I have a creature wielding a Sentient Weapon. The creature is polymorphed when it fails it's Wis Save. According to the spell, all its items meld into the new form as part of the spell. However, in this case, the Sentient Weapon is also capable of making a Wis Save, so if it succeeds on its save, does it just fall to the ground or cancel the Polymorph as part of its bond to the creature.
The situation is a bit of an edge case but interested in peoples thoughts as I think this might come up in my campaign.
I would say Polymorph works as described. Polymorph targets creatures - not objects - and says equipment gets melded. The sentient weapon in this case is not being targeted and so doesn't get to make a save.
Of course it would be entirely up to the DM (you?) to change as they see fit.
Polymorph only targets the creature, and "The target's gear melds into the new form. The creature can't activate, use, wield, or otherwise benefit from any of its equipment."
I would probably say that the spell doesn't really care about what the weapon can do, it isn't targeted after all (and I might consider that save an "other benefit"). I'm not all that clear on rules around sentient items though (and the particular save that this one gets).
According to the DMG, Chapter 7: Sentient Magic Items "Sentient magic items function as NPCs under the DM’s control" and have "Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores". Which is why I asked about the save. Guess this comes down to the DM and the type of sentient item i.e. is it a bond soul or a magical intelligence.
It’s definitely an edge case, and I’d also consider what the weapon would want to have happen. Would the weapon want to risk being separated from it’s wielder? Or would it prefer to meld into it’s wielder’s body in order to stay with it? I’d say that unless the weapon had a reason to want to avoid melding into the polymorphed PC it would follow the general rules for magic items. If it had a reason to want to not be trapped, then I’d let it made a save for story purposes.
That's a good point Tim, hadn't thought about the weapon separating, was more thinking along the lines could the Sentient magic item stop the polymorph spell by refusing to change therefore interrupting the spell effectively giving the welder a second chance to save, but the choice to save to separate or change makes more sense and more RAW.
As far as the official rules go, it definitely seems like a sentient weapon gets melded into you when you polymorph just like the rest of your gear. Now, if *I* were the DM in this case, I'd probably have the sentient weapon talking in the player's head like the other half of Firestorm when they merge, just because it'd be fun :)
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I have a creature wielding a Sentient Weapon. The creature is polymorphed when it fails it's Wis Save. According to the spell, all its items meld into the new form as part of the spell. However, in this case, the Sentient Weapon is also capable of making a Wis Save, so if it succeeds on its save, does it just fall to the ground or cancel the Polymorph as part of its bond to the creature.
The situation is a bit of an edge case but interested in peoples thoughts as I think this might come up in my campaign.
I would say Polymorph works as described. Polymorph targets creatures - not objects - and says equipment gets melded. The sentient weapon in this case is not being targeted and so doesn't get to make a save.
Of course it would be entirely up to the DM (you?) to change as they see fit.
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Polymorph only targets the creature, and "The target's gear melds into the new form. The creature can't activate, use, wield, or otherwise benefit from any of its equipment."
I would probably say that the spell doesn't really care about what the weapon can do, it isn't targeted after all (and I might consider that save an "other benefit"). I'm not all that clear on rules around sentient items though (and the particular save that this one gets).
Unless stated otherwise, sentient items are treated no differently than other magic items.
According to the DMG, Chapter 7: Sentient Magic Items "Sentient magic items function as NPCs under the DM’s control" and have "Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores". Which is why I asked about the save. Guess this comes down to the DM and the type of sentient item i.e. is it a bond soul or a magical intelligence.
It is a valid question. But while they can be closer to NPCs than equipment, they are still mechanically items and not creatures.
A DM may decide differently, but I would say the general rule is to treat them like any other magic item for effect interactions.
True Polymorph goes into a little more detail about polymorphing objects into creatures and vice versa.
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This might be a good one to submit for official clarification.
It’s definitely an edge case, and I’d also consider what the weapon would want to have happen. Would the weapon want to risk being separated from it’s wielder? Or would it prefer to meld into it’s wielder’s body in order to stay with it? I’d say that unless the weapon had a reason to want to avoid melding into the polymorphed PC it would follow the general rules for magic items. If it had a reason to want to not be trapped, then I’d let it made a save for story purposes.
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That's a good point Tim, hadn't thought about the weapon separating, was more thinking along the lines could the Sentient magic item stop the polymorph spell by refusing to change therefore interrupting the spell effectively giving the welder a second chance to save, but the choice to save to separate or change makes more sense and more RAW.
That is a straight "No." Unless it is an effect of the item, sentient items can not make saves for you.
As far as the official rules go, it definitely seems like a sentient weapon gets melded into you when you polymorph just like the rest of your gear. Now, if *I* were the DM in this case, I'd probably have the sentient weapon talking in the player's head like the other half of Firestorm when they merge, just because it'd be fun :)