changing shape while wearing stuff

[Bad Paper]

It just hit me how significant the "some-things-meld-into-your-new-form" issue is with Alter Self, Wild Shape, Polymorph, Baleful Polymorph, Polymorph, Shapechange, and Alternate Form. I think I got them all. Oh, damn, I'm forgetting the psionic power; don't know its name.

Anyway, is that voluntary? Can I choose whether the Periapt of Wisdom, for example, remains seen and therefore functional? Or if the new form has a neck, then the Periapt is around your neck, period. Is there some kind of guideline about this? Skip's RotG articles handle this fairly well, but everyone around here tends to write off Skip as a crank. Here's the most useful link I've found: RotG3

The article seems to indicate that: if you become an animal, then most of your stuff melds. This can be quite punishing for your average druid, though.

Last night the wizard polymorphed into a vrock. I ruled that his Gloves of Dexterity were nonfunctional, as they would get in the way of his claw attack. Is this the kind of call that is typical for DMs here, or was I being too harsh? Or should I be harsher, and say "Hey man, you don't get your Headband of Intellect, either, bye-bye bonus spells?"

 

[Prism]

In complete warrior the example of natures warrior shows the character in dire wolf form. The gloves of dex that exist in normal form are not included in the stats in the animal form

However, in complete arcane the master transmogrifist example shows 4 different forms (1 being an ooze) and in all cases the items are still in operation. Specifically check the natural attack damage and the amulet of mighty fists +1

 

[nimisgod]

I'm pretty harsh on items melding as GMs go. I usually rule that unless it has a wilding clasp on it or it can fit as is on the alternate form (cloak of a human turning into lizardman), then it will meld.

But most GMs I imagine are less anal.

 

[glass]

It just hit me how significant the "some-things-meld-into-your-new-form" issue is with Alter Self, Wild Shape, Polymorph, Baleful Polymorph, Polymorph, Shapechange, and Alternate Form. I think I got them all. Oh, damn, I'm forgetting the psionic power; don't know its name.

Metamorphosis?

Anyway, is that voluntary? Can I choose whether the Periapt of Wisdom, for example, remains seen and therefore functional? Or if the new form has a neck, then the Periapt is around your neck, period.

If you have a neck, and it is the same size, the periapt stays, otherwise it goes.

Is there some kind of guideline about this? Skip's RotG articles handle this fairly well, but everyone around here tends to write off Skip as a crank. Here's the most useful link I've found: RotG3

People around here write Skip of as not actually following the rules. Some of his rulings make perfectly reasonable house rules, though.

Last night the wizard polymorphed into a vrock. I ruled that his Gloves of Dexterity were nonfunctional, as they would get in the way of his claw attack. Is this the kind of call that is typical for DMs here, or was I being too harsh? Or should I be harsher, and say "Hey man, you don't get your Headband of Intellect, either, bye-bye bonus spells?"

Vrock's are large, right? Assuming the wizard is medium, the headband is absorbed because it no longer fits. Whether that causes the wizard's bonus spells to immediately go away is an interesting question, but in any case the DC boost goes away.


glass.

 

[glass]

I'm pretty harsh on items melding as GMs go. I usually rule that unless it has a wilding clasp on it or it can fit as is on the alternate form (cloak of a human turning into lizardman), then it will meld.

I wouldn't say that was harsh, I'd say that was spot on.


glass.

 

[Hypersmurf]

If you have a neck, and it is the same size, the periapt stays, otherwise it goes.

Vrock's are large, right? Assuming the wizard is medium, the headband is absorbed because it no longer fits. Whether that causes the wizard's bonus spells to immediately go away is an interesting question, but in any case the DC boost goes away.

SIZE AND MAGIC ITEMS
When an article of magic clothing or jewelry is discovered, most of the time size shouldn’t be an issue. Many magic garments are made to be easily adjustable, or they adjust themselves magically to the wearer. Size should not keep characters of various kinds from using magic items.

There may be rare exceptions, especially with racial specific items.

If magic jewelry adjusts itself magically to the wearer, why should going from Medium to Large cause a problem for a headband?

-Hyp.

