Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord Likk 04-21-06, 11:41 AM	the soulknife hd: d8 b/a: 3/4 proficiencies: light armor. skill pts/lvl: 4+int mod (x4 at lvl.1) class skills: autohypnosis, climb, concentration, craft (all), hide, jump, knowledge (psionics), listen, move silently, profession (all), spot, and tumble. saves: low fort, high ref, high will lvl special techs known 1 mindblade 1d6, tech (lvl.1), imp unarmed strike, exotic weapon prof (mindblade), wild talent 1 2 detect psionics 1 3 swift mindblade, dodge bonus +1 2 4 psychic strike +1d6 2 5 mindblade 2d6 3 6 tech (lvl.2), acrobatic mastery 3 7 dodge bonus +2 4 8 psychic strike +2d6 4 9 power resistance 7 + effective character level 5 10 mindblade 3d6 5 11 tech (lvl.3), dodge bonus +3, pr 8+ecl 6 12 psychic strike +3d6 6 13 pr 9+ecl 7 14 - 7 15 mindblade 4d6, dodge bonus +4, pr 10+ecl 8 16 psychic strike +4d6, tech (lvl.4) 8 17 pr 11+ecl 9 18 - 9 19 dodge bonus +5, pr 12+ecl 10 20 minblade 5d6, psychic strike +5d6 10 psychic strike(su): a soulknife may use his mindblade to deliver a psychic strike as a standard action. if he hits, the target is also dazzled for 1 round. this is a supernatural, mind-affecting ability, and creatures immune to mind-affecting abilities or to the enchantment school or telepathy discipline are immune to the status effect, but not the additional damage. when making a psychic strike, a soulknife may opt to use his wisdom or charisma modifier (soulknife's choice upon gaining this ability) in place of his strength or dexterity for the attack roll. also, if the mindblade is augmented by a technique that adds a certain type of damage, all of its damage (base mindblade damage as well as bonus damage from psychic strike, techniques, and the relevent ability modifier) is of this type on a psychic strike. a mindblade may have up to four distinct damage types if necessary: energy/basic (acid, cold, electricity, fire, sonic, psitive, or negative, disintegration, slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning), precision, lethal or subdual (lethal by default), and mind-affecting or physical (physical by default). wild talent: a soulknife gains wild talent as a bonus feat at level one, giving him a power point pool of 2 pts, and conferring upon him the psionic subtype. mindblade(sp): a soulknife may manifest a blade of psionic energy as a standard action at will. he may maintain the blade for any amount of time, until he loses consciousness or voluntarily dissipates it. this blade is an exotic weapon that deals 1d6 piercing or slashing damage (soulknife's choice before he attacks with it) plus his wisdom or charisma modifier in place of his strength score (soulknife's choice upon gaining this ability). it critically hits on a 19 or 20 for x2 damage. a mindblade cannot be disarmed, but it can be destroyed by sundering. it has hardness equal to the soulknife's class level, and hit points equal to half the soulknife's maximum hp. some antipsionic weapon materials have been known to break the hardness of mindblades, as adamantine does conventional objects. if it is successfully destroyed, though, the soulknife need only manifest it again. in all other aspects, the mindblade functions exactly as a standard shortsword. swift mindblade(su): at 3rd level, a soulknife may manifest his mindblade as a swift action. dodge bonus(ex): a soulknife's skill with mobility in combat is such that he becomes significantly better than other melee fighters at dodging attacks. starting at 3rd level, he gains a +1 dodge bonus to armor class that increases by +1 for every 4 soulknife levels he gains thereafter, eventually up to +5 at level 19. acrobatic mastery(ex): a soulknife tends to fight quickly and with mobility, due to their relative fragility compared to other melee fighters. at 6th level, they gain the ability to take 10 on balance, climb, jump, and tumble checks, even while threatened or distracted. power resistance(ex): a soulknife is experienced in psionic combat and develops a basic defense against powers. at level 9, he gains pwer resistance equal to 7 plus his effective character level. every two levels thereafter, this resistance increases by 1, to 8 + character lvl at class lvl. 11, to 9 + character lvl at lvl. 13, and so on, until he reaches pwer resistance 12 + his effective character level at soulknife level 19. techniques(sp): a soulknife learns a technique every other level. as he gains levels in soulknife, he may select techniques of a progressively more powerful nature, as delineated by his