Turn Undead: Good Domain

Started by Hound, January 28, 2019, 04:47:14 PM

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Hound




Having been playing with this Domain for a time now, I'm reasonably confident in saying that I think it is in need of adjustment. In contrast to other domains (such as Earth, Magic, Knowledge and Air) Good falls rather flat on its face in comparison, whilst offering less desirable spell perks than its counterpart in Earth (both of which provide Stoneskin).

Feature 1 seems to be reasonably well-balanced. It offered a solid, not excessive bonus to nearby allies, and is reliably useful in any given combat scenario. It doesn't need changes in my opinion.

Feature 2 is underpowered. In comparison to previous Turn Undead iterations, and the damage potential of abilities such as Earth domain, this power is rather weak. The damage dealt is negligible to the point of being irrelevant; typically simply attacking is likely to output more damage in a meaningful way overall. The fear save also does not appear to work correctly, and I have seen undead enemies fail their save and not become feared (possibly due to mind-affecting immunity?). I would recommend increasing the damage dice to a d6 or d8 to provide it a more meaningful punch and enable the class fantasy of a traditional Good-aligned Cleric presenting their holy artefact to banish the darkness.

Feature 3 is also weak, and in need of some adjustment. I believe the calculation for this ability is not accurate, as I often find it providing Aid to Chaotic Evil enemies rather than Lawful Good allies (observer bias possibly?). Even so, this feels erroneous and actually prohibits my desire to use this ability, even when in combat against blatantly evil enemies such as undead (the fact that undead can be buffed by this ability is almost certainly an oversight). I recommend this feature be tweaked to not roll for enemies, and instead only apply to blue units in the vicinity. As it currently stands, this feature is actively not desired as a Turn Undead outcome because of the danger it can present in assisting enemies.