D&D FAQ gets it wrong?

[Piratecat]

Whether it's silly or not, we talk a lot here about how annoying it is when WotC uses the FAQ to change the rules. Surely we can't get angry with them for following the rules, even if it isn't how we'd house rule it in our own games?

 

[Enforcer]

Whether it's silly or not, we talk a lot here about how annoying it is when WotC uses the FAQ to change the rules. Surely we can't get angry with them for following the rules, even if it isn't how we'd house rule it in our own games?

Perhaps, but we can get angry with them for designing rules that make a valuable class feature totally worthless. Honestly, after reviewing the RAW closely, it seems they do support the FAQ position...but that's really stupid. Nobody else's bastard sword has a "can't be used until Round 3" restriction.

 

[frankthedm]

Perhaps, but we can get angry with them for designing rules that make a valuable class feature totally worthless. Honestly, after reviewing the RAW closely, it seems they do support the FAQ position...but that's really stupid. Nobody else's bastard sword has a "can't be used until Round 3" restriction.

Because nobody else can make a bastard sword out of nothing. It is not like a mind blade can't walk around with his blade out and already shaped. There is no duration on the mind blade.

And before saying anything is 'really stupid', reread this section.

Free Draw (Su): At 5th level, a soulknife becomes able to materialize his mind blade as a free action instead of a move action. He can make only one attempt to materialize the mind blade per round, however...

It takes a free action to form the mind blade and a full round to change it's shape. The only characters adversely affected were hoping to chuck bastard sword sized mind blades every round. Not a bad thing in my book.

Mind Blade (Su): As a move action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind. The blade is identical in all ways (except visually) to a short sword of a size appropriate for its wielder. For instance, a Medium soulknife materializes a Medium mind blade that he can wield as a light weapon, and the blade deals 1d6 points of damage (crit 19-20/x2). Soulknives who are smaller or larger than Medium create mind blades identical to short swords appropriate for their size, with a corresponding change to the blade’s damage. The wielder of a mind blade gains the usual benefits to his attack roll and damage roll from a high Strength bonus.

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

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. He can also choose mind blade for feats requiring a specific weapon choice, such as Weapon Specialization. Powers or spells that upgrade weapons can be used on a mind blade.

A soulknife’s mind blade improves as the character gains higher levels. At 4th level and every four levels thereafter, the mind blade gains a cumulative +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls (+2 at 8th level, +3 at 12th level, +4 at 16th level, and +5 at 20th level).

Even in places where psionic effects do not normally function (such as within a null psionics field), a soulknife can attempt to sustain his mind blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulknife maintains his mind blade for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind blade vanishes. As a move action on his turn, the soulknife can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize his mind blade while he remains within the psionics negating effect.

Shape Mind Blade (Su): At 5th level, a soulknife gains the ability to change the form of his mind blade. As a fullround action, he can change his mind blade to replicate a longsword (damage 1d8 for a Medium weapon wielded as a one-handed weapon) or a bastard sword (damage 1d10 for a Medium weapon, but he must wield it as a two-handed weapon unless he knows the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword) feat). If a soulknife shapes his mind blade into the form of a bastard sword and wields it two-handed, he adds 1-1/2 times his Strength bonus to his damage rolls, just like when using any other two-handed weapon.

Alternatively, a soulknife can split his mind blade 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 mind blade.

 

[pawsplay]

The latest official D&D FAQ has a the following question and answer:


Sorry, no, in my opinion that's absolutely unreasonable. And it's not like the Soulknife needs a nerf, no one else has to spend this amount of time drawing their main weapon...

Thoughts? Comments? Flames?

The FAQ is wrong. There is no limitation stated on the shape mindblade ability. It clearly states the soulknife may change the shape of "his mindblade," not a "a mind blade." The mindblade can be dissipated and dismissed in a number of fashions, and always retains the same enhancements as well as the psychic strike. The class description also states the soulknife can "rematerialize" the blade if destroyed or suppressed; hence, it always exists, even if one is not manifested.

Even if the soulknife drops the mind blade (or it otherwise dissipates, such as when it is thrown and misses), it is still imbued with psychic energy when the soulknife next materializes it.

Further, bladewind states that the blade reverts to its previous form after the attack. If a new blade is formed, by the FAQ, that is impossible. The blade would be a "new" blade since one was just manifested, and it would therefore not have a previous form.

 

[frankthedm]

The FAQ is wrong. There is no limitation stated on the shape mindblade ability. It clearly states the soulknife may change the shape of "his mindblade," not a "a mind blade." The mindblade can be dissipated and dismissed in a number of fashions, and always retains the same enhancements as well as the psychic strike. The class description also states the soulknife can "rematerialize" the blade if destroyed or suppressed; hence, it always exists, even if one is not manifested.