available tech level. a soulknife may not affect his mindblade with more than one technique of the same discipline at once, unless the technique specifically states otherwise. techniques that effect his psychic strike primarily or do not affect his mindblade at all are not limited in this way. techniques are spell-like abilities, usable at will as an action described under their manifesting time. most of them either last for 24 hours or until his mindblade is dissipated (they have this duration unless otherwise noted) or are a free or swift action to manifest (for clarity, all techs include a manifesting time entry). the majority of them also target the soulknife himself; techs with no range entry have a "personal" range, and those with no target entry have a range of "you." all techs have a visual display upon manifestation, and an obvious visual effect (an alteration to the mindblade, for instance) for their duration. those with a display entry have some other display or none at all, as noted. if a mindblade is augmented by a technique that adds a certain type of damage, all of its damage (base mindblade damage as well as bonus damage from psychic strike, techniques, and the relevent ability modifier) is of this type on a psychic strike. a mindblade may have up to four distinct damage types if necessary: energy/basic (acid, cold, electricity, fire, sonic, positive, or negative, disintegration, slashing, piercing, or bludgeoning), precision, lethal or subdual (lethal by default), and mind-affecting or physical (physical by default). a soulknife may spend an action point to manifest one of his techniques which requires a 1 minute manifesting time as a standard action instead. mindblade techs level 1- mindsword, energy mindblade. material mindblade, psionic mindblade level 2- mindclaymore, alignmental mindblade, bane mindblade, greater psionic mindblade level 3- throw mindblade, mindpsear, mindblade of speed, true material mindblade level 4- true throw minblade, mindblade of pure destruction, vorpal mindblade psychic strike techs level 1- glamerstrike, sickening strike, blade of fear level 2- blade of fright level 3- blade of terror level 4- general techs level 1- leaps and bounds, spiderwalk, inertial armor, preternatural senses level 2- voidsense level 3- augmented inertial armor level 4- mindsword metacreation level 1 technique effective power level: 1 manifesting time: 1 minute your mindblade becomes a one-handed sword. it deals +1d6 damage and may not be used in conjunction with weapon finesse, but may be used to power attack. the mindblade is still exotic and you retain proficiency in it. you may opt to use your str modifier for damage instead of your wisdom or charisma, and the relevent modifier is multiplied by 1 1/2 if you wield the mindblade in two hands. in all other aspects, it is treated as a normal mindblade. mindclaymore metacreation lvl.2 tech epl: 2 manifesting time: 1 minute your mindblade becomes a two-handed sword. it deals +2d6 damage, it's damage is slashing (instead of slashing or piercing), and it may not be used in conjunction with weapon finesse, but may be used to power attack. the mindblade is still exotic and you retain proficiency in it. you may opt to use your str modifier for damage instead of your wisdom or charisma, and the relevent modifier is multiplied by 1 1/2 since you must wield the mindblade in two hands. in all other aspects, it is treated as a normal mindblade. mindspear metacreation lvl.3 tech epl: 3 manifesting time: 1 minute your mindblade becomes a spear. it deals +2d6 damage, has reach, and may not be used to strike foes within your normal reach (that is, within the range you could attack with a nonreach weapon). its damage is piercing, it may not be used in conjunction with weapon finesse, but may be used to power attack, it delivers a critical hit only on a 20, and its critical multiplier rises to x3. the mindblade is still exotic and you retain proficiency in it. you may opt to use your str modifier for damage instead of your wisdom or charisma, and the relevent modifier is multiplied by 1 1/2 since you must wield the mindblade in two hands. in all other aspects, it is treated as a normal mindblade. throw mindblade psychoportation lvl.2 tech epl: 2 manifesting time: 1 standard action duration: instantaneous when you manifest this technique, you throw your mindblade as part of the standard action. it has a range increment of 10', and its other features remain the same. the mindblade either spins around and returns to your hand at the beginning