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Canonfire :: View topic - The Soulknight: A non-psionic Souknife for GH Pathfinder
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The Soulknight: A non-psionic Souknife for GH Pathfinder
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Joined: Oct 29, 2011
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Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:00 pm  
The Soulknight: A non-psionic Souknife for GH Pathfinder

From the moment I read the Soulknife entry in the Expanded Psionics Handbook for 3.5, I was hooked. I love the concept of a character that can call forth a weapon by their own strength of will, although there were areas in which the design itself failed to completely live up to the original concept. But I had a problem; you see many DM’s (and players) reject anything and everything psionic, even a class such as the Soulknife which has no powers beyond creating a mind blade. And to some extent, that is true in Pathfinder games as well.

So, having given the matter much thought, I offer to you today my revised and expanded Pathfinder Souknight—an arcane adaptation of the soulknife. I owe some of the concepts in the design to the work that Dreamscarred Press put forth in their Psionics Unleashed for Pathfinder. This version is not in any way psionic, and takes the character down a slightly different path than the mobile warrior first seen in the XPH and redone in PU.

I do hope that you enjoy my work, and, as always, please feel free to offer any critiques, criticisms, and suggestions that would make it fit into the Pathfinder universe better. Now on to the class!

Master Arminas


Souknight

Never caught without a weapon at her fingertips, the Souknight is a character who uses the arcane arts not for spellcasting, but to mold and to call to hand a powerful weapon comprised of mystical energy—the mystic blade. Creating a mystic blade is the core of the Souknight, and with it, she is a deadly combatant. Versatile and varied, the Souknight can be found in all races and genders, wielding weapons unique to each wielder and customized to fit the needs of any situation.

Role: As a wielder of a weapon first and foremost, the Souknight excels as a front-line combatant on the battlefield. Her limited armor options and defensive abilities can be a hindrance, but her varied blade abilities can make her an excellent mobile warrior or battlefield controller.

Alignment: Any.

Hit Die: d10.

BAB: High

Good Saves: Reflex, Will

Class Skills: Acrobatics (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str).

Skill Points per Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Souknight is proficient with all simple weapons, with her own mystic blade (regardless of form), with light and medium armor, and with shields (but not tower shields).

Bonus Feat (Ex): A Souknight can select one of the following bonus feats at 1st level and again at 2nd level: Cleave, Combat Expertise, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Power Attack, Two-Weapon Fighting, or Weapon Focus (mystic blade). The Souknight must meet all prerequisites of the feat in order to select it.
At 6th level, and every four Souknight levels gained thereafter, the Souknight may select an additional bonus feat from the list above. In addition, the following feats are added to the bonus feat list at 6th level: Great Cleave, Mobility, and Two-Weapon Defense.
At 10th level, add the following feats to the list of those that can be selected: Improved Critical (mystic blade), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, and Spring Attack.

