
That soul is the //total// of what it means to be that living being. It's more than just the memories and emotions in the brainmeats. It's more than the nervous system's bodywide control and biofeedback. It's more than the cellular processes that keep everything alive to receive those messages. It is the //sum// of all these things, and more. It's the way that the body interacts with itself, from molecules to cells up to organs -- the gestalt of the incredible society of moving parts that goes into what we call a person.
//Cogito, ergo sum//, Descartes said; some mages go farther and assert that life itself is matter deciding to assert that it is alive, continually throwing willpower behind this assertion until one day it gets a little too distracted and can't fight off the universe's suggestions to the contrary any more.
It is this soul that powers magic in TTU, loaning its volition to whatever effects its owner decides to call into being in the world outside it. But whether someone is a mage or not, that volition is always active.
Their soul constantly courses through their body, giving and receiving feedback, not only being shaped by the physical limits of that person's form but also //shaping// them in return, giving that form constant feedback and reinforcement, adding subconscious volition into maintaining itself exactly as it is.
Mages call this continuous synchronization of a person's soul and body their **resonance**.
However, resonance is not a constant. It can be changed. If a kitchen knife slips and cuts you, your body asserts its normality as usual, but is suddenly opposed by the knife's physical rearrangement of your skin and your subconscious acceptance of the laws of physics. Resonance fails, regroups, and reasserts itself in its new slightly-bloodier configuration.
Resonance changes can also come from inside. Some people simply believe that the body they currently possess is not the one they were meant to inhabit. (Here on our Earth, this can range from phantom limb syndrome to the transgendered or [[http://www.draconity.com/faq transspecies]]). Their awareness of its incorrectness is itself a form of feedback, and the resonance reacts to that.
Their soul is never quite at home in their body. And within TTU, the dramatic increase in the power of that internal volition can charge up the soul enough for it to assert itself into something it finds more appropriate. Then, under the [[BecomingATheri right circumstances]], the body itself can be rebuilt to that resonance; the new match between soul and form cascades into a positive feedback loop, and they not only change form but //stabilize// into their "proper" shape. They have become a //therianthrope.//
===Methods Theris Use To Shapeshift===
==Memory resonance==
When therianthropes shift into their new form, and the resonance asserts itself into something the soul decides is intuitively more correct, it's a basically permanent shift. They no longer have any reason to feel out of place within their own skin (or fur, or scales). However, theris do have a very powerful tool in their internal arsenal, and many (but not all!) make use of it: **memory.**
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into that body; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and force the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! (Do note that this will NOT prevent unintentional theris from being stuck in a form they don't want. See BecomingATheri for more details.) TheriTypes has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to do this.
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to //inherently shapeshift//: the body that their resonance has adjusted to possesses some sort of innate capacity to rewire its own resonance. This isn't an issue of memory; the activity that the body itself generates is full of small and subtle cues that can produce those resonance feedback loops with a thought, and so even a ([[TheriTypes were]]) werewolf that was born in wolf form will be able to instinctively become a human.
Largely, this is limited to theris whose mythology includes shapeshifting prowess, such as werecreatures and (a few) dragons. Theris whose form is that of a non-mythological animal also seem to have an innate shapeshifting ability, even those who don't think of themselves as "werecreatures"; some mages say this is due to a subconscious acceptance that they exist somewhere between the animal and human worlds, and can't be fully animal due to their status as a sapient being.
The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but also adjusting their resonance to make the change //permanent// -- isn't generally achievable via spellcasting. When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body will fight back -- and it's on its home turf, and it's got nothing to lose.
However, the earliest -- and still most common -- shapeshifting spells can temporarily //fool// a body into futzing with its own resonance under conscious control, producing a cascade and a shapeshift effect that can be maintained as long as the consciousness can actively assert the shift. (Once the spell's target loses focus or consciousness, the soul will go "Hey, //waaaaaiiit// a minute!" and kick off a resonance cascade to revert itself.)
