wild shape and curse items that change gender

[jk7275]

This is something that came up in my path finder group
I have a belt of giant strength +6 with the drawback of changing gender and the party has druid. Now you can have only polymorph effect at a time and isn't changing gender a polymorph effect? If so would that make wild shape impossible as that is a polymorph effect

[Crake]

The section that says you can only have one polymorph effect at one time answers your question for you:


You can only be affected by one polymorph spell at a time. If a new polymorph spell is cast on you (or you activate a polymorph effect, such as wild shape), you can decide whether or not to allow it to affect you, taking the place of the old spell. In addition, other spells that change your size have no effect on you while you are under the effects of a polymorph spell.

I wouldn't be so sure that changing your gender is necessarily a polymorph effect though, since it's not turning you into another creature, just changing your gender:


Polymorph: a polymorph spell transforms your physical body to take on the shape of another creature.

Considering the belt's function continues when you wildshape, you would simply have the gender of your wildshape form reversed in addition to the bonus strength.

[jk7275]

The section that says you can only have one polymorph effect at one time answers your question for you:



I wouldn't be so sure that changing your gender is necessarily a polymorph effect though, since it's not turning you into another creature, just changing your gender:



Considering the belt's function continues when you wildshape, you would simply have the gender of your wildshape form reversed in addition to the bonus strength.

There is this line from the ultimate equipment book "drawbacks remain in effect as long as the item is possessed"
What takes priority what I quoted or what you quoted?


I can see someone argue that it must be a polymorph effect due to alter self. Why cant a human male use alter self to change into a human female ? I haven't seen anything saying you cant do that

[Segev]

Assuming you have a true form, the curse applies to that. If you have abilities that let you assume forms that would include forms which are the opposite sex of your normal one, the curse would, at most, cause you to have to invert your choice as to sex to appear as due to it flipping them from "expected." More likely, the shapeshifting would simply override the curse for the form you're assuming. It would not, however, restore your true form's original sex. You'd be in a "false form" when polymorphing into "you, but of the opposite - and your original - sex."

[Jack_Simth]

Personally, as a DM, I'd rule that until such time as the curse is gone, you always assume a physical gender opposite of what you intended. AKA, someone who knows about the curse and tries to work around it gives you the form specified by the polymorph effect, someone who is not trying that gets you a flipped form from what was specified for the polymorph effect.

Because it is a CURSE.