Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Darksoupgod 04-06-06, 12:19 AM	Could my level 8 wizard cast Polymorph on his Spark Gaurdian familiar, transmuting it into a Huge Animated Object? I looked over the Construct type, but couldn't find anything dissalowing polymorphing of them. Since its type is already construct, the spells based off of Alter Self seem to allow transformations into other constructs.
Mist of Shadows 04-06-06, 01:11 AM	That's sort of an interesting question. For many reasons not just yours. Intelligent items count as constructs so you could potentially polymorph them. The problem is this, you can't polymorph constructs with the polymorph spell. Because of the wording one living target. Other then that you're fine. Creature has a number of types you can change them into including their own. So other then the living creature restriction I think you would be fine. Polymorph any object doesn't have that restriction. It says object or creature but maybes no mention of living creature. It inherients the can change into the same type from polymorph with the rewording of that pesky living creature thing. So I think you could with polymorph any object. So you could take a really neat intelligent magical item and polymorph it into a effigy of something truely fearsome.
Darksoupgod 04-06-06, 01:36 AM	You're probably right about that, and it's really unfortunate for my 8th level Wizard (who is 7 levels away from Polymorph Any Object). It seems as though Alter Self would work though. Because the Spark Guardian is your familiar, you can cast spells with a range of Personal on it instead. Alter Self is personal range and doesn't require a certain type of creature to be transformed, only that it can be turned into something of its type. So, the bird could be morphed into any construct up to 5 HD that is tiny or small. A Gauntlet or Blade Guardian familiar could become larger constructs, especially if you build one with HD and size advancement. But by that time, you've invested so much money in a familiar with half of a wizard's hit points that it doesn't seem worth it...
Jarrad 04-06-06, 04:53 AM	But by that time, you've invested so much money in a familiar with half of a wizard's hit points that it doesn't seem worth it... Not sure what you're getting at there! Unlike other familiars, guardian familiars retain their own hit points if they're higher than one-half of the master's total. Their effective HD is the master's character level or the guardian familiar's HD, whichever is greater. So... er... you'll have created a familiar that probably has a lot more than half of the wizard's hit points. Don't forget the bonus hit points constructs gain as they advance in size either; building an advanced version of these is totally worth it! However, Alter Self wouldn't do it. Firstly, because you can't use Alter Self to change yourself into a base creature that has more than 5 Hit Dice, even though you retain your own hit points. I can't think of many constructs that have fewer than 5HD apart from the guardian familiars and even if there were any, if they were a bigger size category than your advanced guardian familiar they'd definitely have more than 5HD. Secondly, I wouldn't allow it because I would read "You assume the form of a creature of the same type as your normal form" to mean in this instance: "the same type as the caster's normal form". Yes, I know you can cast range Personal spells on a familiar, but: Additionally, the master may cast a spell with a target of 'You' on his familiar (as a touch range spell) instead of on himself. It doesn't say anywhere that this functions as though the familiar had cast the spell. Thus, the familiar could only be altered to a creature of the same type of the spellcaster. Cheers, Jarrad
Bahriel 04-06-06, 08:27 AM	doh
Mist of Shadows 04-06-06, 05:42 PM	*Cough* Cough* Green star adept. :) You're a construct your familiar is a construct. :) But yeah there are a few things for under five hd not too many though. I think you're better off building a construst par normal then having your familiar use it like a mech. :) (ie be inside of it)