The Shapeshifters of Aetolia
A shapeshifter is an individual that has manifested a permanent channel to the primal ley within themselves, allowing them to tap into the power and transform into a beast form. There are currently five known forms available to Shapeshifters: Werecrocodiles, Wereboars, Werewolves, Werebears, and Wereravens. A Shapeshifter can only be aligned to a single form.
The Shapeshifter class is independent of the multiclass system, and has no guild to represent it. Anybody can pick up and use the Shapeshifter class with zero lesson investment into the class - although lessons are still required to unlock the full potential.
Shapeshifter Skills
Once in a mutated form, Shapeshifters are able to do massive damage to those around them. The skill of ferality is divided into abilities that use the claws and take claw balance, and those that are bites and take normal balance. A transcendent pack of Shapeshifters is a truly fearful sight.
Ferality
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Combo
DescriptionSyntax: COMBO <target> <[ab] [param]> <[ab] [param]>
This ability allows you to unleash a swift combination of attacks with a single command. You may optionally include which limb to strike after specifying the ability you wish to use.
Example: COMBO DZEKK REND LEFT REND RIGHT
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Destroy
DescriptionSyntax: DESTROY <LEFT|RIGHT> <ARM|LEG> OF <victim>
If your opponent is suffering from a crippled limb, then you can completely destroy that limb, leaving it broken and useless.
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Mangle
DescriptionSyntax: MANGLE <LEFT|RIGHT> <ARM|LEG> OF <victim>
If your victim possesses a broken arm or leg, you can latch your might upon it and mangle it in one swift blow. If you mangle a leg, then it will cause your opponent to fall to the ground.
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Leapslash
DescriptionSyntax: LEAPSLASH <target>
While mounted, you may leap from your steed and crash into your target, knocking them to the ground as you slash frantically at them.
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Armpitlock
DescriptionSyntax: JAWLOCK ARMPIT OF <victim>
This skill will let you pin an opponent who has either a mangled torso or a mangled arm with your jaws, providing they are prone. While pinned, you can still use your claw attacks, but your bite attacks will become unavailable.
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Expose
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
When your opponent is prone, you will aim for the soft flesh that is unprotected by armour. As such, your Ferality attacks will not be as impacted by your opponent's armour while they are in this state.
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Spleenrip
DescriptionSyntax: SPLEENRIP <victim>
If you are pinning an individual by their armpit, you can rip out their spleen. The damage to the spleen will be great and incurable while the body naturally fixes itself. While they are suffering from this, the ability to clot naturally and intentionally will be significantly reduced.
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Necklock
DescriptionSyntax: JAWLOCK NECK OF <victim>
This skill will let you pin an opponent who has a broken head with your jaws, providing they are prone. While pinned, you can still use your claw attacks, but your bite attacks will become unavailable.
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Fury
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
Providing you are mutated, if you strike parry three times within a short time frame, your body will flood with fury. During this state, you can use claw attacks while off balance, allowing you to bite and then claw twice.
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Throatrip
DescriptionSyntax: THROATRIP <victim>
If you are pinning an individual by their neck, you can rip out the tender flesh of their neck. The damage to the area will be great and will be incurable while the body naturally fixes itself. While they are suffering from this, they will be unable to make use of their voice and their ability to recover quickly from elixirs will be reduced.
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Thighlock
DescriptionSyntax: JAWLOCK THIGH OF <victim>
This skill will let you pin an opponent who has a mangled leg with your jaws, providing they are prone. While pinned, you can still use your claw attacks, but your bite attacks will become unavailable.
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Headdrop
DescriptionUsage: HEADDROP <target>
Requires your target to be jawlocked. Lift your target into the air with your mighty wings and drop them upon their head. Does fair damage and breaks said head. Removes jawlock.
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Deathroll
DescriptionUsage: DEATHROLL <target>
Requires your target to be jawlocked. Deals heavy cutting damage, but if performed in a flooded location, deals asphyxiation damage instead. Removes jawlock upon use.
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Rupture
DescriptionUsage: RUPTURE <target>
If your target is jawlocked, rip their flesh apart. Deals heavy bleeding damage equal to one-third of their missing health, damages them, and removes jawlock.
