Shape Shift and Transform

[Steve]

I'm trying to understand the interaction between Shape Shift and Transform.

 

Character A has the complete Shape Shift power versus all Sense groups, and they can turn into anything living, be it an insect, a human, or even a frog.

 

Character B has the Transform that Witchcraft has, able to turn any man into a frog.

 

Character B hits Character A with his Transform, turning him into a frog.

 

Can Character A use his Shape Shift ability to become human again on his next phase, or is he stuck as a frog? Has the Transform stripped him of all his previous powers and given him the powers of an ordinary frog instead?

[Steve Long]

Re: Shape Shift and Transform

 

I’m going to expand your question a bit, since it has implications beyond the one Power you’ve focused on:

 

Q: How does Transform interact with Body-Affecting Powers such as Multiform, Shape Shift, Shrinking, and Stretching? If an attacker Transforms a character into, say, a frog, does that deprive him of the ability to Multiform/Shape Shift back into human form, use Growth, or the like?

 

A: That’s going to depend on the specific Body-Affecting Power involved, but in many cases the answer is “Yes.” Unless the GM rules otherwise, a character cannot use Multiform or Shape Shift to “negate” a Transform by changing shape back to his normal form (though the Transform could specify that as a “heal back” condition, in which case it would be allowed). As an attack, the Transform in effect “locks” the target into the defined shape (or condition) until the Transform heals back.

 

Whether other Body-Affecting Powers work is up to the GM, though usually they will since they don’t reverse the Transform per se. A character Transformed into a rabbit could Stretch his body, Duplicate to become multiple rabbits, using Growth or Shrinking to change his size while in rabbit form, and so on.