Variant Channel Questions

[Lord Lupus the Grey]

I have fetchling elder mythos cultist with variant channeling (madness).

I have some questions:

1) What does it mean - HALF of power? When I have 2d6 - it is 1d6? Or 2d6/2? What about 1d6?
2) When I have bonuses to damage from fetchling favored class bonus - do they also be halved?
3) What about phylactery of positive or negative enrgy? Is it added "on top", or halved also? And can it work with special elder mythos channel?

Thanks!

[blahpers]

1. Since you can't roll half a die, I assume you roll normal channel dice and halve the result.
2. Apply the favored class bonus to the die roll before halving. Essentially, you are half as effective at channeling as a "normal" cleric with otherwise identical statistics.
3a. See 2.
3b. Channel the Void doesn't count as either positive or negative energy. Since variant channeling only comes into effect when channeling positive energy to heal or negative energy to harm, it won't come into play when you channel the void. (For that matter, the phylacteries wouldn't work either, unless someone made a custom phylactery of void channeling or something.)

[Lord Lupus the Grey]

Are you sure? I heared something about such bonuses (from magic items - truely, but maybe a bonus from favored class also) are added after basic modifiers. For example, a cleric with 1,5 damage to undead will not have his bonuses multiplied from phylactery. There is no reasonable RAW for it.

And about negative enrgy channeling, chanelling the void and variant channeling:

"For the purposes of feats that require channel energy but refer to what happens if the character channels positive or negative energy, this ability alters the listed effect for negative energy. For instance, an Elder Mythos cultist could use Channel Smite to damage living or fleshy creatures with his melee attack"

I know, that it says FEATS, but maybe for purposes of variant chanelling also? This archetype is cool idea, but is VERY confusing.

[blahpers]

Lord Lupus the Grey wrote:

Are you sure?

Pretty much never. : D But it's how I'd rule based on the text barring convincing arguments otherwise.

Quote:

I know, that it says FEATS, but maybe for purposes of variant chanelling also? This archetype is cool idea, but is VERY confusing.

Sadly, they didn't tack on the usual "and abilities" phrase to that text. It certainly wouldn't break the game if you treat it that way, though.

[Lord Lupus the Grey]

And what about effects, that relies on quantity of d6 in channel, such as channel foci or vindicator's shield? For example, if I have 7th level cleric with variant channeling, what AC bonus will I have: 2 or 4?

[Lord Lupus the Grey]

Anybody?

[Dragonborn3]

It would still follow the rules of Variant Channeling, and since you aren't getting the boosted channel(none of them are enhanced when channeling into a shield) it would be 2.

[Avoron]

I disagree.

Variant Channeling wrote:

When using positive energy to heal, affected creatures gain only half the normal amount of healing but also receive a specific beneficial effect. When channeling negative energy to harm, affected creatures take only half the normal damage but take an additional penalty or harmful effect; a successful saving throw negates the additional penalty or effect but does not reduce the damage any further.

Variant channeling only halves your damage when channeling positive energy to heal or negative energy to harm. Channeling into your shield falls into neither of those two categories, so there's no reason it should be affected.

Even if it were, variant channeling only halves the actual healing or damage received. As far as I can see, there's nothing changing your number of channel dice. A 5th level cleric would channel for 3d6/2, right? So still three dice.

[Lord Lupus the Grey]

And so what about phylactery? Can it boost the AC bonus so?

I read somewhere, that item bonuses such like this added AFTER. So, how will be it for variant channeling? 3d6/2+2d6?

[Lord Lupus the Grey]

So, do you have ideas?