@@ousicousidamn you're totally right! I can't believe I missed that mistake in editing! I mess up the recording constantly, but usually notice this stuff before it goes live!! Thanks for pointing it out, it absolutely should be one hour, not one minute, I just can't say words right! I'll add it to my pinned comment
@@DnDShorts Lmao, when you brought up the rule lawyering for power word kill x polymorph you are right and wrong. As a dm can argue back that "aright you casted power word kill on the polymorphed bbeg, the form you gave it was a spider and so that form dies. But as the spell states when it dies or drops to 0 hp it reverts back to its normal form. Well the form is dead so he now reverts back to his previous form, what do you do now? move? or end your turn?" XD
Also fun fact the combo actually does not work like people always think/rule lawyer, when a creature is brought to 0 hp its not dead, only way for a creature to instadie is going to 0 then past its max hp, power word kill or variant rules. So due to this and the way polymorph is written power world kill can never instakill a polymorphed creature as they are only instakilling the form which reverts it back to how it was before hand. So a while its a fun idea to rule lawyer, not so fun when you reread raw, or the dm is the type "what you do, so can I" and uno reverse it back on the party
Find an enemy that can't breathe underwater and polymorph them into a crab and throw them into the ocean Wait for the crab to hit the bottom then leave concentration and boom, if that enemy doesn't die from the pressure crushing them they'll simply drown and die 👍
Nah, just polymorph then stone shape to encase them in rock. When they go from snail to normal sized while encased in rock I would argue they would take like 20d6 crushing damage but that is DM discretion. Either way, they are trapped in solid rock so suffocation is imminent. If you want to go the extra mile or they don't need to breath then toss out a coin, have someone else cast heat metal on it, and then encase them together. That is 20d8 fire damage plus 10d8 more per level you up cast it at. You can cast 4th level spells so we can assume at least 40d8 damage or 180 damage on average if no crushing bonuses.
@@kingwildcat6192000 FUUUUU, can crabs really swim !? Holy sheeeeeeet, I have been lied to for my whole life Edit : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oV6sLyMZiBE.html What the actual fuck XD
@@chefmanitou7244 honestly I didnt even know they did. Simply in an elemental water campaign that Im waiting for a friend to start I discovered this. Im gonna play a crazy lizardfolk chef who is a druid (shaman) and was looking for a low cr beast that could breath underwater and saw that in 5e they had a swim speed XD, thanks for the vid it was funny to watch
@@leightenheimer I'll check him out later,thanks for letting me know. In other news,WotC is really shi'tty management,& you'd need a calculator to count the number of ways you can break this game with an exploit.
Just wanted to share my 1st broken polymorph use. Fighting a dragon. The party was exhausted from previous fights. But we had to do it as the dragon was burning down the town we just saved from other baddies. Fight starts and first breath weapon drops 3 out of 5 in the party. Bard casts cure mass wounds pops people back up though just barely in the wizards case. Wizard burns his last spell slot on his turn turns to the party and says I'm sorry guys I got nothing left. Wizard is at 1 HP. Turn passes to the bard. Bard yells to the wizard "THINK ONE THOUGHT AND ONLY ONE THING EAT BIG MONSTER" Turns to the DM and says" I see your dragon standing directly IN front of my wizard with 1 HP. Well I take his 1 HP and raise it to 137HP. Poof Trex is now toe to toe with the dragon that was slaughtering us. Wizard rex on its first bite crits and takes the head off the dragon. We then all road on the rexs back in a victory lap through the town.
"I'd like to see them try and put a chicken on trial for theft...." You Sir are clearly not familiar with Medieval legal practices ! - the players are never save >:3
@@xinahliaofthefeywild8985 You sucessfully sneak away as a chicken - only to meet the stern ,corpulent housewife of the Town Judge -with Advantage to Grapple checks and guess what she's preaping for Dinner! - Roll for Initiative!
