Would it be cannibalism to eat a polymorphed chicken?

[Rude the Dude]

Chicken Boo, what's the matter with you?
You don't act like the other chickens do.
You wear a disguise to look like human guys.
But you're not a man, you're a chicken, Boo.

 

[Umbran]

I think it is the definition of human that changes if you introduce shapechanging. If a human shape changed into a chicken stops being a person and is now a chicken in your campaign, then its not cannibalism. If a human shape changed into a chicken is a human wearing a chicken shape, then it is cannibalism.

And, I might add, there's an additional interesting bit here. Note the easy shift you made between "human" and "person". Human is a specific race, while person is a bit more general ("Half-orcs are people too!").

We modern humans have an issue in that we live on a world where for most of our history we only recognized one sentient species, and "cannibalism" was defined in terms of eating that one species. In moral terms, is cannibalism in the game world about biological species/form, or about sentience, or about spiritual qualities? Figure that out, and the answer to the original question falls out nicely.

 

[Celebrim]

And, I might add, there's an additional interesting bit here. Note the easy shift you made between "human" and "person". Human is a specific race, while person is a bit more general ("Half-orcs are people too!").

Agreed. The question becomes, are orcs people too? And from the orc's perspective, are humans people too?

We modern humans have an issue in that we live on a world where for most of our history we only recognized one sentient species, and "cannibalism" was defined in terms of eating that one species. In moral terms, is cannibalism in the game world about biological species/form, or about sentience, or about spiritual qualities? Figure that out, and the answer to the original question falls out nicely.

Likewise agreed.

There are a few fantasy worlds where we can answer that question with some certainty. Regarding JRRT's middle earth the author tells us that, orcs, humans, elves, and halflings are all the same species. Thus, we can be sure that one eating the flesh of the other is cannibalism, despite the fact that the author also tells us that they have different spiritual qualities (ei, the main difference between elves and humans is the sort of soul they have). Since JRRT's good guys find the practice abhorrent, we can assume that common physical relationship is at minimum enough on ME. In CS Lewis's Narnia, there is a scene which indicates that eating the flesh of a sentient being is considered abhorent even if that flesh would otherwise be considered lawful to eat (a talking deer), and hense we can understand that the notion of cannibalism in that world would revolve around sentience which in turn (because its CS Lewis) we can understand to revolve around a spiritual quality common to all 'free peoples'. I suspect because of thier common philosophies, but can't really prove, that the same additionally holds true for JRRT's middle earth, so that for example, it would be equally wrong for a dwarf to eat a man, or a man to eat a dwarf, as it would for a man to eat a man, despite the fact that you can't show from the text that men and dwarves are the same species.

 

[Doug Sundseth]

As I read it (and I'm prepared to be corrected), it would be cannibalism:

The duration of Baleful Polymorph is "Permanent", not "Instantaneous". Thus, the target of the spell is a human under a spell effect, not a chicken that used to be human.

As to whether the target would revert on death: I think it would, since the allowable target of a Baleful Polymorph is "One creature". After death, the corpse is an object, not a creature, and so is no longer a valid target for the spell.

 

[Doug McCrae]

Great thread topic. Only on a roleplaying board...

 

[Slife]

As to whether the target would revert on death: I think it would, since the allowable target of a Baleful Polymorph is "One creature". After death, the corpse is an object, not a creature, and so is no longer a valid target for the spell.

By that chain of logic, flesh to stone doesn't work.

 

[Doug Sundseth]

By that chain of logic, flesh to stone doesn't work.

Flesh to Stone has a duration of "Instantaneous", so it doesn't need a legal target after the spell is resolved -- its effect is done when the change happens (or doesn't).

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

By that chain of logic, flesh to stone doesn't work.

No, no, no.

By that logic, shilelagh doesn't work.

 

[Celebrim]

Great thread topic. Only on a roleplaying board...

Would it be cannibalism for a polymorphed bear to eat a bear? I have to know because I have a player with a Shaman/Paladin who has a taboo against cannibalism, and he was polymorphed into a bear and then killed a bear - and now he wants to know if he can eat the bear because his character hadn't eaten in four days. Also, was it murder to kill the bear because the bear that was killed just wanted to mate (don't ask)?

What about awakened bears? Is it cannibalism for them to eat other bears? Is it cannibalism for an awakened bear to eat humans?

 

[Doug McCrae]

Or maybe a cannibalism board.