Soulbinder (3.5e Prestige Class)

Soulbinder
"It's funny, you've been searching all your life for such great power, when it was inside you all along."

What is a soul? Some say it is the very thing that makes us us. Some say that it doesn't exist and we're just a pile of intelligent matter. For the soulbinder, the soul is the most powerful thing in existence, and they use this gift to perform amazing feats of skill and power. Soulbinders learn to mold and refine their soul. They bind their soul into objects to grant them amazing properties. However, putting one's soul into an object leaves one vulnerable, so there is always a danger. The soulbinder learns to counteract this fear with the amazing raw power of putting his soul into his weapon, his armor, and even his allies. Soulbinders walk a simpler path, studying how mortals perceive the world, and how other's souls interact with each other. Their soul becomes refined through their journey, until they reach the final step, the dual soul.

Becoming a Soulbinder
Many classes will find the soulbinder appealing. Classes that seek enlightenment, such as the monk, cleric and swordsage may be particularly drawn to the class. Fighters may find this class appealing, allowing them to add some mystical abilities to their repertoire. The free spirited classes might find this class's path interesting as well, so a bard or rogue may look into it.

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

 (Su): As the character takes his first level in soulbinder. He becomes aware the true nature of his soul, which is represented by its color, and he gains resistance to the energy that his soul exudes. The character must choose which color as he takes his first level, the choices are as follows:

Red: Your soul is full of passion. Though you may have a quick temper, you are generally a very loving and compassionate individual. You always follow what's in your heart 'till the end and throw caution to wind, after all, you never know unless you take a chance. You gain fire resistance 10.

Blue: Your soul is calm and collected. You contemplate your actions before you take them, but are always ready to change your plans when a something unexpected comes up. You tend to go with the flow when its convenient for you, but you are never afraid to stray away from the masses when there's a more favorable opportunity at hand. You gain cold resistance 10.

Yellow: You're a free spirit. You go wherever the wind takes you. You follow adventures that interest you, because you're curious. You have a light heart, and pave the road with your laughter and entertainment. You know you can't always take life seriously, or else it just wouldn't be fun anymore. You gain shock resistance 10.

Green: You are a stoic being. You stand strong to your ideals and never falter from them even for a moment. You defend those you stand for, and bring down fury on those who stand against your might and morals. You're very opinionated, and your opinions don't often change. You gain acid resistance 10.

 (Su): At 2nd level, the soulbinder begins to work with the power of his soul, using it to empower his extension of himself: his weapon. As a full-round action, a soulbinder can bind his soul into his weapon, putting extreme power into it while also putting himself in danger. If his soul is bound into a ranged weapon, the effects of Weapon Bound are placed on their ammunition. While using the Weapon Bound ability, all other magical properties of the weapon are suppressed and his weapon is treated as his alignment for overcoming damage reduction. The benefits of the Weapon Bound ability depend on the color of the character's soul:

Red: A red soul's bound weapon is engulfed in a warm red aura, and is treated as a +1 flaming weapon. the powers of the weapon increase as the soulbinder learns the full potential of his soul. The weapon becomes a +2 flaming weapon at 4th level, +2 fiery burst weapon at 6th level, +3 fiery burst weapon at 8th level, and finally a +3 dancing fiery burst weapon at 10th level.

Blue: A blue soul's bound weapon is engulfed in a cool blue aura, and is treated as a +1 frost weapon. the powers of the weapon increase as the soulbinder learns the full potential of his soul. The weapon becomes a +2 frost weapon at 4th level, +2 icy burst weapon at 6th level, +3 icy burst weapon at 8th level, and finally a +3 icy burst weapon at 10th level. The blue soul's weapon gains a special personal effect depending on his alignment at 10th level. A good soulbinder's weapon would gain the holy ability, while an evil soulbinder's weapon would gain the unholy ability. A chaotic good soulbinder's weapon gets both the holy and the anarchic abilities, while a lawful evil soulbinder's weapon gets both the unholy and the axiomatic abilities.

Yellow: A yellow soul's bound weapon is engulfed in a light yellow aura, and is treated as a +1 shock weapon. the powers of the weapon increase as the soulbinder learns the full potential of his soul. The weapon becomes a +2 shock weapon at 4th level, +2 shocking burst weapon at 6th level, +3 shocking burst weapon at 8th level, and finally a +3 shocking burst weapon of speed at 10th level.

Green: A green soul's bound weapon is engulfed in a strong green aura, and is treated as a +1 keen weapon. the powers of the weapon increase as the soulbinder learns the full potential of his soul. The weapon becomes a +2 keen weapon at 4th level, +2 keen thundering weapon at 6th level, +3 keen thundering weapon at 8th level, and finally a +3 keen thundering wounding weapon at 10th level.

