Can a pyrokineticist use his fire blasts and other fire powers in a vacuum?


Rules Questions


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

The rules make it pretty clear that checks need to be made to use fire spells and spell-like abilities underwater, but what about vacuum? Can a pyrokineticist use his fire blasts and other fire powers in a total vacuum?

I can totally see the answer being "yes, they are magical in nature," or "no, they still need oxygen to burn." Which is it?


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Ravingdork wrote:

The rules make it pretty clear that checks need to be made to use fire spells and spell-like abilities underwater, but what about vacuum? Can a pyrokineticist use his fire blasts and other fire powers in a total vacuum?

I can totally see the answer being "yes, they are magical in nature," or "no, they still need oxygen to burn." Which is it?

I believe that Mark stated during the playtest that the Kineticist summons the elemental energy for his blast from another plane. This allows them to use the blasts in the absence of the element.

The example I remember was a Geokineticist being able to throw earth blasts at people on a ship in the middle of the ocean.


The kineticist actually generates "fire energy" rather than simply igniting stuff, so there's a point on making it work in a vacuum


I can't find any specific rules for a vacuum environment. Do fire elementals function in a vacuum?

But a pyro or other kineticist draws the elemental matter from the Ethereal Plane. For fire matter I'd say they provide their own combustible components when the kineticist manifests it and can still be active in a vacuum.


Well there are fire elementals in space in the golarion setting, but I can't remember if that only happened because they were near the sun.


Milo v3 wrote:
Well there are fire elementals in space in the golarion setting, but I can't remember if that only happened because they were near the sun.

Wouldn't matter if they were near the sun or not. There's just as much air near a sun as there is anywhere else in space (i.e. none).

Fire needs oxygen to burn.


No it think it said that native to the fire elemental plane were immune to the hazards of the sun like gravity and lack of atmosphere because of the suns ties to the elemental plane of fire. So, it'd only work if they're near the sun.

Though, the elemental's lack of a need to breath might mean they can function in a vacuum to begin with.


Interesting question.

I could potentially see needing to take Air as one of your expanded elements in order to be able to self-sustain your fire in a vacuum.

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