Form Mystic Blade (Su): As a move action, a Souknight can form a semi-solid weapon comprised of arcane energy distilled from the latent energy that seems to be drawn to her. This mystic blade is every bit as real and solid as any manufactured weapon.
At 1st level, a Souknight must choose the form that her mystic blade will take: a light weapon, a one-handed weapon, or a two-handed weapon. Once chosen, her mystic blade remains in this form every time she summons the blade forth into her hand. Regardless of the form or the shape (see below), a mystic blade is obviously supernatural in origin. The weapon is comprised of mystic energy that ripples with and sparkles with arcane forces. Although the color of the mystic blade may vary (typically being shades of black, blue, green, or red), the mystic blade is translucent and glows with the illumination of a candle. There are some who believe that the alignment of the Souknight can be determined by the shade of her blade, but this belief is a falsehood.
The Souknight chooses the exact appearance of her mystic blade, although it is obviously a weapon and its shape must reflect the selections of both form and shape that the Souknight has chosen: a bludgeoning mystic blade should have a blunt impact surface, slashing would have an edge, etc.
The damage that a mystic blade inflicts is determined by its form. A light weapon deals 1d6 points of damage, the one-handed weapon deals 1d8 points of damage, and the two-handed weapon deals 2d6 points of damage. In all forms, the mystic blade has a critical range of 19-20/x2. All damages are based on a Medium-sized creature wielding Medium-sized weapons; adjust the weapon damage as appropriate for different sized Souknights.
Despite the form chosen by the Souknight, the mystic blade does not have a set damage type. When the Souknight summons forth her mystic blade, she chooses whether it will deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. As a full-round action, a Souknight may change the damage type of an existing mystic blade; otherwise, the mystic blade retains the last damage type chosen every time it is summoned.
The mystic blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hit points and gains hardness and hit points as normal for magic weapons once the enhanced mystic blade ability is gained, see below); however, a Souknight can simply create another on her next move action. The moment she relinquishes her grip on the mystic blade, it dissipates (unless she intends to throw it; see below). A mystic blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction and is considered a masterwork weapon (including the +1 bonus on attack rolls).
A Souknight can use feats such as Power Attack or Combat Expertise in conjunction with her mystic blade just as if it were a normal weapon. She can also choose to designate her mystic blade for feats requiring a specific weapon choice, such as Weapon Focus and Improved Critical. Spells that upgrade weapons (such as greater magic weapon) can be used on a mystic blade. If the Souknight has chosen a light weapon as her form, she can use feats such as Weapon Finesse, but only when the mystic blade is in light weapon form.
Even in places where magical effects do not normally function (such as within an anti-magic field), a Souknight can attempt to sustain her mystic blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the Souknight maintains her mystic blade for a number of rounds equal to her class level before she needs to check again, although the mystic blade is treated as a non-magical, masterwork weapon while it remains in the confine of the area of anti-magic. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mystic blade vanishes. As a move action on her turn, the Souknight can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize her mystic blade if she remains within the magic-negating effect. She gains a bonus on Will saves made to maintain or form her mystic blade equal to the total enhancement bonus of her mystic blade (see below).

Throw Mystic Blade (Su): All Souknights have some knowledge of how to throw their mystic blade, although the range increment varies by form. Light weapon mystic blades have a range increment of 30 feet. One-handed weapon mystic blades have a range increment of 20 feet. Two-handed weapon mystic blades have a range increment of 10 feet. Whether or not the attack hits, a thrown mystic blade dissipates after the attack roll is made and damage (if any) has been applied to the target.

Arcane Eye (Su): A 2nd level or higher Souknight can perceive magical auras, as if using the spell detect magic. Using arcane eye requires concentration and the Souknight can take no additional actions—not even a move action or a 5-foot step—during the round which she uses this ability.

Mystic Strike (Su): As a move action, a Souknight of 2nd level or higher can imbue her mystic blade with destructive arcane energy by spending a move action to charge her mystic blade.
The mystic blade retains this charge until it is activated (even if the blade is sundered or dropped, when the Souknight summons a new mystic blade it retains the charge), but a mystic strike charge harmlessly dissipates if the Souknight is rendered unconscious or goes to sleep without using it. After a successful attack with her mystic blade, a Souknight can activate the mystic strike as a swift action, dealing an extra 1d6 points of damage. This extra damage is not precision damage and can affect any creature, regardless of type or range. On a successful critical hit, the extra damage from a mystic strike is not multiplied. At 6th level, and every four Souknight levels gained thereafter, the extra damage from a mystic strike increases by 1d6 points to a maximum of +5d6 at 18th level.

Enhanced Mystic Blade (Su): As a Souknight gains experience, her mystic blade slowly improves. At 3rd level, and every four Souknight levels gained thereafter, a mystic blade gains a +1 enhancement bonus on attack and damage rolls, to a maximum of a +5 enhancement bonus at 19th level.

Combat Slide (Su): At 4th level, upon striking an enemy in melee with her mystic blade, a Souknight may immediately make a 5-foot step (even if she has already taken a 5-foot or spent a move action earlier in the round; this movement is bonus movement and does not subtract from the Souknight’s subsequent actions).

Quick Draw (Su): At 4th level, a Souknight may summon her mystic blade as a free action, although she may still only attempt to do so once per round (unless throwing the weapon multiple times using the Multiple Throw ability, see below).

