[3.5e Race]Robots with soul - the Soulforged!
Soulforged
”Since the warforged were first crafted in the creation forges, they have wondered ‘Do we have souls?’ We come with an answer to that most important of mysteries. Yes.”- Cobalt the Iron Soul, soulforged incarnate
Recently emerging from the creation forges of House Cannith, this unique line of warforged have been constructed with a deep connection to incarnum, the energy of the soul that permeates every living thing. First created in an accident when mist of essentia was mixed in while creating a standard warforged, the process has been refined and heightened, bringing forth the soul of the warforged. While they are still technically warforged, they pride themselves on their unique nature, preferring to be known as the symbols they are, the soulforged.
Soulforged Racial Traits
Soulforged are constructed in early the same fashion as warforged and psiforged. During their creation, however, they receive infusions of incarnum, enhancing and strengthening their bonds to life. The deep blue mist of incarnum floats throughout their bodies, marking them instantly, as it can be seen in every joint and overlap of plating, flowing through them. All soulforged have eyes of the deepest blue.
Mechanically, soulforged are warforged that have taken the Soulforged Body feat (see below) at 1st level. Each soulforged has access to a single soulmeld, defined by their unique soul, an expression of their own spirit.
Soulforged Society
Given their recent creation, soulforged are extremely rare, but are generally accepted into standard warforged societies. While most do not seek to be set apart, most common warforged hold them in a sort of quiet reverence, respect for what the soulforged represent for all warforged.
Alignment: Soulforged have a strong connection to the energy of the soul, and have strong personalities. While this can lead to many different driving beliefs, there are no true neutral soulforged.
Soulforged Body [Warforged]
Your body has been forged and imbued with the essence of life, incarnum. The blue mist floats throughout your body, filling and defining your soul, granting you a natural connection to your own, personal essentia. You are no longer a simple warforged; you are a soulforged!
Prerequisites: Warforged, 1st level only, any alignment other than true neutral
Benefit: Your essentia pool is permanently increased by 1. If you don’t have an essentia pool, you gain one with a single point of essentia.
When this feat is selected, chose a soulmeld from any class’s soulmeld list. You can shape that soulmeld using the normal meldshaping rules. Once chosen, the soulmeld granted by this feat can never be changed. Your meldshaper level for this soulmeld is equal to one-half your character level. You can invest essentia in the soulmeld as normal.
If you have the ability to bind a soulmeld to a chakra, you can bind this soulmeld to any chakra available to you (as long as the soulmeld can be bound to that chakra).
Special: Unlike most feats, this feat must be taken at 1st level during character creation.
Azure Plating [Incarnum, Warforged]
You can use incarnum to boost the natural defenses of your body against attack.
Prerequisites: Warforged, Con 13, Composite Plating, Soulforged Body
Benefit: Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. The armor bonus from your composite plating ability is increased by the amount of invested essentia. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains incested for 24 hours.
You gain 1 point of essentia.
Cerulean Fortification [Incarnum, Warforged]
You can use incarnum to boost your built in resistance to particularly damaging blows.
Prerequisites: Warforged, Con 13, Soulforged Body
Benefit: Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. For each point of invested essentia you gain a cumulative 25% chance that when a crtitical hit or sneak attack is scored on you it is negated and damage is instead rolled normall. This chance stacks with a warforged’s natural light fortification, but not with any other type of fortification.
You gain 1 point of essentia.
Sapphire Tracery [Incarnum, Warforged]
You can channel the incarnum that infuses your body, investing your beliefs and ideals into your blows.
Prerequisites: Warforged, Con 13, Soulforged Body
Benefit: Your natural weapons and grapple checks made to deal damage are treated as weapons corresponding to your alignment for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. You gain a +1 bonus on melee damage rolls for every point of essentia invested against creatures with an opposing alignment.
You gain 1 point of essentia.
Soul of Incarnum [Warforged]
The incarnum infusing your body swirls around any damage you sustain, slowly repairing it without active help. It glows deeply when healing magic is cast upon you, enhancing it’s effectiveness.
Prerequisites: Warforged, Soulforged Body
Benefit: You heal damage naturally, like all other living creatures. In addition, spells from the healing subschool and supernatural abilities that cure hit point damage or ability damage provide their full normal effect to you.
Normal: You cannot heal damage naturally, and spells from the healing subschool and supernatural abilities that cure hit point damage or ability damage provide only half their normal effect.
Re: [3.5e Race]Robots with soul - the Soulforged!
Not bad. I've seen one or two attempts at this before, and most of them never quite hit the mark.
Hmm... why not a feat that allows them to heal fully from a Conjuration (Healing) spell or other Supernatural curative ability? Or hell, even full natural healing like any other living thing?
On azure plating, is this intended to be an untyped increase such that it stacks with a composite plating that has an Enhancement Bonus on it?
The fortification is actually very nice. It doesn't scale past 12th level (or earlier with another feat), but thats not a terribly bad thing. Though, getting 100% fortification at 6th level might be troubling... (1 Body, 3 Fortification, 6 Improved Capacity, with at least a 16 Con)
The feats that aren't Soulforged Body should have it as a prerequisite.
Re: [3.5e Race]Robots with soul - the Soulforged!
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Originally Posted by
Tacitus
Not bad. I've seen one or two attempts at this before, and most of them never quite hit the mark.
Thanks! I haven't seen any other attempts, but it doesn't surprise me that they're out there.
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Hmm... why not a feat that allows them to heal fully from a Conjuration (Healing) spell or other Supernatural curative ability? Or hell, even full natural healing like any other living thing?
I love it.
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On azure plating, is this intended to be an untyped increase such that it stacks with a composite plating that has an Enhancement Bonus on it?
It's an increase to the armor bonus. So it isn't technically untyped bonus. It stacks with composite plating (or any other plating, if you manage to get adamantine/mithirl body). Yes this can lead to high AC...but you're investing a feat and essentia into it, so it should be pretty fair.
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The fortification is actually very nice. It doesn't scale past 12th level (or earlier with another feat), but thats not a terribly bad thing. Though, getting 100% fortification at 6th level might be troubling... (1 Body, 3 Fortification, 6 Improved Capacity, with at least a 16 Con)
I'm happy with it. Even early 100% fortification is too bad, since you've invested a respectable amount of your resources to get it. And while useful, it certainly shouldn't be your main worry at 6th level.
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The feats that aren't Soulforged Body should have it as a prerequisite.
*nod* Done.
Re: [3.5e Race]Robots with soul - the Soulforged!
On Azure Plating I might up it to +2 per point of essentia. While this does mean that with 5 essentia invested in it you have a +12 armor bonus (compared to a +10 with even Mechanus Gear armor) it also requires 3 feats and 5 essentia at level 18+.
Now if it was combined with Adamantine Body through flaws that would become a problem. As is, though, it's still worse than Adamantine Body by a long shot for more investment.
Re: [3.5e Race]Robots with soul - the Soulforged!
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Originally Posted by
Zaydos
On Azure Plating I might up it to +2 per point of essentia. While this does mean that with 5 essentia invested in it you have a +12 armor bonus (compared to a +10 with even Mechanus Gear armor) it also requires 3 feats and 5 essentia at level 18+.
Now if it was combined with Adamantine Body through flaws that would become a problem. As is, though, it's still worse than Adamantine Body by a long shot for more investment.
You have a point, but remember that you also aren't receiving a Dex limitation to your AC, nor the increased ASF, nor the armor check penalties or speed penalty.
That said, you're right that it isn't quite enough of a trade off, considering the amount of resources you're putting in. What do you think of having it add alignment-based DR?
