Necrotic damage for divine attacks

[Flipguarder]

So in the DMG (or the PHB I forget) there was an option for evil characters to use necrotic damage in substitution for radiant with divine attacks. I was wondering if it would be unbalanced to allow a Blightspeaker Invoker who worships the Raven Queen to take the same option. Is there a specific reason for it being limited to evil PCs?

 

[Mort_Q]

Is there a specific reason for it being limited to evil PCs?

Flavour.

 

[Chimerasame]

I don't think there's anything broken about it. If anything, it seems underpowered. I think typical adventuring parties come across more enemies resistant to necrotic than to radiant, and more vulnerable to radiant than to necrotic.

Edit: Plus, I think radiant damage has a lot more feat support as it is than necrotic does, although I suppose you could allow equivalent necrotic feats.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I never understood that idea anyway...I can totaly see bane or asmodiuse throwing radiant not necrotic...I can totaly see vecna going the necro rote, but I think the raven queen is equaly likely...

I think it should be god by god (as an option) not by alignment...

 

[Saeviomagy]

Given that radiant damage is the anti-undead damage type, I doubt that devotees of the raven queen are likely to switch it out. In fact there's a raven-queen oriented PP that converts sneak attack damage to radiant damage.

That said, swapping radiant for necrotic is generally nerfing yourself. You lose the aforementioned anti-undead ability, undead will usually be resistant or immune to you, and there's many, many more necrotic resisting or radiant boosting powers written into the game.

 

[DracoSuave]

Not to mention, necrotic damage has zero feat support other than Dark Fury.

 

[N0Man]

I think it's just a bit of a flavor nod toward the older D&D versions where instead of Radiant and Necrotic damage, they had Positive Energy and Negative Energy (which were associated with life and death).

Many evil clerics would deal more with negative energy (harming the living and healing undead) as opposed to the other way around.

I think it's fine for use in 4E as flavor, but I don't think it's really necessary.