Polymorph lasts up to an hour. Btw, I love the ideas. I'll definitely be using that Barbarian Cannon in the future. There's an addition I'd like to make from a game I was playing in, our mage polymorphed a 'purple worm' into a rat. Which we then promptly took to the BBEG's lair for that portion of the module and then threw the rat at him effectively giving us a purple worm grenade. Then later in that fight the guy we were escorting tried to jump into the fight the wizard polymorphed the guy into a moth, and held up a lamp to call it back to her.
Glad you have been hitting the shorts algorithm, hope your growth continues to skyrocket. But also, dont be discouraged if it slows down, as you will eventually get pulled out of the algorithm. you make fantastic content, and you will continue to grow without it
Thanks and I think you’re right! I’m hoping that ~the algorithm~ will stick around for a little longer but it’s only a matter of time before it kicks my ass to the curb, so I need to be ready
I made an attempt at a polymorpher class for DnD, (it is basically like Ben ten) I can't take the full credit because I took some ideas from another Homebrew class, that I didn't really like
Another fun thing, you can use animal messenger spell on a polymorphed target, meaning that you can send them to anyone you know in any direction, and they will start traveling there without any other saves. This will last for an entire polymorph duration, so it will be either 1 or 2 miles covered by the target, depending if they were turned into a flying beast or not. If you measure your lengths correctly, you could theoretically drop someone into a volcano two miles away with only one save involved.
Slight Dungeon of the Mad Mage spoilers. Big fight on the magic academy level. There are message tubes. Polymorphed a powerful caster into a hamster and shoved him in the messaged tube
I have one more, it's like the one with Power Word Kill, but way more accessible: 1. Polymorph enemy into a snail 2. Pick it up and put it in your bag of holding 3.??? 4. Profit! No matter how your DM rules it, it'll either suffocate in snail form and be dead on the spot or it'll turn back to original form and then suffocate again.
The rules for suffocation are "When a creature runs out of breath or is choking, it can survive for a number of rounds equal to its Constitution modifier (minimum of 1 round). At the start of its next turn, it drops to 0 hit points and is dying, and it can't regain hit points or be stabilized until it can breathe again.". So the creature will drop to 0 hit points and then change back before it dies completely. Once back into the original form they can attempt to escape because the bag can be opened from the inside (twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/1034580941383954433?lang=en). If latched closed or something then they can destroy the bag and get ejected into the astral. This is clear in the BoH description "If the bag is overloaded, pierced, or torn, it ruptures and is destroyed, and its contents are scattered in the Astral Plane.". It has limited size and has inside walls which is why overloading rips it. If you want to do this particular shenanigan then you would need a Bag of Devouring. That said I recommend that you polymorph and then stone shape to encase them in rock. When they go from snail to normal sized while encased in rock I would argue they would take something like 20d6 crushing damage but that is DM discretion. Either way, they are trapped in solid rock so suffocation is imminent. If you want to go the extra mile or they don't need to breath then toss out a coin, have someone else cast heat metal on it, and then encase them together. That is 20d8 fire damage plus 10d8 more per level you up cast it at. You can cast 4th level spells so we can assume at least 40d8 damage or 180 damage on average if no crushing bonuses.
The problem with this is that a creature can technically force their way out of a bag of holding. So once they drop the fodder form you gave them, they'd simply pop out of the bag 99% of the time, as the check isn't particularly hard for something medium or larger. Also, if they're too big, you might be down a bag of holding when they revert. I think it still sends them into the astral sea, so that's something. But if you have a bag of devouring, that's probably better to use instead... In fact, that is probably the best use for this type of polymorph abuse. As, at worst, you lose a bag of devouring and they get sent into the astral sea.
my favourite concept which, for some reason, I have yet to try out is similar to your barbarian snail slingshot idea. you have to upgrade polymorph to true polymorph to make it viable but you could, theoretically, turn any large beast that is likely to attack anyone around it into a low health creature that is unlikely to be able to escape you. you then care for and love this creature... until you're in a scrape and you need some backup or a distraction. At that time you tie your furry buddy to a rock and chuck him wherever you want and BOOM instant t rex. let's just hope it isn't bitter about living in your pocket for a month
Who needs to be a rogue to steal things and stealth around? Just use polymorph or be a Druid with wild shape! (now I want to play a Druid that steals anything and everything in broad daylight and then just flies away! )
Many combats have a "brute" monster that is designed to tie up the party while the armillary in the back blasts them with spells. Use polymorph on the (low wisdom) brute and turn it into a snail. Have your owl familiar fly it over the caster and break concentration, dropping the brute on the caster. I did this with a gorgon and dropped it onto a wizard. That was not a happy gorgon. Took it out on the wizard.
