Soulknife (High Psionics, Psychic Armory, War Soul)

Path of War

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Psionics Augmented: Soulknives

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Ultimate Psionics

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Never caught unarmed, the soulknife is the literal interpretation of using the power of the mind as a weapon. Creating a mind blade is the core of the soulknife, and with it, he is a deadly combatant. Most soulknives work on perfecting one blade, their idealized blade, that forms the core of what they do with their psychic abilities. Some however, either cannot settle on a singular blade or otherwise cannot gain the proper focus to forge the image of an ideal mind blade. These soulknives, known as psychic armories, generate multiple quasi-real mind blades that swarm around them. This swarm form of mind blades however, does lend itself towards being both weapon and shield for psychic armory soulknife and many new options for battle are born from it.

Class Features

Hit Die

d10

Skill Ranks per Level

4 + Int

Class Skills

Acrobatics, Autohypnosis, Climb, Craft, Intimidate, Knowledge (psionics), Perception, Profession, Sense Motive, Stealth, Swim

Starting Wealth

???

Weapon Proficiencies

Simple, mind blade

Armor Proficiencies

Light, Medium

Shield Proficiencies

Shields

form panoply of blades (Su)

The psychic armory can form a myriad of blades around her body to encircle her loosely, orbiting over and around her in shiftless patterns. These weapons are of all manner of shapes, large and small, and they glimmer in and out existence as used or if ignored for too long. These weapons are the psychic armory’s mind blades, and while cosmetically they can look however they are imagined, they all function the same based on their weapon type. The psychic armory forms a number of weapons equal to 1 + her Wisdom modifier (minimum of 1) of light and one-handed mind blades as a move action. At 2nd level, she adds 1 + her Wisdom modifier two-handed mind blades to her panoply of blades. These weapons are quasi-real and may not be used to attack directly in melee. Instead, the psychic armory directs them telekinetically, hurling them with the use of her psychokinetic throw ability. Once thrown or used to attack, the weapon dissipates after coming into contact with a creature or object. The panoply of blades replenishes at the start of the psychic armory’s next turn. These mind blades form around the psychic armory and occupy her space.

These weapons threaten adjacent creatures, and the psychic armory may make attacks of opportunity as a ranged attack against targets within 5 feet should an attack be provoked. Ranged attacks made within melee reach of an enemy when using her panoply of blades never provoke attacks of opportunity. The concentration required to manifest the panoply of blades means the psychic armory cannot use other weapons, natural attacks or off-hand attacks while using Psychokinetic Throw but she may use a shield to defend herself.

Regardless of the weapon forms a psychic armory has chosen, her panoply of blades does not have a set damage type per weapon type. When shaping her panoply of blades and assigning abilities to it, the psychic armory chooses whether the weapon type (light, one-handed, or two-handed) will deal bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. The psychic armory may change the damage type of an existing weapon group (light, one handed or two handed) in her panoply of blades, or may summon a new panoply of blades with different damage types, as a full-round action. Otherwise, the panoply of blades retains the last damage type configuration chosen every time it is summoned. If the psychic armory chooses to reshape the weapons within her panoply, it requires a full-round action to do so per weapon type she chooses to reshape. She may also re-assign the type of damage dealt as part of reshaping her panoply of blades if she so chooses. A psychic armory can reassign the special ability or abilities she has added to her panoply of blades from her enhanced armory class feature. To do so, she must spend 8 hours in concentration. These cannot be the normal 8 hours used for rest, even if the psychic armory does not require sleep. After that period, the panoply of blades materializes with the new ability or abilities selected by the psychic armory.

The psychic armory’s light mind blades deal 1d6 points of damage, the one-handed mind blades deals 1d8 points of damage, and the two-handed mind blades deals 2d6 points of damage. All damages are based on a Medium-sized creature wielding Medium-sized weapons; adjust the weapon damage as appropriate for different sized weapons. In all forms, each mind blade has a critical range of 19-20/x2. A soulknife with powerful build or any similar ability forms appropriately-sized mind blades dealing the size-appropriate amount of damage. A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction and is considered a masterwork weapon.

The soulknife can use feats such as Power Attack or Combat Expertise in conjunction with a 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 Focus and Improved Critical. Powers or spells that upgrade weapons can be used on a mind blade. The soulknife can use feats such as Weapon Finesse that work on light weapons with his mind blade, but such feats only work on mind blades in a light weapon form.

Even in places where psionic effects do not normally function (such as within a null psionics field), a soulknife can attempt to sustain his mind blades by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulknife maintains his mind blades for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again, although the mind blades are treated for all purposes as non-magical, masterwork weapons while in a place where psionic effects do not normally function. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind blades vanish. As a move action on his turn, the soulknife can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize his mind blades while he remains within the psionics-negating effect. He gains a bonus on Will saves made to maintain or form his mind blades equal to the total enhancement bonus of his mind blades.

The soulknife chooses the appearance of his mind blades, although the shapes must reflect the selections the soulknife has chosen: a bludgeoning mind blade would be blunt, slashing would have an edge, etc.

