Homebrew Human Shapeshifter Species Details

 

"[...] Shapeshifters walk upon these lands from an unknown amount of centuries. I had the chance to talk with one of them, at some point in my life, and i must say that they are really a fascinating and ambiguos kind at the same time: although they thrive in deceptions and intrigues, as their abilities suggest us, their only goal is to preserve the species and its story..."

— Arbus Entori, from the pages of "A thousand and one wonders of the World" book, 700 Immortals Era

As the highly reknown scholar, Arbus Entori, stated in his book, Shapeshifters were really an ambiguos and intriguing kind. They all took the path of trickery and duplicity with their abilities, at some point in their life, but their main goal was just the species preservation. There's very little we can say about them, and as far as we know now, they might be already ended up gone forgotten.

Deception as an art

Every Shapeshifter developed his or her abilities in deceitfulness, seeing it like an holy commitment to one of the most pure kind of art.  Whenever there was the need, shapeshifters studied hard on the subject of their trickery, improving constantly their ways of deception

Not just a Human, but a Human after all 

"[...]...don't ask a Shapeshifter to mine rocks inside a mountain, cause he'll surely find a way to trick someone else into doing it in place of himself...""

— Arbus Entori, from the pages of "A thousand and one wonders of the World" book, 700 Immortals Era

Shapeshifters are not as adaptable as their common brothers. They weren't explorers, they were wanderers...and for the most part of their lives they struggled with common tasks and jobs. That’s why they all ended up taking advantage of their innate abilities at some point in their life.

Human Shapeshifters lived alone or in small groups, always trying not to attract unwanted attentions, keeping at distance from common humans and rejecting moments of socializations. They tried to keep their species pure...although there have been more than one ethnic influence to their somatic traits through their kind existence 

 

Human Shapeshifter Traits

Shapeshifters shared a lot of the common humans physical and mental traits, adding their peculiar characteristics but losing the strong sense of adaptability of their commoner brothers

Shapeshifting

A shapeshifter can shape its body, or just a part of it, at will and the effect it’s permanent. A shapeshifter must remember his or her original form to be able to turn back to that form. Needless to say that many shapeshifters have lost their true nature during their lives, being too much involved in the characters they study to emulate, one after the other 

Mindfulness

Shapeshifters become very soon masters of deceptions...and develop some kind of mind attitude during their lives. This mind attitude can manifest as an ability to read thoughts of any other sentient creature, or as a strong mental resistance giving them a shield against any charming spell

Age

Humans reach adulthood in their late teens and live less than a century.

Alignment

 Humans tend toward no particular alignment. The best and the worst are found among them.

Size

Humans vary widely in height and build, from barely 5 feet to well over 6 feet tall. Regardless of your position in that range, your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Common and one extra language of your choice. Humans typically learn the languages of other peoples they deal with, including obscure dialects. They are fond of sprinkling their speech with words borrowed from other tongues: Orc curses, Elvish musical expressions, Dwarvish military phrases, and so on.