Design Notes:
This proposed system converts the Alpha 3 channel energy rules into an energy pool that the endowed can draw from. Due to a discussion in another thread I suggest severing the connection between good and evil and positive and negative energy.
Positive energy does have beneficial effects on the living and negative energy has detrimental effects on the living. It is acknowledged that some societies and religions may attribute that the use of negative energy to be inherently evil due to its detrimental effects on the living, and accordingly the roleplaying ramifications should be considered before a good aligned character chooses to channel negative energy. Deities like Gozreh (god of nature) don’t provide access to negative energy, just as deities like Urgathoa (god of undeath) won’t provide access to positive energy. Nethys allows his worshippers equal access to both types of energy.
This change allows a cleric or paladin more flexibility in deciding how much energy they wish to release, thereby determining the amount of damage caused or hit points healed.
Channel Energy
Drawing upon your divine connection to your deity you are imbued each day with a pool of pure positive or negative energy. Depending on the type of energy being released living creatures and undead can be harmed or healed. This pool of energy can be released as either a 30’ burst or by touch, through your holy symbol which acts as a focus point for the channeling.
With the exception of worshippers of Gozreh, Nethys and Urgathoa, players must decide at the time they gain this ability whether they can channel positive or negative energy. Gozreh, Deity of Nature, only imbues his followers with positive energy. Nethys, God of Magic, allows his worshippers to choose each day whether they wish to channel positive or negative energy. Urgathoa, Goddess of Undeath, only provides her worshippers with negative energy.
Channeling energy is a supernatural ability you can perform as a standard action. It does not provoke attacks of opportunity, but you must be able to present your holy symbol to use this ability. Some feats allow channeled energy to be used on other creatures however such attempts only deal damage and to not cause creatures to flee or allow the character to gain control of creatures other than undead.
Your pool of energy is represented by energy points. At 1st level, a cleric gains an energy pool equal to 3 + their Charisma modifier. They gain an additional 3 points for every two cleric levels they attain beyond the 1st level. (3 + Charisma modifier at 1st, 6 + Charisma modifier at 3rd level, and so on). At 4th level, paladins gain energy points equal to 1 + Charisma modifier and an additional 1 point for every two paladin levels they attain after 4th level.
When you release positive energy you choose how many energy points you wish to power the effect with and subtract these points from your energy pool. The maximum energy points you can channel at once is equal to 1/2 your total divine class levels (rounded up).
Multi-classed divine characters that have the channel energy ability from multiple classes combine the energy points together. The levels from the classes stack for the purposes of determining all effects and benefits of channeling energy, as long as each class has the ability to channel energy. (A multi-classed 2nd level cleric, 4th level paladin with a 14 Charisma score would have a total of 8 energy points ( 3 for 2 levels of cleric + 2 for Charisma modifier + 1 for 1 level of paladin + 2 for Charisma modifier). This character could allot up to 2 points into the effect ( 2 levels of cleric + 4 levels of paladin = 6 levels – 3 for paladin’s effective level = 3 halved and rounded up = 2).
The energy pool is restored at the same time the divine character replenishes their daily spell allotment.
Channel Positive Energy
When channeled as a wave of positive energy, all undead and negative planar beings within the effect’s radius take 1d6 damage for each energy point you allotted from your positive energy pool. All undead in the affected area must flee from you (as if frightened) for 1d4 rounds + your Charisma modifier. Undead in this radius are allowed a Will save that negates the frightened condition and results in half damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your total divine class levels that have the channel energy ability + your Charisma modifier. Undead who take damage greater than their hit points crumble to dust and are destroyed by the power of your deity. If a fleeing undead is subject to channeled negative energy, it is not commanded, but does receive a new saving throw to dispel the flee effect.
Living creatures or positive planar beings within the area are healed 1d4 hit points for every positive energy point you allotted into the channeling. You can choose whether or not to include yourself in this effect. Hit points gained above a living creature’s total are lost.
When channeling as a touch effect the positive energy causes 6 hit points damage per energy point allotted + Charisma modifier on a successful touch attack against an undead or negative planar being. Undead touched by this positive energy surge suffer the same flee effects as if caught in a wave of positive energy, except that the base DC for the Will save is 12.
A touched living creature or positive planar being heals 4 hit points per positive energy point allotted + Charisma modifier.
Channel Negative Energy
When channeled as a wave of negative energy, all living creatures and positive planar beings within the effect’s radius take 1d6 damage for each energy point you allotted from your negative energy pool. Living creatures and positive planar beings in this radius are allowed a Will save that results in half damage. The DC of this save is equal to 10 + 1/2 your total divine class levels that have the channel energy ability + your Charisma modifier. You can choose whether or not to include yourself in this effect.
