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Shadow Essence is a poison defined on page 419 of the CRB. What is its item level and price?

Replaces: Fatigue, Ray of Exhaustion, Waves of Fatigue

Fatigue, Mysticism Spell 0-6
School necromancy
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range See Text
Area/Targets See Text
Duration See Text
Saving Throw See Text Spell Resistance yes

0) You make a melee attack against a single target creature’s EAC at touch range, adding your key ability score modifier to the attack roll instead of your Strength modifier if it is higher. The target must succeed
at a Fortitude save or be fatigued for 1 round/level. This spell has no effect on a creature that is already fatigued. Casting this spell doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity.
1) You make a melee attack against a single target creature’s EAC at touch range, adding your key ability score modifier to the attack roll instead of your Strength modifier if it is higher. The target must succeed at a Fortitude save or be fatigued for 1 minute/level. This spell has no effect on a creature that is already fatigued. Casting this spell doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity.
2) You make a ranged attack against a single target creature’s EAC at close range (25ft + 5 ft/2 levels), adding your key ability score modifier to the attack roll instead of your Dexterity modifier if it is higher. The target must succeed at a Fortitude save or be fatigued for 1 minute/level. This spell has no effect on a creature that is already fatigued.
3) You make a ranged attack against a single target creature’s EAC at close range (25ft + 5 ft/2 levels), adding your key ability score modifier to the attack roll instead of your Dexterity modifier if it is higher. The target must succeed at a Fortitude save or be exhausted for 1 minute/level. A creature that succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw is only fatigued, unless it is already fatigued, in which case it instead becomes exhausted despite the saving throw.
4) Target creatures within a 30 ft cone-shaped burst must succeed at a Fortitude save or be exhausted for 1 minute/level. A creature that succeeds at a Fortitude saving throw is only fatigued, unless it is already fatigued, in which case it instead becomes exhausted despite the saving throw.
5) Target living creatures within a 30 ft cone-shaped burst are fatigued. This spell has no effect on a creature that is already fatigued.
6) Target living creatures within a 30 ft cone-shaped burst are exhausted. This spell has no effect on a creature that is already exhausted.

I did a ctl-f on the entire CRB, and I can't find a definition of obstacle anywhere. The closest I could find was this, on page 254:

A low obstacle (i.e., a wall half your height) provides cover, but only to creatures within 30 feet (six squares). The attacker ignores the cover if he’s closer to the obstacle than his target is.

Several rules interact with obstacles, without ever explaining what they are, but often bringing into doubt how exactly to interpret the above definition in general, which seems to imply you determine the extent to which something is an obstacle relative to a given entity.

For example, when determining if a Bull Rushed or Repositioned opponent must stop moving, do you determine what's an obstacle based on the pushee or the pusher? Both rulings seem to make sense. In either case, how short a wall would be short enough to ignore?

For another, I originally encountered this problem when trying to understand Line weapons, which are stopped by obstacles too hard for them to damage. It seems intuitively nonsensical that an intervening wall half the height of the attacker would do a better job of stopping a line weapon while easier to see, but that seems to be the case - the wall is an obstacle, and it has a very low AC, but if you were to conceal it, the attacker could miss and continue to damage opponents behind the wall. I'm assuming I have a fundamental misunderstanding of what constitutes an obstacle.

The FAQ entry for Enhanced Tank consistently refers to the ability as granting an upgrade slot, as does this sentence from it: "An upgrade placed in this bonus slot costs half the normal credit amount." Enhanced Tank has two sentences saying the ability grants an upgrade, not an upgrade slot: "You can add one more upgrade to your armor than its normal maximum number of upgrade slots. If you add this bonus upgrade to heavy armor, you can select an upgrade normally limited to powered armor." Which is correct? If the answer is "slot", how does the ability interact with multiple-slot upgrades that are normally limited to powered armor?

Some quick rules to make Elementals less bizarre:

All Elementals gain No Breath and Immunity (Disease).

