[RPG] Does True Polymorph end if the CR requirement is no longer met

dnd-5epolymorphspells

True polymorph is a spell that allows for the transformation of a creature into another of equal or lower CR.

Does this spell end if the CR of the original creature is reduced after the true polymorph spell is cast?

One way this could be accomplished is through these steps:

  1. Druid casts animal shapes on a creature to transform a hawk into a giant scorpion
  2. Wizard casts true polymorph to transform the giant scorpion into an owlbear
  3. Druid stops concentrating on animal shapes (meaning the creature is now a hawk true polymorphed into an owlbear)

Does true polymorph end or does something else occur that prevents this effect? Does it make a difference whether or not true polymorh becomes permanent first?

Best Answer

True Polymorph does not end

This is not an issue of targeting

The targeting requirement of true polymorph is as follows:

Choose one creature or nonmagical object you can see within range. You transform the creature into a different creature...

The only targeting requirements specified by the spell are a creature or a nonmagical object. Both a hawk and a giant scorpion are both creatures so the targeting requirement of the spell is met on casting and after.

CR is not a requirement to keep the spell running

Later in the description it describes more about the effect of the spell:

If you turn a creature into another kind of creature, the new form can be any kind you choose whose challenge rating is equal to or less than the target's...

This is a one-time effect not a continuous condition of the spell. At the time you cast the spell the target was a giant scorpion with CR 3. That means that you can choose any form that is CR 3 or lower.

When the druid stops concentrating on animal shapes they have not changed anything about the situation or any statistics of the creature. When the spell ends the creature has already been transformed into an owlbear with all the statistics of an owlbear. The fact that the owlbear will transform back into a hawk if the spell ends is irrelevant to whether or not true polymorph keeps going.

Thus, true polymorph keeps going because nothing has changed and nothing about the spell's conditions has been violated in any way.

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