Soul Knife - Different uses [Archive] - Wizards Community

Soul Knife - Different uses [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Nobunaga Oda
06-09-07, 04:02 PM Well I am about to DM a Eberron "Play by Forum" game. And one of the biggest antagonists I was creating was a rival Bonty Hunter to one of the many parties in the game.

My ideia was to create something that resembles "Marrow" from X-men. In other words: It would have bones growing from her forearms and she would use it as weapons. I was even thinking about the Soul Knife ability of throwing the "bone sword" at people and then growing back.(Similar to the Soul Knife ability.)

Well since I am the DM I am allowing myself to make these small changes to the class fluff.(After all, she controls this by psychic power, similar to a mindblade. It´s her minds influence over her body who makes her bones grow and do all the other things.)

But the thing is: Is this a good ideia? Is there another way of portraing this character? Other kinds of different "mindblades" can be used? Did any of you ever used Soul Knife in different ways than the one portrayed in the book?
Generic Poster
06-09-07, 05:01 PM Soul knives look like anything the character wants them to look like, even if you were a PC and not the DM this would be fine. I personally wouldn't allow them to switch forms though, if the knives look bones normally I wouldn't allow to switch it around and make them look like anchovies the next round.
Nobunaga Oda
06-09-07, 06:05 PM Soul knives look like anything the character wants them to look like, even if you were a PC and not the DM this would be fine. I personally wouldn't allow them to switch forms though, if the knives look bones normally I wouldn't allow to switch it around and make them look like anchovies the next round.

Hm really? This class is way more fun than I though then. Thank you for your input!
angellis_ater
06-10-07, 07:09 AM I've had Soulknives and Mindblade wielders (since I use the Mindblade Feats option) who have had the following ways to manifest their mindblades:
- A psiforged who had his weapons form by "growing crystals" on his body
- A warrior whose seemingly ordinary sword changed colours and form dependant on her mood (when angry it was black with purple flames licking it)
- A soulknife who used her shadows as weaponry, making them solid, turning them into tentacles and so forth.
runestar
06-10-07, 07:30 AM Personally, my philosophy is that anyone can be done for aesthetics sake, so long as it has minimal mechanical (in-game) impact, or none at all if possible, and does not conflict with the setting of the game.

Go for it, by all means. That is my recommendation.:)
Nobunaga Oda
06-10-07, 12:09 PM Personally, my philosophy is that anyone can be done for aesthetics sake, so long as it has minimal mechanical (in-game) impact, or none at all if possible, and does not conflict with the setting of the game.

Go for it, by all means. That is my recommendation.:)

And I will follow it, thanks!

Angellis_ater: You seen to play with a creative bunch!
angellis_ater
06-10-07, 12:33 PM Well, I try to encourage my players to be creative and I usually help out when they need help fluffing something.
Judging Eagle
06-10-07, 01:00 PM Seriously, I'm totally going to tell you what I did the last time I played a "soulknife".

Use a ranger's mechanics. As in, play a ranger, but call yourself a soulknife, or whatever.

Call it's abilites whatever you want.

You're simply roleplaying mechanics that function into a concept that is flavourful.

As it stands, the Soulknife's biggest flavour is.... "has a shortsword" and it later gets "can harm creatures with brains" which literally translates to: "can harm bears and men, but not undead, constructs and other level appropriate monsters."

You can emulate the "has a shortsword" with, you know, buying a shortsword. If you want to 'fire' your psi-blades; make sure that your character is eating the foods that help them create their 'spikes' (aka, buy arrows) and that you have a pair of gloves that let you draw your spikes out of your body to hurl at other people (aka. buy an appropriate str bow).

You'll seriously get more roleplaying fodder doing what you need to do to keep yuor bone-blades working, then playing the super-retarded soulknife class. Since you can make a big deal of making sure that you are are drinking milk, eating cheese (calcium); working out (by hitting things your bne mass becomes denser) and drinking the darkest (adn thus most silicone filled) beers you can get your hands on.

