Changeling Rules (Lyra)

Overview
Little-known in this timeline of Equestria, changelings are a reclusive and secretive race of insect-like quadrupeds that impersonate ponies and feed upon their love. Their presence in the wasteland - a world suffering a significant lack of positive emotions - is rare and a changeling’s appearance is as likely to elicit fear and revulsion as it would curiosity or interest.

  Traits

Take two traits as well as one caste trait for free - caste determines which type of changeling a player’s character is. Each caste trait confers a +5 bonus to each of its listed specialties.

  Magic skill:

Limited/no spellcasting outside of racial abilities, magical sensory info, magical knowledge

  Spellcasting:

No spellcasting unless the caste trait “Queen Nymph” is taken, then access to a limited spell set is granted. Consider the “strain” stat for ordinary unicorns to represent a changeling player’s pool of absorbed love; this is used for racial abilities but functions the same as for a unicorn.

  Flight:

May choose Flight Rank 1 but not begin with it by default, may go to 2 but no higher (See “Perks” below). Flight only available in forms with wings. (GMs may choose to allow players to begin with Flight Rank 1 in addition to Shapeshifting Rank 1)

Talent/Tags:
Two tag skills. Hive specialty bonuses, instead of being a third tag, are included in their respective caste traits.

Perks:
Begins with either the changeling perk “Shapeshifting (Rank 1)” or “Flight (Rank 1)” at level 1. Does NOT benefit from bonus perks. Non-queens do not have access to unicorn perks. Does not have access to pegasus perks aside from Flight ranks 1 and 2. Does not have access to cybernetics.

Modifiers:
-2 to NPC disposition when undisguised unless the NPC knows the player as a changeling.

Passive feeding: When over 10 metres away from the party or a positively-disposed NPC, food heals at ½ the rate it does for ponies, medical items are ½ as effective, and strain recovery is cut to a flat 2 strain per day. When within 10 metres, health regenerates at 1.5 the normal rate, and strain regenerates normally. Strain may not surpass its maximum when replenished this way. NPCs and players must be conscious in order to be fed on passively.

Active feeding: A player may choose to actively feed on an NPC or another player. To do this, the player must declare their target, be within 2 metres of their target, and roll magic. Each successful roll grants 15 strain and the player may make CHA attempts to feed. If all attempts are used, the player must wait a day. Successful feeding may overcharge up to END*7 points of strain over the maximum. When unused, this surplus will decay at a rate of 10 strain per hour until the maximum is reached. The target of feeding may roll CHA to resist feeding; if successful, the player may not feed on that target for a day, and may not feed on another target for 11-CHA hours.

Effects of feeding: Aggressive feeding will damage the target in some way. Targets suffer -10 to skill checks for every time they’ve been fed on in the past day, resetting with sleep. A target may only be actively fed upon END+3 times before they suffer permanent damage and cannot be fed upon any longer. A target pushed past this point will turn hostile toward the player.

See caste traits for more specific modifiers.

Racial Traits:
Thick Chitin: -2 AGI, +6DT

Compound Eye: +1 PER for purposes of general perception, -1 PER to spot specific things

Alternate Compound Eye: +2 PER for purposes of spotting things or being aware of something, -10 to all gun skills and explosives

Roach-like: Like your supposed cousins, you have an increased resistance to radiation and its effects. Your rad resistance is doubled, however, your CHA is reduced by 3 for the purposes of determining an NPC’s disposition toward you, disguised or not.

[Caste] Worker: The backbone of the changeling hive, Workers are responsible for all the work around the hive, including maintaining the hive itself and taking care of the queen and the grubs. Workers receive their choice of one of the goo perks to start out, in addition to shapeshifting. Specialties are Mechanics, Survival, and a choice between First Aid and Doctor.

[Caste] Infiltrator: Nearly identical in appearance and hive social standing to the Workers, Infiltrators are the hive’s scouts, responsible for finding and evaluating sources of food. Most if not all changelings seen outside their hive belong to this caste. Infiltrators may begin with the second rank of Shapeshift. Specialties are Magic, Sneak, and Lockpick.

[Caste] Soldier: Soldiers are responsible for protecting the hive and leading groups of other changelings. Soldiers receive +1 END and STR, but must pick between shapeshifting or flight and may not take both. Specialties are Intimidate, Melee, Unarmed; Melee may be substituted with Small Guns.