One issue here for ideas like seduction and scouting is that when you polymorph into an animal your mental stats change as well, so while it might be super sneaky to polymorph into a moth (Ode to Laura Bailey), your mental does turn into that of a moth. I imagine you still have your memories (consciousness??) but your capacities are limited to those of the animal's.
The Mayfly has a lifespan of 30 minutes. Polymorph someone into a mayfly, catch them in a jar, and let them die of old age. Then they can't be resurrected by most means
🤣 like it , but as a DM, wouldn't allow actual character death.. That would make Polymorph a one save or die killer spell. Disproportionately powerful for it's level.
You can also use polymorph to turn somebody into something that is too heavy / too big. My players once turned one of my NPCs into a wooly mammoth to collapse a hanging bridge my NPCs were crossing and that lead to all kinds of chaos and fun.
1) Polymorph it into a snail, clobber with non-lethal damage, when it changes back it's unconscious. or 2) polymorph it into a snail, put in vial of purple worm venom, attach to arrow, shoot with longbow straight into the air, one round later it will fall 600 feet - die and all excess damage from falling and the poison will carry into the normal form.
Problem with the seduction strategy: you get the mental stats of the creature you turn into, but keep your own personality. The ability to do things you don’t want to do is a higher thought function- your overriding your instincts to make a decision logically. So… unless you actually really wanted to bang a wolf for some reason, you’d suddenly find it hard to think of your plan after you polymorphed into one. Depending on dm, this could work for some creatures- great apes are smarter than dogs or dinosaurs- but personally, I wouldn’t allow it with anything less than 5 or so int.
The seducing an enemy animal in polymorph is known as the Loki technique. Also this video got me to prepare polymorph on my druid. I haven't used it before, because why would I? I already have wildshape. But it's much more versatile
You could use it to trick someone into thinking they’re fighting wildshape A, then keep it up for a bit, then drop it, or just polymorph into your wildshape so you have more hp.
Number 11, you have COMPLETE control over a target's saving throw. Do you really need a high level apell to stick like Feeblemind? Well, turn your enemy into a low INT beast, and then cast it at them.
(I was wrong PWK does work on polymorph as stated by Jeremy Crawford on his Twitter.) mobile.twitter.com/jeremyecrawford/status/1047626065194012672?lang=en I'm looking at polymorph right now in my PHB and it says "Transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops to 0 hit points or dies.". So power word kill doesn't work on it permanently since the form dies and reverts back like nothing happens.
@@dementededge3266 no, that would defeat the purpose of polymorph. Polymorph saves what you're exactly at and doesn't take anything away. You take enough damage you revert back and any left over damage as well. If power word kill reverts your form back then you would have more than enough HP to negate the spell but the spell would be wasted on the polymorph form
@@lolf4c3m4n except you don't take any damage from power word kill. You simply die. Polymorph doesn't say that if you die in your new form you revert back to your original form with all of your hit points that you had before, it says if you reach 0 you revert back and the damage carries over. You took no damage though, you simply died because you had less than 100 hit points. And you revert back to your original form, but you're still dead because that's what the spell does. Polymorph doesn't say anything about protecting you from death.
@@dementededge3266 Polymorph does state that dying or 0hp reverts you back. Polymorph form is not your true form. This where True polymorph is the Superior version of polymorph. Concentrate the full hour and the form becomes true. Polymorph only gives you a temporary HP until reaches 0 or dies then reverts back. Something I also want to point out is how polymorph is just buffer spell for HP for PC. One common thing Jeremy Crawford stated that disintegrate (which does one of the four things to cancel polymorph) wouldn't kill the target but drop it out of form. I know people want to be creative with spells but sadly using a 4th level spell with little chance of winning a the save throw against the boss, only to use one 9th level spell is pretty stupid.
