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View Full Version : The Martial Soul--ToB/Incarnum PrC



PairO'Dice Lost
2009-01-05, 04:21 PM
What can I say? I like Tome of Battle, I like incarnum; here's a PrC that combines the two. Even if you don't particularly want a ToB/incarnum class, take a look at the 9 Sublime Way soulmelds towards the end. All comments/critiques appreciated; without further ado...the Martial Soul!


Martial Soul

"Other martial adepts devote themselves to a cause, or simply to their own advancement and success in the traditions of the Sublime Way. My motivation, however, comes from the very depths of my soul—and my ability proves it."

—Alidianna Ravenhelm, martial soul and crusader of Heironeous

The martial soul combines the combat prowess of a martial adept with the meldshaping of an incarnate or soulborn. Along the way, a martial soul learns to reinforce his or her maneuvers with his or her personal soul energy, and also gains knowledge of nine Sublime Way soulmelds that no other users of incarnum are able to shape. The first martial soul, her name lost to history, was the daughter of one of the original masters of the Temple of Nine Swords; the master discovered her talent for meldshaping while she was being instructed in the Sublime Way and helped teach her how to combine her two talents. After the destruction of the Temple, the first martial soul developed a method of imbuing her martial talent in soulmelds, one for each school, and traveled the world to teach these techniques to other meldshapers so her teachings would not die with her.

Anyone wishing to follow the path of the martial soul must also possess the twin disciplines of meldshaping and blade magic. While a soulborn is more melee-oriented and has more combat-focused soulmelds, a prospective martial soul benefits most from the additional power of the incarnate. To combine martial abilities with meldshaping, a potential martial soul must learn maneuvers with a connection to the soul, whether through the deep alignment beliefs of a Devoted Spirit crusader, the personal focus on perfection gained by an Iron Heart warblade, or the connection a swordsage’s Shadow Hand abilities have with necrocarnum.

Requirements
To qualify to become a martial soul, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Martial Lore 6 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 6 ranks
Maneuvers: Must know one strike and either 1 boost or 1 counter, all from the Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, or Shadow Hand school.
Stances: Must know 1 stance from the Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, or Shadow Hand school.
Soulmelds: Must be able to shape 2 soulmelds; must be able to shape 1 soulmeld with an alignment descriptor or 1 necrocarnum soulmeld.

Hit Die: d8

Class Skills
The martial soul's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Martial Lore (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), and Tumble (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table 1: The Martial Soul
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|Special
1st|+0|+2|+2|+0|Martial Soulmelds, Open Chakra (martial)
2nd|+1|+3|+3|+0|Soul Strike
3rd|+2|+3|+3|+1|Invest Maneuver
4th|+3|+4|+4|+1|Soulborn Counter
5th|+3|+4|+4|+1|Bind Maneuver
6th|+4|+5|+5|+2|Incarnate Stance
7th|+5|+5|+5|+2|Incarnum Recovery
8th|+6|+6|+6|+2|Essential Boost
9th|+6|+6|+6|+3|Improved Martial Soulmelds
10th|+7|+7|+7|+3|Chakra Bind (soul), Open Chakra (all), Double Bind[/table]

Table 2: Maneuvers and Meldshaping
{table=head]Level|Maneuvers Known|Maneuvers Readied|Stances|Soulmelds*|Binds*|Essentia*
1st|1|1|1|0|1|1
2nd|2|1|1|1|1|2
3rd|3|2|1|2|1|3
4th|3|2|1|2|2|4
5th|4|2|2|3|2|6
6th|4|3|2|4|2|7
7th|5|3|2|4|3|8
8th|6|3|2|5|3|9
9th|7|4|2|6|3|10
10th|8|4|3|6|4|12[/table]
*If the Martial Soul lacks an existing progression; see Meldshaping, below

Class Features
All the following are class ceatures of the martial soul.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Martial souls gain no proficiency with any weapon or armor.

