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Nov 8, 2012 -- 6:54AM, dmgorgon wrote:

The spell can't be used as a quick fix for hindering magical conditions either.    

What if you could.. umm pocket a condition ... you arent removing htem. but rather delaying them for later it has both positive and negative implications ..  My bear form is affected by a nasty enchantement while I am not in my bear shape I am unnaffected

To me its just an interesting idea. My default thinking is actually that yes you carry enchantments and conditions along.

However there has been a certain heritage which has form changing result in healing so shruging off enchantments isnt much different.

Nov 8, 2012 -- 7:40AM, Garthanos wrote:

Nov 8, 2012 -- 6:54AM, dmgorgon wrote:

The only thing your retain is your INT, WIS, CHR, and hit points.     

So all your knowledge and fighting skill went out your ear?  because fighting is purely a body thing.. NOT.

Heck that hit points remain is indicative that you didnt loose your fighting skill... and that some of the underpining of your original body is still there.

The +4 of the Ankheg includes the knowledge and fighting skill, it can't all come from the ability score (15, +2)

Nov 8, 2012 -- 7:40AM, Garthanos wrote:

Nov 8, 2012 -- 6:54AM, dmgorgon wrote:

The only thing your retain is your INT, WIS, CHR, and hit points.     

So all your knowledge and fighting skill went out your ear?  because fighting is purely a body thing.. NOT.

Heck that hit points remain is indicative that you didnt loose your fighting skill... and that some of the underpining of your original body is still there.

Sure he might know what to expect and when to move out of the way from a sword strike, but that's about all your hit point total should cover.

The problem for me is that I'm falling back on how polymorph worked in previous editions.   That's why I'd rule that polymorph allows you to retain your spell casting and fighting abilities in some situations.    The issue I have is that the spell descriptions don't provide enough detail in this regard.   I think that if you are going to include a spell as complex as Polymorph you need to provide more detail and be far more clear.   A few sentences is not enough to curtail all the wild interpretations out there.    

On second thought, I think the spell is clear that you lose all your abilities and limitations and gain all the abilities and limitations of the new form.   If you interpret that literally with no exceptions then the spell isn't open to abuse.  

I mean, what happens if you polymorph into a werewolf?  Can I infect my party with the Curse of Lycanthropy?   Do I really gain all the abilities of the new monster?  If not then, then Polymorph is far too complicated a spell and requires a substantial amount of improvisation on the DM’s part per monster/ casting.

I think that the simple way to solve these problems is to say that you do lose ALL your abilities (spellcasting, fighting, etc) and basically just become the monster in question.   Clearly if you are going to gain something like the Curse of Lycanthropy, the Rusting power of the Rust Monster, or the Medusa's Petrification Gaze, then you shouldn't be able to add your own abilities into to the mix.     

The spell allows you to retain your hit points and mental faculties to simplify the process.  Retaining hit points makes sense because you would otherwise have to calculate the percentage of damage you've already taken and apply that to the new hit point total.  It also prevents you from gaining high hit point totals.   Keeping your mental faculties also simplifies the situation because you’d be useless if you acquired an animal’s intelligence after polymorphing into a Rust Monster.    

In my opinion, polymorphing shouldn't be any more powerful than summoning the same monster.   

Nov 8, 2012 -- 9:03AM, dmgorgon wrote:

In my opinion, polymorphing shouldn't be any more powerful than summoning the same monster.  

I am currently thinking to make casting it on somebody who is for instance a fighter is a better option not just because of his hitpoints.. but because of his prowess, but I certainly respect the above thought.