For just 3 characters? Between level 10-11, I would say. Depends on the enemy, Daftmouse. It's all about CR, or Challenge Rating.
CR is basically a number indicating that a party of 4 characters, whose level totalled average that number could have a challenge to defeat, but not be overwhelmed.
A CR 10 enemy would be a challenge for a party of 4 with an average level of 10, but not wholly impossible.
Sometimes CR can get skewed--a party of six level 12 characters can have a challenge beating a CR 18 Dracolich, with the proper preparation, and not be overwhelmed. (It happened in one of my games)
Is there a gatherer or similair program that allows you to look up D&D spells by school, sub-school, class, level, etc.? It would be very helpful if one existed and if not I will try to make one.
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Break, O Earth.
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
I have a few seperate but connected questions 1) How many ranks can you put into a skill if you multi-class and the skill is in one but not the other (I am pretty sure it would be 3 + Class Lv it is in + Class Lv it isn't in but all the ranks yo put in for the other count as half). 2) If both have the skill in the above situation. 3) Is prestiging the same as multi-classing?
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Break, O Earth.
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
1) When you take a new level in a class, your new class's class skills are now your class skills. So, for example, Alacar is a level 2 fighter with full ranks in Intimidate. But then he takes 1 level in Mage. Intimidate isn't a class skill for his wizard class, but he still has those fighter ranks in them. His Mage class skills are his class skills now.
The maximum number of ranks you can have in a class skill is 3 + your total level, with half of that being in cross-class skills. In the above example, Alacar has 5 ranks in Intimidate. He changes over to Mage, so it's no longer a class skill. He doesn't lose his ranks, but he can't add any more to them either, because his skills look at Mage when he's applying ranks for this level.
2) If both levels have the same skill as a class skill, treat is as nothing had changed, technically.
3) Prestige classing is the same as multiclassing.
If my Lv.5 Bard Lv. 5 Dirgesinger with 0 ranks in Perform (Oratory) levels would I be allowed to put 14 ranks in Perform (Oratory) assuming I had that many to assign?
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Break, O Earth.
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
I know that even if you have 23 ranks in a skill and a +10 modifier for that skil and you roll a 1 you fail, but one of my friends is claiming that a natural 20 on ANY roll is instant success but I don't agree who is right?
You're right, Daftmouse--On Skill rolls, a natural 1 is always a failure (unless the DM says otherwise, but that's on a by-DM basis), but a roll on a natural 20 is not necessarily instant success. You need to add your bonuses and see if it can pass the DC of the check involved.
Personally, natural 1s just mean you add 1 to your modifiers and that's your check for the DC. Some DMs prefer them to just be natural failures.
If a creature is brought to 0 Str by a shadow or umbral creature, that creature becomes a shadow or umbral itself. Th same is true for Vampires and Con and Grey Jesters and Cha. I was wondering if there are any other creatures with similair effects.
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Break, O Earth.
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
I believe that is only the case for Con drain. If you hit 0 Con, you are dead. It just makes sense. (And if you were drained by a shadow or the like you will raise from the dead as on of them, like you said.)
If you hit 0 Str or Cha, I don't think you die from it, you're just severely incapacitated.
A STR of 0 means you are physically unable to move.
A DEX of 0 means you have no coordination at all, and are better off being unable to move.
A CON of 0 means you're dead. No chance to revive you.
An INT of 0 means you are braindead.
A WIS of 0 means you have no perception of the world around you.
A CHA of 0 means you are hideously ugly and have no means of communication.
P.221/222 of MM Strength Damage (Su): The touch of a shadow deals 1d6 points of Strength damage to a living foe. A creature reduced to Strength 0 dies. This is a negative energy effect. Create Spawn: Any humanoid reduced to Strength 0 by a shadow becomes a shadow under the control of its killer within 1d4 rounds.
P.252 of MM Create Spawn: A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by a vampire's energy drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 days after burial. If the vampire instead drains the victim Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD...
P.151 HoH Empathic Feeding (Su): A gray jester can drain joyous emotions from humanoid beings... Any target who fails her DC15 Will save takes 1d4 points of Charisma drain. Those drained to 0 Charisma in this fashion may become bleak ones (see below).
Not too sure, Daftmouse--that would require scouring all the MMs and Campaign Settings to see if there were anything. If you were REALLY creative you'd MAKE a monster that could do something similar to other stats.