Mystic Blade Weapon Property (Su): At 5th level, a Souknights mystic blade gains a +1 special weapon property of the Souknights choice from the following options: Bane, Defending, Distance, Flaming, Frost, Ghost Touch, Keen, Merciful, Mighty Cleaving, Shock, Thundering, and Vicious. The Souknight can reassign this special property by spending 8 hours in concentration. After that period, the mystic blade materializes with the new ability selected by the Souknight, and the prior ability is no longer in effect. The keen property applies to the Souknight’s mystic blade regardless of whether or not it is a slashing weapon; this is an exception to the normal rules for keen weapons.
At 9th level, the Souknight can apply a single +2 special weapon property from the following list or two +1 properties to her mystic blade: Anarchic, Axiomatic, Flaming Burst, Holy, Icy Burst, Shocking Burst, Unholy, or Wounding.
At 13th level, and again at 17th level, a Souknight gains an additional +1 special weapon property from the options listed above.

Shape Mystic Blade (Su): At 5th level, a Souknight is no longer bound to a single weapon form. As a full-round action, the Souknight can transform her mystic blade into a light weapon, a one-handed weapon, or a two-handed weapon. In addition, if she has already formed her mystic blade as a light weapon, she may split her mystic blade into two identical light weapons. Each split mystic blade retains the full enhancement and properties of the mystic blade, but only one can be charged with mystic strike at a single time.

Bladewind (Su): A Souknight of 8th level gains the ability to momentarily fragment her mystic blade into numerous identical blades, each of which strikes at a nearby opponent. As a full-attack action, a Souknight gives up his regular attacks and instead makes one melee attack at his highest base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. Each fragment inflicts the normal damage for a Souknights mystic blade, including any special weapon properties and mystic strike damage (if any). The mystic blade immediately reverts to its previous form after the bladewind attack.

Reaper’s Blade (Su): At 8th level, a Souknight automatically charges her mystic strike ability if she reduces an opponent’s hit points to below 0 with a melee attack using her mystic blade. If her mystic blade was already charged, her next mystic strike deals 1.5 times the damage rolled.

Rapid Reassignment (Su): At 10th level, a Souknight may reassign the special weapon properties of her mystic blade after one hour of concentration instead of eight hours of concentration.

Cleave the Soul (Su): At 12th level, when a Souknight activates her mystic strike ability she may choose to substitute one or more 1d6 of mystic strike bonus damage for 1 point (per 1d6) of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage. The Souknight can combine extra dice of damage and ability damage in any combination up to her total mystic strike damage, but she must choose how it will be distributed before she rolls damage.

Deadly Blow (Su): At 12th level, a Souknight’s mystic blade critical multiplier increases by 1.

Bladestorm (Su): At 16th level, a Souknight’s bladewind feature improves. As a full-attack action, the Souknight may give up her regular attacks and instead throw one mystic blade at her highest base attack bonus at all opponents within 30 feet, ignoring the normal range increments for throwing a mystic blade. Regardless of the number of attacks she makes, she only provokes attacks of opportunity as though she made a single ranged attack. The Souknight may use this ability only once per day.

Multiple Throw (Su): At 16th level, a Souknight can instantly create additional mystic blades when she throws her blades in combat. She can now create and throw a number of mystic blades each round equal to the number of melee attack she could otherwise make.

True Mystic Blade (Su): At 20th level, a Souknight reaches the pinnacle of her art and her connection to her mystic blade is so strong that it cannot be severed. She no longer requires a Will save to maintain her mystic blade in an anti-field field, although it still loses any enhancement bonus and special weapon properties. She may assign a total of +5 in special weapon properties to her mystic blade and her assignment options now include the Vorpal property. She may change her mystic blade's special weapon properties after just one minute of concentration. Her arcane eye ability now gives her true sight, as per the spell, as long as she concentrates to maintain the ability.