Meldshaping: When a new martial soul level is gained, the character increases his meldshaper level, the number of soulmelds he can shape, the number of chakra binds he can create, and his essentia pool as if he had gained a level in the meldshaping class to which he belonged prior to gaining the martial soul level. He does not, however, gain any other abilities of that class, such as new tiers of chakra binds. If he had more than one meldshaping class before becoming a martial soul, he must decide to which class to add each level for the purpose of determining essentia pool, meldshaper level, and the number of soulmelds and chakra binds available.

If the martial soul does not have levels in a meldshaping class prior to gaining the martial soul level, he follows the progression given in Table 2: Maneuvers and Meldshaping.

Maneuvers and Stances: When a new martial soul level is gained, the character improves his number of maneuvers known, maneuvers readied and granted, and stances known according to Table 2: Maneuvers and Meldshaping. The martial soul may learn maneuvers and stances from the Iron Heart, Devoted Spirit, and Shadow Hand schools.

Martial Soulmelds: Upon entering this prestige class, a martial soul learns the secrets of shaping 9 new soulmelds, one for each of the 9 martial schools. At each level from 1st through 9th, he adds one of these soulmelds to his class list and may shape them as normal for a member of his class. The new soulmelds are given below after the martial soul class description.

Open Chakra: At each level from 1st through 9th, a martial soul opens a new chakra for binding soulmelds. He chooses any chakra one of his martial soulmelds occupies, except the soul chakra, to bind his martial soulmelds. For example, if a 1st level martial soul chooses the sirocco robes soulmeld (described below) to add to his list, he may open either his shoulders or his hands chakra, because those are the two that the sirocco robes occupies. From 1st to 9th level, only a martial soul’s martial soulmelds may be bound to the chosen chakras; upon reaching 10th level, all of his soulmelds may be bound to any of the open chakras except the soul chakra.

Soul Strike (Su): A martial soul learns to power his strike maneuvers with soul energy to strike faster than any other martial adept. Once per day, a martial soul may invest essentia into this ability; once the amount of essentia to be invested is chosen, it may not be changed for 24 hours. Once per encounter, the martial soul may initiate one strike with a shorter initiation time, according to the amount of essentia invested in this ability:

{table=head]Essentia invested|Initiation action
1|standard
2|move
3|swift
4|immediate[/table]
A martial soul may only invest essentia in this ability equal to his normal essentia capacity; this ability does not count as a soulmeld or feat for purposes of effects that increase essentia capacity. After using a maneuver affected by this ability, the martial soul is fatigued for one round.

Invest Maneuver (Su): A martial soul learns to power his maneuvers with soul energy to increase his accuracy and power. Once per day, a martial soul may invest essentia into a number of maneuvers equal to his Constitution modifier; once the amount of essentia to be invested is chosen, it may not be changed for 24 hours. Each individual maneuver may not have more essentia invested in it than the martial soul’s normal essentia capacity. The martial soul adds the invested essentia to his attack roll, damage roll, AC, speed, skill check, maneuver save DC, maneuver duration, or whatever other mechanics the maneuver affects or uses. Invested maneuvers do not count as soulmelds or feats for purposes of effects that increase essentia capacity.

Soulborn Counter (Su): A martial soul learns to power his counter maneuvers with soul energy to protect himself against a wider range of effects. Once per day, a martial soul may invest essentia into this ability; once the amount of essentia to be invested is chosen, it may not be changed for 24 hours. Once per day per point of invested essentia, the martial soul may initiate one counter and completely negate an ability an opponent uses against him without requiring a saving throw, check, or other measure. Area effects or affects targeting multiple creatures are not entirely negated, but the martial soul himself is unaffected by them. The type of ability negated is determined by the school of the initiated counter:

{table=head]Counter discipline|Ability negated
Devoted Spirit|Weapon or spell ranged touch attack
Iron Heart|Condition (daze, stun, blind, etc.)
Shadow Hand|Ability damage, ability drain, or negative levels[/table]

A martial soul may only invest essentia in this ability equal to his normal essentia capacity; this ability does not count as a soulmeld or feat for purposes of effects that increase essentia capacity.

