Pathfinder 1E Negative Energy Channeling and Low Level Normals

[WayneLigon]

So, it happens now and again that your moderate level evil cleric pops off that massive thirty-foot-radius blast of negative energy in a globe around himself while in the confines of, say, a tavern or inn full of normal 5-10hp people who have the Will Save of a turnip. So they wind up taking, say, about three times as many HP as they could possibly have.

What's the effect you use? Do people just expire and drop, rot and fall over, turn to dust, blow up in a Cronenberg-esque fountain of gore, or what?

 

[Kinak]

I flavor it based on the cleric's god. So a god of battle, they might suffer woulds from invisible opponents. A god of death, they might shrivel to bones then collapse to dust. A god of shadows, darkness might descend over the area for a moment, then when it lifts they're just gone.

I do that with all channeling, though. At the very least, I describe it as an appropriately colored pulse of energy. But it's more interesting if your players can tell what they're dealing with. And negative channels lend themselves well to creepy descriptions.

Cheers!
Kinak