Teleporation vs Shapeshifting

[Breña]

This aint gonna be easy, you're gonna have to explain WHY.

Word

[ZeroGravitySE]

Shapeshifting is far more greater then Teleporting. But teleporting would in the end be more helpful for the short span of life human beings have. Think about how much time we waste traveling?

Shapeshifting I can only see being very helpful in deception type way. Kinda like when they had that conflict with the shapeshifter on a deep space nine episode. Shapeshifting allows you to probe around Invisible to the untrained mind.

I vote to teleport not only because of the time saved, but think about all the exploring you can do around the universe instead of stuck on this giant molten rock.

[wnxhalfwingseen]

Teleport hands down for the deception sneaking around quality of it ^^ + always go for transport however if i keep my wings then i want shapeshifting to remove them in public

[cathedralmaster]

I'd have to choose shapeshifting since I enjoy walking around. Destinations just don't interest me. Teleporting would be a curse. There are also other reasons I'd choose shapeshifting but I think I've already met the burden here.

However, if I could choose any power, I'd probably have to go with controlling gravity. I challenge anyone to come up with a more uber power ripe for abuse. Being able to create fusion, warp space time, crush people you don't like into black holes.... What's not to like?

[Breña]

cathedralmaster said:

What's not to like?

Creatin fusion, warpin space time, crushing people you don't like into black holes.

[bort]

Shapeshift. Hands down.
Teleport's functional, but Shapeshift would be fun.

[dodrudon]

This is a more fundamental choice than the invis vs flying. Shapeshift is even MORE deceptive, and has more uses, while teleportation is flying boiled down to pure functionality.

Sure, you'd save a lot of time teleporting, that'd get me in one NWN run a day, but the fun of flying is FLYING!!!! Plus I love to drive.

I'd definitely go for shapeshifting, I mean heck you can always shift into a beam of light and almost be instantaneous teleportation

The only thing I see goin' for teleportation is instantaneous travel like ZGSE says, but then you'd hafta worry about spacesuits, point of reference, etc etc. I'd live with being a beam of light, or some particle travelling at near-light speeds, go exploring around the solar system as some invincible golem form at slower time than Earth until they manage to develop wormholes or warp travel =)

Plus, you can always shift to a displacer beast form.

It'd be kinda boring exploring all by yourself though with no one to share it with =/.

Has anyone read the book Jumper? About a boy who can teleport around. Good book, except for the revenge aspect which didn't sit well with me.

[Acaos]

I haven't read Jumper, but one of the seminal works on a teleportation society is Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination (some editions may call it Tiger! Tiger!). Highly recommended.

My personal opinion is that I would still choose teleportation over shapeshifting. If you place the two on even footing by saying they can each violate one physical law (conservation of mass for shapeshifting), then I think the dangers and problems of shapeshifting are far greater, and the limitations much higher. Having to deal with the square-cube law alone would be a nightmare.

Acaos

[dodrudon]

But in space the law doesn't matter as much! I wouldn't use shapeshifting to change to a larger, more unwieldy form (unless I'm moving around heavy boxes or something, but then, there are some pretty strong humans out there that aren't that mass-ive, comparison-wise to how big you could be, and you can always morph to a crane or something and have infinitely better control being the crane itself than its operator, or morph into some other shape that is already stable and has been invented), but to smaller and agile. Technically, as a morpher you have no set shape, so even if you get shot as a bird, you could just morph your wounds away. The pain would suck though.

Orrrr.... for any form, instead of vital organs and such, have your insides be a consistent mush or something that uses osmosis to move around nutrients (don't ask me how you'd pull muscles to move around though, I suppose keep an exoskeleton with skin/fur covering it to stay camoflauged). Then you wouldn't have to worry about mortal wounds.

[Delfestra Ruinvorn]

Teleportation please! I'm fond of my shape.

Plus, I'd like to be able to go anyplace, any time, whenever I wish. It's SUCH a convenient way to save time.

Also, I'd not want to be mistaken for X life form and netted, shot, stuffed, eaten, or stuck in a cage.

[dodrudon]

You're a terrible (terribly unimaginative) shifter if you let a simple cage restrain you.

[johannhowitzer]

Shapeshifting all the way. I notice this one's as close as the other poll, too!

The reason? There's lots of animals I'd love to be for a day, but in the end I'd want to retain my original shape. (With perhaps a bit more buff-ness, of course!) Teleportation might be fun, but I see some danger in porting into a wall halfway and it's just too functional. Shifting = more fun. I'd spend countless days as a wolf, my favorite animal, for starters... and of course there's always shifting into a bird, which pretty much covers the whole wish for flight (what I chose in the other poll). Hmm... can shifters turn into blink dogs? If so, teleportation is marginally covered too.

[zerragon]

Shapeshifting. Id shapeshift into a teleport monster .
As it pretty much covers flying as well, its an excellent 2 for 1 deal.
Though, theres allways a danger for beeing shot, still more pleasant than
getting teleported beneath the ground or something.

[sabregirl]

Shapeshifting, duh, well my next best favorite thing next to flying is prolly shapeshifting. Admittedly I've often wished I could teleport back and forth to my family but as someone already pointed out if it were only myself that could go, it wouldn't be much fun. But if it were DBZ instant transmission style where anyone (and for that matter anything) you touch could be dragged along with you, then it might be a *much* more difficult choice.

Still, shapechanging has the added allure of seeing things from tons of different perspectives. Has all the potential freedom of flight and the essential equivalence of invisibility - the fly on the wall perspective. Hmm except for the part about being swatted, presumably though you could have a basic form that was essentially goo so, flyswatting wouldn't really hurt . . . . hopefully. But visiting the ocean depths as a sperm whale, running as a bull in pamplona . . . wohoo I got to nail some silly tourist or migrating with a flock of cranes. Endless entertainment!

-S

[johannhowitzer]

Sabregirl... I like your imagination!

I may have to reconsider my choice, as I am going to be trying to start a long-distance relationship here pretty soon. Teleportation would make having lunch together more than twice a month practical, since if it works out we'll be five hours apart! Not to say that shapeshifting wouldn't still get around that somehow; I wonder if shapeshifters can master their abilities to the point of becoming a ray of light?