In the world of Fable II, your hero's appearance is not set in stone. Unlike most video games where the character's initial look remains constant, Fable II features a dynamic character morphing system. This system reflects your hero's choices, morality, and even dietary habits. Eating habits directly influence your character's weight, and villagers will react to your hero's physique, with some even yelling, "Hey! Where are you going fatty?" if your character gains too much weight.
Understanding Character Morphing in Fable II
Character morphing is Lionhead's approach to character customization. At the beginning of the game, players only choose their hero's gender. The hero's appearance evolves based on their actions, morality, skills, and diet. This constant state of flux makes players more aware of their avatar's body, leading to a stronger connection with their in-game representation.
The Four General Morphing Systems
The Fable series features four primary morphing systems:
Age: In Fable II, your hero ages at least ten years due to the time spent in the Tattered Spire. Although your age isn't numerically specified, you'll end the game in your late twenties or early thirties. Rapid aging can occur by sacrificing your youth to sustain Reaver by holding onto the Dark Seal. This can be avoided by handing the seal over.
Height: A character's height is increased with Accuracy in Fable II. The Knothole Island expansion offers potions to increase or decrease height. Height affects NPC comments like "I don't remember you being so tall," but it doesn't impact gameplay, although being too tall prevents crawling through small holes.
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Weight: Weight gain occurs by consuming fatty foods like pies and beer. A fat character is generally considered unattractive by villagers. Eating celery, fruits, vegetables, or drinking non-alcoholic beverages helps reduce weight. The Knothole Island expansion also provides potions for weight manipulation, though using them is considered impure. Adventuring and avoiding fatty foods also contribute to weight loss.
Strength: A character's strength is increased with Physique in Fable II. A strong character is more attractive than a weak character. Increasing Physique adds damage to melee weapons, multiplying the weapon's strength by 1.25 for each level.
The Impact of Morality on Appearance
Morality in Fable II is visually represented in the shape and color of the digital body. Actions and appearance become synonymous. Evil characters look evil, and good characters look good. Sinister appearances result from terrible deeds, while good and pure characters develop handsome features.
Skin tone also plays a role in representing morality. Brown skin is associated with corruption and demonism, while light skin is associated with purity. The Fable II hero has no separation between body and self; appearance reflects who you are.
Weight Loss Strategies
If your hero has gained weight from indulging in too many pies or beers, here are effective strategies for shedding those extra pounds:
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Celery: Eating celery is a primary method for weight loss in Fable II.
Fruits and Vegetables: Consuming fruits and vegetables promotes weight loss.
Non-Alcoholic Drinks: Opting for non-alcoholic beverages over beer helps in reducing weight.
Adventuring: Running around and engaging in quests burns calories and aids in weight loss, especially when combined with a healthy diet.
Knothole Island Expansion
The Knothole Island expansion offers potions that can artificially increase or decrease weight. However, using these potions is considered an impure method of changing your character's appearance.
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Additional Morphing Aspects
Besides age, height, weight, and strength, other factors influence your character's appearance:
Skills: Upgrading Strength Discipline skills leads to muscular development, increasing height and width. Upgrading Will Discipline skills results in visible blue runes on the skin.
Scars: Taking damage results in scarring, with fresh scars appearing dark and lightening over time and skill upgrades.
Alignment: Good and pure characters develop a halo, while evil or neutral characters grow horns. Good characters have blue eyes, while evil characters have red eyes. Corruption turns the eyes yellow (or green if also evil), while a neutral but uncorrupt alignment results in brown eyes.
Dog Appearance: Your dog's appearance also reflects your morality. A good alignment lightens the dog's fur and turns its eyes blue, while an evil alignment darkens the fur and turns the eyes red.
World Changes
Choices made in the game affect various parts of Albion:
Westcliff: Can become a tourist trap if invested in.
Oakfield: Changes based on siding with the Temple of Shadows or Temple of Light.
Rookridge: Multiple quests morph the region, such as rebuilding the main road after "A Bridge to Far" and reopening the abandoned Inn during "The Spire."
Brightwood: Becomes more dangerous by siding with Ripper, or safer with an expanded farm by siding with Giles.
Knothole Island: Changes drastically due to weather conditions, with each quest altering the map and reopening shops.
Bower Lake: An adjacent pond dries up during "The Spire," revealing the Tomb of Heroes.
Bowerstone: Banners around Bowerstone reflect the Hero's alignment after purchasing Fairfax Castle, with white and gold for good and red and black for evil.
Fable III Morphing
In Fable III, the Hero of Brightwall's appearance changes based on morality and primal alignment. Extreme morphing, unlocked at the end of the main quest, allows the Hero to express their 'true character' through wings that change depending on alignment.
Magical Aura levels gained through magic experience cause runes to appear on the skin and clothing during charged attacks, glowing red with low morality and blue with high morality. Scars can be gained, with a maximum of one on the face, chest, and back.
The Hero's dog's appearance can be changed using dog potions to select different breeds. The Collie and Red Setter breeds change physically based on the Hero's morality, with a high alignment resulting in an auburn or tan coat and a low alignment causing a darkened coat or patchy color pattern. Extremely evil Heroes obtain aggressive-looking, "wolfish" traits for their dogs.
Economic Decisions
Decisions made by the Hero of Brightwall affect the world:
Ending child labor converts the child labor factory into a classroom.
The Battle for Albion results in the destruction of Bowerstone Old Quarter.
Rebuilding Aurora as a free state regenerates the town with new houses and banners, while assimilating Aurora as a mining colony restores it as a gloomy, industrial settlement.
Building a sewage treatment facility converts some of the docks in Bowerstone Industrial.
Draining Bower Lake alters the roadways of Millfields and creates a mine underneath the gazebo, decreasing air quality.
Building a military outpost in Aurora constructs a small fortification in the Shifting Sands region.
Houses in Albion morph based on the economy level and the Hero's behavior, with extreme actions impacting the towns. Houses upgrade and downgrade furniture based on the economy level.