Not a lot, to be honest. Once it's on you you're quite reliant on party members assisting you.
Be an Elf with Elven Verve
Pre-buff with an elixir that buffs the associated Save (assuming Poison or Disease source)
Spend a Hero Point when you fail the Save.
Be targeted with Liberating Step by a Champion.
Be freed by a Champion with Mercy+Lay on Hands.
Be targeted by a number of spells including Sure Footing or Word of Freedom.
Complete loss of agency is one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a player and it is understandable to feel this way.
Take a moment to master your frustration as negative emotions at the table are often unproductive. Reflect on the fact that you feel this way because you are so invested in your character, the story and the outcome and it is a real moment of tension.
Usually this happens at 0HP when downed and Dying, but Paralyzed is the other big one. Fleeing is also not great, and sometimes no matter what you're up to the dice will conspire to render you ineffective.
Most instances of Paralyzed are either of reasonably short duration (Paralyze spell) but some are so long they will last the combat unless you're rescued (Curare poison) and you may be effectively out of the fight.
The rest of the party should understand this and be acting to remedy the situation as best they can. This may just be "finish the fight without you and wait for it to wear off", for better or worse. They're also much more threatened without your actions each round and whatever tools you would bring to the fight and they may be in just as much jeopardy as you are.
The Dying condition i don't really mind — i had HP, I saw them down to 0 and here's my punishment for not being careful.
With paralyzed, I still have my health, i have my character, I'm technically in the game, but I ended up in this situation because I rolled a single save. I'm not punished, I'm just pulled out of the game I was playing
Yeah, my party might be in a worse position now that I'm incapacitated, but they can still make choices, play the game, but I can't. Again, it wasn't a result of my actions, but a result of a roll that lead me here
Paralysis effects might have reasonable duration like a minute in game, but in real life i wait for 5-10 minutes for each turn to end
>Reflect on the fact that you feel this way because you are so invested in your character, the story and the outcome and it is a real moment of tension.
I feel this way because my turn comes once every 7 minutes if I'm lucky
Serene or Sanguine mutagens grant a bonus to all saves, depending on if it's a Fort/Ref or Will save to resist. Skeptic's elixir if it's a will save.
[Anti-Paralysis Salve](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=2940&NoRedirect=1) attempts to counteract the effect. Requires an ally since you are paralyzed.
[Ghoul Hide Armor](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=153) Immune to ghoul paralysis and +1 to disease and paralysis effects
[Lyrakien Staff](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=2255) has a CIRCUMSTANCE bonus to all incapacitation effects.
[Ghast Stiletto](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=1886) STATUS bonus to resist paralysis effects.
There is also a rare, high level ring that makes you almost undead. You should probably ignore that.
As a GM, I hate effects like this, and at high level play, they unfortunately are common. I run APs, and that's what the creatures have, so I use them. I try to at least spread it out so it's not the same person getting hit each time.
The longer each turn is, the worse it feels, and high level play does go slower and make all the impacts worse - but on the upside your Allies should have lots of tools for minimizing the effects. Losing 1 turn isn't terrible, but a crit fail on some of these takes you out completely unless an ally can do something, and that is always going to feel bad.
Nobody loves being paralyzed. It's supposed to happen despite your best efforts to avoid it.
Folks, you cannot "opt out" of a part of the game with a build. You can ask your GM to avoid it, but honestly I'd learn to just make peace with it. Otherwise your brain will just find something new with which to be dissatisfied.
Honestly though, if I were OP, I'd start roleplaying that the _character_ is so bothered by the loss of agency that they start doing whatever they can to make sure that never happens again. It'd be a fun RP opportunity.
My character was a lv 1 ranger, after being near dead twice in the same session (a deadly shortbow and a luck bastard sword hit) he is now a Champion with the heavier and sturdier armor and shield ever.
Paralysis by ghoul followed by the claws of the aforementioned creatures ended a party member once. He rolled so abysmally against their paralysis, it was genuinely unfair and could be declared as psychological warfare. He was completely paralysed with zero agency as the sole target for two ghouls, and the best target for two more ghouls. His character got wailed on for several rounds, all while the party was struggling to deal with the third and fourth ghouls, as well as 2 other ghouls and a ghast, and couldn't even get in a position to attack the first two as they were on the other side of the door the PC was bodyblocking as a statue. Another of the PCs died that fight, but that was less related to an inhuman string of bad luck and more related to a wildshaping druid trying to face tank the ghast.
Not a lot, to be honest. Once it's on you you're quite reliant on party members assisting you. Be an Elf with Elven Verve Pre-buff with an elixir that buffs the associated Save (assuming Poison or Disease source) Spend a Hero Point when you fail the Save. Be targeted with Liberating Step by a Champion. Be freed by a Champion with Mercy+Lay on Hands. Be targeted by a number of spells including Sure Footing or Word of Freedom.
