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The polymorph spell states, in part:

The target’s game statistics, including mental ability scores, are replaced by the statistics of the chosen beast. It retains its alignment and personality.

Does retaining its personality suffice to let it remember who its allies are? Even if transformed into something stupid like a T-rex? What does it even mean for a beast with Int 2 to have someone's "personality"?

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The target quite definitely remembers who its allies are. For contrast, the Feeblemind spell reduces Intelligence to 1, and explicitly states that they still remember who their friends are and will fight to defend them. In general, animals tend to know who their friends are, sometimes more reliably than humans.

As for what it means for a beast with Int 2 to have someone's personality, that's more of a roleplaying issue which is difficult to define. I'd suggest thinking about the animals you are familiar with and how they express their personalities despite their lack of intelligence. I think most dog or cat owners would agree that animals have distinct personalities which can be very visible.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Feeblemind is an interesting point, but it's a little different that turning someone into a beast that would normally not have "friends" and would eat anything in its path. Really the only RAW argument we can make is if one's "personality" includes knowing who one's friends are. \$\endgroup\$
    – PurpleVermont
    Commented Apr 27, 2015 at 1:55
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    \$\begingroup\$ @PurpleVermont I can see your point, but Feeblemind suggests that lowering Int won't cause it to forget who its friends are, and turning into a beast that would normally eat everything in its path already doesn't matter because it doesn't have the eating-everything personality of the beast. \$\endgroup\$
    – Miniman
    Commented Apr 27, 2015 at 1:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ My reading of Feeblemind though is more like "despite it's lowered Int, it still knows who its friends are" and it feels like that might be an explicit exception to a general rule that a very low Int creature doesn't know friend from foe (which is why they had to state it explicitly there). It would have been helpful if they stated it in the Polymorph description too if that was the intent. \$\endgroup\$
    – PurpleVermont
    Commented Apr 27, 2015 at 4:07
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    \$\begingroup\$ Wolves have friends and pack-mates and they have Int 2. Having very low Int doesn't stop you from having friends in any way. \$\endgroup\$
    – Erik
    Commented Apr 28, 2015 at 14:51

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