Yes, I said drinking beer; silicone is an often ignored component in bone formation, so drinking a pint of a porter stout type of beer will give you a pile of the element; paler lagers and ales will have a lot less.

You'll also be playing an effective character. Which is you know, fun.
Nobunaga Oda
06-10-07, 04:57 PM Seriously, I'm totally going to tell you what I did the last time I played a "soulknife".

Use a ranger's mechanics. As in, play a ranger, but call yourself a soulknife, or whatever.

Call it's abilites whatever you want.

You're simply roleplaying mechanics that function into a concept that is flavourful.

As it stands, the Soulknife's biggest flavour is.... "has a shortsword" and it later gets "can harm creatures with brains" which literally translates to: "can harm bears and men, but not undead, constructs and other level appropriate monsters."

You can emulate the "has a shortsword" with, you know, buying a shortsword. If you want to 'fire' your psi-blades; make sure that your character is eating the foods that help them create their 'spikes' (aka, buy arrows) and that you have a pair of gloves that let you draw your spikes out of your body to hurl at other people (aka. buy an appropriate str bow).

You'll seriously get more roleplaying fodder doing what you need to do to keep yuor bone-blades working, then playing the super-retarded soulknife class. Since you can make a big deal of making sure that you are are drinking milk, eating cheese (calcium); working out (by hitting things your bne mass becomes denser) and drinking the darkest (adn thus most silicone filled) beers you can get your hands on.

Yes, I said drinking beer; silicone is an often ignored component in bone formation, so drinking a pint of a porter stout type of beer will give you a pile of the element; paler lagers and ales will have a lot less.

You'll also be playing an effective character. Which is you know, fun.

Thank you for your input, it is very interesting, specially since this particular campaign will have some pretty strange NPCs.

But about the Soul Knife class, I am using the Monte Cook variation for it, in my opinion is a better balanced class.
sooperspook
06-11-07, 01:02 AM One of my favourite soulknife characters made his blade look like a daisy chain. :D

primarily as a psychological ploy. we were fighting invading demons and the thought of a demon popping up back in the Abyss and having to explain to the other demons that he was killed by a skinny half elf with a daisy chain was too good. :D

Judging Eagle:
I disagree with you entirely on your concept of a soulknife. While I agree , the SK may be mechanically weak, flavour-wise it is packed!

It's flavour is not 'I get a short sword'. It's 'I have such angry and violent thoughts that I can physically manifest them. I can literally kill you with my hatred.'

Might as well say a Rangers flavour is 'I get some bonuses against some creatures and later I can increase those bonuses or get new ones.'

As for using equipment to simulate the soulblade. What happens when someone sunders your sword? As soulblade you just remanifest it. Can't do that with equipment.
What if someone grapples you when you're trying to shoot? Can't use a bow. But a mentally generated blade just fires off when you want it.

As for killing things with brains and "level appropriate monsters". What, you don't think outsiders have brains? Demons are just as vulnerable to Psychic strike as mortals are. Not to mention Dragons and Aberrations. And there are feats that let you hurt even things like undead and constructs, I'm sure I've seen them somewhere.
Master_of_Flames
06-11-07, 02:59 AM weren't*there*feats*on*the*boards*for*ne w*weapon*options???
TheKeyofE
06-11-07, 09:21 AM - A warrior whose seemingly ordinary sword changed colours and form dependant on her mood (when angry it was black with purple flames licking it)

Sounds like Dak'kon from PS:T (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planescape:_Torment).

This is funny to me because I had basically the same idea going. Dak'kon and his karach blade were the inspiration for a character I played in a homebrewed rules setting. He was a swordsman based on Himura Kenshin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himura_Kenshin), but with a sword made out of liquid metal like the T-1000. The blade's strength and sharpness were controlled by the wielder's mental discipline, and the shape and texture by his mood.

I enjoyed the character so much that when I got the XPH, I immediately wanted to play a Soulknife because the mechanics of the class allowed me to easily replicate all the things the character could do with his liquid metal sword.

