Alternate Turn Undead

[Gwaihir]

Does anyone use any variants on the Turn Undead mechanic? The official way seems "inelegant" to me.

 

[moritheil]

Damage.

 

[evilbob]

I blather on a lot about what I do in this thread. Skip to the end for best results.

Complete Divine/other books introduce a damage mechanic, which is the basis for my post above. It's not the best, but it's a start.

 

[Klaus]

Does anyone use any variants on the Turn Undead mechanic? The official way seems "inelegant" to me.

Unearthed Arcana has an option that requires the cleric to concentrate to keep the undead paralyzed, and another option that replaces Turn Undead with Planar Banishment.

Complete Divine and Expedition to Castle Ravenloft have the option where the cleric deals 1d6/level damage to all undead within 30 feet with each turn attempt (Will save for half, turn resistance becomes a bonus to save).

 

[blargney the second]

I heard of one house rule that resolves turn undead in the usual way, but replaces all mention of "hit dice" with "CR". Presto! A class ability that remains useful as you gain levels.

 

[Kerrick]

I've got a variant I came up with.. it's similar to UA's version - concentrate to keep them at bay, or you can do an energy burst to damage them; evil clerics (which is something that always seems to be overlooked) can concentrate to rebuke them (they cower) or do an energy burst to bolster them (which grants a bonus to TR). This system is based on CR, not HD, so it's more balanced at all levels.