Polymorph Any ObjectI am going to list a series of examples to see how this spell could work with different targets polymorphed into various forms. My take on this spell is that it functions like
greater polymorph except that it can target a creature or nonmagical object, the target does not need to be touched, and the target can be polymorphed into a creature or object. Also,
PaO replaces the "living creature" requirement of the
greater polymorph Target line, but it does not remove the "willing creature" requirement that is given in the spell description. Nor does it remove the limitation on forms that can be taken (animal, humanoid, elemental, magical beast, dragon, plant creature) which are based on the appropriate form spells, but it does add "object form" to the options. And the duration is altered.
You can polymorph a willing creature or nonmagical object (within the size limit) into any of these forms:
Greater Polymorph- Beast Shape IV (Huge to Diminutive animal or Large to Tiny magical beast)
- Elemental Body III (Large to Small elemental)
- Alter Self (Medium or Small humanoid)
- Plant Shape II (Large to Small plant creature)
- Form of the Dragon I (Medium dragon)
- Object Form (no spell outlines this process)
Additionally,
PaO can be used to duplicate
baleful polymorph, greater polymorph, flesh to stone, stone to flesh, transmute mud to rock, transmute metal to wood, or
transmute rock to mud... which to me means that
PaO can be used to cast these spells as normal, but they don't have the same "creature-object" crossover that is outlined at the start of the spell. Otherwise, all these spells would have also been included in the opening section along with
greater polymorph (which is listed in both spots). Therefore, you cannot use
PaO to cast
flesh to stone to turn a wooden table to stone since the
flesh to stone target has to be a creature. Then again, you can put the wooden table into stone form by using the main "any creature-any object" crossover version of
PaO. The difference is that the wooden table in stone form has a limited duration (
PaO), while a creature turned to stone is an instantaneous effect (
flesh to stone), so it is really permanent and cannot be dispelled.
Anyway, meet Bob the farmer...
Bob is good at farming and good at keeping an eye out for animals and thieves trying to steal his crops and cattle. He also has some sense of when people are trying to cheat him.
This is what Bob looks like if he is willing to be polymorphed into an Elf:
His size remains the same, but the spell still gives him a size bonus to Str for taking a Medium form. This seemed strange at first, but it makes more sense now that I look at the change not as Bob turning into an Elf, but more like Bob putting on a magical Medium costume, and the Medium-size costume comes with a +2 size bonus. Also, it seemed just as odd for a Large-size Ogre to take Medium-size Elf form and gain a +2 size bonus to Str, but then I remembered that creatures who are not Small or Medium must receive additional changes before being polymorph (Polymorph section of Magic chapter). A Large creature first receives a -4 penalty to Str, so with the +2 size bonus, that is a net loss of -2 Str for polymorphing from Large to Medium form, and that makes sense, even if it is kind of a funny way to provide a net loss.
Anyway, Bob doesn't become considerably better as an Elf. He gets a little stronger and can see twice as far in limited light situations. The main difference is that he can now physically pass as an Elf and maintain this form permanently, or he can use a full-round action to resume normal form and end the spell. One part of the Duration line that may be unclear is whether or not it is still dismissible by the caster.
PaO changes the Duration to "see text", and the text does not address it either way, so I would think that it remains dismissible since it doesn't not say otherwise. Therefore, the caster could also return Bob to normal form.
This is what Bob looks like if he is willing to be polymorphed into a Black Dragon:
Bob gets more awesome as a permanent dragon but not too much more awesome than any 1 HD monstrous humanoid with natural attacks. The extra perks are that he can fly poorly and gets to use a breath weapon one time. Seeing this makes it pretty clear that the new form is only as good as the original form (Bob would not last long vs CR 15 challenges - he would probably get outright killed by the first attack), and it reinforces my thought that a pebble should not receive the stats of a normal dragon. Also, the Medium black dragon size is spread across two age categories (Young and Juvenile), so there wouldn't even be a clear set of stats to use even if this was an option, which again, makes it clear to me that this is not an option.
This is what Bob looks like if he is willing to be polymorphed into a pebble:
This is the hardest one to figure out because there is no spell to outline the changes.
PaO outlines how an object can take creature form but not vice versa. I'm not sure if Str/Dex should drop to 0 (-5 mod) or simply be non-existent "--" (+0 mod), but it probably doesn't matter either way since an object cannot move.
Saving throws can get pretty weird. Object form could be treated as an object and be immune to creature spells, which would be simple but may not make the most sense.
The easy one is no Reflex save no matter what because Bob cannot move in pebble form. The
fireball will hit Bob at full force... but he could receive the object defense of only taking half energy damage while in a storm form, as well as applying hardness, but even so, he would take full fire damage in a wooden form.
Being susceptible to Will save spells makes sense since he still has his full mental capacity. Granted, a pebble may not be the likely target of a Will save spell, unless the other caster is using
true seeing, but the pebble could get caught in an area effect like
deep slumber.
Fortitude is where it gets trickiest for me, and it is somewhat tied into the Reflex save and Str/Dex changes. If pebble form reduces energy damage, that is based on a physical change, so how might this increase, reduce, or otherwise change the Fort-based spell that can affect Bob in pebble form? He could now be susceptible to object/stone spells in addition to creature spells. He could now be susceptible to to object/stone spells
instead of creature/humanoid spells. He could now be susceptible to stone spells but immune to Fort-based spells that affect physical anatomy (i.e. poison, disease... Str damage?).
One idea that I like now is based on the fact that Bob is still a creature. He remains a humanoid (human) with a Con score in pebble form. Creature/humanoid spells can still target and affect him. Object spells cannot target or affect him. However, adjustments may be made based on the new form. One example is an object not being able to make a Reflex save, but a stone form only taking half damage from a
fireball and hardness applying afterwards.
The other thing that I'm not sure about is Perception. Bob has no eyes or ears or nose or tongue in pebble form, so sight, hearing, smell, and taste seem to be out. This also means he would not be able to drown or be hit by a gaze attack or anything else that requires these body parts. That leaves touch (which could include temperature and vibrations), but at the same time, he doesn't have any nerves to feel anything either. Or actually, this doesn't necessarily remove his nerves. Maybe he cannot see or hear or smell or taste through the magical pebble costume, but maybe he could still feel through it?
I'm also trying to think of reasons why a caster would want to polymorph a willing creature into an object instead of just polymorphing one object into another. Maybe there is a flood of water or horde of enemies coming up a tunnel, and you ally is in a good position to be turned into a wall to hold them off while you prepare. Maybe you want to smuggle people through a checkpoint, and polymorphing them into pebbles will easily get past nonmagical detection. Maybe you can breathe underwater but your allies cannot, so you polymorph them into pebble to prevent drowning while you carry them through a waterway. Also, there are magical ways that a creature in object form could see. If the creature cast
arcane eye or
greater scrying, I would think that these magical sensors could continue to transmit info directly into your mind. However, regular
scrying would not help because you need to see the focus.
Finally, this is what Bob looks like if he resists and you turn him into a toad instead by duplicating
baleful polymorph:
And this is what happens if Bob also fails the Will save:
Well, that was quite a lot, and there are obviously still things that I am not set on. My next set of examples will be a dragon taking various forms, but that'll probably be next week. Feel free to post any questions or other ideas.
x5