Elemental Races

[Dannyalcatraz]

I don't know if you know the stories of Selkies or Swanmays: the first has a seal-skin they don to assume their animal form, the latter has a human skin that they take off to assume their animal forms. When that skin is stolen, they're trapped in their alternate form.

You could do this with any aquatic creature you like.

 

[garrowolf]

Well I really like the idea of the water shapeshifter. I looked up the legend of Proteus, the son of Poseidon. He was able to shapeshift into any medium sized creature including sea creatures. I am thinking of making them one of the Waterbending races and basically their shape is fluid as well as their other magic.

So what kind culture would they have? I was thinking about something like an Aquatic form of Druidry for some of it but not only would that be too easy and simple but it would encourage the opposite of what I want. I need them to actually positively interact with other races.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Their culture would be determined in part by what kind of creatures they could turn into. If they can only turn into air-breathing creatures- sea snakes, sea turtles, seals, dolphins, whales, etc.- they would probably have a purely land-based culture similar to other coastal cultures in the region, but with subtle differences...like being better fishermen than anyone else.

If, OTOH, they can change into truly aquatic creatures, at least part of their culture will be hidden beneath the waves.

 

[jefgorbach]

The Abyss movie (1989) might give a native shapeshifting water native??

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That's a REALLY good one- good catch!- but that would seem to me to be more of a "hidden" race than a PC race.

 

[garrowolf]

My Water Magic is based on Avatar the Last Airbender and the Abyss.

I think that I figured it out! I created a playable race based on the legends of the Undine.

Undine - Nexus D20 Wiki

They are an intelligent magical eel that waterbends a body around themselves to travel around. Check it out!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

That's pretty flavorful and incorporates "waterbending" quite well.

If I may suggest the following edit (for clarity and balance):

Undine are a race of intelligent magical eels that who use their mastery of waterbending to create artificial bodies for themselves capable of allowing them to travel on land. These bodies may have any appearance the Undine chooses, but taking the form of a particular being requires great skill...

 

[garrowolf]

hhmmm well I was basically planning on using these guys/(creatures?) as my version of changlings from Eberron.

Okay what I did was to add a mention of needing the Persuasion skill in there. That way they know what skill is used for that.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

All I was saying is that its all well & good for them to be able to mimic other forms in general, but mimicking a particular being- capturing its likeness, its mannerisms, an things like that- well enough to fool those acquainted with that being should require some kind of skill (or power). Otherwise, its just a bit too powerful an ability.

 

[garrowolf]

okay. I agree.

now on to an ass load of other creatures to write up!