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2012-05-01, 08:14 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2012
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Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
The soulknife is among the crappiest base classes in the game.
Despite this, I'm wondering if a few very simple things couldn't easily bring it up to Tier 4. Basically, I'm just giving it ACFs without penalties here, and honestly this was very spur of the moment and not super developed.
Full BAB.
Grant it the bonus feats (as the soulknife bonus feat ACF from Mind's Eye) at 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th level, but do not remove the sudden strike ability.
Grant it hidden talent instead of wild talent (ACF from Mind's Eye)
Grant it a shadow bow and improved shadow bow class features, as the shadow soulknife Racial Substitution levels from Dragon Magazine #330. If you don't have access to that, you definitely shouldn't look it up on 4shared. That would be very unethical.
That's about it. Getting 5 bonus feats and a bow probably isn't enough though, so here's some further expansion that doesn't just give it ACFs without trading anything in return.
Give him an adapted version of soulbound weapon (the Psychic Warrior ACF from Mind's Eye) that effects his mind blade whenever he summons it. This brings the total bonus he gets on his mind blade up to +9. You might have to switch the levels around though.
Possibly manifesting powers as a Lurk (from Complete Psionic) or as a Psychic Rogue.
Maybe...spamming astral constructs as the Divine Mind ACF (from Mind's Eye...you've got enough links by now ) and flavor it as a sort of creature made out of your mind blade?
If you give him powers as a Lurk, mantles might also be good to have.
Feedback on this is appreciated, although I wrote it up in less then twenty minutesLast edited by Empedocles; 2012-05-01 at 10:17 PM.
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2012-05-01, 08:34 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2008
Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
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2012-05-01, 08:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2012
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
I know that there're much better fixes. This one was mostly an attempt to use official material for homebrew-skeptical players to make the soulknife playable.
But thanks for the link. This is awesome
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2012-05-01, 08:53 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2006
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- Pittsburgh, PA
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
Bonus feats certainly help. He should definitely be bumped up to a full BAB, though, at a bare minimum. Maybe add lurk/psionic rogue-progression manifesting, but from the psionic warrior list. The first two might or might not push it up a tier, but the latter certainly would.
If you want an "official" fix, the Pathfinder version is pretty good. Better enhancement progression, recharge psychic strike as a swift+psionic focus action, and a whole bunch of snazzy "blade skills." Should be easy enough to back-convert.Hill Giant Games
I make indie gaming books for you!Spoiler
STaRS: A non-narrativeist, generic rules-light system.
Grod's Guide to Greatness, 2e: A big book of player options for 5e.
Grod's Grimoire of the Grotesque: An even bigger book of variant and expanded rules for 5e.
Giants and Graveyards: My collected 3.5 class fixes and more.
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2012-05-01, 09:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2008
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2012-05-01, 10:15 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2012
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
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2012-05-01, 10:36 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2005
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
I agree with the Pathfinder fix.
Your fix draws heavily from the Mind's Eye alternate class features, which I do approve of. Giving the soulknife the ability to use its knife as a bow isn't a bad idea, but ranged options aren't exactly the best fix for the soulknife. The soulknife's biggest problem is its lack of versatility, and that's more or less already fixed by the Hidden Talent feat.I make games.
"...I worry that modern gaming is gradually shrinking the wide spectrum of gameplay mechanics into a single narrow red bar with "KILL" written on it sideways. Exploration, navigation, puzzles, platforming, all gradually shrinking away until only one thing remains, being taken by the hand from room to room, moving on only when nothing remains alive in each one." - Yhatzee Crosshaw
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2012-05-01, 10:39 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2012
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
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2012-05-01, 10:42 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Oct 2006
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- Pittsburgh, PA
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
Hill Giant Games
I make indie gaming books for you!Spoiler
STaRS: A non-narrativeist, generic rules-light system.
Grod's Guide to Greatness, 2e: A big book of player options for 5e.
Grod's Grimoire of the Grotesque: An even bigger book of variant and expanded rules for 5e.
Giants and Graveyards: My collected 3.5 class fixes and more.
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2012-05-01, 11:18 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2005
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
I make games.
"...I worry that modern gaming is gradually shrinking the wide spectrum of gameplay mechanics into a single narrow red bar with "KILL" written on it sideways. Exploration, navigation, puzzles, platforming, all gradually shrinking away until only one thing remains, being taken by the hand from room to room, moving on only when nothing remains alive in each one." - Yhatzee Crosshaw
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2012-05-01, 11:22 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2007
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- Switzerland
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
Can I suggest a simple fix?
Make it a prestige class again as it was in 3E. For the psychic warrior, with almost full power progression (say, 8/10) and most of the features condensed down to 10 levels.Resident Vancian Apologist
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2012-05-02, 07:09 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2010
Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
Even simpler . . .
1. Mesh the Psychic Warrior and the Soulknife together (as in gestalt).
2. Play around with feature positions a bit, for a more or less even spread.
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2012-05-02, 09:45 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Jul 2005
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
To simplify things, it should let you manifest call weaponry at will and let you tweak the summoned weapon instead of the normal soulknife class features. One issue I have with the Soulknife is its complexity.
Yeah, I think that's actually a cool idea. If it has full BAB then it could be worth the reduced manifester progression.Last edited by Thomar_of_Uointer; 2012-05-02 at 09:46 AM.
I make games.
"...I worry that modern gaming is gradually shrinking the wide spectrum of gameplay mechanics into a single narrow red bar with "KILL" written on it sideways. Exploration, navigation, puzzles, platforming, all gradually shrinking away until only one thing remains, being taken by the hand from room to room, moving on only when nothing remains alive in each one." - Yhatzee Crosshaw
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2012-05-03, 07:20 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2012
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
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2012-05-03, 09:34 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2009
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2012-05-03, 11:54 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Apr 2010
Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
As far as my understanding of the tier analysis goes, there's nothing in the Soulknife's features that I notice that can bring the Psychic Warrior from tier 3 to tier 2. They don't even synergize all that well. The most that'll happen is some wealth saving thanks to mind blade enhancement & Psychic Strike, the never-unarmed bit and all good saves.
Nothing special to write home about, but it does make a character feel more round and complete, and without the need to multiclass or PrC - which would be a nice change.
@Yitzi: I suggested the Psychic Warrior mesh because it seems to me like the more versatile and interesting class of the trio. For me, the core Monk is beyong redemption without some serious overhaul. Except for Knife to the Soul, I don't see any of the Soulknife's abilities bringing new options to the gaming table as far as the Monk goes. A bit more offensive kick, but nothing to make it more fun (unless higher numbers are all that one's after). Correct me if I'm missing anything.
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2012-05-03, 12:40 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Sep 2009
Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
I don't really see it that way. It definitely needs boosting, but the monk has some interesting options.
Except for Knife to the Soul, I don't see any of the Soulknife's abilities bringing new options to the gaming table as far as the Monk goes. A bit more offensive kick, but nothing to make it more fun (unless higher numbers are all that one's after). Correct me if I'm missing anything.
The ranged option in particular is interesting, as it means that a solo soulknife would be extremely good at kiting.
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2012-05-03, 11:30 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Jan 2007
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Re: Very Simple, Possible Soulknife Fix
I recently had someone show me something that I think is a pretty damn good fix.
Feats.My latest homebrew: Majokko base class and Spellcaster Dilettante feats for D&D 3.5 and Races as Classes for PTU.
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