Androids and Raise Dead

[Kvetchus]

In the Core rulebook under the Android race, it says (p42):

Androids are of type humanoid with the subtype android.

For effects targeting creatures by type, androids count as both humanoids and constructs, whichever is worse.

The spell Raise Dead (p.370-371) says:

Constructs, elementals, and outsiders can't be raised by this spell.

I realize there has been a lot of debate on whether androids are "living creatures" and whatnot, but I haven't seen and couldn't google up a specific discussion around the Raise Dead spell. One discussion I saw focused on type saying because andriods didn't have the construct type, spells that normally didn't effect constructs could effect andriods, but that seems incorrect as it specifically says otherwise in the core rules. On the other hand, "living creature" doesn't really take type into account, so it seems any creature with a soul is "living" which allows androids to benefit from (for example) Mystic Cure (p367).

However, it seems clear that Andriods CANNOT be recipients of the Raise Dead spell because it explicitly cannot target creatures with the construct type, and clearly Andriods DO have that type because having that type would be worse than having the humanoid type in this case.

If this is Paizo's intention here, it begs the question: If an andriod is killed, how can that PC be returned to life?

An androids body could be repaired and made fit for a new soul, but in less RPG terms - if a player wants to keep playing their andriod after it's dead... other than ignoring the rules outlined above, is there actually an in-game way (short of some miracle or divine intervention, etc) to facilitate that? I mean rules.. not a made up storyline or homebrew quest. That is, what is the Andriod equivalent effect for Raise Dead OR is the intention that there isn't one as a sort of offset for the benefits of the Andriod race?

[Rysky the Dark Solarion]

Owen has stated that 1) Androids can be targeted by Raise Dead and 2) no effect at all is not a “worse effect” so things like Mending work on them as well.

[Kvetchus]

I see, so Paizo basically screwed up in their wording and backtracked. Fair enough.

I guess in that case, I'm unclear on what "worse effect" really means. Is it simply that spells that are designed to damage constructs can also damage androids?

Or is it simply that we should consider them both humanoids AND constructs across the board, such that anything that would effect a humanoid OR anything that effects a construct can effect androids? That is to say, disregard the end of that sentence in the android race description and have it just read:

For effects targeting creatures by type, androids count as both humanoids and constructs

[Rysky the Dark Solarion]

They didn’t screw up, I and a bunch of other people read it that way too before it was clarified.

Certain effects hurt constructs more/less, so leaving it as “takes the worse effect” works just fine.

[Metaphysician]

Its not a screw up, because its not a choice between two possible effects. Its a choice between one effect, and nothing because nothing happens. "Invalid target" is not the same as "Zero".

Its basically the difference between having an empty jar, versus having no jar at all.

[Murdock Mudeater]

Kvetchus wrote:

I see, so Paizo basically screwed up in their wording and backtracked. Fair enough.

I guess in that case, I'm unclear on what "worse effect" really means. Is it simply that spells that are designed to damage constructs can also damage androids?

Or is it simply that we should consider them both humanoids AND constructs across the board, such that anything that would effect a humanoid OR anything that effects a construct can effect androids? That is to say, disregard the end of that sentence in the android race description and have it just read:

For effects targeting creatures by type, androids count as both humanoids and constructs

Androids are Humanoids. As per humanoids, they are living creatures. They are humanoids in all respects.

They have special rules where "effects targeting creatures by type" androids count as BOTH humanoids and contructs. If there are two effects, one for each creature type, androids count as the worse of the two.

So for raise dead, as I read it, yes, they are a valid target because they are living creatures and the spell targets based on living creatures. The spell not functionings on constructs doesn't constitute an effect targeting based on creature type.

Likewise, Androids are not immune to spells which don't affect constructs, like Deep Slumber.

[Chuckbab]

This is the only logical conclusion.

Some people tried to argue that this racial feature make androids immune to both Cure and Make Whole spells... That is clearly not the intent of Paizo's wording.

As I see it, the "whichever is worse" part of the sentence accounts for effects similar to Pathfinder's Sunburst, where targets take 6d6 but undeads take 1d6 per caster level instead and can be killed if vulnerable to sunlight.

I don't know if similar effects exist yet in Starfinder, but clearly, some kind of EMP/elecronic attack that causes more damage to technological constructs is not impossible.