@@lolf4c3m4n except he also clarified on sage advice that pwk is an auto death if you have less than 100hp including if you're under the polymorph spell.
I am still pretty sure the PWK Combo does not work. Polymorph states that the spell ends, when the target dies. Also that the creature reverts to its previous hitpoints. And since PWK doesn´t technically do any damage, there should be no carry over. As usual its up to the DM, but will keep on making this argument :)
"Power word kill" could potentially work with disintegrate, just depends on which spell you take first; immolation is the same way. Considering that spell is taking effect then and now, there's argument to be made it does.
I once polymprphed a roper into a rabbit that then proceeded to start digging a hole... and once it had a suficiently deep enough burrough in the stone i then quit concentrating... that was the most horifying thing i have ever done to an enemy lol!
Power word kill doesn’t work that way RAW. “The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops to 0 hit points or dies." "When it reverts to its normal form, the creature returns to the number of hit points it had before it transformed."
Polymorph specifies it lasts until the creature fails a concentration save, reaches 0 hp OR dies. The PWK one wouldn't work even RAW as the moment it dies, the spell ends and it reverts back
Im playing a Wild Magic Sorcerer, and recently a few of our party including myself got captured and all that fun shit. My PCs a paranoid type, so had a small component pouch stitched in and hidden within her sleeves. DM made the mistake of letting us be held outside tied to poles, and under a lax guard. Suddenly the bandits didnt have 3 captives, but instead 3 fucking T-Rexes to deal with, as i surged and rolled a 78 after twin spelling polymorph on the other 2. Yeah, fun times lol
Have a blacksmith commission a 1'x1' metal box. This box will have several 1" holes on one of it's faces. As well as spikes inside it. No need for them to be sharp, just pointy. This box will be roughly 1"-2" thick of solid steel. So definitely heavy to be sure. Polymorph that BBEG into a mouse. Put them inside, drop the polymorph...Instant splatter of yuck.
I have a good one: Polymorph whoever you want to kill into a sea turtle (little movement speed and aerodynamic), then fly 200 ft into the air, then drop it to the ground (or onto a magical weapon if it's immune to bludgeoning). Then boom, 20d6 damage. Edit: 200 feet because that's where fall damage caps out. If your DM allows for more damage from more height due to turtle aerodynamics, then all the better!
Crowd of foolish Peasants accusing a woman of being a witch while the king happens to be nearby searching for knights. She turned me into a newt! (If you get the reference you are a person of culture.) Anyway if Polymorph can transform other things into plants, turn a massive boulder into a small flower. You give the flower to someone you dislike and they put it in their hair, you back away and lift the spell. BOOM! They get crushed by the boulder:)
Once again well I like were you are going I have to point out that the stacking polymorph dose not work as it says in page 205 of the players handbook the effects can not stack and so the second spell your override the first. Or the second would not take effect at all and the duration would be added
It's a common misunderstanding to make, but you're missing a very cruicial phrasing of this ruling. The effects of the spells DO overlap, but they don't _combine_! Copied from the PH: The effects of different spells add together while the durations of those spells overlap. The effects of the same spell cast multiple times don't combine, however. Instead, the most potent effect-such as the highest bonus-from those castings applies _while their durations overlap._ Both polymorphs will be in effect, the first is not negated, it's just the most recent one that will apply to the target. However, if the newer one stops, the first one will still be there and it will take effect! I find it easier to imagine with a spell like Cloudkill. If player A casts cloudkill, and 9 minutes later, player B casts Cloudkill, the poisonous fumes wouldn't just all vanish when player As spell ended. They wouldn't double for that overlapping minute though either! Polymorph works the same.
@@DnDShorts I would have to agree with you on that the wording would work that way. I have more time in other engines then 5e and the combo works in those engines. But with how the wording works for 5e it makes it seem as though the second spell only adds to the duration of the first and the cancels out. I have to say I hate the wording in 5e because it seems like it could go either way. I would not mind my players using this combo before a hard boss battle.
