I have a spellcaster that knows true polymorph and can use it to turn into a pit fiend. If he does so, will he get the mace from the pit fiend's stat block so that he can take that action that the spell gives him access to?
Spells and abilities do exactly what they say they do, nothing more, nothing less. There is absolutely nothing stopping it from picking up a mace of the floor, or the caster giving it a mace, or any other weapon for that mater. It’s a bog standard non-magical mace.
If you turn into a pit fiend you would not gain any of their equipment.
Since you are turning "Creature into creature" as the spell says, the transformed would turn into the base creature, and get all their natural attacks. But not any weapons they've collected.
Edit: A party that is able to fight and defeat a pit fiend probably has a mace anyway, you can just use the creatures base CR with their weapons, even if the PC's dont gain them. Otherwise people would be able to say it's at a lower CR bc it's without weapons, and turn into it.
I think the simplest interpretation is that you turn into the creature exactly as it is described in the stat block. You are able to make all the listed attacks, and have an AC as if you were wearing the same armor and carrying the same shield. But also, you cannot sell any of that theoretical equipment for reasons. Magical reasons.
If you don't use that interpretation then you are really opening a messy can of worms. You either get people polymorphing to create infinite weaponry, or else you need to work out what the Challenge Rating of a pit fiend without its mace is - and then you get people polymorphing into naked Giants and increasing the effective challenge of that creature by arming themselves (beyond the stated limits of the spell).
Speaking of true polymorph and equipment, imagine the party picked up a somewhat mundane piece of non-magical equipment some time ago in the campaign. Now they walk into an antimagic field and suddenly that old goblin scimitar or the simple jade necklace they thought was a 25gp trinket turns into an NPC who was polymophed long before the party found the necklace.
I have a spellcaster that knows true polymorph and can use it to turn into a pit fiend. If he does so, will he get the mace from the pit fiend's stat block so that he can take that action that the spell gives him access to?
Your player does not get the physical mace. If the pit fiend picks up a mace it got from, well, anywhere, that is appropriately sized for it, it will deal 2d6 damage rather than 1d6 base, as that's how weapon size scaling works in 5E. It is entirely up to you as the DM if your world's pit fiends grant the 6d6 fire damage to their maces as a special ability they have or if they carry special maces with the ability, but you should make a consistent ruling in case your PCs end up fighting pit fiends later.
If you want DMing advice, I would make it an ability on the mace itself, as the pit fiend's tail doesn't deal the fire damage, and there should be a reason for that. I would also allow a maceless pit fiend to replace the mace attack with a claw attack from its empty claw.
I think the simplest interpretation is that you turn into the creature exactly as it is described in the stat block. You are able to make all the listed attacks, and have an AC as if you were wearing the same armor and carrying the same shield. But also, you cannot sell any of that theoretical equipment for reasons. Magical reasons.
If you don't use that interpretation then you are really opening a messy can of worms. You either get people polymorphing to create infinite weaponry, or else you need to work out what the Challenge Rating of a pit fiend without its mace is - and then you get people polymorphing into naked Giants and increasing the effective challenge of that creature by arming themselves (beyond the stated limits of the spell).
I sincerely agree with this sentiment, and it seem at least, to be the intention for polymorph effects to simply replace your sheet with a stat block as described by at least one SAC answer. I’m sure that people might be able to come up with arguments why they don’t like it, but from a running the game perspective, it is the only thing that makes actual sense. And monsters don’t really come with more stuff than what they need to perform what their stat block says they can do anyway, do they?
You can’t seriously be worried about breaking the big mace economy of your game when 9th level spells are already in play, can you?
... But also, you cannot sell any of that theoretical equipment for reasons. Magical reasons.
If you don't use that interpretation then you are really opening a messy can of worms. You either get people polymorphing to create infinite weaponry, ...
I sincerely agree with this sentiment, and it seem at least, to be the intention for polymorph effects to simply replace your sheet with a stat block as described by at least one SAC answer. I’m sure that people might be able to come up with arguments why they don’t like it, but from a running the game perspective, it is the only thing that makes actual sense. And monsters don’t really come with more stuff than what they need to perform what their stat block says they can do anyway, do they?
