Channel Energy effects friend and foe?

[soggybag]

Reading the Clerical ability Channel Energy. It says Channeling energy causes a burst hat affects all creatures of one type (either undead or living) in a 30-foot radius centered on the cleric.

From the description this sounds like it would heal your foes alike! Which would make the ability far less useful. Is this correct?

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

It is correct. Channel is a burst ability and effects everything inside that area.

The selective channel feat does fix that, but without the feat you hit everyone within rang

 

[Twowolves]

It was meant to be used outside of combat as a means ot offsetting the "15 minute workday", but with Selective Channeling (and a decent Chr) paired with good field position, you can use it in combat without worrying about helping your enemies too much.

 

[Set]

With Selective Channeling and a Cha of 13, you can channel in BBEG fights where's it's the entire party vs. one big bad dude without trouble, so it's at least situationally useful to channel-heal during combat for a positive energy channeler, as those sorts of fights do occur from time to time.

As the game is balanced around a four man adventuring party, an evil Cleric, channeling negative energy, needs Selective Channeling and at least a 16 Charisma to be able to channel energy in a fight without killing his allies, making it much less useful for the evil Cleric.

 

[Twowolves]

Unless, of course, the evil cleric's allies are undead.