Incorporeal equipment

[Tiri]

How can non-weapon-or-armor equipment be made usable by incorporeal creatures and retainable when passing through objects? Ghost touch seems to be able to do this since an item with it can count as incorporeal, but it can only be added to weapons or armor.

[MisterKaws]

How can non-weapon-or-armor equipment be made usable by incorporeal creatures and retainable when passing through objects? Ghost touch seems to be able to do this since an item with it can count as incorporeal, but it can only be added to weapons or armor.

Adamantine ghost touch anything. Adamantine weapons are always considered as masterwork, even improvised ones, and anything can be an improvised weapon, so...

[ExLibrisMortis]

Any equipment that an incorporeal creature is holding, using or carrying is also incorporeal. The problem is that it loses that property when you let it go.

The easiest way to fix that is to take a feat, Ghostly Grasp, allowing you to pick equipment up as if you weren't incorporeal, then wear or use it, which turns it incorporeal. I'd eyeball a magic item of Ghostly Grasp at around 15.000 gp, because it does have a 15 charisma requirement you're bypassing, and incorporealty is not an inconvenient-but-cool ability that needs fixing (like being a water-breather in a land campaign, which you shouldn't play without cheap diving surfacing helmets).

[Ellowryn]

Any equipment that an incorporeal creature is holding, using or carrying is also incorporeal. The problem is that it loses that property when you let it go.

The easiest way to fix that is to take a feat, Ghostly Grasp, allowing you to pick equipment up as if you weren't incorporeal, then wear or use it, which turns it incorporeal. I'd eyeball a magic item of Ghostly Grasp at around 15.000 gp, because it does have a 15 charisma requirement you're bypassing, and incorporealty is not an inconvenient-but-cool ability that needs fixing (like being a water-breather in a land campaign, which you shouldn't play without cheap diving surfacing helmets).

Where does it say that anything an incorporeal creature is holding becomes incorporeal itself? I looked in the monster manual and it made no mention of that in the subtype listing. That feat is still incredibly useful (i wish i had realized it existed for this Unbodied i had made for a game) but i haven't found anything anywhere about turning items incorporeal.


Edit: Nevermind, apparently it was updated in MM3. But in that case what is the point of Ghostly Grasp? It says incorporeal creatures can wear and benefit from items in the subtype listing, so why is there a feat that says they can do just that if they already can?

[Crake]

How can non-weapon-or-armor equipment be made usable by incorporeal creatures and retainable when passing through objects? Ghost touch seems to be able to do this since an item with it can count as incorporeal, but it can only be added to weapons or armor.

Savage Species as a sidebar for applying ghost touch to any item, page 42, increasing the cost by 10%. Note that it merely allows an incorporeal creature to interact with the item itself, and doesn't actually make the item's effects affect incorporeal creatures any more than it already does, so for example a ghost touch wand of fireball would still have a 50% chance to not affect incorporeal creatures, but an incorporeal creature could pick it up and use it without issue.

[Tiri]

Any equipment that an incorporeal creature is holding, using or carrying is also incorporeal. The problem is that it loses that property when you let it go.

The easiest way to fix that is to take a feat, Ghostly Grasp, allowing you to pick equipment up as if you weren't incorporeal, then wear or use it, which turns it incorporeal. I'd eyeball a magic item of Ghostly Grasp at around 15.000 gp, because it does have a 15 charisma requirement you're bypassing, and incorporealty is not an inconvenient-but-cool ability that needs fixing (like being a water-breather in a land campaign, which you shouldn't play without cheap diving surfacing helmets).

Oh, ok. I didn't know about the MM3 update until you mentioned it. Although I do have the same question as Ellowryn. Why is Ghostly Grasp neccesary if all items the incorporeal creature holds become incorporeal? Or is it that Ghostly Grasp is needed for the items to be picked up in the first place? That's also confusing though, since it means no non-Ghostly Grasp incorporeal creature can pick anything up.


Savage Species as a sidebar for applying ghost touch to any item, page 42, increasing the cost by 10%. Note that it merely allows an incorporeal creature to interact with the item itself, and doesn't actually make the item's effects affect incorporeal creatures any more than it already does, so for example a ghost touch wand of fireball would still have a 50% chance to not affect incorporeal creatures, but an incorporeal creature could pick it up and use it without issue.

