[Child of the 7th Age]

Esty,

All of this sounds good to me.

Regarding your question....

I have another question – what is the purpose of shapechanging, other than flight?

I will defer to Bird's example here as she has greater experience than the rest of us.

First, Bird used certain forms to fight. She has been known to crush a man to death as an Ent(ahem, that was my character!)and to attack as a dragon. Alternately, certain forms can be used for doing advance scouting in the countryside, or in securing needed food. Some of my favorite memories of her character was when she attacked and killed prey and happily popped something truly repulsive to humans in her mouth! Or the time she helped guide a herd of seacows back to the ship so the hobbrim children on board could have some milk.

She's also done spying as a neekerbreeker (a tiny insect). The latter made an interesting storyline, since she was so tiny it took her a long time to get from one end of the cave to another unless she hitched a ride on someone's shoulder.

And, as a dolphin, she had an interesting form of transportation, and went down to visit some underwater mermen who just happened to be living in the sunken city of Gondolin. I can even remember her cavorting in the water in her dolphin form for the sheer joy of being alive and swimming alongside a merman with whom she had a friendship!

So there is some variety here in addition to pure "flight". Others may come up with additional examples or ideas. The one thing to remember, however, is that until a SC gains mastery over his/her forms, they may pop on at any time--even inappropriate ones! The SC controls his shape only if he/she is skilled. The first instances of changing generally take place in the proximity of the particular beast. Bird, for example, was only able to transform into a wyrm after prolonged exposure to the dragon Angara who fortunately happened to be on board the Star.

I do remember Bird saying once that extreme need could also play a role in helping a SC shift. If someone is being attacked, for example, even an inexperienced SC may take on the form most appropriate for fighting.

Since Wyrma is the head of the clans, she would obviously have perfect control over all her forms, unlike someone like poor Ráma who has yet to shift into a single guise.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 8:17 AM January 06, 2004: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]