By Garry Handelman.
Choose two animals from the list in the Transformed Animal section as special effects/totems. The powers in this section apply generally to natural versions of those animals, no the ascended, but the list in the Transformed Animal section is convenient. You can select Dragon, but see notes below. You may buy additional animals for 3 experience each, as per buying new special effects in the magic section.
You can communicate with said animals, and speak their language fluently. Add your sorcery to your charisma for purposes of dealing with them. The animals like you and will not attack you without provocation. However, your character feels obliged to protect his animal friends as well, the GM may enforce this compulsion on you. This does work on Transformed Animals unless and until they figure out you're a sorcerer at which time they probably become enraged- you do not feel the need to protect transformed animals.
Dragon note: this only does you any good if you can find a dragon to talk to.
You can take on the shape of your animals for an indefinite period. This costs a magic point each time you shift. Your clothes, weapons and other gear do not shift with you, but you may have prepared special animal related gear before hand. You cannot speak and may lack manipulative digits while in animal form. Your attributes change as per GM discretion, a few common animals are listed. Attributes may be reduced to or below 0 in perfect safety. Adjust your skills, such as you can still use, along with your attributes while shapeshifted. You may not use your Charima on humans, or your Dexterity on weapons. You may not use Sorcery in animal form, except to switch back. Any other modifications your GM feels are sensible also apply, such as appropriatte abilities (a scorpions deadly poison, for example) or disabilities at GMs discretion. You do not get any transformed animal powers.
Changing into an animal is a ten shot action, changing back is a 1 shot action.
Dragon note: changing into a dragon at any juncture with magic action value modifier +3 or less is instantly fatal.
If in an area that naturally includes members of your animal species, you may summon them. The difficulty depends on their scarcity.
Scarcity Difficulty abundant 5 common 10 uncommon 15 rare 20 not present 25
A number of animals appear equal to the outcome. You can then appeal to them for aid. You cannot control them. The animals will have to get to you normally (GM discretion). If you summon animals needlessly, they may be angered, but they will inherently like you (see Communication, above). On a backlash, you turn into one of the animals and go and try and find them. When you do find them, you come to your senses and turn back. Transformed animals of the type you are summoning are unaffected, but will notice the summons.
Dragon note: using this ability in the modern juncture is useful solely for acquiring a quick butt refurbishing at the foot of Draco (a lodge enforcer/transformed dragon). If you somehow get somewhere where non transformed dragons exist at all (such as if the 3500 BC juncture were to open), you could terrify everyone with your ability to summon them.
Last modified: June 14, 1996; please send comments to durrell@innocence.com.