You assume the form of a different creature for the duration. The new form can be of any creature with a challenge rating equal to your level or lower. The creature can't be a construct or an undead, and you must have seen the sort of creature at least once. You transform into an average example of that creature, one without any class levels or the Spellcasting trait.
Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the chosen creature, though you retain your alignment and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores. You also retain all of your skill and saving throw proficiencies, in addition to gaining those of the creature. If the creature has the same proficiency as you and the bonus listed in its statistics is higher than yours, use the creature's bonus in place of yours. You can't use any legendary actions or lair actions of the new form.
You assume the hit points and Hit Dice of the new form. When you revert to your normal form, you return to the number of hit points you had before you transformed. If you revert as a result of dropping to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to your normal form. As long as the excess damage doesn't reduce your normal form to 0 hit points, you aren't knocked unconscious.
You retain the benefit of any features from your class, race, or other source and can use them, provided that your new form is physically capable of doing so. You can't use any special senses you have (for example, darkvision) unless your new form also has that sense. You can only speak if the creature can normally speak.
When you transform, you choose whether your equipment falls to the ground, merges into the new form, or is worn by it. Worn equipment functions as normal. The GM determines whether it is practical for the new form to wear a piece of equipment, based on the creature's shape and size. Your equipment doesn't change shape or size to match the new form, and any equipment that the new form can't wear must either fall to the ground or merge into your new form. Equipment that merges has no effect in that state.
During this spell's duration, you can use your action to assume a different form following the same restrictions and rules for the original form, with one exception: if your new form has more hit points than your current one, your hit points remain at their current value.
* - (a jade circlet worth at least 1,500 gp, which you must place on your head before you cast the spell)
So isn’t this just a strictly worse version of true polymorph? Less versatile, requires an expensive component, has the “must have seen it” restriction, no semi-permanent status.
No, this is a far superior self-buff, but it lacks the ability to do anything but self-buff in exchange.
You retain the benefits of all features from your own class(es), race, and other sources while using Shapechange. It merges your abilities with the creature's, with the only caveat that you can't take a creature's Spellcasting, most likely because you already retain your own. True Polymorphing yourself is a completely sideways change, you replace your entire set of statistics, which means statblock, which means character sheet, with the creature's statblock. You retain nothing besides your personality and alignment.
The recent UA, which means the Tasha book will likely follow suit, added Shapechange to the Warlock class spell list. I'd like you to consider a Hexblade 17/Paladin 3 using Shapechange, for a moment. Turn into a Pit Fiend while holding your Pact Weapon. You can still use it as a Pit Fiend, convenient since Jeremy Crawford has said RAI you don't automatically gain a creature's equipment. Your Hexblade's Curse is still active while you're a Pit Fiend (and you can still move it, or even create it after Shapechanging with a bonus action, it's a class feature). Now do a Multiattack action, which is four Melee Weapon Attacks, one with your actual pact weapon. Any Melee Weapon Attack is eligible for Divine Smite, so Smite all of them, then add Eldritch Smite to the Pact Weapon attack (because it requires the Pact Weapon).
Sure, you spent practically all of your spell slots in one turn, but this is the most unholy nova any gish has done in history, and it's just one simple example of shenanigans you can do by combining your class features with creature features. And if someone tries to Dispel your big transformation before the big nova, oh hey, I still have spells, Counterspell.
Edit: I actually wanna math this out now. Four 5th level slots, one Smite has to be done with a 1st level (Eldritch and Divine can be done at the same time).
So, dice first. 6d8 (Eldritch) + 5d8 + 5d8 + 5d8 + 2d8 for the Smites alone.
+ 4d6 Bite
+ 2d8 Claw
+ our Pact Weapon attack, whatever that is
+ 3d10 Tail
25d8 +4d6 + 3d10 +Pact Weapon in dice, and another 6d6 if a creature that can actually take Poison damage fails the Con 21 save.
Now bonuses. +6 for each attack with Hexblade's Curse (+24), +5 from Lifedrinker for that one Pact Weapon hit because we're obsessive right now, +8 for each attack with the Pit Fiend's STR (you can choose to use the Pit Fiend's STR when attacking with the Pact Weapon, +32)
25d8 +4d6 + 3d10 + PactWepDice + 61 damage. All Radiant, Necrotic, Force, or magical physical damage types, and you crit on a 19.
"The creature can't be a construct or an undead, and you must have seen the sort of creature at least once."
