Hello all, my GM and fellow player's in our Hell's Vengeance campaign are trying to figure out exactly how this ability functions. I'm playing an Intrigue Oracle and thought it was a really neat ability, but the level 7 feature raises some questions. For reference:
You can change your appearance at will, as disguise self with a caster level equal to your oracle level.
At 7th level, you can choose to actually transform, which works the same way but counts as a polymorph effect instead of an illusion and doesn't allow a Will save to disbelieve.
At 11th level, the ability lasts until you dismiss it or use it again, allowing you to even keep it active while you sleep.
At 15th level, when you use this ability as a polymorph effect, you can gain the size bonus to your ability scores and additional racial abilities as if using alter self.
The problem we're running into is whether the user's gear becomes part of the disguise. Generally speaking polymorph effects that keep you humanoid keeps your gear from melding.
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...
...If your new form does not cause your equipment to meld into your form, the equipment resizes to match your new size.
But it works as disguise self, which says:
You make yourself - including clothing, armor, weapons, and equipment - look different. You can seem 1 foot shorter or taller, thin, fat, or in between. You cannot change your creature type (although you can appear as another subtype). Otherwise, the extent of the apparent change is up to you. You could add or obscure a minor feature or look like an entirely different person or gender.
The spell does not provide the abilities or mannerisms of the chosen form, nor does it alter the perceived tactile (touch) or audible (sound) properties of you or your equipment. If you use this spell to create a disguise, you get a +10 bonus on the Disguise check. A creature that interacts with the glamer gets a Will save to recognize it as an illusion.
So specific trumps general. But the problem we run into is that "..nor does it alter the perceived tactile (touch) or audible (sound) properties of you or your equipment." So if we follow the idea that specific>general, then we have an issue where it physically alters your equipment without physically altering your equipment, hence the contradiction. Thoughts, anyone?
It works exactly as disguise self, but it is now a polymorph effect with no will save to disbelieve.
Resizing has nothing to do with appearance. Nothing in the polymorph subset of rules prohibits your equipment from looking differently, it's just that most polymorph effects simply don't do that - this one does.
And let's be honest the difference between 'your equipment actually changing' and 'your equipment appearing different but with no chance to perceive that difference' is largely irrelevant. That said I don't believe the underlying mechanics of your equipment can be changed by this effect. I guess if push comes to shove your longspear can look and feel like a dagger but retain reach while not actually being an illusion because magic.
And let's be honest the difference between 'your equipment actually changing' and 'your equipment appearing different but with no chance to perceive that difference' is largely irrelevant.
Is this the case? Even though it doesn't offer a saving throw anymore I don't believe that equates to "no chance to perceive that difference". They're just forced to notice the difference via other methods.
That said I don't believe the underlying mechanics of your equipment can be changed by this effect. I guess if push comes to shove your longspear can look and feel like a dagger but retain reach while not actually being an illusion because magic.
This is the entire contradiction I'm trying to figure out. How can a longspear that is polymorphed into a dagger still have all the qualities of a longspear? And say somebody else grabs the polymorphed object? Do they feel a dagger? Or do they feel a longspear?
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When it become a polymorph effect the objects actually change shape, so their properties change.
A longspear that become a staff work like a staff. If you make it a balancing pole it work as a balancing pole and stop working as a spear.
Seeing the limitations of disguise self I would limit the actual changes to gear. "You can seem 1 foot shorter or taller, thin, fat, or in between." so I wouldn't allow you to change a longspear to a dagger, but to something that is within 1' or so from the size of a longspear.
A full plate would become a complete suit of garments, not a bikini (you could make it a burkini [smile]).
As long as the items are in the same general, very broad, category they would even give you the appropriate benefits (a set of normal clothing changed to a desert or cold weather outfit would give its new form benefits), but you wouldn't be able to change your longspear to a bow and set of arrows and attack with them.
From my point of view this ability will require a lot of GM input, as there are plenty of decisions and "moving parts" in it. The effect is so complex that it will require a lot of decision on how it work when you actually make the change. A semi complete list of changes would require pages of text.
Some generic guideline by the developers would be nice, you can try posting in the Ask Mark Seifter All Your Questions Here thread.
Keeping the item changes in line with Disguise Self's changing parameters is a really good idea, thank you. You're right that it requires a lot of GM fiat so that's something I'll need to speak to him about.