Thoughts on new PHB2 polymorph spells?

[zoroaster100]

I just got the Player's Handbook 2, and I'm pretty happy about some of the innovations in this book. I'm still unsure about how I feel regarding the new polymorph subschool and new polymorph spells and rules in the book. Have any of you tried them in your games? Any thoughts as to whether the new spells are useful and balanced, or too weak? It seems they are easier to use in terms of the simple application of rules, since you basically become the monster out of the Monster Manual. I'm not sure about the concept of adopting the creature's intelligence, wisdom and charisma when you turn into the creature, and losing your spellcasting ability and other class features (that is how it works, right?) Can a wizard really be an effective melee character even with 30 bonus hit points when he becomes a troll using the trollshape spell? Won't he be toast when fighting alongside his fellow adventurer fighters, barbarians, etc. Also, when a wizard becomes a troll, does he gain regeneration?

Does it seem like the polymorph spells become somewhat useless as the wizard gets higher level, so that only his or her highest level polymorph spells will be feasible to use in adventuring, because weaker monsters will be useless in combat?

 

[Graf]

Generally I like the concept well enough.

Obviously they could have used
1. Some more interesting creature types
2. Some sort of non-standard polymorph school spell (i.e. funky but not the same as an existing spell like: Morphic Travel (2nd level) where you get one of the following burrow 10, climb 20, fly 30 (avg maneuver) and your body changes a bit to compensate.

Hmm… lower level spells are always eclipsed by higher level ones. But the polymorphs don’t have a bad duration so they’re fine for buffs before a big fight (ex: globe of invulnerability is less good at higher levels, but its still fine for what it is, and you’d cast it before a big fight if you had the chance).

 

[Eldragon]

I took a look at them, and nothing struck me as outwardly "wrong" with the spells. However, I would never take the Polymorph spell out of any game I run and replaced it with the new polymorth spells in PHB2. I like polymorph because it is so versatile, the new spells have the combat uses of shapeshifting well covered, but the utilitarian uses are mostly wiped out.

 

[Nikosandros]

The fact that you get the mental abilities of the assumed form makes the spell much more playable... I don't really like it from a "flavor" point of view though...

 

[Falling Icicle]

Polymorph now gives you the mental abilities of the creature? You've got to be kidding me. So if I turn into an animal form, I will have my intelligence dropped to 1-2? That's unebelievably lame.

 

[zoroaster100]

I guess I don't understand why it's necessary for balance to have a wizard turn as dumb as a troll in order for polymorphing into a troll be balanced for the game. I mean, does having a high intelligence really give the troll that many more powerful options? It is also hard for a player to suddenly go from roleplaying a high intelligence wizard to a low intelligence troll without metagaming.