So, I have a more focused thematic question. To make it all make sense, I'll give a quick rundown of the character, Ted Richardson, who was at one time, one of the few Hedge Wizards working for the Venatori Umbrorum. A former Apprentice Wizard of the White Council, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in WWII before he could test for membership in the council (a convenient excuse - he never liked that wizards were more concerned with their own well-being than that of mortals, the perpetual food of the supernatural world). Following service in WWII with the elite Devil's Brigade and, later, service in Korea with the 8th Army Rangers, Ted had to leave the service because his still-strong magical power was beginning to make it impossible to be around 1950's army technology.
Ted took back up his magical study, though his 15 years or so away from complex magic made gaining a full scope of thaumaturgy impossible. So he instead developed as a Hedge Wizard (not a lawbreaking sorcerer) with strong evocation skills and a rituals: biomancy specialization. As part of his story, Ted was blacklisted after hunted down and killed a dozen ghouls that were preying on people in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. The rest of the clan declared a vendetta against Ted, and he's been forced into a sort of witness protection program by the Venatori.
Okay, long question, I know, but I've had this idea that the main way Ted has been able to stay alive, but still working for the Venatori, is by using the biomancy to mimic the forms of other people. Not as a disguise for spying purposes, at least not normally, but because he has to live under an assumed identity. Would the biomancy specialization work for this, or should I just throw down and buy the "Mimic Form? I mean, he's really not a combat shapeshifter, and a lot of the talk on this thread has been centered around that aspect of shapeshifting.
Given that I've only had the pdfs for a week (they're awesome) and I've never played pen-and-paper rpgs, I'm trying to take this all in as best I can. The threads on this forum are excellent, and everyone seems to be so helpful, I felt like this was the time to go from stalker to poster. I'd appreciate any help folks can give.
Regards,
Kev