Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ismaul 12-15-04, 02:45 PM	I'm creating a new base class, and wanted a spell with the animal part of polymorph, but not the other types. The question is, what level would you give a spell that was the exact same thing as Alter Self, but instead of changing into your type you would be changing into any animal. The limitations would be the same, 10min/level, 5HD max, etc. I'm thinking of something between 2nd level and 3rd, as polymorph is a 4th level spell. ------- This is the final version: Animal Form Transmutation Level: Sor/Wiz 3 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Personal Area: You Duration: 10 min./level (D) This spell functions like alter self, except that you can change yourself into an animal of 5HD or less. The new form must be no larger than your normal size, and up to two size categories smaller.
Seeker95 12-15-04, 03:53 PM	Alter self at 2nd level is actually pretty restrictive, in that there are relatively few choices of your own type. So I would make the animal form spell be third level, with no animals of larger size than your own.
Ismaul 12-15-04, 07:09 PM	Thanks for your reply. Here's a fast analysis of differences between alter self and animal form. If the character is a humanoid, he has approximately 20 possibilities to alter himself into, only from the 3 core books. There is approximately 40 animals of a Hit Dice of 5 or less. 20 are medium size or small. Tiny creatures are cat, hawk, lizard, monkey, owl, rat, raven, weasel (7 in total), and diminutive are bat and toad. Large ones are ape, bison, camel, horse, lion, manta ray, mule, octopus, and there is at least an equal amount of large animals of more than 5HD. The question here is which to keep. Choices are: All 5HD and less All 5HD and less, but within one size category of your normal size All 5HD and less, but no larger than your size category I kind of like having tiny and diminutive animals, and tiny ones really have to stay, IMHO. That means that option 2 would be out. As the initial idea was to have a polymorph spell without it becoming a "combat buff spell", I guess large ones aren't that important. So I guess the best solution is the third choice. The only problem I see is that, using the 3rd choice, the spell is significatively better for medium charcaters than for small ones, as they get medium animals and there is 16 of them. A way to give a little plus to small characters would be to limit the size to no less than two size category less than your normal size. That way, only small characters get diminutive animals (bat and toad). As there is no more large creatures, is it still worth a 3rd level spell or a 2nd? Any thoughts on the whole matter would be great :D .
Seeker95 12-15-04, 10:40 PM	I favor option C. I also favor keeping it level three. Rationale: Removing the size *decrease* limitation, is kept balanced with a size cap. Level three takes into consideration that changing to an animal (changing type) is pretty powerful. At the same time, it is not nearly as powerful as polymorph.
Ismaul 12-15-04, 11:00 PM	Rationale: Removing the size *decrease* limitation, is kept balanced with a size cap. I don't really understand what you're saying here, but I feel it might be the most intereresting part of your comment ;). For the moment, the final version looks like this: Animal Form Transmutation Level: Sor/Wiz 3 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Personal Area: You Duration: 10 min./level (D) This spell functions like alter self, except that you can change yourself into an animal of 5HD or less. The new form must be no larger than your normal size, and up to two size categories smaller.
Seeker95 12-16-04, 08:54 AM	This spell is now available in my campaign. Thanks!