Soulknife Fix [Archive] - Wizards Community

Soulknife Fix [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
eggplantm
04-05-07, 12:12 PM I know this has been covered many times as many are dissatisfied with the soulknife as written. Please just let me know what you think of this as a possible solution and do not link my to any other fixes. I have seen them.

I'm looking for a simple fix that does not require me to rewrite everything in my book by adding a few things. Here's my ideas.

Lvl1 Psionic Weapon (mindblade) - the Soulknife gains the feat Psionic Weapon but it only applies when the character is using their mindblade. If the character wishes to apply the Psionic Weapon feat to any other weapon, she must have that feat from some other source. The soulknife can, however select Greater Psionic Weapon for her mindblade as a feat acquired through character advancement at later levels.

Lvl 2 Psionic Shot (mindblade) - the soulknife gains the psionic shot feat even though she may not meet the prerequisites for it. This applies only when the character is using her mindblade and character may not apply this feat to any other weapon unless she has acquired the feat from some other source. The soulknife can, however select Greater Psionic Shot for her mindblade as a feat acquired through character advancement at later levels.

Lvl 5 Mind over Matter - The mindblade ignores up to 5 points of damage reduction of any kind. This ability simply treats any existing damage reduction of the target as being 5 points lower. This ability increases by an additional 5 points at level 10, Level 15 and Level 20.

That's about it. I'm still debating wether to give the Soulknife Full BAB but I'm not sure. I wanted to soulknife to have something pretty good starting out so I gave it the psionic weapon but limited it to his signature weapon. The Mind over Matter ability takes away the major hindrance of the class by allowing you to overcome DR of various targets without using up a buttload of feats and gives the class a unique flavor of its own. Being able to overcome any kind of DR even types like 5/- or Epic is pretty nice.

Please let me know what you think.
WinterPsionic
04-05-07, 07:28 PM Lvl 5 Mind over Matter - The mindblade ignores up to 5 points of damage reduction of any kind. This ability simply treats any existing damage reduction of the target as being 5 points lower. This ability increases by an additional 5 points at level 10, Level 15 and Level 20.

Question: Based soley on the idea I think you were going for wouldn't this only apply to material DR? For Example this shouldn't do anything IMO against /DR Lawful or /DR Epic(but that's a given). But /DR Silver, Copper, Bronze, Etc I'd understand.
Perseus_Stoned
04-05-07, 07:37 PM Sorry, but I don't think these are the kind of changes needed to make a soulknife better. Just as with the fighter, one of soulknife's biggest problems is their lack of utility.

The soulknife has weak HP, medium BAB, bad feat selection, no power points, and almost all his abilities are geared towards melee fighting. Your Psionic feats add more damage, but its not damage the soulknife has to worry about (at least right away, there are more pressing problems with him). The damage reduction ability is a decent start, but it doesn't really fit the flavor at all and is pretty plainly just an attempt to throw a lifesaver to a drowned body.
WinterPsionic
04-05-07, 08:52 PM Sorry, but I don't think these are the kind of changes needed to make a soulknife better. Just as with the fighter, one of soulknife's biggest problems is their lack of utility.

Like a Rogue, Minus the Skills

The soulknife has weak HP,

...a D10 is Weak? What are there class with a D20 I don't know about?

bad feat selection

...feat selection...they can take any feat they want for the most part...unless your referring to the class granted feats and class abilities

no power points

Umm actually they get 2 :p, though being the only non-manifesting(in terms of actual "Powers") Psionic Class is kinda weird(yes I know about taking Hidden Talent instead of Wild Talent)

and almost all his abilities are geared towards melee fighting.

Ya, now only if they had a Fighter's BAB and a the chance for a faster Mindblade progression.

The damage reduction ability is a decent start, but it doesn't really fit the flavor at all and is pretty plainly just an attempt to throw a lifesaver to a drowned body.

Really? I thought with the idea of Deep Impact it was a pretty good idea...
Perseus_Stoned
04-05-07, 09:05 PM ...a D10 is Weak? What are there class with a D20 I don't know about?

