Dazzling Channel: a variant feat

[Pielorinho]

[h=2]Dazzling Channel[/h] Your skill with channeling energy can frighten enemies.

Prerequisite: Improved Channel, Intimidate 5 ranks

Benefit: While brandishing your holy symbol, you can call upon your deity as a full-round action. Make an Intimidate check to demoralize all foes within 30 feet that you can damage by channeling energy and who can see your display.

(I'm playing a half-orc priest with a tremendous bonus to intimidate, but it's difficult to get that bonus to apply much of the time. I'd love to have some way to intimidate as an area-of-effect; does this sound reasonable?)

 

[Celebrim]

Yes, the general idea of converting a channeling attempt to an intimidate foes check is sound.

1) "Dazzling" - It's not dazzling either in the common use of the word or the technical sense in D20. Find a different word.
2) "the you can damage by channeling energy" - I think you could drop this clause, personally. A good cleric could reasonably rebuke the living in this manner as a replacement effect.
3) Is this intended as a replacement effect or an additional effect? You should make your intention clearer.

 

[Pielorinho]

Thanks for the feedback! I called it "dazzling" because I based it on "dazzling display."

Thoughts on a revision: what if there's a class of feats, similar to "reserve feats" for spells, that require at least one daily charge of channeling left, but don't actually use a charge? You tickle the enemies with your power, but don't release the power.

As such, it'd read something like this:

Intimidating Holiness

Prerequisite: Ability to channel energy, Intimidate 5 ranks

Benefit: Choose a method of channeling energy that can harm targets. While brandishing your holy symbol, you can call upon your deity as a full-round action. Make an Intimidate check to demoralize all foes within 30 feet that you can damage by this type of channel energy and who can see your display.You must have at least one daily use of your channeling ability remaining, but this does not expend one of your daily uses of your channeling ability.

It's weaker than "dazzling display" in most ways: it might hit your friends, it can't affect targets that you can't hurt with your channel energy, and it can't hit everyone in a group consisting of both the living and the undead. But it also doesn't require a prerequisite feat.

Fair?
​

 

[Pielorinho]

[dupe]