Air Elementals have the Aerial template graft, regardless of CR, and lose the extraplanar subtype (except when granted it by Aerial). This does not reduce the elemental's fly speed. Air Elementals treat Acrobatics as a Master Skill. Swap their Dexterity and Constitution bonuses and Fort and Ref saves. Note that this also changes their initiative.
Earth Elementals have the Cthonic template graft, regardless of CR, and lose the extraplanar subtype (except when granted it by Cthonic). Note that this means Greater and Elder Earth Elementals upgrade their Blindsense (vibration) to Blindsight (vibration), without reducing the range. Earth Elementals treat Athletics as a Master Skill.
Fire Elementals have the Fiery template graft, regardless of CR, and lose the extraplanar subtype (except when granted it by Fiery). This does not change Burning Strikes. Fire Elementals treat Acrobatics as a Master Skill. Swap their Dexterity and Constitution bonuses and Fort and Ref saves. Note that this also changes their initiative.
Water elementals have the Aqueous template graft, regardless of CR, and lose the extraplanar subtype (except when granted it by Aqueous). This does not reduce the elemental's swim speed. Water Elementals treat Athletics as a Master Skill.

The biggest effects here are that the various elementals are drastically more able to function in their home environments. I may revisit this to bring them even more in line with the Combatant array, which they have some strange interactions with (such as the CR 1/3 and CR 1 elementals having +1 EAC for no apparent reason), and/or the rules covering their home environments, to ensure they can function in them.

How quickly do things fall? I think page 400 implies that everything has a terminal velocity of 500 feet (A character can’t cast a spell or activate an item while free-falling unless the fall is greater than 500 feet or the spell or item can be used as a reaction.), regardless of atmosphere thickness (including water) or gravity, but I can't find anything concrete on the matter. The description of Gas Giants on page 294 implies that there is some maximum falling speed which is less than light speed and depends on gravity.

Sprayflesh is a level 5 item that costs 440 credits, which can serve as a medpatch (a 50 credit level 1 item), or - if you want to get use out of paying more credits for it - you can use it to treat Deadly Wounds. This takes 1 minute, and you have to pass a DC 25 Medicine check; if you succeed, the next time the target spends a resolve point after a 10 minute rest (to regain Stamina), it can instead gain the treat deadly wounds result, without using up its daily allotment of receiving treat deadly wounds.

So, to sum up: Spend 440 credits and 1 minute passing a DC 25 Medicine check; spend another 10 minutes and a Resolve point and give up Stamina regen to gain 1HP per target's level, +Sprayflesh user's Intelligence modifier if the Medicine check was 30 or more. Total healing varies from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 29 (Int 28-29 Doctor working on an L20 patient), in practice.

Or, that same Sprayflesh wielder can hand the target a belt of 9 bottles of Mk 1 Healing Serum, which is item level 1 and costs 50 credits, plus maybe 1 credit for the belt, or 451 credits - virtually the same as the 440 cost of the Sprayflesh. The bottles will take 1 minute to chain-chug, and the drinker will recover 9-72 hit points now (average 40.5), without needing to pass a skillcheck of any sort.

So who the hell actually buys Sprayflesh, and why?

All Pistols are Bulk L, all Rifles are Bulk 1, and both have Line and Unwieldy. They all have Critical Burn X, where X = the weapon's damage, and the weapon's damage type is always F. Syntax is Level Price Damage Range Usage, where Usage is in Petrol.