Oops, I apologize. Their HD is decent (although you're purposefully ignoring the barbarian WinterPsionic ;)).

...feat selection...they can take any feat they want for the most part...unless your referring to the class granted feats and class abilities

I was; for the most part the core straight-melee builds get access to a fair selection of feats, or a fair selection of prestige classes which grant access to said feats. The soulknife gets the weapon focuses and speed of thought (and wild talent of course ;)). While +2 to attack is decent, considering their BAB isn't full thats already a failed attempt at improving an already crippled class. Speed of Thought is a nice flavor/combat feat, although there are a significant amount of others that the soulknife could've used more.

Umm actually they get 2 :p, though being the only non-manifesting(in terms of actual "Powers") Psionic Class is kinda weird(yes I know about taking Hidden Talent instead of Wild Talent)

Again, I apologize for speaking in err, although for the intent of the OP my statement was valid.

Really? I thought with the idea of Deep Impact it was a pretty good idea...

The trouble is I find that improves their chance to hit and Psionic Weapon improves their damage, but thats not really where they suck at. Look at the fighter; a lot of fixes have been made revolving around him, but the ones most accepted as actual fixes aren't ones that bump the amount of feats he gets access to, his damage, or his BAB- they give him special attacks, things no one else can even hope to learn and that gives me adaptability.

I made my own soulknife fix and it had things like "Dimensional Spring Attack" (elocater) and a certain amount of teleporting allowed per day. He can't melee and hold a candle to builds that do it better, so give him his own spin.
JulesCARV
04-05-07, 09:42 PM I think that if you gave the soulknife full BAB, they would be at about the level of a ranger. They'd probably be slightly more powerful than a ranger in combat, and have lower out-of-combat utility thanks to inability to track, lack of divine spells, etc. Thoughts?
Bonzai
04-06-07, 12:43 PM Wizards did give Soulknives a little love, with some alternative class features (alla PHB2). The link is here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070214a

I think that helps them a little bit, though I agree that full babs would have been nice. I would also like to see a few more minds eye articles introducing some more interaction with the new systems. In particular a Soulknive PrC that grants martial manuevers, while continuing to enhance the SoulKnife's mind blade (I also wouldn't mind seeing a Psychic Warrior prc, that allowed them to spend power points to refresh expended manuevers).
eggplantm
04-06-07, 02:33 PM Question: Based soley on the idea I think you were going for wouldn't this only apply to material DR? For Example this shouldn't do anything IMO against /DR Lawful or /DR Epic(but that's a given). But /DR Silver, Copper, Bronze, Etc I'd understand.

Not really. I was hoping for a way to simulate that the mindblade attacks the essence of a thing and is not dependent on material or even alignment. Also, the goal of the ability was to make people less hesitant to play a soulknife due to them almost always being unprepared for a damage reduction problem and alignment based DR is just as common if not more so than material based DR.
eggplantm
04-06-07, 02:36 PM Sorry, but I don't think these are the kind of changes needed to make a soulknife better. Just as with the fighter, one of soulknife's biggest problems is their lack of utility.

The soulknife has weak HP, medium BAB, bad feat selection, no power points, and almost all his abilities are geared towards melee fighting. Your Psionic feats add more damage, but its not damage the soulknife has to worry about (at least right away, there are more pressing problems with him). The damage reduction ability is a decent start, but it doesn't really fit the flavor at all and is pretty plainly just an attempt to throw a lifesaver to a drowned body.

I can't say that I agree about the weak HP. I do agree that maybe (maybe) the BAB needs to be changed but I've seen soulknives played and hitting once (which is usually all they want to hit) is rarely a problem for them.
eggplantm
04-06-07, 02:39 PM I think that if you gave the soulknife full BAB, they would be at about the level of a ranger. They'd probably be slightly more powerful than a ranger in combat, and have lower out-of-combat utility thanks to inability to track, lack of divine spells, etc. Thoughts?

