When casting Monstrous Physique in PFS, what is the legal list of monster choices for a player? Is it any monstrous humanoid from any PFS legal sourcebook? Or are players restricted to monsters found in the Bestiaries?
|
Indeed. The Additional Resources Document is key.
There are creatures available as Animal Companions and Familiars, from obscure sources, that are not available for polymorph effects, which I have had to mention a couple times at PFS tables.
Also, whatever that horridly overpowered 6-armed creature is that Magi like to polymorph into. That is also not legal.
Thanks for the help! I suppose this means that the Momstrous Physique spell is technically illegal to use in PFS if players don't own the appropriate Bestiary.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Thanks for the help! I suppose this means that the Momstrous Physique spell is technically illegal to use in PFS if players don't own the appropriate Bestiary.
I think this is true. But if I was the GM, I would probably let a player use a monstrous humanoid out of any Bestiary that I had on hand. I would be much more inclined to do so if the player already had printed out (or even hand-written) stat blocks of their character with various choices of monstrous transformation. This is worth asking about before the game starts.
Say to the GM: "Hey, my character uses the spell monstrous transformation. These are the forms he likes to transform into. This list is from the Bestiary, this list is from Bestiary 2, ..."
TL;DR: Print out the transformed version of your character for those forms you use frequently. It makes the game run more smoothly.
...the Momstrous Physique spell
Epic typo. :)
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body. Items that provide constant bonuses and do not need to be activated continue to function while melded in this way (with the exception of armor and shield bonuses, which cease to function). Items that require activation cannot be used while you maintain that form. While in such a form, you cannot cast any spells that require material components (unless you have the Eschew Materials or Natural Spell feat), and can only cast spells with somatic or verbal components if the form you choose has the capability to make such movements or speak, such as a dragon. Other polymorph spells might be subject to this restriction as well, if they change you into a form that is unlike your original form (subject to GM discretion). If your new form does not cause your equipment to meld into your form, the equipment resizes to match your new size.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
So... what EXACTLY happens?
Here's the text from monstrous physique I.
When you cast this spell, you can assume the form of any Small or Medium creature of the monstrous humanoid type. If the form you assume has any of the following abilities, you gain the listed ability: climb 30 feet, fly 30 feet (average maneuverability), swim 30 feet, darkvision 60 feet, low-light vision, and scent. If the form you assume has the aquatic subtype, you gain the aquatic and amphibious subtypes.
Small monstrous humanoid: If the form you take is that of a Small monstrous humanoid, you gain a +2 size bonus to your Dexterity and a +1 natural armor bonus.
Medium monstrous humanoid: If the form you take is that of a Medium monstrous humanoid, you gain a +2 size bonus to your Strength and a +2 natural armor bonus.
Here's the PRD entry for gargoyle
Here's the text for polymorph spells:
Polymorph: A polymorph spell transforms your physical body to take on the shape of another creature. While these spells make you appear to be the creature, granting you a +10 bonus on Disguise skill checks, they do not grant you all of the abilities and powers of the creature. Each polymorph spell allows you to assume the form of a creature of a specific type, granting you a number of bonuses to your ability scores and a bonus to your natural armor. 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. Your base speed changes to match that of the form you assume. If the form grants a swim or burrow speed, you maintain the ability to breathe if you are swimming or burrowing. The DC for any of these abilities equals your DC for the polymorph spell used to change you into that form.
In addition to these benefits, you gain any of the natural attacks of the base creature, including proficiency in those attacks. These attacks are based on your base attack bonus, modified by your Strength or Dexterity as appropriate, and use your Strength modifier for determining damage bonuses.
If a polymorph spell causes you to change size, apply the size modifiers appropriately, changing your armor class, attack bonus, Combat Maneuver Bonus, and Stealth skill modifiers. Your ability scores are not modified by this change unless noted by the spell.
Unless otherwise noted, polymorph spells cannot be used to change into specific individuals. Although many of the fine details can be controlled, your appearance is always that of a generic member of that creature's type. Polymorph spells cannot be used to assume the form of a creature with a template or an advanced version of a creature.
When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body. Items that provide constant bonuses and do not need to be activated continue to function while melded in this way (with the exception of armor and shield bonuses, which cease to function). Items that require activation cannot be used while you maintain that form. While in such a form, you cannot cast any spells that require material components (unless you have the Eschew Materials or Natural Spell feat), and can only cast spells with somatic or verbal components if the form you choose has the capability to make such movements or speak, such as a dragon. Other polymorph spells might be subject to this restriction as well, if they change you into a form that is unlike your original form (subject to GM discretion). If your new form does not cause your equipment to meld into your form, the equipment resizes to match your new size.