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Gore
DescriptionUsage: GORE <target>
Requires a jawlock. If your target is below 25% health, this will instantly kill the target. Otherwise deals heavy cutting damage. Removes jawlock upon use.
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Buffet
DescriptionUsage: BUFFET <target>
If you have your target jawlocked, deliver a buffet of blows upon them,
dealing heavy damage and stunning. This will clear your jawlock. -
Groinrip
DescriptionSyntax: GROINRIP <victim>
If you are pinning an individual by their thigh, you can rip out the tender muscles in their groin. The damage to the area will be great and will be incurable while the body naturally fixes itself. While they are suffering from this, their ability to dodge and divert will be halved and they will move from room to room slowly.
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Pant
DescriptionThis ability is passive.
When you become filled with Fury after being parried, you will also reduce your Fitness cooldown by 5 seconds.
Please see AB HUNTING FITNESS for more information on this skill and AB FERALITY FURY for information on fury.
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Devour
DescriptionSyntax: DEVOUR <target>
If your target is suffering from at least two rips, you can quickly devour and instantly kill them. There will be no chance at revival should you kill them in this method.
The following rips will count towards the threshold:
Throatrip, Spleenrip, and Groinrip. -
Flurry
DescriptionSyntax: FLURRY <target>
PREPARE TO FLURRYAttack in a savage flurry of tooth and claw, striking out at multiple body parts at once in a powerful assault. While this ability cannot be parried, any limb damage dealt will not cause the limb to break. You will need to use a different attack in order to break a limb.
When preparing to flurry, you will automatically flurry the next person to enter the room.
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Quarter
DescriptionSyntax: QUARTER <target>
If two fellow Shapeshifters have an opponent captured in a jawlock, you can take hold of the final free limb and tear them to pieces, granting them a grisly death. Both you and your packmates must consider each other allies in order to do so.
Depending on which limb you used to grip them, you and your packmates will come away with either an arm, a leg, or the head of the body.
- You can use the following clawing attacks
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Slashing
DescriptionSyntax: SLASH <target> [limb]
Draw your sharp claws against your foe in a basic attack. If you choose a limb to target it will cause damage to that limb.
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Spinalcrack
DescriptionSyntax: SPINALCRACK <target>
Strike powerfully at their torso, damaging their spine and causing paresis.
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Rend
DescriptionSyntax: REND <target> [LEFT|RIGHT]
Use your claws to rend the muscles of your opponents arm, crippling it in the process.
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Hamstring
DescriptionSyntax: HAMSTRING <target> LEFT|RIGHT]
Aim for the juicy muscles in your opponent's leg, crippling their ability to make use of it.
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Faceslash
DescriptionSyntax: FACESLASH <target>
Take swing at your opponent's head, blinding their vision with a vicious strike to the face.
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Bodypunch
DescriptionSyntax: BODYPUNCH <target>
Launch into a massive blow at the torso of your victim, stunning them briefly.
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Throatslice
DescriptionSyntax: THROATSLICE <target>
By aiming for the neck, you can cripple your opponent's voice and prevent them from speaking or making use of it.
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Skullwhack
DescriptionSyntax: SKULLWHACK <target>
Deliver a painful blow to the skull of an opponent. If they are suffering from a broken head, then the strike will knock them unconscious.
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Jugular
DescriptionSyntax: JUGULAR <target>
A potent strike that will aim for the vitals of your prey, ripping forth their jugular and making them bleed profusely.
- You can use the following biting attacks
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Bite
DescriptionSyntax: BITE <target> [limb]
A nasty bite against an opponent. If you specify a limb then you will deal damage to that limb.
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Gut
DescriptionSyntax: GUT <target>
If your opponent is suffering from a broken torso, you can savagely rip into their gut and instantly mangle it.
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Lacerate
DescriptionSyntax: LACERATE <target>
A master of combat knows it is important to keep the blood flowing to ensure death to their victim. If your opponent is suffering from a broken torso, you can lacerate their chest, causing some bleeding up front and more a few seconds later. This ability will also give your victim the rend affliction.
