Design & Development: Dislikes

[CronoDekar]

Jesse Decker is <3

The main thing about Polymorph to me is, that no matter how well it's worded, its power is actually dependent on the monster makers moreso than the spell designer (and 10x moreso for Shapechange). I like the "change into one of these forms" idea best, since it gives back the power to the spell designers, it'd be able to scale nicely (so maybe I could polymorph as a Lv1 transmuter!), and hopefully you wouldn't have to deal with the "you get all these abilities but not these abilities."

Also, I never liked the level down upon ressurection rule and will probably be using Andy's house rule in any hypothetical future games I run.

Regarding confusion with antimagic field: one thing not listed in the article I can think of is if you have Expeditious Retreat, and move 35' into an Antimagic Field. By core I'd imagine you'd instantly stop, but it seems really odd conceptually. Also another confusion is using a melee attack with a magic weapon into an antimagic area -- is my dagger "entering" the space for the purposes of antimagic? And if so, am I? (It's kinda funny imagining someone waving their arm out flailing with a dagger trying to hit someone while avoiding the antimagic.)

Though it's important to note that I bring these up more to address the confusion moreso than "what's right under RAW" and "what should the DM do." Any discussion over that should probably be on the Rules forum

 

[Mercule]

I can agree with Polymorph, even though I like it in concept. It can be hard to deal with.

Floaty shields get a shrug from me -- probably because they don't fit thematically with the style of any GM I've ever gamed with. They just aren't relevant.

Antimagic shield, though, I just don't see the problem. Is it magic? Then it doesn't work. If it's area effect, it's only suppressed within the shield, except for bursts or other "origin" effects. None of the scenarios given took more than a heartbeat to figure out, and my thoughts didn't change after more reflection. Honestly, antimagic shield seems to be one of the easier spells to deal with. *shrug*

 

[Kobold Avenger]

It may be making the rules more complex, but somehow I think that a certain form should have a limited duration of use. For example becoming a War Troll with regeneration 9 affected by acid only, DR 5/adamantite and +14 natural armor should only last for 1 round if polymorphed into, while polymorphing into a housecat should last the full duration. But it either require complex calculations or every monster to have a new type of value associated with them...

 

[MerricB]

It's worth noting how Polymorph was balanced in 1E:

Polymorph Self
Level 4
Duration 20 minutes/level

Gain the form of a creature (from as small as a wren to as large as a hippopotamus) and its form of locomotion as well. You do not gain any other abilities (attack, magic, etc). The spellcaster can change his form as desired. A System Shock roll is not required.

Polymorph Other
Level 4
Duration: Permanent
Give the form and abilities of a creature. Creatures cannot be polymorphed into a creature with higher intelligence, but the reverse is possible. 100% chance of changing the mind to the new form, less 5% for each point of Intelligence of original creature, +/-5% for each Hit Die difference. This chance is checked daily after the change. A System Shock roll is required.

Cheers!

 

[blargney the second]

I'd love to see Polymorph done up with short lists of creatures that you can change into, exactly like the Summon series. Polymorph 1-9 sounds like a fun addition to the game! It would be nice if each form gave an increasingly large but standardized stat and skill bonus, a disguise bonus, and a specific special ability. Simple would be great for fast game play.

-blarg

 

[Vocenoctum]

The main thing about Polymorph to me is, that no matter how well it's worded, its power is actually dependent on the monster makers moreso than the spell designer (and 10x moreso for Shapechange). I like the "change into one of these forms" idea best, since it gives back the power to the spell designers, it'd be able to scale nicely (so maybe I could polymorph as a Lv1 transmuter!), and hopefully you wouldn't have to deal with the "you get all these abilities but not these abilities."

What I'd prefer is a Polymorph spell that had certain abilities cost "points", you can choose reach, or size, or claws or wings or bite, but you have to build the form with points. (regardless of what you look like)

Making it scale by level would let more powerful casters be bigger and stronger.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

What I'd prefer is a Polymorph spell that had certain abilities cost "points", you can choose reach, or size, or claws or wings or bite, but you have to build the form with points. (regardless of what you look like)

Like astral construct?

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Slick!
No more, "Aw! I rolled a ONE! Can I get a re-roll?"

Tony M

Or just allow 1's to always be re-rolled. That's how I do it. The only character I saw suffer from low hp was an elven fighter with a 9 CON and habit of rolling '2'.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

I'm surprised. One, that a caster can just polymorph into anything in any book; don't you have to have at least seen the creature to polymorph into it? Two, that a DM would let a Player flip through a MM during combat to decide on a form. Three, that this complaint comes from a designer -- surely, of all DMs, an experienced designer would not let Players completely metagame like that.

Do that many DMs really let casters/Players flip through the books and choose what to polymorph into? I mean, really?

Bullgrit

That's how I do it. The caster has to have seen the monster, in person, at least once. If you've only heard stories of it or legends then no go. Polymorth is a potent spell but one that can be handled if the players can be made to realize how boring converting PCs from one form to another is.

I also require that the spellcaster/recipient have all changes ready to go before hand. It's a tiem comsuming process that I simply won't allow mid-game.

 

[Staffan]

Or just allow 1's to always be re-rolled. That's how I do it. The only character I saw suffer from low hp was an elven fighter with a 9 CON and habit of rolling '2'.

My house rule for hp rolls: if you're not happy, you can reroll, but with a die one step smaller. If you're still not happy, you can keep rerolling until you decide to stop or until you're rolling a d2.