This is a set of revised versions of the form-changing effects in D&D: alter self, polymorph, alternate form, etc. In our games, form-changing effects have repeatedly required house rules to restore some semblance of balance, and this is an attempt at a global, consistent, simple fix. Rather than tacking on restrictions or weird effects (like rendering all equipment nonfunctional, as WotC did with wild shape), this revises the text of the original spells/abilities.
I'm hoping to get some feedback in a few areas:
Quick summary of changes:
Full text of the revised spells/abilities. New text is in bold, removed text is instrikethrough:
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Alter Self
Transmutation
Level: Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 min./level (D)
You assume the form of a creature of the same type as your normal form. The new form must be within one size category of your normal size. The maximum HD of an assumed form is equal to your caster level, to a maximum of 5 HD at 5th level. You can change into a member of your own kind or even into yourself.
You retain your own ability scores. If your new form is larger than your normal form, you gain a +2 size bonus to Strength and a -2 size penalty to Dexterity (to a minimum of 1). If your new form is smaller than your normal form, you gain a -2 size penalty to Strength (to a minimum of 1) and a +2 size bonus to Dexterity. Multiple magical effects that increase size do not stack, and multiple magical effects that decrease size do not stack.
Your class and level, hit points, alignment, base attack bonus, and base save bonuses all remain the same. You retain all special qualities of your normal form, and you retain all supernatural and spell-like special attacksand qualities of your normal form, except for those requiring a body part that the new form does not have (such as a mouth for a breath weapon or eyes for a gaze attack). You keep all extraordinary special attacks derived from class levels, but you lose any from your normal form that are not derived from class levels.
If the new form is capable of speech, you can communicate normally. You retain any spellcasting ability you had in your original form, but the new form must be able to speak intelligibly (that is, speak a language) to use verbal components and must have limbs capable of fine manipulation to use somatic or material components.
You acquire the physical qualities of the new form while retaining your own mind. Physical qualities include natural size and reach, mundane movement capabilities (such as burrowing, climbing, walking, swimming, and flight with wings, to a maximum speed of 120 feet for flying or 60 feet for nonflying movement), natural armor bonus (to a limit of +1 for every 3 caster levels, maximum +5), natural weapons (such as claws, bite, and so on), racial skill bonuses, racial bonus feats, and any gross physical qualities (presence or absence of wings, number of extremities, and so forth).
A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal. You are considered proficient with the new form's natural weapons, but your familiarity with them is imperfect (unless you change into a member of your own kind). You can attack with the new form's natural weapons, but you can't combine natural attacks with manufactured weapon attacks during the same attack routine. When making a full attack with the natural weapons of the new form, you are limited to using a number of natural attacks equal to the number of attacks you would normally have due to your base attack bonus. For example, if you have a base attack bonus of +8 (two attacks) and change into the form of a troglodyte (which has natural attacks of two claws and a bite), you could attack with either two claws or one claw and one bite when making a full attack. You can choose different natural attacks each time you attack.
You do not gain any extraordinary special attacks or special qualities not noted above under physical qualities, such as darkvision, low-light vision, blindsense, blindsight, fast healing, regeneration, scent, and so forth. You do not gain any supernatural special attacks, special qualities, or spell-like abilities of the new form.
Your creature type and subtype (if any) remain the same regardless of your new form. If the new form has the aquatic subtype, you gain that subtype as well. If the new form lacks the aquatic subtype, you lose that subtype. You cannot take the form of any creature with a template, even if that template doesn’t change the creature type or subtype.
You can freely designate the new form’s minor physical qualities (such as hair color, hair texture, and skin color) within the normal ranges for a creature of that kind. The new form’s significant physical qualities (such as height, weight, and gender) are also under your control, but they must fall within the norms for the new form’s kind. You are effectively disguised as an average member of the new form’s race. If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on your Disguise check.
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. (Nonhumanoid-shaped creatures can’t wear armor designed for humanoid-shaped creatures, and vice versa.) If you change size, your equipment changes size to match the new size. Gear returns to normal size if dropped.
When you revert to yourtrue normal 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. If slain, you revert to your normal form, though you remain dead.
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Polymorph
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Willing living creature touched
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spell functions like alter self, except that you change the willing subject into another form of living creature. The new form may be of the same type as the subject or any of the following types: aberration, animal, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, ooze, plant, or vermin. The assumed form can’t have more Hit Dice than your caster level (or the subject’s HD, whichever is lower), to a maximum of 15 HD at 15th level. You can’t cause a subject to assume a form smaller than Fine or larger than Colossal, nor can you cause a subject to assume an incorporeal or gaseous form.The subject’s creature type and subtype (if any) change to match the new form.
