SRD:Incorporeal Subtype

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Incorporeal Subtype

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, and spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It is immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Even when hit by spells or magic weapons, it has a 50% chance to ignore any damage from a corporeal source (except for positive energy, negative energy, force effects such as magic missile, or attacks made with ghost touch weapons). Although it is not a magical attack, holy water can affect incorporeal undead, but a hit with holy water has a 50% chance of not affecting an incorporeal creature.

An incorporeal creature has no natural armor bonus but has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (always at least +1, even if the creature’s Charisma score does not normally provide a bonus).

An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid objects, but must remain adjacent to the object’s exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to its current location, but enemies have total concealment (50% miss chance) from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In order to see farther from the object it is in and attack normally, the incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks. An incorporeal creature cannot pass through a force effect.

An incorporeal creature’s attacks pass through (ignore) natural armor, armor, and shields, although deflection bonuses and force effects (such as mage armor) work normally against it. Incorporeal creatures pass through and operate in water as easily as they do in air. Incorporeal creatures cannot fall or take falling damage. Incorporeal creatures cannot make trip or grapple attacks, nor can they be tripped or grappled. In fact, they cannot take any physical action that would move or manipulate an opponent or its equipment, nor are they subject to such actions. Incorporeal creatures have no weight and do not set off traps that are triggered by weight.

An incorporeal creature moves silently and cannot be heard with Listen checks if it doesn’t wish to be. It has no Strength score, so its Dexterity modifier applies to both its melee attacks and its ranged attacks. Nonvisual senses, such as scent and blindsight, are either ineffective or only partly effective with regard to incorporeal creatures. Incorporeal creatures have an innate sense of direction and can move at full speed even when they cannot see.

 

SRD Monsters with the Incorporeal Subtype

Creature Entry	CR	Type and Subtypes	Size
Allip	3	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Caller In Darkness	9	Undead [Incorporeal, Psionic]	Large
Dread Wraith	11	Undead [Incorporeal]	Large
Greater Shadow	8	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Shadow	3	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Shadow of the Void	26	Undead [Cold, Incorporeal]	Large
Shape of Fire	26	Undead [Fire, Incorporeal]	Large
Spectre	7	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Unbodied	5	Monstrous Humanoid [Incorporeal, Psionic]	Medium
Wraith	5	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium

 

SRD Templates that grant the Incorporeal Subtype

Template	Description	CR Adjustment
Ghost	Ghosts are the spectral remnants of intelligent beings who, for one reason or another, cannot rest easily in their graves.	as the base creature +2

 

SRD Races with the Incorporeal Subtype

Race Name	Summary	Favored Class	Ability Adjustments	LA	ECL
Unbodied		Psion	+2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, +4 Intelligence, +4 Wisdom, +4 Charisma	4	8

 

Homebrew Monsters with the Incorporeal Subtype

Homebrew monsters using this type appear below. These are not part of the SRD, and are presented for ease of reference only.

Creature Entry	CR	Type and Subtypes	Size
Algollied	24	Outsider [Evil, Incorporeal, Psionic]	Large
Bubba The Headless Chicken	6	Undead [Incorporeal]	Tiny
Crying Owl	20	Outsider [Evil, Incorporeal]	Medium
Daemonic Circuit	5	Outsider [Extraplanar, Evil, Incorporeal]	Tiny
Discordant Ego	9	Outsider [Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar, Incorporeal, Psionic]	Small
Evil In the Pot	2, 15	Construct, Outsider [Evil, Incorporeal]	Small, Tiny
Flintspark	1/2	Fey [Incorporeal, Earth]	Tiny
Ghost Frog	1/2	Undead [Incorporeal]	Fine
Graha Vestige	4	Outsider [Incorporeal, Psionic, Xenoblooded]	Tiny
Haunting Bluewraith	5, 15	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Headless Maiden	8	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Hellstar	30	Elemental [Evil, Fire, Incorporeal]	Colossal
Kodama	1	Fey [Incorporeal]	Diminutive
Lamented One	5	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Madness Devil	14	Outsider [Devil, Extraplanar, Evil, Incorporeal, Lawful]	Medium
Memory Wraith	19	Outsider [Dreamborn, Extraplanar, Incorporeal]	Large
Phantom Limb	4	Undead [Incorporeal]	Tiny
Pyreshade	16	Undead [Incorporeal, Fire]	Large
Shadow Demon	8	Outsider [Chaotic, Extraplanar, Evil, Tanar'ri, Incorporeal]	Medium
Shadow Gen	1/2	Outsider [Extraplanar, Incorporeal]	Tiny
Shadow, Least	1	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Sorrowshade	7	Undead [Incorporeal]	Medium
Umbral Cat	1/2	Magical Beast [Extraplanar, Incorporeal]	Tiny
Umbrax	11	Outsider [Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar, Incorporeal, Loumara]	Medium
Umbrax, Liber Demonica	11	Outsider [Chaotic, Evil, Extraplanar, Incorporeal]	Medium
Utterdark Essence	6	Undead [Incorporeal]	Small
Will-O'-The-Wisp	3	Undead [Incorporeal]	Tiny

 

Homebrew Templates that grant the Incorporeal Subtype

Homebrew templates granting this type appear below. These are not part of the SRD, and are presented for ease of reference only.

Template	Description	CR Adjustment
Dark Puppeteer	A dark puppeteer is an incorporeal undead controlling its own zombified body.
Immaterial	A creature who no longer has a body and is instead a helpless disembodied spirit.

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