Greetings,
GM question:
Suppose the party ends up fighting an anachronistic creature from/on another plane with typical futuristic "energy weapons", such as a blaster or a (frikkin') laser beam. What type ought such a weapon have? Fire (like scorching ray)? Untyped energy? Some other specific energy type?
Are there any such creatures or weapons already published in a first-party source? I know Pathfinder has some anachronisms, including firearms, spacecraft, and even nanites, but I don't know of any "energy weapons".
(Note that we're not considering weapons that disintegrate, stun, or otherwise have effects other than straight-up damage.)
Half fire, half electricity because why not (it actually makes some sort of sense)! Or untyped. That works too. Can't say I've seen any laser beams in the monster's I've seen.
It would depend on the weapon, I should think. A heat ray would do fire damage, a freeze ray would be cold damage, and so forth. A realistic laser would (IMHO) be fire damage, but a "blaster" or a "phaser" could be anything you like, since those are generally very carefully left undefined by the authors. ("How do Star Fleet's phasers work?" "Very well, thank you.")
Really you could justify just about any energy type based on how the tech works. Heck , no reason to limit it at all and have each energy type available , but each gun only having that particular energy type,
Personally I like the idea of good ol solid Force damage for death lazers, but that is rather strong my second choice would be Cold cuz I like the idea of seeing people shatter ^_^
Actual (physical) laser are doing what is "equivalent" to fire damage (since in most (but not all) cases of laser damage it's the "heat" energy absorbed that's the problem). Blasters are generally considered to be guns using "ionized plasma" which is also considered fire damage. However, al orfamay said you could go nuts. I'd be leery of making it something the PCs have no way to defend themselves against.
Contributor
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Hi, blahpers.
The Inner Sea Bestiary introduces the Robot subtype for constructs to represent some of the high-tech monstrosities found in the land of Numeria. Some of the robots in that book have laser weapons. Lasers deal fire damage as a ranged touch attack (usually with a very long range).
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According to d20 modern, fire. There are alternatives, sonic, electricity and cold are all possible, as well as a few new ones, such as concussion, and a generic energy that bypasses all resistance. (That would be the disintegrator, or the singularity grenade.)
You could just give them a wand, and call it something else. Instead of use magic device, he'd have use technological device. (Though who knows? UMD might work for your players.)
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Hi, blahpers.
The Inner Sea Bestiary introduces the Robot subtype for constructs to represent some of the high-tech monstrosities found in the land of Numeria. Some of the robots in that book have laser weapons. Lasers deal fire damage as a ranged touch attack (usually with a very long range).
It also features rules for Mass Effect-style force fields and plasma weaponry! (half fire/half electricity damage)
I'd say fire. The closest things I can think of in the existing game are searing light and the light beams of the lantern archon, which are untyped damage.
I snagged a copy of GURPS Humanx, and GURPS Spaceships. The first has a number of "future" weapons, and details about the damage. The latter has a lot of weapon damage types. I also found some downloads of GURPS stuff, and it shows how to run such.
For various weapons, I would suggest:
Ray causes burning = fire damage
Ray causes freezing = cold damage
Ray causes knock out or paralysis = negative damage
Ray causes object to go away = disintegration (untyped) damage
Ray causes knock-back = sonic damage
Ray looks like lightning = electric damage
Being a SciFi fan, I can probably give you a PF conversion of nearly any weapon in the literature. Suggest away.
/cevah
Wands of Disintegration
Hi, blahpers.
The Inner Sea Bestiary introduces the Robot subtype for constructs to represent some of the high-tech monstrosities found in the land of Numeria. Some of the robots in that book have laser weapons. Lasers deal fire damage as a ranged touch attack (usually with a very long range).
Nice, thanks.
I'll have to look into the Numeria path as well.
Looks like fire is the current consensus, and what I was leaning toward already. Thanks!
Searing light, that's may lazor!!
Ignoring the usual blasting spells that you see with a wizard, clerics of the moon domain get to shoot eye lasers up to 4 times per day.
So this brings up the question: why do all these lasers have to be arcane in nature? Sure, those seem the most intuitive to mass produce, but Moonfire ignores resistence and dazzles the target. If you got the tech to improve the number of times it can be done, why not try going divine?
