The spell does what it says it does,you should know this
actually you might be able to change your scent and the camoflage (though that's super useful for a spell oft this level.
But all the others are just not at all.Things do what they say they do,none of these things are what the spell says it can do and some are broken.The camo and scent are in grey areas but fairly niche and not super useful.
The spell only gives you three options, and the Change Appearance option doesn't alter your statistics. That means no new powers and no changes to your abilities, proficiencies, etc.
If you want to transform into other creatures the spells you want are Polymorph, True Polymorph or Shapechange. You'll notice all of these are significantly higher level than Alter Self, for good reason.
You can do what the spell says. It does not say it changes your senses, give you movement speeds, or change your scent. You might be able to camouflage yourself if the DM allows it, but it is probably not intended.
The spell clearly states it does change your movement speeds- "gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed" - hence the query over far less radical changes like swinging from branches.
This seems to be a poorly thought out spell allowing major changes (air to water breathing and becoming a magical weapon) and trivial ones (appearance change) but not anything inbetween.
The spell clearly states it does change your movement speeds- "gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed" - hence the query over far less radical changes like swinging from branches.
This seems to be a poorly thought out spell allowing major changes (air to water breathing and becoming a magical weapon) and trivial ones (appearance change) but not anything inbetween.
It isn't "not anything in between," it's "not anything more."
I could potentially see climbing speed as not beyond other effects of the spell, but it doesn't do that.
It already has improved versions of a cantrip's and level 1 spell's effects and a weakened version of a level 3 spell's effects. Adding more would make it too good.
I agree that it could easily be made too powerful for 2nd level. It does however seem a waste of a useful spell idea that could be designed better to encourage roleplaying ingenuity without damaging play balance. For instance as well as the aquatic mode and attack mode (current option 3) why not have a sensory mode (improved smell, hearing eyesight) for hunting foes, a defensive mode (toughened skin and camouflage) or a doppleganger mode (the current 2nd option) etc. If you have to choose one only it will mean the spell stays at appropriate power.
Also if my elf uses it to gain gills, webbed feet etc. (1st option) she will clearly also have changed appearance into an aquatic elf (2nd option). If however she changes appearances to look like an aquatic elf (gains gills and webbed feet) does this mean that they don't work as it otherwise contravenes the ONE of three alternatives rule.
If you were to give yourself an aquatic form, it would give you the gills and webbed limbs that the spell calls out. A Sea Elf is a bit vaguely defined, but nothing in the descriptions I've read have said that they have gills and webbed limbs... so just because you're playing as an elf who alters self to survive underwater it doesn't make you look like a Sea Elf.
If Alter Self included improved Senses, it would step on the toes of Enhance Ability, which does things like give advantage on Perception or Investigation checks (which is generally how improved senses are conveyed), and can also be used to gain temp HP. Alter Self already replicates many of the effects of other spells and is a great utility spell... it doesn't need even more abilities.
I wouldn't be opposed to having a better version of Alter Self of a higher level that could accomplish more of what you're going for, but for a 2nd level spell it's already really powerful and versatile. Lots of spells have a better version at higher levels... Invisibility has Greater Invisibility, Polymorph has True Polymorph, etc.
You assume a different form. When you cast the spell, choose one of the following options, the effects of which last for the duration of the spell. While the spell lasts, you can end one option as an action to gain the benefits of a different one.
Aquatic Adaptation. You adapt your body to an aquatic environment, sprouting gills and growing webbing between your fingers. You can breathe underwater and gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed.
Change Appearance. You transform your appearance. You decide what you look like, including your height, weight, facial features, sound of your voice, hair length, coloration, and distinguishing characteristics, if any. You can make yourself appear as a member of another race, though none of your statistics change. You also can't appear as a creature of a different sizethan you, and your basic shape stays the same; if you're bipedal, you can't use this spell to become quadrupedal, for instance. At any time for the duration of the spell, you can use your action to change your appearance in this way again.
Natural Weapons. You grow claws, fangs, spines, horns, or a different natural weapon of your choice. Your unarmed strikes deal 1d6 bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage, as appropriate to the natural weapon you chose, and you are proficient with your unarmed strikes. Finally, the natural weapon is magic and you have a +1 bonus to the attack and damage rolls you make using it.