You can’t seriously be worried about breaking the big mace economy of your game when 9th level spells are already in play, can you?
No indeed, the problems aren't economics in this case - but this ruling is just to say that you can't polymorph into a Death Knight and try to hand that creature's longsword to the party fighter who then uses it with its extra 4d8 necrotic damage per attack. That is just not a discussion that is going to happen. The Death Knight can make the listed longsword attacks, but also that longsword does not exist.
To answer WolfOfTheBees, another thing I have to worry about is if this Level 20 NPC would then gain access to the spell casting components of true resurrection and gate by turning into a ki-rin and drow matron mother, respectively. All monsters are assumed to have the spellcasting components for their spells. If I go with this ruling on polymorphing creatures gaining the monster's equipment, that makes true polymorph even more powerful.
To answer WolfOfTheBees, another thing I have to worry about is if this Level 20 NPC would then gain access to the spell casting components of true resurrection and gate by turning into a ki-rin and [Tooltip Not Found], respectively. All monsters are assumed to have the spellcasting components for their spells. If I go with this ruling on polymorphing creatures gaining the monster's equipment, that makes true polymorph even more powerful.
Level 20 is almost god-like powers, so I wouldn't worry too much about what new abilities you'd gain from True Polymorph.
To answer WolfOfTheBees, another thing I have to worry about is if this Level 20 NPC would then gain access to the spell casting components of true resurrection and gate by turning into a ki-rin and [Tooltip Not Found], respectively. All monsters are assumed to have the spellcasting components for their spells. If I go with this ruling on polymorphing creatures gaining the monster's equipment, that makes true polymorph even more powerful.
Or they could just select those spells from their spellcasting class and just wish for the components. Whatever. Yes, true polymorph is powerful. It is a 9th level spell.
Do you really think something like a Ki-rin has its same CR without its spells?
I finally went to my physical shelf and looked: Interestingly, the ki-rin loses its true resurrection in MMotM, but both of your example monsters (along with most of the other casters) can now explicitly cast their spells without components anyway. So complaining about getting free components is moot for many options now and probably more and more going forward.
This is very likely the new normal. And it is for the better: a powerful seeming creature that can’t do powerful things is actually a weak creature.
Yes. I'm not going to list them all, but the drow Matron Mother has a significantly reduced spell list with 4 at will spells, 6 spells that can be used twice a day, and 8 spells that can be used once a day (including gate). She also has the text "The drow casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spell-casting ability (spell save DC 20)" at the beginning of her spellcasting block (which is listed in her actions section).
I have not read every caster in the book, but I have also not found a "Spellcasting" action that does not say "requiring no material components" in the feature.
And to be fair, the ki-rin lost true resurrection, and they seem to be the only monster that had it.
And this information is in Monsters of the Multiverse which is not out yet?
The physical book came out earlier in a bundle (with XGtE and TCoE). The digital and non-bundle release is later.
Yep. the books have been out for months (I believe the gift set came out in late January). I got them because I never had physical copies of the two "everything" books.
At least I sure hope the book is out. It's on my shelf.
I have a spellcaster that knows true polymorph and can use it to turn into a pit fiend. If he does so, will he get the mace from the pit fiend's stat block so that he can take that action that the spell gives him access to?
I don't think so, up to DM. I found this unofficial sage advice:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.sageadvice.eu/if-i-use-true-polymorph-can-i-gain-equipment/amp/
Spells and abilities do exactly what they say they do, nothing more, nothing less. There is absolutely nothing stopping it from picking up a mace of the floor, or the caster giving it a mace, or any other weapon for that mater. It’s a bog standard non-magical mace.
If you turn into a pit fiend you would not gain any of their equipment.
Since you are turning "Creature into creature" as the spell says, the transformed would turn into the base creature, and get all their natural attacks. But not any weapons they've collected.
Edit: A party that is able to fight and defeat a pit fiend probably has a mace anyway, you can just use the creatures base CR with their weapons, even if the PC's dont gain them. Otherwise people would be able to say it's at a lower CR bc it's without weapons, and turn into it.
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HERE.I think the simplest interpretation is that you turn into the creature exactly as it is described in the stat block. You are able to make all the listed attacks, and have an AC as if you were wearing the same armor and carrying the same shield. But also, you cannot sell any of that theoretical equipment for reasons. Magical reasons.
