This question came up via email not to
long ago. What happened to Turning Undead? Ah, its a good question.
Short answer is its still in the system just not in the way it was
imagined in the previous systems. Its under Pneuma, both in its
basic use of skill as Chastise and strengthened through a couple of
secrets. Its different though, both in use and in effect.
For example, under the basic use of
skill you can affect anything outlined in your tenets and dogma,
including those opposed to your religion, such as a Silver Lady
follower affecting a Shagrath follower [not just undead].
Mechanically it has a range of 30 ft,
requires 1 Faith and a Pneuma check against their MD. If it works,
those affected are either rooted in place or flee. Regardless, it
lats 1 m/r per 5 skill ranks.
Shrive, a proficient level secret, adds
1 HP damage per 10 skill ranks to the effect (one time damage).
Reprimand, an expert level secrets,
lets you do better HP, damage, inflict BODY or APT damage
[incorporeal] though it costs more Faith to the basic effect.
So, its a bit beyond just undead and
doesn't necessarily discorporate or destroy them, though it
definitely could. Its a bit more versatile, effecting striking
everything within 30 ft you can affect (delivery matters) for a 1
Faith cost. That's potentially powerful, especially if you are
adding HP damage or BODY damage, though using Reprimand raises the
Faith cost to 3 for HP damage or 5 for BODY damage.
Soooo, if Eonggi the Silver Lady priest
decided to use chastise, and had a skill rank 100, he could use:
- 1 Faith and smite everyone whose MD he overcomes within 30 ft, rooting them in place or making them flee.
- 1 Faith, but with Shrive, and inflict 10 HP to each one of them as well.
- 3 Faith, with Reprimand, and inflict 20 HP to each one of them.
- 5 Faith, with Reprimand, and inflict 4 BODY damage to each one of them.
- 5 Faith, with Reprimand, and inflict 4 APT damage to each spirit among them.
The uses of Reprimand are not
cumulative, i.e., you'll have to pick one of them.
A very common use of I have seen people
do is root someone in place and then use Shrive on them every time
their turn comes up, inflicting HP damage to them until they perish.
It costs Faith, obviously, which is not cheap but this use of Pneuma
is tough to guard against. Unless a target has Faith-based
resistance (unlikely) or a MD too great to penetrate (more likely),
you've got a relatively cheap mass attack effect. Now, a very
important point. This damage is magical in nature so it inflicts
magic damage and they get MR against it.
A lot of items exist to bolster and
build on this capability. I'll post them later on in the week so you
have some examples.
