Can a Solarian's ability to enter a Stellar Mode take into consideration conditions affecting her?

Question

I know there is GM discretion allowed as to the situations affecting a Solarian's ability to enter a Stellar Mode, but I would like other GMs opinions on this situation.

RAW seem to generally require that the Solarian be "in combat" and facing a significant threat. In fact, the description specifically says that:

you must be facing a significant enemy (see page 242).

Description of Significant Enemy:

...a creature with a CR less than or equal to your character level – 4 is not a significant enemy

So... nowhere does it give consideration as to the Solarian's personal situation.

In a hypothetical situation even a lowly CR-1 creature would present a dire threat to a Paralyzed 6th level Solarian, but she would not be permitted to enter Stellar Mode and become attuned, to use her Corona Revelation as a defense because of the low CR rating of the enemy.

In our example situation, the party encountered a group of Ghoul Soldiers who managed to paralyze the Solarian via bite. Combat moved into the next room, leaving the Solarian alone and still paralyzed (for 2 more rounds). I presumed the Solarian's Stellar Mode ended because there was no current threat to her, and stated such. She argued that the state of paralyzation itself constituted a threat and/or the fact that I still had her in "melee round" mode meant she was still "in combat" (she wanted to become fully attuned so she could jump back in the fight if/when released from paralyzation). I ruled that it must be a threat from an enemy and that her Stellar Mode ended, but she was still in "melee mode" so I could track the rounds of her paralyzation; she was unhappy with this decision.

Answer 1

Yes, it can

Here's the full text:

When you’re not in combat, you can’t enter a stellar mode. This ability manifests only in high-stakes situations, when your training takes over and connects your mind to the universe. There needs to be some risk to you for your stellar mode to activate, so you must be facing a significant enemy. If there’s any doubt about whether you’re in combat or able to access your stellar mode, the GM decides. This also means that your stellar mode might end before what was previously a dangerous battle is over, once all that remains are dregs that don’t pose a real threat to you.

and:

In general, a creature with a CR less than or equal to your character level – 4 is not a significant enemy.

Your quote contained most of that sentence but omitted the text "in general".

If a character is paralyzed, then a CR1 ghoul is certainly a "significant enemy". This is an exception to the general case described above.

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You've described a situation where a character is paralyzed and then combat moved into the next room. In this case it's murkier, because the character isn't actually "facing" anyone at all. The combat isn't over, and the character is certainly still in danger -- but we shouldn't allow characters to activate their abilities just on the basis that there are enemies nearby.

On the gripping hand, one of the main purposes of GM discretion is to make sure the game is fun!

In the situation you've described, your solarian player is definitely not having fun. They've been paralyzed, sidelined, and left out of the combat. The player turns to you and says: "well, that's pretty awful. But at least I can keep building attunement, right?"

In this situation, the right thing to do is show mercy. Let them squeeze at least a little bit of silver lining out of the awful situation they're in. It won't cost you anything, and they'll have more fun in your game.