| | Ref | Ouvrage | Question | | Reponse |
|---|
| 641. | DR133 | Dragon #133 | Can a magic-user who is already at
his maximum spell level remove a
spell from his book in order to
research a new spell? | | I assume you mean maximum at that
spell level due to his intelligence. Dropping
a spell from a spell book is allowable.
Some campaigns even allow the magicuser
to exceed the intelligence limit as long
as the character is spending all that time
and money on spell research, though this
should be used only in campaigns in which
money is scarce. |
| 642. | DR133 | Dragon #133 | Are there any limits on the polymorph
other spell? It seems that
this spell is easily abused. For example,
a magic-user could turn himself
into a gold dragon. Since the spell
grants all the abilities of the new
form, the magic-user could assume
human form again whenever it
wasn’t convenient to be a dragon
and still be able to fly, use breath
weapons, etc. Would such a character
lose his character class abilities?
Can he still earn experience? Would
an adult magic-user be turned into
an adult dragon by this spell? Would
the character then age as his original
race, or would he age as a
dragon? Could he reproduce with
other gold dragons? What would
happen if a fire lizard or other unintelligent
creature were polymorphed
into a gold dragon? | | To start, polymorph other means just
that; a caster may not use the spell on
himself. A polymorph other spell can turn
any creature into any other creature type
that is not unique. Remember the system
shock survival roll; the DM must assign
the polymorphed creature a constitution
score if one isn’t listed. Even if the systemshock
check is successful, the polymorphed
creature retains its own mind
and tends to act like the original. Exceedingly
stupid creatures might not even
notice the change.
This fourth-level spell is not powerful
enough to establish a connection between
a recipient creature and another plane,
nor can it bestow magical abilities (a character
turned into a vampire, for example,
could not drain energy levels). It cannot
give the recipient any skill or ability that
must be learned — such as spells, psionic
abilities, or languages. The recipient, however,
physically becomes the creature into
which he has been polymorphed, and he
could breed with others of his new ilk.
Furthermore, the recipient can think like
the type of creature into which he has
been polymorphed, and has certain
instinctive knowledge such as what he
should eat, how to use the new body’s
locomotion and physical attack capabilities,
and how to interpret what his new
senses tell him. This is not the same as
actually becoming the creature in mind,
which happens with a failed intelligence
check as noted in the spell description on
page 78 of the Players Handbook.
As long as the recipient keeps his mind,
he can use his character class abilities
(provided that this is physically possible)
and may draw upon his own knowledge.
The Players Handbook indicates that a
polymorphed player character can
hold and use tools and weapons only if his
new “hands” have digits. Items carried by
a character when polymorphed become
part of the creature when the change
takes place, and cannot be recovered until
the creature reassumes its normal form. A
polymorphed character can earn experience
as long as he keeps his own mind.
In the example you have provided
(assuming that the recipient of the spell is
another magic-user), the caster of the spell
would have to decide how big a gold
dragon the recipient magic-user will
become. When the spell takes effect, the
recipient must make a constitution check.
As you suggest, the adult magic-user
would become an adult dragon with
appropriate hit points (if he makes his
constitution check). When determining the
character’s chance to assume a gold
dragon’s mentality, divide the dragon’s
total hit points by 4 to determine its effective
hit dice (see the Monster Manual, page
31, Dragon’s Saving Throws). There should
be at least a 1% chance per day that the
recipient will assume the creature’s mentality,
regardless of adjustments.
This magic-user would be able to speak
(in the magic-user’s languages only), fly
(and carry passengers), and use the
dragon’s breath weapons. The magic-user
could use his spells provided that material
components were still at hand, and he
could still read his books and renew spells.
He does not gain the ability to speak a gold
dragon’s native tongue, nor use any of an
adult dragon’s spells, and he cannot polymorph
himself as a gold dragon can. A fire
lizard cannot be polymorphed into a gold
dragon because it is not as intelligent as a
gold dragon (see the second sentence of
the spells description in the Players Handbook);
the spell would fail. In the example
involving the magic-user above, the recipient
is assumed to be at least as intelligent
as an average gold dragon (intelligence 17
or better).