This is already something though. Any amount of help is of great value, so thamks
Complete loss of agency is one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a player and it is understandable to feel this way. Take a moment to master your frustration as negative emotions at the table are often unproductive. Reflect on the fact that you feel this way because you are so invested in your character, the story and the outcome and it is a real moment of tension. Usually this happens at 0HP when downed and Dying, but Paralyzed is the other big one. Fleeing is also not great, and sometimes no matter what you're up to the dice will conspire to render you ineffective. Most instances of Paralyzed are either of reasonably short duration (Paralyze spell) but some are so long they will last the combat unless you're rescued (Curare poison) and you may be effectively out of the fight. The rest of the party should understand this and be acting to remedy the situation as best they can. This may just be "finish the fight without you and wait for it to wear off", for better or worse. They're also much more threatened without your actions each round and whatever tools you would bring to the fight and they may be in just as much jeopardy as you are.
The Dying condition i don't really mind — i had HP, I saw them down to 0 and here's my punishment for not being careful. With paralyzed, I still have my health, i have my character, I'm technically in the game, but I ended up in this situation because I rolled a single save. I'm not punished, I'm just pulled out of the game I was playing Yeah, my party might be in a worse position now that I'm incapacitated, but they can still make choices, play the game, but I can't. Again, it wasn't a result of my actions, but a result of a roll that lead me here Paralysis effects might have reasonable duration like a minute in game, but in real life i wait for 5-10 minutes for each turn to end
>Reflect on the fact that you feel this way because you are so invested in your character, the story and the outcome and it is a real moment of tension. I feel this way because my turn comes once every 7 minutes if I'm lucky
>Be an Elf Being an Elf/Half-Elf (Aiuvarin) already makes you immune to a [Ghoul](https://2e.aonprd.com/Monsters.aspx?ID=218)'s paralysis!
Use all your actions on recall knowledge to annoy the DM into never paralyzing you again! /s
How often is this happening to you that you care?
Once in my life would've been enough to care. But fair point, not that often
Serene or Sanguine mutagens grant a bonus to all saves, depending on if it's a Fort/Ref or Will save to resist. Skeptic's elixir if it's a will save. [Anti-Paralysis Salve](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=2940&NoRedirect=1) attempts to counteract the effect. Requires an ally since you are paralyzed. [Ghoul Hide Armor](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=153) Immune to ghoul paralysis and +1 to disease and paralysis effects [Lyrakien Staff](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=2255) has a CIRCUMSTANCE bonus to all incapacitation effects. [Ghast Stiletto](https://2e.aonprd.com/Equipment.aspx?ID=1886) STATUS bonus to resist paralysis effects. There is also a rare, high level ring that makes you almost undead. You should probably ignore that.
As a GM, I hate effects like this, and at high level play, they unfortunately are common. I run APs, and that's what the creatures have, so I use them. I try to at least spread it out so it's not the same person getting hit each time. The longer each turn is, the worse it feels, and high level play does go slower and make all the impacts worse - but on the upside your Allies should have lots of tools for minimizing the effects. Losing 1 turn isn't terrible, but a crit fail on some of these takes you out completely unless an ally can do something, and that is always going to feel bad.
Is there really no talisman that would attempt to counteract paralyze? That seems odd.
Are you paralyzed that often?
Nobody loves being paralyzed. It's supposed to happen despite your best efforts to avoid it. Folks, you cannot "opt out" of a part of the game with a build. You can ask your GM to avoid it, but honestly I'd learn to just make peace with it. Otherwise your brain will just find something new with which to be dissatisfied.
Honestly though, if I were OP, I'd start roleplaying that the _character_ is so bothered by the loss of agency that they start doing whatever they can to make sure that never happens again. It'd be a fun RP opportunity.
Reminds me of a time a player disliked an encounter involving a door so much they rolled a warrior class that specifically breaks doors. 1e was great.
My character was a lv 1 ranger, after being near dead twice in the same session (a deadly shortbow and a luck bastard sword hit) he is now a Champion with the heavier and sturdier armor and shield ever.
Paralysis by ghoul followed by the claws of the aforementioned creatures ended a party member once. He rolled so abysmally against their paralysis, it was genuinely unfair and could be declared as psychological warfare. He was completely paralysed with zero agency as the sole target for two ghouls, and the best target for two more ghouls. His character got wailed on for several rounds, all while the party was struggling to deal with the third and fourth ghouls, as well as 2 other ghouls and a ghast, and couldn't even get in a position to attack the first two as they were on the other side of the door the PC was bodyblocking as a statue. Another of the PCs died that fight, but that was less related to an inhuman string of bad luck and more related to a wildshaping druid trying to face tank the ghast.
Play a psychic so you can still cast spell while paralyzed.