Limiting Polymorph in a sensible way

[Thanee]

Hey!

I had this thought about Polymorph, tell me what you think.

Add a Focus component to Polymorph, which must be a small part of the creature you want to polymorph into. This basically replaces the requirement to be familiar with the creature.

It also applies to the druid's Wild Shape ability.

This would basically result in being able to polymorph into creatures one has seen only (which many DMs do anyways, I believe), but also has the benefit, that it can lead to all sorts of trade and adventure hooks, i.e. a wizard could hire a party to retrieve part of a nasty creature, or prices for particulary good Polymorph targets would be higher (parts of some rare and powerful creatures could sell for thousands of gold pieces even), and so on.

Only downside is a bit of bookkeeping, but you'll need that anyways, if you are going to restrict the creatures in a similar way to ones, which the caster is familiar with.

Bye
Thanee

 

[JDowling]

a few thoughts (which may be easily hammered out )

first - I don't think it seems "in character" for a druid to run around killing off animals so they have a bit of it so they can change into one. Maybe druids can use something like some braided fur, sluffed off skin (for reptiles that shed their hide), et cetera.

second - PC poachers. As is there isn't really a market for animal/monster bits, you might want to look at some of the suggestions in Unearthed Arcana about harvesting animal bits, I think it's around the Metamagic component section.

third - polymorph into another intelligent race. would hair work? or some other not deadly to obtain item?

sounds like a neat idea. I think items that could be non-lethal to obtain might work best for the focus, unless you want PCs to become poacher types. It could also tie in some interesting plot hooks for the DM where an intelligent monster could bargain - the dragon will trade you an old scale *if* you do it a favor... that sort of thing.

 

[Thanee]

Oh, of course, you don't have to kill a creature to obtain a part of it. Just some more wild species will not really want to bargain about that kind of stuff, I suppose.

Well, market is surely a bit much, but that would fall under magical ingredients, which could be obtained wherever material components and such are bought normally. Alchemists, wizard's guilds, and so on.

Bye
Thanee

 

[JDowling]

I'd be tempted to say that you could only harvest say, 1d6 focus per animal or something.

or whatever, just something ahead of time so the PCs don't shave a bear and try to get rich pawning off its' fur as 500 different polymorph focus

edit: really like the idea, i'm considoring yoinking it for an upcomeing campaign

 

[Pyrex]

Note: Below suggestion does not apply to Wild Shape. It's intended for Polymorph and/or Shapechange.

Actually, I'd go a step further. Instead of trying to define which piece of an animal you need, or how many pieces each animal can be chopped up into, the Focus component you need is actually that creatures soul.

Invent a new 3rd-ish level spell that if cast within a minute or so of the creatures death binds it's soul into a fetish (tooth, claw, scale, prized possession, whatever).

From there, whenever you Polymorph using a fetish, instead of becoming a generic member of that species, you turn into that particular creature.

As a side bonus, in addition to toning down Polymorph, you've now got a great plotline for an order of assassins, because not only can they take the form of their previous targets, but you can't raise them until you steal back their soul-fetish-token.

 

[Thanee]

Well, that would be a bit much for my taste, Pyrex, altho that's surely a cool idea, it's not really what I have in mind.

JDowling: Hmm... yeah a limit on the body parts, which would work as a focus sounds reasonable, probably something, which can symbolize the particular creature (like an eyestake of a beholder, or tooth of a dragon), tho the availability would also dictate any prices, of course. I doubt bear fur would be worth more than a few copper.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Liquidsabre]

Love the idea Thanee, consider this snagged for me use lass!

I think for the Druid, part of the requirement isn't to simply obtain a piece of the animal but instead the Druid must get the animal to GIVE the bit of them (usually claws and such that are regrowable) to the Druid. Sort of like the animal giving the Druid permission to use their animal form. That's very cool roleplay stuffs for the Druid! I can just see a 5th level Druid now:

"The wolverine and bear have all given me permission to know them, now I seek that of the hawk..."

For arcane use of polymorph: obtaining the bits of creatures may noy be too hard if all the caster must do is go to a magic shoppe and buy a piece of the creature. In a high-magic world and the functioning of polymorph in this way, there would be further development of a segment of trade for creature bits (even more so than just for components). Hmmm, perhaps a cost scale based upon the HD/CR of the creature? Dunno.