I am a bit unsure of the way to interpret the variant channel system, after searching both google and here i've yet to find a sufficient answer.
So here is my question:
A variant channel affects:
Positive energy used to heal.
or
Negative energy used to harm.
As I understand it:
Someone who channels positive energy (A good or neutral caster who chose to channel Positive energy)
Channels positive energy to damage undead normally (no change)
Channels positive energy to heal living for half the normal hitpoints in addition to the specific Heal effect listed for the channel type.
Someone who channels negative energy (An evil or neutral caster who chose to channel negative energy)
Channels negative energy to damage living for half the normal damage in addition to the specific Harm effect listed for the channel type.
Channels negative energy to heal undead normally (no change)
I'm not sure what you're asking.
The "Heal" effect works when you use your channeling to heal (regardless of whether or not it's positive or negative energy--that only affects who you're healing), while the Harm effect works when you channel to harm (again, regardless of the type of energy.
As an example, let's take the Fire variant:
"Fire: Heal—The healing effect is enhanced (see Variant Channeling above) for creatures with the fire subtype. Harm—The damage effect is enhanced for creatures with the cold subtype. Affected creatures who fail their saves catch on fire."
So, let's say a good cleric of Saranrae takes this option.
When they channel to heal, they heal 50% more HP to living creatures with the fire subtype, and 50% fewer HP to living creatures without the fire subtype.
When they channel to harm, they deal 50% more damage to undead (and others with negative energy affinity) with the cold subtype, and 50% less damage to undead (and others with negative energy affinity) without the cold subtype.
Now let's say an evil cleric of Asmodeus chooses this variant.
When they channel to heal, they heal 50% more HP to undead (and others with negative energy affinity) with the fire subtype, and 50% fewer HP to undead (and others with negative energy affinity) without the fire subtype.
When they channel to harm, they deal 50% more damage to living creatures with the cold subtype, and 50% less damage to living creatures without the cold subtype.
Hmm, guess I've been reading that wrong.
I think I must have misread that line because I can't imagine a positive energy user with, say, Channel Murder.
It also makes no sense for certain variants like the Vengeance Heal. It works like normal channeling when you heal, so, uh, for a positive energy user, there's basically no Vengeance variant? Why wouldn't they just say "N/A" or something like that?
You have it right by the book, but now I'm doubting the book.
Well, MPL, your reading was the original author's intent, but was not RAW as per the final cut.
I was just going by this part of the book:
"A variant channeling either modifies positive energy when used to heal or modifies negative energy when used to harm." at the beginning of the third paragraph in the variant channeling section. It doesn't seem to contradict that later anywhere...
I think Undeath might be a special case, it mentions that undead get the 'enhanced' heal effect, which is described at the beginning of the section as well.If I am wrong, hopefully a Paizo employee will point it out, but that seems to be the way it works.
I would certainly prefer having the option of doing either with only positive or only negative. :)
When I wrote that section, I worded it specifically as "heal" and "harm" in order to make it usable with both kinds of energy use (positive as heal (living) or harm (undead) or negative (reversed)).
That was *my* RAI as the writer.
HOWEVER, all Paizo stuff goes through editing and development, and their call is final on all rules elements. My read of the above-referenced sentence in the section is that they chose to make it positive/heal and negative/harm ONLY. That appears to be the RAW, and the RAI of the editing/dev team.
As to the OP's question about the phylactery, because the phylactery has a very specific effect - adding +2d6 to your pos/neg channels - that effect derives from the item and not from your own abilities. While its effect is similar to the 3.0/3.5 item that gave you "turn undead as 4 levels higher," that is not how the PF item works.
The +2d6 is applied AFTER any modifications to your own dice of healing or harming.
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So the variant channel rules have conflicts between RAW of the editors and RAI of the rule's inventor?
Im happy I understood it right, for a while there I thought I was merely reading it wrong.
I am a big fan of variant channeling, and im determined not to let some weird rules ruin it for me :)
Ill merely houserule away the stuff that makes no sense, and fix the obvious errors, such as the Undeath channel discrepancy, its an easy rule to understand if you read it carefully, but I hope in some future printing of this book that they fix the wording.
Thanks for your replies!
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Sounds like that's the case; I'm not sure where you'd find a deity that allows positive channeling and has undeath in their portfolio, anyhow, so I suppose it's just as well that there's no "heal" effect for undeath variant channeling.
My question comes from a similar vein; the "heal" effect for the disease portfolio variant is pretty much awesome (heal a number of points of ability damage from one ability score equal to your channel bonus), but is there a deity who allows for positive channeling and has disease as part of their portfolio? Even with the original writer's RAI (assuming that harm and heal work for both positive and negative energy), how many undead are actually capable of taking the ability damage one removes with this variant? Is it even possible to make use of this version of variant channeling, or will it just sit there and taunt me with its inaccessibility for the rest of my channeling career? :(
Neutral deities with undeath or disease in their portfolios could exist, especially in homebrew worlds.
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How does halving work?
A variant channeling either modifies positive channeled energy when used to heal or modifies negative energy when used to harm. When using positive energy to heal, affected creatures gain only half the normal amount of healing ... For example, a 7th-level cleric normally heals 4d6 points of damage with channeled positive energy; with the Nature alternative channeling, that cleric instead heals only half that amount (2d6) when channeling ...
Okay, so the example in the book only gives an even number of dice. What does a first level cleric do? Is 1d6 the minimum? Or does this round down to 0d6? Or round to 1d3?
How does halving work?
Uh, you divide by 2.
Okay, so the example in the book only gives an even number of dice. What does a first level cleric do? Is 1d6 the minimum? Or does this round down to 0d6? Or round to 1d3?
Er, you roll 1d6 and divide it by half. Why do you think there's some kind of trick?
RAW, any time you halve something, you round down. Half of 1 is .5, which rounds down to 0. At my table, we'd make the rule "half dice, rounded down (minimum one die)".