Accepting spell buffs (physical transmutations)

[Bullgrit]

In an old game group, playing D&D3, the sorcerer Player mentioned aloud that he could polymorph the fighter types into trolls or such, to up their combat badassitude. A couple of the fighter-type Players said they didn't want to be turned into a troll -- or anything else monstrous. The sorcerer Player seemed to think turning down the buff was dumb. (As a paladin Player in that campaign, I also didn't want to be polymorphed into a troll or anything else.)

In a more recent group, playing D&D3, we were fighting a big vegetation monster in waist-deep water (I think it was a tendriculous). The PC halfling monk was having to hold onto the vegi-critter to not be submerged. My cleric, standing back from the fight, cast enlarge person on the halfling. My intention was to make him tall enough to not have to hang on to the monster while fighting (was requiring skill rolls, and giving him penalties). He immediately yelled at me to remove the effect. He didn't want to be big. So I dismissed the spell on my next action. I must admit that I kind of thought not wanting that buff (for only a few rounds) was silly. I mean, my cleric used it on himself often to serve as the party tank.

Have you seen examples of Players/PCs refusing magical physical transformations to buff them up? How did the caster take the rejection of magic?

Bullgrit

 

[Crothian]

I've never seen it like that. The players will discus things and I've seen ideas like this brought up by one player and turned down by another. But never seen it cast in game and had the recipient refuse.

 

[Dausuul]

This is a very touchy subject, because it goes directly to the player's conception of his/her character, and that's something you tamper with at your peril.

In your second example, clearly it was central to the halfling player's concept of the character that he was a halfling; even though being big might have been tactically to his advantage, it wrecked the image he had in his head. If that player comes to the gaming table because he wants to be the little guy sneaking around and darting between the feet of the big dumb humans, then enlarging his PC means you're destroying his fun. The battle may be won, and he may play a part in it, but his character - his sneaky little hero - won't have been part of that victory.

This is the same reason I have learned as a DM to avoid anything that messes with a PC's character concept, except with the player's express consent. I can blast PCs with dragonfire, afflict them with disease, suck their life out with necromantic magic, or declare that rocks fall and they die*. But (for instance) forcibly replacing a PC's hand with a magical silver prosthetic is an absolute no-no. Not even if the magical silver prosthetic gives the PC awesome new powers. You just don't go there. That territory belongs to the player alone, and I have no more right to mess with it** than the player has to demand that I incorporate modrons into my game world.

[SIZE=-2]*Okay, maybe not that last one.

**Caveat: I do consider that I have the right to disallow certain things, e.g., I can say "No warforged in this world," and players don't get to ignore that and make warforged PCs. But having allowed a warforged PC, I don't get to turn him into a human later.[/SIZE]

 

[Nightson]

I'm guessing they didn't want to recalculate all their stats.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I rather enjoy this when it happens in character -- it adds some depth to the game and the PCs.

If it becomes an out-of-character discussion, though, I find it detracts from game play.