| 8 people marked this as FAQ candidate. |
Is the Realistic Likeness feat for Kitsune from the ARG limited to just human individuals? Or can it allow any humanoid form, seeing as it is based off of alter self?
The first sentence of Realistic Likeness says: "When you are in human form, you can take the shape of a specific individual."
If you want to ignore it because it's in the "fluff text space" (deliberately ignoring that the RAI is clear), after noting that the actual rules should mention that the feat works only while the Kitsune uses her natural Change Shape ability (which duplicates a limited version of Alter Self), I'd consider the following.
Real world Kitsunes (well, you get what I mean) turn into Humans. While it's true that Humans are the only Humanoid race of the real world and so it doesn't make the limit absolutely true, it's also true that:
1) Humans are the most common race in any game setting (with exceptions, of course), so it makes sense that Kitsunes developed a specialization in them, about their transformation.
2) If you make Realistic Likeness good for any Humanoid you have a too wide (and too wierd) range of creatures.
If I really wanted other Humanoids, I'd houserule it so (to be added to the feat):
Other than Human, the Kitsune can take the form of an additional Humanoid race for every 2 ranks it possesses in the Disguise skill.
That feat is a bit mysterious. If you would read it strictly you could think that you are limited to take on the specific appearance of any same sex human you encountered.
I think that is pretty limiting for a feat somehow. If i remebmer right the shapechange ability is also pretty expensive in the ARG, so if you use a feat to expand a race ability you should get some more out of it.
But then some of the racial feats and expandments are not so convincing and other kitsune feats also more than a bit underpowered or a super heavy investment that completely forbids other stuff.
FAQing in the hopes of clarification.
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I rule that it's only Humans, but it's certainly a frequently asked question that could use clarification.
When reading this feat, people generally settle on two different interpretations:
You're either focusing on the 1) "When you are in human form" section, or the 2) "you can take the shape of a specific individual" section.
Either way is a perfectly valid reading, really, and both directions can be further supported by outside evidence and arguments.
Let's just click the FAQ button (on every Kitsune thread we happen to find) and wait for the official ruling.
In the past I have ruled it is limited to human, half-elf and half-orc. The reason for the half breeds is their description says they also count as human.