Druid and Polymorph question


Rules Questions

Grand Lodge

Under the rules for polymorph is the sentence, If the form you choose grants these benefits, or a greater ability of the same type, you gain the listed benefit.

So my question is, if Beast Shape says, for example, Swim 30 feet and the animal you are morphing into has a swim speed of 40 feet, what is your swim speed?

I assumed the swim speed was 30 feet because the spell caps(?) at 30 feet, but the rules for polymorph seem to contradict this. Hence my confusion.

Anyone able to assist me on this one or am I just misreading this? (Which I bet I am doing like normal.)


Useplanb wrote:

Under the rules for polymorph is the sentence, If the form you choose grants these benefits, or a greater ability of the same type, you gain the listed benefit.

So my question is, if Beast Shape says, for example, Swim 30 feet and the animal you are morphing into has a swim speed of 40 feet, what is your swim speed?

I assumed the swim speed was 30 feet because the spell caps(?) at 30 feet, but the rules for polymorph seem to contradict this. Hence my confusion.

Anyone able to assist me on this one or am I just misreading this? (Which I bet I am doing like normal.)

Your swim speed in this example would be 30 feet.

The polymorph rules enforce it not contradict it.
If the form you choose grants these benefits, or a greater ability of the same type, you gain the listed benefit.
That line defines the listed benefits as those coming from the spell rules and make it clear you got only the listed benefits at most even if the form has more.
Though the form you chose granted "a greater ability of the same type" the polymorph rules tell you if it does that you still only "gain the listed benefits" listed in the spell description.
The listed benefit is 30, not the 40 (greater ability) the form normally has.


Quote:
In addition, each polymorph spell can grant you a number of other benefits, including movement types, resistances, and senses. If the form you choose grants these benefits, or a greater ability of the same type, you gain the listed benefit. If the form grants a lesser ability of the same type, you gain the lesser ability instead.

Meaning if the form has an ability, let's go with swim, that is greater than or equal to the listed ability in the spell, you get the listed ability in the spell. So, yes, a form with a swim speed of 40ft while using a spell with a listed swim of 30ft only gets swim 30ft. You cannot go over the listed ability in the spell you are using, though you can go under them.

Grand Lodge

And that was what I had figured initially, its just the more I read it the more I wondered if I was wrong. Especially when the next line in the polymorph says "If the form grants a lesser ability of the same type, you gain the lesser ability instead."


Basically, the confusion is about what "listed benefit" refers too. It could be clearer, but it definitely refers to the benefit listed in the spell, not the benefit listed in the creature description.

"In addition, each polymorph spell can grant you a number of other benefits, including movement types, resistances, and senses. If the form you choose grants these benefits, or a greater ability of the same type, you gain the listed benefit. If the form grants a lesser ability of the same type, you gain the lesser ability instead."

Grand Lodge

Exactly, I was confused as to whether it was the spell benefit or the form benefit.

Scarab Sages

What's also neat is that if the form you are taking has a swim speed, you can breath water even if the base form doesn't have the ability to breath water.

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