Undead creatures and negative planar beings within the area are healed 1d4 hit points for every negative energy point you allotted into the channeling. Hit points gained above an effected creature’s total are lost. Undead who are within the area of this effect must make a Will save or fall under your command. You can command any number of undead whose total Hit Dice do not exceed your total divine class levels that have the channel energy ability.
You can relinquish control of undead to gain control of new undead. Commanding undead is a standard action that require line of effect. Intelligent undead receive a new saving throw each day to break free from your command. If a commanded undead is subject to channeled positive energy, it might flee, but it also receives a new saving throw to dispel the command effect.
When channeling as a touch effect the negative energy causes 6 hit points damage per energy point allotted + Charisma modifier on a successful touch attack against a living creature or positive planar being. Undead touched by this negative energy surge are subject to the same command effects as if caught in a wave of negative energy, except that the base DC for the Will save is 12
A touched undead creature or negative planar being heals 4 hit points per negative energy point allotted + Charisma modifier.
Rules compatibility:
The above rules should be compatible with the core rules and the rules as set out in the Pathfiner RPG Alpha 3 release. With regards to abilities / feats that allow a cleric or paladin to expend a daily use of their “turn undead” or “channel energy” ability, this can be determined by multiplying half the cleric level (round up) by 3, and subtracting the result from the energy pool points. For paladins, subtract 3 from their level and half the remaining levels (rounded up), and then subtract the result from the energy pool points.
Your channel energy proposal isn't bad from a balance point of view, but what has changed here from the Pathfinder version?
Basically you allow a greater focused healing by using a touch option and some more flexibility with releasing the amount of damage or healing. The only problem I see from a balance point of view is a higher level cleric who only releases 1 point at a time can 'turn undead' just to get undead to flee more than 20 times a day at level 10.
However, my biggest problem with the system is how complicated it is. Pathfinder's version is very easy to understand and apply in a game, but this version would likely have to be read over each time it's used in the game. The damage it does is different than the healing it does and the touch affect is yet again different.
I like the way the current Pathfinder version works, but one good option to add comming from your system would be the 'touch' option for an increased effect. Maybe a feat that lets you apply channel energy as a touch to do maximum effect?
The only problem I see from a balance point of view is a higher level cleric who only releases 1 point at a time can 'turn undead' just to get undead to flee more than 20 times a day at level 10.
Arg! You're right. Hrrmmm, I'm going to have to think that one through.
The best "fix" for this, would be that the fear / command effect only comes into effect when you channel your maximum allowable dice into the effect.
Its a good quick fix, but yet adds another variable to this system which I admit has a lot of variables. I prefer to think of it though as a "flexible" system :)
Thanx for providing a nice easy to use alternative system for both PF and 3.5. This system is more in line in how I see how positive and negative energies are used in fantasy realms.
Though I would make one change, in that deities of nature or neutrality would allow either energy pools to be used. Nature is not just about life, it also embraces death to make way for the new life.
Thanx for providing a nice easy to use alternative system for both PF and 3.5. This system is more in line in how I see how positive and negative energies are used in fantasy realms.
Thanks.
Though I would make one change, in that deities of nature or neutrality would allow either energy pools to be used. Nature is not just about life, it also embraces death to make way for the new life.
Taking into account the pantheon was difficult for me as I don't have any information on the gods. Just as it seems natural that a god of "undeath" would not provide the use of positive energy, it also seemed likely that a god who promotes all aspects of "life" would not provide the use of negative energy. Gozreh seemed like the most applicable deity that represented a "God of Life" to me, but I do agree with you that it may not be the best choice.
Nature to me represents the "life-cycle" of all living things, whether it be humanoids, animals or plants. Part of the "life-cycle" is death. Anything that disturbs that life cycle, is against the life cycle. Negative energy is harmful to living creatures, so to me it is an anti-life-cycle approach. That was the thinking behind my reason to preclude the use of negative energy from his worshippers.
Pharasma, another Neutral deity, also well represents the "life-cycle" process.
Oddly enough, judging solely by the deity's portfolios, there did not appear to me to be any "good, true and virtuous" god that would support seeking out and destroying undead in the name of "life" itself. The closest I saw was Sarenrae, whose portfolio includes sun and healing. Sun seems to infer a "preference for light" -- and for some reason undead are thought of to be dwellers of the dark. Many spells use the sun's energy to harm undead. Healing is also generally thought of to be a "good" type of magic. In truth though, undead (except most vampires) exist fine in the sunlight, and undead also use healing magic as well (it just happens to have the opposite effect on the living).
Perhaps when I find more information on the deities, I can better flesh out any limitations the deities may provide on positive or negative plane access.
That is the wonders of "House Rules" you can make changes to a campaign as needed to fit the groups way of thinking about certain topics, like this one for instance.
Don't like flavor in the mechanic. Let's not fall down the 4e path.