A Pun-Pun build is starting to look plausible

[qube]

Okay, so you're not a pine tree. But if you've cast Shapechange, you could be a fire elemental, a violet fungus, a gelatinous cube or a treant.

... I'm not sure if you're joking or not.

The point was the initial analogy was flawed: (paraphrasing) if you cut a limb off while true polymorphed, it wouldn't change back; because if you paint a cucumber and paint it blue, the piece you cut off doesn't stop being plainted blue.

But if you get killed while true polymorphed, you turn back to your original shape; while if you kill the painted cucumber ... it keeps being blue.

if paint doesn't react like polymoph in the cases we know ... why would we assume it does in the cases we don't?
That's why unlike a painted cumcumber, something like a pulse is a better analogy.

	Painted cucumber	Heartbeat	True polymoph
on death	unchanged	changed	chanced
on seperation of limb	unchanged	changed	?

One might say, that if you cut of a limb, that part acts as though it's reduced to zero hit points.