Shapeshifting, illusion and body altering are all very iconic abilities in any kind of mystic lore. Every mythos has it’s tricksters, not just the East. Being able to alter one’s body is a powerful ability, both in terms of options it provides the character, and the impact the character makes on the reader/viewer/player/etc. Illusions, when used right, can be one of the most powerful forms of magic, tricking others into believing things that would require unbelievable amounts of power to perform otherwise.
It was important to us to make sure players could use the various kinds of abilities usually associated with shapeshifting. In the lore of Mysteries of the Yokai, there are countless Yokai and Yokai-kin that can change their own bodies; the famous Kitsune and Tanuki among those probably most familiar. But there are many beings out there who can perform a sort of shapeshifting that doesn’t quite match up to the physical-mass-reconstruction of traditional lycanthropes and body-shifters. Many of these beings are able to trick viewers into thinking things are not as they seem. This might be a visual illusion of a fake object, making themselves or objects invisible to make things “disappear”, or even a con-game so convincing, the victim tricks themselves into believing things are not the way they are. In still other cases, a shapeshifter may not have the ability to turn into anything or any specific person, but could alter only parts of their body; for example, taking on the claws, wings, or tough skin of another creature.
We’ve included the “Shapeshifting” ability list from the game rules in the PDF link below. Please note that currently the Potential costs for these abilities are in the testing stage, and are very likely to increase before the final game release. We want players to be able to take these abilities in order to test them, without significantly crippling their ability to have other abilities on their character. These powers however, are significantly strong, and are currently red flagged for point costs.