I once polymorphed an adult blue dragon into a rat or something, wild shaped into a giant eagle, grabbed said small animal, flew thousands of feet into the air and dropped it
polymorph enemies into knats or, like, a fairfly. teeny tiny little guys. their allies may WANT to squish em back into a human but they gotta find the little bugger and something half a millimeter long flying around in the middle of combat is gonna be pretty hard to spot. depends on the DM though.
Idk the spell like the back of my hand but couldn't you poison someone as a an insect and once they reverted they increase the poison exponentially by their body regrowth with that? Would be a good way to use crappy but none illegal poisons or an easy way to let a slow poison build up
Depend on your DM, as for mine, she rules it as "with the increasing size of a creature, the concentration of poison will be lower compared to current bodily fluids which means no unless you increase the dosage applied". She has biology major & she likes to put it into use in our game for more realism.
When underground, polymorph the enemy into a small animal and then send them into a small place. Preferably in a stone-like environment to ensure they either cant move and cant break out when they return to their normal size
1) Cast Flesh to Stone on a very big creature to petrify it, thereby increasing its weight tenfold. I like the Mammoth for this, clocking in at over 50 metric tons for a stone one. 2) Cast polymorph on the petrified mammoth (yes, you can do this, petrified is a condition and doesn't reduce the victim's hitpoints to 0) to turn it into a particularly small snail. 3) Have a friend cast enlarge/reduce on your snail to make it into a bigger snail. 4) Have a flying familiar fly the snail above something you don't like, then drop concentration on the polymorph. 5) Laugh as around two million pounds of stone mammoth falls on the thing you don't like.
Dealing 80d6 damage at level 5: Step 1 be a aaracocra druid with Conjure animals prepared Step 2: fly 180 feet above your enemy. Step 3: cast conjure animal, in a tower starting 200 feet above your enemy Step 4: your enemy now has to do 8 DC 15 Dex saves and each time they fail they take 10d6 damage. According to Tasha's cauldron, if a creature lands in a space with another creatue the creature hit takes half the damage.
@@nercopolis99 This trick interacts with three different effects from three different books, so it's a bit confusing. But whenever a creature lands on another creature, the grounded creature must make a DC 15 Dex save or take half the fall damage from the falling creature, since fall damage maxes out at 20d6 They take half that. If the summoned beast dies from the fall damage, it will then disappear, and the one above it will hit it. Falling XGE p77 [...] at the end of a fall, you take 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet you fell, to a maximum of 20d6. You also land prone, unless you somehow avoid taking damage from the fall. Falling onto a Creature TCE p170 If a creature falls into the space of a second creature and neither of them is Tiny, the second creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or be impacted by the falling creature, and any damage resulting from the fall is divided evenly between them. The impacted creature is also knocked prone, unless it is two or more sizes larger than the falling creature. Conjure animals phb 225 [...] You summon fey spirits that take the form of beasts and appear in unoccupied spaces that you can see within range. [...]
2:15 Polymorph spell rule paragraph 3, sentence 3: "If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to its normal form." Max 6d6 bludgeoning damage if you are on the ground. So polymorph it into a frog it is a CR 0 creature with only 1 hp, which means you just need to roll a 2 to do damage to the creature's normal form. Way easier to do then needing to roll at least a 16 for the cow.
I don't think the polymorph/disintegrate combo works. Polymorph ends when the duration ends, the caster looses concentration, the targets hit points drop to zero OR dies. (caps are mine). To me this means the polymorph ends, and the original creature returns.
Had a ‘skill monkey’ multi class character build that had a 2 level dip into circle of the moon Druid just for the pseudo polymorph beast shaping ability, to sleight of hand gold rings from jewelers, and replace them with cheaper brass rings he would make with his proficiency with a jeweler’s kit. Then transform into a lizard before breaking out of it and conning townsfolk into thinking the original ring was cursed and the shopkeep was a witch that had turned me into a newt (but I got better)! And further extort the shopkeep into not ruining their livelihood. Had the campaign gone on long enough, who knows what sort of shenanigans I would have done with true polymorph.
