Life Bubble and Radiation

[Dragon78]

I know the rules for radiation came after the life bubble spell, but I was wondering if there has been any ruling if the spell could offer any protection from environmental radiation?

I know it wouldn't protect you from a creature attacking you with a radioactive material or if the creature itself is radioactive and struck you.

[Azothath]

Search a website for a word or phrase.
in goggle search text box write:
 site:https://paizo.com/paizo/faq "life bubble"
hit enter and see if you get any results.
1) The quotes will be removed.
2) no space after "site:"
3) you can use http or https

here's a search on Archives of Nethys(AoN) for Radiation
Which gives you various things including Radiation Ward:A2, and then Irradiate:C3

for your question on the spell Life Bubble:A5":Protects creatures from sustained environmental effects." Positive and negative energy effects are excluded.
It's a GM call. TBH the Tech Guide was not well received and followup by Paizo was minimal.

IMO if I didn't know much I'd say Yes, but I'd have to rule NO as radioactive decay is a negative plane process and thus a negative energy effect. In Thermodynamics the universe is winding down and radiation involves quantum effects and matter-energy dynamics. In Game Terms the interaction between radiation and life is almost universally harm or death. Seems clear.
Lazurite and Ranger Trap-Lazurite Trap are a bit too specific but it is styled as radiation.
Earth, subdomain Radiation. school Transmutation and effect is sickened.

[Melkiador]

Officially, I don't think it does protect you. But it would be a reasonable house rule

[Mysterious Stranger]

Life bubble does not protect vs energy of any type. It protects vs extreme temperature as the spell endure elements. Endure Elements specifies it does not protect vs fire or cold damage, all it does make it, so a character does not have to make fortitude saves in an environment between -50 to 140 degrees fahrenheit. If Life Bubble cannot protect you from fire, it is not going to protect you from radiation.

[Dragon78]

Radiation is a poison effect, not energy.

[willuwontu]

Life Bubble wrote:

This shell enables the subjects to breathe freely, even underwater or in a vacuum, as well as making them immune to harmful gases and vapors, including inhaled diseases and poisons and spells like cloudkill and stinking cloud.

Radiation Rules wrote:

Radiation is a very real threat to those who explore the technological ruins of Numeria. Radiation is a poison effect whose initial effect causes Constitution drain and secondary effect causes Strength damage. Radiation dangers are organized into four categories: low, medium, high, and severe.

Area of Effect: Radiation suffuses a spherical area of effect that can extend into solid objects. The closer one gets to the center of an area of radiation, the stronger the radiation effect becomes. Radiation entries list the maximum level of radiation in an area, as well as the radius out to which this radiation level applies. Each increment up to an equal length beyond that radius degrades the radiation strength by one level. For example, a spherical area of high radiation with a radius of 20 feet creates a zone of medium radiation 21 feet to 40 feet from the center in all directions, and a similar zone of low radiation from 41 to 60 feet.

Radiation is a poison effect, but it's not an inhaled poison. Thus, Life bubble doesn't offer any protection against it.

[Azothath]

willuwontu wrote:

Life Bubble wrote:

This shell enables the subjects to breathe freely, even underwater or in a vacuum, as well as making them immune to harmful gases and vapors, including inhaled diseases and poisons and spells like cloudkill and stinking cloud.

Radiation Rules wrote:

Radiation is a very real threat to those who explore the technological ruins of Numeria. Radiation is a poison effect whose initial effect causes Constitution drain and secondary effect causes Strength damage. Radiation dangers are organized into four categories: low, medium, high, and severe.

Area of Effect: Radiation suffuses a spherical area of effect that can extend into solid objects. The closer one gets to the center of an area of radiation, the stronger the radiation effect becomes. Radiation entries list the maximum level of radiation in an area, as well as the radius out to which this radiation level applies. Each increment up to an equal length beyond that radius degrades the radiation strength by one level. For example, a spherical area of high radiation with a radius of 20 feet creates a zone of medium radiation 21 feet to 40 feet from the center in all directions, and a similar zone of low radiation from 41 to 60 feet.

