[PF] Catatonia spell

[Power]

So, Paizo printed a spell that allows you to target creatures as if they were objects:

CATATONIA
Source Occult Adventures pg. 161
School necromancy; Level alchemist 2, arcanist 3, bard 2, cleric 3, investigator 2, medium 2, mesmerist 2, oracle 3, psychic 3, skald 2, sorcerer 3, spiritualist 2, warpriest 3, witch 3, wizard 3
CASTING
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components S
EFFECT
Range touch
Target willing creature touched
Duration 1 hour/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
DESCRIPTION
You touch the target and place it into a deathlike state that persists for the duration. The target appears to be dead, and any creature that interacts with the target must succeed at a DC 20 Heal check to recognize it is actually alive.

Until the spell ends, the target counts as if it were dead for the purpose of resolving any effects that target or affect only living creatures, but it doesn’t count as undead. The subject is helpless, and can still be killed normally.

Any effect that would bring the creature back to life or animate it as an undead fails, but ends the catatonia. The target can be affected by spells that affect only objects, including animate objects (if the creature is Small) and teleport object. However, anything that would cause the body to change form (such as shrink item) fails and ends the catatonia. This doesn’t prevent the effects of spells that simply deal damage or otherwise destroy objects.

I'm wondering how we can go about taking advantage of that?

Right now all I can think of are permanent Invisibility and Obscure Object. It seems you can use it with Mending cantrip spam to fully heal someone, provided you first polymorph them into a small or tiny shape (Reduce Person works wonders), then cast Catatonia, then spam Mending?

[ketaro]

Holy crap you can use this spell to animate object corpses of creatures far outside your HD range of animate undead. With none of the weaknesses of undead.

And/or be a subpar necromancer without any of the moral quandaries.

[Power]

You can already cast Animate Object on corpses. The appeal of catatonia is that you can cast spells on living creatures as if they were objects.

[phaedrusxy]

Wow... what a dumb (poorly thought out/written) spell... 

[zook1shoe]

damn Rune of Durability only targets weapons

could a halfling body fit in a 1 ft. cube? if so, the Invisible Aegis ritual would work on it.

absorb a creature into another using Ghost Brand

Shrink Item then cast Lighten Object. you can then use Transfiguring Touch to change them into a precious metal permanently

Golden Guise turn them into gold, then you can use Warp Metal to fuck w their shape same w  Dongun Shaper's Touch

[Power]

The spell explicitly states "anything that would cause the body to change form (such as shrink item) fails and ends the catatonia." So Ghost Brand, Shrink Item, Transfiguring Touch, Golden Guise, Warp Metal, and Dongun Shaper's Touch all do not work with it. To fit in a 1 foot cube, you are looking at tiny size creatures, so your Halfling would probably want a permanent Reduce Person, although I still have no idea why you would do this and there is an open question whether or not the Halfling would asphyxiate to death.

Incidentally, Transfiguring Touch can be used as a money-printing spell with False Focus (100 gp per casting), but so can Bless Water (25gp per casting) if you use the Magaambyan Arcana race trait to add it to your arcane spellcaster list.

[ketaro]

ketaro continues the trend of missing vital words in posts!

Rune of Durability could still work tho, yes? It's only requirement is a "weapon" and anything not affixed in place can become a weapon of improvised nature :v

As an aside, I do now want to see how making a not-necromancers with animate objects could work....never really thought of it before now.

[zook1shoe]

speaking of vital words.... this came up on reddit

AC Bonus (Ex): When unarmored and unencumbered, the monk adds his Wisdom bonus (if any) to his AC and his CMD. In addition, a monk gains a +1 bonus to AC and CMD at 4th level. This bonus increases by 1 for every four monk levels thereafter, up to a maximum of +5 at 20th level.

These bonuses to AC apply even against touch attacks or when the monk is flat-footed. He loses these bonuses when he is immobilized or helpless, when he wears any armor, when he carries a shield, or when he carries a medium or heavy load.

carrying is a much lower bar than using/wielding

[Power]

Rune of Durability is gray territory. Strictly speaking, living people already count as improvised weapons in Pathfinder, at least if you're a Barbarian with the Body Bludgeon rage power, but it looks like nothing is stopping a normal character from using a willing person of smaller size as an improvised weapon either?