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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lorehead" data-source="post: 2814358" data-attributes="member: 40086">Gigantic MightThis is my first post, so please let me know what I should do differently from now on. The ongoing rules changes about and around shapechanging make this an interesting moment for game designers.  As I write, polymorph is officially deprecated, but nothing has yet appeared to replace it.  I fully agree with the decision and the reasoning behind it, but that still leaves open the harder and more interesting question of what should replace it.  What we do have is a fairly detailed set of design requirements.  What we want is not a single spell, but a family of them that together cover the spell’s legitimate uses.  Each spell in this family should be balanced, easy to adjudicate, flavorful, consistent with the existing rules and limited to at most a small number of enumerated forms.  Before too long, we should have yet another official version with which to compare our work.Here is the first part of my answer.  I welcome your comments.  If you use this in your games, I would very much appreciate hearing how it worked.Designer’s Notes: I did not attempt to subsume all the uses of polymorph into gigantic might, only its function as a shock-trooper buff.  I kept it at fourth level and limited the allowed forms to the following three giants from the core rules: ogre, hill giant and stone giant.  I tried to make the ability progression smooth rather than exact, and kept in mind that there were more optimal choices even within the core rules.The mechanics now work more like enlarge person and righteous might, two spells that have yet to cause anything like the headache polymorph does, than like alter self.  As a result, gigantic might is now a way for a fighter or barbarian to keep up with a self-buffing cleric, not a way for the right cleric build to surpass them.  The result is most similar to righteous might, a fifth-level cleric spell.  This seemed appropriate, since this spell, like greater magic weapon and blindness/deafness, falls into a mage’s traditional specialty.There are a few inconsistencies with righteous might, such as the fact that the new size is fixed instead of relative.  I saw no reason to restrict the spell to Medium or larger characters, since the subject gives up its existing racial abilities.  A natural armor bonus, such as real giants have, seemed more appropriate than an enhancement bonus to natural armor.  I made an effort to collate all rules related to the size change in one easy place after the main effect.  Finally, I took it upon myself to incorporate my preferred answers to those polymorph questions still under serious dispute.Update: Now that we do have the first two polymorph replacements, I’d be happy to discuss whether this series of spells should change.  Unfortunately, those replacements are not (yet?) Open Game Content.The following is Open Game Content under the terms of the <a href="http://www.wizards.com/d20/files/OGLv1.0a.rtf" target="_blank">Open Gaming License 1.0a</a>.Gigantic MightTransmutationLevel: Sor/Wiz 4Components: V,S,MRange: TouchTarget: Willing, living creature touchedDuration: 1 round/level (D)Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless)Spell Resistance: YesThis spell magnifies the prowess of an experienced combatant by transforming it into a powerful giant.  Regardless of the subject’s original size and shape, it assumes Large size and a humanoid form.  It is recognizable both as itself and as a member of its new race.  Its mindset also becomes more like a proud and bellicose giant’s.  It keeps its basic personality, but enjoys using its size and strength in battle.  The new body feels as comfortable and natural as the one the subject was born with, while the abiilties of its former race feel unfamiliar and alien.As your skill improves, you learn to grant stronger, hardier and nimbler forms.  The subject becomes one of the following three creatures, based on its character level and your caster level (whichever is lower).  You may select an earlier form instead if you so desire.[CODE][u]Level       Giant        Modifiers                              Natural Weapons[/u]10 or less: Ogre         +4 Str, -2 Dex, +2 Con, +2 Nat. Armor  2 slams11-14:      Hill Giant   +6 Str, -2 Dex, +4 Con, +2 Nat. Armor  2 slams15 or more: Stone Giant  +8 Str, +2 Dex, +4 Con, +2 Nat. Armor  2 slams[/CODE]All ability score modifiers from this spell are size modifiers.  The listed natural armor bonus replaces any existing natural armor and stacks with enhancement bonuses to natural armor.  A Constitution bonus grants an effective hit point increase.  The subject’s type changes to giant.  It gains the augmented subtype based on its original type, and keeps the extraplanar and shapechanger subtypes if it had them, but loses all other subtypes.  Incorporeal and gaseous creatures are immune to this spell. A creature with the shapechanger subtype can revert to its natural form as a standard action.  The subject grows or shrinks to a normal size for its new race (see Core Rulebook III).  Its new size category is Large, its base speed is 40 feet, and its space and reach are 10 feet.  It receives a +4 size bonus on grapple checks and certain other rolls.  It has two slam attacks which both deal 1d4 + Strength modifier points of bludgeoning damage, and its unarmed strikes deal the same amount of nonlethal damage (unless it is a monk).  It has a -1 penalty on AC and attack rolls and a -4 penalty to Hide checks due to size.  It receives a +4 bonus on Intimidate checks due to size, and a +4 bonus on Jump checks due to base speed.  The subject has low-light vision.The new giant retains all of its mental ability scores, skill ranks, hit dice, class features, base attack and saving throw bonuses, languages and feats (other than racial bonus feats).  It counts as both a member of its original race and a giant for the purpose of all abilities and effects that depend on race.  It loses all racial bonuses and penalties (other than those already listed) and forgets how to use the abilities of its former race, even those it gained from its culture or upbringing.  Transformed humans instead lose the benefit of their most recent character feat and take a -1 penalty on all trained skill checks for the duration of the spell.  This spell does not impart any specific knowledge, such as weapon proficiencies or the secrets of rock throwing.This spell enlarges or reduces all equipment worn or carried by a creature by the same number of steps as the subject (i.e. to Large size). Melee and projectile weapons affected by this spell deal more (or less) damage. Other magical properties are not affected by this spell. Any affected item that leaves the subject’s possession (including a projectile or thrown weapon) instantly returns to its normal size. This means that thrown weapons deal their normal damage, and projectiles deal damage based on the size of the weapon that fired them. Magical properties of enlarged items do not change.[CODE]Weapon Damage at Large SizeExample Weapon  Large DamageShuriken        1d3Gauntlet        1d4Dagger          1d6Shortspear      1d8Falchion        2d6Longsword       2d6Bastard Sword   2d8Greataxe        3d6Greatsword      3d6[/CODE]If insufficient room is available for the desired growth, the creature attains the maximum possible size and may make a Strength check (using its new Strength) to burst any enclosures in the process. If it fails, it is constrained without harm by the materials enclosing it; the spell cannot be used to crush a creature by increasing its size.Multiple magical effects that increase size do not stack, and an effect that transforms one creature into another makes other such effects irrelevant.Material Component: An empty cocoon.</blockquote>

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