Souknight Level Advancement Table
1 Bonus Feat; Form Mystic Blade; Throw Mystic Blade
2 Arcane Eye; Bonus Feat; Mystic Strike +1d6
3 +1 Mystic Blade
4 Combat Slide; Quick Draw
5 Shape Mind Blade; Weapon Property +1
6 Bonus Feat; Mystic Strike +2d6
7 +2 Mystic Blade
8 Bladewind; Reaper’s Blade
9 Weapon Property +2
10 Bonus Feat; Mystic Strike +3d6; Rapid Reassignment
11 +3 Mystic Blade
12 Cleave the Soul; Deadly Blow
13 Weapon Property +3
14 Bonus Feat; Mystic Strike +4d6
15 +4 Mystic Blade
16 Bladestorm; Multiple Throw
17 Weapon Property +4
18 Bonus Feat; Mystic Strike +5d6
19 +5 Mystic Blade
20 True Mystic Blade


Last edited by masterarminas on Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:06 pm; edited 2 times in total
GreySage

Joined: Jul 26, 2010
Posts: 2758
From: LG Dyvers

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Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:43 pm  

Well, it's an interesting concept. I think it would make for a tough NPC, but as a player, I think the class is too limited in scope. In other words, I think I might be bored playing the class, but I might be in the minority. Wink

Here are my specific suggestions for the write-up:

You name the class 'Soulknife', but refer to it as a 'Soulknight' on throughout rest of the article.

masterarminas wrote:

A Souknight can use feats such as Power Attack or Combat in conjunction with her mystic blade just as if it were a normal weapon.


I'm not familiar with a feat titled Combat.

Quote:

Even in places where magical effects do not normally function (such as within an anti-magic field), a Souknight can attempt to sustain her mystic blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the Souknight maintains her mystic blade for a number of rounds equal to her class level before she needs to check again, ...


You might add, "plus her Wisdom modifier," as that seems to be one of her primary stats.

Quote:
Mystic Strike (Su):


As far as I can tell, the above power is only usable once per day, no matter the level of the Soulknife/knight (though its damage increases). I suggest you increase its number of uses per day similar to the way Smite increases in usability for Paladins and other classes.

Quote:

Combat Slide (Su):


This is a cool ability, but I'm not sure why it should be applied specifically to a Soulknife/knight. I think it would be better as a feat with prerequisites that include spellcasting power and weapon skill so that Soulknives/knights, Arcane Archers, Mage Knights and their ilk are the ones that can most easily gain access to it.

Quote:

Cleave the Soul (Su):


Is a Saving Throw allowed versus this ability drain? How is the DC figured? Probably 10 + half the Soulknight's class level + her Wisdom modifier?

Hope this helps! Happy

SirXaris
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Posts: 110


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Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:08 pm  

SirXaris wrote:
You name the class 'Soulknife', but refer to it as a 'Soulknight' on throughout rest of the article.


The original class from the Expanded Psionics Handbook was the Soulknife. This rewrite is a Soulknight.

SirXaris wrote:
I'm not familiar with a feat titled Combat.


Oops. Should have been Combat Expertise! Fixed.

SirXaris wrote:
You might add, "plus her Wisdom modifier," as that seems to be one of her primary stats.


I was concerned that might make it last too long; there aren't many things out there that can ignore an anti-magic field.

SirXaris wrote:
As far as I can tell, the above power (mystic strike) is only usable once per day, no matter the level of the Soulknife/knight (though its damage increases). I suggest you increase its number of uses per day similar to the way Smite increases in usability for Paladins and other classes.


It can be used as often as the Soulknight wants to; it takes a move-action to recharge once expended. I should probably clean the text up a bit, though, in order to avoid confusion.

SirXaris wrote:
This is a cool ability (combat slide), but I'm not sure why it should be applied specifically to a Soulknife/knight. I think it would be better as a feat with prerequisites that include spellcasting power and weapon skill so that Soulknives/knights, Arcane Archers, Mage Knights and their ilk are the ones that can most easily gain access to it.


Excellent idea! I am stealing it, lol.

SirXaris wrote:
Is a Saving Throw allowed versus this ability drain? How is the DC figured? Probably 10 + half the Soulknight's class level + her Wisdom modifier?


Ability damage, not drain. And no save. Is that too much?

