Ref Sheet: Aiidedis

Some of you might remember Aiidedis... she's a character that has appeared a few times in this gallery. She's appeared a lot more (in all her forms, several times, and more) on Jogging.

Anyway, about this time last year I started this ref sheet for her, as I was considering the possibility of entering her into an OCT. I ended up joining Rogue Skies, where she was entirely inappropriate, and so I used different characters. BUT I always wanted to finish it anyway... because why not?

So I did! Hmm... it was a bit of work. I'm of course not going to enter her into any OCTs now, or I would put in more details. This'll do for a random pointless ref sheet.

Bonus! A bit about her species.

Stop reading now if you're not in the mood for verbosity!



Warned you.

They are shapeshifters. I haven't given them a name yet But they all start out with with their basic humanoid shape (not usually albino), and over time, through randomness, convenience, enlightenment, etc. develop new forms to transform into. There are several schools of thought about how these forms are "developed", but usually it just happens. The number of forms one has is a bit of a status symbol. Only very young children are stuck at one form (their original humanoid one); the second form usually manifests even before puberty. Progression rates after that vary wildly, though it's very rare for anyone to reach a old age without at least three forms. The average adult has 4-5 forms.

These forms can be anything, but the more shapes one develops, the harder it becomes to develop a new one, and the more "powerful" each new form is. Powerful is relative, of course, since these form tend to have very different abilities, usually ensuring that older forms never become obsolete. Supernatural abilities (like shooting fire, telepathy, energy projection) are more likely to be limited to the higher forms. Aiidedis, with her 7 forms, is among the most badass folk of her people, but not THE most badass.

Clothes! I long wondered how their clothing worked. I wanted them to have clothing in their humanoid forms, but not have them ripped or necessarily adapted into their other forms. And yet I did include some aspects of it in Aiidedis's forms (shoulders!)... I figure they have a special process which new clothing is put through, involving the intended wearer's own blood, which makes the clothing meld into them when they shift, and reemerge when they return to their humanoid form. Yep. How convenient! Thank you. But if they somehow lose their special clothing, POOP. And they can't lend each other a shirt, either.

So they've got this wonderful shapeshifting ability, which allows them to almost instant access to a wide range of more wonderful abilities. In addition to that, they are all psychically linked. They can generally feel each other's emotions, and easily communicate by thought alone. Though if it's possible for them to communicate verbally (because they're close, and in a form that can speak, and no one is listening in), it's considered more polite to do so. This not-quite-hive-mind makes them generally a very united people, proud, patriotic and well-coordinated.

It also makes them deadly xenophobic war machines. Luckily for other peoples, the shapeshifters' naturally very long lifespan has been artificially reduced by a curse/disease generations ago, causing them to die gruesomely after something like a human lifespan. Oops! Actually, the neverending quest to reverse this species-wide condition (or vent their frustration at it) is a big part of their bellicose disposition and mistrust of other species. It is theorized by some, and whispered in hushed tones, that if they were to stop shapeshifting all the time, this disease would never manifest... but you may as well ask them to stop breathing. Shapeshifting is part of what they are.

The only one to be exempt from this is their fearless leader, whose become a bit of a messiah figure. A century or two ago, he was cured. He has been leading his people on a crusade to acquire the power that cured him. Having lived longer and being healthier than most, he is rumoured to have developed a whopping 10 forms.

Aiidedis is a special case. She feels about her whole people the same way her people in general feel about other peoples. If that sentence makes sense. Is she just a bad apple? Did she not get hugged enough as a child? Was she made fun of for her albinism and love of the colour pink? Maybe all of those. Regardless, during a raid she came intothe possession of a compass - the one she wears on her vest. This compass is basically what their species has been looking for... it points the way towards the power that might cure them. So what does she do? Leave on her own to find it, and use it herself. And not share it. Gah! Aiidedis, you bastard.