Flame Pistol, Ifrit-Class (this is the one in the CRB):
2 470 1d4 20 4
Flame Pistol, Salamander-Class:
8 5,180 2d4 20 5
Flame Pistol, Hellhound-Class:
12 21,150 4d4 25 8
Flame Pistol, Firedrake-Class:
15 77,130 6d4 30 10
Flame Pistol, Phoenix-Class:
18 221,440 9d4 30 10

Flame Rifle, Ifrit-Class (this is the one in the CRB):
2 490 1d6 25 5
Flame Rifle, Salamander-Class:
8 5,400 2d6 40 6
Flame Rifle, Hellhound-Class:
12 22,050 4d6 60 10
Flame Rifle, Firedrake-Class:
15 80,410 6d6 60 12
Flame Rifle, Phoenix-Class:
18 230,870 9d6 80 12

To the best I can tell, these ranged weapons work in vacuum:
Disintegrator (I assume their hydrogen ions/protons come from an infinite internal reservoir, like Acid Rifles have for acid)
Lancer
Laser
Projectile and non-Projectile category weapons that nonetheless fling a projectile (Needlers, Bows, thrown weapons), aside from Flare guns.
Shock

These do not:
Fire, because Petrol does not carry an oxygenator, and neither do Flares, which are pure magnesium.
Cryo
Plasma
Sonic
(All of the above three only need charges as ammunition because they manipulate surrounding atmosphere to fire)

Do I have it right? If not, where am I wrong, how, and why?

I am deeply confused by the rules on what can and can't be injected.

The Injection special rule:

This weapon or its ammunition can be filled with a drug, an injury poison, or a medicinal compound.

But wait. Injection Gloves and Needlers have different wording:

A flat cartridge containing an injectable substance (such as a medicinal or poison) is inserted into a slot in the pointer finger of the glove, where it connects with a retractable needle.

This injection gun can be fitted with cartridges containing medicine or poison.

But wait, there's more.

Spell ampoules are injectable magic, where the essence of a magic spell has been condensed into a liquid form and prepared for injection into a creature.

Drugs are normally weaponized by loading a single dose into a weapon with the injection weapon property, such as an injection glove or needler pistol. Drugs can also be slipped into the food or drink of a target, normally requiring both that a character succeed at a DC 20 Sleight of Hand check and that the imbiber fail a separate DC 20 Perception check to notice the change in the drugged food or drink.

Medicinals can be delivered in the same way as drugs, including via a successful attack with a weapon with the injection weapon special property. [...] Poisons are normally weaponized by loading a single dose into a weapon with the injection special property, such as an injection glove or needler pistol. It’s also possible to add a dose of poison to a melee weapon that deals piercing or slashing damage, though this takes a standard action and requires the poison to be in a vial that’s already in hand.

A contact affliction can also be injected like an injury affliction. [...] An ingested affliction is delivered by tricking the intended target into eating or drinking it. [...] An inhaled affliction is delivered the moment a creature that breathes (and isn’t wearing a space suit or suit of armor that filters out such toxins) enters an area containing such an affliction. [...] An injury affliction is delivered through damage to the target, usually via a slashing or piercing kinetic attack dosed with the affliction.

So, questions:

• Can Needler Rifles and Needler Pistols inject drugs, per their Injection special property, or only medicines and poisons, per their own rules?
  
• Id Moss is ingestion only. Can Needler Rifles and Needler Pistols inject it, per their wording referencing "poisons", or not, per the Affliction rules? Same question about Insanity Mist and Ungol Dust, which are inhalation only, with the caveat that there is no explanation anywhere in the book how you actually hit someone with inhalation poison - we have no generic rules for filling a square or squares with an arbitrary gas.
  
• Can Injection weapons in general inject contact poisons, per the rules on Afflictions, or only injury ones, per the definition of Injection?
  
• Medicinals have no listed contraction vector, only the line I listed. Does this mean all of them are vector (Ingested or Injury)?
  
• Spell Ampoules say they can be injected, and there are contact/injury diseases. Can these be injected by any of the Injection weapons, despite the wording on Injection, and if so, which ones? If not, why do injection gloves say they can load any injectable?
  
• Hyperleaf and Pesh are ingestion/inhalation vector drugs. Can they be injected anyway, per the rules for Injection, or not, per the rules for Afflictions?
  

One last item, where I think the least confusion lies, but I want to make sure I cover all my bases:

Serums are vials of magic liquid that you can imbibe as a standard action or carefully trickle down the throat of a helpless or unconscious creature as a full action. Serums are normally 1 ounce of liquid (though it is possible to make serums with larger volumes, these are no more effective than standard serums), and lose potency if they are mixed with any other material.