Thanks. I already knew about that, but the problem is it only works on magic items.

[Ettina]

Edit: Nevermind, apparently it was updated in MM3. But in that case what is the point of Ghostly Grasp? It says incorporeal creatures can wear and benefit from items in the subtype listing, so why is there a feat that says they can do just that if they already can?

Before they can use said equipment, they must be able to pick it up. Normally, an incorporeal character can't pick up or put on corporeal armor - instead, they're generally just wearing whatever their body was wearing when they died. With Ghostly Grasp, they can pick up equipment, thereby turning it incorporeal so they can use it.

[Bronk]

For new equipment, the simplest way is to bring it to the ethereal plane where the ghost is solid, then have it equip the items normally.

[ExLibrisMortis]

For new equipment, the simplest way is to bring it to the ethereal plane where the ghost is solid, then have it equip the items normally.
Not all incorporeal creatures can go to the ethereal plane, and they're not all solid on the ethereal plane, either. Ghosts are just wacky like that.

Edit: RE: Ghostly Grasp: Normally, you turn corporeal to pick stuff up, through spellcasting or through a racial ability. With the feat, you don't have to, which is nice if you're not a caster and not of the right species.

[OldTrees1]

Is there an item or a spell that can be made into a custom magic item that makes an object temporarily ghost touch?

Reason:

A Ghost Rogue died with some ghost touch weapons so they have some ghost touch ghostly equipment that allows them to avoid the 50% miss chance when attacking corporeal creatures. The Ghost Rogue also took the Ghostly Touch feat so they can pick up corporeal objects. However the corporeal loot they just picked up has trouble phasing through walls.

[Necroticplague]

There's a ring in Ghostwalk that allows an incorporeal creature to manifest into a corporeal form. Put it on, pick up equipment, take it off, your equipment goes incorporeal with you (thr ring itself is naturally Ghost Touch). 10k GP, but worth the cost.

[Crake]

There's a ring in Ghostwalk that allows an incorporeal creature to manifest into a corporeal form. Put it on, pick up equipment, take it off, your equipment goes incorporeal with you (thr ring itself is naturally Ghost Touch). 10k GP, but worth the cost.

No idea where you get the idea that all your normally corporeal equipment becomes incorporeal with you?


Oh, ok. I didn't know about the MM3 update until you mentioned it. Although I do have the same question as Ellowryn. Why is Ghostly Grasp neccesary if all items the incorporeal creature holds become incorporeal? Or is it that Ghostly Grasp is needed for the items to be picked up in the first place? That's also confusing though, since it means no non-Ghostly Grasp incorporeal creature can pick anything up.



Thanks. I already knew about that, but the problem is it only works on magic items.

Just give whatever it is you want to become incorporeal some cheap enchantment, which incidentally would serve the purpose of making the item incredibly cheap to add ghost touch to as well.

[Necroticplague]

No idea where you get the idea that all your normally corporeal equipment becomes incorporeal with you?

Because the Incorporeal Subtype says so

Any equipment worn or carried by an incorporeal creature is also incorporeal as long as it remains in the creature's possession. An object that the creature relinquishes loses its incorporeal quality (and the creature loses the ability to manipulate the object). If an incorporeal creature uses a thrown weapon or a ranged weapon, the projectile becomes corporeal as soon as it is fired and can affect a corporeal target normally (no miss chance). Magic items possessed by an incorporeal creature work normally with respect to their effects on the creature or on another target. Similarly, spells cast by an incorporeal creature affect corporeal creatures normally.
So as long as you're incorporeal, and it's in your possession, it's also incorporeal.

[Bronk]

Not all incorporeal creatures can go to the ethereal plane, and they're not all solid on the ethereal plane, either. Ghosts are just wacky like that.

True! It seems like a good bet that Tiri's talking about ghosts though.

Edit: Seemed!

[Psyren]

In PF at least, ghosts get to keep/use a variety of things:


When a ghost is created, it retains incorporeal “copies” of any items that it particularly valued in life (provided the originals are not in another creature's possession). The equipment works normally for the ghost but passes harmlessly through material objects or creatures. A weapon of +1 or better magical enhancement, however, can harm material creatures, but any such attack deals only half as much damage (50%) unless it is a ghost touch weapon. A ghost can use shields or armor only if they have the ghost touch quality.

