6
\$\begingroup\$

Say a level 20 human wizard named Dumbledore is tired of his hand hurting. Said appendage was damaged magically and cannot be cured by any known means (short of deity magic or a Wish spell, which apparently Dumbledore cannot cast). Will a permanent transformation of True Polymorph rid Dumbledore of the problem? Specifically, can a permanent True Polymorph:

  1. Cure injuries, including amputations (I'm guessing yes)
  2. Cure poisons, regardless of source (mundane, magical, etc)
  3. Cure disease, regardless of source (mundane, magical, etc)
  4. End curses, hexes, and similar effects
Improve this question
\$\endgroup\$
4
  • \$\begingroup\$ Duplicate question \$\endgroup\$ – Jason_c_o Jul 9 '15 at 20:27
  • 3
    \$\begingroup\$ Not a dupe, it appears that he broke up a series of questions on true polymorph, to include providing a link to this question in one of the others. \$\endgroup\$ – KorvinStarmast Jul 9 '15 at 20:53
  • \$\begingroup\$ But it asks the same thing, does it not? Can you polymorphism into yourself to cure ailments. \$\endgroup\$ – Jason_c_o Jul 9 '15 at 21:42
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ Not the same thing. The one you link to asks if you can polymorph into yourself, but this one doesn't require polymorphing into anything in particular- it asks if any other form will cure ailments. \$\endgroup\$ – Taejang Jul 13 '15 at 13:35
6
\$\begingroup\$

In order:

  1. Yes with a but. Polymorphing into a fixed version of yourself is an easy application of the spell. This could also be achieved by polymorphing into a different race version of yourself, and then polymorphing back if people are really being literal about the "different" creature portion. Technically, you are different than the you from a second ago, but that's really just splitting hairs. The but to this comes with the persistence of the magical effect. If the injury was caused by magical means that are no longer present, but the wound lingers with magical damage preventing it from healing, then it's up to your DM to rule whether or not they'll permit polymorph to fix the damage. I personally would retain that kind of persistent effect through a polymorph and impose the significant wound on whatever form they took. Example: A wizard with a crippled arm polymorphs into an adult red dragon to fix his crippled arm. Upon completing the spell and making it permanent, the new dragon discovers that one of his wings is crippled in a manner very similar to the wizard's arm. You can see where that is going.
  2. Yes, but only if you change into something that's immune to the poison that's affecting you. So ensure the thing you change into gets to keep your caster levels otherwise you're stuck. Like if you polymorphed into a vampire version of yourself, you wouldn't be poisoned anymore due to your immunity to constitution based effects.
  3. Same as 2.
  4. I would rule this no. If what you're looking at is ending a magical effect or becoming spell proof, this becomes a paradox. If what you're trying to change into is effectively spell proof, how are you casting a spell to change into it? However this is entirely dependent on the hex/curse.
Improve this answer
\$\endgroup\$
3
  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ That's not semantics, it's pedantic use of technicalities. +1 for the rest of it, though. \$\endgroup\$ – GMJoe Jul 10 '15 at 1:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ I don't understand your #4. If I am an elf and wish to transform into something with magical resistance, why can't I do so? An elf is targeted, and said elf has no resistance to polymorph. Now if I try and polymorph out of the resistant form, I could see that as an issue, but why is polymorphing into a resistant form difficult? \$\endgroup\$ – Taejang Jul 13 '15 at 13:37
  • \$\begingroup\$ How did it get the resistance then? If the form is resistant to magic, would it get a saving throw on the polymorph? If so, what happens if you fail? Does your character get destroyed and the new form take over permanently? It would be like trying to polymorph into a null magic sphere. How can you use magic to create something that specifically negates ALL magic? I'm just pointing out the logical inconsistency involved. That's why it's dependent on the curse/hex. If it's logical, then yeah. If it's a form immune to magic, that's...... problematic. \$\endgroup\$ – Lino Frank Ciaralli Jul 13 '15 at 14:37

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.