how to shrink a minotaur

[Dingleberry]

Does anyone know of a 3.5 spell (other than polymorph, which isn't available in my current campaign) or magic item that can shrink a minotaur from size Large to Medium for longer than 1 minute/level?

 

[Dandu]

Bestow Curse.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Cast wash hot, followed up with tumble dry high heat.
This is especially effective if said minotaur is of the woolen variety.


[edit] After a really quick look through, I can't find anything-- item or spell-- that would work on a minotaur.

 

[frankthedm]

Spell? no.

Dungeonbred template will work, if you are the DM making a minotaur medium instead of large.

 

[Greenfield]

Alter Self? 20 minutes per level, size change up to one category, but you have to change into a creature of the same Type. So Humanoid changes only to Humanoid (not Monstrous Humanoid), Magical Beast changes to Magical Beast, etc.

So consider that, while Minotaur's are Large, *young* Minotaurs don't start out that way, and are of the same type. Oh, and the spell specifically doesn't change any ability scores, even when changing sizes, so he'll still have the physical power of the full grown adult.

Of course, this presumes that the Minotaur is a spell caster, or that someone who is a spell caster is using a wand on him.

 

[udalrich]

Unless Alter Self is very poorly named, it would have to be the minotaur using the wand.

If your campaign has potions of True Strike or Shield, then potions of Alter Self could also be made, but RAW, that won't work.

It should be easily inside the scope of Miracle or Wish, but that is probably beyond your current capabilities. Limited Wish should also be able to do it.

Based on the Charm/Dominate spells, Reduce Monster (target: 1 creature) is probably a reasonable level 5 spell, but still only 1 minute/level. Extend gives you 2 min/level as a 6th level spell, and 10 min/level is probably reasonable for a level 7 spell. And level 5 is probably too high for Reduce Monster anyway (especially if it is limited to Large or bigger creatures).

 

[Greenfield]

Alter Self is well named, in that the target is Caster. Hence my comment about the Minotaur being the spell caster.

Wands, however, can be created with spells that target Caster, and are not limited in who you can use them on. It's a way around that limit.

Note that it's not one that I like, personally, but it is there.

 

[udalrich]

Strange. I was sure that there was a rule that stated the person activating the wand was the caster, but I cannot find it now. Perhaps I'm remembering scrolls or potions.

Even without that, I'm not certain how you could interpret "Target: You" and "Range: Personal" to be someone other than the creator or the activator of the wand.

 

[Greenfield]

You're probably right. Putting a spell into a wand shouldn't change the range or target.

That leaves us trying to envision a Minotaur with a lot of "Use Magic Device" ranks.

There's also something referred to as a "universal wand", which is essentially an item with the spell in it, usable X times per day by any class. It's made pretty much by the book: 1800 gp x Spell Level x Caster level for a command activated item. Since this spell would require a 3rd level caster, each use would last an hour. The item would cost 10,800 gp for 5 or more uses per day, less for fewer uses.

There might be arguments about whether the desired effect of something like this has to be considered when the item is created instead of when it's used, but since we're only talking about one specific effect that question really wouldn't apply.

If you specifically designated a single form change only, you could probably cut the cost by more than a bit. Because of the powerful nature of the spell, I'd probably double the price given by the formula if there were no limits on forms available.

In any case, both price and availability would be up to the DM.

 

[Dandu]

Seriously, Bestow Curse.