This is a post out of curiosity.
I've been running a campaign going on about 3 years or so. One of the party members (ostensibly the rogue) has a couple alternate identities. Lately, the party has come to a hard realization of what heroism can cost them, and other people, and the rogue had decided to fully and utterly immerse herself in her primary alt identity (who is much more jaded about these sorts of things).
So, she decided to have someone of absurdly high level cast Polymorph Any Object on her to assume a new body. This is permanent, of course, and the thought hit me... I have never seen a post on any forum, or heard a comment about the psychological impact of this happening to someone.
How many of you have had this issue come up in their game? How did you handle it, and how do you treat the notion of swapping out your own body for something entirely different?
I'd say that the Polymorph would probably not have much of an effect.
The body would change, but probably not the mind.
If your rogue suddenly goes from female to male then she'd have some adjusting to do if she planned on having physical relationships with anyone.
If the race changes then I'd apply ability modifiers and give them the usual racial characteristics like low light vision, darkvision etc.
But I would not modify the number of skill points per level that would be gained (demi-human to human) or lost (human to demi-human). Nor would I grant them proficiency with a weapon or skill bonuses due to race.
Polymorph Any Object is Permanent, but can be dispelled, which could cause complications.
However, if you wanted to completely change, including racial abilities, sexual preference and react as the new personality then I'd suggest you go with Wish or Miracle.
Oh, no. This is from an RP standpoint alone... what is the psychological impact of not having the same body? Her new body is female, so there's no odd gender issues here. Her mind is quite the same as it was, but she has levels in a PrC that allows deep mental immersion in a different identity... which she more or less intends to use all the time now.
But what I'm curious about is whether anyone has any experience in-game with the simple fact of spending your life in a body that wasn't yours to begin with, as a player developing their character or as a GM running the story. Has the issue ever been addressed in your games? Has it ever been a character conflict? What does it do to a person to be wearing a different body all the time?
I have never had a player do this before, although I have had a character that was cured to switch sexes in times of stress. I overall would say that it would have little effect on her mind. There will be a few scare herself when she looks in a mirror but that will fade over time. It's akin to someone getting large amounts of plastic surgery, you know like the folks on Extreme Makeover. There might be some slight changes like more confidence or maybe a less stressful life knowing her identity is safe (as same as it can be in a world with magic). Really in a fantasy setting like this where mirror and appearance standards are not a prevalent, I think most people look at themselves a lot less.
We had a barbarian once that was reincarnted from a human to a halfling, and suddenly had some serious issues come up. He had ancestral armor and weapons that we had spent a long time hunting down from the Orcs who had killed his father- and now he wasn't able to wear or use them effectively. We then adventured for awhile to find a scroll of wish to return him to his original form, and he learned a better respect for the smaller races. I'm not saying that there wasn't player gripping, but he took it as a serious test of roleplaying ability and did really well.
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Oooh... good discussion...
Is the Mind like a stone, that can pass from container to container and keep it's same core identity?
Or is the Mind like water, that shapes itself to fill it's container?
I envy your game, in that it is rich enough that this question even comes up. I wish I could say that I have run across it myself.
I'd suggest that you and/or your player watch Donnie Brasco for just such a "Who am I, really?" quandary.
But what I'm curious about is whether anyone has any experience in-game with the simple fact of spending your life in a body that wasn't yours to begin with, as a player developing their character or as a GM running the story. Has the issue ever been addressed in your games? Has it ever been a character conflict? What does it do to a person to be wearing a different body all the time?
Sorry, misunderstood before.
Would that PrC be Spymaster from Complete Adventure by any chance?
I did once have a character go through that issue as it happens. It was in Call of Cthulhu and he was a private detective.
You probably know the routine... get a call from a friend or relative (ex-girlfriend in this case)... She needs help etc.
During the investigation they 'renewed' their relationship in the physical manner and then he woke up in her body. Later he found it was her father in her body as he'd killed his own daughter. (Confused yet?)
