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Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9alternative character concepts . . . . . . . . . . .66Prominent sasquatchesFrumiousShield Wall’s legendary musician and backingvocalist vanished from the scene shortly after theband’s first major hit. The remaining band membersare tight-lipped about their friend’s disappearance,but all their releases since include the line “To AbsentFriends” in the credits.Frumious was a fixture of the Seattle musicscene for several years before hooking up with ShieldWall. He stuck with the band for three years beforetheir career went stratospheric following the famousUnderworld’93 livecast in 2051. Strangely, the recordingof the concert is the only known photographicrecord of Frumious. Occasional rumors surface abouthis whereabouts, and the fate of the shaggy musicianhas become the stuff of music industry legend.Meh-Teh LamaThe assertions of pioneering cryptozoologistslike Coleman were proven correct when a smalltribe of silver-furred sasquatch descended from themountains into Pangboche on 27 December 2011.Their leader, using magic, identified itself as theMeh-Teh Lama, the reincarnation of an ancient animisticpower converted to Buddhism by a passingmonk in the eleventh century, and further providedcertain scrolls to back its claims. PangbocheMonastery has allowed the Meh-Teh Lama andits tribe access to the monastery and permissionto build a settlement nearby, but refuses to allowanyone access to the scrolls.Common Languages: American Sign Language, AztlanerSign Language, French Sign Language, and Perkins-AthabaskanSign Language.Sasquatches possess an unusual paranatural mimicry abilitywhich serves as an extremely expressive form of communicationamong themselves and a tool when hunting or herding in the wild.Unfortunately, they appear to lack the ability to comprehend metahumanspeech as a form of communication, preventing themfrom learning spoken metahuman language; interspecies communicationis usually accomplished with sign languages.International Status: Sasquatches were recognized asan intelligent species by the United Nations in 2042 and areeligible for SINs in most nations and megacorporations of theworld; some have even attained positions of political authorityin their nations.shapeshiftersShapeshifters are sapient Awakened paranimals of metahumanintelligence with the magical ability to assume a human form.Besides being vastly more intelligent than the other non-Awakenedcritters of their species, they are typically larger and morephysically impressive specimens of their native species. Aside fromsize and intelligence, a shapeshifter is practically indistinguishablefrom a non-Awakened member of its species—genetic studies ofshapeshifters are practically identical to normal animals of thesame type. Shapeshifters also appear to be much longer-lived thantheir equivalent parent species; initial studies suggest a lifespancomparable to orks, though this takes into account the generallyviolent lives led by shapeshifters and their lack of access to regularmedical care.Shapeshifters are uncommon but not rare, and many choseto mingle with metahuman society particularly in Awakenednations. A few shapeshifters are even employed by megacorps invarious functions.Estimated Population (Worldwide): 200,000 (dividedamong various species.Population Centers: Amazonia, Aztlan, and Awakened Yakut.Common Languages: Chinese, English, and Japanese.Shapeshifters express worldwide and may learn whatever locallanguage or languages are used locally.International Status: The NAN states, Amazonia, Azania,and Aztlan recognize shapeshifter sapience and issue them SINswhen they come in from the wild. Many countries that are notmembers of the United Nations consider shapeshifters dangerousanimals and offer bounties for their destruction. The AwakenedYakut, a former Russian republic now in the control of militantAwakened forces, is the only nation where shapeshifters are thedominant political force over metahumans.Shapeshifter SpeciesThe following briefs describe some of the major shapeshiftertypes active in the Sixth World. This is not, by any means, a completelist—theoretically every animal species across the worldcould give rise to shapeshifters—but it does represent some of themost commonly encountered representatives.Bear: This species can be found throughout the northernhemisphere. They have excessive body hair and tend to be massivein human form with layers of fat on top of solid muscle.Eagle: These shapeshifters can be found throughout Europeand North America. They typically have dark eyes and sharp featuresin human form and tend to be claustrophobic.Fox: This breed is primarily native to Japan and China,though a few rare instances have appeared in Europe. Fox shapeshiftersretain their fox tails in human form (growing from thebase of the spine directly above the buttocks), which are oftencovered by long coats and robes or crudely removed.Jaguar: Jaguar or ocelot shapeshifters are natives of LatinAmerica, particularly Amazonia and Aztlan, where they areidolized by many citizens for their place in native mythology.Amazonia in particular is said to have recruited some jaguar shapeshiftersinto its intelligence services, while others whisper thatAztlan’s Jaguar Guards capture and hunt jaguar shapeshifters fortheir ceremonies. Jaguar shapeshifters in human form retain theslit-like iris and reflective layer in their eyes.Leopard: Along with black panther shapeshifters, leopardsare most common in Malaysia, as well as sub-Saharan and WestAfrica (called wareks), where they form the most common typeof shapeshifter. In human form, they possess spotted markingson their skin similar to freckles (for leopards) or extremely darkcomplexions (for black panthers).Runner’s Companion