Sun domain power: Greater Turn Undead

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

SUN DOMAIN

Granted Power: Once per day, you can perform a greater turning against undead in place of a regular turning. The greater turning is like a normal turning except that the undead creatures that would be turned are destroyed instead.

Say wha?

Does this mean that Strahd shows up, someone waves a bit of jewelry from the mall under his nose, and up he goes like a Roman candle?

That seems ... excessive.

Or does it mean that the levels turned actually is considered fire damage to the undead?

 

[RigaMortus2]

Say wha?

Does this mean that Strahd shows up, someone waves a bit of jewelry from the mall under his nose, and up he goes like a Roman candle?

That seems ... excessive.

Or does it mean that the levels turned actually is considered fire damage to the undead?

All this does is, instead of making the undead flee because you turned them, they are instantly destroyed instead. You still have to make the appropriate turning checks of course. Normally if you have twice as many HD as the undead you are turning, they are destroyed (instead of fleeing). See below...

Effect and Duration of Turning: 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). If you approach within 10 feet of them, however, they overcome being turned and act normally. (You can stand within 10 feet without breaking the turning effect—you just can’t approach them.) 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.

Destroying Undead: If you have twice as many levels (or more) as the undead have Hit Dice, you destroy any that you would normally turn.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

All this does is, instead of making the undead flee because you turned them, they are instantly destroyed instead. You still have to make the appropriate turning checks of course.

But if they succeed on that check (against, say, Strahd), he's kapoof? It's a once a day death ray for undead?

 

[Rystil Arden]

But if they succeed on that check (against, say, Strahd), he's kapoof? It's a once a day death ray for undead?

Basically, it doesn't help you at all at making the check to turn them, but if you should succeed, the undead dies instantly, no matter what level it is.

Example: In SCAP Adventure 3, we saw a giant T-Rex skeleton and some Spawn of Kyuss. The level 5 Cleric with Sun domain couldn't turn the skeleton because it had 18 HD, and Sun domain didn't help. On the other hand, the SoK were too strong to destroy normally, but he easily turned them. Since he used Greater Turning, they automatically died instead of just running.

EDIT: You edited while I was typing Yes, Strahd is poof. Dead forever. Vampires are *WAY* too easy to turn in 3.X compared to big things with high HD.

 

[Musrum]

But if they succeed on that check (against, say, Strahd), he's kapoof? It's a once a day death ray for undead?

No. It does a fair bit (assuming you make your turn check). EDIT: Yeah your edit got me too...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Wow. That's ... going away from my campaign. I'm going to offer the cleric the feat that lets him do damage as part of undead turning (Exalted Turning from BoED) as a domain power instead.

 

[Hypersmurf]

EDIT: You edited while I was typing Yes, Strahd is poof. Dead forever. Vampires are *WAY* too easy to turn in 3.X compared to big things with high HD.

Wasn't there some rule in the original Ravenloft about Strahd not being subject to insta-destroy effects?

-Hyp.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Wow. That's ... going away from my campaign. I'm going to offer the cleric the feat that lets him do damage as part of undead turning (Exalted Turning from BoED) as a domain power instead.

You could also give him a once per day ability to boost his effective cleric level by 4 for the purpose of turning--works to help turn those big skeletons, but even though he can now almost insta-turn Strahd once, Strahd will just return after that.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Wasn't there some rule in the original Ravenloft about Strahd not being subject to insta-destroy effects?

-Hyp.

Did they keep that in Expedition? If so, then true. However, most vampires and liches are still in constant fear of this ability

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Well, I used Strahd just as an equivalency, since my good guy campaign group is in a haunted abbey facing a progressively more badass series of undead. Building up a nail-biting horror adventure only to have a good roll take out the BBEG on the first round of the final combat is really not the kind of thing I'm looking forward to.

Exalted Turning is a very powerful feat, IMO, especially at low levels, and is a great deal. We'll see if my players go for it.