Upon changing, the subject regains lost hit points as if it had rested for a night (though this healing does not restore temporary ability damage and provide other benefits of resting; and changing back does not heal the subject further).If slain, the subject reverts to its original form, though it remains dead.
The subject gains the Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores of the new form but retains its own Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. It also gains all extraordinary special attacks possessed by the form but does not gain the extraordinary special qualities possessed by the new form or any supernatural or spell-like abilities.
If the subject's new form is larger or smaller than its normal form, it gains a size bonus or penalty to its Strength and Dexterity scores as described in alter self. However, the amount of the bonus or penalty is equal to 2 per size category of change. For example, a gnome (size small) polymorphed into a treant (size huge) would gain a +6 size bonus to Strength and a -6 size penalty to Dexterity (to a minimum of 1).
Incorporeal or gaseous creatures are immune to being polymorphed, and a creature with the shapechanger subtype can revert to its natural form as a standard action.
Material Component: An empty cocoon.
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Polymorph Any Object
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 8, Trickery 8
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature, or one nonmagical object of up to 100 cu. ft./level
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (object); see text
Spell Resistance: Yes (object)
This spell functions like polymorph, except that it changes one object or creature into another. The duration of the spell depends on how radical a change is made from the original state to its enchanted state. The duration is determined by using the following guidelines.
<tables are unchanged>
Unlike polymorph, polymorph any object does grant the creature the Intelligence score of its new form. If the original form didn’t have a Wisdom or Charisma score, it gains those scores as appropriate for the new form.
An object changed into a creature has average physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution) for its new form, and it has Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores of 1. It does not gain a size bonus or penalty to Strength or Dexterity.
Damage taken by the new form can result in the injury or death of the polymorphed creature. In general, damage occurs when the new form is changed through physical force.
A nonmagical object cannot be made into a magic item with this spell. Magic items aren’t affected by this spell.
This spell cannot create material of great intrinsic value, such as copper, silver, gems, silk, gold, platinum, mithral, or adamantine. It also cannot reproduce the special properties of cold iron in order to overcome the damage reduction of certain creatures.
This spell can also be used to duplicate the effects of baleful polymorph, polymorph, flesh to stone, stone to flesh, transmute mud to rock, transmute metal to wood, or transmute rock to mud.
Arcane Material Component: Mercury, gum arabic, and smoke.
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Shapechange
Transmutation
Level: Animal 9, Drd 9, Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 min./level (D)
This spell functions like polymorph, except that it enables you to assume the form of any single nonunique creature (of any type) from Fine to Colossal size. The assumed form cannot have more than your caster level in Hit Dice (to a maximum of 25 HD). Unlike polymorph, this spell allows incorporeal or gaseous forms to be assumed.
You gain all extraordinary and supernatural abilities (both attacks and qualities) of the assumed form, but you lose your own supernatural abilities. You also gain the type of the new form in place of your own.
You gain the Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores of the new form but retain your own Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. Apply any changed physical ability score modifiers in all appropriate areas with one exception: you retain the hit points of your normal form despite any change to your Constitution. You do not gain a size bonus or penalty to Strength or Dexterity. You gain all extraordinary special attacks possessed by the new form, but you do not gain the extraordinary special qualities possessed by the new form or any supernatural or spell-like abilities.
The new form does not disorient you, and you can use the new form's natural attacks without restriction. Parts of your body or pieces of equipment that are separated from you do not revert to their original forms until the spell ends.
You can become just about anything you are familiar with. You can change form once each round as a free action. The change takes place either immediately before your regular action or immediately after it, but not during the action. If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on your Disguise check.
Focus: A jade circlet worth no less than 1,500 gp, which you must place on your head when casting the spell. (The focus melds into your new form when you change shape.)
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The text of the alternate form special ability is completely replaced by:
Alternate Form
A creature with this special quality has the ability to assume one or more specific alternate forms. Assuming an alternate form works like alter self, with the following exceptions:
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Wild Shape (Su)
At 5th level, a druid gains the ability to turn herself into any Small or Medium animal and back again once per day. Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type. This ability functions like thealternate form special ability polymorph spell, except as noted here. The druid's effective caster level for this effect is equal to her druid level. The effect lasts for 1 hour per druid level, or until she changes back. Changing form (to animal or back) is a standard action and doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. Each time you use wild shape, you regain lost hit points as if you had rested for a night.
Any gear worn or carried by the druid melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When the druid reverts to her true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on her body that they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items worn in the assumed form fall off and land at the druid's feet.
<the rest of the text of Wild Shape is unchanged>
I'm hoping to get some feedback in a few areas:
- Would these revisions prevent the abuse of form-changing effects? i.e. can you think of any examples of overpowered results using the new spells?
