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[Duke of Urrel]

Also, what happens when you return to being a human? Do you get your feat back?

Yes, you get your feat back. Why not?

Does this mean now you get to re-pick it as whatever you want? After all, you forgot the ability, now you can pick something new to learn in a flash.

It's more like forgetting how to use the feat and then remembering how to use it again.

I get this notion from earlier versions of the Polymorph spell – version 3.0 or perhaps even the old AD&D. The notion was that polymorphing was "disorienting." So it makes sense to me that while you're polymorphed as a human, you're disoriented enough that your skill checks may suffer and you can't use one of your feats. But when you turn back into a human, the disorientation passes and you return to normal.

I will say that you can make a good and strong argument that both feats and skills are "based on class levels" and therefore should not be affected by polymorphing at all. It is only out of respect for the FAQs (as well as criticism) that I have proposed my own house rules for the human bonus feat and human skill points.

Nope. Polymorph gives you racial bonus feats. Even the FAQ agrees.

You're right. The description of the Alter Self spell does carve out some exceptions to the general rule that it doesn't bestow the "extraordinary qualities" of the new form, and this is one of them. (I shouldn't make hasty edits late at night...)

I think I was confused by another one of my house rules, which is that if a racial skill bonus depends upon an extraordinary special quality that a Polymorph spell doesn't bestow, you shouldn't gain that racial skill bonus. For example, if you turn into an owl using any Polymorph spell less powerful than the Shapechange spell, you don't gain Low-Light Vision; therefore, it doesn't make any sense that you should gain the owl's racial skill bonus of +8 to Spot checks in dim light. In contrast, when you turn into a merman or merwoman, you should gain the racial Swim check bonus that the merfolk have, because this bonus obviously comes with the fish tail (not to mention the swim speed) that you also gain.

But even if I cling to my house rule, you're still right; when you turn into a human, even using the Alter Self spell, you should acquire the human bonus feat and human skill points. There is no extraordinary special quality that these human traits depend on; you should just acquire them.

The method for acquiring human bonus skill points should be the reverse of the method for losing them. The number of human bonus skill points to be acquired by a non-human should be your character level plus three. Divide this number by the number of skills in which you've already added skill points. Drop any fraction. The result is the bonus that you now add to all your skill checks as long as you're polymorphed into a human.

And the human bonus feat that you gain when you're polymorphed into a human can be any feat you choose that you otherwise qualify for.