Does implosion affect corporeal undead?


Rules Questions


It seems that according to RAW, it does not since only affects creatures. But I cannot find a logical explanation of why not. A crushed undead is a disabled one.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

The best I can give you is that the 'destructive resonance' doesn't harmonize with non-living creatures. Which would be a reason it cannot affect objects or constructs as well.


Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

You're referring to the undead trait that declared undead immune to "any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless)".

Since Implosion has save of "fortitude negates" and a target of "one corporeal creature/round", you can TARGET undead, but they are immune to the effect, since implosion can't target objects (wich would get around the immunity to fort save effects).

Maybe undead are just too sturdy. It's magic.


Edit for clarification: The OP said "it doesn't affect corporeal undead because it only affects creatures". This would be wrong because undead ARE creatures. But undead are immune to effects that require a Fort save, so they are immune to this spell - not because they are creatures or even because they are undead, but because their undead traits include immunity to Fort-save effects.


No, because Constructs and Undeads are immune to effects that allow Fortitude save unless those effects affect objects or either of them specifically. Possible explanation? The animating force that keeps Undead/Construct bodies coherent is immune to the resonance.

Dark Archive

It's worth noting that there is a separate clause of disintegrate that pertains to objects. Is that enough to make undead affected?

Sovereign Court

Disintegrate works fine on undead.


Undead are inmune to an awful lot of things. Do not let one of your players become undead ever....


undead traits wrote:
...any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless)...

The reason why Undead are immune to Implosion is the same reason why a chair is immune to Implosion.

Spell description aside, I have no idea why Implosion doesn't work on chairs, seeing it's an evocation that causes a "destructive resonance". But if it doesn't work on chairs, it doesn't work on Undead.

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