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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nyeshet" data-source="post: 2949287" data-attributes="member: 18363">You're not required to take fighter levels. Any class with a high BAB will be nice, as will any class with multiple bonus feats. The UA feat variant of the Rogue, for instance, that gains feats instead of Sneak Attack would be near perfect, despite its medium BAB. It would have some nimble abilities that would aid it in surviving, plenty of skill ranks, and enough feats to make good use of the many mindblade feats. The number of feats is the one issue with making the mindblade both classless (ie: any PC can make use of it, regardless of class) and versatile (can be used for ranged attack, 2WF attacks, defense, &/or various other useful options). So the Fighter, having a multitude of feats and a high bab, is a good 'obvious' choice. The UA variant feat-rogue is a nice back up (many feats, decent in other respects as well), but the bab is secondary. The problem is that mindblades - as a system of feat chains - are feat-intensive. In designing official classes, few have been given extra feats 'to keep from stepping into the fighter's territory' or some such reason. Thus only the fighter has the best of both worlds: high BAB and feats. Others can made do - quite well, in fact, depending on the needs of the character design, but the Fighter is the 'obvious' and most likley choice. Another possibility is the Hexblade. He receives only a third as many bonus feats as the fighter, but a high BAB combined with any number of bonus feats makes for a nice choice. The hexes might even work well with the mindblade concept. The Knight also has high BAB and a few bonus feats - combined with challenges and other potentially useful specials. Some others lack a high bab but have enough bonus feats to perhaps make the difference. The feat variant Rogue has medium bab but ten bonus feats. The Psychic Warrior has nearly as many bonus feats, as well as various psionic powers (instead of the specials and skills of the feat-variant rogue). The Scout only has half as many bonus feats, but it does not need to lose Skirmish to gain them. Combined with fast movement and its other specials, the Scout is a real possibility for mindblade usage. Basically, so long as the class gains bonus feats and has at least medium bab it is potentially able to use the mind blade feat system with more than minimum ability. Of the classes that currently come to mind (from the PHB, PHB2, XPH, all the Complete books, but none of the Race books as I do not have them), the current ones that come across as best suited for using mindblades (as a feat system) are the following: Fighter, Hexblade, Knight, Psychic Warrior, *Rogue, and Scout* (UA feat variant only)None others gain bonus feats and have at least a medium BAB. The first three have high bab and some bonus feats. The Fighter has the most, but the others have other potentially useful specials to consider. The latter three have medium BAB but either numerous bonus feats (the first two) or numerous useful specials (the Scout, and arguably also the Psychic Warrior). Note that all the classes mentioned - except the psychic warrior - would need to take the feat "Wild Talent" in order to choose Psionic feats (such as the initial feat "Form Mindblade"). Thus, the Psychic Warrior actually "gains" a feat, in that they do not need to spend one before taking "Form Mindblade." _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/As for the question of Hardness, it is mostly used when determining how hard it is to break things. So the question in regards to balance might better be stated as "How often - and how useful would it be in your games - do PCs break things such as doors, wall panels, chairs, ropes, chests, chains, etc? Also, how often do they attempt to sunder another's weapon? That is probably a major issue right there. Granted, magical enhancements grant something like +X to hardness and +(X * 10) to item hp - X being equal to their enhancement. So a +2 sword has +2 to hardness and +20 to hit points. It is difficult to break even with a lowered hardness (due to the hp), but the lowered hardness does make it easier to "hurt" as hardness is similar in some respects to DR X / -- (like a barbarian's DR). If your players often use Improved Sunder or use their weapons to tear down doors, "open" chests, cut ropes or chains, break planks of wood, smash a stone idol or other object, etc then a feat that makes it easier to bypass hardness is more powerful. If your players rarely Sunder or use weapons to cut, break, or smash objects then the feat is remarkably less powerful - and possibly even underpowered. Note, however, that my idea of (my) feats treating bypassed hardness as also equal to bypassed natural armor in the case of constructs would be nearly the same as making the attack an almost touch attack against constructs (or objects), while merely somewhat useful when dealing with other creatures. So if constructs are often used in your campaign, then this would be far more powerful than typical. Balance is a precarious issue as the position of its fulcrum varies from situation to situation.</blockquote>

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