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I have a few questions regarding the Soul Warden PrC described in the Undead Slayer's Handbook p 30:
- The last sentence of the Spells per day entry speaks of "divine spellcasting class" whereas everywhere else the caster type is not mentioned. I guess it is an error but I would be glad to have the confirmation.
- Channel Damage with a Cleric: if the character was a cleric, do channel energy and channel damage get their daily uses independantly? In this case do levels of Cleric and Soul Warden stack only when inflicting damage to undead with the channel energy ability and not with the channel damage ability?
- Channel Damage with a Necromancer: the Power over Undead ability of a necromancer grants her a way to channel energy - do Necromancer levels and Soul Warden levels stack to determine the number of damage dice?
1) Yes, since one of the spells to gain access to the class (command undead) is a wizard/sorcerer only spell.
2) "Soul warden levels stack with levels in any class that grants channel energy for the purpose of determining the number of damage dice his channel energy ability deals to undead (if any)." That's the only part that stacks. So you have two sets of uses per day; one from the Cleric levels and one from the Soul Warden levels. So your cleric levels make this feature of the Soul Warden more powerful, but Soul Warden levels do not improve the Cleric's Channel Energy in any way.
3) I'd say no. Necromancers don't really get channel energy, the class feature, they get specific bonus feats and count, for only the chosen feat, as being able to channel because it is required to use the feat. However, it is a semantics argument, so there is no 100% clear answer.
I cannot give official answers, but here is what I think:
- From a RAI standpoint, it seems very clear from the abilities, background fluff, and even the illustration that this PrC was designed for wizards and to be an optimal option for non-evil necromancer wizards. Fortunately, from a RAW standpoint the text in the sentence you noted does not actually debar that option, even though, like you, I think the word divine was included in error (maybe cut and pasted from another PrC). Nowhere is it claimed that divine spell casting is a prerequisite, and that sentence does not actually state that Soul Warden levels increase divine casting. Rather, it says that a character with levels in more than one divine spellcasting class must choose which class the added levels go to, without specifying that the class in question must be divine.
- Regarding the 2nd question, the uses are independent, so the caster gets more channel attempts, but the Soul Warden channels can only be used to damage. Further, note the second and last sentences in the Channel Damage description: "This ability functions exactly like a cleric's ability to channel positive energy to deal damage to undead (but not to heal living creatures), and counts as channel energy for the purposes of qualifying for feats or determining effects that rely on channel energy. [...] Soul warden levels stack with levels in any class that grants channel energy for the purpose of determining the number of damage dice his channel energy ability deals to undead (if any)." It seems clear that the damage to undead is stackable either way, whether using a cleric's channel energy or a Soul Warden's channel damage. So no worries there, except for this sentence: "A soul warden uses his class level as his effective cleric level when channeling damage." Per RAW, that would seem to say the DC of Channel Damage does NOT similarly increase with stacked levels, but is based solely on the class level of the Soul Warden. I think this is probably carelessness on the writer's part and is not RAI, but it is difficult to be sure.
- Yes, those necromancer wizard specialists who channel positive energy (a tiny minority, to be sure), can stack their levels in necromancer with their levels in Soul Warden for the purpose of determining damage. And, it would seem from RAW, can now use their normal channels to damage as well (although I am unsure that was intentional). But as per above, possibly not for determining save DC.
1) Yes, since one of the spells to gain access to the class (command undead) is a wizard/sorcerer only spell.
2) "Soul warden levels stack with levels in any class that grants channel energy for the purpose of determining the number of damage dice his channel energy ability deals to undead (if any)." That's the only part that stacks. So you have two sets of uses per day; one from the Cleric levels and one from the Soul Warden levels. So your cleric levels make this feature of the Soul Warden more powerful, but Soul Warden levels do not improve the Cleric's Channel Energy in any way.
3) I'd say no. Necromancers don't really get channel energy, the class feature, they get specific bonus feats and count, for only the chosen feat, as being able to channel because it is required to use the feat. However, it is a semantics argument, so there is no 100% clear answer.
Regarding 2) and 3) above, I started with a few points of divergence from your conclusions. After thinking it over, I still do, but not the same ones I started with.
Here is the text of the wizard necromancer's Power Over Undead ability:
You receive Command Undead or Turn Undead as a bonus feat. You can channel energy a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Intelligence modifier, but only to use the selected feat. You can take other feats to add to this ability, such as Extra Channel and Improved Channel, but not feats that alter this ability, such as Elemental Channel and Alignment Channel. The DC to save against these feats is equal to 10 + 1/2 your wizard level + your Charisma modifier. At 20th level, undead cannot add their channel resistance to the save against this ability.
Here is the full text of the Soul Warden Channel Damage ability:
At 1st level, a soul warden gains the power to harm undead with positive energy. This ability functions exactly like a cleric's ability to channel positive energy to deal damage to undead (but not to heal living creatures), and counts as channel energy for the purposes of qualifying for feats or determining effects that rely on channel energy. A soul warden uses his class level as his effective cleric level when channeling damage. He can channel damage a number of times per day equal to 3 + his Charisma modifier. Soul warden levels stack with levels in any class that grants channel energy for the purpose of determining the number of damage dice his channel energy ability deals to undead (if any).
Now, the necromancer's channeling ability is extremely circumscribed, but there is no denying that he does have it. It's right there in the description. I originally believed that this meant they would count for damage purposes. As far as that goes, I still think they should. There is already a feat, Channeling Scourge, allowing multi-classed cleric/inquisitors to count their inquisitor levels as cleric levels for the purpose of channeling when dealing damage. A necromancer specialist, far more invested in necromantic power than most inquisitors, who has chosen the option of channeling positive energy and thus forgone the ability to Command Undead (vastly more powerful and long-lasting than Turn Undead) really should get something for that sacrifice.
Sadly, I now realize that, by RAW, they do not, even if that was the intent. Wizard necromancer levels stack with Soul Warden levels when channeling for damage, but it nowhere says they count as either Soul Warden levels or as cleric levels, so the only good they get of being necromancers is being able to channel for damage using the channels they receive as a necromancer specialist, counting damage only from the dice they get from Soul Warden. Pretty lame. It's very slightly better than any other wizard who became a Soul Warden, at least when killing skeletons and zombies, but a wizard at mid-to-high levels shouldn't even be thinking about such trivial opponents.
Of course, the primary utility of Channel Damage is not actually using it to damage, but instead to get nifty spells that don't take up a spell slot. That would be true even if necromancer levels did add to channeling damage, but it's the principle of the thing.
*Casts resurrect thread*
Would a Soul Warden who had 1 level of cleric with the Sun and Glory domains get to add the +1 damage, +2 save DC, and negate channel resistance with his Soul Warden channel damage ability? Or, would that be only applicable on his cleric channel energy ability?
Anybody have a thought on this one?
Domains aren't advanced by soul warden or other prestige classes, no.