[raggedhalo]

Hi again folks,

The player of the Black Magician PC in my game has Adversary as a Mentor Spirit, and thus gets +2 to Manipulation Spells.  With that in mind, he's after a Manipulation spell that can change his appearance*.

I figure that a spell called something like Disguise might offer +1 dice pool modifier to any Disguise Tests per hit scored in the Spellcasting roll.  It would, of course, be a Sustained spell.  Since he asked, I said that it would probably let you take the appearance of a member of the opposite sex, but only insofar as you'd be (at best) like a post-op transsexual.

But he also asked me the following questions:
1.  If I can use the Shapechange spell to turn into an animal, can I create a new spell to change into a different metahuman?
2.  Can I use sorcery to physically change sex (including functional reproductive organs)?
3.  Can I create a new Shapechange (or Metahuman Form, or Sex Change) spell with a Permanent duration?
4.  Do spells like Shapechange (or Metahuman Form, or Sex Change) actually change your DNA?  Or is your grizzly bear form bleeding elf blood?



*: both he and I realise that Physical Mask could do pretty much everything he wants, but that's not what we're talking about here.

[FastJack]

1.  If I can use the Shapechange spell to turn into an animal, can I create a new spell to change into a different metahuman?
2.  Can I use sorcery to physically change sex (including functional reproductive organs)?
3.  Can I create a new Shapechange (or Metahuman Form, or Sex Change) spell with a Permanent duration?
4.  Do spells like Shapechange (or Metahuman Form, or Sex Change) actually change your DNA?  Or is your grizzly bear form bleeding elf blood?

1) Sure, base it off Shapechange and increase the Drain Value.
2) Yes, but not FUNCTIONAL (see below)
3) I'd say no, based on the suggested definitions in Street Magic:

Only spells that restore the target to its original, natural, unaltered state should be permanent in duration.

Since the spell is altering the subject from it's "original" state, it shouldn't be permanent.
4) No, DNA remains the same. Because of the fact that the Mage Gene is in there somewhere. If you alter your DNA, then, theoretically, you could alter the Mage Gene, erasing your ability to do magic (or, as the Corps have been trying to do for years, create magicians).

The whole thing with functional reproductive organs is that to change this in the target of the spell (even if it's yourself) means changing the DNA of that target (you're exchanging X and Y chromosomes, afterall). Even with all the advancements of Genetech in the Sixth World, they can't change the sex of a metahuman without getting involved at the prenatal stage.

[raggedhalo]

That's really helpful, thankyou - especially the quote about Permanent spells.

I'd been combing the "fundamental laws of magic" stuff (no time travel, no resurrection, etc. etc.) but saw nothing about permanent race changes, etc., but if figured that if they were possible, well, the whole plot with Kenneth Brackhaven would have gone very differently.  That permanent spells can't actually effect a permanent change away from the base is really useful.

Incidentally, I'm not sure that it would need an increased Drain Value over Shapechange, as they're both major changes.  I'd be pretty uncomfortable allowing anyone, PC or NPC, access to a spell that gave the attribute bump like Shapechange did while remaining in a metahuman form.

[FastJack]

That's really helpful, thankyou - especially the quote about Permanent spells.

I'd been combing the "fundamental laws of magic" stuff (no time travel, no resurrection, etc. etc.) but saw nothing about permanent race changes, etc., but if figured that if they were possible, well, the whole plot with Kenneth Brackhaven would have gone very differently.  That permanent spells can't actually effect a permanent change away from the base is really useful.

Incidentally, I'm not sure that it would need an increased Drain Value over Shapechange, as they're both major changes.  I'd be pretty uncomfortable allowing anyone, PC or NPC, access to a spell that gave the attribute bump like Shapechange did while remaining in a metahuman form.

True, but Shapechange is meant to imitate normal critters. By going the extra step of imitating metahumans, it's a bit more invasive on the person's body.

[Ultra Violet]

A similar topic is here to find.