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. You also lose any class features that depend upon form, but those that allow you to add features (such as sorcerers that can grow claws) still function. While most of these should be obvious, the GM is the final arbiter of what abilities depend on form and are lost when a new form is assumed. Your new form might restore a number of these abilities if they are possessed by the new form.
You get fly 30 ft., darkvision 60 ft., a +2 size bonus to Strength, and a +2 natural armor bonus. You also gain the natural attacks of a gargoyle (2 claws, a bite, and a gore).
Edited for the correction the FT pointed out. :)
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
The Fox quoted the relevant section with regards to equipment. Since Monstrous Humanoid is not one of the types listed in that paragraph, equipment remains. A Gargoyle is a medium creature, so I believe you get a +2 STR regardless of what size you were before changing. If you were small before changing, you would also take a -1 penalty to AC and a -1 to hit from changing size. You would gain the natural attacks of a gargoyle, but with your bonuses (plus the +2 STR). You would gain a fly speed of 30. You would gain Darkvision 60 feet. You would gain a +2 natural armor bonus, which would stack with barkskin or an amulet of natural armor, but would not stack with your own natural armor, if you had any (like from being a Nagaji).
Edit: And ninja'd by The Fox. Only thing is it's a +2 natural armor bonus for a medium creature, not +1.
|
|
Another advantage of the spell, much like the lower level Alter Self, is it's flexibility. Need to fly? Turn into a gargoyle. Need to swim? Turn into anything with a swim speed, and when you do, you get the bonus of picking up the amphibious subtype, which lets you breathe underwater. Don't have Darkvision? Quite a few Monstrous Humanoids do. Fighting a pesky invisible creature and don't have a See Invisibilty extract prepared? Change into something with scent.
My Finesse Gnome Investigator intends to use it to turn into a Charda once he finally gets 3rd level extracts next level. 5 natural attacks, a +2 Dex, a +1 Natural Armor Bonus, and a swim speed. Throw in Studied Combat and an Agile Amulet of Mighty Fists and it's decent damage output for a mostly skills based character.
|
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
didn't answer anything SPECIFIC to monstrous physique. In fact, it rather muddy everything up because it seemed to say that equipment is absorbed... accept when it's not.
Notice which entry is missing:
When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body.
Monstrous Humanoids are not a part of that list, so if you're a Human Magus using this spell to change into a Large Monstrous Humanoid, you get to not only keep all of your gear, but it also sizes to fit you =).
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Don't feel bad. Most of the rules for the polymorph spells are tucked away in the magic section there. The rules for what you're trying to do are all over the place (thats half the fun of doing them...)
In the case of sword claw claw claw
Creatures with natural attacks and attacks made with weapons can use both as part of a full attack action (although often a creature must forgo one natural attack for each weapon clutched in that limb, be it a claw, tentacle, or slam). Such creatures attack with their weapons normally but treat all of their available natural attacks as secondary attacks during that attack, regardless of the attack’s original type.
(this is from the universal monster rules)
Secondary attacks take a -5 penalty and only do half strength damage. You probably want to forgo the sword in that case.
|
|
I suppose you could get 6 attacks by equipping a couple Blade Boots and using Two-Weapon Fighting. Your attacks would be: Boot(-2), Boot(-2), Claw(-5), Claw(-5), Bite(-5), Gore(-5). The penalties are painful, though at least you don't have to worry about the Blade Boot's drawback since you'd have a Fly speed.
|
In a similar vein, it may be somewhat dangerous in PFS play but Undead Anatomy is a polymorph spell and it gives the undead type which is also not on this list: "When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body"
So does that mean a Wizard can cast Undead Anatomy and continue throwing out spells since his spell component pouch doesn't meld into the form, right? I know this is a bit off-topic.
|
|
In a similar vein, it may be somewhat dangerous in PFS play but Undead Anatomy is a polymorph spell and it gives the undead type which is also not on this list: "When you cast a polymorph spell that changes you into a creature of the animal, dragon, elemental, magical beast, plant, or vermin type, all of your gear melds into your body"
So does that mean a Wizard can cast Undead Anatomy and continue throwing out spells since his spell component pouch doesn't meld into the form, right? I know this is a bit off-topic.
Yes, that seems right.