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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joshua Randall" data-source="post: 9611510" data-attributes="member: 7737">Commentary:Another death mostly due to WIS 3 and, apparently, INT negative infinity. What kind of idiot doesn’t account for the fact that the Polymorph Other is going to cause Rufyl to grow by an order of magnitude? (Dragon Turtles are “up to 30’ dia[meter]” according to the AD&D Monster Manual.)“You should have placed Rufyl in the water.”When you realized that, Dalris, why didn’t you say something useful instead of insulting us?Rufyl’s body goes limp, “entering a dangerous nether state of existence on some other plane that will last until the spell is complete.” I have no idea where the gamebook author is going with this sentence. Clearly Rufyl’s body does NOT enter some other state of existence on another plane, given that it explosively grows into a Dragon Turtle.We have to specify minute details about the current and proposed shapes of Rufyl.This sentence, which seems to be common knowledge about how polymorph works in D&D, is neither in the AD&D PH spell description nor the DMG’s notes on the spell. The PH states that the spell “completely alters the form and ability, and possibly the personality and mentality, of the recipient”, gives rules for the System Shock roll and the mental change percent chance, and uses examples of turning an orc into a white dragon or a fighter into a blue dragon.The DMG reminds us that henchmen and hirelings will not willingly agree to be subjected to this spell and carves out an exception for shapechangers (such as lycanthropes) who will only be affected for 1 round rather than permanently.The concept that the magic-user needs intimate familiarity with the intended polymorph shape must have been in the mid-‘80s zeitgeist or in some Dragon Magazine article, because it’s not in the AD&D rules as written.---In any event, 13-year-old Joshua was extremely disappointed that his impeccable logic about how to find a waterborne Marid ended in everyone’s death.What if we instead Polymorph Rufyl into a flying creature to carry us to safety?</blockquote>

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