Long working polymorph

[ayvango]

I'm searching for a spell that grants a mage ability to polymorph into more sturdy form, like legendary ape, and stay in it for the day long. So that mage could assume this form, and place his items on top of it and continue casting from it.

Normal polymorph has duration of minutes. Polymorph Any Object lasts long, but dampen Int, which is crucial for a wizard. I've found Animal Shapes spell with hours duration. It has some limitations and consumes 8-th level slot. Is there more suitable spells for the task?

DMM is banned, Incantatrix is banned, any shenanigans with metamagic would be banned immediately after I expose them to the master.

[Story]

Persist Spell increases the duration of personal spells (i.e. Draconic Polymorph) to 24 hours, but it is metamagic, and will probably get banned as you mentioned, especially as there's pretty much no non cheesy way to use it.

[John Longarrow]

Closest I can think would be extended Alter Self... Keep your Int but also keep your other stats.

What are you trying to use the forms for?

[ayvango]

Closest I can think would be extended Alter Self... Keep your Int but also keep your other stats.

What are you trying to use the forms for?

Took 3 feats: power attack, improved bull rush, shock trooper. Then transform to big badass, took large weapon, put on defence items, cast many useful spell on self including divine power (arcane disciple:competition) and chaaaarge to the heart's content. At the same time familiar is transformed to something with arms and speech and supports me with magic.

[Zanos]

Just use PaO to turn yourself into a creature with high intelligence. Black Ethergaunts have base 31 intelligence, 15 natural armor, and 12/18/14 physicals.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

The phylactery of change is in the Arms & Equipment Guide, and it grants a single CL 7 (or 8 if created with the Words of Creation feat -- for free!) form (only) but lasts for as long as you're wearing it. So you could polymorph into a girallon and wield a 4-handed weapon (an extra 50% Str damage per hit) and wreck face all day long. It's pretty cheap, too! Then buy a hat of disguise so you don't get attacked every time you enter a new town.

I'd suggest a 7 or 8 headed hydra, but unless you're Large, polymorph still maintains the size limitations of alter self.

[edit] Also buy a super-cheap pearl of speech, from the MIC. You won't be able to talk in girallon form, otherwise.

[John Longarrow]

Ah, then your not so much interested in useful abilities as straight up melee abilities.

Be an outsider. Get a sizing weapon (preferably one you can toss greater mighty wallop on) and alter self into a Dwarf Ancestor. Large with +18 NA will allow you to do a reasonable incredible hulk routine.

Down side to "All day buff + gear for new form" is if you polymorph gets dispelled your are left sitting in a pile of useless gear until you can recast.

Upside to alter self is if you are running a good wizard you can cast some neat abjurations to up your AC and hit up abjurant champion as a pClass to really play fun games with high AC.

[Zanos]

Oh, this is for hitting stuff? Grey Ethergaunt not super helpful then. This shouldn't really be necessary if you're worried about gear, though.

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.

If the form is sufficiently humanoid, like most forms capable of casting spells are, all of your gear should be fine. Either polymorph when you know danger is near, or pick up a lesser/normal/greater quicken rod, as appropriate for your preferred flavor of bulking up.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Oh, this is for hitting stuff? Grey Ethergaunt not super helpful then. This shouldn't really be necessary if you're worried about gear, though.

If the form is sufficiently humanoid, like most forms capable of casting spells are, all of your gear should be fine. Either polymorph when you know danger is near, or pick up a lesser/normal/greater quicken rod, as appropriate for your preferred flavor of bulking up.Another reason I specified girallon. It's humanoid enough that anything that fits a human should fit on it.

[ayvango]

Thanks for black ethergaunt. Is a good choice for cases when I'd like to be a caster, not a bruiser.

Dwarf Ancestor has very large natural armor, but I could no start as outsider in that game, and otherworldy feat is also unreachable.

Items give no problem: rings and amulets adjusts to any size, the weapon would have sizing property, and I use no armor to avoid arcane spell failure, replacing it with monk belt.

