Mimic Form and others shapeshifting powers

[Tempestaire]

Shapeshifting has always been one of my favorite powers. I often play a druid in D&D,  a Lunar in Exalted  or a Gangrel in Vampire.
So naturally, the Changeling character I'm building will  be a shapeshifter.
I'm now hesitating between taking a  combination of Glamour + Modular Abilities and Mimic Form + Modular Abilities/Mimic Abilities.
I'd like to know a few things before choosing, though:

What shapes can Mimic Form allows one to shift into? Human? Supernatural creatures? Animals?  If my character manages to get a hold of a vampire's blood, a dragon's scales or a tiger's hair, will she be able to take their appearance?
If she takes the form of an individual of another gender, will she gain their reproductive abilities?

How hard is it to see through a Glamour?

[Sanctaphrax]

What shapes can Mimic Form allows one to shift into? Human? Supernatural creatures? Animals?  If my character manages to get a hold of a vampire's blood, a dragon's scales or a tiger's hair, will she be able to take their appearance?

Good question. The book doesn't make that clear.

If I was your GM I'd say you can transform into any living thing but that you don't get the Powers their shape implies. Which means your dragon disguise is going to be very small, flightless, and blunt-clawed. So not very convincing.

With Mimic Abilities, it's basically open season. At least if I'm GMing.

If she takes the form of an individual of another gender, will she gain their reproductive abilities?

Book doesn't say anything about it, but I'd let her impregnate someone if she was in male form. Not that it's likely to come up at the table.

And not to be That Guy, but it's not gender that's relevant here so much as sex.

How hard is it to see through a Glamour?

Glamour-maker's Discipline/Deceit roll, +2 if they have Greater Glamours.

[Haru]

What shapes can Mimic Form allows one to shift into? Human? Supernatural creatures? Animals?  If my character manages to get a hold of a vampire's blood, a dragon's scales or a tiger's hair, will she be able to take their appearance?

Sure. Depending on how much and how good (decay, age, etc) the sample is, the better the disguise will be.

I disagree with Sanctaphrax though. If you change to an actual dragon, you would be as big as the dragon, you'd have claws, you'd have wings, all that, but without the powers you don't benefit from them when doing something. As he says, you need Mimic Abilities for that. Or you could invoke some aspects or take temporary powers, but that's going to be costly after a while.

If she takes the form of an individual of another gender, will she gain their reproductive abilities?

Sure, why not? I'd probably see if this would be something I want to bring into the story (a long lost child?), but if not I wouldn't bother even deciding on how this works.

[Sanctaphrax]

I disagree with Sanctaphrax though. If you change to an actual dragon, you would be as big as the dragon, you'd have claws, you'd have wings, all that, but without the powers you don't benefit from them when doing something.

I'm not sure if it makes sense to have a Size power without the benefits and drawbacks of Size. DFRPG isn't terribly simulation-esque, but it does generally try to model reality a bit. Same goes to a lesser extent for some other Powers, like Claws.

And it's not like it makes the Power too weak if you can't convincingly disguise yourself as a mouse. (Dragons and birds are right out by either interpretation, since nobody's gonna buy it if you can't fly.)

[Cadd]

No, Haru suggested to specifically not have the Size power with its mechanical effects, but still narratively describing the character shapeshifted into a dragon as huge. Just like it has claws, but not Claws [-1] and thus do not gain a weapon rating on its Fist attacks.

[Sanctaphrax]

Yeah, I mis-wrote that.

What I should have said is, "I'm not sure if it makes sense to have a given level of size without the benefits and drawbacks of the appropriate Size Power."

Sorry for the confusion.

[Haru]

You don't really have to have the benefits. Especially if you are not used to them. You'll move clumsy, you may not know that your body can take a lot more punishment and shy away from superficial wounds as though they were graver, you are confused at the different center of mass, etc. It's going to take a while until you get to employ all that. On the other hand, the drawbacks can easily be compelled to be there.

[Taran]

doesn't mimic just give you better deceit?

You 'look' like the creature and you can pull off a really scary dragon...let's hope they believe your bluff because if they decide to call you on it, you're screwed.

If you're a bird, you could try tricking them by making really tough athletics rolls to 'fake' flying - you do have wings, so  you might be able to overcome some borders...but you can't really fly(because you don't know how), so you hope that you don't need to do that.

sure, it transforms you but you can't really use any of it to your advantage in any way.  I see santaphrax's point that enemies can't really use the disadvantages against you either (like in the case of Hulking Size and the bonus to hit).  Maybe just deal with that with compels...

"oh crap, they didn't believe me, I run away!"

"too bad you're too fat to fit through the door...."