 

[Prism]

Vrock's are large, right? Assuming the wizard is medium, the headband is absorbed because it no longer fits.

This isn't quite as clear cut as you imply. As my referenced examples above show even the books rule both ways. Hypersmurf's quote is the closest ruling we have about items changing size with the wearer. The question is really whether you allow that item size change to occur quickly enough to prevent merging during a change in form

 

[evilbob]

Actually, I always considered polymorphing and alter-shaping to be very similar spells to "enlarge person" - which specifically states that held weapons, armor, etc. all change shape to fit your new size. I think I even read a clarification somewhere about this on the wizards.com "rule question of the day" thing (or whatever it's called) regarding polymorph, but in my opinion, it seems generally true that spells that alter your size in any way also alter your equipment to fit that size. Wildshaping seems to fall within that category nicely. (Sidebar: it might be worth checking the "wild" armor ability to see if it specifically states that it allows the wearer's armor to change size as a guildline as well - meaning: if it does not state it, it was already implied.)
(Edit: it does not state that, leading me to believe it is implied to some extent.)
(Second edit: that "rules of the game" post can be found here:
http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040525a
It specifically states that items size themselves appropriately. This is still not definitive, by any means, but I think it does add to the case.)

However, this does not imply that spells that alter your form alter your equipment to take advantage of that form - so, for instance, I would also rule that a roc would not be able to take advantage of magical gloves. However, I see no problem in allowing a headband to expand to "large" size so as to contine to fit, and give bonuses.

You are very right, however, that this situation becomes very tricky very quickly (and potentially makes most equipment worthless for a wild-shaping druid). Would a roc wear a cape? What about boots? What would be nice is some sort of specific clarification from wizards as to what "slots" tend to meld and what slots do not - even if this were an across-the-board "no," as some GMs seem to believe. (Certain slots being available to morphers could even effect magical item costs as appropriate.) There's also the question of whether or not you can voluntarily choose to have equipment meld that might not normally in order to better disguise yourself as a harmless animal. (Generally, I would hold that yes, you can.)

Overall, I would agree with your original idea that a headband on a roc is ok but gloves are not, and that it automatically sizes itself along with the wearer.



On a side note, perhaps certain "slots" being available is too general of a rule; perhaps some more specific ideas would help. For example, some rules-of-thumb might be (where "it" = "what you are chaging into"):
- if it can use its hands to wield weapons and it has the same number of hands that you do normally, gloves and guantlets are ok
- if it has the same number of feet and does not use them to attack, boots are ok
- if it has the same number of arms, bracers are ok
- if it has at least one decernable neck, or at least one head, neck-slot or head-slot items are ok
- if it has at least one decernable neck and walks upright, capes are ok
Etc., etc.

Edit: The "rules of the game" article listed above gives the two rules that anything generally humanoid in shape (listed in a table) can retain equipment; anything not generally humanoid tends to meld the equipment, with the exceptions of "items you could conceivably wear," such as necklaces on anything that has a neck.

In general, I think this issue becomes one of GM's personal taste: do you mostly want to reduce the power of your polymorphers/wildshapers to offset the gains they receive from changing shape, or do you want to augment their ability?

 

[runtime]

Without a definitive source (such as the MM) for which body slots every creature has, the fair/unambiguous answer is probably "all or nothing."

However, I think Bad Paper's original question was: assuming an item CAN be worn in the given wildshape, MUST it be worn? Can a wearable item be voluntarily melded? If a druid wildshapes for some undercover recon, a bear wearing a periapt of wisdom is not so very undercover! <

 

[Hypersmurf]

(Second edit: that "rules of the game" post can be found here:
http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040525a
It specifically states that items size themselves appropriately. This is still not definitive, by any means, but I think it does add to the case.)

Notice the 'Sizing' property for weapons in Complete Adventurer - +1 bonus equivalent, allows a weapon to change size when its wielder polymorphs.

If weapons did that automatically, that property would be redundant... but fortunately, none of the shapechange-type effects mentions armor or weapons changing size (as opposed to enlarge-type effects, which do).

Skip's ruling in RotG came out of nowhere.

-Hyp.