Skinwalkers

It is believed that Skinwalkers are both related and distinct from Shifters. There is evidence that the Magi that cast spells and curses that turned other people into animals did so with a variety of choice, creativity, and spite. For example, the Prince who was made a toad until kissed and the unfortunate witness of a witch's work who was turned into a black cat. On the other hand, the mingling of magic and genetics is vaguely understood at best, making it entirely plausible that a descendant of a Wolfhound Shifter might become a Doberman Skinwalker instead.

Just as Shifters passed down the power to change shapes, the nature of genetics and time have also diluted their family lines and the abilities that go with it. These people, called Skinwalkers in modern parlance, come from all walks of life, from all nations and peoples across the world. These rare beings are born as normal humans and retain most of that normalcy until they hit puberty after which they undergo a unique change. They discover they have the power to change their bodies.

For Skinwalkers, the skills and abilities they possess are essentially the same as those for Shifters, however the range of animal forms available is more diverse. Any non-lycan shapechanger whose primary form is one of the four identified bloodlines (owl, selkos, swanmane, wolfhound) is a Shifter; everyone else is a Skinwalker. Most take the forms of animals which they admire or find beautiful, and others have learned how to take on multiple animal forms.

Shapeshifting Process

As with Shifters, the transformation process for a Skinwalker has a magical catalyst that allows the Skinwalker to change forms effortlessly and painlessly. They can accomplish this shift in only a few seconds, and change any time they wish, able to swap between their human and animal shapes tirelessly, without any drain on energy or strength or need to consume large amounts of calories to support the process.

Weaknesses

Skinwalkers are essentially human, thus killable by the usual things that lend to a person's demise. Some demonstrate resistances to natural poisons and such, but they are not indestructible or immortal.

Other known weaknesses for Skinwalkers include:

• Gold - Affects Skinwalkers in the same way that silver burns lycanthropes and vampires. Even something as innocuous as gold jewelry is enough to cause a reaction.
• Retinal Flares - When a Skinwalker is captured on any form of video, their eyes give off a silvery yellow flare, making them easy to identify as a Skinwalker.