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View Full Version : Rules Q&A Antimagic Field and Incorporeal Outsiders



InterstellarPro
2018-03-09, 09:16 AM
The Antimagic Field spell states the following:


Summoned creatures of any type and incorporeal undead wink out if they enter an antimagic field. They reappear in the same spot once the field goes away.

While most naturally incorporeal creatures are decidedly undead, there are a few that are not. Here is a short list:

Shadow Demon (BoVD) - Outsider
Ethereal Ooze (FF) - Ooze
Spectral Lurker (FF) - Aberration
Glimmerskin (MM2) - Outsider
Spirit of the Land (MM2) - Fey
Prismatic Golem (MM3) - Construct
Trilloch (MM3) - Outsider
Spectral Panther (MF) - Magical Beast
Unraveler (PlH) - Outsider
Vivacious Dire Tiger (PlH) - Outsider
Karalaq Quori (SoS) - Outsider
Unbodied (XPH) - Monstrous Humanoid

I do not know if this list is exhaustive, and most sources are 3.0 rather than 3.5. Still, what happens to these creatures in an antimagic field? Do they wink out like undead do? The Rules Compendium may state as much (I do not have access to the Rules Compendium, so I cannot verify this, but I have a link below that quotes it). Or do they become immune to damage? I have the potential for this situation to come up, and I think I want to make it uncommon lore that any incorporeal creature would wink out in an antimagic field. It would be uncommon given how few incorporeal creatures are not undead.

I found a similar query on the Pathfinder forums:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2l0v3?Nonundead-incorporeal-creatuers-and-antimagic
With two suggested houserules and no definitive answers.

I found a different question (but still in the same vein) here on the forums:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?78638-Antimagic-Field-and-incorporeal-undead

Then, from RPG.stackexchange:
https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/63950/the-unbodied-in-an-anti-magic-field
Here they actually quote a Rules Compendium difference where it says incorporeal creatures of all types wink out in an antimagic field. Is this canon? If so, that makes this a very easy to answer question.

TallerSpine
2018-03-09, 09:30 AM
I'd go with the Rules Compendium ruling. Seems as definitive as you are gonna get.

Necroticplague
2018-03-09, 09:31 AM
Then, from RPG.stackexchange:
https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/63950/the-unbodied-in-an-anti-magic-field
Here they actually quote a Rules Compendium difference where it says incorporeal creatures of all types wink out in an antimagic field. Is this canon? If so, that makes this a very easy to answer question.

Define 'canon'. It's as official as the PHB, being a first-party book. It also doesn't run into primary source issues, because it's not a contradiction (incorporeal undead winking out, and all incorporeal creatures winking out, are redundant, not contrary), so that the two say different things isn't a problem.

EDIT: Side not, even if they didn't wink our, they wouldn't be invincible. Non-magical Force effects, like Riverine weapons or Orbs of Force could still hurt them.

InterstellarPro
2018-03-09, 09:51 AM
Define 'canon'. It's as official as the PHB, being a first-party book. It also doesn't run into primary source issues, because it's not a contradiction (incorporeal undead winking out, and all incorporeal creatures winking out, are redundant, not contrary), so that the two say different things isn't a problem.

EDIT: Side not, even if they didn't wink our, they wouldn't be invincible. Non-magical Force effects, like Riverine weapons or Orbs of Force could still hurt them.

Excellent, thank you. I will need to think if I want to go with the Rules Compendium. Maybe it would be interesting if the incorporeal outsider I have planned specifically used antimagic as a strategy, and the party needed to find enough non-magical force effects to defeat it.