Incarnate Weapon: A Stealth Soulknife Fix [Archive] - Wizards Community

Incarnate Weapon: A Stealth Soulknife Fix [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
InkBlot
07-08-07, 03:42 PM Did anybody else notice this while reading Magic Of Incarnum? There's the incarnate weapon soulmeld, which is for all intensive intents and purposes a mind blade. You're even automatically proficient with it. Only this "mind blade" you can get with a feat at 1st level, starts out as a one-handed 1d8 weapon* instead of a light 1d6 weapon, bypasses alignment-based DR, has a virtual returning property, can't be sundered, and the enhancement bonus can be increased with feats.
*longsword, battleaxe, warhammer, or flail depending on alignment

For example, consider a lawful good human psychic warrior. He takes Shape Soulmeld (Incarnate Weapon) and Cerulean Reflexes. At 1st level he can pull a +1 good warhammer out of thin air. Later he takes Throw Anything from Complete Warrior, to take advantage of the fact that the incarnate weapon automatically returns to your hand at the start of each round. He takes metaphysical weapon so he can increase the enhancement bonus on the incarnate weapon without investing essentia. He takes Bonus Essentia anyway, but invests it in Cerulean Reflexes until he also gets Open Lesser Chakra (Arms) so he can stun evil creatures.

Other classes can do similar, but any class without access to metaphysical weapon or greater magic weapon would have to take a couple more [incarnum] feats in order to keep their "mind blade's" enhancement bonus up. Obviously an incarnum class make the best "soulknives" this way, and dipping in incarnum class will help you get enough essentia to fuel the incarnate weapon.

If you take Expanded Soulmeld Capacity (ESC) then the enhancement bonus stays a couple points ahead of the mindblade. Otherwise it starts out ahead, but the mindblade catches up by 12th level.

Enhancement Bonus to attack and damage, assuming max essentia invested:
Character Mind Incarnate Incarnate Weapon
Level Blade Weapon With ESC
1st +1 +2
4th +1
6th +2 +3
8th +2
12th +3 +3 +4
16th +4
18th +4 +5
20th +5

This doesn't take into account the mindblade's special properties, like keen or vicious. The incarnate weapon doesn't get those, which is a huge mark against it.
Istarion
07-08-07, 04:03 PM And you just gave me a feat idea:

Sword of the Ancestors

Prerequisites: mind blade class ability, be able to shape the Incarnate Weapon Soulmeld.

Benefit: Your mindblade becomes enhanced with the souls of the greatest soulknives of all time. If you have Incarnate Weapon shaped, you may apply its benefits to your mindblade, instead of forming a new weapon...

Heck, I may even build a PrC on that concept.
Tempest Stormwind
07-08-07, 04:26 PM Yeah, I noticed it. I even jokingly said the incarnate was a better soulknife than the soulknife (he can make the blade up to a +8 and still have all the other melds left to power it).

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
InkBlot 07-08-07, 03:42 PM	Did anybody else notice this while reading Magic Of Incarnum? There's the incarnate weapon soulmeld, which is for all intensive intents and purposes a mind blade. You're even automatically proficient with it. Only this "mind blade" you can get with a feat at 1st level, starts out as a one-handed 1d8 weapon* instead of a light 1d6 weapon, bypasses alignment-based DR, has a virtual returning property, can't be sundered, and the enhancement bonus can be increased with feats. *longsword, battleaxe, warhammer, or flail depending on alignment For example, consider a lawful good human psychic warrior. He takes Shape Soulmeld (Incarnate Weapon) and Cerulean Reflexes. At 1st level he can pull a +1 good warhammer out of thin air. Later he takes Throw Anything from Complete Warrior, to take advantage of the fact that the incarnate weapon automatically returns to your hand at the start of each round. He takes metaphysical weapon so he can increase the enhancement bonus on the incarnate weapon without investing essentia. He takes Bonus Essentia anyway, but invests it in Cerulean Reflexes until he also gets Open Lesser Chakra (Arms) so he can stun evil creatures. Other classes can do similar, but any class without access to metaphysical weapon or greater magic weapon would have to take a couple more [incarnum] feats in order to keep their "mind blade's" enhancement bonus up. Obviously an incarnum class make the best "soulknives" this way, and dipping in incarnum class will help you get enough essentia to fuel the incarnate weapon. If you take Expanded Soulmeld Capacity (ESC) then the enhancement bonus stays a couple points ahead of the mindblade. Otherwise it starts out ahead, but the mindblade catches up by 12th level. Enhancement Bonus to attack and damage, assuming max essentia invested: Character Mind Incarnate Incarnate Weapon Level Blade Weapon With ESC 1st +1 +2 4th +1 6th +2 +3 8th +2 12th +3 +3 +4 16th +4 18th +4 +5 20th +5 This doesn't take into account the mindblade's special properties, like keen or vicious. The incarnate weapon doesn't get those, which is a huge mark against it.
Istarion 07-08-07, 04:03 PM	And you just gave me a feat idea: Sword of the Ancestors Prerequisites: mind blade class ability, be able to shape the Incarnate Weapon Soulmeld. Benefit: Your mindblade becomes enhanced with the souls of the greatest soulknives of all time. If you have Incarnate Weapon shaped, you may apply its benefits to your mindblade, instead of forming a new weapon... Heck, I may even build a PrC on that concept.
Tempest Stormwind 07-08-07, 04:26 PM	Yeah, I noticed it. I even jokingly said the incarnate was a better soulknife than the soulknife (he can make the blade up to a +8 and still have all the other melds left to power it).