best "baleful" Polymorph options?

[snafuy]

Let's say you're a 5E arcane full caster, your party is facing an enemy group with multiple "named villain" (non-mook) targets, and your DM is annoyed about Banishment, so you decide to Polymorph one of them instead. What beast do you pick?

It seems like the form should be something sturdy enough that the other enemies can't just punch it once and get their ally back. But also something that isn't a significant threat to you, or something that can run away. There may also be other factors I'm not considering yet.

[ProsecutorGodot]

I think I recall Killer Whale being a good suggestion for this.

Assuming the battle is taking place on land and in an area large enough to hold a Killer Whale, they have no land speed and 90 hitpoints to soak up before the polymorph can be broken through force. They hold their breath for 30 minutes and as such, won't take suffocation damage either. The only downside as far as I can tell is the significant size of the creature (it either won't fit or could be used as cover by your enemies) and it's bite attack being relatively high damage attack.

Your results may vary of course.

[Ventruenox]

I like Brontosaurus. Plenty of HP, animal intelligence (potential ally for Rangers & Druids), but most notably, the size of the beast alone dramatically shifts the battlefield. If you are in an enclosed space, moo hoo ha ha.

[Blacky the Blackball]

Tortoise.

It's completely inoffensive, and slow enough to not be able to escape easily. The shell gives it some protection, so it's not going to accidentally take damage and transform back unless someone goes out of their way to attack it, and the hard shell also prevents it from squeezing through small openings to get away from you.

[NotPrior]

Any tiny sized creature can be carried around easily once successfully grappled (which shouldn't be hard). A creature that can be carried can be disposed of or contained in a variety of ways, including tossing it into a demiplane or dropping it into a portable hole or even a bag of devouring, which will annihilate them. This is effectively a one turn kill for anything with a poor wis save and no legendary resistances as long as three characters are lucky and coordinated- one person casts polymorph, one person casts demiplane, sets up the hole or opens the bag, and one person grapples the little guy and throws them in (which may technically require a shove).

[MrWesson22]

I know this isn't what you asked, but have you considered using Wall of X spells instead? That's a great way to divide a battlefield, separate/effectively eliminate one enemy for a period of time, and it isn't banishment.

[Aaron Underhand]

I recommend any beast with about 15 hp, and pairing the polymorph with a sleep spell. I like to make sure it cannot be returned with a single magic missile or Eldritch blast, which could otherwise be a slight reduction in an enemy's attack....

[MagneticKitty]

Turn him into a turtle and throw him into a bag of holding where he will die of suffocation.

[Shining Wrath]

It depends on the enemy's position relative to the rest of the party. If they are at the front, turn them into a snail and have someone else pick them up and drop them into a pocket. Even at maximum snail speed (and recall they have the snail's mind so figuring out which way to go is hard) it will take several rounds for them to emerge, and very few battles last beyond 5 rounds.

[No brains]

There was another thread about this not too long ago. I'll edit in a link if I can find it. Here it is: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?565407-Best-polymorph-shape-to-disable-and-enemy

If your DM allows ANY animal, turning an enemy into a sea turtle is good bet. No land speed, reasonable-seeming AC, a weak bite, and probably inoffensive enough to grapple and restrain at the end of battle.

If you MUST use a statted animal, seahorse might be a decent bet. It partly depends on how your DM will rule on 'holding breath'. A seahorse might change back instantly, or it would have no option to stop holding its gills, buying you a minute. Maybe giant crab could work. 15 AC is kinda tough to hit and a +3 attack won't hinder your party much.

As some people have said, this combos best with someone else casting animal friendship or the like. Any animal with a bad wis save is toast. Few are good, but boars, the crab, camels, and rot grub swarms are prime targets.

[Laserlight]

The answer somewhat depends on the environment. If you're in an open area, you might change them into a bird and let the bird fly up and away for a few turns. Then drop your concentration. Even if the fall doesn't kill him, he's probably a few hundred feet away and it'll take him a while to get back to the fight.

[Beechgnome]

Camel is another reasonable choice. 15 HP, d4 attack. Also has AC 9. I feel like that isn't a weakness though. I'm not sure how many enemies should have the meta-knowledge of 'kill our polymorphed ally and he'll turn back!' Mostly you want a few hit points to prevent area of effect damage from reverting them.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Camel is another reasonable choice. 15 HP, d4 attack. Also has AC 9. I feel like that isn't a weakness though. I'm not sure how many enemies should have the meta-knowledge of 'kill our polymorphed ally and he'll turn back!' Mostly you want a few hit points to prevent area of effect damage from reverting them.

Camels have a 50ft land speed however, faster than most player characters. Remember that OP is looking for durable, slow moving options.

It's not necessarily meta knowledge either, the enemies in this scenario are "named non mook NPCs" so it's not unreasonable to assume there's an enemy arcane caster who knows how Polymorph works.