I had an idea for a new kind of feats, or, alternately, cleric talents (and by talent, I mean something like a feat - you don't get them automatically at level X, and you can choose which you take - that is limited to certain classes, in this case those with channel energy, as they build upon channel energy, so a fighter would have no use for them, anyway).
Channel feats (let's call them feats, in a later incarnation of PF they might be implemented as talents) grant you abilities that you activate alongside channel energy.
Maybe you can use one of them each time you channel (and maybe there's a high-level feat that lets you use two of them). Maybe each ability will "cost" one or more channel dice.
I can see three kinds of general effects.
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I can see three kinds of general effects.
Effects that further protect, cure, or strengthen those healed by the energy
Effects that further punish, weaken, and harm those damaged by the energy
Effects that empower the channeler's own abilities.
Sounds kind of like Imbued Healing (WoTC, Complete Champion), but applied to a channel attempt instead.
I like the idea. More opportunities with the cleric class feature.
However I think that it might be better to let the alternate uses replace the ordinary channelings. I fear that a combined healing and buff to allies, and damage and debuff to enemies, might be a tad too good. I could be a bit like allowing the cleric to cast two or more spells in a round.
Perhaps a combined buff for allies and debuff for enemies would be an idea, although it might be too similar to the Prayer spell.
Curing ability drain would be a nice touch for a channeling effect.
Buff effect should properly not be included too much. I would like the bard to be a specialist on these, and as it is already they are barely holding up to the cleric.
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Not in this incarnation, but I would love to see the Cleric in the next edition or the one afer (yes I am thinking very long term here) lose the spells and take up the Chanelling. Give them a basic burst and then add things that let them adjust/change it as they level. Higher levels maybe the area increases. The right feat/talents/ability allows them to fear effect or buff the party etc... It would be a lot of what they already do, but run it off the channeling so they don't use spells the same way as other classes.
Not in this incarnation, but I would love to see the Cleric in the next edition or the one afer (yes I am thinking very long term here) lose the spells and take up the Chanelling. Give them a basic burst and then add things that let them adjust/change it as they level. Higher levels maybe the area increases. The right feat/talents/ability allows them to fear effect or buff the party etc... It would be a lot of what they already do, but run it off the channeling so they don't use spells the same way as other classes.
While I am neither for this idea, nor the thought of two editions from now, that is a strangely appealing idea.
Separating them from the spellcasting, and limiting the effects of their channeling to be primarily healing/some buffing, would go a long way to ending "CoDzilla" for good.
Potential problems I see right now include; crafting magic items, how would they craft without spells? (Might require a whole new crafting rules set.); domains, how would these work after that divorcing? I'd suspect more like the Beta domains; and utility, if you limit the clerics "magical ability" to channel variations, how do clerics do basic magical things like detect magic?
But the concept could be very viable, and enjoyable. At least I think so.
To avoid stepping on the bard's toes, I can see going easy on buffs.
I'd say that the primary use is to have other forms of healing and curing (beyond HP - there's a lot of stuff you might want to get rid of, after all), and then maybe buffing himself, with buffing others a distant third.
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I had an idea for a new kind of feats, or, alternately, cleric talents (and by talent, I mean something like a feat - you don't get them automatically at level X, and you can choose which you take - that is limited to certain classes, in this case those with channel energy, as they build upon channel energy, so a fighter would have no use for them, anyway).
Channel feats (let's call them feats, in a later incarnation of PF they might be implemented as talents) grant you abilities that you activate alongside channel energy.
Maybe you can use one of them each time you channel (and maybe there's a high-level feat that lets you use two of them). Maybe each ability will "cost" one or more channel dice.
I can see three kinds of general effects.
Effects that further protect, cure, or strengthen those healed by the energy
Effects that further punish, weaken, and harm those damaged by the energy
Effects that empower the channeler's own abilities.
How does this sound?
Burst of Courage [Channeling]
Benefit
By exhausting one of the Cleric's Channel Energy feats for the day, Cleric's allies get a +2 save (holy) bonus verses fear, while the Cleric's enemies get a -2 to fear checks. Enemies may make a Will based saving through (DC 10 + half the cleric's level) to avoid the penalty.