Remaster Shield Block Damage Types

[SillyOldeBear]

The trigger for the Shield Block reaction specifies physical damage (bludgeoning, piercing, slashing), but the effect text does not explicitly do so.

One interpretation of the effect text could assume that the damage being discussed is restricted to the triggering damage, in terms of how much damage can be blocked and how much unblocked damage the shield would take. The RAW interpretation assumes the shield could block and take any kind of damage as long as some of it was physical.

The RAW interpretation leads to some odd possibilities. If there is an attack that does 1 piercing damage and 19 spirit damage, the shield block would block 10 of the damage and would take 10 unblocked damage, even though the spirit damage by itself could not be blocked at all.

If we use the non-RAW interpretation, the shield could only block the 1 point of piercing damage and would not be damaged at all. This seems to make more sense to me, but is not explicitly stated in the rules.

I'd like to hear other opinions on this issue.

[Baarogue]

I'll be running it the "RAW" way where it requires physical to trigger but can block other damage riding along with that physical damage, unless directed otherwise by errata or PFS guidance. The old description triggered off "you would take damage from a physical attack" so there was argument over what's a "physical attack"

Now the trigger is clearly defined but the effect text hasn't changed a jot. I don't like to think that's an accident but I could be convinced by sources, since the book certainly isn't error-free

Speaking of which: the fighter class features list has a typo in the Shield Block entry. It says "found on page 266" but that's its old CR page number. In the PC it's 262. It is correct in the cleric warpriest entry

[Tactical Drongo]

Now Spirit damage is a weird specific example as it damages things with a Soul and Not Objekts (one could make an argument for intelligent objects)

So in the specific Advantage, given that the Spirit damage needs the physical to 'connect' I would indeed say that the 1 damage is blocked and the Rest dissipates (like you wouldn't get poisoned when blocking a 1 damage Blow gun Dart)

When it would be für damage ob the other Hand I would say you can Block and the damaged it handled as with a conpletely physical attack from there ob out