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10-01-2000, 12:51 AM

Hey, no worries, there *are* no stupid questions

From the 3rdE PHB, on turning undead:

Turn or rebuke undead: A good cleric (or a neutral cleric who worships a good deity) has the supernatural ability to turn undead, such as skeletons, zombies, ghosts, and vampires, forcing those unholy abominations to recoil from the channeled power of the god the cleric worships. Evil clerics (and neutral clerics who worship evil deities) can rebuke such creatures. Neutral clerics of neutral deities can do one or the other (player's choice), depending on whether the cleric is more proficient at wielding positive or negatvie energy. Once the player makes this choice, it cannot be reversed. This choice also determines whether the neutral cleric can cast spontaneous cure or inflict spells (see above RE: spontaneous casting). Exceptions: All lawful neutral clerics of Wee Jas rebuke undead rather than turning them. All clerics of St. Cuthbert and all non-evil clerics of Obad-Hai turn undead rthare than rebuking them. (See Turn and Rebuke Undead, page 139.)

A cleric may attempt to turn or rebuke undead a number of times per day equal to three plus his Charisma modifier.

Note that the ability starts at 1st level for clerics, Paladins get it at 3rd level... And from page 139, about Turn and Rebuke Undead:

Turn and Rebuke Undead: Good clerics and paladins and some neutral clerics can channel positive energy, which drives off (turns) or destroys undead. Evil clerics and some neutral clerics can channel negative energy which awes (rebukes), controls (commands) or bolsters undead.

How Turning Works: Jozan, the cleric, and his friends confront a pack of seven ghouls led by a ghast. Calling on the goodness and power of Pelot, Jozan raises his sun disk and attempts to drive the undead away.

First, his player, Skip, makes a turning check (1d20 + Charisma modifier) to see what the most powerful undead creature is that Jozan can turn in this action. His result is 9, so he can only turn undead that have less Hit Dice than he has levels. Jozan is 3rd level, so he can turn creatures with 2 Hit Dice (such as ghouls) or 1 Hit Die (such as skeletons) but nothing with more Hit Dice (such as a ghast). He does not have twice as many levels as either the ghouls or ghasts, so he will not destroy any of them.

Next, Skip rolls his turning damage (2d6 + Jozan's level + Charisma modifier) to see how many total Hit dice of creatures he can turn. His result is 11. That's enough to turn away the five closest ghouls (accounting for 10 HD out of the maximum of 11). That leaves two ghouls and the ghast. (The extra HD of turning is wasted, because there are no undead present with 1 Hit die.)

On Jozan's second round, he attempts to turn undead again. This time, his turning check result is 21--enough to turn undead creatures of up to 6 HD. His turning damage roll, however, is only 7, so he can only turn 7 HD worth of creatures. He turns the two nearest undead (2 HD ghouls), but the remaining 3 HD of turning isn't enough to turn the 4-HD ghast.

Turning Checks: Turning undead is a supernatural ability that a cleric can perform as a standard action. It does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You must present your holy symbol to turn undead. Turning is considered an attack.
Times per Day: You may attempt to turn undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. This number can be increased by the Extra Turning feat (page 32).
Range; You turn the closest turnable undead first, and you can't turn undead that are more than 60 feet away or that have total cover relative to you.
Turning Check: The first thing you do is roll a turning check to see how powerful an undead creature you can turn. This is a Charisma check (1d20 + your Charisma modifier). Table 8-16: Turning Undead gives you the Hit Dice of the most powerful undead you can affect, relative to your level. With a given turning attempt, you can turn no undead creatures whose Hit Dice exceed the result on this table.
Turning Damage: If your roll on Table 8-16: Turning Undead is high enough to let you turn at least some of the undead within 60 feet, roll 2d6 + your level + your Charisma modifier for turning damage. That's how many total Hit Dice of undead you can turn. If your Charisma score is average or low, it's possible (but unusual) to roll fewer Hit Dice turned than indicated on the Table. in this case, you may not have the power to turn even a single undead creature. For instance, a 1st-level cleric with an average Charisma score could get a turning check result of 19 (cleric's level + 3, or 4 HD), which is enough to turn a wight, but then roll only 3 on his turning damage roll--not enough to turn that wight after all. You may skip over already turned undead that are still within range, so that you do not waste your turning capacity on them.
Effect and Duration of Turning: Turned undead flee you by the best and fastest means available to them. They flee for 10 rounds (1 minute). If they cannot flee, they cower (giving any attack rolls against them a +2 bonus). If you approach within 10 feet of them, however, they overcome being turned and act normally. (You can stand within 10 feet without breaking the turning effect. You just can't approach them.) You can attack them with ranged attacks (from at least 10 feet away), and others can attack them in any fashion, without breaking the turning effect.
Destroying Undead: If you have twice as many levels (or more) as the undead have Hit Dice, you destroy any that you would normally turn.

Table 8-16: Turning Undead
Turning Check Result : Most Powerful Undead Affected (Hit Dice)
Up to 0 : Cleric's level - 4
1 to 3 : Cleric's level - 3
4 to 6 : Cleric's level - 2
7 to 9 : Cleric's level - 1
10 to 12 : Cleric's level
13 to 15 : Cleric's level + 1
16 to 18 : Cleric's level + 2
19 to 21 : Cleric's level + 3
22+ : Cleric's level + 4

Phew, that was a lot of typing. If your'e *really* interested I'll put up the rules for Evil Clerics, and rebuking, commanding, dispelling turning, and bolstering undead later.

