Locutus: Created soulknife prestige class.

2026-09-12T00:24:53Z

Created soulknife prestige class.

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== The Basics ==

=== Hit Die ===

d10

=== Requirements ===
To qualify to become a soulknife, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

* '''Base Attack Bonus:''' +3
* '''Skills:''' Autohypnosis 3 ranks, Knowledge (psionics) 3 ranks, Metacraft 3 ranks.
* '''Special:''' Must have a psionic power point reserve.

=== Class Skills ===

The soulknife's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Acrobatics (Dex), Autohypnosis (Wis), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Metacraft (Int), Perception (Wis), Profession (Wis), Stealth (Dex), and Swim (Str).

==== Skill Points at Each Additional Level ====

6 + Int modifier

=== Table: The Soulknife ===

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center; margin: auto"
! Level !! Base Attack Bonus !! Fort Save !! Ref Save !! Will Save !! Special !! Maximum Enhancement Bonus !! Power Points / Powers Known
|-
| 1st || +1 || +0 || +1 || +1 || style="text-align:left;" | Form mind blade || — || —
|-
| 2nd || +2 || +1 || +1 || +1 || style="text-align:left;" | Blade skill || — || style="text-align:left;" | +1 level of existing class
|-
| 3rd || +3 || +1 || +2 || +2 || style="text-align:left;" | Enhanced mind blade +1 || +1 || style="text-align:left;" | +1 level of existing class
|-
| 4th || +4 || +1 || +2 || +2 || style="text-align:left;" | Unlocked talent || +1 || style="text-align:left;" | +1 level of existing class
|-
| 5th || +5 || +2 || +3 || +3 || style="text-align:left;" | Blade skill || +1 || —
|-
| 6th || +6 || +2 || +3 || +3 || style="text-align:left;" | Enhanced mind blade +2 || +1 ||style="text-align:left;" | +1 level of existing class
|-
| 7th || +7 || +2 || +4 || +4 || style="text-align:left;" | Bonus feat || +2 || style="text-align:left;" | +1 level of existing class
|-
| 8th || +8 || +3 || +4 || +4 || style="text-align:left;" | Blade skill || +2 || style="text-align:left;" | +1 level of existing class
|-
| 9th || +9 || +3 || +5 || +5 || style="text-align:left;" | Enhanced mind blade +3 || +2 || —
|-
| 10th || +10 || +3 || +5 || +5 || style="text-align:left;" | One With The Blade || +2 || style="text-align:left;" | +1 level of existing class
|}

== Class Features ==

All of the following are class features of the soulknife prestige class.

=== Weapon and Armor Proficiency ===

A soulknife is proficient with all simple weapons, with her own mind blade (regardless of form), with all types of armor (heavy, medium, and light), and with shields (but not tower shields).

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin-left: 10px; text-align: center;"
|+ style="text-align:left;" | Table: Weapon Special Abilities
! Weapon Special Ability !! style="width: 50px;"| Enhancement Bonus Value !! style="width: 50px;"| Required Level
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Agile (''ψ'') || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Allying || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Benevolent || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Conductive || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Corrosive || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Countering || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Courageous || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Cruel || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Cunning || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Defending || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Distance (''ψ'') || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Dueling || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Flaming || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Fortuitous || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Frost || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Furious || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Ghost touch || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Guardian || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Huntsman || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Keen || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Lucky (''ψ'') || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Menacing || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Merciful || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Mighty cleaving || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Planar || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Psychokinetic (''ψ'') || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Seaborne || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Seeking (''ψ'') || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Shock || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Sundering (''ψ'') || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Thundering || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Vicious || +1 || 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Advancing || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Anarchic || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Axiomatic || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Collision (''ψ'') || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Corrosive burst || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Cyclonic || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Defiant || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Flaming burst || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Glorious || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Holy || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Icy burst || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Invigorating || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Linked striking (''ψ'') || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Mindcrusher (''ψ'') || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Phase locking || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Psychokinetic burst (''ψ'') || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Shocking burst || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Suppression (''ψ'') || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Unholy || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Wounding || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Wrenching (''ψ'') || +2 || 7
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Bodyfeeder (''ψ'') || +3 || 9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Dislocator (''ψ'') || +3 || 9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Mindfeeder (''ψ'') || +3 || 9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Nullifying || +3 || 9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Repositioning || +3 || 9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Speed || +3 || 9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Soulbreaker (''ψ'') || +3 || 9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Brilliant energy || +4 || 12
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Great dislocator (''ψ'') || +4 || 12
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Greater energy || +4 || 12
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Coup de grace (''ψ'') || +5 || 15
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Vorpal || +5 || 15
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" | ''ψ'' Psionic weapon abilities
|}