SirXaris wrote:
Hope this helps! Happy

SirXaris


Much so. Well, it is not an extremely flashy class; in fact it is very much similar to the fighter in that regard. It fights; that is what it does. But, the ability to create a weapon (up to a +10 weapon eventually!) from nothing is no small matter in a D&D campaign. Plus, the Soulknight gets a few tricks and trade secrets that the fighter lacks, not to mention having a few more skill points and class skills on their list. I think it is a good match against a Barbarian or Ranger, but you are certainly correct Sir Xaris that is a fairly monochrome class (unlike Wizard, Druid, or Cleric).

To some extent, that is necessary because of it's role as a front-line combatent. But I will tell you that I have played soulknifes in 3.5, and despite appearances they are definately FUN. Of course, everyone has their own defination of fun, so I can see where someone might think the class as rather bland.

To each their own, lol.

Master Arminas
GreySage

Joined: Jul 26, 2010
Posts: 2758
From: LG Dyvers

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Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:12 pm  

masterarminas wrote:

SirXaris wrote:
This is a cool ability (combat slide), but I'm not sure why it should be applied specifically to a Soulknife/knight. I think it would be better as a feat with prerequisites that include spellcasting power and weapon skill so that Soulknives/knights, Arcane Archers, Mage Knights and their ilk are the ones that can most easily gain access to it.


Excellent idea! I am stealing it, lol.


So, I guess it would be easiest to simply write out the new feat, then say that the Soulknight acquires it for free upon reaching 4th level. Alternatively, I think that if you eventually re-write this post as a submitted article, it would be of higher quality if you present this new feat (and maybe others) as new ones available to Soulknight characters (and other classes) and replace the free feat with another ability.

Brainstorming, I offer Mystic Shield as a possible new ability. Similar in its source to the Mystic Blade, but it creates a buckler, small shield, or heavy shield according to the Soulknight's wishes. You have already given the class proficiency with all shields sans Tower Shield and you also allow a Soulknight to split a light weapon into two. Why should the character not be able to create a shield in a similar manner?

masterarminas wrote:

SirXaris wrote:
Is a Saving Throw allowed versus this ability drain? How is the DC figured? Probably 10 + half the Soulknight's class level + her Wisdom modifier?


Ability damage, not drain. And no save. Is that too much?


Hmm... The problem with ability damaging weapons is the same as that with weapons that cause Wounding: They are great for the DM to use against the PCs because they cause the players difficulty even after the battle is finished. However, assuming the PCs win the fight, what good was it to cause the enemy to suffer another three points of damage or three points of Intelligence damage before you killed him/her/it?

I recognize that there are a few instances where such a skill could come in handy - damage the Wizard's intelligence enough to cause him to lose some of his higher level spells - but such situations don't present themselves to the players often enough that they'll appreciate having the ability.

I suggest, therefore, that you increase it in power or decrease its cost. For example, you could say that at a certain level, the ability to damage enemy stats is added to the Soulknight's Mystic Strike ability. You could also leave it as it is, but allow each d6 of hit point damage sacrificed to be replaced with d6 (or even d3) points of ability damage.

Quote:

Much so. Well, it is not an extremely flashy class; in fact it is very much similar to the fighter in that regard. It fights; that is what it does. But, the ability to create a weapon (up to a +10 weapon eventually!) from nothing is no small matter in a D&D campaign. Plus, the Soulknight gets a few tricks and trade secrets that the fighter lacks, not to mention having a few more skill points and class skills on their list. I think it is a good match against a Barbarian or Ranger, but you are certainly correct Sir Xaris that is a fairly monochrome class (unlike Wizard, Druid, or Cleric).

To some extent, that is necessary because of it's role as a front-line combatent. But I will tell you that I have played soulknifes in 3.5, and despite appearances they are definately FUN. Of course, everyone has their own defination of fun, so I can see where someone might think the class as rather bland.

To each their own, lol.

Master Arminas


And, yes, I see that it could be played as a more interesting fighter-type. One could fill the role of fighter, but have the ability to contribute some arcane skills to the group. The Skills you have allowed the class offer quite a few interesting roleplaying possibilities for the Soulknight.

One other avenue you might consider is allowing a Soulknight character to invest in metamagic feats that are altered slightly to affect some of his or her special abilities. Cool

SirXaris
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