The soul of a soulbinder is within his weapon when he uses the Weapon Bound ability. If the weapon is dispelled while his soul is in it, he must make a Will save to reclaim his soul or be stunned for a number of rounds equal to the enhancement bonus of the bound weapon. If the weapon is subject to the mage's disjunction spell, he must make a Will save or die as his soul is removed from the weapon and thrown into oblivion. If the weapon is sundered while the soulbinder's soul is bound to it, he must make a Will save (DC:18) or be stunned for a number of rounds equal to the enhancement bonus of the bound weapon. If ever a soulbinder's soul is farther than 50ft from him, he takes a -2 penalty to his ability scores, saves, and attack rolls.

 (Su): At 3rd level, the soulbinder's mastery of his soul enlighten him that there are countless souls around him. He learns how to see the souls of others and what color those souls are. He gains the ability similar to the spell detect magic. If he concentrates, he can, in the first round, detect the presence of souls round him. On the second round he can see the auras in the mortals around him. On the third round he can see what colors those souls are. This ability only works on mortals, and can be used at will.

 (Su): At 4th level, the soulbinder has learned how to bind his soul into another extension of himself, his armor. As a full-round action, he may bind his soul into his armor to grant him further protection. The benefits of this ability depends on the color of the soulbinder's soul:

Red: A red soul's bound armor is bathed in a warm red light. The soulbinder adds his Charisma modifier to his AC. His armor also wreaths him in flame and is protected in the same way as the fire shield spell except that the damage dealt to the attacker is only 1d6 fire damage and he doesn't gain any further energy resistance.

Blue: A blue soul's bound armor is bathed in a cool blue light. The soulbinder adds his Wisdom modifier to his AC. His armor also wreaths him in cool flames and is protected in the same way as the fire shield, chill shield spell except that the damage dealt to the attacker is only 1d6 cold damage and he doesn't gain any further energy resistance.

Yellow: A yellow soul's bound armor is bathed in a bright yellow light. The soulbinder adds his Dexterity modifier again to hisAC. His armor also wreaths him in crackling energy and is protected in the same way as the fire shield spell except that the damage dealt to the attacker is only 1d6 electricity damage and and he doesn't gain any further energy resistance.

Green: A green soul's bound armor is bathed in a cool green light. The soulbinder adds his Constitution modifier to his AC. His armor also stiffens up and becomes extremely sturdy and resilient, which effects the soulbinder in the same way that the Stoneskin spell does.

The soul of a soulbinder is in the armor when he uses the Armor Bound ability. If the armor is dispelled while his soul is within it, he must make a will save to reclaim his soul or be stunned for 3 rounds. If the armor is subject to the mage's disjunction spell, he must make a Will save or die as his soul is removed from his armor and thrown into oblivion. If ever a soulbinder's soul is farther than 50ft from him, he takes a -2 penalty to his ability scores, saves, and attack rolls.

 (Su): At 5th level, a soulbinder becomes aware of the fact that not just the mortals around him have souls, but everything is alive and has a soul beating in it. As a standard action, He can focus and detect souls as if he was using the arcane sight spell. He can detect the presence and color of all souls in all living things in range, at DM's discretion.

 (Su): At 6th level, the soulbinder has refined his soul into something beautiful and powerful. He has changed his soul so instead of it staying deep within the recesses of his spirit, it envelops the soulbinder's entire body, providing him with intense power and abilities that he never thought possible in a normal mortal. These abilities are active as long as the soulbinder's soul is not bound and is in his body. This ability can be supressed at will as a free action. The benefits of the Soul Essence depend on the color of his soul:

Red: The soulbinder's red aura is visible to everyone now, and little flames wreaths his feet. His base land speed increases by 30ft. He also can use The fireball spell as a spell-like ability 3 times per day, caster level equal to his character level. He also gains Immunity to fire damage.

Blue: The soulbinder's blue aura is visible to everyone now, and blue energy wreaths hands and feet. His gains a swim speed equal to his base land speed, and can breathe under water. He also can use the cone of cold spell as a spell-like ability 3 times per day, caster level equal to his character level. He also gains Immunity to cold damage.

Yellow: The soulbinder's yellow aura is visible to everyone now, and grand wings made of yellow energy sprout from his back. He gains a fly speed equal to his base land speed with good maneuverability. He may also treat himself as hasted for five rounds a day. He also gains immunity to electric damage.

Green: The soulbinder's green aura is visible to everyone now, and a harsh green energy encases his hands like claws. He gains a burrow speed equal to his base land speed. He also gains a claw attack, which deals 1d8 damage for a medium creature, and 1d6 for a small. He also gains tremorsense 10ft. He also gains immunity to acid damage.

This ability can be dispelled or subject to the mage's disjunction spell, and follows the same rules as the Armor Bound ability.

