Polymorph - what creatures do you know?

[Thanee]

To find out, whether a character knows about a specific creature well enough to polymorph into, we allow every creature you have actually seen, but also allow the use of applicable knowledge skills (DC 10+HD as normal, especially rare creatures have a higher DC).

How do you do this?

Pick up monster manual and go balistic or any restraints?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Plane Sailing]

In the campaign I play in, we use any creature that you've encountered and fought against.

 

[Hervis]

I have encountered this before as DM and this is how I handled it (and still do). If your character has had a meaningful encounter with a creature (combat, conversation, or such. Not just seeing it breifly from a distance) they can polymorph into one. Otherwise, roll the specific knowledge for the creatures type. The chart under the description of the knowledge skill defines what each sub-skill covers and also helps you set the DC. If the character has knowledge of that creature from their skills then they can polymorph into one.

 

[Pax]

To Hervis' rule, at least while running a game in the Forgotten Realms, I would add the option to use the appropriate Knowledge(Local) skill for a region that the desired creature is FROM. ^_^

Thus, you can have someone who - while not terribly familiar with <b>all</b> creatures of X type, is familiar with those creatures of that type <i>and any other type</i> that exist inhis home Region.

Rather like you could expect someone from the middle east to be more familiar with camels than someone from the middle of the U.S. ^_^

 

[Gizzard]

I know I've seen this thread before; a bunch of different answers were proposed. A successful Search check might bring you a treasure! ;-)

Personally, I think 10+HD alone is way too easy. I like the caveat that you must also have seen the creature in some meaningful way (talked, fought, dissected).

I thought of going to 9+(HD*2). Thus a 10th level character with no ranks maxxes out at (maybe) knowing 5HD monsters. OTOH, a 10th with 13 ranks may know up to 12HD and has a 50/50 chance at any new 7HD creature. There's no reason why this system couldn't be 5+(HD*2) etc, in order to properly value the skill for whatever campaign feel you are looking for.

 

[Evilhalfling]

Hmm I use country/ region encounter tables, so the rule of thumb is you know of most of the creatures from your home region chances are you have seen pictures, corpses or just heard enough detailed stories for familiarity.
plus any monsters you have encountered. I also have flat contient rules, ie lions and buffalo on one and tigers, jaguar and elk types on the other. The continent also applies to summoning spells - how can you summon a Celestial Lion if you have never heard of a lion?

 

[Eldragon]

I require my players to have a DNA sample of the creature they wish to polymorph into. e.g. One inch square of skin, small amount of blood, a few hairs, etc. This DNA sample is consumed upon casting. It eliminates the debate over what creatures a player knows about, and adds an extra dynamic to a trip to ye' old magic shop. I keep the component costs pretty cheap to not upset the balance of the spell. Hair of Newt? 1 cp, Skin of troll? 5 sp. Scale of a white dragon? 10 gp. etc.

My players feel a strong desire to collect trophies from their kills, and lets me as a DM give out indirect gold from just about any monster. That way ultra-rare creatures who normally carry no treasure now have a lootable value.

 

[Pax]

Eldragon, do you require the same thing of Druids ... ?

 

[Eldragon]

Eldragon, do you require the same thing of Druids ... ?

No, druids are already limited to creatures of the type "animal". I don't feel the need to limit druids further.

The rule above only applies to polymorph and baleful polymorph. It all started because once we started a campaign at level 12, and a PC wanted to know what creatures he ran into while adventuring between levels 1 and 11.

 

[Pax]

First, druids can also pull off elementals. ^_^

Second ... what about a Druid/Shifter?