Polymorpher's item

[schreier]

I saw a post that mentioned the druid's satchel from dungeon magazine 92:


Druid's Satchel: This small leather bag is fitted with a strap, allowing it to be worn over the shoulder. A druid's satchel appears large enough to hold about 5 pounds of material. In fact, it is similar to a bag of holding and can actually hold 2 cubic feet or 120 pounds of material. Even when filled, the satchel weighs only 5 pounds. When the wearer reaches into it for a specific item, that item is always on top; retrieving an item from a druid's satchel is a free action.

If the wearer assumes a different form through the use of a spell like polymorph self or an ability like wild shape, the satchel changes form to accommodate the new form chosen but is not absorbed into the new form. Its weight and the limit on its contents remain the same.

Caster Level: 5th; Prerequisites: Craft Wondrous Item, Leomund's secret chest, polymorph self or the ability to wild shape; Market Price: 3,000 gp; Weight: 5 lb.

This is the only item I've found that seems to address non-wildshape shapechanging and maintaining the use of an item. Obviously, the size (2 cubic feet or 120 pounds) seems a little skewed (they probably meant 12 cubic feet to be consistent with the haversack?) .... but the idea that it changes shape to fit a new shape sounds incredibly useful. Now, it would be awfully strange to have the satchel on a fish, or an ooze ... but it says it's possible.

I was tempted to try a similar property on other items. Does this seem reasonable? It appears that the polymorph self/wild shape requirement addresses the specific need from a crafter perspective. Any idea what kind of cost to associate with the power?

Or is this just a case of a 3.0 item (which probably mimiced the wilding clasp) not being well written, so would not work in 3.5 as described?

Thanks
schreier

[StreamOfTheSky]

When the change occurs, your equipment, if any, either remains worn or held by the new form (if it is capable of wearing or holding the item), or melds into the new form and becomes nonfunctional. When you revert to your true form, any objects previously melded into the new form reappear in the same location on your body they previously occupied and are once again functional. Any new items you wore in the assumed form and can’t wear in your normal form fall off and land at your feet; any that you could wear in either form or carry in a body part common to both forms at the time of reversion are still held in the same way. Any part of the body or piece of equipment that is separated from the whole reverts to its true form.


This spell functions like alter self, except that you change the willing subject into another form of living creature.

The main reason such items don't usually exist is because they don't need to. Wild Shape is the only class ability or spell with that annoying hindrance, and only after errata changed it to have that annoyance, it used to work like polymorph and let you just keep wearing equipment that the new form could wear. Which is especially silly once you get elemental shapes, which can use all the same body slots as a humanoid, and are still cheated out of them.

EDIT: Actually, it gets really silly if you enter Master of Many Forms and can wild shape into humanoid forms, and doing so leaves you naked. Great for me creating Cutey Honey in a D&D game, not so great for common sense.

[schreier]

Makes sense ... I was actually trying to apply it to the Change Shape supernatural ability of the Irda (Dragonlance) - which says items that can't be word fall to the ground. Was originally trying to get a canon way that would allow the items to meld with the body, but this seemed like a good second option.

It seems like lycanthropes have the same problem

[Bronk]

There's also the 'dimensional pocket' from Dragon 313. It just sticks to your skin or other solid object and becomes an invisible pouch of holding. It isn't technically being worn or carried, so it works fine with wild shape too.

[schreier]

Another option I just thought of - could get a ring of arming ... I wonder if you could expand it to include items other than armor and weapons?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

The Magic Item Compendium gives rules on how to combine multiple items into one, so just take a suit of armor, add a 'possum pouch, add the druid's satchel, and follow up with an enveloping pit for a 10' x 10' x 50' storage space on some morphing armor -- for REALLY cheap.

[schreier]

The Change Shape ability, which is the relevant text, reads (in the SRD):

Change Shape
A creature with this special quality has the ability to assume the appearance of a specific creature or type of creature (usually a humanoid), but retains most of its own physical qualities. A true seeing spell or ability reveals the creature’s natural form. A creature using change shape reverts to its natural form when killed, but separated body parts retain their shape. A creature cannot use change shape to take the form of a creature with a template. Changing shape results in the following changes to the creature ....

....

Any gear worn or carried by the creature that can’t be worn or carried in its new form instead falls to the ground in its space. If the creature changes size, any gear it wears or carries that can be worn or carried in its new form changes size to match the new size. (Nonhumanoid-shaped creatures can’t wear armor designed for humanoid-shaped creatures, and viceversa.) Gear returns to normal size if dropped.

__________________

Would something like contingency (casting telekinesis to move dropped items into a storage item) or wish (changing the change self ability to treat equipment exactly as it is treated in polymorph - absorbed but non-functional if unable to wear ... or even absorbed with powers maintained (so more than polymorph)) work?

[The Viscount]

There's totally support to do this to other items using the Wilding Clasp. It's expensive, but it works.