Cleric's Command / Turn Undead count as Mind-Affecting?


Rules Questions


If an undead creature somehow finds a means to possess immunity to necromancy mind-affecting effects, does this mean they are also immune to clerical abilities such as Command Undead or Turn Undead?

Wording to the cleric's Command Undead seems to indicate it has the same strengths/limitations as the Control Undead spell. Turn Undead makes no reference to any Necromancy spell... though it's an "undead only" mind-affect of sorts.


Turn Undead works no matter what. Command Undead is a little odder. It says the effects are as Control Undead. The ability itself is not necromancy or Mind-affecting as it lacks that typing.

A Protection from Blank spell against the Controller will protect you though.


Abilities and Effects that are Mind-Affecting will say "This is a Mind-Affecting effect" or have the [Mind-Affecting] descriptor (which is listed in School).

Since both subjects do not call out being Mind-Affecting effects or have the [Mind-Affecting] descriptor, being immune to Mind-Affecting effects would not grant immunity to the effects of the subjects in question.


If the undead was immune to Necromancy spells, it would be immune to Necromancy spells that allowed controlling or turning undead. Most spells designed to affect undead are not typically [mind-affecting] for the very reason that undead are immune to it.

The Turn/Rebuke Undead abilities seem like [mind-affecting] or even [fear] effects, but undead (despite being immune to both) are affected as stated by the powers.

Even with an ability to mitigate or prevent [fear] that comes from other than strictly being undead, such as being an undead halfling, their bonuses against fear wouldn't matter if Turn/Rebuke Undead tried to make them Cower, despite it's similarities to what intense fear can cause. (The Turn/Rebuke Undead form of cower is more like 'cower in awe' of the "diety's" presence being manifested.)

Likewise, an undead elf would not get a bonus against Turn/Rebuke Undead's 'control' effects because of their resistance to certain similar enchantment effects, nor would a mind blank spell help. Only if the protection specifically says it would prevent turning or resist such energy channeling should it apply.


Turn Undead is more like insect repellant. Its not so much mind-affecting as spiritual aversion - the power of good repels the essence of unnatural evil. Like a movie where a good guy drives away the vampire with a crucifix which is to do with religious power and not manipulating the thing's mind.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

At the very least, if it did turn out that an ability specifically crafted to be anti undead was something undead were immune to by the RAW, that would deidedly be an oversight, especially for something in the core rules. This goes double as the Undead type is specifically immune to mind-affecting effects.


There is no reason for either effect ro be mind affexring. Because otherwize theze two spells would need rules providing exceprion to the undeads immunity. Otherwise they qould not work.

Or they could just not be mind effecting because the only thing they work on is immune to mine effecting abilities.

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