If I cast AS, polymorph into a....goblin...and the next day cast AS and polymorph into a goblin will I appear as the same goblin?
Can the 'generic' look be repeated or is it random every time?
Paste rule please.
Paste rule please.
No one will be able to provide a rules quote for this. The exact mechanics to alter self, like many other things, is left up to DM interpretation. There are lots of table variances to how exactly it works for that very reason.
That out of the way, it is my understanding that the generic appearance is the same each time you assume the same racial form and gender. Your appearance is more or less just you as a different race &/or gender.
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Paste rule please.No one will be able to provide a rules quote for this. The exact mechanics to alter self, like many other things, is left up to DM interpretation. There are lots of table variances to how exactly it works for that very reason.
That out of the way, it is my understanding that the generic appearance is the same each time you assume the same racial form and gender. Your appearance is more or less just you as a different race &/or gender.
Although many of the fine details can be controlled, your appearance is always that of a generic member of that creature's type.
You control the fine details. That includes things like the color of hairs, eyes, skin, being obese or slim, height within the racial norm, the shape of the face, nose length, etc.
So you aren't a "goblinized" version of yourself. You are a standard goblin with a variable appearance that is within the norm of the race.By the Polymorph rules text, you can change your appearance every time you cast the spell.
The inability of the spell to replicate someone else's appearance suggests that there's limits to how many details you can keep in mind and change in a max 6-second casting time. The others must default to something, and I imagine that as one of those composite images you get by averaging a lot of photos.
You can add some details to that so you can look the same or different on different castings of alter self as you choose (IMO).
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The inability of the spell to replicate someone else's appearance suggests that there's limits to how many details you can keep in mind and change in a max 6-second casting time. The others must default to something, and I imagine that as one of those composite images you get by averaging a lot of photos.
You can add some details to that so you can look the same or different on different castings of alter self as you choose (IMO).
A valid interpretation. Personally, I like the idea that you are limited by your Disguise skill. You get a +10 to impersonate the creature race, so your copy isn't so perfect.
At least in my playing group, everyone maximizes Perception, and Disguise is opposed by Perception (I would use a Knowledge check when impersonating a race, but it is a home rule). Unless the spellcaster has some rank in Disguise it will be noticed as soon as someone pays attention to him.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Whenever you polymorph you make a disguise check at a +10 to determine how convincingly you've changed shape. Alter Self doesn't let you assume the appearance of a specific individual, but I don't know if that excludes a previous generic appearance.
That's all covered in the polymorph subschool description.
The disguise skill tells you how to modify rolls based on how big of a change you're making from your base appearance, so I think we can assume that rolling poorly means you look like yourself poorly disguised as whatever it is you've turned in to.
If we assume that your generic appearance isn't a prohibited specific appearance, and assume that failing a disguise check means looking like yourself, then we can also assume that your appearance only deviates from your own appearance in ways that you designate. That would mean you have a default appearance as each creature, and you could repeat it without additional modifiers.
Repeating your appearance would make it easier for people to identify you though. The need to appear as your previous appearance means you're at least dealing with the +4 "recognize on sight" modifier, and spotters would automatically be suspicious of you.
This certainly isn't a solid RAW, but it's as close as I can get.
Personally I always houserule this so your base state is you if you were born a goblin but you can shift details if you like but not with enough control to resemble a specific person even your own goblin self.
That’s how my group roles it as well. And I should make a correction and clarification to my earlier post. What I meant when I said the generic appearance is always the same is the base default. If you make no specific alterations besides saying “I become a goblin” then your appearance is simply you as a goblin.
Basically if you want to take on an inconspicuous disguise as some random human, you would need to define some features to become someone other than simply you as a human when you started off as an elf. “I become a skinny human male with brown hair a bulbous nose and a bushy beard” would give different results than simply “I become a human”. Depending o. Your starting point, one might look like a old beggar while the other may look like a burly sailor, but defining a few specific features can be the difference between becoming one or the other.