What, exactly, do you gain from polymorph any object?

[fearcypher]

Say for example a wizard wanted to be a Lhaksharut inevitable, what abilities would they gain?

I assume they would gain all the immunities that an inevitable gains, as well as the DR. Though I may be wrong about this.

Essentially I'm asking what exactly one does and does not gain from using Polymorph Any Object.

[Dave Justus]

What abilities you get depends entirely on what you Polymorph into (as Greater Polymorph.)

Outsiders are not on the list of forms that give you abilities so they don't give you any abilities beyond the basics (appearance, natural attacks, etc.)

So by the rules, you don't get immunizes, DR or anything like that.

It would be a reasonable house rule to look at other form spells and come up with a reasonable list of what abilities you get though.

[fearcypher]

So you wouldn't gain any immunities based on the subtype itself? Like for example the immunity to mind affecting effects that all inevitables gain as a function of their creature type?

[Wolventad]

No, because PAO specifies which polymorph spells it can function as for the purpose of granting stats, and since there are no Outsider Shape spells, you gain nothing except the base polymorph abilities - namely natural attacks and land speed.

[gatherer818]

Said Wizard could work with their GM to research an Inevitable Shape spell though that did grant those powers - but doing it with Polymorph Any Object wouldn't grant anything above and beyond. (Probably because allowing a PC to polymorph into literally anything and gain all their powers would make a party unstoppable. GM throws a Balor their way, party becomes a Balor, a Solar, a great wyrm red dracolich, a gazebo, and a fighter. The fighter sighs when he sees the bard became a freaking gazebo, and wonders how long he'd have to train UMD before he could use that staff of Polymorph Any Object instead.)

[Meirril]

Also polymorph spells do not change your type. You still count as your creature type and subtype for the purposes of everything. Each polymorph spell gives you what it says, and nothing else.

You use Monstrous Physique to become a Medusa? Guess what? The spell doesn't mention anything about turning things to stone so you don't. The same for any other SA, SU or EX ability not explicitly mentioned.

PAO is mainly good because its versatile. Sorcerers get a lot of polymorph effects for 1 spell selection. Then there is the duration, and also being able to target others with it. In general its not a waste of time to memorize PAO because if nothing else you can use it as a high level Flesh to Stone.

[fearcypher]

Alright, I was curious as I have a friend playing a high level wizard in a very anti party game and he wanted me to look into some stuff he can do to shut down as many avenues of attack as possible.

He's already got the basic wizard stuff down, so we were basically just looking at what the most ridiculous things he can pull are.

[gatherer818]

If he can beat their saves, the best PvP applications of Polymorph Any Object will be polymorphing them. Human into horse is permanent and denies them the ability to wield weapons, equip armor, use the vast majority of magic items, speak language, cast spells with verbal, somatic, material, or focus components (typically), or use nearly any class ability in the game.

Shorter term transformations can be even more effective using nearby monsters/NPCs - elf into worm won't last as long, but tossed into a piranha swarm no worm will survive the duration, even with PC hitpoints - and if they do, they're probably already drowned. Halfling to wooden halfling statue can be deadly with the application of a single alchemist's fire - or an axe. Turn them into an animal the townsfolk are hunting, maybe?

If he can't beat their saves, it works well on objects, especially if they haven't worked out a defense against falling damage or being crushed yet. A bridge into a bridge filled with traps, a door into a mimic pretending to be a door, a watchtower into a set of wooden spikes (leaving whoever was in it to fall onto the spikes), etc.

Truly, creativity is a weapon with this spell.

[blahpers]

20 minutes should be more than enough time to turn your opponent into a potato, cut them into strips, and fry them in oil.

[Niemand]

blahpers wrote:

20 minutes should be more than enough time to turn your opponent into a potato, cut them into strips, and fry them in oil.

ore-id'ah fried him with that spell...

[Azothath]

I used this spell to transform medusa into ugly sheep and rust monsters into goats, then put them around my keep.
Then waited for an attacking army.
Just kept a bunch of dispel magic scrolls handy as a caster can always dispel his own spells. Invading troops generally don't kill the farm animals unless they are trying to eat them, lol. Spellcaster's generally try to dispel effects they don't understand which is a tremendously bad idea in this case.