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I am interested in playing a wild shape-focused half-orc druid for their favored class bonus, and was wondering: Do their alternate racial trait, Sacred Tattoos, persist while under a polymorph effect?
Polymorph rules say:
While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form (such as keen senses, scent, and darkvision), as well as any natural attacks and movement types possessed by your original form.
Sacred Tattoos, as well as a great many other alternate racial traits in the Advanced Race Guide, are not classified as either Extraordinary or Supernatural. In fact, many aren't classified at all.
I would think it would disappear, because you are technically no longer an orc while polymorphed, though I could see it going either way, from both a rules and fluff perspective.
Yeah, the lack of Su or Ex on some of these racial variants irritates me to no end. I would say they maintain the bonus for two reasons A) The bonus is not (yet) of a restricted type and B) Fluff wise the bonus could have come more from having done the rituals than still bearing the marks.
Regardless of my personal opinion, I'm hitting FAQ.
I envision the polymorph form still bearing the tattoos, unless used to duplicate a specific individual (in which case the tattoos aren't apparent, but the effect remains).
It would be rather entertaining to see a stegosaurus covered in piercing, tattoos, and mystic scars. Even without the racial ability, I would consider doing that with my wildshape.