Channeling Strike - Add Turn (Creature) to an Attack

[Apeiron]

What if clerics/paladins could channel a use of Turn Undead (or elemental etc) into a single attack? Instead of blasting all the undead in sight, they could channel that power into one target.

Models

Proactive - The cleric must expend the use before rolling the attack. This makes the attempt somewhat risky, so the benefit should be greater, or the requirements less steep.

Reactive - The cleric may channel the energy after a successful attack. Less risk should mean less benefit or steeper requirements.

Possible Benefits - The feat would grant one or more of these benefits

- Negate Miss Chance for Incorporeal (only makes sense for Proactive)
- Sever connection to the Negative Energy Plane for X rounds or minutes, denying use of level drain abilities
- Focussed Turning: In addition to the normal damage of the strike, the user makes a turn check against that creature as if the user was X levels higher
- Holy Damage: Add XdY Holy Damage
- Critical Strike: Makes critical hits against undead possible.

This just came to me a few minutes ago, so i've not had time to finesse it. i think this would be most interesting in the form of Channeling Strike and Greater Channeling Strike. You guys are great at coming up with rules balanced feats, i hope this inspires you.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

My preference would be for a pro-active model that provides 1D6 for every other effective level... meaning the level you have for your turn attempt.
You can then add these D6 to either the attack roll or the damage roll.. chosen before the attack obviously. The damage and the attack are considered either Holy or Unholy based on the characters alignment.

Fer instance, a 6th level Cleric would have +3D6 to play with.

The feats:
Channeling Strike An attack using a focused Turn attempt can result in a critical hit even if the target creature is normally immune to critical hits

Greater Channeling Strike When using a focused Turn attempt, you gain 1D8 for every other effective turning level instead of the usual 1D6


Special: Using a focused Turn attempt against the wrong target may result in complications with divine powers just as a Smite against the wrong target does.

 

[erf_beto]

I'm with Primitive Screwhead, 1d6 every 2 levels (like Sneak Attack) sounds good. I like the other effects described (particularly negating incorporeal and level drain), but they should all be, as you called, proactive abilities, IMO.

My concern: isnt this focused turning a lot like Smite Evil? Won't that steal the paladin's thunder? Not that I care that much, they're all channeling divine energy anyway - and I do believe they should use the same pool of X-uses a day for both smiting, turning, lay on hands, spontenous cure spells, domain powers and just about everything else, scaling with the "1d6 every 2 levels" aproach (balancing that is probably a pain though)

 

[Apeiron]

Nice. i like it. A divine sneak attack.

Thanks for posting. i've added a bit in italics.

The feats:
Channeling Strike - An attack using a focused Turn attempt can result in a critical hit even if the target creature is normally immune to critical hits. This benefit extends to any creature the (user?) can turn. For instance elementals for priests with the elemental domains. Miss chance due to incorpereality is ignored, miss chance due to invisibility applies normally.

Greater Channeling Strike - When using a focused Turn attempt, you gain 1D8 for every other effective turning level instead of the usual 1D6. Attack is considered Good Aligned for the purpose of overcoming DR.

Prereq: Channeling Strike Feat

Special: Using a focused Turn attempt against the wrong target may result in complications with divine powers just as a Smite against the wrong target does.

Unlike smite evil, this is much more limited in target selection. A paladin can smite an evil human, a cleric can use this only against undead (even a good undead, perhaps).

My original aim is to ask, what if a priest focussed all of the power of a turn undead into only one target instead of a blast? Instead of hitting several zombies with the usual divine force, hit one vampire with a concentrated turning. It would help low level priests with more powerful undead, or perhaps allow them to destroy something they might have only turned.

i see unfold like this:

Jozan calls out to Heironeous and swings mightily at the wraith.
Player checks off a use of Turn Undead, rolls to hit, 20!, roll to confirm... success!
- Feat over comes miss chance, immunity to criticals
Player makes a turn check as a cleric of <some bonus>
Wraith disintegrates in a cloud of screams
- Jozan wasn't twice the HD of the Wraith, feat allowed destruction
- (or with the bonus damage from Screwhead's version of the feat)

The attack part might not be necessary to this effect, i just like the flavor of channeling the power through a weapon. Plus requiring the player to expend a use AND make a successful attack makes it more reasonable to have the feat be powerful. Perhaps there could be another feat Ranged Channeled Turning.

If ignoring the miss chance for incorporeal critters is too much, it could be "add BAB to roll against the miss chance".

i appreciate the help in writing this. i'm learning.

 

[Apeiron]

I'm with Primitive Screwhead, 1d6 every 2 levels (like Sneak Attack) sounds good. I like the other effects described (particularly negating incorporeal and level drain), but they should all be, as you called, proactive abilities, IMO.

My concern: isnt this focused turning a lot like Smite Evil? Won't that steal the paladin's thunder? Not that I care that much, they're all channeling divine energy anyway - and I do believe they should use the same pool of X-uses a day for both smiting, turning, lay on hands, spontenous cure spells, domain powers and just about everything else, scaling with the "1d6 every 2 levels" aproach (balancing that is probably a pain though)

You hit on my next thread actually. i'd like to see all of those effects draw from the same pool. Make Turn Undead a spell, make LoH a spell, then give them more spells per day. OR go the other way, make everything that is not a standard spell, draw from a pool. Something like: Level + Charisma Bonus charges. Casting a domain spell or turning undead is a charge. i'll start that thread in a moment and post a link here.

Thanks again.

 

[hong]

Isn't there already a divine feat that does something like this?

 

[Apeiron]

Isn't there already a divine feat that does something like this?

i don't know, is there? i don't know of one. If you can find it, let me know.


Here's my thread on Divine Energy Pool

 

[Geoff Watson]

Isn't there already a divine feat that does something like this?

There's a couple:
Divine Might (add Cha bonus to damage for one round).
Sacred Vengeance (add 2d6 damage to undead for one round).

Geoff.

 

[DungeonMaester]

Here are a hadful of things I use in my campaigns. Clerics get this to overlap turning and not out right replace. it requires channeling a turn usage.

Haunting Weapon: A cleric can make all allies weapons with in 30 ft have Ghost stike for 3 rounds.

Create Grave: A cleric can overcome undead's immunity to transmutation to partly fuse a corpreal undead creature into the ground for 1 round. The Undead can make a ref save or are treated as being helpless for one round.

Shunt undead: Swift action, single attack bull rushes with out having to charge.

---Rusty