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Neckdrag
DescriptionSyntax: NECKDRAG <target> <direction>
By clamping your jaws around the neck of your target, you can drag them in a direction of your choosing. This will throw them to the floor and knock them off balance.
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Facemaul
DescriptionSyntax: FACEMAUL <target>
If your victim is blind, they will be open for an attack to maul their face leaving them with a form of permanent disfigurement.
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Spinalrip
DescriptionSyntax: SPINALRIP <victim>
Using your maw, you can rip their spine out of place, causing periodic paralysis until it is cured, as well as blocking the use of the survival skill Restoration.
This effect can be cured with the restoration salve, or the spine will heal itself in a short period of time.
Please see AB SURVIVAL RESTORATION for more information on this ability.
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Skullcrush
DescriptionSyntax: SKULLCRUSH <target>
If your opponent has fallen and is suffering from a broken head, you can crush their skull between your jaws, instantly mangling it.
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Shapeshifter Mechanics
Shapeshifters are a unique class within Aetolia, and thus have a series of mechanics associated only with this class.
Madness
While in their mutated form, a Shapeshifter will accumulate madness occasionally through critical strikes to denizens. You can keep track of your madness level by adding it to your prompt.
As madness increases, you will notice the following effects:
- Damage to you will increase proportional to your madness.
- Damage from Ferality attacks will be boosted an additional amount.
- Above 70% madness, you will be unable to revert to your regular form.
- At 100% madness, you will fly into an animalistic rage, attacking any player in sight. At this point, only killing another player or dying will reduce your madness.
Madness slowly recedes while you're not mutated. The following things also reduce Madness:
- Eating carrion or denizen corpses (slight reduction)
- Killing players (significant reduction)
- Dying (complete removal)
- Standing in a den(slow removal)
Killing denizens will only remove the state of madness you receive when at 100% madness.
Multiclassing
As mentioned earlier, it is possible to pick up and use the Shapeshifter class with zero investment into it. The class exists outside of the traditional multiclass system, meaning you don't need to have a class slot available to obtain the class.
Furthermore, your primary class (i.e. the class you were in before mutating) will contribute to the skill ranks of your Shapeshifting and Ferality skill. Vocalizing is unaffected by this.
This contribution carries your skill ranks in your primary and secondary class skills over 100%, but will never contribute more than Fabled 36%, i.e. with zero lessons invested into Shapeshifting, if my rank in my primary class skill is Skilled 50%, my Shapeshifting skill will also be Skilled 50%. However if I'm Transcendent, my Shapeshifting skill will only be Fabled 36%.
Full lesson investment is still required to reach Transcendent skillrank.
Factions
There are currently five known Shapeshifter factions, each one representing a different beast form.
The Atabahi Rout are the remnants of the old Atabahi guild. Their beast form is that of the lycanthrope - informally known as werewolves.
The Bahkatu Sleuth are the remnants of the old Bahkatu guild. Their beast form is that of the ursanthrope - informally known as werebears.
The Scrofan Tribe are a clan located in the Ilhavon Forest. Their beast form is that of the apranthrope - informally known as wereboars.
The Kith of Torston have the beast form of an eusuchianthrope - informally known as eusuchian or werecrocs.
The Tsol'aa of Dromse have the beast form of a korakanthrope, or colloquially, a wereraven or werecorvid.
You can join one of these factions at the Packmoot. To find out more information about the Packmoot, please see HELP PACKMOOT.
Changing Shifter Type
If you tire of your current form, you can change which faction you mutate into.
Doing so costs 400 lessons. MUTATE INTO <new shapeshifter type> to begin the process. This will also clear your pelt, but you will be able to choose a new one immediately. Those without the Shapeshifter class will have to go through the usual steps at the Packmoot, or in the case of Wereravens, in Dromse.
Packs
Packs are a unique small group of Shapeshifters. Any shapeshifter can join an established Pack. Packs can include Shapeshifters of any type.
PACK CREATE <pack name> Requires level 80, creates a new pack
PACK INVITE <person> Invites a person to your pack
PACK ACCEPT Accepts joining another person's pack
PT <message> PACK TELLS, a pack channel like webs or clans
PACK RANKINGS Ranks existing packs
PACK QUIT Leave your existing pack
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