Bind Maneuver (Su): A martial soul learns to bind his maneuvers to chakras to draw on the soul energy they contain. Once per day, a martial soul may bind a number of maneuvers to any open chakras; if the martial soul swaps out bound maneuvers when he changes his maneuvers readied, he loses the effects of the binds unless he takes an additional 5 minutes to concentrate and rebind other maneuvers. Whenever he initiates one of his bound maneuvers, or whenever he switches to one of his bound stances, he gains a small additional benefit for 1 round per level of the maneuver used:

{table=head]Chakra|Benefit
Brow|+1 on melee attack rolls
Crown|+1 on Will saves
Throat|+1 on Bluff and Intimidate checks
Shoulders|+1 on grapple, trip, and disarm attempts
Heart|+1 morale bonus to AC
Soul|+1 on Fortitude saves
Arms|+5ft reach
Hands|+1 on melee damage rolls
Waist|+1 on Reflex saves
Feet|+5ft land speed[/table]

A bound maneuver counts as a martial soulmeld for purposes of determining which chakras are open for binding and how many bindings a martial soul may have at once. Binding a maneuver follows all other rules for binding soulmelds.

Incarnate Stance (Su): A martial soul learns to power his stances with soul energy to gain benefits in combat. Whenever a martial soul is in a stance of the Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, or Shadow Hand school, he gains bonus essentia based on the school of the stance:

{table=head]Counter school|Bonus amount
Devoted Spirit|+1 per soulmeld shaped with an alignment descriptor*
Iron Heart|+1 per incarnum feat currently invested with essentia
Shadow Hand|+1 per necrocarnum soulmeld shaped[/table]
*Does not include necrocarnum soulmelds

Incarnum Recovery (Su): A martial soul learns to draw upon his personal soul energy to recover more quickly after initiating maneuvers. Once per day, a martial soul may invest essentia into a number of maneuvers equal to his Constitution modifier; once the amount of essentia to be invested is chosen, it may not be changed for 24 hours. Each individual maneuver may not have more essentia invested in it than the martial soul’s normal essentia capacity. When an invested maneuver is used, it is recovered faster according to the amount of essentia invested in this ability:

{table=head]Essentia invested|Maneuver is recovered...
1|...the next time the martial soul reallocates essentia.
2|...at the end of the martial soul’s turn the next round.
3|...the next time the martial soul initiates a maneuver.
4|...immediately after it is initiated.[/table]

Invested maneuvers do not count as soulmelds or feats for purposes of effects that increase essentia capacity. A given maneuver may be affected by both the Invest Maneuver ability and this ability, but the martial soul must invest essentia into each ability separately, and each has its own essentia cap.

Essential Boost (Su): A martial soul learns to draw upon his personal soul energy to improve his performance in battle. Once per encounter, the martial soul may initiate one boost to add a bonus to one type of roll or stat for the remainder of the encounter. The amount of the bonus granted is equal to the size of the martial soul’s essentia pool, and the type of bonus is determined by the school of the initiated boost:

{table=head]Boost school|Bonus granted
Devoted Spirit|morale bonus to AC
Iron Heart|competence bonus to melee damage rolls
Shadow Hand|insight bonus to melee attack rolls[/table]

Improved Martial Soulmelds: At 9th level, a martial soul’s ability to use his martial soulmelds improves. One of his shaped martial soulmelds does not count against his limit for the day, and whenever he changes his maneuvers readied, a martial soul may unshape a martial soulmeld and shape another soulmeld occupying the same chakra in its place.

Double Bind: At 10th level, a martial soul’s ability to use his soulmelds improves again. The martial soul may bind two soulmelds, two maneuvers, or one maneuver and one soulmeld to the same chakra. Alternately, he may bind a single martial soulmeld to two different chakras. Only one chakra (in the first case) or one martial soulmeld (in the second) may benefit from this ability at one time.

