Hello everyone,
Calm Emotions states that "Any emotion effects that would affect the creature are suppressed". I have an issue with the word "suppressed". Does it mean removed? In PF1, the effects were temporarily suppressed, but there's no more such wording in PF2, so I'm a bit puzzled. I've found a rule about overriding conditions that use the word suppressed, too. But it doesn't match with Calm Emotions description.
Thanks for your insight on this one.
Suppress seems to be used to describe temporarily disabling but not removing.
Cognitive Loophole (Rogue 16) says:
Until the end of your next turn, you ignore a single mental effect that meets the requirement. You can suppress a particular effect using Cognitive Loophole only once.
Antimagic field uses the phrase 'suppressed' (insofar as saying that apex items don't get suppressed) and specifically only disables magic within the field, rather than removing them.
Death Ward has similar language to Calm Emotions, suppressing Doomed rather than saying it's removed.
Darkened Eyes (Cleric Focus 4) says:
Success The target’s darkvision or low-light vision is suppressed for 1 round.
Disperse into Air (Cleric Focus 4) says:
any auras or emanations you have are suppressed. At the end of the turn, you re-form in any space you can occupy within 15 feet of where you were when you dispersed. Any auras or emanations you had are restored as long as their duration didn’t run out while you were dispersed.
Word of Freedom (Cleric Focus 4) has some of the most explicit language here:
You suppress one of the following conditions of your choice: confused, frightened, grabbed, or paralyzed. The target isn’t affected by the chosen condition, and if you suppress the grabbed condition, the target automatically breaks free from any grab affecting it when you Cast the Spell. If you don’t remove the effect that provided the condition, the condition returns after the spell ends. For example, if a spell was making the target confused for 1 minute, word of freedom would let the target act normally for a round, but the confused condition would return afterward.
This seems to indicate pretty clearly that 'remove' and 'suppress' are not intended to be synonyms.
The Shifting Rune says:
e. Any property runes that can’t apply to the new form are suppressed until the item takes a shape to which they can apply
Aeon stones have similar rules, using the language 'suppress' to describe their effects when they're stowed instead of orbiting freely.
And you already pointed out the rules for Overriding Conditions describing suppressed similarly.
The phrase is never explicitly defined, but from all of these I think it's pretty clear the intent is that a 'suppressed' effect doesn't function, but isn't removed.
Thanks Squiggit.
I agree with you, your examples are telling.
I now think of how I could use Calm Emotions defensively. I wonder if Frightful Presence is considered hostility... especially if the target of Calm Emotions voluntarily enter the aura.