I used the whale trick in a game I was running a few months ago. I have a killer whale miniatures from frost maiden. Of course the one time I'd use it I don't have the miniature! Lol
I used this trick pretty reliably in a few campaigns. Its almost an instant win* unless the enemy has access to a spell like plane shift. Step one: cast rope trick creating an extra dimensional space. Step two: use mage hand to either place or throw a bag of holding/handy hoversack into the entrance of rope trick. Step 3: profit! This creates a one way portal to the astral plane which will suck up any enemy or friend within 10 feet of the portal. Sooo use with caution. *would love to see this featured
One problem, Bag of Holding says extra dimensional space created by an item, meaning RAW, rope trick will not destroy a bag of holding. Additionally, it requires spare bags of holding, but there is a solution to that. Level 2 Artificers can replicate the bag of holding with the replicate magic item infusion. So, if the DM allows it, this is an amazing trick
@@theaspie3121 That would be a problem if Mike Merls didnt already confirm that this can open an astral gate! Here check it out: www.google.com/amp/s/www.sageadvice.eu/if-i-cast-rope-trick-and-intentionally-throw-a-bag-of-holding-into-it-can-i-get-to-the-astral-plane/amp/
@@teku3985 oh wow. I didn’t know that. Thanks. That is also terrifying because if you cast rope trick and have a bag of holding on you, either you don’t get to make use of the spell yourself, or you leave the bag behind, assuming the spell is used for hiding or something like that. Or you forget you have a bag of holding and the whole party gets a fun trip to the astral plane
@@theaspie3121 Lol! Had this problem come up a few times. But because I had a nice dm, I was able to find a way around it. I hung my bag if holding on like a stick outside of the rope trick and used a mage hand to grab health potions from my bag. Cantrips are awesome
What about the combo with sentinel + polearm master? But wait there is more! If your a fighter that gets the maneuver "pushing attack" you now push them 15 feats away and they loose all movement if you hit as a reaction. At lvl18 fighter rune knight our range with meele gets 15 feat so the party may be save from meeles :) Im just sad, you cant push an enermie over 50 feat on a reaction Q_Q Btw how far can you move an enermie with one character on your turn?
Have you considered something like baleful polymorph the rogue into a horse fly? Flys are hard to hit and since horse flys bite, deal 1 damage then sneak attack
As a Druid cast summon woodland beings. You can summon 8 CR 1/4 creatures, including pixies. Pixies can cast Polymorph. You now have 8 polymorphs to turn your whole party into super powerful beasts.
My house rules follow 3.5 precedent : some abilities of Summoned creatures shouldn't be available. They can't summon additional creatures or use certain spell-like abilities that would unbalance the game mechanics. Suddenly having 8 Polymorphs go off after expending a One Summoning is Extremely unbalanced..
Do I gave my players a cloak that let them polymorph into (and out of) whatever form they want, at will, for as long as they want. This was after they successfully got a wish spell, and used it to get infinite wishes... One wish per day. The first use of the cloak was to become an ancient red dragon and have people ride him for 4 hours... I'm need to nerf that thing.
If they're at a point where they can cast wish then a free polymorph into whatever they want doesn't sound unreasonable! It's basically what Druids get at level 20 anyway! If you want to keep it balanced, limit them to only polymorphing into beasts, which cap at CR 8, or beasts and fey maybe is how I'd do it! If they really want to be a dragon, make them use True Polymorph,. That's their go to option for fancy stuff, and it'll cost them their 9th level spell slot for the day.
Wasn't with polymorph, but shape change. In a level 20 oneshot, our wizard (bladesinger 17/rune knight 3) shape changed into a Marilith and activated bladesong. Next turn he used a bonus action to activate Giant's Might (1d6 extra damage to weapons and unarned strikes) then made 7 attacks, 6 with his longswords (each doing 2d8 + 1d6 + str + int and 1 with his tail (2d10 + 1d6 + str + int) he then action surged and repeated the 7 attacks. I don't remember how much total damage he did but i do remember that the thing he attacked was "reduced to a pile of precise cubes and ribbons as a result of the calculated whirlwind of blades." Great times were had by all.
