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Was it intended that Merciful Healers were not intended to use the harm feature of the variant channeling, since they are only allowed to channel positive energy, and cannot use said energy to harm undead? Or should they be able to channel positive energy to harm, even if they are of good alignment, and only get the harm benefit from the variant.
Example:
Cleric of Milani: Healing Domain to satisfy Merciful Healer requirement; Additional domain includes Protection, for variant Channeling (Heal:+2AC/Harm:-2AC)
Can this cleric use the Harm variant at all?
Some would say that a good-aligned cleric can only use negative energy to harm (and cannot, due the Merciful Healer requirement).
Some would said that a good-aligned cleric can only use positive energy to harm undead creatures. So does reducing the AC of the undead creature qualify as "harming"? (if yes, again, not allowed under the merciful healer requirements)
Some would say that due to the variant channeling, the cleric's deity allows the cleric to channel it power with more flexibility and so should be able to "harm" with positive energy even against living creatures (but only with the variant ability, not the normal half *d6 positive energy damage).
So WSY (what say you)?
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You only get the one domain as a merciful healer, that is the healing domain. You would not get the protection domain. You get mercies added to your channle, but can not use it to harm. I think that is pretty clear, anyone else trying to sneak some abuse of that in a game would be shut down by any GM that knows what they are doing.
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You only get the one domain as a merciful healer, that is the healing domain.
While it is true that the merciful healer only allows one domain, the variant channeling is based on the "deity's portfolio", not what the cleric has chosen. In theory, a non-merciful healer with two domains could choose a third domain of the deity for the variant channeling. For example, a cleric of Erastil could choose the Animal and Plant domains, but select the Law domain for variant channeling. Some might suggest that his is a better representation of the deity's favor, as it better shows the deity's complexity and reach of power.