Soulblade (3.5e Class)

Soulblade
A soulblade may not twist the minds of others or create fire and sound from nothing, but he is no less psionically empowered than a psion. He uses his force of will to forge weapons and armor from the aether, protecting himself and allowing him to strike at his opponents with tools he will never lose.

Making a Soulblade
Abilities: A soulblade is ultimately a martial class, and benefits from high Strength and Constitution. A good Dexterity helps prevent being hit, but any mental ability scores can also help with damage and the saving DCs of some abilities.

Races: Any race capable of psionics can produce soulblades.

Alignment: Any.

Starting Gold: 5d4&times;10 gp (125 gp).

Starting Age: As rogue.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the Soulblade.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Soulblades are proficient with all simple weapons, with their own mind blades, and with light armor and shields (except tower shields).

 (Su): As a move action, a soulblade can create a semisolid weapon composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind. You can create any weapon you are proficient in, with the same size and statistics as the weapon you mimic. The wielder of a mind blade gains the usual benefits to his attack roll and damage roll from a high Strength bonus. If you possess the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you can draw two mind blades out in one action.

The blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hit points); however, a soulblade can simply create another on his next move action. The moment he relinquishes his grip on his blade, it dissipates (unless he intends to throw it; see below). A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction.

A soulblade can use feats such as Power Attack or Combat Expertise in conjunction with the mind blade just as if it were a normal weapon. He can also choose mind blade for feats requiring a specific weapon choice, such as Weapon Specialization. Powers or spells that upgrade weapons can be used on a mind blade.

Even in places where psionic effects do not normally function (such as within a null psionics field), a soulblade can attempt to sustain his mind blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulblade maintains his mind blade for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind blade vanishes. As a move action on his turn, the soulblade can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize his mind blade while he remains within the psionics negating effect.

(This class feature provides the character with the psionic power he needs to materialize his mind blade, if he has no power points otherwise.)

 (Su): A soulbladfe of 2nd level or higher can create a semisolid suit of armor around them over the course of 1 minute. You can create any armor you are proficient in, with the same size and statistics as the armor you mimic. The wielder of a mind armor suffers armor check penalties, arcane spell failure, and other effects as normal. A soulblade can use feats in conjunction with the mind armor just as if it were a normal suit of armor. Powers or spells that upgrade armor can be used on mind armor. Removing mind armor takes another 5 minutes, or the normal time to remove the suit of armor, whichever is shorter.

Even in places where psionic effects do not normally function (such as within a null psionics field), a soulblade can attempt to sustain his mind armor by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulblade maintains his mind armor for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind armor vanishes. As a move action on his turn, the soulblade can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize his mind armor while he remains within the psionics negating effect.

 (Su): A soulblade of 2nd level or higher can apply or change the enhancements to either his mind blade or mind armor by meditating for 8 hours. At 2nd level he can imbue up to a +1 enhancement onto either his weapon or armor, and gains an additional +1 every even level. The player can select from straight enhancement of special weapon or armor properties, but as normal for weapon and armor enhancement the item must have at least a +1 enhancement bonus before accepting any additional properties. Also like normal weapon or armor enhancements, the highest number straight enhancement an item can possess is +5 (or +10 including special properties such as flaming) pre-epic levels. Once he has 2 or more levels of enhancement, he can choose to arrange them among mind blade or mind armor as he sees fit.

If you have two weapons via the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, you can enhance both weapons for the same cost as one, but they must possess the same enhancements as each other.

 (Ex): A soulblade of 2nd level or higher can throw his mind blade as a ranged weapon with a range increment of 30 feet.

Whether or not the attack hits, a thrown mind blade then dissipates. A soulblade can use the blade in conjunction with other special abilities (such as Blade to the Soul; see below).

 (Su): At 3rd level, a soulblade becomes able to materialize his mind blade as a free action instead of a move action. Likewise he may now don or remove his mind armor as a full round action. He can make only one attempt to materialize the mind blade or mind armor per round, however.

 (Su): At 5th level, a soulblade empowers his weapon with his own psionic strength. The soulblade adds his highest mental ability score to damage when making attacks with a mind blade.

He must qualify for the feat as normal.

 (Su): At 7th level, a soulblade gains the ability to channel the essence of materials into his mind blade or mind armor, absorbing their properties. By concentrating for 15 minutes, the soulblade resonates his mind blade or mind armor with a sample of material, such as cold iron or adamantine, and his mind blade or mind armor is treated as if composed of that material, taking on all the resulting properties. You need an amount of material to absorb as you would normally need for a normal item of its size, such as requiring 3000gp worth of adamantine to create an adamantine weapon, or 9000gp worth of mithral for heavy armor. The material is stored within your body while absorbed, and is expelled once you choose to change materials. You can store up to two different materials at a time, one for your mind blade and one for your mind armor.

 (Su): At 8th level, a soulblade can change his weapon and armor enhancements to his mind blade and mind armor on the fly. He can change them as a standard action once per day and an additional time per day every 8 levels beyond.

