Polymorph effects and your own species...

[seebs]

Alter self:

PRD wrote:

When you cast this spell, you can assume the form of any Small or Medium creature of the humanoid type.

Hmm. My own species, if I'm a humanoid, is "small or medium creature of the humanoid type".

PRD wrote:

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.

So, "many of the fine details" can be controlled, but "generic member of that creature's type". What does that mean? Can I pick hair color? Can I pick sex? Can I pick hair length, or eye color?

... Not that it matters as much as I thought, because the character I was thinking about is a sylph, and no spell in Pathfinder allows you to assume the form of a sylph.

[Starglim]

seebs wrote:

Alter self:

PRD wrote:

When you cast this spell, you can assume the form of any Small or Medium creature of the humanoid type.

Hmm. My own species, if I'm a humanoid, is "small or medium creature of the humanoid type".

PRD wrote:

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.

So, "many of the fine details" can be controlled, but "generic member of that creature's type". What does that mean? Can I pick hair color? Can I pick sex? Can I pick hair length, or eye color?

As long as you become a generic member of a type and not a specific individual, I think "venerable female Tian-Min" is an acceptable example of a type for this purpose, while hair and eye colour are examples of fine details you can control.

It doesn't refer to creature type and if "type" should read "subtype", that would raise difficulties as to what ethnicity and sex should be generic to elves, for example.