Pathfinder 1E Channel energy houseruling

[gamerprinter]

I see. I don't use undead alone in combats, unless is just a combat which only purpose is to show that there are undeads around.
So they have to take care where they channel to avoid healing the necromancers.
Still that give the cleric double die to roll.
Dividing how much die to heal and how much harm seems to have the same balance but it's more coherent with the flavor.

You must be discussing weaker, lower CR undead (like zombies and ghouls). Most of my necromancer villains are undead themselves, usually some powerful undead like vampire, lich, graveknight or ghost. That said, I agree with Billd91, clerics are too powerful of a class to allow positive energy channeling to do both healing the living and harming the undead at the same time. Separating those powers is a mitigating factor, and the right design decision in my opinion.

 

[papagheede]

I understand the desire to do it legally instead of house ruling it.
Open the house rule door, and things can get unpredictable for players (not always a bad thing).
I go with a rule of 10. Or "across the board".
Either 10 house rules maximum, or alter a rule for one players class, do so for the other player's classes in similar themes, like retrograding channeling to 3.5.

 

[Ezequielramone]

I understand the desire to do it legally instead of house ruling it.
Open the house rule door, and things can get unpredictable for players (not always a bad thing).
I go with a rule of 10. Or "across the board".
Either 10 house rules maximum, or alter a rule for one players class, do so for the other player's classes in similar themes, like retrograding channeling to 3.5.

I apply many houserules, those are written and shared with my players. I wanted the legal way to change that and making the standard channel to both heal and harm.
i.e. If one player or enemy makes a succeful acrobatics check DC10 they can stand up or pick up an item from the floor only spending 10' instead of the entire move action...

 

[Nimloth]

We allow the heal living/harm undead at the same time (like it was in the Pathfinder playtest). It is powerful if you are fighting undead, but unless you are doing a Zombie Apocalypse game (undead all the time) it can be calculated into the encounters easily enough.

 

[Hereticus]

We allow each burst of positive energy do all it is capable of:
- Heal allies.
- Harm undead.
- Harm infernals (if the cleric has the alignment channel ability).

 

[GameOgre]

Myself I would just split it like the other channel effects you can add.

Channel would simply deal half/half healing/damage. That way you are happy and get what you want(channel that makes since to you) without overpowering the Cleric.

If your cleric would heal/harm for 6D6 it now heals for 3D6 and Damages undead for 3D6. I guess for the sake of in game realism you can round up so at low levels it heals/harms for 1D6 at the same time.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I apply many houserules, those are written and shared with my players. I wanted the legal way to change that and making the standard channel to both heal and harm.

Whether you want to change the functionality exactly as you state, or change it to function as another existing feat, both ways are equally legal. If you're worried about adequately conveying this to your players, you could just say that it "always affects both living and undead" rather than saying that it "now works like Feat X by default".

 

[Koloth]

Be sure to remind the players that if you give them the dual benefit per channel of positive energy that the evil undead cleric with her horde of undead minions also gets the dual benefit from her channel of negative energy, i.e healing her party while damaging the player's party.

 

[Ezequielramone]

I agree in general, positive energy should damage undead even if its busy healing the living, although it could be viewed from that old pre pathfinder interpretation where after reaching double max hit points, you pop, making positive energy super dangerous, especially to low hit point wizards and rogues who are already fully healed.

How is that? Can you die when being healed?

 

[GreenFiend]

How is that? Can you die when being healed?

I believe it's mentioned in terms of the positive energy plane where it is possible to be healed to death.