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TOPIC: Weapon effects or combat bonuses

Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #1

I am Druid polymorphing this year and wondering about iron weapon stuff.

When polymorphed characters cannot use physical items - your weapon basically goes away and you attack as the polymorph creature. But, characters do retain combat bonuses from the weapon they possess, but no other effects.

Question is:
Do I get the iron weapon bonus? My reading of this is that I do not, since the iron feature is an effect of the weapon, not specifically a combat bonus. I'd be happy to be wrong!
Similarly, I presume that an Equinox Runestone on a Polymorphed Druid would be useless...right?

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #2

tokendb.com/token/equinox-runestone/


not sure if you have seen the token data base


wholly magical to me means potions of polymorph

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Last edit: by lazlo_hollyfeld1985.

Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #3

lazlo_hollyfeld1985 wrote: wholly magical to me means potions of polymorph


Poly let’s you attack with tooth and claws so... Maybe it’s only half-magic. It seems ambiguous.

Spiritual Hammer seems purely magic.

"Ceci n'est pas une pipe" - Magritte

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #4

Yeah, I use tokendb often. I had the same reading you did, frankly, but was only like 80% sure.
It was the discussion of 'combat bonus' that snagged me from being 100% sure of that. Iron/silver etc contributes a bonus against specific creatures, but I wasn't sure if that was in place with polymorph. Would the same bonus issue apply to the 'Bliss' weapons? I presume that would be the case.

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #5

This is from Jeff Martin on an old thread (Poly Wizard):

"TD's implementation of polymorph is that when you transform, all your equipment is absorbed into your new form. All your equipped stuff still functions, but is not accessible in the sense that you can take it out and look at it."

The 'absorbed into new form' is curious - does weapon 'extra damage to' continue to be relevant? Since equinox is treating the weapon as iron PRIOR to polymorph, does that continue?

Tokendb lists 1+ heavy iron club as having 'Extra damage to Fae'. I think the question remains:

Is that a weapon effect (which would go away)?
Or is that a combat bonus (which would stay in place)?

I'm still thinking 80% against letting a bear claw be iron (but that would be extra cool).

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #6

Bhorg wrote: I'm still thinking 80% against letting a bear claw be iron (but that would be extra cool).


I played a Bear in a D&D tournament. They gave me a silver-tipped claw. Great for fighting undead, not great for clawing through the lightning-trapped metal door.

"Ceci n'est pas une pipe" - Magritte

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #7

I have the Eqiunox Runestone in my current build for the 2017 runs, but I am wondering if I should just move that out for a different runestone.

This seems like an issue that must have arisen before (even though there aren't a TON of Druids/Wizards that Polymorph). I'm wondering if anybody is aware how those were judged?

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #8

Bhorg wrote: I have the Eqiunox Runestone in my current build for the 2017 runs, but I am wondering if I should just move that out for a different runestone.

This seems like an issue that must have arisen before (even though there aren't a TON of Druids/Wizards that Polymorph). I'm wondering if anybody is aware how those were judged?


Im not sure i understand the confusion. The runestone effect is applied to ALL weapons the player uses. Why wouldnt that include polymorph claws/fangs/etc and monk bare fists?
this is not a signature.

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #9

Lazlo's first comment sort of captured my initial thoughts. He mentions above, this could be considered magical.

I would be quite happy if this does work in polymorph.
I have no experience in polymorph, so I don't know how these get ruled.

Regarding monks, the PHB discusses how they unarmed attacks are still considered to be using weapons, but the same is NOT discussed with polymorph.

Essentially, the confusion comes from the omission of any discussion in the PHB about the nature of a polymorph melee attack, except to say the characters who are polymorphed cannot use items and that they will be considered either 1H or 2H for bonuses.

I don't think it's an unreasonable question. That may just be due to my inexperience.

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #10

Would a druid carrying a keen weapon carry that bonus when polymorphed? If not, i would think the runestone wouldn't carry over.

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #11

Fundamentally: which is a weapon effect, and what is a combat bonus?
I have no idea if Keen is preserved, or if it goes away with polymorph.
If Keen is viewed as a combat bonus, then all good . . . if weapon effect, it's gone.

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Weapon effects or combat bonuses 5 years 9 months ago #12

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Per Jeff, if a character is using an item with a conditional bonus when they polymorph, they keep that conditional bonus when they are polymorphed.

Using Bhorg's original example, the polymorphed druid's animal form attacks are considered to have the Iron property in terms of doing extra damage to Fey/Fae. This does not mean the animal form literally has body parts made of iron.

The PHB will be updated to reflect this clarification.
Have you looked it up in the TDb ?
Please post TDb corrections in this thread .
If I write something in teal, it should not be taken seriously

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