Clarify Vampiric Touch damage

[Barachiel Shina]

I would like for Vampiric Touch damage to be clarified as negative energy. How both WotC and Paizo missed this completely is beyond my understanding. Leaving it untyped makes it among the most powerful of spells, especially in the hands of a Magus or other gish types.

Let's all FAQ this as much as we can so we can get a future errata on this. For a necromancy effect like this not to be negative energy makes no sense, and it's preposterous for this to work on undead creatures as well.

[My Self]

I'd disagree that it would become one of the most powerful, but it should get clarification.

It's a single target touch attack blast with 1/2 typical scaling, and it does not ignore spell resistance. And it's necromancy, not a more powerful school like conjuration. That's not broken.

[CampinCarl9127]

You cannot get something errata'd just because you don't like it. It's not even that powerful. I've played a lot of munchkinned gish magis and I barely ever use this spell (only when I'm low on health and think I won't die in the next round or two).

[TriOmegaZero]

Vampiric Touch wrote:

Target living creature touched

Doesn't work against undead anyway.

[DM Beckett]

I'd think it would be a bit weird that a negative energy spell gave healing or Temp HP to a living caster.

But I agree, no need to clarify or change.

[TriOmegaZero]

For comparison, the ghost's corrupting touch is also not negative energy damage. The damage is caused by physical wounds from supernatural aging. It may help to consider vampiric touch as transferring lifeforce from the target to the caster rather than dealing damage.

[Jeraa]

Barachiel Shina wrote:

I would like for Vampiric Touch damage to be clarified as negative energy. How both WotC and Paizo missed this completely is beyond my understanding. Leaving it untyped makes it among the most powerful of spells, especially in the hands of a Magus or other gish types.

Let's all FAQ this as much as we can so we can get a future errata on this. For a necromancy effect like this not to be negative energy makes no sense, and it's preposterous for this to work on undead creatures as well.

As I posted in your other (necro'd) thread:

Quote:

Disrupt undead does positive energy damage, and horrid wilting does untyped damage. Bone shatter does untyped damage, as does blight, blood boil, wail of the banshee, finger of death, and canopic conversion. Those are just the sorcerer/wizard spells. Other class spell lists may have others.

Necromancy does more than negative energy damage.

[Cavall]

It doesn't work on undead. So a non issue.

[Gol Zayvian]

As I stated in another thread, Vampiric Touch should remain unchanged. The damage should not have a type because it is not a negative energy effect, it is a transfer of HP from target to caster which results in loss of HP for the target (ergo damage).