 (Su): At 7th level, a soulbinder has taken full control of his soul, he is the only one who decides when it leaves or enters. He becomes immune to all death effects.

 (Su): At 8th level, a soulbinder has learned how to send his soul into other people and their weapon's and armor. As a full round action, he may send his soul into a comrade's weapon or armor, or even the comrade himself. Treat the armor and weapon as being subject to the soulbinder's Armor Bound and Weapon Bound abilities. Treat the binding with a comrade as his Soul Essence ability, except that instead of the above effects, the adventurer gets a +4 bonus to an ability score depending on the color of the soul:

Red: Charisma

Blue: Wisdom

Yellow: Dexterity

Green: Constitution

This ability can be dispelled or subject to the mage's disjunction spell, and follows the same rules as the Armor Bound ability.

 (Su): At 9th level, a soulbinder has developed an understanding for all souls. He sees how the other colors of souls work and learns how to perceive as others perceive. Through meditation, he may change the color of his soul. A soulbinder must spend 8 hours of meditation to achieve this, and can only use this ability once per day.

 (Ex): At 10th level, a soulbinder has mastered his soul. His mastery causes his soul to split in two, and he reaches the final path of the soulbinder, the Dual Soul: two souls. The new soul is the same color as the Soulbinder's first soul, but he may meditate to Soul Shift either soul as normal. He may bind both souls at once, either one to each weapon, one to his armor and one to his weapon, and so on. when both his souls are in his body, he benefits from both Soul Essences. As long as one soul is in his body, if his weapon or armor is dispelled, he only needs to make a Will save if it's subject to the mage's disjunction spell, with out any of the penalties. He also suffers no penalties for being to far away from one soul if the other is within range. If one of the souls dies, he retains life with his current soul, and he loses the benefits of Dual Soul until the other soul is raised. If the soulbinder is dropped to -10 hit points, and his body is still intact, he automatically raises back to 0 hit points in 10 minutes during which he is treated as paralyzed, and is alive, but with only one soul remaining.

Playing a Soulbinder
Combat: The soulbinder has a rather versatile role in combat, depending on the color of his soul. Soulbinders tend to fight along side the martial characters with their bound weapon and armor. At tenth level, a Soulbinder no longer has to fear death as much as other characters, so they're much more willing to throw themselves out into danger. A soulbinder is a powerful melee ally.

Resources: There are no real soulbinder organizations, though it is not uncommon to see two soulbinders sitting in the woods, talking about what they have learned on their journeys. On rare occasions, a group of soulbinders will meet up and go on a journey, simply to enjoy each others company.

Soulbinders in the World
"You don't know yourself until you know your soul, how it shines or how it crackles, it's a beautiful, and terrifying thing."

Unless they're in an adventuring party, soulbinders tend to be loners. They watch the world from afar to learn how the people, how the other souls of that world, work. They come into town and live in towns, yes, but there is always a sort of existentialist distance between the soulbinder and the common people. Whether that distance is from pride or study depends on the soulbinder himself.

NPC Reactions: NPC's react to soulbinders with a mix of respect and intimidation. Most people won't understand the true nature of the soulbinder's quest for self discovery. There is never any outward extreme emotions shown to a soulbinder, plus, the soulbinder could tell the personality of the person just by looking at their soul. That is intimidating for NPCs. People tend to treat them with respect, whether or not they actually feel that way.

Soulbinder Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (local) can research the soulbinder to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Soulbinders in the Game
A soulbinder may play the wise old seer for the party, or a mentor to one of the PC's. They tend to be found alone, observing the world around them. A PC soulbinder makes a nice mystical combatant to fight along side the fighter, or to step back and bind his soul into his ally with his Soul Bind ability.

Adaptation: A DM could choose that soulbinders actually have a great following and are highly organized, much like a church or the order of Druids. These soulbinder organizations could be either good or evil. An evil organization would spread out onto the land, learning how to use their souls to steal the souls of others and harness that power for themselves. With these stolen souls, they would attempt to turn themselves into even greater, more powerful beings. On the opposite alignment, there might be a good organization that seeks to prepare an immensly powerful magical incantation. This incantation would meld the souls of the soulbinders into one greater being in order to revive an ancient holy soul capable of smiting evil across the land. Additionally, these two organizations may be opposed to each other in a campaign where religion plays a minor part. Without such organizations, it is a simple matter to incorporate individual soulbinders into a campaign, since they are often low key and mysterious enough to pass by without drawing much attention from rival threats.

Sample Encounter: Rafael Moncrieff is a soulbinder gone mad with power, He believes he can further the power of his soul if he steals the souls of others. He attacks with his sai's in hopes to trap a PC's soul. He may usually be found in his grandfather's old manor, Though he may be placed anywhere the DM chooses.

EL: 12