Alter Self

[Keifer113]

I'm sure this has been done a zillion times....

Do you take the form of another creature ( I change myself into a sea elf!), or do you just pick an ability from another creature ( I create gills like a sea elf). How does one get the natural armor bonuses I see people saying they get?

If someone can point me to a thread or website I'd appreciate it.

Also....list of good creatures to alter one's self to ????

 

[Starglim]

It's usually interpreted that you choose a kind of creature to become and get the racial abilities of that kind of creature.

I can't see anything in the spell description that says that you have to assume the form of a kind of creature that actually exists. However, if you become a nonexistent kind of creature, you gain the physical qualities of that kind of creature, that is, an undefined quality, or nothing.

Natural armour bonuses are one of the physical qualities that you can gain, if the form you assume has a racial natural armour bonus.

 

[shilsen]

Do you take the form of another creature ( I change myself into a sea elf!), or do you just pick an ability from another creature ( I create gills like a sea elf).

I'm going to disagree with Starglim. You take the form of another creature. The starting sentence sentence says "You assume the form of a creature of the same type as your normal form", not that you pick some abilities from another creature. The section on designating one's appearance (7th paragraph of the spell description) makes multiple references to the normal ranges for a form of the chosen knd, which wouldn' be relevant if you were just picking certain abilities either.

How does one get the natural armor bonuses I see people saying they get?

You pick a form which has natural armor.

 

[Iku Rex]

Do you take the form of another creature ( I change myself into a sea elf!), or do you just pick an ability from another creature ( I create gills like a sea elf). How does one get the natural armor bonuses I see people saying they get?

3.0 or 3.5?

 

[YourAssassin]

I've always taken it to mean you take the form of something else, not just get its abilities, like Shilsen said. The form you take does have to be of the same base type as you are, so you can't go from a Human ( humanoid ) to a Mindflayer ( aberration ).