Turn Undead questions
Turn Undead questions
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. 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"
- MinkyBoodle
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- Joined: Mon Jan 28, 2019 10:18 pm
Re: Turn Undead questions
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.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"
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.
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Re: Turn Undead questions
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
Re: Turn Undead questions
Thanks for the clarification.
I have to wait for 59 combat rounds!?
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!"
I have to wait for 59 combat rounds!?
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!"
Re: Turn Undead questions
thing is, zombies are only 20' move (though a lot of fighters are only 10' ) 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
Re: Turn Undead questions
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?
- Solomoriah
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Re: Turn Undead questions
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.
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.
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Re: Turn Undead questions
In original B/X, a combat encounter always takes one turn, regardless of how many rounds it actually takes:Fourleif wrote: ↑Wed Feb 15, 2023 8:39 am Thanks for the clarification.
I have to wait for 59 combat rounds!?
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!"
"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.
Re: Turn Undead questions
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.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"
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