Need Help Parsing a Power

[subject42]

How do you parse the Metamorphosis psionic power?

Do you parse it like this:

You assume the form of a creature of the (same type as your normal form), (or any other type except construct, elemental, outsider, and undead.)

Or like this:

You assume the form of (a creature of the same type as your normal form, or any other type) except construct, elemental, outsider, and undead.

I ask because I'm trying to figure out if a warforged psion can turn into another type of construct.

[tyckspoon]

Common practice holds that one of the major benefits of being an Outsider is that it allows one to Alter Self/Polymorph into them, so.. whichever one leads to that interpretation.

[The Glyphstone]

Considering it's a fairly standard optimization trick to find ways to become an Outsider for all the excellent forms Alter Self and Polymorph give you, I'd say that the answer would be yes. CharOp very rarely gets something like that so completely wrong on such a large scale without at least someone calling it out as questionable for debate.

EDIT: What's the creature type of a ninja, because someone just Alter Self'ed into one above me.

[subject42]

I thought the same, but alter self doesn't have the type restriction.

That's my concern.

[Lycanthromancer]

Metamorphosis isn't based on alter self, though the latter only allows you to turn into creatures of your own creature type.

But yes, a warforged can become another type of construct, as can his psicrystal (though not one made from ectoplasm - so no astral constructs; ironically, alter self DOES allow this, for a make-your-own-form ability).

[TheMadLinguist]

If you couldn't turn into your original type as an undead, elemental, outsider, or construct, they would have just said

"You can turn into any type of form except undead or elemental or outsider or construct"