I actually don't know if there are any other creatures like that, Daftmouse, but it is a really cool ability. It'd be entirely possible, like Alacar says, to use a template and create your own creatures with that ability, if what you're going for is more variety or somesuch.
To make a skill check, roll 1d20 and add your character’s skill modifier for that skill. The skill modifier incorporates the character’s ranks in that skill and the ability modifier for that skill’s key ability, plus any other miscellaneous modifiers that may apply, including racial bonuses and armor check penalties. The higher the result, the better. Unlike with attack rolls and saving throws, a natural roll of 20 on the d20 is not an automatic success, and a natural roll of 1 is not an automatic failure.
Our group has a question, and we can't figure out the answer from anything as of yet...
Can two casters split the XP and development costs to develop an epic spell, even if one caster doesn't have Epic Spellcasting? Our group likes high powered worlds (eww...the dracolich :() and it's kind of important to my character's survival...
Also, another question regarding epic spells: If a caster has the capability to cast 9th level spells as a wizard and as a sorcerer, do they get equal epic spell slots if they choose the feat? (FYI: The Ultimate Magus prestige class is broken. :p)
And yes, no incantatrix for you. Or anyone. That class makes puppies cry. Mostly because they are the former Big Bads who have been Baleful Polymorphed into said puppies. By you. Because you're an incantatrix.
Quote from Yukora »
This is Deraxas we're talking about.
Remember, the girl that just killed an aspect of herself before literally consuming her?
Yeah, I don't see her handling a pissing match in any way other than a duel.
Quote from RedDwarfian »
Yes mistress...
Quote from About epic-level D&D »
There are only so many epic, psuedonatural barbarian/blackguard half-dragon akutenshai vampire balor paragons they can throw at you, right?
Quote from Concerning breeding habits of humans in fantasy games »
I suppose it's true. Though the logistics implied in a human/Great Wyrm Prismatic Dragon pairing makes me shudder.
...Something tells me that even should all arcane casters in the world unite, that the Grease spell would NOT be sufficient.
Our group has a question, and we can't figure out the answer from anything as of yet...
Can two casters split the XP and development costs to develop an epic spell, even if one caster doesn't have Epic Spellcasting? Our group likes high powered worlds (eww...the dracolich :() and it's kind of important to my character's survival...
Also, another question regarding epic spells: If a caster has the capability to cast 9th level spells as a wizard and as a sorcerer, do they get equal epic spell slots if they choose the feat? (FYI: The Ultimate Magus prestige class is broken. :p)
Eek, epic spellcasting... okay, let me try this here.
First question- and keep in mind, I've only DMed a single epic game in my DMing career-
The rules on epic spellcasting are not exactly clear on that issue, but I would say that it's alright for a person to split the financial costs to backing a spell's development. However, two characters cannot traditionally split experience costs in payment for something, so I would say the same applies to developing an epic spell- especially considering the secondary partner in this case is NOT an epic caster. Ultimately, this is up to the DM, though.
Characters should generally always be allowed to spend their income as they see fit, and if that means you want to donate money to an ally to develop a spell, that should not be a problem. However, experience costs are not a sum of currency, but rather a reflection of one's life force and vital energies being invested, and as such the costs cannot be divided up equally and split in most situations. I think that perhaps two epic casters could theoretically split XP costs if they both spent equal time developing a spell (although there is nothing in the rules to support it, the concept isn't inherently out of balance), but a non-caster and a caster shouldn't be able to do this.
Second question- the rules are a lot clearer on this one.
Epic Spell Slots are not determined by class, but rather by an individual character's ranks in relevant knowledge skills. So, even if you are playing Wizard 20/Sorcerer 20, you only get 1 epic spell slot per 10 ranks in Knowledge (Arcane). Now, if you were playing a Wizard 20/Cleric 20, you could get multiple epic spell slots- 1 for each 10 Knowledge (arcane), and 1 for each 10 Knowledge (religion). However, you couldn't use those spellslots interchangeably- you could only use the spell slots generated by Knowledge (arcane) to cast arcane epic spells, and vice versa.
Hope that helps.
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[16:23] Alacar Leoricar: maybe if you do it'll make the porn more meaningful
Well, I do know that experience point costs for epic items may be shared, with DM approval, as otherwise no one would ever be able to create them.:)
I brought your answer up to the DM and he has approved the sharing of GP cost...yay, as my character is currently poor.
Thanks for your help! Now I go off to create some really weird spell...that blows up my enemies and heals my allies! (four arcane epic slots and three divine ones, go me)
And yes, no incantatrix for you. Or anyone. That class makes puppies cry. Mostly because they are the former Big Bads who have been Baleful Polymorphed into said puppies. By you. Because you're an incantatrix.
