Rules of the Game - polymorphing pt1

[Plane Sailing]

I couldn't see any other threads that are talking about this one yet, so I'll start one.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040511a

Fairly basic as far as it goes, but with one glaring omission so far - it talks about Special Attack, Special Quality, Extraordinary ability, spell-like ability, supernatural ability and natural ability... but doesn't make any reference to creature "Type"

Maybe I'm jumping the gun and it will turn up in the next part of the article, but it raises important questions. If you polymorph into an ooze, do you gain the ooze's immunity to criticals (for instance). Or are you somehow an ooze that retains targettable vital organs

It is also interesting to read

presence or absence of the five basic senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, pain)

So what, smell isn't a basic sense any more?

I hope he addresses the issues of polymorphing into creatures who rely on some other sense that is described as a SQ (e.g. bats with blindsight) - even if he explicitly says "don't do it".


Of course, looking to the future there is the question of whether or not he makes any pronouncements regarding the status of hit points when CON changes. Anyone care to make sportsmans bets about which way he goes?

Cheers

 

[youspoonybard]

Uh...

Unsportsman-like, someone somewhere posted a link to a transcript where he said your HP do adjust, and there was an upcoming (already written) Rules of the Game article saying that...

 

[mikebr99]

Fairly basic as far as it goes, but with one glaring omission so far - it talks about Special Attack, Special Quality, Extraordinary ability, spell-like ability, supernatural ability and natural ability... but doesn't make any reference to creature "Type"

Maybe I'm jumping the gun and it will turn up in the next part of the article, but it raises important questions. If you polymorph into an ooze, do you gain the ooze's immunity to criticals (for instance). Or are you somehow an ooze that retains targettable vital organs

Of course, looking to the future there is the question of whether or not he makes any pronouncements regarding the status of hit points when CON changes. Anyone care to make sportsmans bets about which way he goes?

Cheers

I hope it is obvious to everyone, despite the fact that they reiterate that the creature gets it "type" stuff in the Special Qualities section... that Polymorph also says you change your type, and thereby get the "type" stuff. YMMV

And I'll bet... again.. and again... a new CON, does indeed modify your current hps WRT Polymorphing.

Mike

 

[dcollins]

presence or absence of the five basic senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, pain)

That's just normal. Once again, Skip shoots from the hip without looking it up.

Hey, he's 80% correct, that's about par for the course.

 

[mikebr99]

That's just normal. Once again, Skip shoots from the hip without looking it up.

Hey, he's 80% correct, that's about par for the course.

Hopefully, this is why he does these things in 3 parts, and leaves the 1st vague... so he can scan the boards and be right by the end???

Mike

 

[Pax]

What I noticed most was, he's trying to draw a line through the middle of what an (Ex)traordinary ability is. In Skip's mind, attacks are fine, everything else isn't, it seems.

So, therefor - if you polymorph into a shrk, you don't neccessarily get the ability to not DROWN.

Feh.

 

[Plane Sailing]

So, therefor - if you polymorph into a shrk, you don't neccessarily get the ability to not DROWN.

.

To be fair, I think he includes that in the natural abilities doesn't he?

 

[uzagi_akimbo]

That's just normal. Once again, Skip shoots from the hip without looking it up.

Hey, he's 80% correct, that's about par for the course.

I wonder why he calls "pain" a sense, though. There must be something twisted going on his mind, hehe. Or he just has a wicked-minded editor.
And generally, it remains to find out just _which_ 20% are faulty if 80% are correct.

 

[James McMurray]

What I noticed most was, he's trying to draw a line through the middle of what an (Ex)traordinary ability is. In Skip's mind, attacks are fine, everything else isn't, it seems.

He's right.

It also gains all extraordinary special attacks possessed by the form but does not gain the extraordinary special qualities possessed by the new form or any supernatural or spell-like abilities.

So, therefor - if you polymorph into a shrk, you don't neccessarily get the ability to not DROWN.

ACtually, he does include it:

mode of breathing (lungs, gills),

 

[James McMurray]

I hope he addresses the issues of polymorphing into creatures who rely on some other sense that is described as a SQ (e.g. bats with blindsight) - even if he explicitly says "don't do it".

That would be unde the umbrella as:

Natural Ability: This term is a catch-all for just about anything a creature can do (or characteristic that it has) that is not extraordinary, spell-like, or supernatural.

I hope it is obvious to everyone, despite the fact that they reiterate that the creature gets it "type" stuff in the Special Qualities section... that Polymorph also says you change your type, and thereby get the "type" stuff. YMMV

It's obvious to me, since he pretty much spells out that you get everything that isn't listed as (Ex), (Su), or (Sp).