The psychic armory’s panoply of blades is subject to anything that would affect a mind blade, except crystal hilts. When using the psychic strike class feature, the psychic armory may charge a number of weapons from her panoply of blades of her choice. The panoply of blades may take enhancements as if it were both a melee and a ranged weapon. This ability counts as the shape mind blade and form mind blade class features for prerequisites or requirements.

maneuvers

A war soul begins his career with knowledge of three martial maneuvers. The disciplines available to him are Broken Blade, Sleeping Goddess, Solar Wind, Thrashing Dragon, and Veiled Moon. Once he knows a maneuver, he must ready it before he can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by a war soul is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. His maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and he does not provoke attacks of opportunity when he initiates one. He learns additional maneuvers at higher levels, as shown on Table: Soulknife. The war soul must meet a maneuver’s prerequisite to learn it.

Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even numbered war soul level after that, he can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one he already knows. In effect, the war soul loses the old maneuver in exchange for the new one. The war soul need not replace the old maneuver with a maneuver of the same level. He can choose a new maneuver of any level he likes, as long as he observes his restriction on the highest-level maneuvers he knows. The war soul can swap only a single maneuver at any given level. A war soul’s primary initiator attribute is Wisdom, and each war soul level is counted as a full initiator level.

Maneuvers Readied: A war soul can ready all three of his three starting maneuvers, but as he advances in level and learns more maneuvers, he must choose which maneuvers to ready. He readies his maneuvers by meditating over his mind blade for 10 minutes. The maneuvers he chooses remain readied until he decides to repeat this again and change them. War souls do not need to sleep or be well rested to ready their maneuvers; any time he spends 10 minutes in meditation, he can change his readied maneuvers. He begins an encounter with all readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times he may have already used them since he chose them. When the war soul initiates a maneuver, he expends it for the current encounter, so each of his readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter (until they are recovered, see below).

War souls may recover their maneuvers in one of two ways. The war soul may concentrate on his mind blade to recover an expended maneuver from its psychic projection as a standard action and recover one maneuver. Alternately, he may flood his psychic being with martial knowledge by expending his psionic focus to recover a number of expended maneuvers equal to his Wisdom modifier (minimum of two) as a full round action. While recovering maneuvers, the war soul’s mental state makes him react violently to those who would attack him. When attacked, he may make an immediate counter-attack against his attacker at his full base attack bonus; he may only make one counter-attack against a given enemy per round, and he may make no more counter- attacks then his 1 + his Wisdom modifier per round.

Stances Known: War souls begin play with knowledge of one 1st level stance from any discipline open to them. At the indicated levels (see class table), the war soul selects an additional new stance. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended and he does not have to ready them. All the stances he knows are available to him at all times, and he can change the stance he is currently using as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description. Unlike with maneuvers, the war soul cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one he already knows.

psychokinetic combat

The psychic armory gains the benefits of the Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot feats when using her panoply of blades. This class feature counts as those feats for the purposes of requirements and prerequisites.

psychokinetic throw

The psychic armory never need touch her blades before psychokinetically hurling them at a target and may make iterative attacks as her base attack bonus allows. As the attack is directed mentally, the psychic armory makes the ranged attack using her Wisdom modifier instead of her Dexterity modifier to determine her ranged attack bonus with her panoply of blades. She adds her Wisdom modifier to damage in place of her Strength. Due to the purely mental nature of how these attacks are made, the psychic armory cannot use Psychokinetic Throw to make off-hand attacks (such as when fighting with two weapons). Feats that modify ranged attacks specifically (such as Deadly Aim and Rapid Shot) function normally for use with the psychic armory’s panoply of blades.

The range and damage of this attack depends on what weapon type is used (light weapons have a range increment of 20 feet and one-handed weapons have a range increment of 15 feet). At 2nd level, the psychic armor gains the Two-Handed Throw blade skill for use with this class feature, allowing the psychic armory to use psychokinetic throw ability with two-handed members of her panoply of blades with a range increment of 10 feet. A psychic armory’s panoply of blades has a maximum range of five range increments.

This ability counts as the the throw mind blade class feature for prerequisites or requirements.

swirling panoply

The psychic armory may set her panoply of blades spinning and may expend her psionic focus to cause them to explode out around her or at a designated point within medium range (100 feet + 10 feet per psychic armory level) as a standard action. This effect creates a 20-foot-radius explosion of cutting blades that inflicts 1d6 points of slashing and piercing damage per psychic armory level, plus the enhancement bonus of the psychic armory’s panoply of blades to all targets within the blast radius. A successful Reflex save (DC 10 + 1/2 the psychic armory’s class level + the psychic armory’s Wisdom modifier) will halve this damage. This attack is subject to damage reduction as normal. This uses all of her blades for the round and they return to her panoply the following round. If the psychic armory possesses an energy-based blade skill (such as Fire Blade), she may choose to have her swirling panoply deal half its damage as energy damage of the same type as the energy based blade skill of her choice.

wild talent

The soulknife gains Wild Talent as a bonus feat at 1st level. This provides his with the psionic power necessary to manifest his mind blades. A character who is already psionic instead gains the Psionic Talent feat.

armory tactics

At 2nd level, 6th level, 8th level, 12th level, and then every even soulknife level thereafter, a soulknife may choose one blade skill to add to his repertoire. Some blade skills have prerequisites that must be met before they can be chosen. All blade skills may only be chosen once and require the soulknife to be using his mind blade unless otherwise stated in the skill’s description.

