Hi I just started a new character who is specialising in the polymorph spells and wanted to check that I had the rules right before I made up my crib sheets.
1a) "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)."
Are these for all armour and shield bonuses or just for ones based off mundane armour?
e.g. I am a wizard (Dex 14) +2, Bracers (+2 Dex) +1, Bracers of Armour +4 = AC17 and I change into a Huge Animal with Beast Shape 3 so I get a -4 penalty to your Dexterity, and a +6 natural armor bonus. Do I lose the Bonus from the Bracers of Armour and stay AC 17 (+1 Dex, +6 Natural) or do the Bracers continue to work so I become AC21?
From my reading of it I believe I stay at AC 17 which leads me onto question 1b
1b) As above, but instead of bracers of armour +4 I cast a mage armour and change into a huge animal, am I now AC21
Again from my reading I think I am but find it odd that bracers would go away but the spell stays.
1c) If I add in a shield spell does that work, I think it does since it's not a shield that I am holding.
2a) Now onto resistances, if I use elemental body 2 to turn into a medium elemental do I get the appropriate resistances "In addition, each polymorph spell can grant you a number of other benefits, including movement types, resistances, and senses." now here it says it can give you resistances but none of the elemental body spells mention giving you resistances I assume that they do since you are an elemental...
2b) Do you get the vulnerabilities e.g. Fire Elementals vulnerability to cold? Again I assume you do.
3) Do you get the elemental traits immune to crits etc. when you are in elemental form, again I am assuming you do, but could be wrong since it isn't listed explicitly.
4) If you are hit by an appropriately flavoured bane weapon does it do the extra damage to you when you are polymorphed e.g. Elemental Bane again I am assuming that it does.
1a) Your retain the benefits of the bracers of armor, It is a constant effect item.
1b & 1c) Spell effects, such as mage armor and shield do not go away, they are not items.
4)I have seen nowhere that it stats that you gain the type and/or subtypes, so no bane to my knowledge.
Hi I just started a new character who is specialising in the polymorph spells and wanted to check that I had the rules right before I made up my crib sheets.
1a) "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)."
Are these for all armour and shield bonuses or just for ones based off mundane armour?
e.g. I am a wizard (Dex 14) +2, Bracers (+2 Dex) +1, Bracers of Armour +4 = AC17 and I change into a Huge Animal with Beast Shape 3 so I get a -4 penalty to your Dexterity, and a +6 natural armor bonus. Do I lose the Bonus from the Bracers of Armour and stay AC 17 (+1 Dex, +6 Natural) or do the Bracers continue to work so I become AC21?
From my reading of it I believe I stay at AC 17 which leads me onto question 1b
1b) As above, but instead of bracers of armour +4 I cast a mage armour and change into a huge animal, am I now AC21
Again from my reading I think I am but find it odd that bracers would go away but the spell stays.
1c) If I add in a shield spell does that work, I think it does since it's not a shield that I am holding.
2a) Now onto resistances, if I use elemental body 2 to turn into a medium elemental do I get the appropriate resistances "In addition, each polymorph spell can grant you a number of other benefits, including movement types, resistances, and senses." now here it says it can give you resistances but none of the elemental body spells mention giving you resistances I assume that they do since you are an elemental...
2b) Do you get the vulnerabilities e.g. Fire Elementals vulnerability to cold? Again I assume you do.
3) Do you get the elemental traits immune to crits etc. when you are in elemental form, again I am assuming you do, but could be wrong since it...
1a/b/c) This one might open a lenghty discussion, as there are very different views (and to my knowledge no official word) whether to do a strict reading of RAW or not.
Bracers of Armor would still work, as they are a constant bonus granted by the magic item, just as casting mage armor or shield would, so they remian in effect.
Compared to your previous AC = Dex 16 (+3) BoA (+4) = 17
The new one is: AC = Dex 12 (+1) BoA (+4) Natural Armor (+6) Huge size (-2) = 19
So in any one of your examples your AC becomes 19, or combining shield with one of the other could take your AC to 23.
2)You can find everything you get from Elemental Body in the spell describtion.
a) only the fire elemental gains resistance, fire resist 20, and no scaling for higher levels of the spell. The others gain nothing.
b) the fire elemental gains vulnerability to cold. Other than that, there are no vulnerabilities included in the spell.
c) Using Elemental body 2 you don't get the immunity to crits and sneaks. You get that ability when you start using elemental body 3 or 4.
The polymorph spells are generally constructed as to grant special abilities depending on, which spell you use. Eventhough you can change into a creature with certain abilities with a lesser spell, you will not get them unless they are listed in the spell.
Example: Beast shape 1 allow you to change into a leopard. The leopard normally has pounce, but BS1 don't grant you pounce, and you have to use Beast Shape 2 to change into a pouncing leopard.
4) If you are hit by an appropriately flavoured bane weapon does it do the extra damage to you when you are polymorphed e.g. Elemental Bane again I am assuming that it does.
4) You are not affected by Bane weapons (or favored enemy bonus) as you do not change type. You do not become the animal, you are still your old race, that just looks like it.
Thanks, just spotted the fire resist when re-reading the spell. The other clarifications help, and I had forgotten about the Huge Size AC penalty completely.
On a side note, how are you wearing bracers of armor and bracers of dexterity anyways (especially when the latter no longer exists)?
I meant belt of Dex :) sometimes my mind slips back to 3.5