I'd have several questions for whoever thinks trying to Sleipnir a beast is a better alternative to whack it with any melee weapon and knock it out, if you don't wanna kill it.
Charisma and constitution base hexblade is good agonizing blast and if you get a magic item pick the illusionist bracers from guild masters guid to ravnica
There are at least 2 feats i know of, that can negate the loss of stats when polymorphed, although, i suppose, that only applies if the DM wants it to. I'd have to look them up to see which ones, but i am currently resting after assisting in a colon reconstruction surgery (Dont stick wooden post toppers in your ass, for the love of all that is good in this world) and getting ready to head in and play devil's advocate for a patient who is probably leaving the hospital in handcuffs. why are the double shifts always the ones with the most drama and headaches?
I like the polymorph and power word kill idea but may I suggest a idea of my own making. polymorph and then flesh to stone you can carry several stone figures then throw them throughout the enemy’s ranks and despell the magic
Animal Shapes & Mass Polymorph are also amazing as 'summon stampede' options. AND with Animal Shapes (Lv 8), it lasts TWENTY FOUR HOURS on up to dozens of characters, and you can Change Forms At Will!! Think it's worth a casting of Wish? I do!
Low hp Polymorph is great. Polymorph someone into a frog with 1 hp and no viable attacks. Grab the frog, shove it in a bag or satchel, and command your flying familiar to fly up 200 feet then drop. The enemy will take 20d6 damage and all leftover damage will carry over into its true form. You can even have the party prepare an action to attack your enemy once landing for safe measure. The power word kill RAW should work with polymorph, but 99% of DMs are going to errata that combo once you poly+silvery barbs+PWK the BBG. Great ideas, keep them coming!
2:40, if multiple people cast Polymorph on a creature, only one polymorph spell will be in effect. The person with the highest spell slot used to cast Polymorph (or whatever homebrew rule you use on a tie) will overrule any other Polymorph effects, all other Polymorph effects are forfeit. This means that when the latest application of Polymorph subsides as it times out, it won't revert to its previous form, but ORIGINAL form. Only if the last application of Polymorph ends prematurely - AND the previous cast of Polymorph was still in effect - does he return to his previous form.
Play as Goblin warlock with Arch Fey Patron. Constantly utilize polymorph to be handsome elf. Only reveal what I actually am during 5th session when I needed the spell slot for a big bad. Party thought I was fucking with them and was actually just an elf. Continued being an Elf Gobbo until final session. Arch Fey patron called me a filthy goblin. Party finally believes he's a goblin. Fucked loads of Elf women.
Polymorph to steal? Try Disguise Self to make you look like... yourself. All your carried equipment is included in the Disguise spell, and thus can be hidden from view. And it's a non-concentration spell that lasts up to an hour. "You make yourself-including your clothing, armor, weapons, and other belongings on your person-look different until the spell ends or until you use your action to dismiss it." My DM gave me an Inspiration Point for my Arcane Trickster doing just that when I needed him to walk across a crowded room after stealing a couple very conspicuous but carriable items.
Could a 7th level wizard spend 15,500gp to get a 6th level scroll of Magic Jar? A young dragon has no legendary resistance and regular polymorph is a 4th level spell. A Divination Wizard casting Polymorph on a Young Red Dragon could then cast Magic Jar with the scroll and take over the now commoner with a stored nat 1 portent. I say young red cause it leaves room to grow during the campaign and it would be fun to grow. If a young red is too much would a wyrmling be acceptable?
I love that my Druid/Sorcerer knows Polymorph, and is a homebrewed Circle of Dragons Druid as well! That allows me access to practically ALL dragon knowledge, and I can either Polymorph into a dragon, or wildshape into my Dragonborn type(Sapphire Dragon).
Power Word Kill trick won't work unless original form is below 100hp as well (but then why even bother with polymorph?). Confirmed by the creators in one of the sage advices or erratas. Stacking polymorph won't work either. Having one effect dispells the other. Or rather overwrites. Seduction... better change enemy beast into snail/killer whale.
