Chase Carbon, Modern-Day Hollywood, Struggling Actor Turned Shapeshifter

Your name is Chase Carbon. You're a man in your early thirties with average looks and not many prospects. Your parents wanted you to be a doctor but you wanted to be an actor, so you dropped out of college, hitched a ride to Hollywood and never looked back. Now you've been here for over a decade and it's starting to look like maybe you're not gonna get your big break.

Late at night, on your way home from another failed audition, you find yourself distracted as you keep replaying the director's words in your head. He had called you unexceptional. This was something you had been hearing from different people in different words for the past ten years. Your acting ability wasn't bad, and you were believable enough as a random background character or extra with a few lines, but your presence just didn't catch the audience's attention. You were too bland, not handsome or memorable enough for a leading roll. Not to say that was necessarily a bad thing. There were plenty of jobs available for an average-looking guy who could say a few lines and didn't steal focus. But he just couldn't picture you as the protagonist of anything.

Suddenly, in the alley to your side, there's a loud electric Crack and a bright flash of light. You stop and turn to see a small metallic object appear in the air as if from nowhere, fall to the ground, and roll towards you. Bending down to pick it up, you find a mysterious ring shaped like an ornate dragon. It's cold to the touch and looks impossibly old. There doesn't seem to be any obvious damage to it, but somehow it still gives the impression of something that has been through a lot.

You can't really put a finger on why, but you find yourself drawn to this ring. It feels powerful, more powerful than anything you've ever felt before. Almost unconsciously you slip it onto your finger, and as you do a voice speaks into your mind. "Phew, now that was a close one. Hello there. You'll want to wait until there's nobody else around before responding..."