I don't quite agree. Soulknives still get 4 skill points and they have a pretty good list of skills which includes move silent, hide, spot, listen and other good ones. They can function out of combat OK, but they need to function in combat better as that is supposed to be their focus. The ranger has a combat style, animal companion, many bonus feats, favored enemies and spells and still gets a full BAB and 6 skill points! The ranger is a class that really makes me think it is OK to give the Soulknife full BAB in addition to the changes I've laid down here.
AntiDjinn
04-06-07, 02:57 PM If you use the Mindscapes psionic combat system from Hyperconscious you also give a decent boost to the soul knife. This has the advantage of being written by the author of the class itself rather than being a homebrew.
Dalmaris_cerebromancer
04-08-07, 11:21 AM I think that soulknife is a good class.

I DMed a group that instead of a fighter or barbarian for a combantant they had a soulknife. He got really good. It mostly depends on feats you choose.
AntiDjinn
04-08-07, 12:50 PM The biggest shortfall in the class as published is that it doesn't get any bonus feats. Its class specials are built around simply always having a weapon, but a fighter can generally always have a weapon in hand that does more damage. The soul knifes' advantages over the fighter really only come into play in a game where the DM tends to sunder, disarm, rust monster, or dominate the party melee guy frequently. If you have played a fighter and have had instances where your weapon is unavailable, those are the instances when you wish you were a soul knife. Other than that, you would just as soon avail yourself of the stacks of enchanted weapons that fall into most campaigns.

In play the soul knife's good Will save turns out to be more important than it looks on paper. It doesn't help you do more damage, but it keeps that damage from being easily turned against the party. Most melee combatants are assumed to be lunk-heads and are targets for domination, sleep, and other mind-affecting stuff. As a soul knife you are as difficult influence as a spellcaster.
Perseus_Stoned
04-08-07, 02:19 PM I think that soulknife is a good class.

I DMed a group that instead of a fighter or barbarian for a combantant they had a soulknife. He got really good. It mostly depends on feats you choose.

Its not that the soulknife can't be a good class with optimization, its just that, when pitted against a vast majority of other classes who are optimized as well, the soulknife comes out short. The only classes I can think of who are for sure less powerful than it are the NPC classes. Thats a big pitfall. I mean heck... check out this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulknife) (under "Balance Issues"). Wikipedia isn't necessarily the "final say" at all, but its still something to consider when so many people regard them as that poor.

The biggest shortfall in the class as published is that it doesn't get any bonus feats. Its class specials are built around simply always having a weapon, but a fighter can generally always have a weapon in hand that does more damage. The soul knifes' advantages over the fighter really only come into play in a game where the DM tends to sunder, disarm, rust monster, or dominate the party melee guy frequently. If you have played a fighter and have had instances where your weapon is unavailable, those are the instances when you wish you were a soul knife. Other than that, you would just as soon avail yourself of the stacks of enchanted weapons that fall into most campaigns.

In play the soul knife's good Will save turns out to be more important than it looks on paper. It doesn't help you do more damage, but it keeps that damage from being easily turned against the party. Most melee combatants are assumed to be lunk-heads and are targets for domination, sleep, and other mind-affecting stuff. As a soul knife you are as difficult influence as a spellcaster.

Exactly. They're like a bard, who can only work with melee. Sure they are immune to special attacks (sunder and the like), but against normal attacks these guys get creamed.
Moosh Nailo
04-08-07, 06:52 PM Maybe giving a player creating a soulknife a choice of one of several different benefits. The list could include things like:
-Trapfinding, with evasion or uncanny dodge, as a rogue
-Monk's AC bonus
-A bonus feat every X levels (3?)

I realize it's a quick, cheap, easy, lazy fix, but meh. Or maybe just stick with full BAB progression. Which is a quicker, cheaper, easier and lazier fix.
Enh.

