OFFICAL ERRATA: Hit points *DO NOT* change in polymorph


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Or he could just cast the spell on the party's warrior. No need to make a wand. If playing in an "every man for himself" campaign, polymorph is of limited usefulness. But if its a more teamwork oriented party, polymorph becomes an incredibly nice buffing spell for the party warriors.
 


rangerjohn said:
So basically its more akin to 2e polymorph other, rather than self.
That is a rather hard question to answer. If is a baseball more like a lemon or a lime?

I've been playing polymorph in my games exactly as the 'new' DMG errata indicates. It has been very useful.

As for your comments on the combat abilities being useful for a wizard ... if you put up polymorph alone, it is of middling use - you can get by as a front line fighter, but other PCs will probably do the job better. If you put up a few spells, it is fairly easy for the wizard to outclass barbarians, paladins and fighters on the front lines when those fighter classes get no spell support. My 12th level sorcerer regularly steps up into the front line of combat in hill giant form ...

If you don't think it is useful, you have not tried it out. Or, if you have tried it out, you have not been very creative about it.
 


Mage Armor + Shield + Natural Armor + Haste + Cat's Grace - size = AC 28, which isn't too shabby. It isn't great, but it can get higher with different buffs and AC oriented equipment.

A wizard that expects to be polymorphed a lot will focus on Int first and Con second. Given decent rolls, its possible for that wizard to have more hit points than the party's rogue, who has to prioritize his stats differently. That rogue has to stand up in combat with low armor and no natural armor at all.

Its not a strategy I'd use unless as a last resort, but it can be very effective. Couple it with Eldritch Knight levels (at a cost of two caster levels) and the Arcane Strike feat and you'll be dishing out some ver nice damage.

Hill Giants are only 10 1/2 feet tall. In most underground caverns they'll have plenty of headroom, and even in standard 10' corridors they'll be just fine, unless you assume that they stand straight backed and tall when fighting, as opposed to slightly crouched like most melee combatants.
 

None of those will last longer than one battle. Your always able to choose your battleground? Thats 4 rounds of prep, and your advocating more buffs?
Also what is the base dex? Must be pretty high for ac 28, and the build you advocated makes it at best third in priority after int and con. Oops my mistake your going with the base 8 dex and +9 natural armor of the giant. Still that 4 spells for one battle, which means you need to be aware of the battle before it happens.

Apparently your campaigns are different from what I am used too. I very rarely am able to both know of an upcoming battle and the time of its occurance. I have had to withstand seiges for instance, so I knew the attack was coming but not when.
 
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You can't always know when a battle is coming, but if you're about to enter into the Forgotten Mines of the Wizardking Argalaak (or whatver the local dungeon is) you can probably cast those extended minute per level buffs and have them up for several fights, or even the entire dungeon if it isn't a long one and you wait until after the place is cleared to search.

In campaigns that are less site-based buffing is less of an option. Neither way is wrong, but I personally prefer a campaign that is a mix of the two styles.
 

James McMurray said:
You can't always know when a battle is coming, but if you're about to enter into the Forgotten Mines of the Wizardking Argalaak (or whatver the local dungeon is) you can probably cast those extended minute per level buffs and have them up for several fights, or even the entire dungeon if it isn't a long one and you wait until after the place is cleared to search.

In campaigns that are less site-based buffing is less of an option. Neither way is wrong, but I personally prefer a campaign that is a mix of the two styles.

Your characters must look like the old Speedy Gonzales cartoon. At max level and extended, thats 40 minutes. Which implies your campaign doesn't have much in the way of traps, seceret doors, or puzzles.
 
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This never would have been a problem if Alter Self hadn't mentioned HP. There is no reason for Alter Self to mention specifically that it didn't affect HP because there's nothing there to even suggest that HP would be affected at all.
 

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