When you cast Polymorph Any Object on, for example, the party fighter, to turn him into another creature, how do his ability scores change? Most polymorph spells now grant size bonuses to ability scores, but this one is much more ambiguous, except that it says that you actually transform one creature into another.
Also, if I recall, always-on buffs, like a belt of strength, remain on - so would the fighter's strength become 37 (for pit fiend form) +6 (for the belt) = 43? The spell says it CAN be used to duplicate some other polymorph spells, but the spell's text also indicates that it can be much more.
Polymorph Any Object wrote:
This spell functions like greater polymorph, except that it changes one object or creature into another. You can use this spell to transform all manner of objects and creatures into new forms—you aren't limited to transforming a living creature into another living form. The duration of the spell depends on how radical a change is made from the original state to its transmuted state.
....
If the target of the spell does not have physical ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution), this spell grants a base score of 10 to each missing ability score. If the target of the spell does not have mental ability scores (Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma), this spell grants a score of 5 to such scores. Damage taken by the new form can result in the injury or death of the polymorphed creature. In general, damage occurs when the new form is changed through physical force. A nonmagical object cannot be made into a magic item with this spell. Magic items aren't affected by this spell.
This spell cannot create material of great intrinsic value, such as copper, silver, gems, silk, gold, platinum, mithral, or adamantine. It also cannot reproduce the special properties of cold iron in order to overcome the damage reduction of certain creatures.
This spell can also be used to duplicate the effects of baleful polymorph, greater polymorph, flesh to stone, stone to flesh, transmute mud to rock, transmute metal to wood, or transmute rock to mud.
Seem pretty clear.
If the transformed creature has the appropriate ability scores you use the modifiers of the appropriate spells.
If he/it hasn't them he get a base value of 10 in the physical scores and 5 in the mental scores and then apply the appropriate modifiers.
If you turn someone/something in a form outside the forms covered by greater polymorph your GM can use the giant form spells and other transformation spells as guidelines of the final stats, but that is a home rule.
Diego Rossi wrote: Seem pretty clear.
If the transformed creature has the appropriate ability scores you use the modifiers of the appropriate spells.
If he/it hasn't them he get a base value of 10 in the physical scores and 5 in the mental scores and then apply the appropriate modifiers.
If you turn someone/something in a form outside the forms covered by greater polymorph your GM can use the giant form spells and other transformation spells as guidelines of the final stats, but that is a home rule.
I appreciate the help, but it still doesn't really touch on the example I mentioned in my post (changing the fighter into an outsider). Houserules are fine, but I was looking for something more concrete if it's out there.
The spell gives examples that are clearly outside the bounds of greater polymorph, and I was interested in guidelines/rules that governed what the spell did when what it was used for fell outside the bounds of the weaker polymorph spells, such as turning a human into a pit fiend.
The answer may ultimately be "have a discussion with your dungeon master," but our DM usually makes the players make rulings on these sorts of things, so I'd like input from the community about what they did to govern this spell.
**Edit**
Maybe the giant form spells aren't too terrible of an idea. I didn't realize there was an 8th-level giant form spell. I still definitely want input, but I'll start looking at other 8th-level polymorph spells.
Okay, here's how I'm going to pitch it:
Polymorph, a 5th level spell of the polymorph subschool, lets you use self-only polymorph spells of 4th level and below on other creatures.
Greater Polymorph, a 7th level spell of the polymorph subschool, lets you use self-only polymorph spells of 6th level and below on other creatures.
As such, it would seem appropriate that Polymorph Any Object, an 8th level spell of the polymorph subschool, should be able to let you cast self-only polymorph spells of 7th level or lower (so Giant Form I, Form of the Dragon II...) on other creatures.
I've got another question, though. This one's about polymorph spells in general. The polymorph subschool description, when discussing special abilities granted by polymorph spells, says...
Quote: The DC for any of these abilities equals your DC for the polymorph spell used to change you into that form. So if I used Greater Polymorph to transform the fighter into a gorgon, the breath weapon for the gorgon would be 10+spell level+my intelligence modifier? (So an Int 22 wizard with spell focus (transmutation), casting Greater Polymorph on a fighter in this way, would result in a gorgon breath DC of 10+7+1+6=24?)
Axebeard wrote: So if I used Greater Polymorph to transform the fighter into a gorgon, the breath weapon for the gorgon would be 10+spell level+my intelligence modifier? (So an Int 22 wizard with spell focus (transmutation), casting Greater Polymorph on a fighter in this way, would result in a gorgon breath DC of 10+7+1+6=24?) I know that this is about 5 years, 7 months, 24 days, 17 hours, and 2 minutes after the post, but for the benefit of others looking at this post, I would like to voice (or type) that I think that makes sense. Keep in mind that it is the wizard's magic that powers the stone breath, not the fighter's abilities. After all, the fighter's physical abilities are being changed by the wizard's magic.
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