1) Play bard 14 fighter 2. 2) Magical Secrets to get Divine Word at 14th level. 3) Polymorph the enemy into a tiny crab. 4) Cast Divine Word to win (use action surge if there is more than one enemy). Crabs can't succeed the saving throw.
in regards to the Power Word Kill trick. It doesnt work, RAW. "The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops to 0 hit points or dies." - Polymorph. The key phrase is "or dies". To further support this: "The target assumes the hit points of its new form. When it reverts to its normal form, the creature returns to the number of hit points it had before it transformed." - Polymorph. The sequence of events would be as follows: You polymorph the target into whatever, you cast power word kill and the target "dies". The polymorphed target will THEN revert BACK to its original form and original HP, with no carry over damage since thats not the wording of Power Word Kill. The original target will technically die for a split second but then come back to life the moment it reverts. All you would have accomplished is wasting a 9th level spell slot AND pissing off your target.
Has anyone ever tried using Polymorph on their familiar? Use it to turn your familiar into a Giant Fly. Now you have a familiar with extra 19 extra hit points, 60 ft darkvision, 60 ft fly speed, a carrying capacity of 420 lbs, and is big enough to serve as a flying mount/pack mule (on top of all the stuff familiars can normally do).
"The transformation lasts for the duration, or until the target drops to 0 hit points or dies." Power Word Kill would cause polymorph to end and revert the target back to its previous form, not kill it permanently.
I think it means that the corpse will be in it's true form rather than the polymorphed one, but I can see DMs ruling it your way to not break the game.
@@Rastislav000 i would rule hp of each form overlaps, so if it would kill both forms it dies but if it could only kill the pollymorphed form then it gets to revert to normal and lesser effect.
@@marthachampagne316 I'd say it's up to each DM how to rule this, but I do wonder why are you ruling it this way? Is it just your interpretation of spells or is it more about mechanics within the game? Are you worried that players will use this combo to more or less one shot your monsters/ villains? Or have you never needed to counter overuse of polymorph/ wild shape?
It would do both, actually. it would return to its original form, as a corpse. Just like how literally every shapeshifter in 5e has the clause 'or it dies'. A shapeshifter that dies returns to its normal form as a corpse. Check Sage Advice on the polymorph + power word kill combo.
@@otter1428 no. The spell makes it specifically clear that the spell ends if the targets new form “dies”. The hit points thing is only specified for “if it drops to 0” the spell still ends and you revert to your original form and original hitpoints no matter how the spell ends, in this case the previous creature dying. A lot of people have this same basic reading comprehension problem.
For the polymorph stack the text you provided doesn't say at all that the most recent effect would take priority. It says they don't combine, or the most potent takes over. Polymorph has no objective potency, like a damage die, so polymorph should simply fall into the category of not combining/working at all, OR outright replacing. Like, you can transform them again, but now the first form does NOT exist in reserve. Because otherwise you could polymorph yourself into something strong to protect yourself from being polymorphed. So I can agree that the second polymorph works, but saying that you would revert into the first polymorph makes zero sense to me. I'd say you simply go to base form.
use strongest 5-lvl spell just to scout as an owl. brilliant. you have whole divination school for such tasks. use stacked polymorph on one character instead of two polymorphed friends. perfect. 5-lvl spell slots aren't so cheap. polymorphing an enemy should be considered only if you feel lucky today, or you have 18-20 on your spellcasting ability and means to lower enemy savethrows (disadvantage would be best). or you attack enemy with low wisdom savethrow. but other implications of this spell sound fun in roleplay and some are even strong tactic choices.
Two questions. 1: Can I make my dog in DND immortal through use of questionable spells. 2: can I transfer the consciousness of said dog (be they immortal or not in this case) in to a Tarask? I’m asking for… a friend
You don’t keep your mental stats, only your alignment. As in, goodbye to any “plans” you want to execute while polymorphed, because you aren’t “you” as a rat, you just become… a rat. Doing rat things. Or a horse, doing horse things. Polymorph isn’t wild shape.