Quote from Yukora »
This is Deraxas we're talking about.
Remember, the girl that just killed an aspect of herself before literally consuming her?
Yeah, I don't see her handling a pissing match in any way other than a duel.
Quote from RedDwarfian »
Yes mistress...
Quote from About epic-level D&D »
There are only so many epic, psuedonatural barbarian/blackguard half-dragon akutenshai vampire balor paragons they can throw at you, right?
Quote from Concerning breeding habits of humans in fantasy games »
I suppose it's true. Though the logistics implied in a human/Great Wyrm Prismatic Dragon pairing makes me shudder.
...Something tells me that even should all arcane casters in the world unite, that the Grease spell would NOT be sufficient.
Questions regarding Polymorph and it's effects on the melee/mage. These are all fairly basic, but I want to make sure I understand them.
1. Just to make sure I understand correctly. Let's say you are a 13th level caster, and cast polymorph. Am I correct in understanding that you are limited to choosing a creature with 13 or less hit dice?
For example, I could turn into a juvenile black dragon, which has 13 hit dice, but couldn't turn into a young adult which has 16 hit dice.
I'm fairly sure I understand how it works, but I'm just making sure.
2. There is a feat in Savage Species called "Assume Supernatural Ability".
It reads:
[snip]
Please do not post non-OGL material in the Inn. We don't want another rancored_elf situation. Thanks- Photon
My question: Assuming I am correct about how polymorph, and you polymorph that 13 hit dice black dragon, will your breathweapon be limited by it's age? In this case it would be 8d4 damage.
3. My last question is most important. Is there any way, through feats, magic items, or low level PCL abilities, to boost the caster level for polymorph so that one can reach a higher hit dice moster sooner? Additionally, is there a way to surpass the 15 hit dice limit once it's reached.
I know that spells such as Draconic Polymorph and Shapechange allows you to go beyond this limit, but I'm wondering about the actual Polymorph spell itself.
Just for the curious, the reason I'm asking this, is my current character is an enlightened fist who is flavored heavily with a draconic history, and my goal with him is to be able to polymorph into a dragon as his primary combat buff, and I'm just trying to figure out how to make it more effective. I want him to become a dragon and for it to be a meaningfull change when he does it.
I've set Feng up to have access to Polymorph as soon as possible, and I'm about to get the spell, but it dawned on me that my caster level is so low that I won't be able to polymorph into a meaningfull dragon. I'm actually better off not polymorphing and just casting bulls strength or another stat booster instead.
Thanks.
Edit: Perhaps there is an obscure type of dragon that has impressive str or dex boosts without having super high hit dice. If you know of such a beast, I would appreciate if you told me.
Lastly, if becoming a dragon simply isn't going to be effective at my level, can you suggest an alternative monster I could polymorph into until I get higher level? One that would give great str bonus or mabey nice natural attacks.
Dear God, first epic spellcasting, then polymorph?!
1. That is correct, you cannot transform yourself or another target into a creature with more than 13 hit dice as a 13th level caster. Additionally, polymorph hits a strict ceiling at 15 hit dice, regardless of your caster level.
2. Assuming you have the requisite feats for gaining access to a creature's supernatural abilities, you gain access to them as they are listed in the MM or another supplement. If such an ability relies on a mental ability score, it is modified to suit your own abilities scores, but otherwise the ability is used as listed. So yes, you would assume the breath weapon of your dragon form's age category.
3. I do not know of any way to alter the rules of how polymorph works. Polymorph shouldn't ever become a substitute for Shapechange. There are a variety of PrCs and feats for shapeshifters that would allow them to more successfully utilize such a stunt, but those would not be available to a half caster/monk like what you are playing.
It seems to me while the idea of a monk that becomes a dragon in combat sounds good on paper, it really isn't that viable of an option considering the fact that any draconic form you would assume would be merely a flashier but less effective Bull's Strength.
As far as obscure dragons go, I'm not saying it isn't possible, but as most dragons tend to follow a fairly uniform age category progression, any dragon you could turn into wouldn't be particularly better than the next, barring some weirdo dragon from some seldom-used supplement.
As far as animal forms go, since you retain your own HD and HP while transformed, a solid animal form would be an advisable substitute, since things like bears tend to have large STR and CON scores. However, at the cost of a level 4 spell slot, you would just be playing a poor man's druid at that point- but it would probably be more effective than transforming into a weaker dragon.