How about being able to shape the blade into any weapon you're proficient with? Replacing the regular bastard sword and longsword from the Shape Blade ability.
AntiDjinn
04-09-07, 04:16 AM Sure they are immune to special attacks (sunder and the like), but against normal attacks these guys get creamed.
Even their defense against special attacks rarely makes a huge difference in the game. These attacks may happen, but if a DM is in a sundering frenzy and is having rust monsters jump the fighters all the time or constantly ambushing the ranger while he is bathing and doesn't have his weapons at hand, then the group will revolt. At the very least they will wind up on these boards with another story of a DM out of control. Yet in a game with a soul knife PC, if the DM doesn't break or disarm something then one of the class' advantages never comes into play.
eggplantm
04-09-07, 06:50 AM If you use the Mindscapes psionic combat system from Hyperconscious you also give a decent boost to the soul knife. This has the advantage of being written by the author of the class itself rather than being a homebrew.

I'm afraid I don't have that. I really don't want to add a new system, just something to bring it up to par.
eggplantm
04-09-07, 07:11 AM I think that soulknife is a good class.

I DMed a group that instead of a fighter or barbarian for a combantant they had a soulknife. He got really good. It mostly depends on feats you choose.

I like the idea of the class and I've played one and done fine but I think the class is mechanically just a little behind and some of its advantages even hold it back.

A first level fighter can be just as effective as a first level soulknife. They both have the same armor and shield but the fighter can get a bigger weapon and could select wild talent and psionic weapon if human but could probably do something almost as good with other feats like powerful charge.

At later levels, the fighter will be even with the soulknife in terms of armor class because the fighter is wearing heavier armor but the soulknife has more money to spare so his armor is usually upgraded higher. The soulknife must spend every feat to try and keep up with the fighter but rarely gets more that just one hit to do so. The fighter gets more attacks and hits easier and therefore usually harder with each hit due to the better BAB. In some cases, the soulknife is ineffective such as against mindless targets which includes undead, constructs, plants, oozes and vermin and targets with any kind of damage reduction other than magic which everyone else is bypassing as well. The fighter just whips out his adamantine morningstar or his silvered longsword when he sees a problem and has a cold iron spiked gauntlet to back it up.

Bear in mind that I'm making comparisons against the fighter who is considered by many to also be a very underpowered class.

My idea is to up their BAB, Give them some class method to overcome troublesome DR (a major recurring problem) and maybe give them some bonus feats.
Fafnir
04-09-07, 08:23 AM I have yet to test it, but I introduced the following fix in my campaign:
- Full BAB
- d8 Hit Dice
- Hidden Talent in place of Wild Talent
- PsyWarrior bonus feats instead of Psychic Stike

Pretty standard fix overall. DR is still an issue; I am considering adding Aligned Attack somewhere.

A Ranger-like ML progression and multiple Hidden Talents would be nice, I guess. Something like five 1st level PsyWar powers, 20 or so pp and ML 10 at Soulknife level 20.
eggplantm
04-09-07, 11:18 AM I have yet to test it, but I introduced the following fix in my campaign:
- Full BAB
- d8 Hit Dice
- Hidden Talent in place of Wild Talent
- PsyWarrior bonus feats instead of Psychic Stike

Pretty standard fix overall. DR is still an issue; I am considering adding Aligned Attack somewhere.

A Ranger-like ML progression and multiple Hidden Talents would be nice, I guess. Something like five 1st level PsyWar powers, 20 or so pp and ML 10 at Soulknife level 20.

Not bad. Your fix is similar to the alternate class features they have on the mind's eye. However, what you end up with is a class that is so similar to the psychic warrior except that is only has about 5 1st level powers and very few PP when the psychic warrior ends up with 6th level powers, full manifester levels and 20 powers with enough PP. You have given up the psychic strike ability to try and barely compare with the psychic warrior who can still do all the same things you do because he has the same feats.

I agree on the full BAB as the soulknife is supposed to be a warrior that has channeled all of their latent psychic ability into making a weapon and using that weapon. Psychic strike is their trademark ability and many good feat options work on it so I don't want to give it up.

BAB So, I'm going to go with the full BAB progression. They are the only psychic class with no powers so let's give them that.

Psionic Weapon bonus feats I'm still going to go with Psionic Weapon as a bonus feat at first level and Psionic Shot at second level with the stipulation that they only work for the mindblade.