There's absolutely no indication anywhere in the book that Serums can be injected, so they can't be, right? Definitely ingestion (well, imbibation) only?

I'm trying to decide how much a turret should cost, with various options.

You can acquire a computer controlled turret:

When making its own check, the computer is assumed to have an attack bonus equal to its tier, proficiency with any weapon it controls, and a total skill bonus equal to 2-1/2 × its tier. Such controlled objects are normally mounted to a specific location (such as a controlled longarm placed in a turret with line of sight to the computer’s terminal), in which case the mount and related components are included in the control unit price.

This seems to imply the cost of a T1 Control Module, 5 credits, includes - if you're attaching the computer to a turret - a camera. Is that accurate? Cameras are apparently so expensive, comm units don't have them (and there's no way I can find in the book to upgrade your phone to have a camera). I don't want to run amok buying free cameras in a setting where you have no way to just buy a camera for love or money.

One of the most common ways to build a Solarian is to take Blitz Soldier 1 first, and one of the reasons for that is simply to let you avoid having Charisma set your Resolve Points. I think that's really unnecessary, in general (and that it's utterly bizarre that Solarians have any reliance on Charisma at all).

Use the rules below to change the Key Ability Modifier for various classes; go through each class and change specific Ability references to generic ones agnostic to the Key Ability Score for the class (such as the necessary score for a Mystic or Technomancy to learn or cast a spell). In all cases, set the score once and never let it be changed again, as Soldiers work now for Strength vs Dexterity.

Envoys:
You must choose an Ability used by one of your Skill Expertise skills. Add Life Science, Physical Science, Mysticism, Perception, and Survival to the Skill Expertise list. Life Science, Mysticism, and Physical Science can use the talent <Skill Name> Savant (As long as you have enough time, you can take 20 on <skill> checks to recall knowledge, even if you don’t have access to a computer terminal or other means of research.) Life Science and Mysticism can use the talent <Skill Name> Student (As long as you have enough time, you can take 20 on <skill> checks to identify, even if you don’t have access to a computer terminal or other means of research. If the thing being identified was created by a group or individual you are familiar with (normally including any major corporation or military), on a successful check you also identify what group created the thing identified.) Mysticism can use the talent <Skill Name> Adept (When you attempt a <skill> check to disable or repair, you can forgo rolling your expertise die to instead halve the time it takes to make the attempt.). All skills can use the talent Inspired <Skill Name> (When you attempt a <skill> check, you can choose not to roll your expertise die until later. After you determine what the check’s result would be, you can choose to either roll your expertise die and add it to the total or forgo the expertise die and reroll the check (see page 243). At 9th level, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to both reroll the check and add the result of your expertise die.)

Mechanics:
Dexterity, Intelligence, or Strength. An Exocortex can grant proficiency in Advanced Melee or Sniper weapons, rather than Longarms.

Mystics:
You must choose a mental Ability used by one of your Connection skills. A Charisma Mystic can learn spells from the Technomancer spell list.

Operatives:
You must choose an Ability you can use to pass a Trick Attack Skill Check (currently, this is Charisma, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Wisdom, depending on Specialization).

Solarians:
Constitution, Dexterity, or Strength. Add Perception, Piloting, and Profession to Photon Skills; add Acrobatics, Athletics, and Sleight of Hand to Graviton Skills.

Soldiers:
Constitution, Dexterity, or Strength.

Technomancer:
Charisma, Intelligence, or Wisdom. A Charisma Technomancer can learn spells from the Mystic Spell List, and may choose to have Techlore apply to any one Charisma skill and either Computers or Mysticism; once chosen, this choice may not be changed.

Just making sure I'm understanding correctly.