====The basis of shapeshifting====
===Is shapeshifting magic?===
The one-sentence summary of what happened to the Earth when it was struck by TheChanges would be: "It became possible for people to directly manifest their beliefs within reality." In other words, magic started working. But "magic" in the traditional spellcasting sense was not the first sign of The Changes: shapeshifting was, as therianthropes changed from human form into Something Else.
At heart, shapeshifting is just a different aspect of the same phenomenon. Shapeshifters are doing the same thing mages are: manifesting their beliefs on reality (in this case, a belief that they possess a different physical form).
However, most mages agree that -- if "manifesting beliefs" was solely responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting should have been virtually impossible. Shapeshifting is an intricate and immense effect -- including (but hardly limited to!) creating/destroying/rearranging large amounts of matter; making said matter organically functional; and changing a living organism's biofeedback loops on the fly without fatal internal injury!
It's one thing to light a candle by willing a flame into existence; it's quite another for a theri to grow a set of arms or wings and immediately be competent at their use. There's a //huge// extra effect that goes into that latter process.
In the early days after the Changes, it was only theris who seemed to be able to tap that "something extra"; it remained elusive for others. But mages did quickly decipher the process -- and were able to use that knowledge to begin crafting more complex and efficient spells that unlocked the possibility of shapeshifting for everyone.
===How souls shape theris===
Every living being has a life force -- we'll just call it a "soul," even though the mechanism by which it acts doesn't necessarily match the image the word conjures up.
That soul is the //total// of what it means to be that living being. It's more than just the memories and emotions in the brainmeats. It's more than the nervous system's bodywide control and biofeedback. It's more than the cellular processes that keep everything alive to receive those messages. It is the //sum// of all these things, and more. It's the way that the body interacts with itself, from molecules to cells up to organs -- the gestalt of the incredible society of moving parts that goes into what we call a person.
//Cogito, ergo sum//, Descartes said; some mages go farther and assert that life itself is matter deciding to assert that it is alive, continually throwing willpower behind this assertion until one day it gets a little too distracted and can't fight off the universe's suggestions to the contrary any more.
It is this soul that powers magic in TTU, loaning its volition to whatever effects its owner decides to call into being in the world outside it. But whether someone is a mage or not, that volition is always active.
Their soul constantly courses through their body, giving and receiving feedback, not only being shaped by the physical limits of that person's form but also //shaping// them in return, giving that form constant feedback and reinforcement, adding subconscious volition into maintaining itself exactly as it is.
Mages call this continuous synchronization of a person's soul and body their **resonance**.
However, resonance is not a constant. It can be changed. If a kitchen knife slips and cuts you, your body asserts its normality as usual, but is suddenly opposed by the knife's physical rearrangement of your skin and your subconscious acceptance of the laws of physics. Resonance fails, regroups, and reasserts itself in its new slightly-bloodier configuration.
Resonance changes can also come from inside. Some people simply believe that the body they currently possess is not the one they were meant to inhabit. (Here on our Earth, this can range from phantom limb syndrome to the transgendered or [[http://www.draconity.com/faq transspecies]]). Their awareness of its incorrectness is itself a form of feedback, and the resonance reacts to that.
Their soul is never quite at home in their body. And within TTU, the dramatic increase in the power of that internal volition can charge up the soul enough for it to assert itself into something it finds more appropriate. Then, under the [[BecomingATheri right circumstances]], the body itself can be rebuilt to that resonance; the new match between soul and form cascades into a positive feedback loop, and they not only change form but //stabilize// into their "proper" shape. They have become a //therianthrope.//
===Methods Theris Use To Shapeshift===
==Memory resonance==
When therianthropes shift into their new form, and the resonance asserts itself into something the soul decides is intuitively more correct, it's a basically permanent shift. They no longer have any reason to feel out of place within their own skin (or fur, or scales). However, theris do have a very powerful tool in their internal arsenal, and many (but not all!) make use of it: **memory.**
A theri who has just become a dragon after The Changes will have a body that finally fits, but will also have decades of experience in a human body -- a lifetime of memories and sensations. Those who are willing and able to do so can sit down, focus, and imagine themselves back into that body; their soul will respond and reshape itself, and their resonance will get fuzzy again. At that point, the theri -- who by definition has already had experience with physical shapeshifting, and who has a better idea of how to summon conscious willpower and evoke a specific trigger -- can catalyze the resonance cascade and force the soul to force another body rebuild back to human form. And, armed with the memories of their earlier shapeshifting, they can do the same thing again to return to true form; ad infinitum.
