So You've Turned Some Undead -- Now What?

[Aluvial]

How does the average party deal with undead that has just been turned?

Do your DM's really allow you to go up and smack on them, while they cower?

This seems really wrong to me.

If you attack something, anything, and it is backed into a corner, shouldn't it get a chance to fight back?

Perhaps this belongs in House Rules, but I'm not sure if I'm reading the correct section on turned undead. To clarify, it says that anyone but the cleric can make any type of attack on it, even a melee attack without the undead attacking back.

Is this right?

Aluvial

 

[Spatula]

Yes. The undead try to flee; if they can't, they cower in a corner and get beat down by everyone who's not the turning cleric.

 

[Plane Sailing]

It only really came up in some of our earliest D&D games, but I quite like the visual - the cleric is standing there, holy symbol outstretched and concentrating - holding the undead at bay through his faith, his companions move in and slaughter the cowering creatures.

The number of occasions when a party get to do this is probably quite limited anyway (and the cleric can't do it on his own - he needs at least one other to help him)

 

[Tonguez]

Yeah I also envisaged it based on those Vampire movies where Dracula is distracted by the sign of the cross and the priests companion rushes forward with the stake for a quick kill (stake through heart, decapitation for a zombie etc etc). Come to think of it would it be unbalanced to say that a cowering undead is helpless and thus subject to Coup de gras?

 

[dvvega]

Actually since Coup-de-Grace falls under the critical category, undead are immune to it. Or have I misread Coup-de-Grace?

 

[Starspawn]

I thought turned Undead fight back when under attack, don`t they?

 

[Henrix]

No, turned undead do not fight back, unless the turning character approaches them within 10'. They flee, or if they cannot get further away they cower (unable to take actions, -2 AC and no dex bonus).

And, no, you cannot make a coup de grâce against an undead, as they are immune to criticals. (Nor are they helpless when turned.)

We attack them if they are cowering (or if we can catch them while fleeing). But often a turning is just good for splitting the opposition.

 

[IronWolf]

In a PBeM I DM a cleric managed to turn three undead. The undead tried to flee and reached a dead end. At this point the mage and cleric pretty much beat them down.

Note that the SRD says the cleric cannot approach closer than 10' but they can attack with ranged weapons without disrupting the turning affect.

SRD Quote from the Combat section:

"You can attack them with ranged attacks (from at least 10 feet away), and others can attack them in any fashion, without breaking the turning effect."

 

[Tetsubo]

Someone on this board suggested an alternate turning ability when-in the undead are damaged rather than made to run. Which makes perfect sense to me actually. The old "blast with divine might" sort of a feel.

 

[Dr_Rictus]

And, no, you cannot make a coup de grâce against an undead, as they are immune to criticals. (Nor are they helpless when turned.)

For what it's worth, I don't see why you couldn't make a coup de grace vs. undead, were they helpless (which as you point out, turned undead aren't).

They are indeed immune to the critical as well as to the instant death effect (requiring a Fortitude save as it does). So the only benefit of doing a coup de grace is the automatic hit, but there is still that.