Shifter

Evolved Skill: Evolved Skill::Shifting - Dependant Stat: {{#arraymap:Tech|,|x|Dependant Stat::x}} The Shifter evolution is one of the subtlest and scariest there is. Just the thought of one of these as a Raptor scares me silly. (No comments!) Like the Tinman, the Shifter has reserves of hexite. However these reserves are much smaller and spread throughout the Shifter's body. In fact it seems more like a sub-dermal skinweave than anything else. In spite of that, the hexite offers no extraordinary protection from bullets or other wounds; rather, it shifts and flows enabling large scale topographical changes. In simpler terms, the Shifter can alter his or her appearance. But this isn't a simple cosmetic change. Given enough time, the Shifter can make the alterations on a genetic level as well, meaning that even the best scans the ISA can pull would never penetrate the disguise. Probably the most amazing thing about the Shifter ability is their ability to alter gender. We were not able to determine how complete the change is, but Sliver is able to appear masculine or feminine. Of course, shifting takes time. Sliver only changed once in front of us, and it took her a good 15 minutes to do a complete body change. During that time, she changed from Caucasian to black. Her hair had been long and red. She went from looking 10 years old to 16 years or so including primary and secondary development. Later she demonstrated her ability to appear masculine, but she did not change in front of us. (Thank Megami-Sama.) She even changed to imitate me, and the only way the others could tell us apart was by the fact that I knew things she didn't. She even imitated the appearance of my cyber-evolution. Finally, I should note that the hexite and nanites in Sliver's system are completely undetectable except when she's actually changing. During changes scanners, wizards, screamers, and even bolters can sense the activity as a sort of static field. Beyond that nothing will penetrate a Shifters disguise except careful observation and questioning. That's it for now. Keep us updated on the situation there, and let me know when you've got more room for fugitives. All the technical gobbledygook follows. This skill covers the Chameleon's ability to alter his or her appearence, size, skin tone, and even gender. The changes take time (based on difficulty) and are harder based on the type and completeness of the change. While shifting the Chameleon generates a field of static that can be sensed by other cyber-gen types (treat as average static for scanners). The GM may allow bonuses to Shifting for Chameleons with higher Schoolin' or FaceDance skills.

The difficulty of completing certain tasks as a shifter.

Chameleon Powers
Change	Partial surface	Full surface	Observation	Medical scan
Skin Colour	5	10	15	20
Eye Colour	-	5	10	15
Hair Colour	8	12	16	24
Features	10	15	20	25
Gender	15	20	25	30

Descriptions of Above Terms

• Change: The type of change attempted.
• Partial surface: Change occurs in small areas such as hands or face, or are only minor changes such as reshaping the nose. Only fools casual observation. (Difficulty 5 to 10 to spot.)
• Full surface: Change occurs over large areas or is a major change such as altering height or build. Medical scans won't be fooled, though a quick Lil' Angel roll (dificulty 10 or more) could convince doctors that their machine is wrong.
• Observation: Changes are extensive enough to fool any scan short of a hospital's. Doctors performing this kind of exam cannot be swayed by cute little children.
• Medical Scan: Changes occur on the genetic level and cannot be spotted as unnatural. ("What have you been smoking? Girls don't change into boys without major medical facilities. Besides, where would she have gotten a pair of...")
• Skin Color: Changes of skin tone (white to black) and other epidermal changes including fingerprint changes (roll for each finger) and sunburn effects (always have the perfect tan!)
• Eye Color: Changes made to the eyes and surrounding facial structure. The shifter can simulate near or far sightedness, or alter iris colors, or the shape of the eyes (appearing Oriental, European, Asian, etc.) Retinal changes can be made at double difficulty.
• Hair Color: Changes hair pigmentation, length, curl, and even thickness. Can also fix (or cause) split ends and dandruff. Also applies to other body hair seperately (though the GM may not want to mention this... let the players find out the hard way.) A talented Chameleon never needs to shave.
• Features: Changes apply to physical structure such as mass and height as well as facial features. Shifters can change mass and height by up to 5% of their original size. For example a 5 foot, 100 pound Shifter could grow or shrink up to 3 inches, and gain or loose up to 5 pounds. Height and mass changes take 3 times as long as other shifts.
• Gender: Changes from male to female or vice versa. Note that the Shifter must have an accurate idea of what the opposite gender should look like. GM decides how complete these changes can be. (Is it just appearance? Or would hormonal effects occur?)

Notes

• Shifting takes time. A minimum of 1 minute is needed for each limb, and 2 or more minutes are requires for the torso. Average time is difficulty minus skill in minutes, with adjustments noted above.
• A Chameleon can 'imprint' patterns. These can be as simple as a different hair style to as complex as a different person. Each pattern can have as many shifts as the Chameleon's Int. Imprinted patterns can be assumed in half the time or at half dificulty. Using 2 imprint 'slots' for the same pattern would allow both effects. A Shifter can imprint 1 pattern per point of Int.

Taken from here