Could a gaseous form fit in a jar?


Rules Questions


Question's in the title, I know gaseous form allows the caster to fit through narrow openings, but could one fit in a jar or similar container held out for it?


I do not think it gives you enough information to make a clear RAW ruling totally unambiguously. And being a magical gas/creature hybrid, you can't even really guess anything about its physics by default, honestly. We have no clues in real life how gas hybrid creatures work. So I'm left with no primary rule and not even any consistent backup system to fall back on for assumptions.

So I'd say purely GM fiat on this one all day long. Could rule that it can deform but not compress, or that it can deform and compress, either way.


I get your point, and I kinda knew there'd be no official ruling on that, I just didn't want to resort to fiat without at least asking around first.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Rhelous wrote:
Question's in the title, I know gaseous form allows the caster to fit through narrow openings, but could one fit in a jar or similar container held out for it?

No gaseous form does not compress your size. It just makes you very flexible. So it would have to be a very large jar.


Oh to be clear too, even if you might be compressible, I certainly wouldn't say you can compress yourself at will, that would be a legit ability it doesn't tell you. So I'd say BEST case interpretation, you'd have to be somehow forcibly squeezed down with n airtight seal into a small container anyway. Not too realistic. Or might just kill you.


I'm pretty sure RAW would imply no, and I see no reason for a GM to rule otherwise unless they specifically wanted something to work out for a good reason.

large snakes can fit into narrow openings, but they still have significant volumes. It's the same with gaseous form. The spell description makes no mention of changing size/volume.


Strange fact about gaseous form: I think you can still be grappled, like an air elemental. Thematically, your form might be more like a giant cotton ball.

Also still subject to spells like Calcific Touch. I had a tramuter wizard do that to an NPC in PFS. Ended up with a cool looking statue.


Gaseous Form wrote:
The subject and all its gear become insubstantial, misty, and translucent. Its material armor (including natural armor) becomes worthless, though its size, Dexterity, deflection bonuses, and armor bonuses from force effects still apply.

Your size stays the same. You are an incompressible gas.


CampinCarl9127 wrote:
Gaseous Form wrote:
The subject and all its gear become insubstantial, misty, and translucent. Its material armor (including natural armor) becomes worthless, though its size, Dexterity, deflection bonuses, and armor bonuses from force effects still apply.
Your size stays the same. You are an incompressible gas.

It would work so long as it was a really big jar. ;)


Gisher wrote:
CampinCarl9127 wrote:
Gaseous Form wrote:
The subject and all its gear become insubstantial, misty, and translucent. Its material armor (including natural armor) becomes worthless, though its size, Dexterity, deflection bonuses, and armor bonuses from force effects still apply.
Your size stays the same. You are an incompressible gas.
It would work so long as it was a really big jar. ;)

It's a shame no one told Jeannie about these limitations... :oP

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