Pathfinder 1E Incarnum in Pathfinder

Background to this post: a friend and I have been converting our old 3.5 worlds over to PF recently, but we both ran into the stumbling block that Incarnum was actually a fairly significant part of our settings and the classes as-is were usually considered weak for 3.5 (with the Totemist generally being considered the only one really capable of standing with the powerful 3.5 classes). Obviously, that meant that they'd be too weak to import into PF directly, so we needed to convert them and add powers much like the old core classes got in the upgrade.

We got a third friend involved who was just starting a PF game in a homebrew world, and after the conversion work was mostly done started a playtest of the conversion by putting an Incarnate PC (Chaotic) into his game (played by me). So far the character seems to be working well, from what I've been able to judge; he started at 6th but has advanced with the party to the current 8th (and close to 9th, so we should hit it in a session or two). His damage output has been low, but his defenses and utility abilities have largely made up for it, particularly in his Share Incarnum Radiance ability which has helped the party cover wide combats more than once. He doesn't overshadow other party members, but also has not particularly been overshadowed by them except in the damage area (which I already noted).

Discussion between the three of us has largely petered out on the Incarnum conversion, but I've decided to post this thread here because others on ENWorld might find this useful- and perhaps some of you will have comments to add as well. We actually did convert all three core Incarnum classes, not just the Incarnate, but the only one tested so far is Incarnate (and specifically, Chaotic-aligned, which itself was often seen as the weakest option for that class). I'll put each class into its own post for clarity, following this one.

First, a couple of general principles. We agreed that given the bennies the spellcasting classes received in PF (unlimited-use cantrips, level-based powers such as the Sorcerer Bloodline abilities, higher-level Domain abilities for the Cleric, and School powers for the Wizard), the Incarnum classes should be similarly boosted. We did this in two ways: first, each of the two "full meldshaper" classes, the Incarnate and Totemist, were given a boost of +2 to their essentia pools at every 5th level- effectively giving them a bonus "Bonus Essentia" feat at each one; and second, pushing up chakra openings so that Incarnum characters would start at level 1 with 1 Chakra Bind and a Chakra to bind to (this, because most of the really spell-worthy powers of Soulmelds come from their Chakra Binds). The Soulborn, being a "half meldshaper" much like the Paladin and Ranger are "half casters," doesn't get Chakra Binds at level 1 (but does get them much earlier than in 3.5), and also gets the essentia boost only at levels 10 and 20 (but its essentia progression had been reworked in my own houserules ages ago to give the class a boost back in 3.5, and we used that table in the new version so it's considerably different anyway). Finally, because PF casters who prepare spells have the rule allowing them to abandon spells and switch in new ones given 15 minutes, we created a similar "15 Minute Rule" for meldshapers as well: to whit, they can unshape one Soulmeld and create a new one to replace it given 15 minutes.

It's worth noting that the 15-minute rule has already been used several times by my 8th-level Incarnate to switch Soulmeld configurations when circumstances demanded it, and the extra versatility has proven very helpful in every case. This rule alone gives Incarnum users a serious boost when compared with previous classes, though since the Soulmelds themselves are generally balanced well against other classes' powers, not an overpowering one.

EDIT 12-30-2013: For those coming late to the thread, the early posts are more background information now than directly-useful current-version house rules- you'll want to see the posts listed in the list below for the most current versions available. Most of it is past post #53 or thereabouts, May 2013. Also note that the standard shorthand acronym for Magic of Incarnum, for this thread, is MoI. Hopefully these links won't break the next time the board changes!

post #6 has an explanation of Soulmeld Shorthand (used extensively elsewhere in the thread, including in every soulmeld list contained herein, and also just a very handy thing to have when using Incarnum characters and critters in actual game play)
post #53 rules for Researching Incarnum- creating new Soulmelds, upgrading existing ones, and incorporating the new stuff into your character.

Incarnum Classes:
post #64 current version of the Foundationist (an elemental-Incarnum base class) including 3 Archetypes
post #10 Foundationist Universal soulmeld list (post #88 for complete descriptions like in MoI)
post #11 Foundationist Air soulmeld list (post #89 for complete descriptions like in MoI)
post #12 Foundationist Earth soulmeld list (post #90 for complete descriptions like in MoI)
post #13 Foundationist Fire soulmeld list (post #91 for complete descriptions like in MoI)
post #14 Foundationist Water soulmeld list (post #92 for complete descriptions like in MoI)

post #59 current version of the True Necrocarnate (a Rogue-like base class based on Necrocarnum) including 2 Archetypes
post #72 the Necrocarnum Thug Archetype for True Necrocarnate
post #48 True Necrocarnate soulmeld list (post #93 for complete descriptions like in MoI)
post #94 contains Stirge Proboscis, a new Totemist soulmeld which the True Necrocarnate also gains access to

post #54 current version of the Elementborn (an elemental-Incarnum Alternate Class for the Soulborn)

post #60 current version of the Incarnate including 2 Archetypes, and the Incarnate of Balance (Incarnates can be True Neutral now)

post #55 current version of the Soulborn (well, its class table anyway)
post #58 two Soulborn Archetypes
post #72 the Soulknight Archetype for Soulborn

post #62 three soulmelds for the alignments NOT covered in MoI, specifically Lawful, Balance, and Chaotic

post #63 current version of the Totemist including 2 Archetypes
post #94 three new soulmelds for Totemist (based on Aranea, Hydra, and Stirge)

post #83 the Bluesmith NPC Incarnum class

post #66 the Hauntshaper Prestige Class

Non-Incarnum Class Options:
post #72 the Cavalier Order of the Azure Monolith
post #73 Alchemist options (new Discoveries, new Archetype called Soulfuser)
post #75 Barbarian Rage Powers
post #76 Cleric Domains and Subdomains
post #77 new Oracle Archetype (Soulspeaker)
post #78 Rogue Talents
post #79 new Sorcerer Bloodline (Soultouched)
post #80 new Witch Patron theme, and Witch spell list incorporating MoI spells
post #81 spell lists for other classes not mentioned in MoI (Antipaladin, Inquisitor, Magus, and Summoner)

Feats:
post #56 updates to feats from MoI and explanation of how Incarnum feats work in PF
post #57 new feats (mostly, though not entirely, Incarnum feats)
post #86 an experimental new type of feat called Metameld Feats

Spells:
post #73 two new "Spirit" spells (included with the Alchemist because they're also Extracts)
post #74 "Mass" versions of the two new Spirit spells
post #82 a non-Incarnum spell called Detect Wealth included because a new soulmeld uses/references it
post #91 a non-Incarnum spell called Magma Bombs included because a new soulmeld uses/references it

Ultimate Campaign options:
post #82 new feats and soulmelds using rules introduced in UCA as well as "Pathfinder Player's Companion: Quests & Campaigns" (QC)
post #84 new Kingdom Buildings
post #85 Retraining rules

The Incarnate

Hit Die: d6
Class Skills: Craft (INT), Fly (DEX), Knowledge (Arcana) (INT), Knowledge (Planes) (INT), Knowledge (Religion) (INT), Profession (WIS), and Spellcraft (INT).