The following blade skills are not available to a psychic armory: Alter Blade, Deceptive Blade, Discipline Blade Shapes, Emulate Melee Weapon, Emulate Ranged Weapon, Enhanced Range, Focused Offense, Interrupting Throw, Mindflayer, Telekinetic Blade, and Telekinetic Bolt. Fluid Form and Improved Fluid Form adjust the functions of the panoply of blades as it would with a normal mind blade. Shields formed from the psychic armory are in the panoply but operate normally, defending the player (these shields do not occupy the character’s hands). If the Mind Daggers blade skill is selected, these are added to her panoply of blades and she summons 1 + her Wisdom modifier in floating daggers within her panoply.

enhanced armory

A psychic armory’s panoply of blades improves as the character gains higher levels. At 3rd level and every odd level thereafter, the mind blades gain a cumulative +1 enhancement bonus that he may spend on an actual enhancement bonus or on weapon special abilities. A soulknife’s level determines his maximum enhancement bonus (see the table below). The soulknife may (and must, when his total enhancement is higher than his maximum bonus) apply any special ability from the table below instead of an enhancement bonus, as long as he meets the level requirements. A soulknife can choose any combination of weapon special abilities and/or enhancement bonus that does not exceed the total allowed by the soulknife’s level, but he must assign at least a +1 enhancement bonus before assigning any special abilities.

The enhancement bonus is set per weapon type. Example: An 11th level psychic armory with a +5 enhancement bonus could have her light weapons be +3 keen flaming mind blades, her one-handed weapons could be +2 keen impact mind blades, and her two-handed weapons could be +3 icy burst mind blades. The blade skills Fluid Form and Improved Fluid form may be used to change one or all of types of mind blades in the psychic armory.

This ability counts as Enhanced Mind Blade for prerequisites or requirements (see blade skills for restrictions).

manifesting

At 3rd level, the soulknife gains the ability to manifest a small number of psionic powers, which are drawn from the soulknife power list.

A soulknife chooses his powers from the soulknife power list. At 3rd level, a soulknife knows one soulknife power of your choice. He learns new powers as indicated on Table: The Soulknife. Asoulknife can manifest any power that has a power point cost equal to or lower than his manifester level. The total number of powers a soulknife can manifest per day is limited only by his daily power points.

A soulknife never needs to prepare powers ahead of time; he draws them from his mind when needed. When a soulknife recovers his daily power points after resting, he may choose to rotate one or more powers he knows for new ones. These powers must always be chosen from the soulknife power list, and the maximum number of powers the soulknife may know at any one time in this fashion is listed on Table: The Gifted Blade. If a soulknife learns a power through other means, such as the Expanded Knowledge feat, the Mental Power blade skill, or psychic chirurgery, this power is known in addition to his normal powers. He may never exchange it for another power from the soulknife list when he chooses his powers known, and it doesn’t count against his limit of powers known at any one time.

The Difficulty Class for saving throws against soulknife powers is 10 + the power’s level + the soulknife’s Wisdom modifier.

Through 2nd level, a soulknife has no manifester level. At 3rd level and higher, a soulknife’s manifester level is equal to his soulknife level –2.

A soulknife gains the ability to learn 1st-level powers at 3rd level. Every four levels thereafter (7th, 11th, etc), a soulknife gains the ability to master more complex powers, up to 4th level powers at level 15.

To learn or manifest a power, a soulknife must have a Wisdom score of at least 10 + the power’s level.

A soulknife’s ability to manifest powers is limited by the power points he has available. His base daily allotment of power points is given on Table: Soulknife. In addition, he receives bonus power points per day if he has a high Wisdom score. His race may also provide bonus power points per day, as may certain feats and items. If a soulknife has power points from a different class, those points are pooled together and usable to manifest powers from either class.

martial blade recovery (Su)

At 4th level, psionic channels established during manifestation of a mind blade may allow reclamation of bursts of foreign psychic energy caused by the defeat of an opponent. These bursts of energy can be used to invigorate the mind of the war soul and restore his resolve and skill. If the war soul reduces a living opponent (possessing 1⁄2 HD or more and an Intelligence score of 3 or higher) to 0 hit points or less, as a swift action the character may recover either a single expended maneuver or his psionic focus. The war soul must be using a mind blade to recover maneuvers in this fashion.

swift panoply

At 5th level, the psychic armory may manifest his mind blades as a swift action.

This ability counts as the quick draw class feature for prerequisites or requirements.

mastery of the armory

At 20th level, the psychic armory has reached the pinnacle of her art and her connection to her library of blades is so strong it cannot be severed. She no longer requires a Will save to maintain her panoply of blades in a null psionics field, although it still loses any enhancement bonus and special abilities.