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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. Any items that they can no longer carry due to their new equipment slots are returned to your inventory.
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 |
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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. |
If your mage succeeds on the first roll, they are transformed into a random chassis depending on whether they are underwater or on land. 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 |
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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 Vulnerability (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! |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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% |
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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. |
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Chimera | Eyes (8) Unsurroundable (3) Animal Flying Mountain Survival Forest Survival | Chance for bonus air magic: 50% A flying monster with poison and fire. |
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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 Vulnerability (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
Notable Spells | ||
---|---|---|
Rituals | Personal Enchantments | Divine Name/Gift of Reason • Transformation • Twiceborn • Cure Disease |
Strategic | Domes • Globals • Magic Phase Movement • Remote Attacks | |
Summons | Cross Breeding • Elemental Royalty • Hidden Underneath/in Snow/in Sand • Infernal Breeding • Reanimation • Release Lord of Civilization • Ritual of Rebirth • Tartarian Gate | |
Other | Wish | |
Combat Magic | Battlefield Enchantments | |
Buffs | Hell Power • Life after Death • Mossbody • Pain Transfer • Phoenix Pyre • Returning • Soul Vortex • Strength of Giants • Time Stop | |
Debuffs | Armor of Achilles • Earth Grip • False Fetters | |
Direct Damage | Divine Magic • Magic Duel • Soul Slay | |
Summons | Reanimation | |
Other | Communions • Enslave Mind |