=== Form Mind Blade (Su) ===

As a move action or as a free action combined with a regular move (similar to drawing a weapon), a soulknife can form a semi-solid weapon composed of psychic energy distilled from her own mind.

Her mind blade takes the form of a light weapon that deals 1d6 points of damage. Damage is based on a Medium-sized creature wielding Medium-sized weapons; adjust the weapon damage as appropriate for different sized characters and weapons. The mind blade has a critical range of 19-20/x2. A soulknife with powerful build or a similar ability may form an appropriately-sized mind blade dealing the size-appropriate amount of damage.

The very first time she forms her mind blade, the soulknife chooses whether it will deal piercing or slashing damage. She may change the damage type of an existing mind blade, or may summon a new mind blade with a different damage type, as a full-round action; otherwise, the mind blade retains the last damage type chosen every time it is summoned.

The mind blade technically weighs almost nothing. Whenever she is wielding a mind blade in a single hand, including if she has the ability to form two or more blades, the soulknife may treat it as a light weapon if it would be advantageous for her to do so. If she has the ability to form a double weapon, the offhand end may always be treated as a light weapon. A mind blade is finessable even when it is in forms that cannot normally be the subject of Weapon Finesse (including two-handed forms).

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

A soulknife can use feats such as Power Attack or Combat Expertise in conjunction with the mind blade just as if it were a normal weapon. She can also choose her mind blade for feats requiring a specific weapon choice, such as Weapon Focus and Improved Critical, and she is considered a fighter of her soulknife level for the purpose of meeting their prerequisites if she does. 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 soulknife can attempt to sustain her mind blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulknife maintains her mind blade for a number of rounds equal to her class level before she needs to check again, although the mind blade is treated for all purposes as a non-magical, masterwork weapon while in a place where psionic effects do not normally function. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind blade vanishes. As a move action on her turn, the soulknife can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize her mind blade while she remains within the psionics-negating effect. She gains a bonus on Will saves made to maintain or form her mind blade equal to the total bonus granted by her enhanced mind blade class feature (see below).

The soulknife chooses the appearance of her mind blade, although its shape must reflect its form. A mind blade is considered a psionic weapon regardless of its enhancement bonus.

=== Blade Skills ===

Beginning at 2nd level and every three levels thereafter, a soulknife may choose one of a number of abilities to add to her 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 her mind blade unless otherwise stated in the skill's description.

A complete list of blade skills can be found here: [[Soulknife Blade Skills]]

The soulknife prestige class has access to some blade skills that grant abilities similar to those of a full soulknife.

; Improved Enhancement (modified) : This blade skill may be taken multiple times, but it can never raise the soulknife's total mind blade enhancement to a value greater than half her character level (round up).

; Shape Mind Blade : The soulknife gains three additional forms for her mind blade: a one-handed blade (1d8 damage), a two-handed blade (1d10 damage), and a pair of light weapons (1d6 damage each). It requires a full-round action to reshape her blade, and once reshaped, it appears in the new form every time it manifests until reshaped again.