Damage Reduction Problem At 5th level and every 5 levels after, they gain the ability to bypass 5 points of damage reduction of any kind with their mindblades. This keeps the class as a viable option that prevents the incredible focus placed on the mindblade from becoming a weakness instead of a strength.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
eggplantm 04-05-07, 12:12 PM	I know this has been covered many times as many are dissatisfied with the soulknife as written. Please just let me know what you think of this as a possible solution and do not link my to any other fixes. I have seen them. I'm looking for a simple fix that does not require me to rewrite everything in my book by adding a few things. Here's my ideas. Lvl1 Psionic Weapon (mindblade) - the Soulknife gains the feat Psionic Weapon but it only applies when the character is using their mindblade. If the character wishes to apply the Psionic Weapon feat to any other weapon, she must have that feat from some other source. The soulknife can, however select Greater Psionic Weapon for her mindblade as a feat acquired through character advancement at later levels. Lvl 2 Psionic Shot (mindblade) - the soulknife gains the psionic shot feat even though she may not meet the prerequisites for it. This applies only when the character is using her mindblade and character may not apply this feat to any other weapon unless she has acquired the feat from some other source. The soulknife can, however select Greater Psionic Shot for her mindblade as a feat acquired through character advancement at later levels. Lvl 5 Mind over Matter - The mindblade ignores up to 5 points of damage reduction of any kind. This ability simply treats any existing damage reduction of the target as being 5 points lower. This ability increases by an additional 5 points at level 10, Level 15 and Level 20. That's about it. I'm still debating wether to give the Soulknife Full BAB but I'm not sure. I wanted to soulknife to have something pretty good starting out so I gave it the psionic weapon but limited it to his signature weapon. The Mind over Matter ability takes away the major hindrance of the class by allowing you to overcome DR of various targets without using up a buttload of feats and gives the class a unique flavor of its own. Being able to overcome any kind of DR even types like 5/- or Epic is pretty nice. Please let me know what you think.
WinterPsionic 04-05-07, 07:28 PM	Lvl 5 Mind over Matter - The mindblade ignores up to 5 points of damage reduction of any kind. This ability simply treats any existing damage reduction of the target as being 5 points lower. This ability increases by an additional 5 points at level 10, Level 15 and Level 20. Question: Based soley on the idea I think you were going for wouldn't this only apply to material DR? For Example this shouldn't do anything IMO against /DR Lawful or /DR Epic(but that's a given). But /DR Silver, Copper, Bronze, Etc I'd understand.
Perseus_Stoned 04-05-07, 07:37 PM	Sorry, but I don't think these are the kind of changes needed to make a soulknife better. Just as with the fighter, one of soulknife's biggest problems is their lack of utility. The soulknife has weak HP, medium BAB, bad feat selection, no power points, and almost all his abilities are geared towards melee fighting. Your Psionic feats add more damage, but its not damage the soulknife has to worry about (at least right away, there are more pressing problems with him). The damage reduction ability is a decent start, but it doesn't really fit the flavor at all and is pretty plainly just an attempt to throw a lifesaver to a drowned body.
WinterPsionic 04-05-07, 08:52 PM	Sorry, but I don't think these are the kind of changes needed to make a soulknife better. Just as with the fighter, one of soulknife's biggest problems is their lack of utility. Like a Rogue, Minus the Skills The soulknife has weak HP, ...a D10 is Weak? What are there class with a D20 I don't know about? bad feat selection ...feat selection...they can take any feat they want for the most part...unless your referring to the class granted feats and class abilities no power points Umm actually they get 2 :p, though being the only non-manifesting(in terms of actual "Powers") Psionic Class is kinda weird(yes I know about taking Hidden Talent instead of Wild Talent) and almost all his abilities are geared towards melee fighting. Ya, now only if they had a Fighter's BAB and a the chance for a faster Mindblade progression. The damage reduction ability is a decent start, but it doesn't really fit the flavor at all and is pretty plainly just an attempt to throw a lifesaver to a drowned body. Really? I thought with the idea of Deep Impact it was a pretty good idea...