But the question about long polymoph is still unresolved. Black Ethergaunt has long duration but it is good for Int, not for Str. And if I would PAO into something with good strength, I would get poor Int as drawback. So what spells allow to change form for a long time, but keep the Intelligence untouched?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

But the question about long polymoph is still unresolved. Black Ethergaunt has long duration but it is good for Int, not for Str. And if I would PAO into something with good strength, I would get poor Int as drawback. So what spells allow to change form for a long time, but keep the Intelligence untouched?I take it you didn't see my posts?

[ayvango]

I take it you didn't see my posts?

Arms & Equipment guide is outdated. But there is still obvious way to craft wondrous item with persist polymorph for 2000 * 4 * 7 = 56 000 gold. That solution is orthogonal with the original question about spells.

[Keral]

Thrall of juiblex for at will polymorph? I'm not sure what else you need for your build tho...

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Arms & Equipment guide is outdated. But there is still obvious way to craft wondrous item with persist polymorph for 2000 * 4 * 7 = 56 000 gold. That solution is orthogonal with the original question about spells.A.) The item is more limited than a regular at-will polymorph effect, and B.) the A&EG is 3.0, with many of the items remaining unupdated outside of errata, so it's entirely valid in 3.5 games.

Otherwise, look into divine minion for at-will wild shape into a baboon (and ibis) for +1 LA, tibbit for a housecat, a level in shapeshifting druid for pseudo-lycanthropy, or actual lycanthropy for a ton of HD and LA. I'd suggest a psychoactive skin of proteus, but that's quite expensive for early levels. It's one of the best items in the game, but you do pay for it.

[Troacctid]

Sentinel of Bharrai?

[ayvango]

The question is about spells, not classes. I'd like to play arcane heirophant.

[Troacctid]

Oh, what's wrong with wild shape then?

[MaxiDuRaritry]

The question is about spells, not classes. I'd like to play arcane heirophant.How about aspect of the wolf + Extended alter self? You could become a 5 HD animal -- preferably one with hands, like a silverback gorilla. Less powerful than polymorph, but it lasts for 20 minutes per level and costs two low level spell slots. Alternately, aberrate + Extended alter self. Then you could be an aberration of 5 HD or less. Neither would boost your ability scores overmuch, but they do grant a number of very useful abilities, nonetheless.

[ayvango]

Oh, what's wrong with wild shape then?
Oh, what's wrong with wild shape then?

It would be achieved quite late: 5th-lvl druid at 10th character (9 caster) level. At this points polymorph spell would be already available. The wild shape progression would come to maximum at the 15th level. Close to PAO and animal shapes spell. So it would be wise to trade wildshapre for other class feature

[Troacctid]

You should be getting it at ECL 7 or 8 on an Arcane Hierophant build. But if you want it sooner, you can be a Mulhorandi Divine Minion for +1 LA.

[ayvango]

You should be getting it at ECL 7 or 8 on an Arcane Hierophant build. But if you want it sooner, you can be a Mulhorandi Divine Minion for +1 LA.

Arcane Hierophant has tough requirement of +4 BAB. I would get it only after wizard 1, druid 3, mystic theurge 4.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Arcane Hierophant has tough requirement of +4 BAB. I would get it only after wizard 1, druid 3, mystic theurge 4.A skillful +1 necklace of natural weapons keyed to your unarmed strike would get around that quite handily; you'd have it at level 6 or before, regardless of your classes. Also, LA buyoff is potentially a thing.

Or you could boost your BAB by temporarily contracting lycanthropy, preferably via the curse of lycanthropy spell.

[Zanos]

A skillful +1 necklace of natural weapons keyed to your unarmed strike would get around that quite handily; you'd have it at level 6 or before, regardless of your classes. Also, LA buyoff is potentially a thing.

Or you could boost your BAB by temporarily contracting lycanthropy, preferably via the curse of lycanthropy spell.
Skillful only works if you can somehow level up while attacking.

In addition, the wielder's base attack bonus improves to a minimum of 3/4 his level (as a cleric of the same character level) when he attacks with a skillful weapon, though he gains no such bonus with any other weapon, even if a skillful weapon is wielded at the same time.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

Skillful only works if you can somehow level up while attacking.Then do it while you're whacking away at a training dummy to "improve your technique." It's both mechanical and nice and fluffy at the same time.