of your next turn, or teleports to your palm after the same amount of time (your choice). this tech may not be used in conjunction with mindsword, mindclaymore, mindspear, or true throw mindblade. throw mindblade, true psychoportation lvl.4 tech epl: 6 manifesting time: 1 attack action duration: instantaneous glamerstrike telepathy lvl.1 tech epl: 1 manifesting time: 1 free action duration: 1 round for six seconds, your mindblade appears to expand, lengthen, and roil with black, grey, purple, or dark blue energy as you draw from the shadow plane to illusorily enhance it. you may only manifest this technique immediately before executing a psychic strike, but unlike other psychic strike techniques, it affects your other attacks in the round. this technique adds +1d6 damage to your psychic strike and other attacks, but all of their damage is subdual. the target(s) is(are) not allowed a will saving throw to disbelieve the damage until combat has ended, due to the completeness of the illusion; it mimics sights, sounds, smells, tactile and thermal sensations, and other perceptions necessary for the attack (wounds or burned hair and flesh if the attack deals subdual fire damage, or numbness and instantaneous rotting if it deals negative energy damage, etc.). if they pass their will save, they are instantly healed of the subdual damage. if they are knocked unconscious due (in part or in whole) to the subdual, they are automatically healed of the damage and awakened 1 hour later. material mindblade metacreation lvl.1 tech epl: 2 manifesting time: 1 minute duration: 1 minute/level your mindblade gains physical substance. you may choose the type of substance from amongst any mundane material of relative rigidness (wood, bone, crystal, and gold are all fine, but paper and water are not), but these nonmagical materials do not affect the mindblade's statistics. you may also choose mithral, darkwood, cold iron, achemical silver, or byeshk. these alter the mindbade as though it were a typical weapon constructed of the selected material, and allow it to break damage reistance keyed to that material. this tech may be used in conjunction with any other except true material mindblade and glamerstrike. material mindblade, true metacreation lvl.3 tech epl: 4 manifesting time: 1 minute duration: 1 minute/lvl your mindblade gains physical substance. you may endow it with the features of any material available through material mindblade, as well as any other weapon material available in dungeons and dragons including the new weapon material, limbo matter (see below). the mindblade gains all the characteristics of a weapon of the selected material, inlcuding any drawbacks. this tech may be used in conjunction with any other except material mindblade and glamerstrike. psionic mindblade metacreation lvl.1 tech epl: 1 manifesting time: 1 minute duration: 1 minute/lvl psionic mindblade, greater metacreation lvl.2 tech epl: 3 manifesting time: 1 minute duration: 1 minute/lvl energy mindblade psychokinesis lvl.1 tech epl: 1 manifesting time: 1 minute duration: 1 minute/level your mindblade becomes imbued with elemental energy. upon manifesting this tech, you select an energy type: acid, cold, electricity, fire, or sonic. your mindblade does an additional +1d6 damage of the chosen energy type. if you attack with a psychic strike while this tech is in effect, all of the attack's damage (base mindblade damage, bonus psychic strike damage, as well as bonus damage from this tech and any other compatible techs affecting you), is converted to the chosen energy type, with some specific exceptions; if you select cold, electricity, or fire, your attack deals an additional +1 damage per d6 of energy damage, or if you select acid or sonic, your attack deals -1 damage per d6 of energy damage, but ignores the hardness of objects. leaps and bounds psychometabolism lvl.1 tech epl: 1 manifesting time: 1 immediate action duration: instantaneous you use this psionic technique to augment the acrobatic feat you are currently attempting. it gives you a +6 circumstance bonus to one balance, jump, or tumble check. preternatural senses clairsentience lvl.1 tech epl: 1 manifesting time: 1 immediate action duration: instantaneous you use this technique to supplement one of your senses with psionic methods of detection. it gives you a +6 circumstance bonus to one listen, search, or spot check. dark one's own luck? see the unseen? inertial armor psychokinesis lvl.1 tech epl: 1 manifesting time: 1 standard action duration: 1 hour/lvl you form a skintight