Perseus_Stoned 04-05-07, 09:05 PM	...a D10 is Weak? What are there class with a D20 I don't know about? Oops, I apologize. Their HD is decent (although you're purposefully ignoring the barbarian WinterPsionic ;)). ...feat selection...they can take any feat they want for the most part...unless your referring to the class granted feats and class abilities I was; for the most part the core straight-melee builds get access to a fair selection of feats, or a fair selection of prestige classes which grant access to said feats. The soulknife gets the weapon focuses and speed of thought (and wild talent of course ;)). While +2 to attack is decent, considering their BAB isn't full thats already a failed attempt at improving an already crippled class. Speed of Thought is a nice flavor/combat feat, although there are a significant amount of others that the soulknife could've used more. Umm actually they get 2 :p, though being the only non-manifesting(in terms of actual "Powers") Psionic Class is kinda weird(yes I know about taking Hidden Talent instead of Wild Talent) Again, I apologize for speaking in err, although for the intent of the OP my statement was valid. Really? I thought with the idea of Deep Impact it was a pretty good idea... The trouble is I find that improves their chance to hit and Psionic Weapon improves their damage, but thats not really where they suck at. Look at the fighter; a lot of fixes have been made revolving around him, but the ones most accepted as actual fixes aren't ones that bump the amount of feats he gets access to, his damage, or his BAB- they give him special attacks, things no one else can even hope to learn and that gives me adaptability. I made my own soulknife fix and it had things like "Dimensional Spring Attack" (elocater) and a certain amount of teleporting allowed per day. He can't melee and hold a candle to builds that do it better, so give him his own spin.
JulesCARV 04-05-07, 09:42 PM	I think that if you gave the soulknife full BAB, they would be at about the level of a ranger. They'd probably be slightly more powerful than a ranger in combat, and have lower out-of-combat utility thanks to inability to track, lack of divine spells, etc. Thoughts?
Bonzai 04-06-07, 12:43 PM	Wizards did give Soulknives a little love, with some alternative class features (alla PHB2). The link is here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070214a I think that helps them a little bit, though I agree that full babs would have been nice. I would also like to see a few more minds eye articles introducing some more interaction with the new systems. In particular a Soulknive PrC that grants martial manuevers, while continuing to enhance the SoulKnife's mind blade (I also wouldn't mind seeing a Psychic Warrior prc, that allowed them to spend power points to refresh expended manuevers).
eggplantm 04-06-07, 02:33 PM	Question: Based soley on the idea I think you were going for wouldn't this only apply to material DR? For Example this shouldn't do anything IMO against /DR Lawful or /DR Epic(but that's a given). But /DR Silver, Copper, Bronze, Etc I'd understand. Not really. I was hoping for a way to simulate that the mindblade attacks the essence of a thing and is not dependent on material or even alignment. Also, the goal of the ability was to make people less hesitant to play a soulknife due to them almost always being unprepared for a damage reduction problem and alignment based DR is just as common if not more so than material based DR.
eggplantm 04-06-07, 02:36 PM	Sorry, but I don't think these are the kind of changes needed to make a soulknife better. Just as with the fighter, one of soulknife's biggest problems is their lack of utility. The soulknife has weak HP, medium BAB, bad feat selection, no power points, and almost all his abilities are geared towards melee fighting. Your Psionic feats add more damage, but its not damage the soulknife has to worry about (at least right away, there are more pressing problems with him). The damage reduction ability is a decent start, but it doesn't really fit the flavor at all and is pretty plainly just an attempt to throw a lifesaver to a drowned body. I can't say that I agree about the weak HP. I do agree that maybe (maybe) the BAB needs to be changed but I've seen soulknives played and hitting once (which is usually all they want to hit) is rarely a problem for them.
eggplantm 04-06-07, 02:39 PM	I think that if you gave the soulknife full BAB, they would be at about the level of a ranger. They'd probably be slightly more powerful than a ranger in combat, and have lower out-of-combat utility thanks to inability to track, lack of divine spells, etc. Thoughts? I don't quite agree. Soulknives still get 4 skill points and they have a pretty good list of skills which includes move silent, hide, spot, listen and other good ones. They can function out of combat OK, but they need to function in combat better as that is supposed to be their focus. The ranger has a combat style, animal companion, many bonus feats, favored enemies and spells and still gets a full BAB and 6 skill points! The ranger is a class that really makes me think it is OK to give the Soulknife full BAB in addition to the changes I've laid down here.
