How do you treat Positive-Dominant and Negative-Dominant planes?


Rules Questions


Actually, my questions come from the wording in those planar traits' descriptions.

A-block) Minor Negative-Dominant says that it deals 1d6 damage per round to living creatures.
RAW, it's not negative energy damage, just untyped damage, and affects living creatures only (thus, not Constructs and objects).
So:
1) Do you let it affect Constructs and objects? It does make sense that such planes consume everything, but I could understand if they affect living things only.
2) Do you convert the damage to negative energy, thus letting Undead creatures benefit from it?

B-block) Major Negative-Dominant says that it bestows negative levels. It doesn't say "in addition to what the minor trait does", it just says that it has that effect.
So:
3) Do you apply it standalone or in addition to what the minor version does?
4) Do you let it affect Undead in the same manner the major Positive-Dominant does with living beings (exceed = explode, or, in this case, implode)? With what mechanics?

C-block) Minor Positive-Dominant says that "all individuals" (thus including Undead and Constructs) gain fast healing 2.
So:
5) Do you treat it as actual fast healing and apply it to everybody (remember that some Undead, such as Vampires, and even some Constructs, do have fast healing, so it's positive energy on its own) or do you consider it actual positive energy that only applies to living creatures and eventually damages Undead (leaving Constructs completely unable to benefit or be harmed from it)? Of course, this applies to the major Positive-Dominant version too, with the appropriate consequences.

D-block) Major Positive-Dominant says that a creature on the plane must make a Fort save or be blinded for 10 rounds. It says just so, not "once the creature first arrives on the plane" nor "every round".
So:
6) How do you treat this one?

Grand Lodge

What exactly is the context of this question? After all most campaigns aren't based on planes like these or even involve travel to them. You usually see them in terms of conduits to the Material plane where they produce specific effects.


So the given rules about Positive/Negative planes are just a space-filler in the book because most people don't use them, and thus can't be clearer?
I'm looking forward to using them, and the number of campaigns who don't has nothing to do with my questions.

Shadow Lodge

Hello Astral Wanderer (Aptly named!)

Here's how I'd play it.

On a minor positive plane, creatures that benefit from positive energy (living creatures) gain fast healing two. Undead, or creatures that are harmed by positive energy, are dealt 1d6 damage, a la the negative plane. minor negative plane has it reversed.

Major Negative: Probably stand-alone, though really, nobody will be worrying about d6 damage when they are getting a negative level a turn. Yup, I would have the fast healing of undead increase to 5 and the explode rule for them stand.

Major Positive: This one is tricky. I might rule that as long as the PCs don't have any protective eyewear/magic, or they are shutting their eyes, it's every round. After all, looking at the sun isn't a once every time you go outside. It's every moment you look at it. However, I might scrap the blindness rule entirely and go for something more parallel to the Major Negative.

Keep in mind, I would ONLY use these rules as little pockets of special alignment that the heroes might have to travel to. I would never trap them on either (minor positive might be kind of fun) without an oasis close by.

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