psychkinetic barrier that defnds you like armor but doesn't hinder you at all. you gain a +5 armor bonus to ac. voidsense blindsight? inertial armor, augmented alignmental mindblade metacreation lvl.2 tech epl: 2 manifesting time: 1 minute duration: 1 minute/lvl your mindblade becomes imbued with holy, profane, axiomatic or anarchic energy (your choice upon manifesting this power, though you may not choose an alignment opposed to your own. if you are true neutral, you select two alignments you may use and two you may not when you learn this tech). it deals +2d6 damage of its natural type (typically slashing or piercing) against creatures of the opposed alignment to its own. for example, elan von soulknife (who is neutral good) manifests alignmental mindblade to make his mindblade holy. it now deals additional damage against evil creatures. your mindblade also breaks damage resistance as a weapon of the alignment you choose while affected by this technique. this tech may be used in conjunction with other metacreation techs. vorpal mindblade mindblade of pure destruction blade of fear telepathy lvl.1 tech epl: 1 manifesting time: 1 swift action duration: 1 round your mindblade becomes imbued with mind-affecting power to strike fear in its target(s). for the duration of the round, your psychic strikes cause their targets to become shaken instead of dazzled. they do not recieve a saving throw, but creatures immune to mind-affecting are immune to this status effect. you may only use this power in conjunction with glamerstrike (to manifest this tech, you must have manifested glamerstrike this round as well), but it may not be combined with any other telepathic tech unless otherwise noted. sickening strike psychometabolism lvl.1 tech epl: 1 manifesting time: 1 swift action duration: 1 round your mindblade gains the power to alter the physiology of those it strikes. if you make a psychic strike during the round in which you manifest this power and hit the target, they are sickened instead of dazzled. they do not recieve a fortitude saving throw, and creatures immune to mind-affecting are not immune to this status effect. this tech may not be used in conjunction with glamerstrike or with any psychometabolistic psychic strike tech unless otherwise noted. new weapon material: limbo matter on limbo, matter and energy mix and combine in unheard of an partially randomized ways. the lawful githzerai who make that plane their home have learned to craft the very stuff of limbo now, it's not nearly complete, but you can get the idea of many of the techniques from the ones i've created thus far. there is also inspiration from the artificer and, of course, the standard soulknife in here. what do you think belongs? what doesn't? let me know; any input would be appreciated.
Lord Likk 04-30-06, 08:40 PM	i can understand why you guys would pass over this as a a thread that doesn't belong on this board, but allow me to state my reasons for posting this here. first and foremost, i'm reasonably familiar with this community and i know firsthand how keen an eye for balance and playability it has. i also know how businesslike many of our optimizers are, and that i'll get useful, straightforward feedback without posts that are just whining that soulknife doesn't need fixing or how it's too cool to be changed. so give me some of that useful and straightforward feedback! hell, tell me what it would be broken with or that it just isn't. if it isn't complete enough for brokenness evaluation, let me know and i'll put down some of my working theories on the rest of the techniques (invocations) and some changes to the current feats and prc's related to the soulknife (in eberron, races of eberron, and the xph, but not complete psionics, since our playgroup member who got it is busy reading and re-reading every phrase, clause, and ability; he might be called 'obsessed' with psionics, as some of you may well know if you remember "wererat troll paladin" from the psiboards). jeez, that was a long parentheses. anyway, i need feedback to complete this class enough to make a vampire soulknife (or perhaps half-vampire/ghoul template soulknife) as a 'dm's character' in an upcoming undead campaign. tell me if i should use a different race with it. tell me what would be great multiclassing with it. tell me the class sucks even more than the current soulknife. tell me anything, just reply and get this thread moving!
PhoenixInferno 04-30-06, 09:15 PM	Did you try the Psionics board? They're very amenable to judging rewritten core classes.