I guess growing gills and finger webs is easier than growing ape arms or wings or burrowing claws, because you can gain Swim, but not Climb or Fly or Burrow (or even Walk, for that matter, if for some reason you lack it). Sad.
Keep in mind that you can become aquatic OR change your appearance, not both at once. So a Wood Elf will look like a Wood Elf with gills, not like a Sea Elf with Sea Elf appearance characteristics. Maybe you can Deception your way into being of mixed parentage or from another reef or something, but you can only do one option at a time.
If I were going to houserule an upcast option for Alter Self, I'd just let you manifest two options at +1 level and all three options at +2 levels. That doesn't meaningfully change the power of the spell in any specific context, other than a social encounter, just makes it less annoying to use.
If Alter Self could grant you all the different types of movement and senses you desire, as well as work to disguise yourself, then it would be a staple pick for any spellcaster. The game designers want to encourage variety in our choices by balancing the spells against each other.
Camouflage is simply altering your appearance to blend in with your surroundings. The spell description states that you can alter your appearance including your colouration. This is too vague as it does not give an indication of whether you can have a subtle blending of colours, stripes like a tiger etc or if you have to be a single tone. Therefore it is open to interpretation as to how well you can camouflage but there is no wording to say that you cannot.
You would have to be naked though as your stuff does not change with you! So i'd allow it with this huge drawback.
Also as you can change appearance every round it would be an active camouflage.
When this spell was neutered/watered down from its old interpretation it would have been better to split it into 2.
Alter self - basically upgraded disguise self. Appearance changes with no affect on any skill or ability. and
Adapt self - covering the current 1st and 3rd options (and possibly other ideas mentioned above) in which the changes are limited but do have affects on skills and abilities.
Camouflage is simply altering your appearance to blend in with your surroundings. The spell description states that you can alter your appearance including your colouration. This is too vague as it does not give an indication of whether you can have a subtle blending of colours, stripes like a tiger etc or if you have to be a single tone. Therefore it is open to interpretation as to how well you can camouflage but there is no wording to say that you cannot.
You would have to be naked though as your stuff does not change with you! So i'd allow it with this huge drawback.
Also as you can change appearance every round it would be an active camouflage.
I get the logic of that, but the only form of "camouflage" that currently exists in D&D is the 10th level ranger ability "Hide in Plain Sight", which, to be fair, is so crappy they eventually just gave the option to turn invisible instead. Still, it establishes a baseline for how Camouflage works in D&D... it has to be custom made for the specific position you're in, and also requires that you remain perfectly still the entire time or it stops working. Even then it only gives you a +10 to stealth
It would be nice, if it would be possible to upcast the spell to get different abilities. You could ask your DM for such thing.
It would make take away from other spells. Like why learn this level 4 spell when a level 2 spell cast at level 4 does the same thing?
While this is true, needing both Disguise Self and Alter Self seems a bit overkill, particularly considering Alter Self requires concentration and Disguise Self does not.
Edit: Polymorph at 4th only is to Beasts (not humanoid at all) so what higher level spell are you talking about?
Yes, alter self requires concentration, but notice that its description does not say "The changes wrought by this spell fail to hold up to physical inspection", and that the range of things you can do with the Change Appearance option of alter self is greater than that of disguise self
So basically, my interpretation of both spells is that disguise self is better when you just want a small change, such as a human making their skin green and giving themselves small tusks to look like a half-orc, since it only requires a 1st-level spell slot and if the changes are small enough the illusion is practically imperceptible anyway.
Meanwhile, alter self is good for more major changes that you cannot afford to have fail on you just because someone was particularly nosy. For example, a spindly, bearded human making themselves look like a goliath with larger muscles, no beard, so on and so forth, to infiltrate a goliath tribe. Since the changes are, by RAW, not illusory, someone could bump into the goliath-human and feel exactly what they see: a goliath. However, in exchange for all this, you need a 2nd-level spell slot - which leaves you with one slot fewer for when you need them for things like lesser restoration - and if you're run through with a greatsword, you're likely to have your concentration broken and give the game away.