And yes, the Soulknife is rather weak because it doesn't have a well defined role, but I think the flavor makes up for it if you're willing to let roll-playing slide a little in favor of role-playing.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nobunaga Oda 06-09-07, 04:02 PM	Well I am about to DM a Eberron "Play by Forum" game. And one of the biggest antagonists I was creating was a rival Bonty Hunter to one of the many parties in the game. My ideia was to create something that resembles "Marrow" from X-men. In other words: It would have bones growing from her forearms and she would use it as weapons. I was even thinking about the Soul Knife ability of throwing the "bone sword" at people and then growing back.(Similar to the Soul Knife ability.) Well since I am the DM I am allowing myself to make these small changes to the class fluff.(After all, she controls this by psychic power, similar to a mindblade. It´s her minds influence over her body who makes her bones grow and do all the other things.) But the thing is: Is this a good ideia? Is there another way of portraing this character? Other kinds of different "mindblades" can be used? Did any of you ever used Soul Knife in different ways than the one portrayed in the book?
Generic Poster 06-09-07, 05:01 PM	Soul knives look like anything the character wants them to look like, even if you were a PC and not the DM this would be fine. I personally wouldn't allow them to switch forms though, if the knives look bones normally I wouldn't allow to switch it around and make them look like anchovies the next round.
Nobunaga Oda 06-09-07, 06:05 PM	Soul knives look like anything the character wants them to look like, even if you were a PC and not the DM this would be fine. I personally wouldn't allow them to switch forms though, if the knives look bones normally I wouldn't allow to switch it around and make them look like anchovies the next round. Hm really? This class is way more fun than I though then. Thank you for your input!
angellis_ater 06-10-07, 07:09 AM	I've had Soulknives and Mindblade wielders (since I use the Mindblade Feats option) who have had the following ways to manifest their mindblades: - A psiforged who had his weapons form by "growing crystals" on his body - A warrior whose seemingly ordinary sword changed colours and form dependant on her mood (when angry it was black with purple flames licking it) - A soulknife who used her shadows as weaponry, making them solid, turning them into tentacles and so forth.
runestar 06-10-07, 07:30 AM	Personally, my philosophy is that anyone can be done for aesthetics sake, so long as it has minimal mechanical (in-game) impact, or none at all if possible, and does not conflict with the setting of the game. Go for it, by all means. That is my recommendation.:)
Nobunaga Oda 06-10-07, 12:09 PM	Personally, my philosophy is that anyone can be done for aesthetics sake, so long as it has minimal mechanical (in-game) impact, or none at all if possible, and does not conflict with the setting of the game. Go for it, by all means. That is my recommendation.:) And I will follow it, thanks! Angellis_ater: You seen to play with a creative bunch!
angellis_ater 06-10-07, 12:33 PM	Well, I try to encourage my players to be creative and I usually help out when they need help fluffing something.
Judging Eagle 06-10-07, 01:00 PM	Seriously, I'm totally going to tell you what I did the last time I played a "soulknife". Use a ranger's mechanics. As in, play a ranger, but call yourself a soulknife, or whatever. Call it's abilites whatever you want. You're simply roleplaying mechanics that function into a concept that is flavourful. As it stands, the Soulknife's biggest flavour is.... "has a shortsword" and it later gets "can harm creatures with brains" which literally translates to: "can harm bears and men, but not undead, constructs and other level appropriate monsters." You can emulate the "has a shortsword" with, you know, buying a shortsword. If you want to 'fire' your psi-blades; make sure that your character is eating the foods that help them create their 'spikes' (aka, buy arrows) and that you have a pair of gloves that let you draw your spikes out of your body to hurl at other people (aka. buy an appropriate str bow). You'll seriously get more roleplaying fodder doing what you need to do to keep yuor bone-blades working, then playing the super-retarded soulknife class. Since you can make a big deal of making sure that you are are drinking milk, eating cheese (calcium); working out (by hitting things your bne mass becomes denser) and drinking the darkest (adn thus most silicone filled) beers you can get your hands on. Yes, I said drinking beer; silicone is an often ignored component in bone formation, so drinking a pint of a porter stout type of beer will give you a pile of the element; paler lagers and ales will have a lot less. You'll also be playing an effective character. Which is you know, fun.