Radiation is a poison effect, but it's not an inhaled poison. Thus, Life bubble doesn't offer any protection against it.

another win for the AoN search engine! 8^0 lol

I did look for the rules but they weren't apparent. d20pfsrd did pop them up from the Technology Guide.

hmmm... I can see why they'd do it as a poison for easier healing but a Con drain then Str damage is pretty severe. Negative energy makes it hard to come back from the dead, poison not so much.

[bbangerter]

Azothath wrote:

Radiation is a poison effect, but it's not an inhaled poison. Thus, Life bubble doesn't offer any protection against it.

The ever persistant annoyance for me between AoN and d20pfsrd. d20 site occassionally has incorrect information. AoN site is abysmal for searching.

[Senko]

Odd one I'd say life bubble would protect against radiation by the intent of the spell had it been made after the radiation rules came out since it creates a bubble of liveable conditions not breathable air but you're right per the rules it doesn't do that.

[Azothath]

Senko wrote:

Odd one I'd say life bubble would protect against radiation by the intent of the spell had it been made after the radiation rules came out since it creates a bubble of liveable conditions not breathable air but you're right per the rules it doesn't do that.

reading the short description of the spell will clear up your misconception.

It cleary doesn't help againts lightning bolts and fireballs... the game relies on the GM to determine environmental effects.

[Senko]

Azothath wrote:

Senko wrote:

Odd one I'd say life bubble would protect against radiation by the intent of the spell had it been made after the radiation rules came out since it creates a bubble of liveable conditions not breathable air but you're right per the rules it doesn't do that.

reading the short description of the spell will clear up your misconception.

It cleary doesn't help againts lightning bolts and fireballs... the game relies on the GM to determine environmental effects.

The thing is a lightning bolt or fireball is more directed energy as opposed to a standard environment. Earth is a tolerable living condition but you can still get hit by a lightning bolt. A better argument would be it not working on positive or negative energy on those planes.

The spell is a bit vague the first half of the description makes it sound like its just a bubble of air but the second half talks about it protecting you against extreme temperatures and presssures which implies it also affects conditions like the extreme pressure of an ocean trench.

[Mysterious Stranger]

It also does not help vs a forest fire or temperature below -50 degrees, or above 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

[Senko]

Mysterious Stranger wrote:

It also does not help vs a forest fire or temperature below -50 degrees, or above 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Which is when you'd want it, strangely the spell planar adaption would protect against those temperatures (heat anyway) if you went to the plane of fire yet neither it nor planetary adaption would do the same for a forest fire on Golarion as they're not a standard condition.

[Diego Rossi]

bbangerter wrote:

Azothath wrote:

Radiation is a poison effect, but it's not an inhaled poison. Thus, Life bubble doesn't offer any protection against it.

The ever persistant annoyance for me between AoN and d20pfsrd. d20 site occassionally has incorrect information. AoN site is abysmal for searching.

The problem with both is that they often lack some important information. They present abilities that were printed under a header saying "Members of X race take the following abilities:" but don't repeat that header. Then people see the ability and what to take it with a race that RAW can't have it.

Houseruling that it can be taken by other races is fine, but the GM and the player need to know that it is an houserule.

[Arutema]

If it helps, the Starfinder version of Life Bubble explicitly doesn't protect against radiation, suggesting that neither should the PF1 version.

And, as mentioned above, Life Bubble protects against inhaled poisons. Radiation isn't inhaled.

[Senko]

Arutema wrote:

If it helps, the Starfinder version of Life Bubble explicitly doesn't protect against radiation, suggesting that neither should the PF1 version.

And, as mentioned above, Life Bubble protects against inhaled poisons. Radiation isn't inhaled.

To be honest that's always kind of annoyed me about starfinder. I get they want hazards but radiation just feels overly favoured when it comes to even powerful magic not offering much/any protection or only being able to cleanse a tiny area of it. I can understand it in Pathfinder where it would be poorly understood at best but in a scifi futuristic society radiation is one of the big things they should have developed ways to deal with in my opinion. Especially when you factor in even the weakened magic of the starfinder setting you can teleport between starsystems but only cleanse a 20' area of radiation.