Spell question: Alter Self

[Greenfield]

Simple question for the 3.5 people out there: Does Alter Self adjust clothing and gear for the new form?

I know that the spell doesn't mention that, but oddly it does say that dropped items revert to their original form. That implies that there's a change to revert from.

Just as a warning, this is probably one of those questions without a definitive answer, so it's okay to disagree.

 

[MarkB]

"When the change occurs, your equipment, if any, either remains worn or held by the new form (if it is capable of wearing or holding the item), or melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional."

It's pretty specific. If your new form can use your equipment, it remains. If it can't, it melds.

The spell doesn't affect objects and isn't of the Illusion school, so there's nothing to indicate that it can do anything to alter the appearance of equipped items.

 

[Elf Witch]

I have always ruled that it changes appearance but not equipment or clothing so that needs to be taken into account when using the spell. Most of the DMs I have played with have done this two. The first time I played a character with this spell and grew wings they ripped up my shirt. So my character had to have special shirts made.

I think though it really should depend on your game style for the clothes if your players are into role playing things like the issue I had then go for it if not then just let the clothes change but not the equipment.

 

[Dozen]

I have always ruled that it changes appearance but not equipment or clothing so that needs to be taken into account when using the spell. Most of the DMs I have played with have done this two.

I second that! Always did the same. Spells from the polymorph subschool are strong enough without equipment-changing convenience added, and frankly it doesn't make sense anyway. There is, however, a core rehaul, if that's what you're looking for, on page 96 of the PH2. Essentially it says everything you have on you melds with your new form, and when you change back, anything you took on for the temporary one falls to the ground when the effect ends.

 

[Greenfield]

The question wasn't about melding or remaining, it was about changing.

As an example, one option of the spell is to change into a creature of the same type, but a size category larger. If the new form wears shirts, does your shirt get larger?

Several people have posted the text about the meld/remain, but left off the line that followed. Let me quote the whole section:

When the change occurs, your equipment, if any, either remains worn or held by the new form (if it is capable of wearing or holding the item), or melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When you revert to your true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on your body they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items you wore in the assumed form and can’t wear in your normal form fall off and land at your feet; any that you could wear in either form or carry in a body part common to both forms at the time of reversion are still held in the same way. Any part of the body or piece of equipment that is separated from the whole reverts to its true form.

The bolded part is the section in question.

If a dropped item "reverts to its true form", that implies that it was in a different form.

So, does equipment alter? Or, to make it simpler, do the character's clothes still fit?

 

[Dozen]

So, does equipment alter? Or, to make it simpler, do the character's clothes still fit?

It doesn't. That's what I'm saying. Core says it melds to you regardless of size or shape, so there's nothing to separate. The part you bolded is thus overruled in the PH2, which is not in the SRD IIRC.

 

[MarkB]

The question wasn't about melding or remaining, it was about changing.

As an example, one option of the spell is to change into a creature of the same type, but a size category larger. If the new form wears shirts, does your shirt get larger?

No, it doesn't. If anything about the new form makes it unable to wear those specific clothes (whether it's size changes or shape changes or, as in Elf Witch's example, extra limbs) then those clothes meld into your new form.

Several people have posted the text about the meld/remain, but left off the line that followed. Let me quote the whole section:

The bolded part is the section in question.

If a dropped item "reverts to its true form", that implies that it was in a different form.

Being melded into your body is a different form.

If you were holding a weapon when you changed form into something incapable of wielding weapons, your weapon would meld. If that arm were then cut off, it would turn back to its true form, and the weapon would appear in its grip.

So, does equipment alter? Or, to make it simpler, do the character's clothes still fit?

No, if the character changes size or shape the clothes don't change to match - and if the difference is great enough to make them unwearable, they meld.

 

[Jackinthegreen]

This begs a question: If you cast Alter Self and it doesn't change your clothes, does that mean the character is naked after casting it? Depending on one's point of view, no longer having clothes on has a range of being a rather massive inconvenience to a cute curiosity. For the sake of keeping the snickering down, I'd say it's probably best that if the character is wearing clothes and the new form is expected to as well and has similar anatomy then the spell changes the clothes to fit. After all, chances are the people who created the spell figured that it was certainly inconvenient to not keep their clothes so they tweaked it so it does and then that tweaked spell became the standard.

If you do want to introduce situations where the characters feel uncomfortable due to nudity, then of course having Alter Self meld the clothes instead of change them is a possible way to set that up.

 

[GX.Sigma]

This begs a question: If you cast Alter Self and it doesn't change your clothes, does that mean the character is naked after casting it?

Yep. Polymorph into a bear and your clothes disappear. Polymorph into a hill giant and your clothes disappear. Unless you're polymorphing into "hill giant with pants," that is.

 

[MarkB]

Yep. Polymorph into a bear and your clothes disappear. Polymorph into a hill giant and your clothes disappear. Unless you're polymorphing into "hill giant with pants," that is.

Or just buy the same brand of purple pants that Bruce Banner wears when he transforms into the Hulk. They'll fit just about anything.