That is a hilarious misuse of text. Only time the mind blade can "rematerialize" a mindblade is

Even in places where psionic effects do not normally function (such as within a null psionics field), a soulknife can attempt to sustain his mind blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulknife maintains his mind blade for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind blade vanishes. As a move action on his turn, the soulknife can attempt a new Will save to ‘rematerialize’ his mind blade while he remains within the psionics negating effect.

Rest of the time it falls back to “Mind Blade (Su): As a move action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind.” Mindblade enhancement and a charged psychic strike both endure because their abilities call that out.

Further, bladewind states that the blade reverts to its previous form after the attack. If a new blade is formed, by the FAQ, that is impossible. The blade would be a "new" blade since one was just manifested, and it would therefore not have a previous form.

Your argument fails, bladewind does exactly what it says it does.

The mind blade immediately reverts to its previous form after the bladewind attack.

How can you misread that?

 

[KarinsDad]

Actually, although the FAQ is mostly correct here, it still has an error.

If a Soulknife can Shape a Mindblade, he can also Free Draw it. Hence, it is not a move action to create a mindblade for him.

 

[irdeggman]

Actually, although the FAQ is mostly correct here, it still has an error.

If a Soulknife can Shape a Mindblade, he can also Free Draw it. Hence, it is not a move action to create a mindblade for him.

Yes, since both abilites are gained at the same level.

The important thing to remember is that "manifesting" and "shaping" are 2 separate actions.

At 5th level a SK can either manifest a single short sowrd version of his MB (with all preset enhancements) and have a full round worth of actions left (i.e., move and standard) or he can use his full round's worth of actions to shape it for use in the next round.

 

[RigaMortus2]

It clearly states the soulknife may change the shape of "his mindblade," not a "a mind blade."

Of course it says that. Otherwise you could have 2 SKs reshaping each other's mind blades, because each one has "a mind blade".

 

[Patlin]

Look at all the silly restrictions a Soulknife specialized in throwing his mindblade is under.

Then look at a Warlock.

*Bang head on wall*

 

[pawsplay]

“Mind Blade (Su): As a move action, a soulknife can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from his own mind.”


Notice that it does not say, "a soulknife can create a mind blade, a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy" yadda yadda. If you say, "The mindblade is shaped, and thus appears as a longsword when created," no logical contradiction occurs with any of the text.

The mind blade immediately reverts to its previous form after the bladewind attack.

How can you misread that?

I'm reading, and I'm telling you, that's inconsistent with the FAQ.

Non-FAQ version:
1. You create a mindblade
2. You shape it
3. You do a bladewind
4. The the mindblade reverts to its previous form
5. The next round, you attack with your shaped mindblade

FAQ version
1. You create a mindblade
2. You shape it
3. You perform a bladewind, ambiguously creating either identical versions of your current mindblade or identical shortswords
4. The mindblade reverts to its "previous form." Whatever that means. Is it a shortsword? Is it a longsword? No one knows.

Let's look at bladewind.

Each fragment functions identically to the soulknife’s regular mind blade.

What does that mean? Does that mean bladewind is always a shortsword? By the FAQ, that would appear so, since shortsword is its regular form. Whereas in the non-FAQ version, it presumably meant is non-fragmented form. It also raises the question, why does your mindblade always appear as a shortsword, yet if it is a longsword, it still becomes a shortsword momentarily for bladewind? That would seem like, if anything, a more difficult trick than simply summoning it in a particular form. That also means no Power Attack with bladewind. It also means no slashing damage with bladewind (shortswords are piercing).

It's as if whoever wrote the FAQ read soulknife, and failed to notice that

1. bladewind allows the mindblade to suddenly appear in a particular form
2. psychic strike remains even when a mindblade isn't materialized
3. enhancement choices remain
4. the shape mind blade ability does not state any duration or condition that unshapes the blade
5. bladewind as a shortsword doesn't work very well for a Str-based soulknife, since no PA, no two-handed damage
6. under several conditions the soulknife can materialize or rematerialize his blade
7. the Free Draw ability says materialize, in fact
8. shape mind blade says he can "change the form" of his mindblade. It could have said he transforms the mindblade he is wielding, but it does not. He "changes the form of his mindblade," and now it has a new form. Any new mindblade has the new form.

In short, the FAQ answer seems inconsistent with the description of a soulknife's abilities, nerfs the soulknife (perhaps somewhat, perhaps considerably depending on your strategy), and at least by my reading, does not seem to be based in the rules at all. It also seems wildly inconsistent with

Each souknife's personal blade, referred to as a mind blade, differs in color and shape according to his personality, mental strength, and even mood.

To me, that does not sound like "always appears as a short sword."