 (Ex): At 8th level and higher, a soulblade can throw a number of mind blades per round equal to the number of melee attacks he could make.

 (Ex): At 9th level, a soulblade can place a portion of his mind into his mind blade and mind armor, which keeps a lookout in his steed. These dimly sentient items grant the soulblade blindsense out to 30 ft. and grant a +2 bonus on Listen and Spot checks.

 (Su): At 11th level, a soulblade gains the ability to channel the essence of the outer planes into his mind blade or mind armor. By concentrating for 15 minutes, the soulblade resonates his mind blade or mind armor with one of the planes, gaining its alignment. Mind blade attacks can then bypass alignment based damage reduction of the appropriate type, while mind armor gains DR/alignment equal to 1/4th his character level. If you wield or wear a mind blade or mind armor of opposing alignment to your own alignment, you receive 1 negative level that cannot be removed until you remove or drop the offending item. These properties last until the weapon or armor is changed with another 15 minutes of concentration.

 (Su): Beginning at 13th level, when a soulblade attacks an opponent he can choose to deal 2 points of ability damage to either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma in addition to the normal damage of the attack. The opponent can save to negate the ability damage with a Will save, DC 10 + 1/2 HD + the soulblade's highest mental ability score. Regardless how many times an opponent is attacked in a round, the opponent only needs to save and takes ability damage once per round.

If the soulblade confirms a critical hit, the ability damaged is multiplied appropriately, and there is no saving throw.

 (Su): At 15th level, a soulblade gains the ability to channel the essence of reality itself. His weapon and armor are always treated as being under the ghost touch enhancements, and he can try a dispel attempt against any force effect his weapon touches as a standard action, even if the force effect normally cannot be dispelled (such as wall of force). Use your class level as your caster level for the purpose of dispel checks.

In addition, your mind blade can warp reality around it to reflect incoming projectiles. You gain Deflect Arrows, except you do not need a hand free, and you can deflect any projectile, including rays. You are treated as possessing the feat for the purpose of prerequisites.

 (Su): At 17th level, a soulblade can try to cleave the very soul of a creature away from its body. As a full attack action you can make a single attack. You deal three times normal damage, and the target must make a Will save DC 10 + 1/2 HD + the soulblade's highest mental ability score, or become dazed for 1 round, save negates the dazing. If the attack is a confirmed critical hit, the saving throw becomes a save vs death instead.

 (Ex): At 19th level, a soulblade's mind blade and armor awaken as its own unique, unified psionic entity. It becomes a fragment of the soulbade's essence, much like a psicrystal, and counts as an intelligent weapon and armor set with your mental ability scores and alignment. It possesses normal sight and hearing, blindsense out to 60 ft., speach, and telepathy. It has no other special powers, but can activate any weapon or armor properties in your steed. In addition, the bonus to your Listen and Spot checks increases to +6.

Epic Soulblade
Mind Enchancement: You continue to gain an additional +1 enhancement bonus at 22nd and every even level after. You may go beyond the +5 (+10 with special properties) enhancement cap from pre-epic levels.

Mental Shift: You gain an additional use of Mental Shift at 24th and every 8 levels beyond.



Epic Soulblade Bonus Feat List: PENDING.

Human Soulknife Starting Package
Weapons: None (Mind Blade).

Skill Selection: Pick a number of skills equal to 5 + Int modifier.

Feat: Weapon Focus (mind blade).

Bonus Feats: Improved Initiative.

Gear: Backpack.

Gold: 123gp.

Playing a Soulblade
Religion: Soulblades have no affiliation with any religion, usually focused on improving their own selves rather than looking for answers from above.

Other Classes: Soulblades are front-line fights, and unlike most have the advantage of always having their gear with them, and for free. Saving money on pimping out their fancy sword lets them use their gains on more utilitarian tools of the trade.

Combat: Soulblades are warriors, and while methods vary, a soulbade will always be found fighting alongside their non-psionic martial kin.

Advancement: A few soulblade-specific prestige classes exist, but even martial classes can supplement a soulblade.

Soulblades in the World
"Use the psionic force, Duke."

Daily Life: Soulblades are often prepared for the worst, as they always have their weapons and armor on hand. Sometimes this encourages a survivalist mentality, while others slack, ensured in their safety being available at any time.

Notables: Duke Starwalker was a famous soulblade whose exploits helped topple an evil empire.

Organizations: While psions may sneer at soulblades for being too brutish and violent, the path of the soulblade takes no less skill. Where psions create fire and bend minds, soulblades forge matter out of energy and cleave limbs with blazing light blades.

NPC Reactions: Soulblades look like regular joes, but when equipped with psionic gear they often seem like literal knights in shining armor.

Soulblade Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge Psionics can research soulblades to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Soulblades in the Game
Sample Encounter: The evil emperor is guarded by a bodyguard with a glowing red sword. You will never be able to take down the emperor as long as his bodyguard protects him.

EL 10: PENDING