Chuck is a level 20 Android Soldier with Constitution 28 (+9). Chuck is wearing a Filtered Rebreather and a Radiation Buffer on his armor, underneath a lead-lined yet stylish suit, and has the Great Fortitude feat, so his Fortitude save against Radiation is +30. Like all L20 Android Soldiers, Chuck has 144 HP, since HP is not based on your Constitution. He also has 340 Stamina Points (he took the Toughness feat, too).

Bob is a Swarm Thresher Lord. He's CR 10, and has 165 HP - 21 more than Chuck does, because NPCs don't differentiate their SP from their HP.

Both are sealed in separate pits lined with paint doped with uranium. The pits are effectively filled with Low Radiation.

Chuck will die first, right? He's exposed every round, which deals 3 damage directly to his HP, regardless of his save (DC 13 save, page 404; poison punches you in the HP when you're exposed to it, no matter how good your save is, page 425).

I'm not misreading?

Clarification: Cargo Racks help with any "carried" object, like a backpack, including a rider when combined with Riding Saddle.
Clarification: Riding Saddles let you ignore the following Survival checks for mounted combat: Control Mount in Battle (because the drone counts as combat-trained), Fight From a Combat-Trained Mount (the saddle ensures automatic success), Guide With Knees (the AI combined with your rig mean this just works). Cover, Fast Mount/Dismount, Stay Mounted, and Soft Fall all use Piloting, rather than Survival.
Clarification: Jump Jets allow adding to fly speed with any drone with a Flight system.

Riding Drone (accepts mods that Combat Drones can):
Size Large
Speed 40 feet
AC EAC 10, KAC 12
Good Save Fortitude
Poor Saves Reflex, Will
Ability Scores Str 18, Dex 10, Con -, Int 6, Wis 8, Cha 6
Ability Increases Strength, Dexterity
Bonus Skill Unit Athletics
Initial Mods Riding Saddle; Cargo Rack; 1 of Hydrojets, Climbing Claws, Jump Jet, or Speed; 1 of Echolocators, Excavators, or Flight System.

Familiar Drone (accepts mods that Stealth Drones can):
Size Small
Speed 30 feet
AC EAC 10, KAC 12
Good Save Will
Poor Saves Fortitude, Reflex
Ability Scores Str 8, Dex 10, Con —,
Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 6
Ability Increases Intelligence, Wisdom
Bonus Skill Unit Computers or Engineering
Initial Mods Skill Subroutinesx2 (the second is the advanced mod that can choose any skill), Manipulator Arms

What even is the base DC to hack a mechanic's drone, to modify with Hardened AI? When you do hack it, what exactly are the benefits, since the Drone hasn't got any Modules in a traditional sense?

Add the following ammunition, compatible with any arrow-thrower (bows, crossbolters of either type):

Injection Arrow Level 1 Price 66 Cartridges 20 Bulk L Injection, Critical Injection DC + 2 or Corrode <Acid Damage>
These arrows can be filled with any liquid, which they release upon impact. The internal reservoir is lined with a plastic polymer which is hardness 5, so anything corrosive, such as acid, put inside, which can deal more than 5 damage will rapidly dissolve the lining (treat as having 1 hp). The critical effect is "added" to the weapon like a fusion's would be, meaning you have to choose between them without a special rule, such as the devastating fusion, saying otherwise.

Darts use the same rules of being Hardness 5, HP 1 for being filled with acid, as well as the generic rules for supplying their thrower with the relevant critical effects for both types of chemicals.

For both ammunition types, because no two liquid chemicals are identical densities, and modern weapons are extraordinarily sensitive to density, as their weapon-feed mechanisms are designed to work in both zero-g and high or very high gravitic conditions, attempting to fire an automatic weapon with ammunition of more than 1 chemical (e.g. a 20-arrow weapon with 10 acid arrows and 10 healing serum arrows) automatically jams the weapon, firing only 1 round. The weapon must be reloaded to clear the jam.

