Sipper Shapeshifting
Potion sippers are well-known for their shapeshifting abilities (known as glamour), though the specifics aren't often observed outside of sipperkind itself. This short guide was created in the hopes to bring some further insight to the subject for curious individuals.
These changes happen passively, the sipper is not aware of it happening 100% of the time. It isn't uncommon for elder sippers to look vastly different from the species norm, especially if they've developed crystals, which tremendously heighten their magic reserves and allow them to shapeshift more easily. Certain situations may even cause features not normally seen in the species to manifest on a sipper's true form, known as special features. More on those can be found here.
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Second to this true form are an endless variety of temporary forms, for when a sipper actively chooses to shift their body to suit any given situation. If you look closely during these sudden transformations, you can observe the sipper's body falling apart into dust before quickly reforming, a small detail that it often goes unnoticed. Depending on the extent of the changes, these forms can consume a decent amount of a sipper's magic reserves to sustain, and as such usually happen out of necessity.
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Common examples of this include: changing the body's shape to better suit a job class, increasing wing size/location to make flying easier, donning a more aquatic form to allow for underwater travel/exploration, and (most notably for sippers traveling outside of Etherheim) disguising themselves as other species.
There are also less serious uses of temporary forms, such as occasions where a surplus of ambient energy allows sippers to be more frivolous with their magic usage. Many sippers take advantage of this by hosting parties/celebrations, taking on silly or festive appearances to mark the special occasion (many sipper holidays are formed from yearly occurring 'magic floods' like these)! If a sipper is able to keep a temporary form up for long enough, it becomes less exhausting to use and can even influence their true form (for example, a sipper who regularly stays in the form of a fish for a couple months may start growing scales on their true form!) Whether or not these changes remain permanent depends on the sipper's own preferences and self identity. |
It's important to note that sipperkind is still very wary of races outside of Etherheim, and because of this, need to be careful not to expose their true self or transformation abilities. Sippers who intentionally and/or needlessly reveal themselves are shunned by the general sipper populace, due to the danger it has historically placed them in. A sipper will usually only share it's true identity if it trusts you completely, to the point that they're willing to be cut off from their own kind and most likely shorten their lifespan by thousands of years as a result, so please do not take the gesture lightly.