D&D 3E/3.5 d&d 3.5 Turning Undead and Friendly Undead

[orion90000]

I've looked around and couldn't find anything touching on this topic so I thought that I'd throw it out here and get some feedback.

LN Cleric of Wee Jas (positive spontaneous energy) uses Animate Dead to create loyal allies (or mindless). He later uses Turn Undead while fighting other undead creatures. For argument sake lets assume that all undead have the same HD.

Does Turn Undead allow you to decide which undead are affected?

The rules say you can skip over any undead already turned, but doesn't specify what to do when your deity allows you to create undead.

What are your thoughts?

 

[kitcik]

I would allow it. Controlled undead are the flipside of the turned undead coin.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I'm not sure if it's explicitly stated anywhere, but I'd assume any Undead already under your control would not flee from you or take damage, even if they are closer to you.

 

[frankthedm]

The rules say you can skip over any undead already turned, but doesn't specify what to do when your deity allows you to create undead.

Then you better be careful when using turn undead around you's own undead. As you have read, you don't have the option to skip undead you don't want to turn, you can only skip undead already turned.

 

[Xakk]

I can't imagine when they wrote "up to X HD of undead" they meant for the DM rather than the player to decide where to aim it. If you have a vampire lobbing spells from behind a guard troupe of ghouls, you don't want to spread your Turn across the ghouls. Unless you do, but I really think it was intended to be aimed at your discretion.

"I use Turn Undead at the Zombie Berserker!"
"Several undead ravens take flight from the branches overhead, cawing fearfully!"

 

[the Jester]

I can't imagine when they wrote "up to X HD of undead" they meant for the DM rather than the player to decide where to aim it. If you have a vampire lobbing spells from behind a guard troupe of ghouls, you don't want to spread your Turn across the ghouls. Unless you do, but I really think it was intended to be aimed at your discretion.

"I use Turn Undead at the Zombie Berserker!"
"Several undead ravens take flight from the branches overhead, cawing fearfully!"

That's nice, but by RAW, you get the closest turnable undead first. Other than already turned undead, you don't get to make exceptions.

PH 3.5 pg 159, under Turn or Rebuke Undead:

Range: You turn the closest undead first, and you can't turn undead that are more than 60' away or that have total cover relative to you. You don't need line of sight to a target, but you do need line of effect...

A few paragraphs later:

You may skip over already turned undead that are still within range, so that you do not waste your turning capacity on them.

 

[frankthedm]

I can't imagine when they wrote "up to X HD of undead" they meant for the DM rather than the player to decide where to aim it. If you have a vampire lobbing spells from behind a guard troupe of ghouls, you don't want to spread your Turn across the ghouls.

That IS why turn undead affects the closest undead first! Intelligent undead get to use flunkies as screens to soak up turnings!

 

[orion90000]

Further investigating arose a second concern.

A LN cleric of Wee Jes always rebukes undead. Doesn't say that they always channel negative energy. So is it possible that the cleric can channel positive energy to cast cure spells spontaneously and still rebuke the undead?