Imho, Sear Undead should be made, so Undead take half as much radiant damage on a successful save.
I used Turn Undead a couple of times now in the 2024. Never used in 2014, because the subclass options for channel divinity were usually better, even when fighting undead. And it still does not feel like a good investment for a Channel Divinity charge, because while it is powerful, it is also pretty unpredictable..and Sear Undead does not change that.
With dealing half damage on a successful save, with Wis 5d8, or about 12 damage average tops on a successful save, or 4d8 / average 10 damage when you receive it, this would at least given it some bang for the buck, and as a lvl 5 feat that does not look too OP, especially when it can only affect undead exclusively.
I agree half damage on a save would be logical for something as limited as a channel divinity.
I also feel like it’s kind of a niche ability to be a core cleric ability from such an early level. I’ve only played in 4 different campaigns over the last few years of playing dnd, but I don’t think we have encountered more than 2-3 undead creatures total. Then again it’s also logical that cleric would have a natural ability to defend against undead so I guess I get that.
I also feel like it’s kind of a niche ability to be a core cleric ability from such an early level.
To me, it feels like a relic of previous editions that they haven't been willing to abandon. I think it's part of the reason they added "Divine Spark" as a Channel Divinity option in 2024 — to ensure there's a more generic Channel Divinity option that's pretty much always applicable — although Divine Spark isn't that great in general.
I think it would be interesting to have an ability that functioned basically like Turn/Sear Undead, but instead of targeting Undead specifically, it targeted creatures that the Cleric's deity regarded as "enemies of the faith" or something. Several of the 2014 Paladin subclasses had a thing kind of like this, where it worked on specific creature types related to the subclass oath. They largely got rid of that in the 2024 Paladin subclasses, but I thought it was a neat idea.
I agree a lot of this is a relic from earlier days. In 1e days, evil clerics would take control of undead, rather than turn them. Also, evil clerics could turn paladins.
Imho, Sear Undead should be made, so Undead take half as much radiant damage on a successful save.
I used Turn Undead a couple of times now in the 2024. Never used in 2014, because the subclass options for channel divinity were usually better, even when fighting undead. And it still does not feel like a good investment for a Channel Divinity charge, because while it is powerful, it is also pretty unpredictable..and Sear Undead does not change that.
With dealing half damage on a successful save, with Wis 5d8, or about 12 damage average tops on a successful save, or 4d8 / average 10 damage when you receive it, this would at least given it some bang for the buck, and as a lvl 5 feat that does not look too OP, especially when it can only affect undead exclusively.
I agree half damage on a save would be logical for something as limited as a channel divinity.
I also feel like it’s kind of a niche ability to be a core cleric ability from such an early level. I’ve only played in 4 different campaigns over the last few years of playing dnd, but I don’t think we have encountered more than 2-3 undead creatures total. Then again it’s also logical that cleric would have a natural ability to defend against undead so I guess I get that.
To me, it feels like a relic of previous editions that they haven't been willing to abandon. I think it's part of the reason they added "Divine Spark" as a Channel Divinity option in 2024 — to ensure there's a more generic Channel Divinity option that's pretty much always applicable — although Divine Spark isn't that great in general.
I think it would be interesting to have an ability that functioned basically like Turn/Sear Undead, but instead of targeting Undead specifically, it targeted creatures that the Cleric's deity regarded as "enemies of the faith" or something. Several of the 2014 Paladin subclasses had a thing kind of like this, where it worked on specific creature types related to the subclass oath. They largely got rid of that in the 2024 Paladin subclasses, but I thought it was a neat idea.
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I agree a lot of this is a relic from earlier days. In 1e days, evil clerics would take control of undead, rather than turn them. Also, evil clerics could turn paladins.