When he caught up with his original body it was mutating into some elephant god or something, so he killed his own body.
Now in Cthulhu madness is the norm and this did confuse the hell out of him for a while. Needless to say he gave up sex due to trust issues and the fact that he couldn't stand the thought of 'doing it with a man' and finding another woman would be tricky in the 1920's.
Anyway, meandering off topic a bit.
Obviously this example had the gender issue, but yours doesn't.
The whole situation caused some confusion with his friends who knew what had happened. He effectively lost his family as they thought he had been brutally murdered, so that left him feeling very alone.
The rogue will also lose her family connections and friends, with the exception of those that know her in her new identity.
As for what it feels like to wear a new body...
You'll see a different face in the mirror, but after a while you'll forget about that. Unless there are radical physical differences then I'd say it would be like having a new suit that you need to get used to wearing.
At least she doesn't have the same problem my PI had. He never really got the hang of high heels and always felt like a cross dresser when he had to wear a dress. And don't even ask about the toilet issues....
But for all the quirks it was fun to play that character.
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This is usually brought up (in RPG's and in sf fiction) with regards to effects like magic jar, possessions, personality imprints, and the like. Finding their ... self ... trapped in an alien body has haunted several protagonists.
There are a host of issues: I'm taller and need new clothes; maybe this is the right time to update my style. I used to be a dwarf and now I'll age and die before I'm a hundred. I constantly radiate magic. My teeth feel wrong to my tongue; no wonder these people can't pronounce Dwarven words properly. What in Balder's name happened to my battle scars; without them, how will I remember my duel against the orc captain, the ambush by those razorfiends, or my 20th birthday? My strength is all screwed up, but my dexterity is freakishly high, which is playing games with my axe-work. I'll never see my parents again; and they'll outlive me now. I still find dwarf-women attractive; should that be wrong? Why did that wizard give me a receding hairline; is it supposed to be sexy among these people or something? Hey, look, I don't have to go through doorways one shoulder at a time, woo hoo. How do I know that guy over there isn't polymorphed, too. Without darkvision, it really is hard to see at night. What if I had been turned into a dog? Or, worse yet, an elf?
Given the interest most PC's have in this kind of stuff, you could probably assume that characters adjust perfectly well after about an hour or two.
Given the interest most PC's have in this kind of stuff, you could probably assume that characters adjust perfectly well after about an hour or two.
True in many cases, but Monty Mullen did say it was a role-play issue. If the player and/or GM are considering this issue then it won't get resolved in a hour or two.
I think we all know some dwarf warrior that put on a Girdle of Masculinity/Feminity in 2nd Edition and carried on as if nothing had happened. As soon as they got back to town is was 'Remove Curse' and back to normal.
This however, is a conscious choice which should be role-played out
I think there is definately a pyschological difference between being forced into a difference body from a harmful spell or item verses chossing to change. When forced you can't go through the mental preparation of a change is coming and the abrupt changes can be a real shock to the system. When you choose the change you have time to mentally prepare so it's not nearly the shock. Sure there still will be adjustments, but this is something that you wanted.
Interesting replies here, folks. Thanks for indulging me. I was really curious if anyone had had a PC get a little weird about switching bodies and the like.
The player is definitely using this event as a character development tool, and no doubt this will be the cause of some trepidation later on. As the player explained, the character no longer feels like love is possible, because how can somebody even know who she really is? The notion of a real marriage is equally impossible now, in her mind.
The reasons for it all were many. Not only was it an attempt to abruptly become someone better suited to be a 'hero', but it is also an attempt to protect her family (who are just bakers, man), and an attempt to become a sort of flagship for the rest of the party.
Not that the rest of the party is lacking in motivation, let me tell you. I've never had a group so full of IC ambitions and passions.
Oh, for the previous poster: you called it, Spymaster. I actually folded that into Zhentarim Spy from the FR setting, as they were very much alike, and kept it to a 5 level PrC.