Just how broken is it? Polymorph Any Object

The situation came up in game: We killed an enemy who, for reasons of alignment and RP issues, we would have preferred to take him alive.

We don't have access to Revive Outsider (he was an Efreet), but upon reading the Polymorph Any Object spell, it appears that you can turn an inanimate object into a living creature, at least for a time.

Examples in the spell description include pebble to mouse, or marionette to human.

Turning the dead and mangled remains of the Efreet into the living Efreet would theoretically work. Moreover, by the numbers, it would be permanent.

Same Kingdom (in the Animal/Vegetable/Mineral sense), same class, same size category, and related. The plus factors total to +11, and anything over +9 is permanent.

Now PAO is 8th level, so it's technically more powerful than Raise Dead or Resurrection, but to me this looks like it deserves a healthy dose of Dispel BS.

Yeah, it's be an Efreet, but not the same one. If you just want an efreet around, not a bad use. If you want that efreet back you just killed, the soul moved on. This is a new one made from matter of the old.

Agreed with [MENTION=52734]Stormonu[/MENTION], you'd just get a new Efreet, not the old one resurrected. Beyond that, you'd also get an Efreet who could die if he's ever caught in a Dispel Magic spell.

Agreed with both other posters.

Plus, you'd get a very weak, very dull efreet.

Quoted from the SRD:

If the target of the spell does not have physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution), this spell grants a base score of 10 to each missing ability score. If the target of the spell does not have mental ability scores (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma), this spell grants a score of 5 to such scores.

I do not agree that they are the same Kingdom as a corpse is not a creature at all. I would only add same size and related for a duration factor of 4.

Funny how a lot of "overpowered" spells become a lot less overpowered when we actually read and apply the rules.

So, we have a different efreet, with WIS and CHA of 5. I'd say the original Polymorph spell applies and it gets the physical stats of an Efreet. Polymorph indicates the target gains the physical stats of the creature it becomes. [MENTION=6687585]Ramaster[/MENTION], am I missing an SRD link here?

Nothing says it has to obey us. It functions like polymorph, in general, so no extraordinary special qualities possessed by the new form or any supernatural or spell-like abilities. I'd allow that Any Object allows for outsiders, where Polymorph itself would not (Polymorph itself can't transform something into an Outsider).

I agree that "Kingdom" is not shared. One example in the spell description is "Sheep to wool coat", which lasts 2 days ( a 6 score). That can't include Kingdom, which is worth 5. Looks like size, related and same or lower INT. Here, we'd have size and related, so a total of 4 as Ahnehnois suggests, and a 3 hour duration.

Regardless of the other nitpicks, though, it seems clear the spell cannot be used as a substitute for raising the dead - you get A creature, not THE SAME creature. Is that enough Dispelled BS?

Flag on the play. Trying to use spell as dirty raise dead. I agree with the others, you got a new critter.

I do agree, for the record, that the spell creates an efreet, not the efreet, and the resulting efreet does not have the knowledge or personality of the original and is fairly inept based on those rules.

Odd. The PHB and my copy of the SRD say that it will take on the Intelligence of the new form, and that if it currently lacks a Charisma or Wisdom score it will gain those as appropriate to the new form as well.

As far as physical stats are concerned, it says that it works like Polymorph, meaning that it will have typical physical stats for the new creature. No mention of a 5 that I can see.

Now if I wanted to argue that I can take pieces of a creature, turn it into the whole thing, and create new souls in the process, most DM's would cast their full vote for a Dispel BS on that whole idea. Mortals, no matter how skilled or clever, shouldn't be able to create souls.

Someone suggested that a dead creature is no longer in the same general category (Animal/Vegetable/Mineral) as the living one. If I, as a player, tried to argue in favor of that because it gave me an advantage, would anyone here agree with me, or is that another Dispel BS ?

In fairness, I think that most people would classify a T-Bone steak as being in the Animal kingdom, just as the cow it came from was.

Would the reformed Efreet be the same "person" as the old? That's a real good point. If I tried that on an Adventurer, I could easily see someone saying, "Well, it's a person, same race as your dead friend, even looks like him, but all the spell does is give the race, not the levels."

Trying to use any version of Polymorph to create a leveled character should be a no-go, no matter what you started with as raw material.

Whether the new creature would retain any memories at all would be strictly up to the DM. I imagine that most would allow them language and enough memory to be a "person", rather than acting like a newborn, but more than that would come under the "at and for the DM's convenience". As in, "Plot device".

So thanks. Good points, and good ways to prevent abuse of the spell without seeming vindictive or adversarial.

I do not think the intent of that rule was that changing your leather armor into a cow is as easy as changing a cow into another cow. More broadly speaking, I think it's only appropriate to consider what the object is now, rather than what it came from. I do not think that a piece of coal is a member of the plant kingdom.