; Throw Mind Blade : The soulknife gains the ability to throw her mind blade, though the range increment varies by form, and a mind blade with a range increment of 0 feet may not be thrown. Light weapon mind blades have a range increment of 20 feet. One-handed weapon mind blades have a range increment of 15 feet. Two-handed weapon mind blades have a range increment of 0 feet. Whether or not the attack hits, a thrown mind blade then dissipates.

=== Enhanced Mind Blade (Su) ===

A soulknife's mind blade improves as the character gains higher levels. At 3rd level and every three levels thereafter, the mind blade gains a cumulative +1 enhancement bonus that she may spend on an actual enhancement bonus or on weapon special abilities. A soulknife's level determines her maximum enhancement bonus (see Table: The Soulknife). The soulknife may (and must, when her total enhancement is higher than her maximum bonus) apply any special ability from Table: Weapon Special Abilities instead of an enhancement bonus, as long as she meets the level requirements. A soulknife can choose any combination of weapon special abilities and/or enhancement bonus before assigning any special abilities. If the soulknife shapes her mind blade into two items or a double weapon, the enhancement bonus of her mind blade (if any) is reduced by 1 (to a minimum of 0). If this would reduce the enhancement bonus on the mind blades to 0 and weapon special abilities are applied, the soulknife must reshape her mind blade to make the options valid. Both mind blades have the same selection of enhancement bonus that does not exceed the total allowed by the soulknife's level, but she must assign at least a +1 and weapon special abilities (if any). This penalty does not apply when using the Mind Shield blade skill.

=== Unlocked Talent ===

At 4th level, the soulknife gains the Unlocked Talent feat. The power granted must be a 1st-level power or lower chosen from the [[Soulknife Power List|soulknife power list]]. If she has levels in a class that grants manifesting abilities, she adds this power to her list of powers known for that class.

If she has no manifesting capability from another class, she may instead manifest this power with a manifester level equal to the number of soulknife levels with "+1 level of existing manifesting class" as long as she has a Wisdom score of at least 11. Use her Wisdom modifier to determine any applicable save DCs.

When a soulknife recovers her daily power points after resting, she may choose to rotate this power for a new one, but the replacement power must also be chosen from the soulknife power list.

Starting at 7th level, she may choose to rotate in any 2nd-level power or lower.

=== Bonus Feat ===

At 7th level, a soulknife gets a bonus combat-oriented feat. This bonus feat must be drawn from the feats noted as combat feats or psionic feats. The soulknife must still meet all prerequisites for the bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums as well as class requirements (like levels in another specific class).

This bonus feat is in addition to the feats that a character of any class gains every two levels. A soulknife is not limited to combat feats or psionic feats when choosing these other feats.

=== Manifesting ===

At every level indicated on the table, the character gains additional power points per day and access to new powers as if she had also gained a level in whatever manifesting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained (bonus feats, metapsionic or item creation feats, and so on). This essentially means that she adds the level of soulknife to the level of whatever manifesting class the character has, then determines power points per day, powers known, and manifester level accordingly. If a character had more than one manifesting class before she became a soulknife, she must decide to which class she adds the new level of soulknife for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.

If the soulknife doesn't have any levels in classes that grant manifesting, this ability has no effect.

=== One With The Blade ===

At 10th level, the soulknife is as connected to her mind blade as a full soulknife. Other prestige classes that grant "+1 level of existing manifesting class" now apply also to her Enhanced Mind Blade ability and her mind blade's maximum enhancement bonus. This also applies to feats, traits, and other effects which increase her effective manifester level, but this cannot raise her effective soulknife level higher than her character level.

Follow the progression on the chart (+1 enhancement every three levels, +1 maximum enhancement bonus every four levels) when increasing her mind blade's enhancements and applying weapon special abilities. The soulknife does not gain any other benefits from an increased level (blade skills, etc.).

== Designer's Notes ==

The very first appearance of the soulknife was in the 3.0 Psionics Handbook, and was a prestige class designed primarily for the rogue. It has evolved significantly since then, but the thought of a modern soulknife prestige class has intrigued me for a long time. So, here it is.

Soulknife Prestige Class - Revision history

Locutus: Created soulknife prestige class.