I think it's safe to assume that clothing and equipment doesn't change with you, since any spell or ability that does so calls it out (such as Polymorph or Wildshape). The wording of Alter Self does state that you can't use it to fully change size categories, so it's not like you can turn into a Goblin and all your clothes won't fit. There's no reason to assume that you get any ability to alter your clothes appearance or shape, so what that means most likely depends on your DM if you're using the spell to drastically alter your form within the limits of the spell. Like... you could theoretically gain 200 pounds as part of the spell, but whether your clothign pops off, rips, or whatever depends on your DM
On the plus side, magical equipment is generally accepted to resize itself to fit its wearer. So if you have anything as simple as +1 armor it could just alter to fi t whatever form you shift into.
If I change into aquatic mode I can have huge physiological change to gills and water breathing.
So if I change into a werewolf copy do I get the sensory abilities (scenting and hearing) of a werewolf?
If I change into an ape can I climb and swing through the trees like one?
Can I alter my skin to be like a troglodytes and produce the same stench?
Can I change my scent to put off tracking dogs?
Can I change my skin colour and texture to camouflage myself? What are the limits to this spell?
NO
The spell does what it says it does,you should know this
actually you might be able to change your scent and the camoflage (though that's super useful for a spell oft this level.
But all the others are just not at all.Things do what they say they do,none of these things are what the spell says it can do and some are broken.The camo and scent are in grey areas but fairly niche and not super useful.
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The spell only gives you three options, and the Change Appearance option doesn't alter your statistics. That means no new powers and no changes to your abilities, proficiencies, etc.
If you want to transform into other creatures the spells you want are Polymorph, True Polymorph or Shapechange. You'll notice all of these are significantly higher level than Alter Self, for good reason.
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You can do what the spell says. It does not say it changes your senses, give you movement speeds, or change your scent. You might be able to camouflage yourself if the DM allows it, but it is probably not intended.
The spell clearly states it does change your movement speeds- "gain a swimming speed equal to your walking speed" - hence the query over far less radical changes like swinging from branches.
This seems to be a poorly thought out spell allowing major changes (air to water breathing and becoming a magical weapon) and trivial ones (appearance change) but not anything inbetween.
Right. *other speeds. Better?
It isn't "not anything in between," it's "not anything more."
I could potentially see climbing speed as not beyond other effects of the spell, but it doesn't do that.
It already has improved versions of a cantrip's and level 1 spell's effects and a weakened version of a level 3 spell's effects. Adding more would make it too good.
I agree that it could easily be made too powerful for 2nd level. It does however seem a waste of a useful spell idea that could be designed better to encourage roleplaying ingenuity without damaging play balance. For instance as well as the aquatic mode and attack mode (current option 3) why not have a sensory mode (improved smell, hearing eyesight) for hunting foes, a defensive mode (toughened skin and camouflage) or a doppleganger mode (the current 2nd option) etc. If you have to choose one only it will mean the spell stays at appropriate power.
Also if my elf uses it to gain gills, webbed feet etc. (1st option) she will clearly also have changed appearance into an aquatic elf (2nd option). If however she changes appearances to look like an aquatic elf (gains gills and webbed feet) does this mean that they don't work as it otherwise contravenes the ONE of three alternatives rule.
If you were to give yourself an aquatic form, it would give you the gills and webbed limbs that the spell calls out. A Sea Elf is a bit vaguely defined, but nothing in the descriptions I've read have said that they have gills and webbed limbs... so just because you're playing as an elf who alters self to survive underwater it doesn't make you look like a Sea Elf.
If Alter Self included improved Senses, it would step on the toes of Enhance Ability, which does things like give advantage on Perception or Investigation checks (which is generally how improved senses are conveyed), and can also be used to gain temp HP. Alter Self already replicates many of the effects of other spells and is a great utility spell... it doesn't need even more abilities.
I wouldn't be opposed to having a better version of Alter Self of a higher level that could accomplish more of what you're going for, but for a 2nd level spell it's already really powerful and versatile. Lots of spells have a better version at higher levels... Invisibility has Greater Invisibility, Polymorph has True Polymorph, etc.
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Alter Self
I guess growing gills and finger webs is easier than growing ape arms or wings or burrowing claws, because you can gain Swim, but not Climb or Fly or Burrow (or even Walk, for that matter, if for some reason you lack it). Sad.