Basic weapons-grade acid can be bought with the following profile per "dose" (enough to fill the reservoir of 1 dart or arrow):
Weapons-grade Acid Level 2 Price 6 Charges 1 Bulk - Special Damage 1d4 A

Move Needler Pistols to Projectile.
For each Projectile Small Arm is that is not the Needler Pistol and shoots rounds, add the option to pay 40% of the small arm's cost (rounding up to the nearest multiple of 5) to convert it to a type of Needler Pistol. This multiplies the capacity by 2/3 (taking the capacity to 10, for the Paragon), changes the ammo type to dart, and downgrades the damage from Xd6 to Xd4.

Move Needler Rifles to Projectile.
For each Projectile Longarm is that is not the Needler Rifle and shoots rounds, add the option to pay 45% of the longarm's cost (rounding up to the nearest multiple of 5) to convert it to a type of Needler Rifle. This multiplies the capacity by 2, changes the ammo type to dart, multiplies the range increment by 2/3 (rounding down to the nearest multiple of 5), and downgrades the damage from Xd8 to Xd6.

You can use your standard action to make a ranged attack that
provides covering fire for an ally. Make a ranged attack roll
against AC 15. If you hit, you deal no damage but the selected
ally gains a +2 circumstance bonus to AC against the next attack
from a creature in your line of effect (see page 271), so long as
that attack occurs before your next turn.

As a full action, you can use a ranged weapon
with the automatic weapon property to provide covering
fire or harrying fire in a cone with a range equal to half
the weapon’s range increment. You must expend 10 charges
or rounds of ammunition to use this ability. Decide if you
are providing covering fire or harrying fire. Make a single
ranged attack roll with a +4 bonus, and compare it to the AC
of all creatures in the area. Any creature with an AC equal
to or less than your attack roll is affected by the selected
effect. If you select covering fire, choose a single ally that
gains the benefit of the covering fire bonus to its AC.

What does this do? The problem I run into is, "Any creature with an AC equal to or less than your attack roll is affected by the selected

Given a sample of a potential (but unknown) toxin, such as the atmosphere from a strange planet or a leaf, you may Identify its properties when inhaled, ingested, contacted, or injected, without actually needing to "imbibe". Roll Life Sciences or Physical Sciences. The base DC is 5, to learn the top item of the list below; for each 5 by which you beat the check, you progress 1 step down the line of what you learn about the substance. The process takes 1 hour. At the GM's discretion, Mysticism can use these rules to identify a Curse, given a Cursed object/substance to study. Note that Identify Drug/Poison and Identify Disease must be rolled separately, but Identify Drug/Poison is 1 question.

What you learn (roll knowledge, and divide by 5, rounding down; go down that many rows in this list, and you learn that row and everything above it):

• Type: Whether the toxin is a Drug or Poison (meaning you learn whether or not it will deal damage on exposure), if rolling Identify Drug/Poison, or whether or not it is a Disease, if rolling Identify Disease; if it is a Disease, you learn whether or not it is contagious. An Addictive Drug or Poison will register as both a Drug or Poison (as appropriate) and a Disease.
  
• Vector: Delivery vector or vectors, such as Injury or Inhaled.
  
• Save type
  
• Save DC
  
• Save Frequency
  
• Track: The track or tracks the toxin damages; you learn the full track, so if it is exotically shaped, you learn that, too. You do not yet learn any non-Track effects.
  
• Effect: Any non-track effects of the toxin. This is where you e.g. learn that an Addiction disease is an Addiction.
  
• Cure: Remember, this is typically a number of consecutive saves, not identifying a specific vaccine or cure.
  

How are people ruling what effects are blocked by force fields and what aren't? I'm currently leaning towards them blocking sonic weapons based on the environment (in atmosphere it's punching you with a gas, while underwater it's punching you with a liquid), but that seems like one of the stranger corner cases, and having them not block shock or disintegrator guns, since those fling electrons and protons, respectively, both of which should be "harder" to block than a gas (and for obvious reasons, cryo and plasma weapons definitely ignore force fields). But then it's a fine question how to resolve spell damage - do force fields block magic missiles?

How are you people resolving this?