>I'm not looking for a list of every form you get from each
>category (offense, defense, etc.), just more of a mechanics
>explanation: do you get 4 major, 2 minor, and that's that, and
>the six you get are randomly chosen from a large pool? If so,
>does that mean you might choose (for example) defense and just
>happen to get the 4 worst defense forms? Or have I totally
>misunderstood that part?

Yes, that's it, you'll have 6 forms. Unless you really manage to impress the imms, in which case you might get an extra form which may or may not be better than the standard forms.

As far it goes for getting the worst forms... yeah, that could happen. Sure, someone might say the forms are all balanced somehow and there's no bad ones, but they're not being subjective enough. If I was a happy-go-lucky solo explorer I'd delete if I got the armadillo, for instance. It's all down to luck (unfortunately).

>And second, from a general guidance standpoint: from the
>little information I've read, it sounds like shapeshifter
>isn't the best at "sealing the deal": no good
>roots/ensnare/stun type spells. So, I envision my character as
>someone not particularly aggressive, but very good at escape.
>Is defense or utility a better choice for someone who wants
>"slippery" forms? (Either able to vanish, or somehow run very
>quickly, or some other way to escape from an ambush?)

Utility is just that; they tend to have utility sort of skills, which often include hiding/sensing hostile enemies/fast movement. Defense, too, has some of the latter two, but not in the same extent, and their defensiveness comes from either massive regeneration, taking very little damage, dodging most everything or some combination thereof.

Air, too, has the capability for easily evading enemies (at least when you're out in the open, most of the time), and water forms in ge neral don't *need* to avoid anyone, they are so superior on their own turf.

>And then one final question: if I don't include offense as my
>major OR minor, does that basically mean none of my forms will
>do decent damage? (Since I wouldn't be very aggressive PK
>wise, I'm mostly thinking of damage vs mobs.) Does offense
>have any advantages besides creatures "hitting harder" (are
>there, for example, very fast hitting forms or forms that
>attack multiple times a round, automatically bash or sting or
>bite or some such thing?)

Every focus's final forms will have some means of dealing damage (with the exception being the damn armadillo), though I'd stay away from air for that purpose since they tend to have so-so dodging, no damage reduction and attack only once. Utility is nice in this aspect, as well, as they're fairly good at doing damage too.

All in all, I'd suggest the tried and tested utility major for a newer player, and choosing whichever minor you feel like trying out.