AntiDjinn 04-06-07, 02:57 PM	If you use the Mindscapes psionic combat system from Hyperconscious you also give a decent boost to the soul knife. This has the advantage of being written by the author of the class itself rather than being a homebrew.
Dalmaris_cerebromancer 04-08-07, 11:21 AM	I think that soulknife is a good class. I DMed a group that instead of a fighter or barbarian for a combantant they had a soulknife. He got really good. It mostly depends on feats you choose.
AntiDjinn 04-08-07, 12:50 PM	The biggest shortfall in the class as published is that it doesn't get any bonus feats. Its class specials are built around simply always having a weapon, but a fighter can generally always have a weapon in hand that does more damage. The soul knifes' advantages over the fighter really only come into play in a game where the DM tends to sunder, disarm, rust monster, or dominate the party melee guy frequently. If you have played a fighter and have had instances where your weapon is unavailable, those are the instances when you wish you were a soul knife. Other than that, you would just as soon avail yourself of the stacks of enchanted weapons that fall into most campaigns. In play the soul knife's good Will save turns out to be more important than it looks on paper. It doesn't help you do more damage, but it keeps that damage from being easily turned against the party. Most melee combatants are assumed to be lunk-heads and are targets for domination, sleep, and other mind-affecting stuff. As a soul knife you are as difficult influence as a spellcaster.
Perseus_Stoned 04-08-07, 02:19 PM	I think that soulknife is a good class. I DMed a group that instead of a fighter or barbarian for a combantant they had a soulknife. He got really good. It mostly depends on feats you choose. Its not that the soulknife can't be a good class with optimization, its just that, when pitted against a vast majority of other classes who are optimized as well, the soulknife comes out short. The only classes I can think of who are for sure less powerful than it are the NPC classes. Thats a big pitfall. I mean heck... check out this (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soulknife) (under "Balance Issues"). Wikipedia isn't necessarily the "final say" at all, but its still something to consider when so many people regard them as that poor. The biggest shortfall in the class as published is that it doesn't get any bonus feats. Its class specials are built around simply always having a weapon, but a fighter can generally always have a weapon in hand that does more damage. The soul knifes' advantages over the fighter really only come into play in a game where the DM tends to sunder, disarm, rust monster, or dominate the party melee guy frequently. If you have played a fighter and have had instances where your weapon is unavailable, those are the instances when you wish you were a soul knife. Other than that, you would just as soon avail yourself of the stacks of enchanted weapons that fall into most campaigns. In play the soul knife's good Will save turns out to be more important than it looks on paper. It doesn't help you do more damage, but it keeps that damage from being easily turned against the party. Most melee combatants are assumed to be lunk-heads and are targets for domination, sleep, and other mind-affecting stuff. As a soul knife you are as difficult influence as a spellcaster. Exactly. They're like a bard, who can only work with melee. Sure they are immune to special attacks (sunder and the like), but against normal attacks these guys get creamed.
Moosh Nailo 04-08-07, 06:52 PM	Maybe giving a player creating a soulknife a choice of one of several different benefits. The list could include things like: -Trapfinding, with evasion or uncanny dodge, as a rogue -Monk's AC bonus -A bonus feat every X levels (3?) I realize it's a quick, cheap, easy, lazy fix, but meh. Or maybe just stick with full BAB progression. Which is a quicker, cheaper, easier and lazier fix. Enh. How about being able to shape the blade into any weapon you're proficient with? Replacing the regular bastard sword and longsword from the Shape Blade ability.
AntiDjinn 04-09-07, 04:16 AM	Sure they are immune to special attacks (sunder and the like), but against normal attacks these guys get creamed. Even their defense against special attacks rarely makes a huge difference in the game. These attacks may happen, but if a DM is in a sundering frenzy and is having rust monsters jump the fighters all the time or constantly ambushing the ranger while he is bathing and doesn't have his weapons at hand, then the group will revolt. At the very least they will wind up on these boards with another story of a DM out of control. Yet in a game with a soul knife PC, if the DM doesn't break or disarm something then one of the class' advantages never comes into play.
