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Hi! We are about to start a the one ring campaign. We played a couple of self-made adventures and now were starting tales of wilder land. A new player is joining the ranks, she has never played any roleplaying game before and the only thing that really motivated her was to play a beorning with a shapeshifter ability.(The one where you can send out your bear in spirit form) The problem is that we a already have player that plays a Beorning with the same virtue.

So maybe she could turn into some other kind of animal was my first idea. Maybe she is shunned but also respected by some Beornings cause her spirit animal was some other animal, like an elk or a wolf, or maybe an eagle? But if her skill is exactly the same its not so much fun for them. So do you have any ideas of a virtue that would illustrate her shapeshifting ability, without actually shapeshifting of course. Maybe she could speak with the same kind of animals, or call them to her, or maybe in parts transform? Maybe get the eyes of an eagle? Or run like a wolf? Do you have any ideas?

I would go with Wolf like as if it was a bear.

Or ask her to pick something else, since each person should really have their own thing.

Elk? Wow that's a huge animal. But bears are big too. Elk is weird but it's a kind of cool weird.

Or just do two bears. Or something small and nimble like a fox.

The party I run for has three hobbits, two from the shire that are cousins, but slightly different and another wild hobbit. What makes them unique is that one has an american accent and the other a british accent, and the third a sort of irish-scottish combo accent. Each has a completely different personality.

Good luck with it.

A small animal would differentiate her from the bear, and maybe allow her to do stuff that he can't, like infiltrate a camp to spy on people. If the other players don't know in what she's going to turn, it might be fun too.

On the other hand, I don't think that virtue is very useful, so having two shapeshifters might be a waste. Given that there's also no point in having honey cakes or noble armour twice, I'm not sure having two Beornings in the group is a great idea (system-wise). Maybe you could create a similar shapeshifting virtue for another culture?

I agree with the idea of a small animal as a work-around. She may have fun playing a hero that can shapeshift (or dream walk or however you decide to tweak it) into a badger, Eurasian otter, red fox, or some such rascal. There are only two things you may want to steer clear of:

1. A bird, of whichever type. How will you justify her delving below ground with her companions? It gets tricky

2. A hound may be more appropriate than a wolf, because the former often serve the Free-peoples of the West, while the latter often serve the Shadow.

Here are some lists I've compiled of European critters that may help you (they're from a NatGeo book):

Deciduous Woodlands

Lesser purple emperor
Little owl
Red squirrel
European mole
Fallow deer
Red fox
Stout
Badger (A Sett is his communal barrow—he often places his back foot exactly where his front has stepped, in order to fool predators or prey)

River Valleys

European sea sturgeon
Catfish
Finch
Sparrow
Robin
Blue-headed duck
Marlin duck
Purple heron
Great white egret
Greater flamingo
European kingfisher (colorful)
White pelican
Spiny-footed lizard
Common rabbit
Sable
Muskrat
Eurasian otter
Reindeer
European hedgehog
European beaver
Pine marten
Wild cat
European weasel
Wild boar

Mountains

Tengmalm’s owl
Golden eagle
Dormouse
Alpine hare
Snow vole
Ibex
Marmot
Eurasian lynx
Wildcat
European brown bear

Birds of Prey

Osprey
Peregrine falcon
Lanner falcon

Coniferous Forests

Hazel grouse
Whooper swan
Great gray owl
Golden eagle
Alpine newt
Red deer
Moose
Pine marten
European wolf

Marshes

Water shrew
European perch
Purple heron
Marsh harrier
Muskrat

Pine Marten, all the way.

This is a great shot of one of these otherwise adorable rascals , but I have to add that some very reputable wildlife biologists consider the possibility that the Beast of Gévaudan may have been a pine marten (or martens).

Yikes...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Gevaudan

Mim wrote:This is a great shot of one of these otherwise adorable rascals , but I have to add that some very reputable wildlife biologists consider the possibility that the Beast of Gévaudan may have been a pine marten (or martens).

Yikes...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beast_of_Gevaudan

...and it has VERY LARGE TEETH.

(On a side note, one reason I'm a pine marten fan is that Christmas 2012 a pine marten came up to the window, right next to the tree, and watched us open presents in the morning. Total Disney moment.)

That is pretty cool, no wonder you're into them. Having one peering into the window must have rocked on Christmas, though he probably just wanted to see what was in the presents .

I also enjoy & appreciate wildlife, & try whenever possible to add & expand upon animals for ToR.

Tolkien loved the environment, & IMHO, the more we can add these types of details to the game, the more we breathe life into our adventures & Middle-earth.

Thanks! That is an impressive list! So basically I/we decided that her shapeshifter animal would be an eagle!! But she can`t actually turn into an eagle but her heritage is in some interlocked with the great Eagles, maybe a gift to her ancestor? In Heart of the wild there is mention of a woman that fought against forces of shadow like 3000 thousand years ago, in the wolf forest(or something, I don't have the book with me). Maybe she could be her ancestor and maybe she is connected to the eagles in some way? Anyway, there will be some plot lines connected to that in the future.

So whats the actual virtue. My Idea is that she can fly a short distance, or more take a leap and extend it by some distance, or make a fall slower. The wings would be like shadow, or sunlight or something, so no actual wings growing out. She would also be able to in some way communicate with birds, or birds that are friends to the eagles anyway. Do you guys want to help me with the actual rules? A hope to use her "wings"? or maybe some kind of dice roll? The communication with birds? Could she get some bonus in awareness? exploration? Or is it more a storytelling device? She could speak with them maybe using riddle and in some instances get some answers? What do you guys think? Thanks

Any other ideas of a virtue connected to the eagles would also be appreciated!