I am thinking of creating a model who uses their own home made polymorphine and I was wanting any input:
at the moment I am thinking their are a number of characters they can change into from a genestealer (to scare oponents) to your average imperial citizen and they need to get the gentic code of what they want to change into before they can change into it.
I was wondering what side effects, should it be physical, psychological or combination of both.
Whilst transformed the characters stats would be unchanged.
Input would be great
Sorry to crush your hopes, but I don't see this as very feasible.
Supply of polymorphine is *very* strictly controlled by the Officio Assassinorum, and I doubt that even an inquisitor would be able to get any. Also, it requires a fair bit of work, both surgical and mental, to ensure that the polymorphine does what it's intended. To masquerade as a xenos creature requires further implants and surgery. Appearing as a genestealer would get you shot by another inquisitor, and I don't think that the transformation is as quick as snapping one's fingers- for an idea of time scales, look at the hyperpolymorphine in the thorian sourcebook- it takes about 10 turns to transform into another human-sized bipedal shape, and that is for an extremely advanced form of the drug.
That said, EYHBTIAL
This is home made polymorphine made by the character but good point maybe a genestealer would be taking it a bit far but other humaniod characters could be feasible.
Of course using home made polymorphine would be very dangerous.
I'm afraid I agree with Draco. Polymorphine is an extremely advanced technology and one that takes many years of training to use. It's not something someone is going to cook up in their home lab. Also transforming into a 'stealer isn't possible using Polymorphine alone, but can be done with the addition of surgical implants - at least, we know it's possible to transform into a hybrid with just two arms, but that robs the Callidus of the ability to change into any other form.
Instead I would suggest you make your character a shape-shifting xenos Doppelganger, or a psyker who can manipulate how he is perceived by others.
More agreement with Draco. Polymorphine is seriously advanced, and trying to use a cooked up version of it would be impossibly dangerous. It'd be like trying to cure cancer with a "my first chemistry set".
A better solution to "able to change form with risks" might be making them an unsanctioned biomancer - biomancers (well, some of them) have the power to reshape flesh, so this would produce pretty much the kind of results you're looking for.
I think i will go with alien shapeshifter any suggetions on rules
To put it into perspective, every Callidus Assassin more or less needs a doctorate in anatomical studies* before they can use polymorphine properly, as it requires serious willpower to not only imagine how your target's insides are going to look, but also make the polymorphine do its job and not leave you as a wobbling pile of semi-liquid meat (which is what it does to you if you don't know how to handle it).
In short, non-human shapeshifters are more feasible by far. Lacrymoles, Simulacra, a daemon, or something of your own devising.
*Okay, not quite, but there's the small matter of knowing how not only your internal organs and muscle structure fit together, but also the internal organs and muscle structure of a whole host of different types of people, mutants, and alien species. If you get it wrong, then you're in trouble...[/quote]
In game rules for shapeshifting won't work I think, it is something that would take too long to be fitted in just a few turns and is not something conductive to being used in the kinds of situations depicted in our games. Changing the flesh alone also won't do the trick, people are also recognised by their clothing and the like, and changing them will take time as well. Shapeshifting is soemthing that is better to keep as part of the background I think.
An non-Officio source of polymorphine would be just the sort of thing to get the Inquisition's attention, I'd have thought. There might be a renegade faction dating back to the wars of vindication with it's own chemystry sets, a magos biologis wanting shapeshifting skittarii, a corrupt official siphoning off small amounts to major conspiracy and probably a dozen more potential sources to investigate. And anyone who can get some can probably arrange the requisite training too.
My understanding of polymorphine (from WD187 I think) was that it allowed adepts to change the nature of cells, eg fat to muscle or bone, and control the odd allele* to change hair and eye colour. Non-human features like 'stealer chitin or orkoid pigmentation had to be implanted in the body, rising to the body's surface during the shape-change.
*(disclaimer: I'm no science whizz and may have the term wrong)I confess I've been hacking away at rules for a polymorphiend myself. It's essentially a slightly weaker arcoflagellant in game mechanics (with trigger word, drug injectors and the
Talons mutation) but I'm experimenting with some tweaks for flavour. The current polymorphine house rule is that it takes a set number of actions to shapeshift - 4 at present, always taking more than one full turn at this character's 'passive' Speed of 3. Longer than this has often left the character a non-participant in scenarios - even now the dice can decide that he'll lie there, a writhing lump of confused flesh from his trigger to the end of the game.
For side-effects, I can think of the following:
- shapeshifting as a Risky action is the first one that occurs; failure adds d6 or even 2d6 to Injury Total (and maybe stuns the character too).
- polymorphine use requires a Willpower/Toughness/Sagacity (whichever feels appropriate) roll and failing it drops a random physical stat by the same number the test failed by.
- while morphed, a character must make a Toughness test at the start of his turn or be stunned for that turn, losing their actions as their body rebels and they fall spasming to the ground.
- this particular character's use of boot-leg polymorphine has led to mental instability and each change of form requires a Willpower test to avoid this damage from showing. Examples could be frenzy, paranoia as per a 6 on the hallucinogen effects table, or going full auto on the nearest model whether friend or foe. Either leave it to the GM or build a table for it. Passing the test when reverting to native form means the instability fades after 3 turns, while failure means that it lasts at the GM's discretion.
None of these bullet points have been tested in the slightest, consult the Emperor's Tarot for the proper guidance.
Quote from: krenshar on April 20, 2012, 09:29:18 PM
An non-Officio source of polymorphine would be just the sort of thing to get the Inquisition's attention, I'd have thought.
Exactly, but in this case that means they'd all be jumping on it (with the Adeptus Mechanicus and Officio Assassinorum piling in on top).
Again, far easier and more feasible to have an alien shapeshifter than rely on polymorphine. We have at least two examples of alien shapeshifter races in the fluff already.
Any illegal source of polymorphine would make itself a big target for the Callidus, and those people have some skill at murdering people. An alien or a psychic source would be a better option but as I said before, I would leave it in the background. One possibility for fitting it in the game itself would be more illusion-based, someone would just make themselves appear as someone else without physically changing, physical changes would be quite complex, you really don't want to make a mistake which leaves something formed wrongly which wouldlead to a painful end.