Turn Undead questions

General topics, including off-topic discussion, goes here.
Post Reply
Fourleif
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2023 3:55 pm
Contact:

Turn Undead questions

Post by Fourleif »

Good Morrow, Forum Dwellers!

1. I'm in the middle of an encounter with a number of Zombies. My party have kept their distance whilst the Cleric tried to Turn Undead. He succeeded on his 3rd attempt (3rd round). It was then that I read that Turn Undead can only be used once per encounter. Is this so? Please, say it isn't so!

2. What happens to the "turned"? Do I disregard them for the remainder of the combat encounter? Unsure how to handle this.

3. Is it correct to say that arrows to Zombies only do 1 damage (i.e., if hit, no need to roll for damage?)

My humblest thanks,
A solo party of 4 "Level 1 Losers"
User avatar
MinkyBoodle
Posts: 213
Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2019 10:18 pm

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by MinkyBoodle »

Fourleif wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 7:26 am Good Morrow, Forum Dwellers!

1. I'm in the middle of an encounter with a number of Zombies. My party have kept their distance whilst the Cleric tried to Turn Undead. He succeeded on his 3rd attempt (3rd round). It was then that I read that Turn Undead can only be used once per encounter. Is this so? Please, say it isn't so!

2. What happens to the "turned"? Do I disregard them for the remainder of the combat encounter? Unsure how to handle this.

3. Is it correct to say that arrows to Zombies only do 1 damage (i.e., if hit, no need to roll for damage?)

My humblest thanks,
A solo party of 4 "Level 1 Losers"
1. According to the 4th ed. rules currently posted "If any roll to Turn the Undead fails, that Cleric may not attempt to Turn Undead again for one full turn." So it's not per encounter, but instead per turn.

2. "Undead monsters which are Turned flee from the Cleric and their party at maximum movement. If the party pursue and corner the Turned undead, they may resume attacking the party; but if left alone, the monsters will not return or attempt to attack the Cleric or those near them for at least 2d4 turns"

3. Yes, only a single point from arrows. Hacking and slashing are best against zombies.
"My love is my sword."
"If I were you I'd stay away from thoughts like that."
-Dekar and Guy, Lufia II
User avatar
Boggo
Posts: 1381
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:17 pm

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by Boggo »

As Minky said, a failed turn attempt just means you can't try again for 10 minutes, per encounter stuff id 3e D&D era stuff very unusual in old stuff (and therefore in the OSR games)
No matter where you go...there you are
Fourleif
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2023 3:55 pm
Contact:

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by Fourleif »

Thanks for the clarification.

I have to wait for 59 combat rounds!? :shock:

Ok, I'm gonna have to think about this one...

..."they go back outside, spike the door shut, wait 10 minutes for the holy symbol to recharge in the sunlight, they go back in, he turns the undead!"

..."the Cleric gets up on the fighter's shoulders, smashes the window, reaches through the window with his holy symbol, and turns the undead!"
User avatar
Boggo
Posts: 1381
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:17 pm

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by Boggo »

thing is, zombies are only 20' move (though a lot of fighters are only 10' :D ) but literally mindless, if you lose them, they will just wander aimlessly or slowly head back to where they came from (and remember, turning them only makes them go away, they come back...)
No matter where you go...there you are
Fourleif
Posts: 17
Joined: Tue Jan 24, 2023 3:55 pm
Contact:

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by Fourleif »

Right, so if I turn 2 Zombies in the first round, I roll 2d4 and get a 2, exit combat, they're coming back after 2 exploration turns (20 mins/2 rooms?). Something like that?
User avatar
Boggo
Posts: 1381
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2022 7:17 pm

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by Boggo »

yup
No matter where you go...there you are
User avatar
Solomoriah
Site Admin
Posts: 12453
Joined: Thu Nov 13, 2008 8:15 pm
Location: LaBelle, Missouri
Contact:

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by Solomoriah »

Not two turns, 2d4 turns. So up to 8 turns, averaging 5 turns.

It's not the holy symbol recharging. The cleric channels godly power through an act of faith. Failing this roll leaves the cleric's faith shaken, and they must recover from this before trying again.
My personal site: www.gonnerman.org
User avatar
Jim1804
Posts: 234
Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2022 10:57 pm

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by Jim1804 »

Fourleif wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 8:39 am Thanks for the clarification.

I have to wait for 59 combat rounds!? :shock:

Ok, I'm gonna have to think about this one...

..."they go back outside, spike the door shut, wait 10 minutes for the holy symbol to recharge in the sunlight, they go back in, he turns the undead!"

..."the Cleric gets up on the fighter's shoulders, smashes the window, reaches through the window with his holy symbol, and turns the undead!"
In original B/X, a combat encounter always takes one turn, regardless of how many rounds it actually takes:

"An encounter rarely takes as long as 60 rounds. When figuring out the amount of time spent in a dungeon, consider any encounter (including combat) of 60 rounds or less to have lasted on full turn." (Moldvay B23).

I'm not sure if this is explicitly spelled out in BFRPG, but I think a lot of us probably play this way. In that sense, it can act like "attempt to turn once per encounter". So it's not like the Cleric is just waiting around - you can rule that the combat rounds = 1 turn.
User avatar
dymondy2k
Posts: 1709
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2011 12:56 am

Re: Turn Undead questions

Post by dymondy2k »

Fourleif wrote: Wed Feb 15, 2023 7:26 am Good Morrow, Forum Dwellers!

1. I'm in the middle of an encounter with a number of Zombies. My party have kept their distance whilst the Cleric tried to Turn Undead. He succeeded on his 3rd attempt (3rd round). It was then that I read that Turn Undead can only be used once per encounter. Is this so? Please, say it isn't so!

2. What happens to the "turned"? Do I disregard them for the remainder of the combat encounter? Unsure how to handle this.

3. Is it correct to say that arrows to Zombies only do 1 damage (i.e., if hit, no need to roll for damage?)

My humblest thanks,
A solo party of 4 "Level 1 Losers"
As for question #2, Yes you can ignore them but unless they've got plenty of room to run, they'll still be close when the combat is over. If you are fighting some zombies in a 30' square room with one door and you are standing in front of it, they don't really have any place to go. So they'll probably still need to be chopped up after you finish off the ones that weren't turned.
Check out my BFRPG Campaign Setting
The Dragonclaw Barony
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot], inhalvast and 37 guests