[Caste] Drone: Changeling Drones have a unique function within the hive; while they are effectively the only males capable of reproduction (and thus very valuable to the hive), they also act in a certain capacity as diplomats to other hives because of their value and the leverage they possess. Drones receive +1 INT and CHA, but suffer from -2 END and STR. Drones are given the changeling perk “Pheromones” to start out with. Specialties are Diplomacy, Barter, and a choice between First Aid and Doctor.

[Caste] Queen Nymph: At the GM’s discretion, the player may begin as a juvenile Changeling Queen. This perk is limited to those who are entirely hiveless; entering the queen growth phase may happen at any time at the GM’s prompting and forces the player to shift their priorities to the queen’s biological considerations. Once this happens, they are effectively bound to wherever they live.

Queens gain no stat bonuses or extra abilities and may only take two tag skills, however unlike normal changelings they begin with access to a limited suite of spells. This suite includes: Telekinesis, Energy Strike, Heal, and Compulsion. Advanced levels of these spells may be taken, subject to standard magic learning rules. Queens may take the “Pheromones” perk but do not begin with it.

Racial Perks:
Shapeshifting: (rank 1, 2, 3) At rank 1, you may assume the appearance and voice of any pony or zebra you have seen close-up; players may retain up to CHA disguises to readily switch to at any time; if more/other disguises are desired the player must discard one from their list and the character must stake out another target for 11-CHA hours to assume their identity. If extremely close to their target (aka observing while sleeping or dead), you may roll PER or Magic and spend 10 strain to copy the appearance, but not the voice or other aspects. At GM discretion, the player may start with one pre-made pony disguise of their own devising. While disguised, the player may only use magic or flight in a form that’s capable of it. Armor and clothing worn while in disguise do not change during a transformation, and when taking on a form with a significant size differential, will degrade the quality of the disguise with visibly poor fitting or even bad clipping. The disguise should be assumed to be physical/substantial, meaning that an NPC touching the character would feel what the changeling is disguised as, though it is still an illusion nonetheless. When shapeshifting, either from true form to disguise or from disguise to disguise, the character is enveloped in a wreath of harmless green flames. [This causes a flash of light and a “fwoosh” sound, potentially alerting others in the vicinity to the changeling’s presence or true nature.]

Rank 1: shapeshifters may only assume the form of other equine races - earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi, as well as crystal ponies, batponies, and the ghoul forms of any of the aforementioned, but not alicorns.

Rank 2: you gain 1 more potential disguise and the ability to change into an original form, as well as tiered disguise disruption: when taking damage equivalent to 5+END*4, you may reroll the skill you originally rolled to shapeshift to stay disguised, and disguises are only totally dispelled on taking END*8 damage. Rank 2 shifters gain a 2 hour reduction in the observation time necessary to pick up a new disguise.

Rank 3: you gain 2 more disguises and the ability to change into non-equiform races, such as griffins, hellhounds, buffalo, as well as alicorns. You may also change the appearance of your clothing/armor too, though the equipped armor’s stats (or lack thereof) do not change.

Mechanics: To shapeshift, players declare which disguise they are entering and spend 10 strain. In stressful situations (i.e. combat, high-risk encounters), the player would spend 10 strain and 45AP, then roll sneak, magic, or survival, whichever is highest. The spent strain and AP remain spent regardless of an attempt’s failure or success. The form taken lasts indefinitely unless disrupted by damage greater than 5+END*4 or you switch to a new disguise, at which point you must reroll and spend the associated costs once again. Enemies that see you transform will not be confused by your change of appearance, and will still target you. Shifting into true form (the chitinous changeling appearance) costs no strain, but shifting from disguise to disguise costs standard strain.

Viscous Goo: Once every 11-END hours, you may regurgitate a glob of sticky slime and spit it at a foe for 5 strain. You must roll Magic to hit, and if hit the target must make a AGL check to resist, -1 for every 10 points you succeeded by. If they fail they are immobilized for 5 turns. Two players with “Viscous Goo” may use this perk to cocoon an individual in slime, lasting a number of hours equal to the sum of their END stats.

Corrosive Goo: Once every 11-END hours, you may regurgitate a glob of corrosive slime and spit it at a foe for 5 strain. You must roll Magic, and if successful the target is splattered with acid and takes 15+ damage per round until they take a 45 AP action to remove it. Target’s armor condition degrades by one level for each turn the goo goes unremoved.