In other words, you can take it with you after all :smallbiggrin:

[Bronk]

In PF at least, ghosts get to keep/use a variety of things:

In other words, you can take it with you after all :smallbiggrin:

3.5 is similar, except that they usually get everything on their body, but only 2d4 other items that they valued in life.


Ghostly Equipment
When a ghost forms, all its equipment and carried items usually become ethereal along with it. In addition, the ghost retains 2d4 items that it particularly valued in life (provided they are not in another creature’s possession). The equipment works normally on the Ethereal Plane but passes harmlessly through material objects or creatures. A weapon of +1 or better magical enhancement, however, can harm material creatures when the ghost manifests, but any such attack has a 50% chance to fail unless the weapon is a ghost touch weapon (just as magic weapons can fail to harm the ghost).

The original material items remain behind, just as the ghost’s physical remains do. If another creature seizes the original, the ethereal copy fades away. This loss invariably angers the ghost, who stops at nothing to return the item to its original resting place.

[Tiri]

True! It seems like a good bet that Tiri's talking about ghosts though.

Actually, I was asking because I was building a wraith character. Not that I'll ever get to play it, but I liked the idea.


Just give whatever it is you want to become incorporeal some cheap enchantment, which incidentally would serve the purpose of making the item incredibly cheap to add ghost touch to as well.

Well, I was talking about things like sacks and torches. Which would be a bit wasteful to enchant.

[EoNhOeKnOwS]

Hi everyone sorry to revive this old post but I’ve a question kinda relating to this and I feel it’s best than to make a thread to ask it

I’m making a shadowcaster/master of shadows and it gets a shadow servant/familiar that is incorporeal.

Can I command it to equip magic gear, that isn’t ghost touched enchanted?

If It’s incorporeality doesn’t let it, it also has this ability that lets me make it corporeal. If I give it gear to equip this way, will the gear then become incorporeal when the time arises?

I also saw something about plane shifting to the ethereal plane to give it the gear but it turns out etherealness is different than incorporealness. Ethereal means that it shifts between material and ethereal plane so if hero and villain are both in the material plane OR the ethereal plane together they’re both corporeal, while incorporeal means it literally has no physical mass and it’ll be incorporeal in any plane (including the ethereal) so anyways that option won’t work

Thanks!

[Necroticplague]

Can I command it to equip magic gear, that isn’t ghost touched enchanted?
You can certainly command it to do so. However, it will have great difficulty following that order, given that it's incorporeal hand would pass right through it.

If It’s incorporeality doesn’t let it, it also has this ability that lets me make it corporeal. If I give it gear to equip this way, will the gear then become incorporeal when the time arises?Does the ability say that corporeal gear turns incorporeal if the creature does? If not, it doesn't.
EDIT: Looking over the Master of Shadow class now, not sure where you're getting that it lets you turn your Shadow Elemental corporeal. The closest thing it has is the 'interact with corporeal', but that doesn't actually make the elemental corporeal.

I also saw something about plane shifting to the ethereal plane to give it the gear but it turns out etherealness is different than incorporealness. Ethereal means that it shifts between material and ethereal plane so if hero and villain are both in the material plane OR the ethereal plane together they’re both corporeal, while incorporeal means it literally has no physical mass and it’ll be incorporeal in any plane (including the ethereal) so anyways that option won’t work
Anything about the Ethereal is about the specific, odd status of Ghosts. Ghost are Ethereal, and can Manifest to also be Incorporeal on the Prime Material. So even if a Ghost can't pick it up, transporting it to the Ethereal (where the ghost is corporeal) would work. Unfortunately, this isn't very useful for your Shadow Elemental.

[EoNhOeKnOwS]

Kool, thanks for the info, as well as the “interact with corporeal” ability, but regarding that, as it just makes the shadow servant into an uber unseen servant- the unseen servant can handle corporeal items (for example, open a door), I’ve kinda mayhaps read around that if an incorporeal creature holds an item the item becomes incorporeal as well and if the creature drops the item it reverts back to corporeal. Is this fact or just people throwing around odd ideas?



EDIT: The spell Ghost Trap from spell compendium makes an incorporeal creature corporeal ... so does the item become incorporeal with the creature when the spell ends??? x_x