Please can we make transform a level 5 skill. I doubt anybody seriously rolls a werebeast and just takes whatever race they get. People think up a race/class combo, then start playing the game, thats the point. People want to know what their race and class will be before they start leveling, not once they get to level 15.
Werebeast
Werebeasts don't get to choose what they transform into - they just, sort of, do.... Fits with the RP...
Apart from that I reckon it discourages power plays. I've heard a lot of people want certain beasts for effects...
L-A
I have no inclination to cater to power gamers even if it is "what everybody does".
Consistency is important...it is not good to cater almost always to 'power gamers' and then not cater to them on seemingly random things. It is like encouraging and touting the power of RP when it is PK that much more commonly rewarded (through code, staff, cabals, anything).
Most of the IC/OOC influence is based on PK power status (aka winning cabal warfare, etc.). People who cannot compete in PK cannot really develop much RP (exception of herald--even then, it has depth, but has a paper-thin effect on the game world and most people can 100% ignore what they do) in the setup of this MUD. So, we are naturally driven to maximize our character's power so that we can enjoy the game.
If you don't want to cater to power gamers, who are we trying to cater to exactly? Roleplayers? I don't see a lot of things in the game develop in the game based on RP unless you follow the very weak and incorrect thinking that "PK is RP" in itself. That is the rare exception and far, far from the norm. In this MUD, PK is 100% resolved by powergaming, not by RP. So, we don't cater to powergamers and RPers. Maybe casual gamers? I really don't think so, not with the time requirements and competitive nature of the MUD. Everything in the MUD setup screams powergaming, so that is the kind of player we attract and those players are generally considered the most 'successful'.
Just look at Philantees and Svenik just recently. They are both strong characters, both with RP/PK prowess and situations, but the PK aspect got very stale (Philantees) and just wore them down (Svenik and Philantees), and so have very little motivation to play their characters. The RP aspect just isn't strong enough to give them motivation to log on. I'm sure if they had other things to do instead of almost mindlessly face enemies when they logged on, they would have much more fun. That means either increasing how fun their RP can be or giving more options in PK. If you invest 800 RL hours in a character, I hope you'd come out of it with a lot more than some PK record and IC notes.
I know in my own case, my RP plots haven't been followed through, and I really, really don't enjoy mindless cabal flag warfare (very rarely it is ok though), so I also lose a great deal of motivation to play my characters if all I can expect to do when I log on is standard tag. I want to develop my RP plots and character and sometimes PK when the situation allows for it. I don't want to play a Herald because I can have more fun writing in notepad outside of the MUD, and I don't want to play a non-caballed character because cabals usually lead to PK power and IC influence leading to a more successful and therefore (in my case) more enjoyable character. I want to develop intra-cabal RP. I'm sure someone will say: Who is stopping you? The entire setup of the game is stopping me.
You could argue that character success isn't always based on PK, and maybe you are right, but that isn't how this MUD is set up to work right now. People are going to work towards success through the means available to them, in our case, most easily powergaming combined with spot (again typically paper-thin) RP to get IMM support.
I have no inclination to cater to power gamers even if it is "what everybody does".
You would not be catering to powergammers. You would be catering to both.
I for example would love to Roleplay a Werewolf. The Bear attracts me a lot less. The bird on other hand repels me. I do not want to RP a half bird half human beast.
My attraction for Were wolf is the RP and the interesting mechanics.
I have seen part of the mechanics and i find them interesting/different.
But Werebeast do not attract me in general. It's a matter of taste.
The same way, i have more hours logged on a Human Battlemage, than on my Elven, Drow or Avian. Sure the other are seen as more powerful, but in the end it's the fun i extract from my characters that makes me play.
Ogre Warriors are very powerful, but i never manage to play them. Because i do not like it's play style. It's not all about power. It's about having fun. That is why people tend to PowerPlay their characters. Lossing is no fun.
Celerity there is little use in preaching.
People who do not wish to see, will not see. Perhaps time will change the imms opinion on this, or not.
My old mud after 8 years of random rolled stats is considering change.
People argued it for years, nothing changed. Time changes minds more certainly than arguments.
I think, oddly enough, you and I have a very similar basic philosophy 
Uhh, the 3 or 4 times I've played a werebeast something, I stuck with whatever beast I got, mostly because I'm too lazy to level 8 beasts, looking for the bird...or whatever.
I've had the bear, the wolf, and the tiger. All separate characters with no re-rolling involved. Never really had pick on what beast I wanted to be. I just found it so much more fun just to roll and see what I got.
Maybe one day I'll roll the falcon. It seems to be quite good for chasing 
I've had all four. All four are incredibly interesting. 
Had more than four once upon a time...but I don't think there are more than four anymore...I feel like a word whore.
Don't females Werebeasts are somewhat diferent ?
I cannot recall my experiences, but i recall some difference.