What happens to caster gear if it transforms into a chassis with fewer equipment slots?

Transformation is an Alteration 6 2 ritual that transforms the caster into a random monster or animal for 8. The spell has a higher likelihood of succeeding in luck scales; if it fails, the caster either transforms into a critter, a feebleminded Foul Spawn, or simply dies. Aside from magic paths, no properties are carried over from the original caster into their transformed body. Their age is also set to the default age of whichever monster or animal they transformed into.

The possible transformation results are highly variable, ranging from size 1 to 6 with traits and equipment slots specific to that particular chassis. A mage may transform into a stealthy but highly fragile Winged Monkey or luck into a supercombatant-tier Ettin with an extra head and arm slot. To add to the variability, many transformation results have a chance of gaining additional magic paths. However, most results have only two misc slots due to being animals, rendering them incapable of equipping the majority of magic boosters. If a mage casts Transformation underwater, the result is selected from a different pool of mostly aquatic chassis.

The most straightforward application of Transformation is to remove undesirable traits from your nature mages, such as the high upkeep of Pans and Pearl Kings or the homesickness of Naiads. The variability of chassis stats and traits means that transforming for a better chassis alone is unreliable and likely to waste gems. For nations with small death nature mages, transformation may be of particular consideration due to its interaction with Twiceborn.

What are the bad transformation results underwater?

Transformation has a (20 + misfortune)% chance to fail. If the mage fails this check, they make the same check again. Succeeding on this second check gives you a bad result from the table below (and feebleminds you if the new form is not mindless), while failing again kills the mage.

Sprite	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Foul Spawn and 8 other variations	Variable. One gains amphibious, some have different attacks, but none stand out.	Will be feebleminded, but has full slots.
	Foul Spawn		Will be feebleminded. No body or hand equipment slots, but five attacks, size 5 and a reasonable amount of hitpoints.
	Freak	Fear (5) Trample Adept Crossbreeder (10) Mindless	Will not lose paths due to being mindless. Can't find any clothes that fit them so only gets 2 misc slots. Trample, fear, and crossbreeding can all be situationally useful.
	Dragonfly Frog Large Ant Large Beetle Large Spider	Stealthy (40) Poor Amphibian (Frog only) Animal Magic Being Flying (Dragonfly and large beetle) Need-not-eat Mindless Swamp Survival (Dragonfly and Frog) Forest Survival (Ant, Beetle and Spider)	Will not lose paths due to being mindless. All die to a stiff breeze, but being stealthy makes them more difficult to catch.

Monster Boar hoverlink displays spell instead of the unit.

If your mage succeeds on the first roll and is on land, the transformation result will be selected from the table below. While many of the results are undisciplined due to being animals, they will still follow scripts as normal during combat. Most results also have subpar magic resistance, making them more vulnerable to spells like Soul Slay and Mind Hunt.