- Are the spells still useful in their revised form? e.g. is polymorph still a competetive choice with other 4th-level spells? Remember that this includes its usefulness as a utility spell, not just for combat.
- Finally, are the revisions simple and clear? Would the revised versions of the spells be at least as easy to use as the current versions?
Quick summary of changes:
- Alter self remains basically the same, except there's a limit on natural armor, and there are limitations on using the new form's natural attacks. The details of how the change works are a combination of the current alter self and alternate form rules, with an eye towards being generous to the caster and making the effects easy to adjudicate (e.g. you keep your special qualities, gear changes size to match the new form, etc.).
- Polymorph no longer grants the physical ability scores or extraordinary attacks of the new form. It only has size modifiers to Strength and Dexterity, similar to enlarge person.
- Polymorph any object is basically the same, except that it's based on the new polymorph.
- Shapechange works mostly like the current polymorph -- you get the physical ability scores and extraordinary attacks of the new form, but not any special qualities or supernatural attacks. You can still choose a form of up to 25HD and change form every round.
- Alternate form is based on alter self and is similar to the new polymorph, just with a couple changes to make it more similar to the current alternate form ability.
- Wild shape is directly based on the new polymorph.
Full text of the revised spells/abilities. New text is in bold, removed text is in
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Alter Self
Transmutation
Level: Brd 2, Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 min./level (D)
You assume the form of a creature of the same type as your normal form. The new form must be within one size category of your normal size. The maximum HD of an assumed form is equal to your caster level, to a maximum of 5 HD at 5th level. You can change into a member of your own kind or even into yourself.
You retain your own ability scores. If your new form is larger than your normal form, you gain a +2 size bonus to Strength and a -2 size penalty to Dexterity (to a minimum of 1). If your new form is smaller than your normal form, you gain a -2 size penalty to Strength (to a minimum of 1) and a +2 size bonus to Dexterity. Multiple magical effects that increase size do not stack, and multiple magical effects that decrease size do not stack.
Your class and level, hit points, alignment, base attack bonus, and base save bonuses all remain the same. You retain all special qualities of your normal form, and you retain all supernatural and spell-like special attacks
If the new form is capable of speech, you can communicate normally. You retain any spellcasting ability you had in your original form, but the new form must be able to speak intelligibly (that is, speak a language) to use verbal components and must have limbs capable of fine manipulation to use somatic or material components.
You acquire the physical qualities of the new form while retaining your own mind. Physical qualities include natural size and reach, mundane movement capabilities (such as burrowing, climbing, walking, swimming, and flight with wings, to a maximum speed of 120 feet for flying or 60 feet for nonflying movement), natural armor bonus (to a limit of +1 for every 3 caster levels, maximum +5), natural weapons (such as claws, bite, and so on), racial skill bonuses, racial bonus feats, and any gross physical qualities (presence or absence of wings, number of extremities, and so forth).
A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal. You are considered proficient with the new form's natural weapons, but your familiarity with them is imperfect (unless you change into a member of your own kind). You can attack with the new form's natural weapons, but you can't combine natural attacks with manufactured weapon attacks during the same attack routine. When making a full attack with the natural weapons of the new form, you are limited to using a number of natural attacks equal to the number of attacks you would normally have due to your base attack bonus. For example, if you have a base attack bonus of +8 (two attacks) and change into the form of a troglodyte (which has natural attacks of two claws and a bite), you could attack with either two claws or one claw and one bite when making a full attack. You can choose different natural attacks each time you attack.
You do not gain any extraordinary special attacks or special qualities not noted above under physical qualities, such as darkvision, low-light vision, blindsense, blindsight, fast healing, regeneration, scent, and so forth. You do not gain any supernatural special attacks, special qualities, or spell-like abilities of the new form.
Your creature type and subtype (if any) remain the same regardless of your new form. If the new form has the aquatic subtype, you gain that subtype as well. If the new form lacks the aquatic subtype, you lose that subtype. You cannot take the form of any creature with a template, even if that template doesn’t change the creature type or subtype.
You can freely designate the new form’s minor physical qualities (such as hair color, hair texture, and skin color) within the normal ranges for a creature of that kind. The new form’s significant physical qualities (such as height, weight, and gender) are also under your control, but they must fall within the norms for the new form’s kind. You are effectively disguised as an average member of the new form’s race. If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on your Disguise check.
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. (Nonhumanoid-shaped creatures can’t wear armor designed for humanoid-shaped creatures, and vice versa.) If you change size, your equipment changes size to match the new size. Gear returns to normal size if dropped.