Healing Goo: Once every 11-END hours, you may regurgitate a glob of healing slime and smear it on yourself or an ally for 5 strain. This goo stops bleeding effects and heals at (FA/4)^ for two turns in combat for 20AP. Alternatively, the healing goo can be used regeneratively and adds an additional (FA/10)^ onto the target’s base healing rate for END hours after the initial application.

Hallucinogenic Goo: Once every 11-END hours, you may regurgitate a glob of slime that induces hallucinations in its target for END hours at the cost of 5 strain. The hallucinations may be terrifying or pleasant; pleasant ones pacify the target while terrifying ones send them into a violent frenzy.

Chittering: When working other changelings who also have this perk, you gain +1 to AGI when executing coordinated combat maneuvers.

Pheromones: Requirements: Drone or Queen Nymph caste trait; level 4. Players with this perk may, once per day, use this ability to totally sway an NPC to their whim. If used on players, the target must roll CHA to resist.

Emotive Sense: You may roll CHA to sense a target’s feelings towards yourself or another character.

Venomous Bite: Requirements: level 4. Biting attacks (uses Unarmed, same damage as a hoof punch) poison the target for END turns and deal 1d10 damage per turn. Must be in changeling form to use.

Two-Faced: The effects of feeding (both passive and active) are doubled when earned through deceit. Locks out Love Bug.

Love Bug: The effects of feeding (both passive and active) are doubled when earned genuinely. Locks out Two-Faced.

Divebomb: Requirements: level 5, Flight Rank 1, no current disguise. Wrap yourself in fellfire and launch yourself at a target. A flying slam attack that ignores DT and does no damage to the player.

Discreet Disguise: Requirements: Shapeshifting, Rank 2; level 4. Allows the player to transform without the flare of green fellfire that typically accompanies a changeling transformation. Player may change from one assumed form to another in this way.

Swift-Shift: Requirements: Shapeshifting, Rank 2; level 6. Disguise acquisition becomes instantaneous.

I Fucked Your Waifu and Laid Eggs In Her: Chrysalis would be proud. You gain +10 to Diplomacy and Barter while successfully impersonating a relative or loved one of the person you’re talking to.

 

Changelog:
8.9.2015 - reduced Viscous Goo’s effects from 10 turns to 5; added AP and strain costs to all goo perks.

6.13.2015 - added specifications to the shapeshifting rules; added a new perk and changed “Swift-Shift” to the new name, with the old “Swift Shift” becoming “Discreet Disguise”

5.17.2015 - Removed “Bed Bug” until further notice; defined the effects of “Love Bug” and “Two-Faced”.

4.18.2015 - changed “Healing Goo” to Koops’ suggestion for instantaneous healing, giving it an associated AP cost, strain cost, and FA dependency.

4.6.2015 - added level and trait requirements to certain perks, decided on a +10 bonus for IFYW perk

4.2.2015 - modified “Chittering” to specify how many changelings may benefit from it; changed the Survival dependency in “Viscous Goo” and “Corrosive Goo” to Magic at Lucid’s behest, with the reasoning that magic also covers racial abilities while survival is explicitly for hunting, trapping, alchemy, etc.

3.22.2015 - modified ranks 1 and 3 of shapeshifting to specify which forms a player may/may not take; modified Healing Goo so that it is now 5HP per turn in combat rather than 10.

3.21.2015 - Added the “quick study” part to transformation rules; you may roll PER or Magic and spend 10 strain to quickly copy the visual appearance of a target when you are extremely close.

 

TO ADD:
Titus mentioned something about being able to take on the traits of whoever you’re impersonating, maybe as an ability in perk form? “Extended camouflage”? Lucid has something about being able to alter SPECIAL and take any perks/traits for that race you’re disguising as, but not the char-specifc stuff.

basically being able to change your own traits, temporarily, to those of whoever you’re impersonating

How much AP does goo use cost in combat? Add strain costs to the goo too

 

WIP stuff:
Bioluminescent Goo - provides up to a 3m radius of light for x amount of time. If ingested, gives the player night vision for same amount of time.

Slippery Goo - slick and flammable oily goo, can be spread over a surface. Characters attempting to walk on it must roll END to maintain footing.

Sustaining Goo - when overcharged, you may produce a gob of goo that contains the current amount of overcharge points, removing them from your strain pool and converting them into a consumable item that restores however much love you used to make the goo.

make a Snipe-compatible version of these rules