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Martial Soulmelds

These martial soulmelds are not a part of any meldshaping class's soulmeld list by default. Martial souls receive the ability to shape them upon entering the prestige class, and other characters can gain the ability to shape them with the Shape Soulmeld feat as normal.


Sirocco Robes
Descriptors: Fire, air
Chakra: Shoulders, hands, soul
Saving Throw: None
You form billowing robes and scarves around you that resemble those of desert dwellers. If you look closely, you can see that there are tiny, flickering blue flames on the edges of the robes, but you are perfectly cool, as the robes protect you from the elements no matter what the temperature or how hot the flames on your robes grow to be.
Your sirocco robes protect you from the perils of nature and overland travel, granting you immunity from exhaustion: Anything that would normally make you exhausted instead only leaves you fatigued.

Essentia: In addition to protecting you from exhaustion, your robes give you greater endurance; every point of essentia you invest in your sirocco robes grants you a +1 bonus on checks or saves made to resist nonlethal damage, Constitution checks made to continue running or hold your breath, and Fortitude saves made to resist damage from suffocation.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)
The robes settle onto your shoulders, loosening your muscles and allowing you to move more quickly to strike your foes and counter their attacks.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the Desert Wind school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his sirocco robes could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Hands)
The arms of your robes extend to cover your hands. As you strike your enemy, the flames on the hem of the robe burst into life, traveling from the hem to your hands, then to your enemy, searing him with the power of the desert.
Your attacks are infused with the power of fire. For every point of essentia invested in your sirocco robes, your melee attacks deal an extra 1d4 fire damage.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
Your robes become completely consumed with blue flame. You become the epitome of the desert wind, whirling and striking your enemies with flame faster than the eye can see.
For every 5 feet you move before attacking, your attacks deal an additional 1d4 damage. Also, you gain the ability to make a single attack against every enemy to whom you pass adjacent whenever you charge or take a double move action; your extra damage applies to these attacks as well.

Sacred Periapt
Descriptors: Good, evil, law, or chaos (whichever match(es) your alignment)
Chakra: Throat, heart, soul
Saving Throw: See text
A small replica of your deity’s holy symbol appears around your neck, studded with jewels and hanging on a brilliant blue chain. It fits snugly, resting just around your neck, and glows strongly whenever you are in the presence of a creature whose alignment does not match your own.
Your sacred periapt gives you warning of creatures whose alignment differs from yours, allowing you to constantly detect good, detect evil, detect law, or detect chaos, as the spells, as if you had been concentrating on the spell for 2 rounds.

Essentia: In addition to detecting your foes, your periapt gives you a bit of protection against them. Any creature whose alignment is diametrically opposed to your own may not come within 5 feet of you for every point of essentia you invest in your sacred periapt, and any creature whose alignment differs from yours on either the moral or ethical axis may not come within 5 feet of you for every 2 points of essentia you invest in it. Treat this as a magic circle spell for purposes of enemy saves, forcing the barrier, etc.

Chakra Bind (Throat)
Your periapt contracts to rest just against your vocal cords. Whenever you pray or speak in battle, you can hear the souls of long-dead defenders of your faith speaking along with you, giving you courage and skill.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the Devoted Spirit school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his sacred periapt could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Heart)
Your periapt grows larger and heavier, and the chain holding it extends so that center of the periapt rests over your heart. You are filled with the fervor of your faith, and you draw courage from your convictions.
Whenever you strike an enemy whose alignment is opposed to yours on either the moral or the ethical axis, you heal 1 point of damage per point of invested essentia; whenever you strike an enemy whose alignment is opposed to yours on both the moral and the ethical axis, you and any allies adjacent to you heal 1 points of damage per point of invested essentia.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
Your periapt vibrates with power waiting to be released. Whenever you are near a creature of an opposed alignment, it rises slightly into the air and pulses with blue light.
You gain the ability to strike fear into the hearts of your enemies and smite any infidels you encounter. Once per encounter, an enemy you successfully hit in melee is affected as if by holy smite, unholy blight, order’s wrath, or chaos hammer (your choice, as long as it matches your alignment along at least one axis), with a caster level equal to your meldshaper level. The enemy struck may save against the effects of the spell as normal with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 your meldshaper level + your Constitution modifier.

