Lesser Bale Polymorph

[Rainbownaga]

Planning on doing a Harrypotter/worst witch/d&d crossover and need a low level spell for an NPC. What do you think?

Piggafy
Level: Scor/Wiz 2
Components: S,V
Casting Time: standard
Range: Close (25ft. + 5ft./2 lvls)
Target: 1 humanoid
Saving Through: Fortitude negates; Will save special
Spell resistance: Yes

The target is turned into a tiny piglet. All items are absorbed into the subjects body, the subject cannot cast spells with somatic or material components and they may not use items, but they may speak and use spells with verbal components normally.

The target's size is reduced to tiny and they receive a -2 penalty to strength for each size they have been reduced. The piglet has a land speed of 30' and loses any other movement form and the aquatic subtype. If casting this spell would cause direct harm to the target (such as casting against a flying or underwater target) the save is made with a bonus of 4.

Each night, the target may make another fortitude to return to normal size. They may also be returned to normal by remove cure, dispel magic, or undergoing another polymorph spell or effect such as alternate form or petrification.

If the target succeeds a will save after failing the initial fortitude save, the effect is not completed until the end of their next turn. During this time the spell may be broken as usual.

[Myou]

That's still a level 5 spell.

[Rainbownaga]

Cool, but how do i get it down to level 2?

So far I've added the following limitations over the level 6 spell

1- Humanoid only
2- Target automatically passes their 'will save'
3- Talking and verbal-only spell casting is maintained
4- Not dismissible- you can use it willingly to disguise yourself or another, but then you have to get it off again
5- More restricted and viable final stats

Compare to blindness/deafness which has
Same saves
Similarly limiting condition (i.e suck but not insurmountable suck; monks, warlocks and characters with stilled spell are still viable and running away may still work)
Better range of valid targets
Less opportunity for beneficial use.
Similar duration

Also compare to charm/color spray which would actually be more powerful than it apart from their inherent limitations

[DracoDei]

Limited duration MAYBE? (although then you can use it on the monk to pass him through the food slot when you get thrown in jail so you can escape...

[Myou]

It completely defeats almost any character. Polymorph effects are overpowered to begin with, and nothing you've done makes it any weaker as an offensive spell. Just slightly more situational.

Just have your NPC cast Baleful Polymorph from a staff if they're not able to cast it naturally.

[Rainbownaga]

Thank you for your attempts to help, but i don't really understand

Polymorph effects are normally overpowered because they're so open-ended. This spell has a specific effect.

Baleful polymorph can turn targets into frogs and completely useless forms, has a chance (secondary will save) to give the target the mind of an animal, and can effectively kill a target by turning them into a fish, albeit at a -4 penalty.

My spell can't kill, and does nothing to restrain the target for a quick dispatch. It doesn't have the level cap of some of the more powerful spells, but by those levels a fortitude save against a level 2 spell is pretty easy anyway, and it is easier to empower a decent spell rather than just

This spell is intended to be relatively powerful, along the line of colour spray, glitter dust, charm person, blindness/deafness, and curse, which I had believed it on par with.

Incidentally, isn't making a spell more specific considered a fairly strong mitigating factor? Compare charm/dominate person and charm/dominate monster.

Note: After writing this I've made a couple of adjustments regarding flying and drowning pigs/

[Rainbownaga]

Limited duration MAYBE? (although then you can use it on the monk to pass him through the food slot when you get thrown in jail so you can escape...

Thanks Draco, but the long duration was intended for RP purposes and as a limiting factor of its own (such as to avoid the use of the spell as a player-buff as you suggested.


EDIT:

I've also added an extra save to delay the effects until the end of the target's next turn. This may not seem like much, but it gives the target one last chance to throw their own SOD/SOS or just counter the effects with an alter self potion or spell.