When you revert to your
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Polymorph
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Target: Willing living creature touched
Duration: 1 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
This spell functions like alter self, except that you change the willing subject into another form of living creature. The new form may be of the same type as the subject or any of the following types: aberration, animal, dragon, fey, giant, humanoid, magical beast, monstrous humanoid, ooze, plant, or vermin. The assumed form can’t have more Hit Dice than your caster level (or the subject’s HD, whichever is lower), to a maximum of 15 HD at 15th level. You can’t cause a subject to assume a form smaller than Fine or larger than Colossal, nor can you cause a subject to assume an incorporeal or gaseous form.
Upon changing, the subject regains lost hit points as if it had rested for a night (though this healing does not restore temporary ability damage and provide other benefits of resting; and changing back does not heal the subject further).
If the subject's new form is larger or smaller than its normal form, it gains a size bonus or penalty to its Strength and Dexterity scores as described in alter self. However, the amount of the bonus or penalty is equal to 2 per size category of change. For example, a gnome (size small) polymorphed into a treant (size huge) would gain a +6 size bonus to Strength and a -6 size penalty to Dexterity (to a minimum of 1).
Incorporeal or gaseous creatures are immune to being polymorphed, and a creature with the shapechanger subtype can revert to its natural form as a standard action.
Material Component: An empty cocoon.
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Polymorph Any Object
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 8, Trickery 8
Components: V, S, M/DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: One creature, or one nonmagical object of up to 100 cu. ft./level
Duration: See text
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates (object); see text
Spell Resistance: Yes (object)
This spell functions like polymorph, except that it changes one object or creature into another. The duration of the spell depends on how radical a change is made from the original state to its enchanted state. The duration is determined by using the following guidelines.
<tables are unchanged>
An object changed into a creature has average physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution) for its new form, and it has Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores of 1. It does not gain a size bonus or penalty to Strength or Dexterity.
Damage taken by the new form can result in the injury or death of the polymorphed creature. In general, damage occurs when the new form is changed through physical force.
A nonmagical object cannot be made into a magic item with this spell. Magic items aren’t affected by this spell.
This spell cannot create material of great intrinsic value, such as copper, silver, gems, silk, gold, platinum, mithral, or adamantine. It also cannot reproduce the special properties of cold iron in order to overcome the damage reduction of certain creatures.
This spell can also be used to duplicate the effects of baleful polymorph, polymorph, flesh to stone, stone to flesh, transmute mud to rock, transmute metal to wood, or transmute rock to mud.
Arcane Material Component: Mercury, gum arabic, and smoke.
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Shapechange
Transmutation
Level: Animal 9, Drd 9, Sor/Wiz 9
Components: V, S, F
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 10 min./level (D)
This spell functions like polymorph, except that it enables you to assume the form of any single nonunique creature (of any type) from Fine to Colossal size. The assumed form cannot have more than your caster level in Hit Dice (to a maximum of 25 HD). Unlike polymorph, this spell allows incorporeal or gaseous forms to be assumed.
You gain the Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution scores of the new form but retain your own Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. Apply any changed physical ability score modifiers in all appropriate areas with one exception: you retain the hit points of your normal form despite any change to your Constitution. You do not gain a size bonus or penalty to Strength or Dexterity. You gain all extraordinary special attacks possessed by the new form, but you do not gain the extraordinary special qualities possessed by the new form or any supernatural or spell-like abilities.
The new form does not disorient you, and you can use the new form's natural attacks without restriction. Parts of your body or pieces of equipment that are separated from you do not revert to their original forms until the spell ends.
You can become just about anything you are familiar with. You can change form once each round as a free action. The change takes place either immediately before your regular action or immediately after it, but not during the action. If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on your Disguise check.
Focus: A jade circlet worth no less than 1,500 gp, which you must place on your head when casting the spell. (The focus melds into your new form when you change shape.)
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The text of the alternate form special ability is completely replaced by:
Alternate Form
A creature with this special quality has the ability to assume one or more specific alternate forms. Assuming an alternate form works like alter self, with the following exceptions:
- Any gear that cannot be worn or carried by the new form falls to the ground in the creature's space rather than melding into its new form.
- Separated body parts retain their shape rather than reverting to their true form.
- The creature loses any breath weapon or gaze attacks of its normal form.
- If the creature's new form is larger or smaller than its normal form, it gains a size bonus or penalty to its Strength and Dexterity scores as described in alter self. However, the amount of the bonus or penalty is equal to 2 per size category of change. For example, an adult Silver Dragon (size huge) that assumes the form of a gnome (size small) would gain a -6 size penalty to Strength (to a minimum of 1) and a +6 size bonus to Dexterity.
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Wild Shape (Su)
At 5th level, a druid gains the ability to turn herself into any Small or Medium animal and back again once per day. Her options for new forms include all creatures with the animal type. This ability functions like the
<the rest of the text of Wild Shape is unchanged>
