Reducing / Negating Force Damage

[Barachiel Shina]

The advice I need is where I can find methods of reduces/negates force damage? Are there any Pathfinder spells that does this? Something along the lines of the Resist Energy/Protection from Energy or Energy Immunity kind (but only for force damage)?

Also, if anyone recalls 3.5 D&D material that could do the same thing I could use that information as well. Thanks to any that could help!

[DominusMegadeus]

I'm sure there's a 3.5 feat/item/spell/prestige class that did what you're looking for, if only because there was 3.5 material for everything you could possibly imagine.

[Scythia]

I'd allow an elemental resistance effect that applied to force, but at +50% cost to represent the above and beyond amount of work it would take to create. (Also, as a balance tool since the game usually assumes force isn't resistable.)

The only official force resistance like effect I know of is the Broach of Shielding, which absorbs Magic Missile damage specifically.

[Imbicatus]

Hardness still protects against force damage, but it's very difficult to gain hardness.

[Avoron]

There are a few high level options. The spell statue gets you hardness 8, and you can use Summoner's Robe to summon an aether elemental for 20 points of force resistance.

That's about as close as you can get to force immunity without actually possessing an aether elemental... which, come to think of it, would work significantly better than it sounds. For spellcasters, that is. Martials don't get nice things, and walking around in the body of an aether elemental is a very nice thing indeed.

[fearcypher]

A really iffy and cheesy way is through an abjuration specialty wizard. The arcane school ability doesn't call out what energy types it works on so under the assumption that force is an energy type RAW then an abjurer could get force resist 5 at level 1 RAW.

However that's a very shaky way of doing it and a DM could rule that that's not how it works.

[Barachiel Shina]

Yeah figures. Maybe one day Paizo will come out with some more Force-related protections and abjurations.

I have a player who makes great use of Orb of Force from Spell Compendium. A ranged touch attack, no save, no spell resistance and 1d6 damage/level (10d6 for him, or +50% when he Empowers it). I have a BBEG for him to face but don't want the enemy to die in one shot as it is also a caster type so he has low hp.

I have Displacement as a defense buff for the BBEG and I am trying to think of others, as well, something that can stop attacks like that dead or mitigate the damage greatly.

It's a 4th-level spell so I guess a scroll of Globe of Invulnerability will have to do (he is facing a Beguiler/Mindbender), only issue is that spell is immobile and I need the enemy to be mobile, too.

Even things with Immediate Action teleports or something that can cause a ranged attack to autofail would help.

[Matthew Morris]

If he imports Orb of force, import Ray deflection (blocks ranged touch, not just rays)

Sauce for the goose and all

[Gwaihir Scout]

The ring of force fangs absorbs force attacks and lets you release them back as magic missiles.

[Avoron]

Several nice ideas, I can't believe I forgot about the Ring of Forcefangs.

As for the BBEG, mirror image is the simplest solution, drastically reducing the player's chances of hitting him.

Snake Style could work rather well - just pump sense motive to absurd levels, and suddenly ranged touch attacks are going to have a very hard time making contact. There are a couple other feat trees that can deflect spells like orb of force, but they're geared more toward martials (Ray Shield, Smash from the Air, and the like).

Of course, the best way to deal with such issues is to not make the BBEG a target at all: greater invisibility, earth glide, blacklight, etc. But those make the encounter vastly more difficult for everybody, not just for the force orbing caster.

One nice way to protect a BBEG from being one-shotted by a spell like that is to give him allies strategically built to keep him safe - buffing him with shield other and jumping in front of him with In Harms Way or Sandals of Interception. After all, what is an evil overlord without random expendable minions ready to lay down their lives for him at a moment's notice? But if convenient minions aren't reasonably justifiable, a familiar with the Protector archetype can do the job quite nicely.

If the BBEG has been observing the players or would have knowledge of their abilities, a Ring of Counterspells could negate the spell entirely. For that matter, an ally could ready an action to counterspell, either with the spell itself or a generic dispel magic.

And if it comes down to it, an emergency force sphere can stop the orb in its tracks.

[Tiny Coffee Golem]

I really liked the Force Adept (I believe that was the name) from 3.5. It was probably OP, but I still loved it.

[GeneticDrift]

Block line of sight/effect with a wall or emergency force sphere. Use earthglide and hit and run tactics. Make the area around you unpleasent for melee.

That ring is also great.