Baleful Polymorph question

[liquidformat]

So Baleful Polymorph (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/balefulPolymorph.htm) has four exceptions to the standard statistics of the assumed form they are as follows:

The target retains its own alignment (and personality, within the limits of the new form’s ability scores).
The target retains its own hit points.
The target is treated as having its normal Hit Dice for purpose of adjudicating effects based on HD, such as the sleep spell, though it uses the new form’s base attack bonus, base save bonuses, and all other statistics derived from Hit Dice.
The target also retains the ability to understand (but not to speak) the languages it understood in its original form. It can write in the languages it understands, but only the form is capable of writing in some manner (such as drawing in the dirt with a paw).


I was wondering what exactly does this fourth bullet point entail?

Does it mean you get all of the mental stats of said animal except you can still understand and write any languages you knew before? In which case having say the intelligence of a rat would make understanding language meaningless as you are to stupid to now utilize said languages to communicate...

Or is this a really badly written text to say you maintain your mental stats? In which case even though you can't talk you are still cognoscente of what has happened and maybe able to communicate enough to be set free?

I normally go with the second interpretation and thought that was the correct one until I just reread the spell.

[Elves]

It's your preference of either fairytale logic or dumb-literal-RAW logic. Even if you're a rock, you can understand English.

[Duke of Urrel]

The target also retains the ability to understand (but not to speak) the languages it understood in its original form. It can write in the languages it understands, but only the form is capable of writing in some manner (such as drawing in the dirt with a paw).


I was wondering what exactly does this fourth bullet point entail?

Does it mean you get all of the mental stats of said animal except you can still understand and write any languages you knew before? In which case having say the intelligence of a rat would make understanding language meaningless as you are to stupid to now utilize said languages to communicate...

Yes, the text does mean that "you get all the mental stats of said animal except you can still understand and write any languages you knew before." Consider the Speak with Animals spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/speakWithAnimals.htm), which enables you "ask questions of and receive answers from animals." This spell does not improve the Intelligence of any animal, yet it enables the animal not only to understand speech, but to produce speech of its own.

The rules seem to suggest that in the game of D&D, Intelligence is not required to speak a language, only to acquire one. Since the Speak with Animals spell magically endows an animal with the ability to speak, it does not need Intelligence to do so.

Remember this famous dialogue from the "Wizard of Oz."


Scarecrow: I haven't got a brain... only straw.

Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?

Scarecrow: I don't know... But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking... don't they?

Dorothy: Yes, I guess you're right.


The rules also indicate that in order to speak (or cast spells), you normally need a mouth that is capable of speaking. This is why you lose the ability to speak when you polymorph yourself into a creature that is not normally able to talk, even if you retain an Intelligence score of three or higher.

[liquidformat]

Remember this famous dialogue from the "Wizard of Oz."

I agree with your logic as a whole, however, if you got to the end of Wizard of Oz do remember the Scare Crow does in fact have a brain and is smart he just didn't think so...

With that said, I am still not sure if this should be compared with speak with animal spell, the ability to write signifies a level of cognizance that is above an animal's...