I think limiting clerics to positive/negative channeling makes little sense, specially for Lawful Neutral and Chaotic Neutral alignments. Also, I think Paladins ideals are goodness AND order but there is nothing in their abilities that says out loud "lawfulness".
So I was thinking to limiting channel (whatever) to one step away from the neutral (whatever) alignment. In simple words, neutral good clerics can only channel positive energy, lawful good, chaotic good and neutral clerics may channel positive energy. Therefore neutral evil clerics can only channel negative energy, lawful evil, chaotic evil and neutral clerics may channel negative energy. under this arrangement lawful/chaotic neutral clerics would have no channel ability, so I thought about creating a channel order/chaos ability:
-Channel order/chaos energy. At 1st level instead of channeling positive/negative energy a cleric may choose to channel order/chaos instead. The effects of channeling order/chaos grants to everyone on a 30 foot radius Damage Resistance equal to the cleric caster level for one minute per caster level. This damage resistance can be bypassed by chaotic/lawful weapons. Extra channeling order/chaos per day are gained every time three levels (4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 19th ).
Since with this changes some clerics can no longer access the turn/command undead feats they can now have access to:
-Smite Chaos (same as Smite Evil, prereq. channel order, change references from “evil” to “chaotic”, change first line of page 61 from “undead” to “undead/fey”). Only paladins get the benefit of the Holy Champion (20th level) ability.
or
-Smite Law (prereq. channel chaos, change references to “law”, and reference from “undead/fey” to “construct/abomination”).
Paladins change their smite evil into smite chaos.
Any comments and suggestions welcome.
Actually, isn't the default system that all those alignments you listed already get what you said they would get >.>
And that the lawful, and chaotic neutral just get a choice of which >.> Which you obviously know.
Not sure about the first part though (as to if you know it or not)
Aside from that...
To the main idea.. It might be cool, but I certainly won't be using it. It's adding a level of complication onto things that just doesn't need to be.
I'm sure there is a plane of chaos, and one of law. But I don't think they have law energy, and cha-- okay, we'll ick stay on the chaos energy.
My point is, the negative and positive energies are that of Life, and Death.
It makes sense to me for a cleric to channel one or the other, or in some extreme cases both.
>.> Anyway, your idea is cool, and will hopefully get some attention, but I'm not for it. Sorry.
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It's important to remember that the negative energy (material) plane and positive energy (material) plane are inner planes, more along the lines of elemental planes. Stuff can be made of or animated by positive or negative energy, but it has nothing to do with alignments at all. It's just roughly the sheer power of life and the sheer power of death. It isn't the power of good and evil. The positive energy plane isn't the native plane of a majority of good gods, and the negative energy plane isn't the native plane of a majority of evil gods. "Good" and "Evil" just tend to favor wielding a particular type of this energy as it suits their needs better. Both are dangerous places to visit as they are simply raw energy. Arcane spell casters even use the stuff in their spells at times.
The many variant alignment planes (The Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus, the Ever-Changing Chaos of Limbo, the Blessed Fields of Elysium, etc) are Outer Planes, though what these planes look like in Golarian I don't know for sure. I'd assume something similar to the great wheel that Gary Gygax helped to come up with in ages and editions of the past. These are where we get alignments out of and where gods reside and energy flows to divine spell casters.
I'm pretty sure in most campaigns there isn't a lawful elemental (material) plane, etc to draw energy from thought what your suggesting would certainly make for an interesting feat or two. Your scaling for DR is way too large though, since most creatures in the game are going to get stopped by DR/Lawful or Chaotic.
It's important to remember that the negative energy (material) plane and positive energy (material) plane are inner planes, more along the lines of elemental planes. Stuff can be made of or animated by positive or negative energy, but it has nothing to do with alignments at all.
If that were the case, there could be evil clerics channeling positive energy and vice versa.
Your scaling for DR is way too large though, since most creatures in the game are going to get stopped by DR/Lawful or Chaotic.
Would then half of that (1 DR at 2st level, 2 DR at 3rd ... 10 DR at 19th) be the equivalent of the damage that could be healed by channeling positive energy?
I wouldn't recommend it as a default rule, but I could see the Channel Axiomatic/Anarchic Energy affecting constructs and aberrations respectively.
I wouldn't recommend it as a default rule, but I could see the Channel Axiomatic/Anarchic Energy affecting constructs and aberrations respectively.
I think aberrations/fey can be controlled/turned by axiomatic/anarchic energy and undead/constructs can be controlled/turned by negative/positive energy.
I made some editing, how does it looks like now?
- Clerics. At 1st level instead of choosing to channel positive/negative energy a cleric may choose to channel Axiomatic/Anarchic energy instead. The effects of channeling Axiomatic/Anarchic gives all recipients a Damage Resistance -/Lawful or -/Chaotic for three hit point per cleric level with a duration of two rounds per cleric level. Extra channeling Axiomatic/Anarchic per day are gained every time three levels (4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 19th ). Clerics of the neutral good/evil/lawful/chaotic alignment can only choose to channel positive/negative/order/chaos energy. Clerics one step away from said alignment have two types of energy to choose from unless they are neutral (then they could choose from all four).
- Paladin. Smite Evil becomes Smite Chaos
- Smite Chaos (same as Smite Evil, prereq. channel order, change references from "evil" to "chaotic", change first line of page 61 from "undead" to "undead/fey"). Only paladins get the benefit of the Holy Champion (20th level) ability.