Baleful Polymorph: Difference between revisions

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== Tabletop Games ==

* [[Trope Namer|Named after]] the ~~4th-level~~ ''baleful polymorph'' [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/balefulPolymorph.htm spell] in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', which turns involuntary targets into small, weak animals and ~~can~~ ~~make them [[And I Must Scream|lose their minds]]~~. (There is also ''polymorph any object'', which does [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]: you can turn pretty much anything into pretty much anything.)

* [[Trope Namer|Named after]] the ''baleful polymorph'' [http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/balefulPolymorph.htm spell] in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' (previously called ''polymorph other'', which turns involuntary targets into small, weak animals, physically and ''possibly'' mentally. There is also ''polymorph any object'', which does [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]: you can turn pretty much anything into pretty much anything.

** Turning them into something that would kill them (a non-lunged fish on land, or a non-flying animal in a situation where only a flying creature has a reasonable chance of survival) makes the spell easier to resist, as though the target instinctively knows what he's being turned into and that the situation is even worse.

**** The ''Book of Vile Darkness'' has a magic item that gets around this, as it allows single aspects to be changed (also applying a rule that if a creature becomes unfeasible it instantly dies); thus, a lethal change can be made through several otherwise harmless additions, such as giving a flying creature several dozen additional wings.

** Though the duration is permanent, the subject gets a second save to retain their mental faculties and their special powers.

** Though the duration is permanent, the subject gets a second save to retain their mental faculties and their special powers. Then again, succeeding on this save [[And I Must Scream|might be an even worse fate.]]

** Some editions made this even deadlier, with a game mechanic called a System Shock. Any time a character's body is so dramatically and suddenly reshaped (not just by polymorph, it also applies to those subjected to [[Taken for Granite| petrification]] or [[Rapid Aging]]), a special Saving Throw has to be made to avoid dying from the trauma. Even worse, if the victim ''does'' survive, if magic is used to change him ''back'' it requires a ''second'' System Shock roll! Fortunately, in most cases, this is an optional rule; fans are split whether applying such a "realistic" side effect to magic is a good thing.

* ''[[Mage: The Awakening]]'' has several spells like this, including one that not only turns the target into an animal but ''forces them to claw the way out of the excess mass''.

* ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'' and ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' see a particularly nightmarish variant of this as a staple of the daemons and sorcerers of Tzeentch. The demon gods grant gifts, usually in the form of mutations. Once you gain enough, there are two options. The first is a good one: badass daemon prince. The second is insanity, many eyes, and general fun and games. You live off grubs and act as cannon fodder. Fun. A common psychic power for Chaos Sorcerers in 40k, the ironically titled "Gift of Chaos", lets them immediately transform anyone, friend or foe, into a Chaos Spawn. Various editions of fantasy have also included various Chaos Magic spells that transform the victim into Chaos Spawn—some Tzeentchian spells instead allow the warlock to turn their victim into a Horror of Tzeentch.