However, this advice should be taken with a grain of salt, as I don't have an actual character sheet or any relevant campaign data in from of me. In general though, it seems like trying to go all Altered Beast on the enemies is probably a poor choice for a monk/sorcerer.
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[16:23] Alacar Leoricar: maybe if you do it'll make the porn more meaningful
I'll chime in some and say that some of the dragons from the Draconomicon could probably help, as well as the others from Dragons of Faerun...if your DM allows Forgotten Realms stuff into his or her campaign, that is.
Photon_Eater is correct about dragons following a pretty similar progression through their age categories, though certain types have better stats than others (For instance, shadow dragons have yucky Con compared to others). Now, as a monk/sorcerer, you may wish to consider other creature types to polymorph into, such as a dire bear (if its HD is within your limit), as it would beat face more effectively than a young to young adult dragon.
Other alternate dragon types can include the gem dragons (planar, sort of; they have psionic abilities) who actually DON'T have a 10 Dex.
Shapechange is my friend, so I had to look at this stuff.
And yes, no incantatrix for you. Or anyone. That class makes puppies cry. Mostly because they are the former Big Bads who have been Baleful Polymorphed into said puppies. By you. Because you're an incantatrix.
Quote from Yukora »
This is Deraxas we're talking about.
Remember, the girl that just killed an aspect of herself before literally consuming her?
Yeah, I don't see her handling a pissing match in any way other than a duel.
Quote from RedDwarfian »
Yes mistress...
Quote from About epic-level D&D »
There are only so many epic, psuedonatural barbarian/blackguard half-dragon akutenshai vampire balor paragons they can throw at you, right?
Quote from Concerning breeding habits of humans in fantasy games »
I suppose it's true. Though the logistics implied in a human/Great Wyrm Prismatic Dragon pairing makes me shudder.
...Something tells me that even should all arcane casters in the world unite, that the Grease spell would NOT be sufficient.
@Photon - Thanks for taking out the feat. I was trying to make sure that I communicated my questions, that I forgot about the copyright.
And thanks for clearing up my questions, both of you.
I've continued looking and I did find a nice creature to polymorph into for the time being. A Hydra. It will give Feng what he needs, which is more attacks in combat (through the monsters natural attacks), and it also fits his theme if he picks a 5 headed one.
Edit: Follow up question.
Lets say I have two attacks. +7,+2. And I cast polymorph, turning myself into a 5 headed hydra.
Does my full attack, at this point, look like: +7, +2, +2, +2, +2, +2, +2 ?
CR is basically a number indicating that a party of 4 characters, whose level totalled average that number could have a challenge to defeat, but not be overwhelmed.
A CR 10 enemy would be a challenge for a party of 4 with an average level of 10, but not wholly impossible.
Sometimes CR can get skewed--a party of six level 12 characters can have a challenge beating a CR 18 Dracolich, with the proper preparation, and not be overwhelmed. (It happened in one of my games)
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Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
There ya go. Includes all the spells in the PHB.
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Thanks that rocks, but is it only PHB?
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
Like freeform roleplaying? Try Darkness Befalls Us
Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
The maximum number of ranks you can have in a class skill is 3 + your total level, with half of that being in cross-class skills. In the above example, Alacar has 5 ranks in Intimidate. He changes over to Mage, so it's no longer a class skill. He doesn't lose his ranks, but he can't add any more to them either, because his skills look at Mage when he's applying ranks for this level.
2) If both levels have the same skill as a class skill, treat is as nothing had changed, technically.
3) Prestige classing is the same as multiclassing.
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Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
You'd better have a good reason for your character to so suddenly be so eloquent. Sudden jumps in skills need to be relegated with the DM.
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Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
Personally, natural 1s just mean you add 1 to your modifiers and that's your check for the DC. Some DMs prefer them to just be natural failures.
Like freeform roleplaying? Try Darkness Befalls Us
Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
If you hit 0 Str or Cha, I don't think you die from it, you're just severely incapacitated.
Winner of the Weekly Signature & Avatar Contest Weeks 51, 59, 78, & 118.
I don't care if I was framed for murder if I only got a warning I would let it go.
A DEX of 0 means you have no coordination at all, and are better off being unable to move.
A CON of 0 means you're dead. No chance to revive you.
An INT of 0 means you are braindead.
A WIS of 0 means you have no perception of the world around you.
A CHA of 0 means you are hideously ugly and have no means of communication.
