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I'm running Rise of the Runelords. Team is having a rematch against Xanesha, a lamia matriarch (shapechanger).
They cast Baleful Polymorph on her. She fails both saves, and is now a harmless chicken or something.
HOWEVER, the spell text:
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/baleful-polymorph/
...says that a shapechanger can revert back to normal as a standard action!!! How does this work? She failed both saves, so she's a pretty dumb chicken now. Does reverting make her a dumb chicken in a lamia body? Or does it give her everything back? I'm interested in RAI more than RAW, but I'll take anything you can give me right now.
The cop-out answer is that she's a dumb chicken and chickens don't have a concept of shapeshifting, even if they were to notionally have the capability. Ergo, it doesn't occur to her to try and shift back.
You may not buy this, whether because you interpret the nature of Intelligence differently or because she's actually been transformed into something fairly bright like a pig or raccoon. In that case, I would say that the entirety of Baleful Polymorph is a Duration: Permanent polymorph effect, and that therefore a shapechanger changing shape overwrites the entire effect, restoring her to her normal intellect.
There's really no argument to be made that the mental portion of the spell isn't part of the ongoing Polymorph effect- it says "Fortitude negates, Will partial", but it doesn't say "Permanent / Instantaneous" or "transmutation (polymorph), but see text". There's no reason to believe that only part of a polymorph effect can be overwritten either- that could lead to some pretty grotesque minmaxing with buffs using other spells if it were true. So if you let her attempt to transform back, it definitely cancels the whole effect and restores her mind too.
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"a creature with the shapechanger subtype can revert to its natural form as a standard action."
RAW, it says nothing about negating the spell. They can just revert to their natural form. So if they failed the will save, they could turn back, but they are still under all the effects of this permanent spell. So they have the alignment, abilities, and mental stats of the animal they were turned in to, and lose all their own ex, su, sp abilities and so on as per the spell.
Personally the way I run it is that if they are turned into a chicken and fail their will save, they think they are a chicken. So they wouldn't turn back even though they could.
I'm interested in RAI more than RAW, but I'll take anything you can give me right now.
RAW, it says nothing about negating the spell.
While technically a valid interpretation of the text, if you tried to enforce that reading against a shapechanger PC you'd turn the table into a pitchfork mob, so it fails my personal standard of reasonableness.
Also, shapechanging is a polymorph effect. Baleful Polymorph is a polymorph effect. You can only be affected by one polymorph effect at a time. Ergo, shapechanging ends all effects of Baleful Polymorph.
Inwould say that if she failed the fort save she can change back, but if she fails the will save she's out of luck.
Is her shape-change a spell or spell-like/supernatural/extraordinary ability? Because if it is then she can't use it (I know someone will argue with this, but I'm 100% sure the "change back as a standard action" was referring to failing the fort-save but not the will-save).
Also I agree with gnoams that if they think they're a chicken they're not going to try to polymorph - that's the intent of baleful polymorph.
Is her shape-change a spell or spell-like/supernatural/extraordinary ability? Because if it is then she can't use it (I know someone will argue with this, but I'm 100% sure the "change back as a standard action" was referring to failing the fort-save but not the will-save).
You're reading it wrong.
... a creature with the shapechanger subtype can revert to its natural form as a standard action.
This isn't an ability at all. I suspect it's deliberately written to not be an ability. It's purely an interaction of the spell and the subtype. You could be a "shapechanger" with no Change Shape ability whatsoever, and you'd still be able to remove Baleful Polymorph from yourself as a standard action.
So she’s a chicken that can change shape. That has all sorts of possibilities! She failed her save to keep her mental stats so she has the mentality of a chicken. However she possibly can change shape instinctively based on circumstance? Throw her in the water and she becomes a fish. Threaten her, she’s a wolf. Toss her off a cliff, she’s an eagle. Pull her out of a hat, she’s a rabbit (bonus points if she becomes the demonic rabbit from the Twilight episode). Once the threat has passed, she’s a chicken again. Let the roleplay commence...
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Is her shape-change a spell or spell-like/supernatural/extraordinary ability? Because if it is then she can't use it (I know someone will argue with this, but I'm 100% sure the "change back as a standard action" was referring to failing the fort-save but not the will-save).You're reading it wrong.
... a creature with the shapechanger subtype can revert to its natural form as a standard action.
Well I'll be ...