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I recently concluded a scenario wherein the party Wizard got hit with Baleful Polymorph, turning him into a toad. He failed the Fort save, yet succeeded on his Will save, thus retaining his mind. We all had a good laugh, and carried on.
However, the player asked if he could remain a toad even in following adventures, and the reason seems obvious: as a Diminutive animal he gets a +6 on Dex and +1 natural armor, and only for a -2 to Strength. Since his new form does not impede him from casting spells, the enemy who cast this spell on him does seem to have only given him a net bonus to his stats.
Is there something I'm missing, or is it perfectly okay for him to remain a toad until he so wishes to have the effect dispelled?
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This exact situation lead to the requirement that you clear all your conditions or be declared dead, so they have to get it removed.
All conditions gained during an adventure, except for
permanent negative levels, ability drain that does not
reduce an ability score to 0, and conditions that provide no
mechanical effect, must be resolved before the end of the
session; if these are not resolved the character should be
reported as ‘dead.’ Permanent negative levels, ability drain,
and non-mechanical conditions being carried over to the
next session should be recorded under the Notes section
of the Chronicle sheet
Unless he has a really weird build, the new form does impede him from casting spells. He needs the wildshape feat to do so, and that only works for wildshape, not other polymorph effects. For a wizard he'd need still spell, a ring of eloquence, and eschew materials as a minimum.
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Hmm, I was not aware of the carried over conditions clause. That makes the whole discussion moot, really.
In any case, I hadn't considered his component pouch. I suppose he would theoretically need to get that turned into a cute backpack for him to wear.
Also, just for curiosity's sake at this point, but why would he be unable to speak? The Beast Shape spell that Baleful Polymorph references makes no mention of losing the ability to speak, nor does it mention having the inability to provide somatic components. Baleful Polymorph itself says that, if the subjects saves on Will, he is still able to cast spells and whatnot.
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Hmm, I was not aware of the carried over conditions clause. That makes the whole discussion moot, really.
In any case, I hadn't considered his component pouch. I suppose he would theoretically need to get that turned into a cute backpack for him to wear.
Also, just for curiosity's sake at this point, but why would he be unable to speak? The Beast Shape spell that Baleful Polymorph references makes no mention of losing the ability to speak, nor does it mention having the inability to provide somatic components. Baleful Polymorph itself says that, if the subjects saves on Will, he is still able to cast spells and whatnot.
Most of the rules for the polymorph spells are in the polymorph paragraph of the magic chapter
While in such a form, you cannot cast any spells that require material components (unless you have the Eschew Materials or Natural Spell feat), and can only cast spells with somatic or verbal components if the form you choose has the capability to make such movements or speak, such as a dragon. Other polymorph spells might be subject to this restriction as well, if they change you into a form that is unlike your original form (subject to GM discretion). If your new form does not cause your equipment to meld into your form, the equipment resizes to match your new size.
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Oh, wow. I'm not sure how I glossed over such an important section. Thanks for bringing that to my attention! Thankfully this was an easily resolvable issue, even though the Wizard will be bummed to know he can't fly about casting lightning bolts as a toad.
*holds out pamphlet* has he ever considered becoming a druid?
Venture-Agent, Florida—Longwood
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Oh, wow. I'm not sure how I glossed over such an important section. Thanks for bringing that to my attention! Thankfully this was an easily resolvable issue, even though the Wizard will be bummed to know he can't fly about casting lightning bolts as a toad.*holds out pamphlet* has he ever considered becoming a druid?
Indeed Natural Spell and Wild Speech get around that pesky casting and speaking in animal form bit.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16
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Indeed Natural Spell and Wild Speech get around that pesky casting and speaking in animal form bit.Oh, wow. I'm not sure how I glossed over such an important section. Thanks for bringing that to my attention! Thankfully this was an easily resolvable issue, even though the Wizard will be bummed to know he can't fly about casting lightning bolts as a toad.*holds out pamphlet* has he ever considered becoming a druid?
Or just play a psychic caster.
Owner - D20 Hobbies
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I think BNW is talking about the squirrel thread from Season 4 (maybe 5) that led to Mike Brock saying all conditions have to be removed by the end of the scenario period. It was later cleared up in the Season 5 guide (so yes, it was Season 4)
Ok, I had this happen to a Str based character of mine on 09/11/10 and went 5 scenarios before a PC could clear the condition from me (A sorcerer who could keep trying during down time.)