I was one of those who really liked the change of Turning Undead rules into Channel (Positive/Negative) Energy in the Pathfinder RPG. Having used the rules in my game for a while now, I still prefer the new rules to the old rules, but I do have some new reservations - chiefly that the mechanic is very overpowered when the party is fighting Undead.
The party in the campaign in question, currently consists of the following classes, all of which are at level 9:
1 x Wizard
1 x Fighter/Barbarian
1 x Cleric
1 x Paladin
1 x Rogue
The Cleric has taken feats that improve turning undead, notably: Quicken Turning, Improved Turning and Extra Turning
It is a mostly 3.5E game, but I am gradually introducing more and more Pathfinder RPG elements with an eye towards a full conversion after Alpha 3 is released. The campaign world is my own as are the adventures.
I will not bore you with the details of the story, but suffice it to say that the party, although dealing with other pressing issues, had decided to take on a sidequest and embark on an expedition to investigate an ancient tomb dating back to the Karminian civilization in the desert they were visiting.
Having made their treck and dealt with the traps they, needless to say began encountering numerous undead. The undead threats were varied, ranging from numerous weak undead (even as lowly as zombies or improved skeletons) to ghasts, ghost, wights and mummies. None of these encounters posed any problems to the party - it was not even close.
Eventually, they found out that undeath was the Karminian version of the afterlife and found some undead with their souls sundered from their bodies and so on and so on jumping over the story... basically they became unsure whether slaughtering them is a good idea and left the tomb. They eventually returned, however, their numbers further augmented by 3 8th level paladins.
Again jumping over the story to the combats:
- a fight against numerous heavily upgraded skeletons teamed up with 2 mummies: not a problem for the party at all
- a fight against 4 bodaks: not a problem for the party at all
- a fight against 4 wights and 4 ghosts (2 ghosts and 2 wights had 7 class levels each - a wizard and a rogue among both)
- a fight against a Mummy Lord (CR15): not a problem for the party at all
The finnal battle was preceded by an encounter with two rust monsters, after which the party did not have any time to rest.
The setup was that the party then entered the burial chamber of King Ochran where it fought him, as well as his 4 advisors. The room was made of metal and was very cold - the floor was made of ice. Beneath the ice was a natural cavern and some way down in that cavern was a pool of lava with a path winding through it. The lava was melting the ice, but it was refreezing almost immediately, due to the magic of a Black Sun that adorned the ceiling and exuded dark energy (providing +2 to resistance against Channel Positive Energy) and cold. Nevertheless there were cracks in the ice that were moving along the floor (ice was cracking and then always refreezing a round later) that a character could fall through.
The chamber contained the sarcofagi of king's 4 advisors (4 mummies). On top of that, however, the party also had to simultaneously face King Ochran, whose body was represented by a mummy with upgraded stats and 10 levels of sorceror and whose soul (sundered from the body) was represented by a spectre with upgraded stats and also 10 levels of sorcerer. Both the body of Ochran and the soul of Ochran also received bonus hit points and additional +2 to their turn resistance.
Suffice it to say, that the party still slaughtered this entourage wholesale and I did not pull my punches (Cloudkills... Fireballs to hurt them and melt the ice temporarily to make them fall through and so on - though I deliberately did not give the sorcerers Dominate as I did think that would have been an overkill - perhaps I was wrong), yet at the end of the day, the party was not terribly ruined and did not pull through by just the nick of their teeth. OK, the party was not in the best of shapes after it was all over, but it was still disturbingly combat capable.
As such, I do think that the current incarnation of Channel Positive Energy is overpowered when the party is dealing with undead, though I still prefer it to the old 3.5 Turning Undead mechanic.
The party in the campaign in question, currently consists of the following classes, all of which are at level 9:
1 x Wizard
1 x Fighter/Barbarian
1 x Cleric
1 x Paladin
1 x Rogue
The Cleric has taken feats that improve turning undead, notably: Quicken Turning, Improved Turning and Extra Turning
It is a mostly 3.5E game, but I am gradually introducing more and more Pathfinder RPG elements with an eye towards a full conversion after Alpha 3 is released. The campaign world is my own as are the adventures.
I will not bore you with the details of the story, but suffice it to say that the party, although dealing with other pressing issues, had decided to take on a sidequest and embark on an expedition to investigate an ancient tomb dating back to the Karminian civilization in the desert they were visiting.
Having made their treck and dealt with the traps they, needless to say began encountering numerous undead. The undead threats were varied, ranging from numerous weak undead (even as lowly as zombies or improved skeletons) to ghasts, ghost, wights and mummies. None of these encounters posed any problems to the party - it was not even close.
Eventually, they found out that undeath was the Karminian version of the afterlife and found some undead with their souls sundered from their bodies and so on and so on jumping over the story... basically they became unsure whether slaughtering them is a good idea and left the tomb. They eventually returned, however, their numbers further augmented by 3 8th level paladins.
Again jumping over the story to the combats:
- a fight against numerous heavily upgraded skeletons teamed up with 2 mummies: not a problem for the party at all
- a fight against 4 bodaks: not a problem for the party at all
- a fight against 4 wights and 4 ghosts (2 ghosts and 2 wights had 7 class levels each - a wizard and a rogue among both)
- a fight against a Mummy Lord (CR15): not a problem for the party at all
The finnal battle was preceded by an encounter with two rust monsters, after which the party did not have any time to rest.
The setup was that the party then entered the burial chamber of King Ochran where it fought him, as well as his 4 advisors. The room was made of metal and was very cold - the floor was made of ice. Beneath the ice was a natural cavern and some way down in that cavern was a pool of lava with a path winding through it. The lava was melting the ice, but it was refreezing almost immediately, due to the magic of a Black Sun that adorned the ceiling and exuded dark energy (providing +2 to resistance against Channel Positive Energy) and cold. Nevertheless there were cracks in the ice that were moving along the floor (ice was cracking and then always refreezing a round later) that a character could fall through.
The chamber contained the sarcofagi of king's 4 advisors (4 mummies). On top of that, however, the party also had to simultaneously face King Ochran, whose body was represented by a mummy with upgraded stats and 10 levels of sorceror and whose soul (sundered from the body) was represented by a spectre with upgraded stats and also 10 levels of sorcerer. Both the body of Ochran and the soul of Ochran also received bonus hit points and additional +2 to their turn resistance.
Suffice it to say, that the party still slaughtered this entourage wholesale and I did not pull my punches (Cloudkills... Fireballs to hurt them and melt the ice temporarily to make them fall through and so on - though I deliberately did not give the sorcerers Dominate as I did think that would have been an overkill - perhaps I was wrong), yet at the end of the day, the party was not terribly ruined and did not pull through by just the nick of their teeth. OK, the party was not in the best of shapes after it was all over, but it was still disturbingly combat capable.
As such, I do think that the current incarnation of Channel Positive Energy is overpowered when the party is dealing with undead, though I still prefer it to the old 3.5 Turning Undead mechanic.
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