Immunity to a trait makes you immune to effects with that trait. But when immune to one trait in some complex effects, you may only be safe from part of the effect, according to Immunity. Is phantasmal killer such an effect? I figured that immunity to any of death, emotion, fear, illusion, or mental would protect against the whole effect, but then I read this section on playing as undead, particularly the immunity to death effects, and now I'm not so sure. Or are these playing-as-undead rules making an exception just for PCs?
This has been discussed on different threads. Such as this one. Or this one (that you yourself also started).
Basically the only one who can definitively answer that question is your GM.
There are differences of opinions on how the 'immune to a trait' and 'complex effects' rules are interpreted. I don't feel like getting into it again for this particular spell. Read the other threads for the various positions that people have and apply them to this spell as well.
While there's a lot of back and forth on complex effects, this one is particularly odd because even ignoring that part, the basic undead benefits seem to assume that this is simply how death immunity works as a trait. It's written as though it's restating a general rule, even though it doesn't appear anywhere else.
Definitely a talk to your GM scenario.
It doesn't seem particularly odd to me. It looks like it is restating the general rule from Immunity to part of a complex effect.
It just happens to be confirming that a status or condition is a valid reason to rule something as a complex effect - not just multiple damage types.
While there's a lot of back and forth on complex effects, this one is particularly odd because even ignoring that part, the basic undead benefits seem to assume that this is simply how death immunity works as a trait. It's written as though it's restating a general rule, even though it doesn't appear anywhere else.
The archetypes and skeleton ancestry that follow can give the basic undead benefits detailed here. These are somewhat different from the normal undead creature abilities to better fit player characters.
So yes, they are making exceptions just for PCs, and death effects are presumably one of them.
OP, I'm not sure why your question about PK isn't answered by
For example, you can still take mental damage and become frightened by a phantasmal killer, you just don't instantly die from it.
What ambiguity am I missing?
The archetypes and skeleton ancestry that follow can give the basic undead benefits detailed here. These are somewhat different from the normal undead creature abilities to better fit player characters.So yes, they are making exceptions just for PCs, and death effects are presumably one of them.
Oh yeah, I missed that part. The text for immunity to death effects still had me wondering whether it was an exception or just a clarification though.
Phantasmal Killer has been replaced BTW.
Phantasmal Killer has been replaced BTW.
What are they replacing it with? The same spell with a different name?
Phantasmal Killer has been replaced BTW.What are they replacing it with? The same spell with a different name?
Vision Of Death i think.
Not exactly the same, no. Still a death spell, so it kills instantly at zero HO instead of sending you to Dying, but there's no save vs instant death on crit fail. Just a bunch if mental damage, frightened 4 and fleeing as long as you're frightened. The Death trait is still on the whole spell. Incapacitation is no longer on any part of it.
Not exactly the same, no.
Yeah, sorry I didn't answer the second part.
Not exactly the same, no. Still a death spell, so it kills instantly at zero HO instead of sending you to Dying, but there's no save vs instant death on crit fail. Just a bunch if mental damage, frightened 4 and fleeing as long as you're frightened. The Death trait is still on the whole spell. Incapacitation is no longer on any part of it.
I guess the devs must have heard the horror stories about this infamous hazard.