Quick question about Turn Undead & cowering

[Li Shenron]

From SRD:

Turned undead flee from you by the best and fastest means available to them. They flee for 10 rounds (1 minute). If they cannot flee, they cower (giving any attack rolls against them a +2 bonus).

...

Rebuked: A rebuked undead creature cowers as if in awe (attack rolls against the creature get a +2 bonus). The effect lasts 10 rounds.

...

Cowering: The character is frozen in fear and can take no actions. A cowering character takes a –2 penalty to Armor Class and loses her Dexterity bonus (if any).

Is this actually correct or could it be an error of the SRD?

Grant +2 to attacks against them or suffer -2 penalty to AC? Or both?

Is a rebuked undead having the condition "cowering" or is "cowers as if in awe" just flavor text?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Is this actually correct or could it be an error of the SRD?

It's a Revision mismatch.

A lot of the conditions that gave an attacker a bonus in 3E now give the defender an AC penalty.

In 3E, Cowering gave an opponent a +2 bonus. In 3.5, it gives you a -2 AC penalty. But the Rebuked text still references the 3E mechanic.

The Cowering text is correct for 3.5.

-Hyp.

 

[AuraSeer]

Grant +2 to attacks against them or suffer -2 penalty to AC? Or both?

In 3.5 the strictly correct solution is to apply the -2 to AC. In practice, you can use the +2 attack bonus instead if you find it easier; the two effects are equivalent. (Just don't use both at once.)

Is a rebuked undead having the condition "cowering" or is "cowers as if in awe" just flavor text?

They have the Cowering condition, which includes being unable to take actions.

If the AC penalty were the only effect, rebuking undead would be a pretty useless ability.