Sprite	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Dog	Stealthy (40) Animal
	Winged Monkey	Animal Magic Being Flying Forest Survival	Chance for bonus astral magic: 75% Ridiculously mobile at 34 map move with flying, with full slots just for fun. Good chance at getting the astral crosspath.
	Wolf	Stealthy (40) Animal Mountain Survival Forest Survival Snow Move
	Boar	Animal Forest Survival
	Crocodile	Animal Cold Blooded Swamp Survival Swimming	Who doesn't want to be a crocodile? Most people, as it turns out; cold blooded can be pretty debilitating for casters.
	Dire Wolf	Cold Resistance (15) Darkvision (50) Stealthy (40) Animal Mountain Survival Forest Survival Snow Move	Chance for bonus death magic: 50% A better version of the Wolf.
	Great Boar	Animal Trample Forest Survival	A better version of the Boar with trample.
	Great Hawk	Animal Flying Mountain Survival Forest Survival	Chance for bonus air magic: 10% Highly mobile at 28 map move with flying.
	Great Lion	Darkvision (50) Animal
	Hydra Hatchling	Regeneration (10) Fire Resistance (-10) Poison Resistance (25) Poison Cloud (4) Eyes (6) Unsurroundable (2) Blunt Resistance Pierce Resistance Animal Cold Blooded Swamp Survival Swimming Recuperation Wounded shape: Hydra Hatchling, Hydra Hatchling	Chance for bonus nature magic: 30% Costs 28 per year in upkeep. Don't put this next to your non-poison resistant units or commanders!
	Jade Lizard	Animal Cold Blooded Forest Survival
	Leogryph	Animal
	Lioness	Darkvision (50) Animal female
	Salamander	Fire Resistance (25) Heat Aura (6) Fire Power (25) Animal Wasteland Survival	Chance for bonus fire magic: 60% Costs 40 per year in upkeep. Has a cool fire aoe attack. Keep it away from mages or units that you do not want to catch fire.
	Serpent	Animal Cold Blooded Swamp Survival Swimming Stupid	Chance for bonus nature magic: 20%
	Tiger	Darkvision (50) Animal Forest Survival
	Troll Seithberender	Regeneration (10) Fire Resistance (-5) Darkvision (50) Need-not-eat Forest Survival	Of the results that cost upkeep, this is the most expensive at a ridiculous 216 per year. Full slots, but you pay a hefty price to keep them.
	Amphiptere	Poison Resistance (15) Animal Flying Cold Blooded	Chance for bonus air magic: 30% Chance for bonus nature magic: 20% A durable, poison resistant chassis with great flying mobility.
	Bog Beast	Poison Resistance (25) Poison Cloud (4) Animal Cold Blooded Swamp Survival Swimming	Chance for bonus water magic: 20% Poison clouds can be a dangerous source of friendly fire.
	Giant Spider	Poison Resistance (15) Animal
	Great Bear	Animal Mountain Survival Forest Survival
	Great Bear Great Bear	Sacred Animal Mountain Survival Forest Survival Snow Move	Sacred opens up some interesting possibilities, but these are otherwise unremarkable.
	Ice Drake	Cold Resistance (15) Animal Snow Move	Chance for bonus water magic: 50% Has a neat ice breath attack.
	Moose	Cold Resistance (5) Stealthy (40) Animal Forest Survival Snow Move	Chance for bonus nature magic: 100% Like a cheaper and permanent Thistle Mace that can sneak around.
	Swamp Drake	Poison Resistance (15) Poison Barbs (5) Animal Cold Blooded Swamp Survival Swimming	Chance for bonus water magic: 30% Chance for bonus nature magic: 20%
	Yeti Shaman	Cold Resistance (15) Chill Aura (5) Mountain Survival Snow Move	This enigmatic furry friend is extra durable with high magic resistance, hit points and a moderate chill aura on top of full equipment slots. Just make sure to keep it away from non-cold resistant mages if you don't want them to fall asleep.
	Giant Shaman	Forest Survival	A larger, beefier Yeti without the chilly theme.
	Great Spider	Poison Resistance (15) Eyes (8) Animal Forest Survival
	Gryphon	Animal Flying Wasteland Survival Mountain Survival	Chance for bonus air magic: 50% Decent magic resistance and can fly wherever you need it to be.
	Manticore	Poison Resistance (15) Fear (5) Flying Wasteland Survival Mountain Survival	Notably not an animal. A Gryphon made much nastier by the addition of fear and poison.
	Monster Boar	Stealthy (40) Inept Researcher (-4) Cause Unrest (+15 Per Month) Animal Trample Forest Survival	Chance for bonus nature magic: 50% The very same monster boar that haunts every misfortune pretender design, which means that it increases unrest and is somehow stealthier than its smaller cousins.
	Chimera	Eyes (8) Unsurroundable (3) Animal Flying Mountain Survival Forest Survival	Chance for bonus air magic: 50% A flying monster with poison and fire.
	Ettin	Ambidextrous (6) Eyes (4) Unsurroundable (1) Mountain Survival Forest Survival	One less misc slot is a small price to pay for an extra arm and head slot, along with moderately high magic resistance. Eminently suitable for both solo operator and army support roles.
	Giant Sorcerer	Supply Bonus (-5) Mountain Survival	Another a very tough chassis. Can grab and swallow his opponents!
	Great Eagle	Siege Bonus (10) Patrol Bonus (10) Animal Flying Mountain Survival	Chance for bonus air magic: 50% A ridiculously mobile flyer with moderately high magic resistance and very high morale.
	Hydra	Regeneration (10) Fire Resistance (-10) Poison Resistance (25) Poison Cloud (8) Fear (5) Eyes (10) Unsurroundable (4) Blunt Resistance Pierce Resistance Animal Cold Blooded Swamp Survival Swimming Recuperation Wounded shape: Hydra, Hydra, Hydra, Hydra	Chance for bonus nature magic: 50% Costs 140 per year in upkeep, the second most expensive transformation result. A scary and durable chassis that is even more of a gas grenade than the juvenile Hydra Hatchling.

If the transformed mage is underwater, the result is selected from the table below instead. Except for the Sea Dog, all are fully aquatic and will need an Amulet of the Fish or something similar to go above water. Gaining an extra magic path is much more common than transforming on land, but path gain is largely restricted to nature and water.

Sprite	Unit Name	Special Attributes	Comments
	Small Shark	Stealthy (40) Animal Aquatic Need-not-eat	Chance for bonus water magic: 20%
	Hippocampus	Animal Aquatic Recuperation	Chance for bonus nature magic: 50%
	Sea Dog	Animal Amphibious	Chance for bonus nature magic: 20% Your only amphibious underwater result.
	Sea Stag	Animal Aquatic	Chance for bonus nature magic: 20%
	Leocampus	Animal Aquatic	Chance for bonus nature magic: 20%
	Giant Lobster	Animal Trample Aquatic	Chance for bonus water magic: 20%
	Kraken King	Darkvision (100) Stealthy (60) Blunt resistant Animal Aquatic Recuperation	Chance for bonus astral magic: 50% Unlike the Ancient Kraken pretender chassis, this kraken has a meagre 2 misc slots. Still manages to effectively hide its size 6 bulk with cephalopod camouflage magic.
	Shark	Stealthy (40) Animal Aquatic Need-not-eat	Chance for bonus water magic: 10%

Dominions 5 - Transformation and Twiceborn by Attica