So yes, you have to have seen it before
I appreciate the maturity (if you haven't looked at my name I am not the OP).
if you turn into a phoenix and someone uses an effect that instakills without reducing you to 0hp, what happens to you?
yes that most certainly would be.
This should be a sorcerer spell. Given that they get all the lower level polymorph spells and alter self, and are the only class where almost every subclass has direct lore/flavor reasons to be able to eventually turn into a bunch of different types of creatures (dragons for draconic sorcerers, elementals for storm sorcerers, fey for wild magic, aberrations for aberrant mind, celestials for celestial soul), it doesn't make sense that they don't have it. I understand that WOTC probably doesn't want to give sorcerers True Polymorph because of Twinned Spell metamagic, but why not give them this instead?
This makes thematic sense for a Sorcerer to know. Why don't they. Seems like it would be a good way to tie in their ancestral bloodlines and enable them to become them.
So does the creature type change, or is a human who is Shapechanged still a 'humanoid' even if turned into, say, a bear, for the purposes of spells and effects that affect types of creatures?
From the monster manual. https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/mm/introduction#LegendaryCreatures
"if your new form has more hit points than your current one, your hit points remain at their current value."
Am I reading this right? If I shapechange into a raven to do some spying, I would have 1 HP. Then I want to kick some ass, so I shapechange into a dragon. And I still have 1 HP?
seems like you need something to keep up concentration otherwize just more versitile true polymorph
"You assume the form of a different creature for the duration. The new form can be of any creature with a challenge rating equal to your level or lower. The creature can't be a construct or an undead, and you must have seen the sort of creature at least once. You transform into an average example of that creature, one without any class levels or the Spellcasting trait."
Unfortunately it does say you have had to see it before, it's in the mix of other words so it was easy to skip over.
However, if you get attacked by a dragon turtle, you could turn into one to fight it even if it's the first one you've seen, since you would then have seen it before you cast the spell.
Edit: just realized somebody else pointed it out, but I'll leave it up since nobody's mentioned the last thing I said yet
Is there a way of adding Shapechange creatures to your DDB character sheet that use your mental stats without using the Wildshape category?
Just want to clarify some things here:
Basically Shapechange is a much more powerful form of Wild Shape, that also Wizards can get for some reason. True Polymorph however can become permanent (well, until dispelled) and can be used on others; great for turning your nemesis into a rock and then dropping them in the sea.
Technically yes, but that would be a poor use of this spell. What I would do is use a spell like polymorph or use wild shape if you're a druid, then drop your raven form and use shapechange to turn into an ancient brass or white dragon.
Can this work?
A 20th level bladesinger wizard was to cast Shapechange and turn into an ancient brass dragon and then drops its spell book. Then the wizard gets all of the traits and abilities that the dragon has. So then the dragon can use Change Shape (which is a dragon trait to change into a humanoid or beast) to change back into their wizard self. Then the wizard can pick up the spell book and can cast spell normally while having the advantage to concentration checks when hit from the blade song ability but now his health is at 297.
Or lets say he just stays as an ancient Brass Dragon. Since he is using his blade song ability and the dragon is only using his natural armor, won't the dragons AC become 20+intelligence? So in one turn and if the wizard has a +5 to intelligence, then that would make dragon's AC be 25 with a +13 to Concentration checks with advantage?
Then to make matters worse. Lets say that the wizard took the metamagic adept feat and then cast this spell as a bonus action. Then in one turn he just turned into a dragon with 25 AC and can instantly use Frightful Presence and three attacks (one bite and two claw) all in the span of his first turn.
Any damage under 28 would be useless as the dragon has +13 to CON with advantage. Even if they get dealt more damage than that and they somehow failed their saving throw, you now have 3 legendary resistances and can just choose to save.
A pretty fascinating if radical idea would be to use shapechange and then use wish to permanantly become that creature. Could be done with either spell become a spell scroll, somehow managing to get a ring of wishes or what not.
OK, you must have seen the creature, but with True Polymorph, you don't
so can you use True Polymorph to turn a rock into a <whatever>, see it, then be able to Shapechange into <whatever?
Second question. RAW doesn't say the spell ends when your new form drop to 0
Say you are a wizard with 100 hp. you cast shapechange and turn into a GOld Dragon with 256 hp
you take over several rounds 260 hp. you turn back into your self, with 96 hp (since 4 carried over). Your current form is as you, with 965 hp.
A strict reading of the spells says you can now shapechange into something, but you'll have no more than 96 hp, you current form