Abilities work as described in Magic of Incarnum, and are not reproduced here, except as noted below after the table.

EDIT: Okay, since ENWorld apparently changed how tables work, I can't post the table directly like I'd wanted and will have to fudge it. Apologies for the poor formatting.

The Incarnate
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Soulmelds Essentia Binds
1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Aura, Chakra Bind (Crown), Detect Opposition 2 1 1
2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Chakra Bind (Feet) 3 2 2
3rd +1 +3 +1 +3 Expanded Soulmeld Capacity +1, Incarnum Radiance (Aura) 3 3 2
4th +2 +4 +1 +4 Chakra Bind (Hands) 4 4 2
5th +2 +4 +1 +4 Rapid Meldshaping 1/day 4 7 2
6th +3 +5 +2 +5 (nothing- essentia cap increases here though) 4 8 3
7th +3 +5 +2 +5 Share Incarnum Radiance 5 9 3
8th +4 +6 +2 +6 Incarnum Radiance (Reflection) 5 10 3
9th +4 +6 +3 +6 Chakra Binds (Arms, Brow, Shoulders) 5 11 3
10th +5 +7 +3 +7 Incarnum Curse 6 14 4
11th +5 +7 +3 +7 Rapid Meldshaping 2/day 6 15 4
12th +6/+1 +8 +4 +8 (nothing- essentia cap increases here though) 6 16 4
13th +6/+1 +8 +4 +8 Incarnum Radiance (Talent) 7 17 4
14th +7/+2 +9 +4 +9 Chakra Binds (Throat, Waist) 7 18 5
15th +7/+2 +9 +5 +9 Expanded Soulmeld Capacity +2 7 22 5
16th +8/+3 +10 +5 +10 Chakra Bind (Heart) 8 24 5
17th +8/+3 +10 +5 +10 Rapid Meldshaping 3/day, Share Incarnum Radiance (no fatigue) 8 26 5
18th +9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Incarnum Radiance (Gift) 8 28 6
19th +9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Chakra Bind (Soul) 9 30 6
20th +10/+5 +12 +6 +12 Perfect Meldshaper, True Incarnation 9 34 6

Incarnum Radiance (Su): As an Incarnate, you fuse incarnum with your very soul. You can tap into your incarnum-fused soul to activate a visible radiant aura of power, granting you an increase in a particular area of prowess. You can use this ability for a number of rounds each day equal to 2 + your Constitution modifier. At each level after 3rd, you can use Incarnum Radiance for 2 additional rounds. Temporary increases to Constitution, such as those gained from Barbarian Rage or spells like Bear's Endurance, do not increase the total number of rounds per day that you can use Incarnum Radiance. The total number of rounds of Incarnum Radiance per day is renewed after resting for 8 hours, although these hours do not need to be consecutive.

You can activate Incarnum Radiance as a free action. Once under its effects, the bonus granted to you depends upon your alignment, as described below. Once Incarnum Radiance is active, you can end it as a free action, though if you end it during the same round you activated it then that round still counts as one toward your total daily limit. If you fall unconscious, your Incarnum Radiance immediately ends.

At 8th level, and again at 13th and 18th levels, you gain the ability to use another Incarnum Radiance power, also depending upon your alignment. You choose, during any round in which you activate your Incarnum Radiance, which effect to use; you cannot use two or more simultaneously. For all four alignments, the Incarnum Radiance power gained at 3rd level is named the Aura, the 8th-level power the Reflection, the 13th-level power the Talent, and the 18th-level power, the Gift.

Chaotic:Evil:Good:Lawful:As you gain control over your powers of incarnum, you learn to share the effect of your Incarnum Radiance with nearby allies who share at least some of your morals or ethics. Beginning at 7th level, when you activate your Incarnum Radiance or at the start of your turn if it is already active, you can choose for its benefit to also affect all allies within 30 feet of you (you must make this choice when you activate Incarnum Radiance and at the start of each turn you decide to keep it activated). Only allies who share your alignment can be affected; for example, a Good Incarnate cannot share Incarnum Radiance with allies who are not themselves Good. Any ally affected by Incarnum Radiance gains exactly the same benefit you do (including all bonuses and penalties, if applicable), and keeps it until the end of his or her next turn, even if that turn happens to fall in the next round. The benefit cannot last more than 1 round unless the ally is again within 30 feet of you at the start of your next turn, and you keep Incarnum Radiance active, and again choose to share it. If you share your Incarnum Radiance with any allies during its activation time, whether or not you shared it during every round it was activated, then you become Fatigued when you deactivate it (even if you do so by switching from one Incarnum Radiance effect to another, for example, from the Reflection to the Aura) or run out of total rounds per day. This Fatigue lasts 2 rounds per round you shared your Incarnum Radiance.

Beginning at 17th level, sharing your Incarnum Radiance does not Fatigue you afterwards.


Incarnum Curse (Su): At 10th level, you learn to use a special resonance effect of your Incarnum Radiance to affect an enemy rather than yourself or your allies. As a standard action, you can target an enemy within 30 feet to Curse. If the target does not share your alignment (for example, if a Good Incarnate targets a creature that is not Good) then the target is allowed a Will saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your Incarnate level + your CON modifier) to negate the effect. If the saving throw fails, the target is affected as described below, and remains affected until the end of its next turn. This uses up one round of your Incarnum Radiance (see above), but you can extend it beyond the target's next turn by using a free action each round in subsequent rounds (using up more rounds of your Incarnum Radiance as you do, and affecting the target exactly the same way without granting it any further saving throws to escape the Curse). If either you or the target falls unconscious, then the Incarnum Curse immediately ends regardless of when the target's next turn is. The effect of your Incarnum Curse depends upon your alignment, just as your Incarnum Radiance does.

Chaotic: Curse of Hesitation: The target's speed, in all forms of movement except Flying, is reduced by 10 feet. If the target has a Fly speed, that speed is instead reduced by 20 feet, and its maneuverability rating worsens by one step (to a minimum of Clumsy). When you reach 15th level, these penalties instead become -20 feet (-40 to Fly), and at 20th level, the penalties become -30 feet (-60 to Fly). Regardless of the magnitude of the penalties, the target's maneuverability rating is only worsened by one step. A target whose speed in a particular movement mode is reduced to 0 or less cannot use that movement mode at all until the Curse is ended (although it is not considered paralyzed, and is still able to defend itself, even if all of its movement modes are reduced to 0 or less).

Evil: Curse of Weakness: The target takes a -2 penalty on all weapon or natural-weapon damage rolls. When you reach 15th level, this penalty instead becomes -4, and at 20th level, -6.

Good: Curse of Vulnerability: The target takes a -1 penalty on Armor Class. When you reach 15th level, this penalty instead becomes -2, and at 20th level, -3.

Lawful: Curse of Inaccuracy: The target takes a -1 penalty on all attack rolls. When you reach 15th level, this penalty instead becomes -2, and at 20th level, -3.

If you target a creature which shares your alignment (for example, a Lawful Incarnate targeting a Lawful-aligned creature), or if a differently-aligned target succeeds its saving throw, then the Curse has no effect, but the attempt still uses up one of your daily rounds of Incarnum Radiance.

The Soulborn

This one was both tough to upgrade (because it had been widely acknowledged in the original version as being the weakest of the core Incarnum classes), and the easiest (because it is so obviously like the Paladin that it was no trouble to take inspiration from the upgrades the Pally got in PF). This has not, as yet, been tested, but it at least looks like a strong and decent class option now, and could be an interesting alternative to a Paladin (particularly for players who want to play Paladins who are Chaotic Good or Lawful Evil).

Hit Die: d10.
Class Skills: Acrobatics (DEX), Climb (STR), Craft (INT), Handle Animal (CHA), Heal (WIS), Knowledge (Arcana) (INT), Knowledge (Planes) (INT), Profession (WIS), Ride (DEX), Spellcraft (INT), and Swim (STR)

(Again, apologies for the poor formatting of the table, but this appears to be the best I can do under present circumstances given the lack/loss of functionality on the board.)

The Soulborn
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Soulmelds Essentia Binds
1st +1 +2 +0 +0 Aura, Smite Opposition 1/day 0 0 0
2nd +2 +3 +0 +0 Incarnum Defense 0 0 0
3rd +3 +3 +1 +1 Bonus feat 0 1 0
4th +4 +4 +1 +1 Smite Opposition 2/day 1 1 0
5th +5 +4 +1 +1 Share Incarnum Defense 1/day 1 2 0
6th +6/+1 +5 +2 +2 Aura of Resolve, Chakra Bind (Crown) 1 2 1
7th +7/+2 +5 +2 +2 Bonus feat, Smite Opposition 3/day 1 3 1
8th +8/+3 +6 +2 +2 Chakra Binds (Feet, Hands) 2 3 1
9th +9/+4 +6 +3 +3 Share Incarnum Defense 2/day 2 4 1
10th +10/+5 +7 +3 +3 Smite Opposition 4/day 2 6 2
11th +11/+6/+1 +7 +3 +3 Bonus feat 2 7 2
12th +12/+7/+2 +8 +4 +4 Aura of Conviction 3 7 2
13th +13/+8/+3 +8 +4 +4 Share Incarnum Defense 3/day, Smite Opposition 5/day 3 8 2
14th +14/+9/+4 +9 +4 +4 Chakra Binds (Arms, Brow, Shoulders) 3 8 3
15th +15/+10/+5 +9 +5 +5 Bonus feat 3 9 3
16th +16/+11/+6/+1 +10 +5 +5 Smite Opposition 6/day 4 9 3
17th +17/+12/+7/+2 +10 +5 +5 Share Incarnum Defense 4/day 4 10 3
18th +18/+13/+8/+3 +11 +6 +6 Aura of Inevitability, Chakra Binds (Throat, Waist) 4 10 4
19th +19/+14/+9/+4 +11 +6 +6 Bonus feat, Smite Opposition 7/day, Timeless Body 4 11 4
20th +20/+15/+10/+5 +12 +6 +6 Champion Incarnate 5 13 4


Aura (Ex): As Magic of Incarnum, except that at the start of each day when the character invests essentia into Incarnum feats he has, he may invest in his Aura exactly as if it were an Incarnum feat. This has no effect at 1st level, but in later levels it affects the radius of his Aura for purposes of special abilities like sharing Incarnum Defense, the Aura of Resolve, and so on. Like Incarnum feats, once the character invests essentia in his Aura, it stays invested for 24 hours and cannot be changed during that time period.

Bonus feats: Soulborns can choose any Incarnum feat or Combat feat to fill these slots, and count as Fighters of level (Soulborn - 2) for the purpose of qualifying for Combat feats.

Smite Opposition (Su): Once per day, a Soulborn can use the power of Incarnum fused with his soul to aid the struggle against opposing forces. As a swift action, the Soulborn chooses one target within sight to Smite. If the target has at least one alignment component opposed to the Soulborn's (that is, a Lawful Good Soulborn could Smite a target that is Chaotic or Evil), the Soulborn adds his CHA bonus (if any) to attack rolls and his Soulborn level to damage rolls made against that target. If the target of the Smite is an Outsider or a Dragon with one or more subtypes matching the character's opposed alignments, then the damage bonus increases to 2 points per Soulborn level. On the other hand, if the Soulborn targets a creature which has no alignment component opposed to his own (for example, a Lawful Good Soulborn targeting a creature that is neither Chaotic nor Evil), then the Smite is wasted with no effect.

If the Smite targets an appropriate creature, then attacks against the target automatically bypass any DR it might possess, regardless of the target's creature type or actual alignment (that is, it does not work better against Outsiders or Dragons, nor does it matter if the target has just one or both alignment components opposed to the Soulborn's).

In addition, while Smite Opposition is in effect, the Soulborn gains a Deflection bonus (equal to his CHA modifier, if any) to his AC against attacks made by the target of the Smite.

The Smite Opposition effect remains until the target is dead, or until the next time the Soulborn rests and regains his daily uses of this ability. At 4th level, and every three levels thereafter, the Soulborn may Smite Opposition one additional time per day (as indicated on the class table).

Share Incarnum Defese (Su): As a standard action, a Soulborn can share the power of his Incarnum Defense with all allies within a radius of 5 feet (plus 5 feet per point of essentia invested in his Aura; see above) that do not have an alignment component opposed to his own (for example, a Lawful Good Soulborn would be able to Share with all allies who are neither Chaotic nor Evil). Affected creatures are granted the same immunity the Soulborn himself enjoys, for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the Soulborn's CHA modifier. You can use this ability one additional time per day for every four levels gained above 5th (2/day at 9th, 3/day at 13th, and 4/day at 17th).

Aura of Resolve (Su): Identical to the Paladin class feature from the Pathfinder core rulebook, except for being gained at 6th level instead of 8th, and the radius of the effect is equal to 5 feet + 5 feet per point of essentia invested in the character's Aura at the start of the day (intead of a static 10 feet).

Aura of Conviction (Su): At 12th level, a Soulborn can expend two uses of his Smite Opposition ability to grant the ability to Smite Opposition to all allies within a radius of 5 feet plus 5 per point of essentia invested in his Aura, using his bonuses and alignment components. Allies must use use this Smite Opposition ability by the start of the Soulborn's next turn, and the bonuses last for 1 minute. Using this ability is a free action. Creatures with either or both alignment components opposed to the Soulborn gain no benefit from this ability.

Aura of Inevitability (Su): At 18th level, the Soulborn's physical attacks (both natural and weapon-based) are treated as both of his alignments, for the purposes of bypassing DR. Furthermore, any attack made by any ally within a radius of 5 feet (plus 5 per point of essentia invested in his Aura) of the character is treated as similarly aligned, as long as that ally does not have an alignment component opposed to the Soulborn's. Finally, the Soulborn and all allies within the Aura radius who do not have an alignment component opposed to the Soulborn's gain a +4 morale bonus to Will saving throws against Compulsion effects. This ability functions only while the Soulborn is conscious, not if he is unconscious or dead.

Champion Incarnate (Su): A 20th-level Soulborn becomes an Outsider with alignment subtypes matching his alignment (though unlike other Outsiders, the Soulborn can still be brought back from the dead as if he were a member of his previous creature type). The character gains DR 5/(both opposed alignments), which means that a natural or weapon attack must be aligned to both of the character's opposed alignments to be able to bypass this Damage Reduction. Furthermore, whenever the Soulborn uses Smite Opposition against an appropriately-aligned Outsider that does not have the Native subtype, that Outsider is subject to a Banishment effect (using the Soulborn level as the caster level- plus the Soulborn's weapon automatically counts as an object the subject hates). After the damage and the Banishment are resolved, the Smite immediately ends.

The Totemist

This was the hardest for us to get a handle on, because none of us had ever played one in 3.5, and also because my world allowed them but my other friend's did not. So, aside from the essentia upgrade, we had no idea how to proceed. Eventually, I came up with some ideas on my own after noticing that the original Totemist had the best version of Wild Empathy for any class in 3.5 (at any rate, for WotC-only books). So, I came up with some powers based on that, and also slightly inspired by the "wild boy" character Gau from Final Fantasy VI (whose shtick is that he learns the powers of monsters because he was raised by them). But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Hit Die: d8
Class Skills: Craft (INT), Fly (DEX), Handle Animal (CHA), Knowledge (Arcana) (INT), Knowledge (Nature) (INT), Knowledge (Planes) (INT), Perception (WIS), Profession (WIS), Ride (DEX), Spellcraft (INT), Survival (WIS), and Swim (STR).

(Once again, apologies for the poor formatting in the class table.)

The Totemist
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Soulmelds Essentia Binds
1st +0 +2 +2 +0 Wild Empathy, Totem Chakra Bind 2 1 1
2nd +1 +3 +3 +0 Chakra Bind (Crown), Totem Chakra Bind (+1 capacity) 3 2 2
3rd +2 +3 +3 +1 Totem's Protection 3 2 2
4th +3 +4 +4 +1 Totem's Empathy 4 3 2
5th +3 +4 +4 +1 Chakra Binds (Feet, Hands) 4 5 2
6th +4 +5 +5 +2 Totem Chakra Bind (+1 Meldshaper Level) 4 6 3
7th +5 +5 +5 +2 Improved Totem's Empathy 5 7 3
8th +6/+1 +6 +6 +2 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 1/day 5 7 3
9th +6/+1 +6 +6 +3 Chakra Binds (Arms, Brow, Shoulders) 5 8 3
10th +7/+2 +7 +7 +3 Totem's Lore 6 11 4
11th +8/+3 +7 +7 +3 Totem Chakra Bind (Double Bind) 6 12 4
12th +9/+4 +8 +8 +4 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 2/day 6 13 4
13th +9/+4 +8 +8 +4 Greater Totem's Empathy 7 14 4
14th +10/+5 +9 +9 +4 Chakra Binds (Throat, Waist) 7 15 5
15th +11/+6/+1 +9 +9 +5 Totem Chakra Bind (+2 capacity) 7 18 5
16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 3/day 8 19 5
17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +5 Chakra Bind (Heart) 8 20 5
18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +6 (nothing, but essentia cap increases here) 8 22 6
19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +6 Perfect Totem's Empathy 9 24 6
20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +6 Rebind Totem Soulmeld 4/day, Totem Embodiment 9 28 6


Wild Empathy (Ex): A Totemist can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The Totemist rolls 1d20 and adds his Totemist level and his CHA modifier to determine the wild empathy check result.

The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.

To use Wild Empathy, the Totemist and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions. Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.

A Totemist can also use this ability to influence a Magical Beast with an INT score of 1 or 2, but takes a –4 penalty on the check. However, unlike other classes with the Wild Empathy ability, a Totemist can gain a bonus to offset this penalty: if the character is specifically trying to influence a Magical Beast associated with the soulmeld that he has bound to his Totem chakra (for example, the character has a Basilisk Mask bound to his Totem, and tries to use Wild Empathy on a Basilisk), he gains a +4 bonus on the check (and thus effectively takes no penalty).

Totem's Empathy (Ex): At 4th level, the Totemist gains a +4 on Wild Empathy checks made to influence the attitude of a beast associated with any of his shaped soulmelds, not just the one bound to his Totem chakra. If the beast is specifically the one associated with the soulmeld bound to the Totemist's Totem chakra, then the character receives a further +4 bonus, granting him (in most cases) a total +4 bonus rather than the usual -4 penalty associated with trying to influence a Magical Beast.

Improved Totem's Empathy (Ex): At 7th level, the Totemist gains a +4 bonus on Wild Empathy checks made to influence the attitude of any Magical Beast, regardless of which soulmelds he has shaped. He still gains a +4 bonus if the beast is associated with the soulmeld bound to his Totem chakra.

Furthermore, the Totemist is no longer limited to influencing creatures with an INT score of 1 or 2 with Wild Empathy checks; any creature of the Animal or Magical Beast type is a legal target for his Wild Empathy from 7th level onward. If the Totemist uses Wild Empathy on a creature with an INT score above 2, it is treated as a Diplomacy check in every way, including allowing for the possibility of the Totemist using the Aid Another action to help an ally's Diplomacy check on the same target, or an ally using Diplomacy to Aid the Totemist's Wild Empathy check.

Totem's Lore (Su): At 10th level, a Totemist can use his connection with the souls of nature to learn things about creatures with some connection to it, even if he has no appropriate Knowledge ranks. As a standard action, the Totemist can target a creature of the Animal, Dragon, Magical Beast, or Ooze type within 30 feet to learn about its abilities and weaknesses. With a successful ranged touch attack, the character gains information as if he made the appropriate Knowledge skill check with a result equal to 20 + his Totemist level + his WIS modifier. The character may also target creatures which are templated versions of creatures of an appropriate type, even if the template changes the creature type to a disallowed type (for example, a Half-Dragon Lich would be a legal target, even though it is of the Undead creature type, because it was type Dragon before it became a Lich).

Greater Totem's Empathy (Su): At 13th level, the souls of beasts are such a part of the Totemist that animals and beasts of any kind become loath to attack him.

The character is now allowed to use Wild Empathy not only on Animals and Magical Beasts, but also upon Oozes- even Oozes which have no INT score. If the character tries to influence an Ooze, he takes a -4 penalty on the check, and Oozes typically start with an attitude of Unfriendly (if intelligent) or Hostile (if unintelligent).

Creatures of the Animal type are now more inclined to respect the Totemist, and automatically begin encounters with the character one step friendlier than the standard (i.e. domesticated animals start as Friendly, while wild animals start as Indifferent).

Finally, the Totemist is able to make any Wild Empathy check with just one full-round action, in contrast to the usual required time of 1 minute.

Perfect Totem's Empathy (Su): At 19th level, the Totemist's Wild Empathy ability improves one more time. The character is now allowed to use Wild Empathy on creatures of the Animal, Dragon, Magical Beast, or Ooze types, regardless of the target's INT score (or lack thereof). The character is also able to target creatures of other types, as long as those creatures are templated versions of base creatures with an appropriate type (for example, a Manticore Skeleton would be an allowed target, because the skeleton was once a Manticore- a Magical Beast).

A Wild Empathy check can now be made with a standard action.

The Totemist takes no penalty on the Wild Empathy check for any creature type, but a creature without an INT score is more difficult to influence and thus the character takes a -4 penalty to influence those. Creatures of the Animal type, as well as Dragons and Magical Beasts with INT scores above 2, treat the character with greater respect than normal, and begin encounters one step friendlier than they otherwise would have (for Animals, this does not change from the effect of Greater Totem's Empathy, above, but it now affects other types of creatures as well).

This ability to connect with the souls of beasts is so powerful that the Totemist is even able to affect summoned creatures, as long as they are of appropriate types. If the Totemist desires, he can try to break the bond between a summoned creature and its caster, as long as the creature is of an appropriate creature type. This special check is not a standard Wild Empathy check, but is instead an attempt to overcome the caster's control over the target creature; the Totemist makes a roll of 1d20 + his Totemist level + his CHA modifier against a DC of (11 + the spell's caster level). If the check is successful, the caster loses all control over the summoned creature, which is now free to act as it pleases; the typical starting attitude of a freed summoned creature is Unfriendly towards its caster or any allies of that caster, Friendly toward the Totemist who freed it, and Indifferent to any allies of the Totemist. The caster is no longer allowed to dismiss the spell, or even end it by any means other than resorting to use of Dispel Magic on his own creature, and in the latter case must make a Dispel check just as if trying to dispel another caster's spell rather than one of his own. Once the creature is freed from the control of its caster, the Totemist is allowed to attempt to influence it further using a Wild Empathy check as normal.

Azurins

As our last bit of converting, really an afterthought that happened only because I wanted the playtest character to be one, we made a PF Azurin race. Since Azurins are mostly human, this wasn't at all difficult, and in fact after reading the Advanced Player's Guide I would suggest doing them as just an alternate racial trait (such as Heart of the Fields). I'll write it up that way below.

Azure Soul: Occasionally, an unborn human soul is touched by the power of Incarnum, and the resulting child is born with a natural talent for manipulating the energy of souls. This permanently increases the character's Essentia Pool by 1; if the character does not otherwise have an Essentia Pool, then this racial trait grants him or her an Essentia Pool with 1 point. Also, because the excess energy burns the body out faster, the character is treated as a Half-Orc for age-related effects and age categories, instead of Human. This racial trait replaces the Skilled racial trait.

The eyes of a human with this racial trait are always some shade of blue, and the sclera of the character also becomes blue; in dim light, the eyes seem to actually glow blue (much like cats' eyes do, except for the color). People with this trait are often called Azurins, though they remain fully human.


If you're not using the concept of racial traits from the APG, it's easy enough to construct an Azurin race. Just take the Human from the Core Rulebook, replace the Skilled trait with the Essentia Pool as described above, use the entries for Half-Orc on the age tables (7-1 and 7-2 in the Core Rulebook) instead of Human, and you're pretty much done. Given that Incarnum is heavily tied up with the Constitution score, you might mandate that an Azurin get a +2 bonus to CON instead of the +2 to anything that normal humans get, but that's an individual GM's decision. Any player wanting to play an Azurin is probably most interested in pursuing an Incarnum class anyway, and would therefore be most likely to put the bonus into CON as a result.

For my part, since I was given free reign to decide what sort of background the playtest character came from (the game setting is a sort of infinite plane rather than a traditional planet, where literally anything could exist somewhere in it if you travel far enough), I latched on to the blue-within-blue eyes Azurins have and essentially made him a Fremen (from Dune). This might be a good hook for GMs looking to incorporate Azurins into their campaign worlds as a separate culture from normal Humans, as opposed to an accident of birth the way they're portrayed in Magic of Incarnum.

Incarnum Shorthand

In my experience, one of the major reasons people in general don't get into Incarnum is that the main base of its power, the Soulmelds, don't lend themselves to quick and easily-digested descriptions the way spells do. Sure, the Crystal Helm is an elegant and cool thing to have on your character in the game, but explaining what it actually does takes almost half of a column of text in the standard two-column page format of WotC 3.X books. The short description given in Magic of Incarnum, "+2 resistance bonus on Will saves against charm and compulsion," is hardly the sort of thing to wow a casual browser, but the Helm does so much more than that (and in fact is one of the most useful Soulmelds in the game). Incarnum is a wonderfully unique and elegant system, but the elegance is lost to a casual viewer because there's no quick way to explain it.

Years ago, when I was first incorporating Incarnum into my old game world, I wanted to come up with new Soulmelds for it, but I knew that to do so I'd need to balance them very carefully against the existing ones. This would be very difficult if I could not see, at a glance, exactly what each Soulmeld did mechanically. So, after reading through chapter 4 carefully, I came up with a shorthand method of describing each Soulmeld and proceeded to make a digest of the entire chapter- three lists of Soulmelds (one for each core class) containing complete shorthand descriptions for each meld and exactly what it does.

Reproducing one of those digests here would almost certainly violate copyright, so I won't be doing that, but I will explain here the shorthand I came up with and give a couple of examples using Soulmelds from chapter 4 of Magic of Incarnum.

A shorthand description of a Soulmeld begins with the meld's name, just like a short spell description does. The things which make Soulmelds different are that their effects change based on the essentia the user invests in them, and also that they can grant extra powers when bound to specific Chakras (not to mention the fact that most of those Chakra Bind powers also vary depending on essentia investment). That said, the variations based on essentia are always predictable formulas, and the effects of a given meld or Chakra Bind are nearly always easily expressible in a short manner (much like spell effects). So: a shorthand Soulmeld has one line for the meld's basic effect, and each Chakra Bind power is set out below it and indented. Within a given power description, there are 3 variable effects which can affect the way the power manifests in game: the amount of essentia invested in the Soulmeld, the meldshaper level of the Soulmeld, and whether the Soulmeld unshapes as part of the effect. I abbreviate these, respectively, as (E), (ML), and (U). Action types, for abilities requiring activation, are abbreviated as StdA (standard), MvA (move), SwfA (swift), ImmA (immediate), and FullA (full-round).

Examples:

Acrobat Boots: +(2+2E) insight on Acrobatics and Escape Artist.
Feet: Reduce falling damage by (E)d6.

This tells you that the basic power of Acrobat Boots is to provide an insight bonus to two skills, Acrobatics and Escape Artist; the bonus starts at +2 but you get an additional +2 for every point of essentia you invest in the Soulmeld. The second line tells you that you can bind the Acrobat Boots to the Feet Chakra, and if you do that it reduces falling damage by 1 die per point of essentia invested in the meld. If you have no essentia in the meld, then (E) is 0, so you won't get any reduced falling damage and your skill bonus will only be +2. But if you invest 3 essentia in the meld, then you get a +8 bonus on both skills, and falling damage is reduced by 3d6 (allowing you to effectively ignore up to 30 feet whenever you fall).

Crystal Helm: +2 resistance Will vs. Charm & Compulsion, +(E) deflection AC.
Crown: Melee attacks gain [Force] descriptor.

The same basic power given in the Magic of Incarnum short description is there, namely the resistance bonus to Will saves under specific conditions, but the much more important Force-related powers are also set out in this shorthand. Each point of essentia you invest in the Crystal Helm gives you a +1 deflection bonus to your AC- and if you bind it to your Crown Chakra, then every melee attack you make is considered a Force attack, so it hits Incorporeal creatures just as easily as material ones. Frankly, just having a +(E) Ring of Protection alone is enough reason for my playtest character to shape this meld every time he goes out the door, but the situational bonuses are nice additions that just add icing to the cake (and besides, it looks cool ).

Enigma Helm: Constant Nondetection using (ML) as caster level, +(E) enhancement Will.
Crown: Immunity to Charm effects.

By now you can understand all of the above except perhaps the (ML); what that's telling you is that the Enigma Helm grants the wearer an always-on Nondetection effect as if cast by a character with caster level equal to the meldshaper level of the Soulmeld.

Finally, a more complicated one (which has been another one of my playtest character's favorites):

Cerulean Sandals: Constant Water Walk, +(5E) feet to land Speed.
Feet: StdA Dimension Door in multiples of 10 feet, limit (ML)x10 feet before (U).

What this means is that, for every point of essentia you invest in the Sandals, your standard land Speed increases by 5 feet. So, assuming you're a Human, when you invest 3 points of essentia in the meld, your land speed becomes 45 instead of 30. Also, when you bind the Sandals to your Feet Chakra, you can then trigger a Dimension Door as a standard action, but you have to use it to travel in multiples of 10 feet- and you can only do up to (ML) such 10-foot "jumps" before the meld unshapes as part of teleporting you. So, if you're an 8th-level Incarnate, you get up to 80 feet of Dimension Dooring (in increments of 10 feet) out of your Cerulean Sandals before they unshape themselves. Of course, back in 3.5, a Soulmeld that unshapes itself was a big deal, since it meant you lost one of your Soulmeld slots until the party rested and you got to reshape them (with the casters recharging their spell slots). But in PF, with the 15-minute rule, this sort of effect becomes much more forgiving- you can potentially get the lost Soulmeld back before the next encounter as long as you aren't in a dungeon or other "gauntlet" type environment.

The reason I'm sharing this shorthand is not only that I think other GMs might find it useful- the fact is, my friends & I cooked up an entirely new Incarnum core class during the process of making this conversion, and I'm thinking of sharing it here. The problem with sharing the new class is, it has its own Soulmeld list, about half of which are entirely new Soulmelds not contained in Magic of Incarnum. Sharing the class doesn't make much sense unless I also share the new Soulmelds made for it, as well as the new Chakra Bind powers added to existing Soulmelds to fit the new Chakra created for the class. But more on that later.

Even in 3.5 the Soulborn when enhanced like yours would not be overpowered. You could port it back without changes.

Starbuck_II said:

Even in 3.5 the Soulborn when enhanced like yours would not be overpowered. You could port it back without changes.

Click to expand...

...Not sure what you're saying or implying here. Do you mean, the Soulborn described above is good for 3.5, so it's not powerful enough for Pathfinder? If so, what would you add to it? If not, can you rephrase to make your meaning more clear?

We're not running 3.5, we're running Pathfinder games. This thread explains what we've detailed for Pathfinder.

New Incarnum: the Foundationist

Incarnum core classes in Magic of Incarnum are pretty clearly based (for theming if nothing else) on three spellcasting classes from the core game: the Cleric (Incarnate), Paladin (Soulborn), and Druid (Totemist). Necrocarnum arguably looks like Necromancy magic, and could probably be reasonably used to create a Necrocarnate base class if one were so inclined, but that's the only hint of another base class in MoI. In our worlds, we were never satisfied with the fact that the only way an Incarnum character can be Neutral-aligned (or indeed, not somehow strongly-aligned) is with the Totemist.

But there is another theme within the existing Soulmelds that exists as an undercurrent, and is never quite fleshed out into a full-blown subcategory like Necrocarnum: elemental energy. Incarnum is supposed to be the energy of souls, and they did manage to tie Mantle of Flame to the concept of discarnate souls in its flavor text (the "fire" is a case of metaphor made real, as the souls used to construct the Mantle are souls which "burn" for revenge).Read the text for Flame Cincture, Dissolving SPittle, or Lightning Gauntlets, however, and you're left wondering: what sort of soul powers this? The text doesn't say, and the only reasonable conclusion appears to be that soul energy can be elementally aligned as well as alignment-aligned or emotion-aligned. And if you look at the game, this does make sense after all: Elementals are alive, aren't they? Genies are alive, aren't they? What happens if you use their soul-power to form Incarnum?

Taking this idea to its logical conclusion, I decided to create a new core class that would focus on elemental Incarnum rather than any alignment or the souls of beasts and nature. This new class would, furthermore, be based on the one prominent spellcaster type that is clearly missing from the core three: an Arcane spellcaster (like a Wizard or Sorcerer). In particular, I also wanted to fill a hole in Incarnum's capability that existing Soulmelds do little to fit, that being "blaster" powers like Fireballs and Cones of Cold (yes, there's Winter Mask, but it's tiny compared with the spell and deals very little damage- besides which it's a Totemist meld, and Druids are somewhere between Cleric and Wizard in blasting capability, so it's hardly surprising that it would show up there).

The new class is based on the notion that the four basic elements, which combine to form Everything in the world and multiverse, are alive and have soul energy just like the souls of people and animals do. A person who studies this soul power and learns to manipulate it as Incarnum is tapping in to the foundations of Reality, and hence is called a Foundationist. Foundationists can create and use Soulmelds much as Incarnates can, but unlike Incarnates they have no particular alignment outlook, because their concerns are for the elements that build the world, not what the creatures that are so built believe in.

Obviously, with the list of "elemental" Soulmelds in Magic of Incarnum being rather small, new Soulmelds would have to be created for this new class, and so I made some- but those will be shared in a post after this one. For now, the class table and features of the Foundationist:

Class Skills: The Foundationist's class skills are: Craft (INT), Fly (DEX), Knowledge (Arcana) (INT), Knowledge (Planes) (INT), Linguistics (INT), Profession (WIS), and Spellcraft (INT).
Skill Points per Level: 2 + INT modifier.
Hit Die: d6.

The Foundationist
Level BAB Fort Ref Will Special Soulmelds Essentia Binds
1st +0 +2 +0 +2 Elemental Affinity, Pattern Chakra Bind 2 1 1
2nd +1 +3 +0 +3 Chakra Bind (Crown) 3 2 2
3rd +1 +3 +1 +3 Expanded Element Capacity +1 3 3 2
4th +2 +4 +1 +4 Chakra Binds (Feet, Hands) 4 4 2
5th +2 +4 +1 +4 Rapid Meldshaping 1/day 4 7 2
6th +3 +5 +2 +5 (nothing- essentia cap increases here though) 4 8 3
7th +3 +5 +2 +5 Rebind Pattern Soulmeld 1/day 5 9 3
8th +4 +6 +2 +6 Pattern Chakra Bind (+1 capacity) 5 10 3
9th +4 +6 +3 +6 Chakra Binds (Arms, Brow, Shoulders) 5 11 3
10th +5 +7 +3 +7 Reset Soulmeld 1/day 6 14 4
11th +5 +7 +3 +7 Rapid Meldshaping 2/day, Rebind Pattern Soulmeld 2/day 6 15 4
12th +6/+1 +8 +4 +8 (nothing- essentia cap increases here though) 6 16 4
13th +6/+1 +8 +4 +8 Pattern Chakra Bind (Double Bind) 7 17 4
14th +7/+2 +9 +4 +9 Chakra Binds (Throat, Waist) 7 18 5
15th +7/+2 +9 +5 +9 Expanded Element Capacity +2, Rebind Pattern Soulmeld 3/day 7 22 5
16th +8/+3 +10 +5 +10 Reset Soulmeld 2/day 8 24 5
17th +8/+3 +10 +5 +10 Chakra Bind (Heart), Rapid Meldshaping 3/day 8 26 5
18th +9/+4 +11 +6 +11 (nothing- essentia cap increases here though) 8 28 6
19th +9/+4 +11 +6 +11 Pattern Chakra Bind (+2 capacity), Rebind Pattern Soulmeld 4/day 9 30 6
20th +10/+5 +12 +6 +12 Chakra Bind (Soul), Elemental Incarnation 9 34 6


Meldshaping: A Foundationist's primary ability is shaping Soulmelds, which are drawn from the Foundationist Soulmeld list. All Foundationists know (and can shape) all Soulmelds from this list, but see Elemental Affinity below regarding the Elemental associations of these Soulmelds.

The DC for a saving throw against a Foundationist's Soulmeld is 10 + the number of points of essentia invested in the Soulmeld + the Foundationist's INT modifier. The Meldshaper Level is equal to the Foundationist level.

A Foundationist can shape only a certain number of Soulmelds per day. His base daily allotment is given in the class table below. The maximum number of Soulmelds that the character can have shaped simultaneously is equal to his CON score minus 10, or the number of Soulmelds allowed for his level, whichever is lower. At 1st level, a Foundationist can shape two Soulmelds at a time (assuming he has a CON score of at least 12). As he advances in level, he can shape an increasing number of soulmelds.

At 1st level, a Foundationist also gains access to a personal pool of essentia, which can be invested into his Soulmelds to increase their power. This essentia pool's size is shown on the class table, but note that the Foundationist's character level determines the maximum quantity of essentia that he can invest in any single Soulmeld, as noted in Magic of Incarnum table 2-1: Essentia Capacity. As a Swift Action, a Foundationist can reallocate his essentia investments in all of his Soulmelds, every round (see Magic of Incarnum, page 50, "Essentia").

A Foundationist does not study or prepare Soulmelds in advance, but must have a good night's rest and must meditate for 1 hour to shape his Soulmelds for the day (see Shaping Soulmelds, on page 49 of Magic of Incarnum).


Elemental Affinity: A Foundationist picks one of the four elements at 1st level, and is forever afterward bound to that choice. This has effects later on soulmelds of the character's chosen element, but from this level it has an effect on the character's opposed element (that is, Air to Earth, Fire to Water, and vice versa): all soulmelds of the opposed element used by a Foundationist are at -1 essentia capacity. This means that at 1st level, although a Foundationist is allowed to shape soulmelds of the opposed element, he is forbidden from putting any essentia into them, because their effective essentia capacity is 0. Most soulmelds on the Foundationist list are affiliated to one specific element, but three in particular (Elemental Avatar, Elemental Channel, and Elemental Chasuble) are affiliated with all four elements. A Foundationist is only allowed to use the version associated with his own element, for these three soulmelds; thus, a Fire Foundationist could not shape an Elemental Avatar (Air). Finally, a few soulmelds have no elemental affiliation, and are designated Universal (or Univ).

Also, the character receives a +1 bonus on Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Linguistics, and Sense Motive checks when used on creatures of the same elemental type he is affiliated with. For example, a Fire Foundationist would receive the bonus when interacting with Fire Elementals or Efreeti, or when dealing with the Ignan language.


Pattern Chakra: Foundationists get access to a unique chakra which does not occupy any body slot, similar to the Totemist's Totem chakra. This unique chakra is called the Pattern chakra, because it represents the basic pattern of elements that is required to create any given object. In particular, the character's Pattern chakra is intended to represent his own Pattern, and conceptually the act of binding a soulmeld to it infuses the Foundationist's Pattern with extra elemental (or soul) energy which is what grants the powers provided by the chakra bind.

Beginning at 8th level, any soulmeld (regardless of element) bound to your Pattern chakra has an essentia capacity 1 higher than normal. At 19th level, the capacity of any soulmeld bound to the Pattern increases by an additional point, for a total of +2 capacity.

At 13th level, you gain the ability to bind a single soulmeld to your Pattern chakra and to another chakra at the same time, gaining the special benefits of both chakra binds.


Expanded Element Capacity (Ex): At 3rd level, and again at 15th, the essentia capacity of any soulmelds of your chosen element increases by 1. This only affects soulmelds, not feats, class features, or other abilities involving or allowing essentia investment. Noteworthy, however, is the fact that this benefit stacks with the ability of the Pattern chakra to boost soulmeld capacity- so at 8th level, for example, the essentia capacity of a soulmeld of your chosen element when bound to your Pattern chakra is +2 above standard.


Rapid Meldshaping (Su): This ability is the same as the Incarnate's ability of the same name.


Rebind Pattern Soulmeld (Su): At 7th level, you gain the ability to shift soulmelds into and out of your Pattern chakra. Once per day, you can unbind a soulmeld from your Pattern chakra, and bind a different meld to that chakra, as long as the new meld is one you already have shaped. This requires a full-round action and provokes AOOs. You can use this ability one additional time per day for every 4 levels gained after 7th (2/day at 11th, 3/day at 15th, 4/day at 19th).


Reset Soulmeld (Su): At 10th level, the Foundationist is good enough at building and shaping soulmelds, and charging them with energy, that he can sometimes repair a meld which is losing power due to use. Some soulmelds (including many on the Foundationist list) have a limited number of uses per day, or even unshape after a certain number of uses. This ability allows the Foundationist to "reset" any one such soulmeld so that it "forgets" the number of times it has already been used, and is essentially starting again fresh and unused. This ability can be used only one time per day at 10th level, but at 16th level the Foundationist gains another daily use of this ability.


Elemental Incarnation (Su): Immunity to Sneak Attacks, critical hits, and damage from the character's chosen element (Air: Electricity, Earth: Acid, Fire: Fire, Water: Cold).

Foundationist Soulmelds: Universal

Every Foundationist has equal access to these melds; they don't lose power due to Elemental Affinity, but then again they can't gain power from Expanded Element Capacity. They can still benefit from the expanded Pattern chakra capacity, though. No new melds were created for this list, and it's a short one: all melds on this list come from Magic of Incarnum, and therefore I will only be listing the effects of their Pattern binds below.

Apparition Ribbon: Reroll Incorporeal miss chance once per attack, +(2E) insight damage rolls vs. Incorporeal.
Pattern: Your natural and weapon attacks gain [Force] descriptor.

Enigma Helm: Constant Nondetection using (ML) as caster level, +(E) enhancement Will.
Pattern: StdA Obscure Object by touch, lasting (E) hours. Usable up to (ML) times before (U).

Soulspark Familiar: Create Least Soulspark; gain Alertness (as feat) while it exists.
Pattern: The Soulspark created by this meld is not required to remain within 10 feet of you at the end of its turn, and can instead range up to 1 mile away from you.

Spellward Shirt: Spell Resistance (5+4E).
Pattern: StdA Dispel Magic using (ML) for the caster level. Maximum (3+E) uses before (U).


As a further note, the Pattern bind for the Soulspark Familiar was intended to be mostly used with the Double-Bind class ability, so that the Foundationist would create a Soulspark based on the chakra it's bound to (as the original soulmeld specifies) but then double-bind it to the Pattern to give it the ability to range up to 1 mile distant, as a Wizard's familiar can.