Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-4441317-20181211074027/@comment-24729606-20190224205213

Well I admit this is a fascinating question. for my part I come down on three sides on this issue. on the one hand I believe that being a shapeshifter would make one something of a pariah because those one interacts with cannot know for sure if you are actually someone they want to interact with or be around or if you have merely assumed a form with selfsame goal as the desired end result. On the other hand this would be a skill that would be very useful to oneself because one could use it to better understand other groups of people that one might not be able to mingle with as easily otherwise. On the third hand (a rather grotesque image I grant but I said I had three different perspectives here so I must employ it all the same) nomadism has been the mode of life for millennia and besides wondering (while it can be a very lonely existence) also means one can learn from peoples the world over and find a place where one can employ ones shapeshifting without fear of reprisal beyond that potential foolishness and/or misuse of one’s shapeshifting might incur. At the same time I admit there is a certain appeal in the nomadic lifestyle. Firstly contrary to what the term implies being nomadic does not mean a life of constantly being on the move (if that were indeed so then death because of exhaustion would be near constant occurrence). Nomadism just means one can pick up and move from place to place without being tethered to one specific location. It also means one has to transport everything one owns either on ones own back of using pack animals if and when one can get one’s hands on them. But either way one almost by necessity should restrict one’s possessions to shelter and tools necessary to procure the necessities of life (food and water). Nomadism also means one has not only the chance but a pretty strong incentive to develop a connection to one’s surroundings. In conclusion I would have to stay that while nomadism would be a useful lifestyle for a shapeshifter it would be not necessary result from having such abilities. If feels it necessary to become nomadic than that is always an option (albeit one that would require selling almost all of ones earthly possessions, beyond a transportable means of providing oneself with shelter and the means of procuring sustenance for oneself).