10-01-2000, 12:51 AM	#1
fsck Guest Posts: n/a	Hey, no worries, there are no stupid questions From the 3rdE PHB, on turning undead: Turn or rebuke undead: A good cleric (or a neutral cleric who worships a good deity) has the supernatural ability to turn undead, such as skeletons, zombies, ghosts, and vampires, forcing those unholy abominations to recoil from the channeled power of the god the cleric worships. Evil clerics (and neutral clerics who worship evil deities) can rebuke such creatures. Neutral clerics of neutral deities can do one or the other (player's choice), depending on whether the cleric is more proficient at wielding positive or negatvie energy. Once the player makes this choice, it cannot be reversed. This choice also determines whether the neutral cleric can cast spontaneous cure or inflict spells (see above RE: spontaneous casting). Exceptions: All lawful neutral clerics of Wee Jas rebuke undead rather than turning them. All clerics of St. Cuthbert and all non-evil clerics of Obad-Hai turn undead rthare than rebuking them. (See Turn and Rebuke Undead, page 139.) A cleric may attempt to turn or rebuke undead a number of times per day equal to three plus his Charisma modifier. Note that the ability starts at 1st level for clerics, Paladins get it at 3rd level... And from page 139, about Turn and Rebuke Undead: Turn and Rebuke Undead: Good clerics and paladins and some neutral clerics can channel positive energy, which drives off (turns) or destroys undead. Evil clerics and some neutral clerics can channel negative energy which awes (rebukes), controls (commands) or bolsters undead. How Turning Works: Jozan, the cleric, and his friends confront a pack of seven ghouls led by a ghast. Calling on the goodness and power of Pelot, Jozan raises his sun disk and attempts to drive the undead away. First, his player, Skip, makes a turning check (1d20 + Charisma modifier) to see what the most powerful undead creature is that Jozan can turn in this action. His result is 9, so he can only turn undead that have less Hit Dice than he has levels. Jozan is 3rd level, so he can turn creatures with 2 Hit Dice (such as ghouls) or 1 Hit Die (such as skeletons) but nothing with more Hit Dice (such as a ghast). He does not have twice as many levels as either the ghouls or ghasts, so he will not destroy any of them. Next, Skip rolls his turning damage (2d6 + Jozan's level + Charisma modifier) to see how many total Hit dice of creatures he can turn. His result is 11. That's enough to turn away the five closest ghouls (accounting for 10 HD out of the maximum of 11). That leaves two ghouls and the ghast. (The extra HD of turning is wasted, because there are no undead present with 1 Hit die.) On Jozan's second round, he attempts to turn undead again. This time, his turning check result is 21--enough to turn undead creatures of up to 6 HD. His turning damage roll, however, is only 7, so he can only turn 7 HD worth of creatures. He turns the two nearest undead (2 HD ghouls), but the remaining 3 HD of turning isn't enough to turn the 4-HD ghast. Turning Checks: Turning undead is a supernatural ability that a cleric can perform as a standard action. It does not provoke attacks of opportunity. You must present your holy symbol to turn undead. Turning is considered an attack. Times per Day: You may attempt to turn undead a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier. This number can be increased by the Extra Turning feat (page 32). Range; You turn the closest turnable undead first, and you can't turn undead that are more than 60 feet away or that have total cover relative to you. Turning Check: The first thing you do is roll a turning check to see how powerful an undead creature you can turn. This is a Charisma check (1d20 + your Charisma modifier). Table 8-16: Turning Undead gives you the Hit Dice of the most powerful undead you can affect, relative to your level. With a given turning attempt, you can turn no undead creatures whose Hit Dice exceed the result on this table. Turning Damage: If your roll on Table 8-16: Turning Undead is high enough to let you turn at least some of the undead within 60 feet, roll 2d6 + your level + your Charisma modifier for turning damage. That's how many total Hit Dice of undead you can turn. If your Charisma score is average or low, it's possible (but unusual) to roll fewer Hit Dice turned than indicated on the Table. in this case, you may not have the power to turn even a single undead creature. For instance, a 1st-level cleric with an average Charisma score could get a turning check result of 19 (cleric's level + 3, or 4 HD), which is enough to turn a wight, but then roll only 3 on his turning damage roll--not enough to turn that wight after all. You may skip over already turned undead that are still within range, so that you do not waste your turning capacity on them. Effect and Duration of Turning: Turned undead flee you by the best and fastest means available to them. They flee for 10 rounds (1 minute). If they cannot flee, they cower (giving any attack rolls against them a +2 bonus). If you approach within 10 feet of them, however, they overcome being turned and act normally. (You can stand within 10 feet without breaking the turning effect. You just can't approach them.) You can attack them with ranged attacks (from at least 10 feet away), and others can attack them in any fashion, without breaking the turning effect. Destroying Undead: If you have twice as many levels (or more) as the undead have Hit Dice, you destroy any that you would normally turn. Table 8-16: Turning Undead Turning Check Result : Most Powerful Undead Affected (Hit Dice) Up to 0 : Cleric's level - 4 1 to 3 : Cleric's level - 3 4 to 6 : Cleric's level - 2 7 to 9 : Cleric's level - 1 10 to 12 : Cleric's level 13 to 15 : Cleric's level + 1 16 to 18 : Cleric's level + 2 19 to 21 : Cleric's level + 3 22+ : Cleric's level + 4 Phew, that was a lot of typing. If your'e really interested I'll put up the rules for Evil Clerics, and rebuking, commanding, dispelling turning, and bolstering undead later.