Does anyone know if the AC bump from Bladesong remains active on your character if you use Polymorph? My Blasdesinger is getting close to level 7 and I am starting to think about what 4th level spells I want to learn, and a Giant Ape with ~150 HP and 16 AC could be very useful.
I would say yes. The sage advice ruling on other spell effects while under polymorph is:
Can a creature under the effects of polymorph have other spell effects on them, or are those game statistics also replaced by the those of the beast form?
Polymorph replaces only the target’s character sheet or stat block with the stat block of the chosen form. Other effects, such as other spells, still exist.
Since blade song is a spell like ability that is not ended, it persists.
Neat combo too. Finally a way for a wizard to use polymorph on themselves in a useful manner in combat (edit).
The effect might stay, but I'd hazard that the calculation would change, to use the Ape's INT, which is -2. So you'd only get a +1 to your AC (for 13 total), as that's the minimum allowable per the feature.
The effect might stay, but I'd hazard that the calculation would change, to use the Ape's INT, which is -2. So you'd only get a +1 to your AC (for 13 total), as that's the minimum allowable per the feature.
That is something to consider. Im not sure I would rule it that way, because bladesong's effect seems to be based on your intelligence when it is first entered.
But even if the DM does rule this way, they would still get 1 ac and +1 to con saves for concentration. Not amazing, but nothing to sneeze at either.
I would say yes. The sage advice ruling on other spell effects while under polymorph is:
Can a creature under the effects of polymorph have other spell effects on them, or are those game statistics also replaced by the those of the beast form?
Polymorph replaces only the target’s character sheet or stat block with the stat block of the chosen form. Other effects, such as other spells, still exist.
Since blade song is a spell like ability that is not ended, it persists.
Neat combo too. Finally a way for a wizard to use polymorph on themselves in a useful manner in combat (edit).
The issue here is "spell like ability" isn't a term the game utilizes, so it's not a meaningful distinction. What we do know is the character's statistics change. Their class features and other traits are replaced by the stat block of the new form. Spells persist, and a spellcaster under the effect of their own polymorph can continue to concentrate on it. But this isn't the same as a class feature carrying over.
For example, if you use polymorph on a barbarian, they lose their Rage feature.
Likewise, Bladesong would end. If you want to keep both, multiclass into druid and join the Circle of the Moon.
I would say yes. The sage advice ruling on other spell effects while under polymorph is:
Can a creature under the effects of polymorph have other spell effects on them, or are those game statistics also replaced by the those of the beast form?
Polymorph replaces only the target’s character sheet or stat block with the stat block of the chosen form. Other effects, such as other spells, still exist.
Since blade song is a spell like ability that is not ended, it persists.
Neat combo too. Finally a way for a wizard to use polymorph on themselves in a useful manner in combat (edit).
The issue here is "spell like ability" isn't a term the game utilizes, so it's not a meaningful distinction. What we do know is the character's statistics change. Their class features and other traits are replaced by the stat block of the new form. Spells persist, and a spellcaster under the effect of their own polymorph can continue to concentrate on it. But this isn't the same as a class feature carrying over.
For example, if you use polymorph on a barbarian, they lose their Rage feature.
Likewise, Bladesong would end. If you want to keep both, multiclass into druid and join the Circle of the Moon.
I would agree, except that would mean a spellcaster who cast polymorph on themselves would automatically end the spell, because they have spellcasting as a feature. But Polymorph does not work like that, allowing some previously activated effects to continue.
similarly, I think we would agree that an effect imposed by another caster that changes statistics would carry through the polymorph, like shield of faith.
Crawford goes back and forth on this, saying rage would not persist but that the abjuration wizard's arcane ward would. And sage advice gives an explicit exception for concentration and other spells cast upon the user, but doesn't actively forbid any other ongoing effects. So it is really DM discretion.
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Does anyone know if the AC bump from Bladesong remains active on your character if you use Polymorph? My Blasdesinger is getting close to level 7 and I am starting to think about what 4th level spells I want to learn, and a Giant Ape with ~150 HP and 16 AC could be very useful.
I would say yes. The sage advice ruling on other spell effects while under polymorph is:
Since blade song is a spell like ability that is not ended, it persists.
Neat combo too. Finally a way for a wizard to use polymorph on themselves in a useful manner in combat (edit).
The effect might stay, but I'd hazard that the calculation would change, to use the Ape's INT, which is -2. So you'd only get a +1 to your AC (for 13 total), as that's the minimum allowable per the feature.
Birgit | Shifter | Sorcerer | Dragonlords
Shayone | Hobgoblin | Sorcerer | Netherdeep
That is something to consider. Im not sure I would rule it that way, because bladesong's effect seems to be based on your intelligence when it is first entered.
But even if the DM does rule this way, they would still get 1 ac and +1 to con saves for concentration. Not amazing, but nothing to sneeze at either.
The issue here is "spell like ability" isn't a term the game utilizes, so it's not a meaningful distinction. What we do know is the character's statistics change. Their class features and other traits are replaced by the stat block of the new form. Spells persist, and a spellcaster under the effect of their own polymorph can continue to concentrate on it. But this isn't the same as a class feature carrying over.
For example, if you use polymorph on a barbarian, they lose their Rage feature.
Likewise, Bladesong would end. If you want to keep both, multiclass into druid and join the Circle of the Moon.
I would agree, except that would mean a spellcaster who cast polymorph on themselves would automatically end the spell, because they have spellcasting as a feature. But Polymorph does not work like that, allowing some previously activated effects to continue.
similarly, I think we would agree that an effect imposed by another caster that changes statistics would carry through the polymorph, like shield of faith.
Crawford goes back and forth on this, saying rage would not persist but that the abjuration wizard's arcane ward would. And sage advice gives an explicit exception for concentration and other spells cast upon the user, but doesn't actively forbid any other ongoing effects. So it is really DM discretion.