Comparable abilities in place of Turn Undead

Legend

First Post
I'm not a big fan of the fact that in 3/3.5, Turn/Rebuke Undead is available to all clerics. My opinion as a DM is that abilities dealing with undead are only relevant to certain types of clerics (generally clerics of life, death, good, evil, and so on). A priest of agriculture, for instance, is essentially stuck with an ability that's not particularly useful to someone of his faith.

What I'm basically looking for are ideas for abilities that could be dropped in in place of Turn Undead. These abilities should have three properties:
1. Be similar in overall power to Turn Undead
2. Be useable the same number of times per day as Turn Undead, so they could be used with Divine Feats
3. Increase in power as the cleric levels up

One obvious drop-in replacement is turning or rebuking elementals, animals, or other monsters. What I'm looking for are other replacements beyond that. Any suggestions?
 

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Legend said:
I'm not a big fan of the fact that in 3/3.5, Turn/Rebuke Undead is available to all clerics. My opinion as a DM is that abilities dealing with undead are only relevant to certain types of clerics (generally clerics of life, death, good, evil, and so on). {snip} What I'm basically looking for are ideas for abilities that could be dropped in in place of Turn Undead. {snip} Any suggestions?

Legend, I'm *totally* with you on this. I have a huge list of these I have developed for my own campaign, but let me turn you onto one of my sources of inspriation. Kenzer & Co's Player's Guide to Kaldamar. There's a very good section in there of alternate uses for turn attempts.

At some point, when I have access to my campaign stuff at home, I'll post some of my own.

Good luck...

Caffeine Boy!
 

Legend said:
I'm not a big fan of the fact that in 3/3.5, Turn/Rebuke Undead is available to all clerics. My opinion as a DM is that abilities dealing with undead are only relevant to certain types of clerics (generally clerics of life, death, good, evil, and so on). A priest of agriculture, for instance, is essentially stuck with an ability that's not particularly useful to someone of his faith.
Let's not forget spell selection. A priest of agriculture's spell selection should be closer to that of a druid's than a cleric's. But let me stop before I turn this post into a "Bring back specialty priests" post.
 

A) This should be in house rules.

B) Here's a very much incomplete part of my work on making a more generic cleric class, as far as channeling energy goes:

Channeling: Channel energy 3 + Cha modifier times per day. You receive a channeling bonus feat at 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th levels. Applicable for Earth, Fire, Air, Water, Positive Energy, Negative Energy, Good, Evil, Law, and Chaos.

Channeling Feats
The use of a channeled energy feat is always a supernatural standard actions taht take one channel use per day unless otherwise specified.

Extra Channeling
Channel 3 more times per day.

Turn / Rebuke
As a standard action you may turn opposed creatures or rebuke aligned creatures. Positive energy can only turn undead, and negative energy can only rebuke undead (no positive rebuking or negative turning).

Banish
Usable once per day, and at a cost of two channeling attempts, you may choose that any creature turned or rebuked is instead banished your aligned elemental / energy plane. They can not return to your current plane for one day.
Prerequisite: Turn/Rebuke

Might
Add your charisma bonus to your weapon damage. Lasts for a number of rounds equal to your charisma bonus, activated as a move-equivalent action.

Vengeance
Your weapon functions as a bane weapon to opposed creatures. Lasts for one round, activated as a free action.
Prerequisite: Might

Energy Blast
Spend a channeling attempt to project a beam of energy to at single opposed creature within 100’ range (ray touch attack). Deals 1d6 damage / two cleric levels.

Energy Burst
Spend two a channeling attempts to cause a blast of energy in a 20’ radius burst within 100’. Deals 1d6 damage / clerical levels (max 10d6) to all opposed creatures, reflex save for half DC 10 + ½ your Cleric level + your Cha modifier.
Prerequisite: Energy Blast

Improved Energy Burst
Your energy bursts also grant any allied creature within range 1 temp HP per cleric level. Special: Positive energy heals damage done to living creatures instead, any excess hit points of healing are temp. hit points.
Prerequisite: Energy Blast

Metamagic Power
You may pay any part of the spell level difference for a metamagic spell with channel energy attempts, 1 spell level per attempt. The spell must be one that deals with the energy type used to power the increase, and you can not use this to power a spell that would normally take a spell slot higher than you can cast.
Prerequisite: Any metamagic feat.

Aerial Armor (air only): As a free action you create a swirling wind around you that functions as a cushion of air to aids the movements of all allies within a 40’ radius spread centered on you. They gain a dodge bonus to AC equal to your Cha bonus. You must expend one channeling attempt per round to maintain this effect, and it only affects those currently within range of you.

Earthen Ward (earth only): As a free action you grant all your allies within a 20’raidus burst an effect similar to the spell stoneskin. They gain damage reduction equal to your charisma bonusx2/- this stacks with all other forms of DR. You must expend one channeling attempt per round to maintain this effect, though once activated your allies are free to move anywhere within the same plane without loosing the effect.

Healing Touch (positive energy only): Your touch heals one hit point per cleric level per channeling attempt you use in any living creature. Undead take this as damage instead with a will save for half DC 10 + ½ your Cleric level + your Cha modifier.
 

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