Keep in mind that you can become aquatic OR change your appearance, not both at once. So a Wood Elf will look like a Wood Elf with gills, not like a Sea Elf with Sea Elf appearance characteristics. Maybe you can Deception your way into being of mixed parentage or from another reef or something, but you can only do one option at a time.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
Spells in D&D are not freeform expressions of magic, they are specific and discrete effects that only do what they say they do.
Canto alla vita
alla sua bellezza
ad ogni sua ferita
ogni sua carezza!
I sing to life and to its tragic beauty
To pain and to strife, but all that dances through me
The rise and the fall, I've lived through it all!
It would be nice, if it would be possible to upcast the spell to get different abilities. You could ask your DM for such thing.
It would make take away from other spells. Like why learn this level 4 spell when a level 2 spell cast at level 4 does the same thing?
If I were going to houserule an upcast option for Alter Self, I'd just let you manifest two options at +1 level and all three options at +2 levels. That doesn't meaningfully change the power of the spell in any specific context, other than a social encounter, just makes it less annoying to use.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
If Alter Self could grant you all the different types of movement and senses you desire, as well as work to disguise yourself, then it would be a staple pick for any spellcaster. The game designers want to encourage variety in our choices by balancing the spells against each other.
Camouflage is simply altering your appearance to blend in with your surroundings. The spell description states that you can alter your appearance including your colouration. This is too vague as it does not give an indication of whether you can have a subtle blending of colours, stripes like a tiger etc or if you have to be a single tone. Therefore it is open to interpretation as to how well you can camouflage but there is no wording to say that you cannot.
You would have to be naked though as your stuff does not change with you! So i'd allow it with this huge drawback.
Also as you can change appearance every round it would be an active camouflage.
When this spell was neutered/watered down from its old interpretation it would have been better to split it into 2.
Alter self - basically upgraded disguise self. Appearance changes with no affect on any skill or ability. and
Adapt self - covering the current 1st and 3rd options (and possibly other ideas mentioned above) in which the changes are limited but do have affects on skills and abilities.
I get the logic of that, but the only form of "camouflage" that currently exists in D&D is the 10th level ranger ability "Hide in Plain Sight", which, to be fair, is so crappy they eventually just gave the option to turn invisible instead. Still, it establishes a baseline for how Camouflage works in D&D... it has to be custom made for the specific position you're in, and also requires that you remain perfectly still the entire time or it stops working. Even then it only gives you a +10 to stealth
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Yes, alter self requires concentration, but notice that its description does not say "The changes wrought by this spell fail to hold up to physical inspection", and that the range of things you can do with the Change Appearance option of alter self is greater than that of disguise self
So basically, my interpretation of both spells is that disguise self is better when you just want a small change, such as a human making their skin green and giving themselves small tusks to look like a half-orc, since it only requires a 1st-level spell slot and if the changes are small enough the illusion is practically imperceptible anyway.
Meanwhile, alter self is good for more major changes that you cannot afford to have fail on you just because someone was particularly nosy. For example, a spindly, bearded human making themselves look like a goliath with larger muscles, no beard, so on and so forth, to infiltrate a goliath tribe. Since the changes are, by RAW, not illusory, someone could bump into the goliath-human and feel exactly what they see: a goliath. However, in exchange for all this, you need a 2nd-level spell slot - which leaves you with one slot fewer for when you need them for things like lesser restoration - and if you're run through with a greatsword, you're likely to have your concentration broken and give the game away.
I think it's safe to assume that clothing and equipment doesn't change with you, since any spell or ability that does so calls it out (such as Polymorph or Wildshape). The wording of Alter Self does state that you can't use it to fully change size categories, so it's not like you can turn into a Goblin and all your clothes won't fit. There's no reason to assume that you get any ability to alter your clothes appearance or shape, so what that means most likely depends on your DM if you're using the spell to drastically alter your form within the limits of the spell. Like... you could theoretically gain 200 pounds as part of the spell, but whether your clothign pops off, rips, or whatever depends on your DM
On the plus side, magical equipment is generally accepted to resize itself to fit its wearer. So if you have anything as simple as +1 armor it could just alter to fi t whatever form you shift into.
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