How does Shifter's Minor Aspect manifest phsycially?


Rules Questions


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

Usually things are explained in fiction, then in mechanic terms.
IE. You create a wall of fire. It's x ft. long, does x amount of damage, etc.

However I can find no wording clarifying how the Shifter's minor aspect actually looks in fiction, only mechanic language.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

It doesn't describe a physical manifestation, so I would default to there being none. A physical manifestation has more drawbacks than benefits, such as RP interactions and tipping your hand, so unless some FAQ clarifies it or some other rule says so it doesn't have a tell.


Seeing the class is called 'Shifter', I really hope there is a change in visuals.


Is your interpretation. For example:
- Bear: On your body grows fur.
- Bull: Your muscles become bigger.
- Tiger: You have stripes.
- Stag: Your legs become longer
And so no.


I’d use the Iconic Shifter’s artwork as an example of what a minor aspect would look like - her hand have turned partly into bird talons and her hair seems to have turned into feathers.

I also don’t think there are too many social problems with it like WatersLethe was suggesting - manifesting it works similarly to a barbarian’s rage so you’ll only be doing it in combat anyway. So to go back to the Iconic Shifter, how she looks in the artwork is her in combat, it’s like seeing Amiri mid-rage or Lem mid-performance. When not fighting, I expect that she looks entirely human.


Small thing ShadowFighter88, Claws are not an Aspect and can be left on full-time.


That's confirmed to be a cloak, actually, not her hair becoming feathers, and Shifter's Claws is what gives Zova the talons.


double-checks book
Ah. This is what I get for answering after having just read the class through once. Forgot that the claws were a separate mechanic to the aspect.

But the basic idea of what I said should still hold - the Shifter Claws ability mentions extending them as a swift action. And in Zova's case, I'd actually think that that would be her transforming her hands into those talons (what with bird claws not being naturally retractable, her talons only having four 'fingers' and so-on).


As it is, I'm pretty sure Shifter's Claws is the only partial transformation the class gets that is called out specifically.


As there are no explicit rules on the matter, I leave it to player discretion.

The same way I allow other players discretion on character appearance.

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