For some reason, not all theris have this skill. Some cannot even reshape their resonance after specific tutoring -- but these also tend to be the theris that were so firm about their need to change that they may not even want to try! (Do note that this will NOT prevent unintentional theris from being stuck in a form they don't want. See BecomingATheri for more details.) TheriTypes has statistics about which classes of theri are more likely to be able to do this.
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to //inherently shapeshift//: the body that their resonance has adjusted to possesses some sort of innate capacity to rewire its own resonance. This isn't an issue of memory; the activity that the body itself generates is full of small and subtle cues that can produce those resonance feedback loops with a thought, and so even a ([[TheriTypes were]]) werewolf that was born in wolf form will be able to instinctively become a human.
Largely, this is limited to theris whose mythology includes shapeshifting prowess, such as werecreatures and (a few) dragons. Theris whose form is that of a non-mythological animal also seem to have an innate shapeshifting ability, even those who don't think of themselves as "werecreatures"; some mages say this is due to a subconscious acceptance that they exist somewhere between the animal and human worlds, and can't be fully animal due to their status as a sapient being.
The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but also adjusting their resonance to make the change //permanent// -- isn't generally achievable via spellcasting. When an outside spell works against the body's resonance, the body will fight back -- and it's on its home turf, and it's got nothing to lose.
However, the earliest -- and still most common -- shapeshifting spells can temporarily //fool// a body into futzing with its own resonance under conscious control, producing a cascade and a shapeshift effect that can be maintained as long as the consciousness can actively assert the shift. (Once the spell's target loses focus or consciousness, the soul will go "Hey, //waaaaaiiit// a minute!" and kick off a resonance cascade to revert itself.)
Deletions:
===Basis of Shapeshifting===
If you needed to summarize in a single sentence what happened to the Earth when it was struck by TheChanges, it would be: "It became possible for people to directly impose their beliefs on reality." In other words, magic. But "magic" in the traditional spellcasting sense was not the first sign of The Changes: shapeshifting was, as therianthropes changed from human form into Something Else.
While the return of magic made a great many things possible via nothing more than the application of willpower, most mages agree that -- if magic alone were responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting shouldn't have been one of them. The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but even going so far as to adjust their DNA and their spiritual "resonance" to make the change //permanent// -- isn't achievable via spellcasting alone.
===Methods of Shapeshifting===
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to inherently shapeshift: their body has adjusted
Additions:
If you needed to summarize in a single sentence what happened to the Earth when it was struck by TheChanges, it would be: "It became possible for people to directly impose their beliefs on reality." In other words, magic. But "magic" in the traditional spellcasting sense was not the first sign of The Changes: shapeshifting was, as therianthropes changed from human form into Something Else.
Additions:
===Basis of Shapeshifting===
While the return of magic made a great many things possible via nothing more than the application of willpower, most mages agree that -- if magic alone were responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting shouldn't have been one of them. The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but even going so far as to adjust their DNA and their spiritual "resonance" to make the change //permanent// -- isn't achievable via spellcasting alone.
===Methods of Shapeshifting===
==Innate==
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to inherently shapeshift: their body has adjusted
==Spell==
While the return of magic made a great many things possible via nothing more than the application of willpower, most mages agree that -- if magic alone were responsible for all of The Changes' effects -- physical shapeshifting shouldn't have been one of them. The raw amount of power necessary to create a theri -- not only making raw changes in people's bodies, but even going so far as to adjust their DNA and their spiritual "resonance" to make the change //permanent// -- isn't achievable via spellcasting alone.
===Methods of Shapeshifting===
==Innate==
Some therianthropes are lucky enough to be able to inherently shapeshift: their body has adjusted
==Spell==
