Heya all!
So incorporeal creatures are immune to weapon damage and whatnot, barring special circumstances, from non-magical weapon sources. But what about high-tech weaponry like lasers, freeze guns and other energy-type damages? Do they still ignore this since it is not a magical weapon? Or would the fact that it isn't a physical weapon harm them? Cause I remember reading somewhere that energy-based damage could harm them, which is why stuff like acid vials or alchemist fires could work against them.
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I too recall that energy attacks work, but the [url=https://www.aonprd.com/UMR.aspx?ItemName=IncorporealIncorporeal special quality[/url] seems to disagree.
Incorporeal (Ex)
Source Bestiary 6 pg. 294, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary pg. 301, Bestiary 2 pg. 298, Bestiary 3 pg. 296, Bestiary 4 pg. 295, Bestiary 5 pg. 294
An incorporeal creature has no physical body. It can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons or creatures that strike as magic weapons, spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It is immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Even when hit by spells or magic weapons, it takes only half damage from a corporeal source. Although it is not a magical attack, holy water can affect incorporeal undead. Corporeal spells and effects that do not cause damage only have a 50% chance of affecting an incorporeal creature (except for channel energy). Force spells and effects, such as from a magic missile, affect an incorporeal creature normally.
Probably it is because we conflated DR (that doesn't reduce the damage from non-magical energy attacks) and the effects of being incorporeal.
Many technological items replicate specific spells or magical effects. However, they do not use magic in any way, and thus function normally in areas of antimagic or primal magic, and are otherwise unaffected by any effects that target or affect magic items. (See page 8 for spells that specifically affect technological items.)
I am not sure if casting Magic weapon on a technology weapon will make the attack magic. It will enhance the aim, but it will not enhance the energy damage, so I doubt it will work.
Non-magical technological weapons will normally not affect incorporeal creatures, the same as non-magical fire (such as a normal lit torch) will not affect them. Alchemical (splash) weapons can affect swarms for full damage, but incorporeal creatures use different rules. The alchemist Bomb ability is (Su) so alchemist bombs are considered magic, but most alchemical weapons are not; holy water has specific effects against incorporeal undead and evil outsiders, but does not affect other incorporeal creatures (granted, most incorporeal foes are undead or evil outsiders).
To affect incorporeal creatures, technological weapons will need to be hybrid items (e.g., null blade or starfall spade), deal force damage (e.g, gravity pistol, gravity rifle, or vortex gun), or be specifically called out (plasma blade).