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?
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?
That's a substantial nerf given they were designed to prevent ALL damage until your Halo overshield gets busted. Not just certain types of weapons.
That's a substantial nerf given they were designed to prevent ALL damage until your Halo overshield gets busted. Not just certain types of weapons.
They very explicitly do not block lasers or gases, so even without any house rules whatsoever, they definitely don't block Laser or Cryo weapons (which use lasers and gases, respectively) - so some damage definitely bypasses them.
That's a substantial nerf given they were designed to prevent ALL damage until your Halo overshield gets busted. Not just certain types of weapons.They very explicitly do not block lasers or gases, so even without any house rules whatsoever, they definitely don't block Laser or Cryo weapons (which use lasers and gases, respectively) - so some damage definitely bypasses them.
Alright I admit I was running off memory and was wrong, however, lasers are a bit more complicated cause they give us conflicting information.
These beams can pass through glass and other transparent physical barriers, dealing damage to such barriers as they pass through. Barriers of energy or magical force block lasers.
You can activate or deactivate your armor’s force field as a standard action. Once active, the device generates an invisible force field around you, including all your worn and carried items. The force field blocks solids and liquids but not gases or light (including laser beams). You can breathe while the field is active, but you can’t eat or drink.
Some things do bypass force field, but as lasers are the only weapon damage type specifically called out it's the only type I'm inclined to let bypass it. And it's balanced by the fact that lasers can be blocked by a simple smoke grenade.
However, what would be best is if this was explicitly addressed instead of us having to infer from different parts of the rules how it functions.
Some things do bypass force field, but as lasers are the only weapon damage type specifically called out it's the only type I'm inclined to let bypass it. And it's balanced by the fact that lasers can be blocked by a simple smoke grenade.
However, what would be best is if this was explicitly addressed instead of us having to infer from different parts of the rules how it functions.
The other type that explicitly bypasses it is Cryo:
Cryo weapons generate blasts of supercooled gas that can damage or incapacitate a target.
Everything else is debatable, even Plasma, so I agree, explicitly addressing it would be great.
Some things do bypass force field, but as lasers are the only weapon damage type specifically called out it's the only type I'm inclined to let bypass it. And it's balanced by the fact that lasers can be blocked by a simple smoke grenade.
However, what would be best is if this was explicitly addressed instead of us having to infer from different parts of the rules how it functions.
The other type that explicitly bypasses it is Cryo:
Cryo weapons generate blasts of supercooled gas that can damage or incapacitate a target.Everything else is debatable, even Plasma, so I agree, explicitly addressing it would be great.
Cryo doesn't have a callout, and if you were to go with that interpretation then activating Environmental Protections would make you completely immune (as it keeps gasses out and negates temperature variance).
Some things do bypass force field, but as lasers are the only weapon damage type specifically called out it's the only type I'm inclined to let bypass it. And it's balanced by the fact that lasers can be blocked by a simple smoke grenade.
However, what would be best is if this was explicitly addressed instead of us having to infer from different parts of the rules how it functions.
The other type that explicitly bypasses it is Cryo:
Cryo weapons generate blasts of supercooled gas that can damage or incapacitate a target.Everything else is debatable, even Plasma, so I agree, explicitly addressing it would be great.
That's not what explicit means.
Explicit means laser beams are specifically (explicitly) mentioned in the entry for for force fields. The description of force fields mentions gases, and the description of cryo mentions it uses gases. This would allow us to infer cryo should be blocked (an implicit relationship), but it's not explicit within the description.
Removing the implicit relationships and having things explicitly stated would be good.
As of right now, I would run it only with the implicitly stated laser beams bypassing it.
I feel like gases were put in the description so people didn't question whether or not they had to worry about suffocating, but I also can't be sure.
And, as Hazrond mentions if we use your method of implicit relationships turning on environmental protection would block cryo damage, so it's probably best to infer as little as possible.
I feel like gases were put in the description so people didn't question whether or not they had to worry about suffocating, but I also can't be sure.
I'm willing to bet you that they did it so people couldn't use it as a ghetto environmental protection to do things like keep out poisonous gas or hostile environments ("I activated it inside the ship, so im technically carrying around a bubble of the ship's atmosphere not the outside!").
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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?
as far as i know rules wise they add temp hitpoints against all attacks execpt lasers which is how i am running them
really its silly to try and bring science into this :)
I agree that lasers would bypass force fields, and not cryo weapons. Just because cryo weapons use gases doesn't necessarily mean that gases are the end result that is hitting the target. Also, they are not explicitly called out like lasers.
Yeah, lacking further clarification I think running it as lasers bypass force fields but nothing else does is the best way to run it currently.
And again, I think this is pretty balanced by the fact the simple environmental factors can make laser weapons completely ineffective, or even throwing just a smoke grenade. This is actually tactic that my solarion will be employing.
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Once active, the device generates an invisible force field around you, including all your worn and carried items.Does this mean it blocks your own attacks? I mean... it does say it blocks *ALL* solid/liquid.
I guess you could ask your GM - Starfinder likes to repeat that it's "science fantasy", and both answers are classic in stories like that - in Dune, force fields absolutely blocked your own attacks, while in Star Wars, the good force fields open up holes to let your shots through by talking to your gun. Until/unless we get clarification from Paizo, I'm gathering from this thread that no two GMs are going to agree on the specifics.
If your GM *is* a fan of Dune, and you shoot a force field with a laser, please post the story here for our amusement.
Maybe the mediocre ones open a gap for the shot. The good SW small-scale shields allow bolts going out but not in. Citation: New Essential Guide to Droids, page 101.
My GM knows better than to give me a force field THAT good, as I will use it to freeze drinks and make people explode by giving them hugs. But thanks for chiming in, that reinforces once again the notion that how force fields work is setting specific, which, for now, with Starfinder means GM specific.
Does this mean it blocks your own attacks? I mean... it does say it blocks *ALL* solid/liquid.
You already quoted the relevant rule:
All damage dealt to you is subtracted from the force field’s temporary Hit Points first.
Your own attacks against others are not affected, unless your targets have force fields of their own.
Once active, the device generates an invisible force field around you, including all your worn and carried items.Does this mean it blocks your own attacks? I mean... it does say it blocks *ALL* solid/liquid.
I guess you could ask your GM - Starfinder likes to repeat that it's "science fantasy", and both answers are classic in stories like that - in Dune, force fields absolutely blocked your own attacks, while in Star Wars, the good force fields open up holes to let your shots through by talking to your gun. Until/unless we get clarification from Paizo, I'm gathering from this thread that no two GMs are going to agree on the specifics.
If your GM *is* a fan of Dune, and you shoot a force field with a laser, please post the story here for our amusement.
And their force fields tended to react very...irritably...to lasers.
How would prefer your radiation sir? Alpha, Beta, or Gamma?