If a polymorphed creature assumes the
mentality of his new form, however, all of
the originals abilities and memories are
lost, and the creature gains the full spectrum
of its new form’s abilities. You may
rule that the acquisition of these abilities
will take time and perhaps instruction, but
you can assume that the creature will
eventually learn them. If the new gold
dragon in the above example ever learned
to use a gold dragon’s polymorph self
ability, however, any change of form will
dispel the polymorph other spell. The
creature will return to normal and must
make a system shock survival roll. Shapechanging
creatures who are the unwilling
recipients of polymorph other spells can
negate the spell in a similar manner (see
the DMG, page 45).
The polymorphed gold dragon in our
example would grow as a gold dragon
would, but he would age as a human as
long as he kept his mind. Aging in the
AD&D game is sometimes a function of
the mind, not the body. |
| 643. | DR134 | Dragon #134 | D&D: What do you think of house rules? | | House rules are fine - sometimes.
House rules are rotten at other times.
Here are some of the key rules about
house rules:
- Make sure they are really necessary.
- Make sure everybody knows about
them ahead of time.
- Enforce them consistently. They
should be written down and used just like
the published rules.
- Change them promptly when they
don't work out.
- Remember that your house rules go
only with your "house." Don't assume that
they are in effect when you play in
another game, and never give another DM
a hard time about not using them. No set
of house rules is better than the published
rules or another DM's house rules -
they're just different.
|
| 644. | DR134 | Dragon #134 | D&D: My friends and I are starting in a
new D&D® game campaign, but the
only characters we have are from an
old AD&D® game campaign. Can we
just transfer these characters to the
new campaign? | | We don't recommend transferring
AD&D® game characters to the D&D® game;
create new D&D® game characters instead.
The two game systems involved are only
superficially alike. |
| 645. | DR134 | Dragon #134 | D&D: Is it okay for a player to have more
than one character in a campaign? | | Many players have more than one character
in a given campaign. This allows a
choice of characters for any particular
adventure, and it insures that the player
has a character to play if one of his characters gets involved in a prolonged adventure
or project. Some DMs allow players to
play more than one character at a time,
but we recommend this when only a few
people are playing; otherwise, it becomes
too complicated to manage. |
| 646. | DR134 | Dragon #134 | D&D: Is it possible for demi-humans to
follow other classes after they have
reached their maximum level? The
notes in the demi-human section of
the Companion Set Players Companion
(page 29) seem to indicate that
this is so. | | Demi-humans never follow other classes.
The notes that have you confused refer to
the increased fighting abilities that demihumans
can gain after they have reached
maximum level. |
| 647. | DR134 | Dragon #134 | D&D: What are the "attack ranks" (A-M)
noted in the Players Companion,
pages 30-3l? | | "Attack Rank" refers to the column of
the combat chart that the character may
use. This allows demi-humans with extra
experience to fight almost as well as fighters.
The small letters (a-d) refer to other
special abilities that demi-humans can get
after reaching maximum level. These
special abilities include multiple attacks
per melee round and the other fighter
combat options (Players Companion, page
18), and resistance to various attack forms.
A careful rereading of the demi-humans
section (Players Companion, pages 29-31)
should clear up your confusion. |
| 648. | DR134 | Dragon #134 | D&D: How long does lycanthropy take to
set in? Can it be cured? Can a player
character who is turned into a
lycanthrope continue play? | | Lycanthropy has an onset time of 2-24
(2d12) days, and until that time this magical
disease is curable by a cleric of 11th or
higher level. Once the change occurs,
however, the afflicted character becomes a
DM-controlled monster. |
| 649. | DR134 | Dragon #134 | D&D: What happens when a cleric turns
undead? Does the turning have a
duration? | | The undead run away from the cleric
for one turn, then avoid the cleric for a
full day, unless the cleric attacks them. |
| 650. | DR134 | Dragon #134 | D&D: Other than for weapon mastery,
what good are experience points after a character has reached maximum
level? | | Weapon mastery requires money and
time, not experience points. Experience
earned after a character has reached
maximum level has no effect on the game. |
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