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Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
Strength Damage (Su): The touch of a shadow deals 1d6 points of Strength damage to a living foe. A creature reduced to Strength 0 dies. This is a negative energy effect.
Create Spawn: Any humanoid reduced to Strength 0 by a shadow becomes a shadow under the control of its killer within 1d4 rounds.
P.252 of MM
Create Spawn: A humanoid or monstrous humanoid slain by a vampire's energy drain rises as a vampire spawn 1d4 days after burial. If the vampire instead drains the victim Constitution to 0 or lower, the victim returns as a spawn if it had 4 or less HD and as a vampire if it had 5 or more HD...
P.151 HoH
Empathic Feeding (Su): A gray jester can drain joyous emotions from humanoid beings... Any target who fails her DC15 Will save takes 1d4 points of Charisma drain. Those drained to 0 Charisma in this fashion may become bleak ones (see below).
I mean things like that.
Dry up, O Sea.
Burn out, O Sun.
Grant us power Earthly Leaders and Gatekeepers of Hell.
Guide us Makers of the Underworld.
Like freeform roleplaying? Try Darkness Befalls Us
Ryttare Kelasin Luna Orelinalei
http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/35/sovelior_sage/skills.html
Can two casters split the XP and development costs to develop an epic spell, even if one caster doesn't have Epic Spellcasting? Our group likes high powered worlds (eww...the dracolich :() and it's kind of important to my character's survival...
Also, another question regarding epic spells: If a caster has the capability to cast 9th level spells as a wizard and as a sorcerer, do they get equal epic spell slots if they choose the feat? (FYI: The Ultimate Magus prestige class is broken. :p)
"I am in the arcane, and the arcane is in me."
Official Matron Mother of Clan Planar Chaos
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Deraxas, Dark Maiden of Shimia,, still oddly obsessed with a mindmage.
Eek, epic spellcasting... okay, let me try this here.
First question- and keep in mind, I've only DMed a single epic game in my DMing career-
The rules on epic spellcasting are not exactly clear on that issue, but I would say that it's alright for a person to split the financial costs to backing a spell's development. However, two characters cannot traditionally split experience costs in payment for something, so I would say the same applies to developing an epic spell- especially considering the secondary partner in this case is NOT an epic caster. Ultimately, this is up to the DM, though.
Characters should generally always be allowed to spend their income as they see fit, and if that means you want to donate money to an ally to develop a spell, that should not be a problem. However, experience costs are not a sum of currency, but rather a reflection of one's life force and vital energies being invested, and as such the costs cannot be divided up equally and split in most situations. I think that perhaps two epic casters could theoretically split XP costs if they both spent equal time developing a spell (although there is nothing in the rules to support it, the concept isn't inherently out of balance), but a non-caster and a caster shouldn't be able to do this.
Second question- the rules are a lot clearer on this one.
Epic Spell Slots are not determined by class, but rather by an individual character's ranks in relevant knowledge skills. So, even if you are playing Wizard 20/Sorcerer 20, you only get 1 epic spell slot per 10 ranks in Knowledge (Arcane). Now, if you were playing a Wizard 20/Cleric 20, you could get multiple epic spell slots- 1 for each 10 Knowledge (arcane), and 1 for each 10 Knowledge (religion). However, you couldn't use those spellslots interchangeably- you could only use the spell slots generated by Knowledge (arcane) to cast arcane epic spells, and vice versa.
Hope that helps.
I brought your answer up to the DM and he has approved the sharing of GP cost...yay, as my character is currently poor.
Thanks for your help! Now I go off to create some really weird spell...that blows up my enemies and heals my allies! (four arcane epic slots and three divine ones, go me)
"I am in the arcane, and the arcane is in me."
Official Matron Mother of Clan Planar Chaos
Awesome Avatar and signature by DarkNightCavalier
Deraxas, Dark Maiden of Shimia,, still oddly obsessed with a mindmage.
1. Just to make sure I understand correctly. Let's say you are a 13th level caster, and cast polymorph. Am I correct in understanding that you are limited to choosing a creature with 13 or less hit dice?
For example, I could turn into a juvenile black dragon, which has 13 hit dice, but couldn't turn into a young adult which has 16 hit dice.
I'm fairly sure I understand how it works, but I'm just making sure.
2. There is a feat in Savage Species called "Assume Supernatural Ability".
It reads:
[snip]
Please do not post non-OGL material in the Inn. We don't want another rancored_elf situation. Thanks- Photon
My question: Assuming I am correct about how polymorph, and you polymorph that 13 hit dice black dragon, will your breathweapon be limited by it's age? In this case it would be 8d4 damage.
