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I know normally it does not work.
Is there any way to make potions out of those spells, be it an obscure prestige class, a feat, or something?
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Depends on how you read "targets one or more creatures or objects". If you consider yourself to be a creature or object, suddenly "self" is a subset of "creature", and self spells become legal for potions.
I know I'm going against conventional wisdom here, but I haven't actually found an FAQ post contradicting me.
And would it be unreasonable? I think there's quite a few spells such as Alter Self that make a lot of sense flavor-wise as a potion.
Magic Item Creation rules about Potions is very specific:
"Spells with a range of personal cannot be made into potions."
There's really no wiggle room there by interpreting RAW vs RAI, so I'm wondering if there's any special abilities that allow the circumvention of that.
An alchemist with the infusion discovery is the only way.
And please don't abuse the FAQ button, whoever clicked that. It makes Sean rage.
Simple, really: spells with a range of personal are markedly more powerful than other spells of a similar level, for one reason or another. Take shield for example. Okay, it gives a +4 AC bonus, same as Mage Armour, but it stacks with Mage Armour... and normal armour. Have the wizard make potions of shield for everyone.
Who wouldn't want a potion of true strike?
Potion of lead blades?
Hmm. But as a side effect it blocks potions of beast shape, alter self and all that, which is really quite a shame.
Even that might have been intended.
In 3.5 druids ruled the battlefield. You could make a druid with 6 STR, CON, and DEX and all super high mental scores, then wildshape him into a bear or tiger or rhino or whatever, something that had pretty good physical ability scores, and suddenly all SIX of his ability scores are way above average. Say, a brown bear for 21 STR and 19 CON with a decent 13 DEX (just that example alone was one spell/class ability that gave +35 total ability score enhancement).
So they modified those spells to only give small, reasonable bonuses no matter what your natural ability scores are. So if the same wimpy druid turns into a brown bear, he'll be a small, weak, clumsy bear (or just a wimpy guy in a foam-rubber bear costume).
If you could bottle up those potions and hand them off to a fighter who already has really good physical ability scores, such a Pathfinder fighter/bear would have amazing physical ability scores - better even than the 3.5 druid/bear.
I don't think Pathfinder changed this rule. I think it came from 3.5, but it's probably a good thing they didn't decide to allow Personal spells as potions.