You attempt to transform a creature that you can see within range into a Beast. The target must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or shape-shift into Beast form for the duration. That form can be any Beast you choose that has a Challenge Rating equal to or less than the target’s (or the target’s level if it doesn’t have a Challenge Rating). The target’s game statistics are replaced by the stat block of the chosen Beast, but the target retains its alignment, personality, creature type, Hit Points, and Hit Point Dice.
The target gains a number of Temporary Hit Points equal to the Hit Points of the Beast form. These Temporary Hit Points vanish if any remain when the spell ends. The spell ends early on the target if it has no Temporary Hit Points left.
The target is limited in the actions it can perform by the anatomy of its new form, and it can’t speak or cast spells.
The target’s gear melds into the new form. The creature can’t use or otherwise benefit from any of that equipment.
* - (a caterpillar cocoon)
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Posted Aug 27, 2026So, just to be sure: If you knew a big, unavoidable attack was coming, you could use Polymorph to allow the Polymorph target to tank it, since the Temp HP would absorb the damage and cause the creature to revert, but no damage is carried over to the original form?
Just wondering because I know they switched to TempHP versus HP with the Polymorphed forms, but the old (legacy) Polymorph rules mentioned "carry over damage":
"If it reverts as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to its normal form. As long as the excess damage doesn't reduce the creature's normal form to 0 hit points, it isn't knocked unconscious."
In the 5.5e rules, I'm assuming that was intentionally left out, but it makes me wonder how instantaneous the "revert" is supposed to be. For example, if the polymorphed form has 20 TempHP, and it gets hit for 30, does the form revert and the original form takes 10 leftover damage, or is the extra 10 damage just dropped?
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Posted Aug 30, 2026A good alternative should putting your party asleep become out of the question
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Posted Aug 31, 2026If the polymorphed creature has 20 temporary HP and takes 30 damage, then it loses all 20 of its temporary HP and 10 of its real HP. The spell doesn't need to call this out explicitly because this is just how damage works normally.