Building a shape shifter with interesting rules

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Not another shrubbery

Does this mean that if any bones are broken, the creatures don't heal at all, or just that the broken bones don't mend?

the broken bones don't mend. The bones don't belong to the creature at all, they get them from other sources. In fact, the bones don't even have to be "bone", or from a real animal, the creatures can use bones made of wood, stone, or metal. In a high tech setting, I'd let them use plastic. The trick is they can't copy individuals with these bones, and look kind of odd when they use them.

[Bruno]

Considering I can take a CT Scan of my head to a 3D printer and get back a 1:1 scale steel of my skull... given enough money... the limitation isn't on the substance so much as the match to the subject. Which would be a function of the skill of the artisan and the technology used to visualize the subject bone(s) - In other words, very much like the imitation requires equipment.

Well, unless having "fake" replacement bones causes disguise penalties for supernatural reasons. I do suspect that most people wouldn't notice you having a fake femur made out of PVC piping unless you cut the length wrong and ended up with mismatched leg lengths... but it's a lot easier to cut it to the right length if you can take the other bone out to measure ;)

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Bruno

Considering I can take a CT Scan of my head to a 3D printer and get back a 1:1 scale steel of my skull... given enough money... the limitation isn't on the substance so much as the match to the subject. Which would be a function of the skill of the artisan and the technology used to visualize the subject bone(s) - In other words, very much like the imitation requires equipment.

Well, unless having "fake" replacement bones causes disguise penalties for supernatural reasons. I do suspect that most people wouldn't notice you having a fake femur made out of PVC piping unless you cut the length wrong and ended up with mismatched leg lengths... but it's a lot easier to cut it to the right length if you can take the other bone out to measure ;)

Its a physical change, so if you used, say, one of those plastic model skeletons you could look fairly normal. However, it would require creating your own face, which is much different than copying an already existing face.

[Not another shrubbery]

Originally Posted by ericthered

the broken bones don't mend. The bones don't belong to the creature at all, they get them from other sources. In fact, the bones don't even have to be "bone", or from a real animal, the creatures can use bones made of wood, stone, or metal. In a high tech setting, I'd let them use plastic. The trick is they can't copy individuals with these bones, and look kind of odd when they use them.

Oh. That sounds pretty minor, then. -10%, or maybe just a Nuisance Effect, if they can replace the broken 'bones' themselves without too much trouble.