Nobunaga Oda 06-10-07, 04:57 PM	Seriously, I'm totally going to tell you what I did the last time I played a "soulknife". Use a ranger's mechanics. As in, play a ranger, but call yourself a soulknife, or whatever. Call it's abilites whatever you want. You're simply roleplaying mechanics that function into a concept that is flavourful. As it stands, the Soulknife's biggest flavour is.... "has a shortsword" and it later gets "can harm creatures with brains" which literally translates to: "can harm bears and men, but not undead, constructs and other level appropriate monsters." You can emulate the "has a shortsword" with, you know, buying a shortsword. If you want to 'fire' your psi-blades; make sure that your character is eating the foods that help them create their 'spikes' (aka, buy arrows) and that you have a pair of gloves that let you draw your spikes out of your body to hurl at other people (aka. buy an appropriate str bow). You'll seriously get more roleplaying fodder doing what you need to do to keep yuor bone-blades working, then playing the super-retarded soulknife class. Since you can make a big deal of making sure that you are are drinking milk, eating cheese (calcium); working out (by hitting things your bne mass becomes denser) and drinking the darkest (adn thus most silicone filled) beers you can get your hands on. Yes, I said drinking beer; silicone is an often ignored component in bone formation, so drinking a pint of a porter stout type of beer will give you a pile of the element; paler lagers and ales will have a lot less. You'll also be playing an effective character. Which is you know, fun. Thank you for your input, it is very interesting, specially since this particular campaign will have some pretty strange NPCs. But about the Soul Knife class, I am using the Monte Cook variation for it, in my opinion is a better balanced class.
sooperspook 06-11-07, 01:02 AM	One of my favourite soulknife characters made his blade look like a daisy chain. :D primarily as a psychological ploy. we were fighting invading demons and the thought of a demon popping up back in the Abyss and having to explain to the other demons that he was killed by a skinny half elf with a daisy chain was too good. :D Judging Eagle: I disagree with you entirely on your concept of a soulknife. While I agree , the SK may be mechanically weak, flavour-wise it is packed! It's flavour is not 'I get a short sword'. It's 'I have such angry and violent thoughts that I can physically manifest them. I can literally kill you with my hatred.' Might as well say a Rangers flavour is 'I get some bonuses against some creatures and later I can increase those bonuses or get new ones.' As for using equipment to simulate the soulblade. What happens when someone sunders your sword? As soulblade you just remanifest it. Can't do that with equipment. What if someone grapples you when you're trying to shoot? Can't use a bow. But a mentally generated blade just fires off when you want it. As for killing things with brains and "level appropriate monsters". What, you don't think outsiders have brains? Demons are just as vulnerable to Psychic strike as mortals are. Not to mention Dragons and Aberrations. And there are feats that let you hurt even things like undead and constructs, I'm sure I've seen them somewhere.
Master_of_Flames 06-11-07, 02:59 AM	weren'ttherefeatsontheboardsforne wweapon*options???
TheKeyofE 06-11-07, 09:21 AM	- A warrior whose seemingly ordinary sword changed colours and form dependant on her mood (when angry it was black with purple flames licking it) Sounds like Dak'kon from PS:T (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planescape:_Torment). This is funny to me because I had basically the same idea going. Dak'kon and his karach blade were the inspiration for a character I played in a homebrewed rules setting. He was a swordsman based on Himura Kenshin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himura_Kenshin), but with a sword made out of liquid metal like the T-1000. The blade's strength and sharpness were controlled by the wielder's mental discipline, and the shape and texture by his mood. I enjoyed the character so much that when I got the XPH, I immediately wanted to play a Soulknife because the mechanics of the class allowed me to easily replicate all the things the character could do with his liquid metal sword. And yes, the Soulknife is rather weak because it doesn't have a well defined role, but I think the flavor makes up for it if you're willing to let roll-playing slide a little in favor of role-playing.