Plus it is funny if your future lasers are from the Moon Domain.
So this brings up the question: why do all these lasers have to be arcane in nature?
Why would a technological weapon be arcane or divine? Wouldn't it just be, y'know, a weapon?
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Other notes on lasers:
They not only go through glass, but IIRC they're stated to go through walls of force as well. (!) May want to doublecheck that though. My Inner Sea Bestiary isn't near me at the moment.
Force fields are neat. They function as an extra set of hp with fast healing. The fields only break when they're fully drained, after which they need time to recharge.
to quote from the ISB:
Laser Weapons: These weapons emit beams of intensely focused light waves that resolve as touch attacks and deal fire damage. A laser can pass through force fields and force effects like a wall of force without damaging that field to strike a foe beyond. Objects like glass or other transparent barriers do not provide cover from lasers (but unlike force barriers, glass still takes damage from a laser strike passing through it). Invisible creatures are immune to damage caused by a laser weapon. Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.
Plasma Weapons: These weapons emit bursts of superheated, electrically charged gas known as plasma. A plasma weapon's attacks resolve as touch attacks. Half the damage dealt by plasma is fire damage, and half is electricity damage.
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Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.
This leads to the awesome visual of a laser wielder firing upon someone capable of whipping up a sandstorm around themselves, with the laser never connecting while glassed bits of that shielding sand constantly drops or is thrown out by the storm.
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This leads to the awesome visual of a laser wielder firing upon someone capable of whipping up a sandstorm around themselves, with the laser never connecting while glassed bits of that shielding sand constantly drops or is thrown out by the storm.Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.
Visually, maybe like a 'copter + static electricity + sand?
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Visually, maybe like a 'copter + static electricity + sand?This leads to the awesome visual of a laser wielder firing upon someone capable of whipping up a sandstorm around themselves, with the laser never connecting while glassed bits of that shielding sand constantly drops or is thrown out by the storm.Fog, smoke, and other clouds provide cover in addition to concealment from laser attacks.
Hahaha hot damn yes!
Oh man, the world is awesome. :D
Being a SciFi fan, I can probably give you a PF conversion of nearly any weapon in the literature. Suggest away./cevah
I'll take a bowel disruptor.
Well, it makes things easier and you don't have to restat monsters to decide if they have LAZOR resistances, bonuses, etc.
It would just be fire resistance, which craptons of monsters have and is easy to acquire if you don't. You don't need 'arcane fire' and 'divine fire' and 'laser fire' for that ... it's just fire.
I'll take a bowel disruptor.Being a SciFi fan, I can probably give you a PF conversion of nearly any weapon in the literature. Suggest away.
/cevah
Will a bowl of prunes help?
/cevah
I'll take a bowel disruptor.
Being a SciFi fan, I can probably give you a PF conversion of nearly any weapon in the literature. Suggest away./cevah
Take a spell that does sonic damage and give it sickening spell. Brown note shout anyone?
I would look at the Sunbeam Spell. I think.
Well, by "future" weapons do you mean "Golarion future" or "real life future?"
Sticking to the in-game myth, I would think such weapons would be either pure positive or negative energy.
Well, by "future" weapons do you mean "Golarion future" or "real life future?"
Sticking to the in-game myth, I would think such weapons would be either pure positive or negative energy.
Well, I like Star Trek future, Star Wars future, Dr Who future, and a bunch of others. Do I gotta choose Golarion or Real Life?
/cevah
Like a lot of people have said, d20 modern assumes fire damage. Now the AD&D monstrous compendium has the Mercury Dragon which fires a laser beam for a breath weapon. It is not actual fire (simply intense heat), but for saving throws counts as magical fire. Here's the link http://www.dotd.com/mm/MM00072.htm
Well, I like Star Trek future, Star Wars future, Dr Who future, and a bunch of others. Do I gotta choose Golarion or Real Life?
/cevah
Yes. The choice can determine if one in-game effect closely matches your choice as compared to another. If you want to be pedantic and stick to only the choices I laid out that's your failing and not mine. I can't anticipate every possibility nor should I be expected to.