If you don't use that interpretation then you are really opening a messy can of worms. You either get people polymorphing to create infinite weaponry, or else you need to work out what the Challenge Rating of a pit fiend without its mace is - and then you get people polymorphing into naked Giants and increasing the effective challenge of that creature by arming themselves (beyond the stated limits of the spell).
Speaking of true polymorph and equipment, imagine the party picked up a somewhat mundane piece of non-magical equipment some time ago in the campaign. Now they walk into an antimagic field and suddenly that old goblin scimitar or the simple jade necklace they thought was a 25gp trinket turns into an NPC who was polymophed long before the party found the necklace.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Your player does not get the physical mace. If the pit fiend picks up a mace it got from, well, anywhere, that is appropriately sized for it, it will deal 2d6 damage rather than 1d6 base, as that's how weapon size scaling works in 5E. It is entirely up to you as the DM if your world's pit fiends grant the 6d6 fire damage to their maces as a special ability they have or if they carry special maces with the ability, but you should make a consistent ruling in case your PCs end up fighting pit fiends later.
If you want DMing advice, I would make it an ability on the mace itself, as the pit fiend's tail doesn't deal the fire damage, and there should be a reason for that. I would also allow a maceless pit fiend to replace the mace attack with a claw attack from its empty claw.
I sincerely agree with this sentiment, and it seem at least, to be the intention for polymorph effects to simply replace your sheet with a stat block as described by at least one SAC answer. I’m sure that people might be able to come up with arguments why they don’t like it, but from a running the game perspective, it is the only thing that makes actual sense. And monsters don’t really come with more stuff than what they need to perform what their stat block says they can do anyway, do they?
You can’t seriously be worried about breaking the big mace economy of your game when 9th level spells are already in play, can you?
No indeed, the problems aren't economics in this case - but this ruling is just to say that you can't polymorph into a Death Knight and try to hand that creature's longsword to the party fighter who then uses it with its extra 4d8 necrotic damage per attack. That is just not a discussion that is going to happen. The Death Knight can make the listed longsword attacks, but also that longsword does not exist.
To answer WolfOfTheBees, another thing I have to worry about is if this Level 20 NPC would then gain access to the spell casting components of true resurrection and gate by turning into a ki-rin and drow matron mother, respectively. All monsters are assumed to have the spellcasting components for their spells. If I go with this ruling on polymorphing creatures gaining the monster's equipment, that makes true polymorph even more powerful.
Level 20 is almost god-like powers, so I wouldn't worry too much about what new abilities you'd gain from True Polymorph.
Or they could just select those spells from their spellcasting class and just wish for the components. Whatever. Yes, true polymorph is powerful. It is a 9th level spell.
Do you really think something like a Ki-rin has its same CR without its spells?
I finally went to my physical shelf and looked: Interestingly, the ki-rin loses its true resurrection in MMotM, but both of your example monsters (along with most of the other casters) can now explicitly cast their spells without components anyway. So complaining about getting free components is moot for many options now and probably more and more going forward.
This is very likely the new normal. And it is for the better: a powerful seeming creature that can’t do powerful things is actually a weak creature.
Wait, so can a Drow Matron Mother cast gate without material components in MMotM?
Yes. I'm not going to list them all, but the drow Matron Mother has a significantly reduced spell list with 4 at will spells, 6 spells that can be used twice a day, and 8 spells that can be used once a day (including gate). She also has the text "The drow casts one of the following spells, requiring no material components and using Charisma as the spell-casting ability (spell save DC 20)" at the beginning of her spellcasting block (which is listed in her actions section).
I have not read every caster in the book, but I have also not found a "Spellcasting" action that does not say "requiring no material components" in the feature.
And to be fair, the ki-rin lost true resurrection, and they seem to be the only monster that had it.
And this information is in Monsters of the Multiverse which is not out yet?
The physical book came out earlier in a bundle (with XGtE and TCoE). The digital and non-bundle release is later.
Yep. the books have been out for months (I believe the gift set came out in late January). I got them because I never had physical copies of the two "everything" books.
At least I sure hope the book is out. It's on my shelf.