Polymorph Self -- Favorite Uses

[Tom Cashel]

$20 worth of suckiness!

Which translates into $100 by the time you get all the books, chock-full of ideas that weren't good enough or important enough for the core books.

 

[Henry]

That one, Tom, I'll have to disagree with. Most of our group found Tome and Blood the most worthwhile book out of the bunch of splatbooks - that, followed closely by Masters of the Wild.

As for the Polymorph self errata, it's under "Player's Handbook Clarifications, version 2.0" on page 5, on the Player's Handbook errata page of Wizards' web site. Actually, it's for Polymorph Other, but if it applies to one, it applies to the other, by the wording of Polymorph Self. So, it IS there. However, they STILL don't make it clear enough. They SHOULD have just said, "you keep your extraordinary abilities, but no supernatural or spell-like ones." Instead, they have to get very technical about what is and is not allowed, which doesn't help much.

 

[Tom Cashel]

Hmm...but would you say they're better than the 2e splatbooks? I seem to remember a large number of people saying that they were pretty comparable in quality. But I will take a look at the ones you recommend next time I'm at the store.

 

[Nail]

Hmm...but would you say they're better than the 2e splatbooks? I seem to remember a large number of people saying that they were pretty comparable in quality. But I will take a look at the ones you recommend next time I'm at the store.

T' jump in:
I've found T&B and MotW both readable and useful. Maybe a 4 out of 5 for both on an "EN reviews" scale. Having them is helpful. I may not like the concept of splat-books covering what should have been in the core books, but I just deal wit' it.

And be realistic: Ideas come sequentailly, not all at once; each one building on what came before. What, you wanted them to wait to publish the core books until after they'd thought of everything?

As for favorite forms, no one's mentioned the bat, have they? An excellent underdark scout.

 

[Lucius Foxhound]

To make things clearer for those not in our campaign.. Tom's my DM. I just made an 8th level Wizard to join the campaign. The question is, if my wizard can only polymorph into creatures he's seen ... and since he's started out at a higher level, what's a fair way to determine what monsters he can change into?

In terms of my character, he's a former circus performer who's travelled throughout most of Faerun.

So Tom wants a "wish list" of all the monsters I've seen... but I don't know the Monster Manual very well. Any thoughts on a solution?

 

[Xarlen]

You're a wizard. In the circus. You telling me you havn't come across a Lot of freak shows, menageries, etc?

And, equally, you havn't looked into books that discuss monsters? Show anatomic and behavioral stuff? I would think that studing monsters, atleast from a book learning situation, is Part of a wizard's education.

You don't learn that 'To make a better magic item for disintigration, use a beholder's eye' if you didn't allready know a beholder could disintegrate things. If you knew that, then hey, you know about a beholder, don't you?

And, a bat doesn't work. Blindsight is an (Ex) ability. When the person changes, they can only use their eyesight. Let's hope the wizard who polymorphs has got darkvision, else he's screwed in the underdark.

 

[Nail]

So Tom wants a "wish list" of all the monsters I've seen... but I don't know the Monster Manual very well. Any thoughts on a solution?

Anything of CR 8 or below, methinks. Ye had t' get t' 8th level somehow.....

 

[Xarlen]

Also.

Dragons' spellcasting ability is Innate; their spellcasting is as spell like abilities. So how would you be able to cast, ala dragon?

The last time I looked in the books, there was mention that dragons have horrible times opening tomes and chests and whatnot, thus require some servants or unseen servants, etc. So, how could they cast?

 

[Tom Cashel]

That's a good tip! Although Lucius won't like it...

I agree that traveling in the circus is a good rationale for having seen a great variety of freakish beasts, and also the CR 8 and below point (although we're making th dragon an exception to that, and perhaps others).

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

A mouse. An everyday, ordinary house mouse. Can get in tight places, and has a marvelous sense of smell. Besides, who expects a mouse to pose any threat.

Now make that mouse a polymorphed 5th level fighter with 40 hit points, an AC of 23, and +3 teeth, and you've got something.

For real nightmares, make him a polymorphed 20 level character, Wizard 10th/Archmage 10th with 70 hit points, an AC of 35, and spells. (If an awakened mouse wizard can cast spells, then, by God, a Wizard in the form of a mouse can cast spells.) Who's gonna believe your Font of Unutterable Darkness (a fine Westinghouse product) was disintegrated by a mouse.

That reminds me of the trap in Traps & Treachery that polymorphs you into a mouse and releases a pair of cats