3. My last question is most important. Is there any way, through feats, magic items, or low level PCL abilities, to boost the caster level for polymorph so that one can reach a higher hit dice moster sooner? Additionally, is there a way to surpass the 15 hit dice limit once it's reached.
I know that spells such as Draconic Polymorph and Shapechange allows you to go beyond this limit, but I'm wondering about the actual Polymorph spell itself.
Just for the curious, the reason I'm asking this, is my current character is an enlightened fist who is flavored heavily with a draconic history, and my goal with him is to be able to polymorph into a dragon as his primary combat buff, and I'm just trying to figure out how to make it more effective. I want him to become a dragon and for it to be a meaningfull change when he does it.
I've set Feng up to have access to Polymorph as soon as possible, and I'm about to get the spell, but it dawned on me that my caster level is so low that I won't be able to polymorph into a meaningfull dragon. I'm actually better off not polymorphing and just casting bulls strength or another stat booster instead.
Thanks.
Edit: Perhaps there is an obscure type of dragon that has impressive str or dex boosts without having super high hit dice. If you know of such a beast, I would appreciate if you told me.
Lastly, if becoming a dragon simply isn't going to be effective at my level, can you suggest an alternative monster I could polymorph into until I get higher level? One that would give great str bonus or mabey nice natural attacks.
Again, thanks.
1. That is correct, you cannot transform yourself or another target into a creature with more than 13 hit dice as a 13th level caster. Additionally, polymorph hits a strict ceiling at 15 hit dice, regardless of your caster level.
2. Assuming you have the requisite feats for gaining access to a creature's supernatural abilities, you gain access to them as they are listed in the MM or another supplement. If such an ability relies on a mental ability score, it is modified to suit your own abilities scores, but otherwise the ability is used as listed. So yes, you would assume the breath weapon of your dragon form's age category.
3. I do not know of any way to alter the rules of how polymorph works. Polymorph shouldn't ever become a substitute for Shapechange. There are a variety of PrCs and feats for shapeshifters that would allow them to more successfully utilize such a stunt, but those would not be available to a half caster/monk like what you are playing.
It seems to me while the idea of a monk that becomes a dragon in combat sounds good on paper, it really isn't that viable of an option considering the fact that any draconic form you would assume would be merely a flashier but less effective Bull's Strength.
As far as obscure dragons go, I'm not saying it isn't possible, but as most dragons tend to follow a fairly uniform age category progression, any dragon you could turn into wouldn't be particularly better than the next, barring some weirdo dragon from some seldom-used supplement.
As far as animal forms go, since you retain your own HD and HP while transformed, a solid animal form would be an advisable substitute, since things like bears tend to have large STR and CON scores. However, at the cost of a level 4 spell slot, you would just be playing a poor man's druid at that point- but it would probably be more effective than transforming into a weaker dragon.
However, this advice should be taken with a grain of salt, as I don't have an actual character sheet or any relevant campaign data in from of me. In general though, it seems like trying to go all Altered Beast on the enemies is probably a poor choice for a monk/sorcerer.
Photon_Eater is correct about dragons following a pretty similar progression through their age categories, though certain types have better stats than others (For instance, shadow dragons have yucky Con compared to others). Now, as a monk/sorcerer, you may wish to consider other creature types to polymorph into, such as a dire bear (if its HD is within your limit), as it would beat face more effectively than a young to young adult dragon.
Other alternate dragon types can include the gem dragons (planar, sort of; they have psionic abilities) who actually DON'T have a 10 Dex.
Shapechange is my friend, so I had to look at this stuff.
"I am in the arcane, and the arcane is in me."
Official Matron Mother of Clan Planar Chaos
Awesome Avatar and signature by DarkNightCavalier
Deraxas, Dark Maiden of Shimia,, still oddly obsessed with a mindmage.
And thanks for clearing up my questions, both of you.
I've continued looking and I did find a nice creature to polymorph into for the time being. A Hydra. It will give Feng what he needs, which is more attacks in combat (through the monsters natural attacks), and it also fits his theme if he picks a 5 headed one.
Edit: Follow up question.
Lets say I have two attacks. +7,+2. And I cast polymorph, turning myself into a 5 headed hydra.
Does my full attack, at this point, look like: +7, +2, +2, +2, +2, +2, +2 ?
Thanks again.