Lord Likk 04-30-06, 09:42 PM	i have the same thread there and on the classes and prc's forum, and i'm making the same pleas in both for any feedback at all. you can see, then, how important this is to me. it's the first organized attempt i've made at rewriting a class and replacing it in all my games henceforth, so i want to make sure the class turns out well and is at least playable enough for a dm's character to test it out. do you think it's more or less optimizable than the standard soulknife, pheonix inferno? i like to think that i've integrated it more with the whole system of dnd, but it is still barely off the ground. are there any abilities you think a soulknife ought to have that it doesn't? do you think my 'techniques' are about as powerful as the warlock's invocations and the artificer's whatchamacallits? is it too much to make an attack deal slashing, mind-affecting, nonlethal damage? is the damage potential per attack of the mindblade too high? just one yes or no with a reason will help me, and so i ask that you write back and give me material from which to continue.
PhoenixInferno 04-30-06, 09:48 PM	Well, the first thing that came to mind is that you base most of the Power Resistance on ECL. That's one less incentive to stay with Soulknife after 7th.
Lord Likk 04-30-06, 09:59 PM	here's why: i think it sucks to play a monster race and to have a lower sr (if you've got it) due to lost hd. enemy spellcasters of your ecl will still have a higher caster level, so your sr starts to become negligable instead of very powerful (as it's typically rated by how many la it costs; the drow, instance). as far as incentives go, cleric is up there for best class and it gets no features after level one. i have no qualms with people multiclassing out of my version of soulknife, as long as they got something from it in the first place. the standard soulknife, in my opinion does encourage you to stay in it through the long haul, but only because your waiting around to actually get a useful ability. that's no fun. also, the pr increases as you gain class levels, so that you have to take soulknife to 15th lvl to get the typical "50/50" chance of spell success. if you continue on to 20th lvl, you get even better sr. what do you think of these stratagies? any other qualms or kudos you have with/on the class?
Lord Likk 05-07-06, 03:41 PM	i've made a bunch more of the techs and a few small changes to the rest of it. if anyone cares, reply with any opinions you may have, please!
stembolt 05-07-06, 03:53 PM	A note to get more feedback Just list what you want to change. Off the top of my head I don’t know the full breakdown of the soulknives powers. Also the reason Soulknives are sub par is that they have powers that everyone else replicates with equipment. I would like to see that discussed.
Lord Likk 05-12-06, 01:57 PM	the class is really a lot more like the warlock than the soulknife, except in terms of fluff. some changes i can list, though: psychic strike needs to do significantly more damage than a normal mindblade attack. double or so, i'd say. with my abilities, it has the potential to do more than that, but also works only on creatures susceptible to mind-affecting. it also bestows the dazzled status for 1 rd. you can add damage, change the type of damage, and change the status effect by manifesting psychic strike techniques while you attack. you can also create an illusory psychic strike with glamerstrike, which does even more damage, but it's all subdual as well as mind-affecting. there need to be techniques to mimic various weapon enhancements. the standard soulknife's ability to gain a few enhancements from the xph is a joke. my techniques energy mindblade, alignmental mindblade, bane mindblade, mindblade of life and death, vorpal mindblade, and mindblade of speed mimic standard weapon enhancements, and are fashioned after artificer infusions. soulknife needs some decent defensive abilities to be a melee fighter. my scaling power resistance, dodge bonus to ac, and ability to take 10 on tumble checks, all help with this. taking a feat to make your mindblade something other than a shortsword is a terrible idea. my techniques mindsword, mindclaymore, and mindspear allow the soulknife to gain some other weapon functionalities without spending feats, and also make the mindblade flat-out more powerful, because techniques are harder to come by than feats. the standard soulknife's ability to throw it's mindblade sucks ass. you shouldn't have to take a prestige class to do that at at least a passing level. my techniques throw mindblade and true throw mindblade allow the soulknife to do this by 6th level and to use it fully as a ranged weapon (in a full attack, that is) before 18th lvl. perhaps above all else: you should not have to take 20 levels in a ****** base class to be half-decent with a mindblade! my technique system allows the player to multiclass and still customize and improve his mindblade in much the same way a warlock continues to gain eldritch blast damage and invocations known, and my class also actually has good abilities early on, keeping a player from being forced not to multiclass.