eggplantm 04-09-07, 06:50 AM	If you use the Mindscapes psionic combat system from Hyperconscious you also give a decent boost to the soul knife. This has the advantage of being written by the author of the class itself rather than being a homebrew. I'm afraid I don't have that. I really don't want to add a new system, just something to bring it up to par.
eggplantm 04-09-07, 07:11 AM	I think that soulknife is a good class. I DMed a group that instead of a fighter or barbarian for a combantant they had a soulknife. He got really good. It mostly depends on feats you choose. I like the idea of the class and I've played one and done fine but I think the class is mechanically just a little behind and some of its advantages even hold it back. A first level fighter can be just as effective as a first level soulknife. They both have the same armor and shield but the fighter can get a bigger weapon and could select wild talent and psionic weapon if human but could probably do something almost as good with other feats like powerful charge. At later levels, the fighter will be even with the soulknife in terms of armor class because the fighter is wearing heavier armor but the soulknife has more money to spare so his armor is usually upgraded higher. The soulknife must spend every feat to try and keep up with the fighter but rarely gets more that just one hit to do so. The fighter gets more attacks and hits easier and therefore usually harder with each hit due to the better BAB. In some cases, the soulknife is ineffective such as against mindless targets which includes undead, constructs, plants, oozes and vermin and targets with any kind of damage reduction other than magic which everyone else is bypassing as well. The fighter just whips out his adamantine morningstar or his silvered longsword when he sees a problem and has a cold iron spiked gauntlet to back it up. Bear in mind that I'm making comparisons against the fighter who is considered by many to also be a very underpowered class. My idea is to up their BAB, Give them some class method to overcome troublesome DR (a major recurring problem) and maybe give them some bonus feats.
Fafnir 04-09-07, 08:23 AM	I have yet to test it, but I introduced the following fix in my campaign: - Full BAB - d8 Hit Dice - Hidden Talent in place of Wild Talent - PsyWarrior bonus feats instead of Psychic Stike Pretty standard fix overall. DR is still an issue; I am considering adding Aligned Attack somewhere. A Ranger-like ML progression and multiple Hidden Talents would be nice, I guess. Something like five 1st level PsyWar powers, 20 or so pp and ML 10 at Soulknife level 20.
eggplantm 04-09-07, 11:18 AM	I have yet to test it, but I introduced the following fix in my campaign: - Full BAB - d8 Hit Dice - Hidden Talent in place of Wild Talent - PsyWarrior bonus feats instead of Psychic Stike Pretty standard fix overall. DR is still an issue; I am considering adding Aligned Attack somewhere. A Ranger-like ML progression and multiple Hidden Talents would be nice, I guess. Something like five 1st level PsyWar powers, 20 or so pp and ML 10 at Soulknife level 20. Not bad. Your fix is similar to the alternate class features they have on the mind's eye. However, what you end up with is a class that is so similar to the psychic warrior except that is only has about 5 1st level powers and very few PP when the psychic warrior ends up with 6th level powers, full manifester levels and 20 powers with enough PP. You have given up the psychic strike ability to try and barely compare with the psychic warrior who can still do all the same things you do because he has the same feats. I agree on the full BAB as the soulknife is supposed to be a warrior that has channeled all of their latent psychic ability into making a weapon and using that weapon. Psychic strike is their trademark ability and many good feat options work on it so I don't want to give it up. BAB So, I'm going to go with the full BAB progression. They are the only psychic class with no powers so let's give them that. Psionic Weapon bonus feats I'm still going to go with Psionic Weapon as a bonus feat at first level and Psionic Shot at second level with the stipulation that they only work for the mindblade. Damage Reduction Problem At 5th level and every 5 levels after, they gain the ability to bypass 5 points of damage reduction of any kind with their mindblades. This keeps the class as a viable option that prevents the incredible focus placed on the mindblade from becoming a weakness instead of a strength.