Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 CarlderRitter Mar 15, 2015 20:32:32	I have bard player, level 7.  He has just picked up Polymorph and wants to use it to turn into a huge Gorilla.  Cr 7.  Polymorph gives him the new forms mental stats.  I also have a druid that just hit 7, and that will make 2 king kongs.   Can a 7 Int creature concentrate on a spell to keep it up?
#2 AaronOfBarbaria Mar 15, 2015 21:33:00	There is no intelligence score requirement in order to maintain concentration on a spell.
#3 EmpactWB Mar 15, 2015 21:39:13	I can't find stats for a gorilla, but 7 Int is plenty for concentrating on spells. A PC could have a 3 Int with poor rolling and that wouldn't prevent them from picking up concentration spells.
#4 Glimjack Mar 16, 2015 0:31:58	Given that the spell turns you into a beast, which by definition will almost certainly have sub-par intelligence, it seems kind of silly to rule you can't concentrate. You'd essentially be saying that you could only use the spell to instantly transform and change back again. Making it an absolutely pointless spell.
#5 CarlderRitter Mar 16, 2015 5:58:54	Fair enough.  The spells text makes no effort to reference "self" while it clearly doesn't rule it out either.  At seventh level, it is a 157 hp buff, and gives you 2 x 21 average damage attacks per round.  Seems silly.  Knowing that I will have 300+ hp to eat through! I'll just scale things up.  That in turn will give them more exp, which I'm sure they will love.   I have an old mind set for DnD.  You didn't used to be able to cast a spell with Int less than 10+ the spells level.  Casting Polymorph required a 14, if concentration was a thing then...I'd have ruled you couldn't keep it up without the required Int.  I'll have 2 king kongs (or worse later). Possibly make it boring for my other players who don't have a broken Polymorph option.
#6 iserith Mar 16, 2015 6:43:22	The only drawback to having a low Intelligence score is when you have to make an Intelligence ability check or saving throw. Otherwise, it changes nothing except as the player chooses to have his or her character act.
#7 DMStevenH Mar 16, 2015 7:51:28	CarlderRitter wrote:
(Reply to #5) AaronOfBarbaria	CarlderRitter wrote:
#9 Hepius Mar 17, 2015 15:29:39	Have they ever seen a huge gorilla? In my campaign I'd never let a character polymorph into a creature they'd never seen before.
#10 DMStevenH Mar 18, 2015 7:47:50	I still don't think there's a problem. Like, the ape is good. But it's a fourth level spell slot. It should be good. It's not the slightest bit game breaking. Just let your bard and druid turn into giant apes. Whatever. It's not going to break the game. At all. Nor will the game break at 8th level when they start turning into T-Rexes. All it takes is one good damage round and they'll fail concentration and change back. Failing that you can have the enemy not attack the ape and the bard will do quite a lot of damage. Although really, they'd probably do more damage with a 4th level fireball in the right place...   Saying no to a player wanting to use this spell for this purpose is just a fun killer for no reason. Turning into a giant ape is awesome. You should encourage your players to want to do awesome things.
#11 Slyck314 Mar 18, 2015 8:22:14	Giant Ape is the go to form the bard in my party uses. Its impressive but has some pretty sever vulnerabilities. A mind flayers mind blast can almost stun lock it.
(Reply to #9) Pandaemonius	Hepius wrote: