I'm playing a psionic character in an upcoming eberron campaign and the DM doesn't think the soulknife is a good class to multiclass with psion. Personally I always liked the Soulknife as a PrC rather than a base class, so I've decided to try and cook something up. I did check out Nifft's approach (partly feat-based, then a PrC), but I am going for something that more closely resembles the 3.0 PrC of the same name. However, I'm also using Eldritch Knight and the base Soulknife XPH class for inspiration.
The goal of the PrC is that it will be an interesting choice for all psionic classes, especially those interested in doing melee combat with a mindblade. It should not be used in conjunction with the Soulknife base class.
The Soulknife
HD: d8
Requirements:
BAB: +4
Move Silently: 3 ranks
Knowledge (Psionics): 3 ranks
Base Power Points/Day: 11+
Class Skills:
The soulknife's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Autohypnosis (Wis), Concentration (Con), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (Psionics) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Psicraft (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
BAB: As a rogue
Saving Throws: Good Reflex, Poor Fort and Will
1 Mindblade, Weapon Focus (Mindblade)
2 +1 Mindblade, Throw Mindblade, +1 Manifester level
3 Mindblade Enhancement +1
4 +2 Mindblade, Free Draw, +1 Manifester level
5 Shape Mindblade
6 +3 Mindblade, +1 Manifester level
7 Mindblade Enhancement +2, Bladewind as a power
8 +4 Mindblade, +1 Manifester level
9 Greater Weapon Focus (Mindblade), Knife to the Soul as a power
10 +5 Mindblade, +1 Manifester level
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Soulknives are proficient with light armor and shields. They are proficient with short swords and their mindblades (see below).
Powers Known: At every level beyond first, 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 of item creation feats, psicrystal special abilities, 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 towhich class she adds the new level of soulknife for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.
Mindblade: As a move-equivalent action, the soulknife creates a semisolid blade 1 foot in length composed of psychic energy (distilled from her own mind). When the soulknife reaches 2nd level, her mindblade gains a +1 enhancement bonus; at 4th level, +2; at 6th level, +3; at 8th level, +4; and at 10th level, +5.
Weapon Focus (Mindblade): The 1st level soulknife gains this as a bonus feat.
Throw Mindblade: At 2nd level, the soulknife can throw his mindblade as a ranged weapon with a range of 30 feet.
Mindblade Enhancement: At 3th level, a soulknife gains the ability to enhance her mindblade. She can add any one of the weapon special abilities on the table below that has an enhancement bonus value of +1. At 7th level, the soulknife can add two +1 enhancements or a single +2 enhancement. A soulknife can reassign the abilities she has added to her mindblade. To do so, she must first spend 8 hours in concentration. After that period, the mindblade materializes with the new ability or abilities selected by the soulknife.
Free Draw: At 4th level, the soulknife becomes able to materialize her mindblade as a free action instead of a move action. She can make only one attempt to materialize the mindblade per round, however.
Shape Mindblade: At 5th level, the soulknife gains the ability to change the form of her mindblade. As a full-round action, she can change her mindblade to replicate a longsword or a bastard sword. Alternatively, a soulknife can split her mindblade into two identical short swords, suitable for fighting with a weapon in each hand (the normal penalties for fighting with two weapons apply). However, both mind blades have an enhancement bonus 1 lower than the soulknife would otherwise create with a single mindblade.
Bladewind as a power: Forthcoming
Knife to the Soul as a power: Forthcoming
Well, that's 1.0. Any thoughts? Balanced or not? I tried to keep it restricted to levels 6 and higher, which explains the relatively quick mindblade bonus progression (by 16th you can create effectively a +7 weapon, which is pretty good, but you gave up half your power progression as a psywarrior or you're a multiclassed psion giving up manifester levels).
The goal of the PrC is that it will be an interesting choice for all psionic classes, especially those interested in doing melee combat with a mindblade. It should not be used in conjunction with the Soulknife base class.
The Soulknife
HD: d8
Requirements:
BAB: +4
Move Silently: 3 ranks
Knowledge (Psionics): 3 ranks
Base Power Points/Day: 11+
Class Skills:
The soulknife's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Autohypnosis (Wis), Concentration (Con), Hide (Dex), Knowledge (Psionics) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Psicraft (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
BAB: As a rogue
Saving Throws: Good Reflex, Poor Fort and Will
1 Mindblade, Weapon Focus (Mindblade)
2 +1 Mindblade, Throw Mindblade, +1 Manifester level
3 Mindblade Enhancement +1
4 +2 Mindblade, Free Draw, +1 Manifester level
5 Shape Mindblade
6 +3 Mindblade, +1 Manifester level
7 Mindblade Enhancement +2, Bladewind as a power
8 +4 Mindblade, +1 Manifester level
9 Greater Weapon Focus (Mindblade), Knife to the Soul as a power
10 +5 Mindblade, +1 Manifester level
Class Features
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Soulknives are proficient with light armor and shields. They are proficient with short swords and their mindblades (see below).
Powers Known: At every level beyond first, 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 of item creation feats, psicrystal special abilities, 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 towhich class she adds the new level of soulknife for the purpose of determining power points per day, powers known, and manifester level.
Mindblade: As a move-equivalent action, the soulknife creates a semisolid blade 1 foot in length composed of psychic energy (distilled from her own mind). When the soulknife reaches 2nd level, her mindblade gains a +1 enhancement bonus; at 4th level, +2; at 6th level, +3; at 8th level, +4; and at 10th level, +5.
Weapon Focus (Mindblade): The 1st level soulknife gains this as a bonus feat.
Throw Mindblade: At 2nd level, the soulknife can throw his mindblade as a ranged weapon with a range of 30 feet.
Mindblade Enhancement: At 3th level, a soulknife gains the ability to enhance her mindblade. She can add any one of the weapon special abilities on the table below that has an enhancement bonus value of +1. At 7th level, the soulknife can add two +1 enhancements or a single +2 enhancement. A soulknife can reassign the abilities she has added to her mindblade. To do so, she must first spend 8 hours in concentration. After that period, the mindblade materializes with the new ability or abilities selected by the soulknife.
Free Draw: At 4th level, the soulknife becomes able to materialize her mindblade as a free action instead of a move action. She can make only one attempt to materialize the mindblade per round, however.
Shape Mindblade: At 5th level, the soulknife gains the ability to change the form of her mindblade. As a full-round action, she can change her mindblade to replicate a longsword or a bastard sword. Alternatively, a soulknife can split her mindblade into two identical short swords, suitable for fighting with a weapon in each hand (the normal penalties for fighting with two weapons apply). However, both mind blades have an enhancement bonus 1 lower than the soulknife would otherwise create with a single mindblade.
Bladewind as a power: Forthcoming
Knife to the Soul as a power: Forthcoming
Well, that's 1.0. Any thoughts? Balanced or not? I tried to keep it restricted to levels 6 and higher, which explains the relatively quick mindblade bonus progression (by 16th you can create effectively a +7 weapon, which is pretty good, but you gave up half your power progression as a psywarrior or you're a multiclassed psion giving up manifester levels).