Crystal Circlet
Descriptors: None
Chakra: Brow, crown, soul
Saving Throw: None
A small band appears around your head, encrusted with tiny diamonds. One diamond hangs on a chain, resting in the center of you forehead; your mind feels calmer and more focused while this soulmeld is shaped.
Your crystal circlet focuses your mind, granting you a +3 bonus on Will saves, Concentration checks, and all Knowledge checks while this soulmeld is shaped.

Essentia: The bonus increases by +1 for every point of essentia invested in your crystal pendant.

Chakra Bind (Brow)
All of the diamonds in your circlet flow down the chain in front, forming a cluster of diamonds on your forehead resembling a psionic third eye. Your mind is filled with knowledge of how to best use your mental abilities in battle.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the Diamond Mind school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his crystal circlet could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Crown)
Your circlet grows fits more snugly around your head. As it contracts, you hear a mental “voice” from souls contained in each of the diamonds on it, telling you about the fighting style of your opponents as well as where their weak spots are and how best to defeat them.
You gain the ability to use the archivist’s Dark Knowledge class feature as an archivist of 3/4 your meldshaper level, rounded down. In addition, you gain a +1 bonus on all Martial Lore and Spellcraft checks for each point of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
As you move, you feel the cool, reassuring presence of your circlet and time seems to slow down, letting you act with the speed of thought.
When you make a full attack, you gain one extra attack, at a -2 penalty, for each point of essentia invested in this soulmeld, with another -2 penalty for each additional attack past the first. For example, a 20th-level manifester might have a normal attack routine of +15/+10/+5; with 4 essentia invested in this soulmeld, he would attack at +15/+10/+5 and gain 4 extra attacks at -2, -4, -6, and -8, for a final routine of +15/+10/+5/+13/+11/+9/+7. After using this ability, you may not make a full attack the following round.

Adamantine Plate
Descriptors: None
Chakra: Heart, shoulders, soul
Saving Throw: None
A breastplate made of the strongest adamantine covers your torso. You can sense warriors’ souls within it, shifting the plate to better defend you and reinforcing your movements at just the right moments.
Your adamantine plate protects you from harm, deflecting your enemies’ blows and granting a +5 armor bonus to AC.

Essentia: In addition to deflecting attacks, your adamantine plate reduces the power of blows when they do land. You gain DR X/—, where X is the amount of essentia you invest in your adamantine plate.

Chakra Bind (Heart)
You feel deep within you the souls of Iron Heart masters long since passed away. Their presence within you trains your reflexes and instincts so that their martial knowledge is second nature to you.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the Iron Heart school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his adamantine plate could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Shoulders)
Your breastplate flows up over your shoulders, growing a large pair of pauldrons. These guard the vulnerable areas of your torso and head from attacks from above and to the sides.
You have a percentage chance to ignore critical hits against you equal to 15% times the amount of essentia invested in your adamantine plate.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
The spirit and dedication of the souls bound in your breastplate protect you from effects that would otherwise incapacitate even the strongest warrior.
Once per encounter per point of essentia invested in this soulmeld, you may ignore one condition affecting you. As an immediate action, you may dispel any effect that would daze, hold, entangle, paralyze, blind, deafen, or dazzle you. You may also ignore fear effects and any effects with the [mind-affecting] descriptor, but this counts as two uses of this ability. If the cause of the effect or condition has an area, this ability does not dispel the effect but only lets you ignore it; if you exit and re-enter the area you become subject to it again. You may use this ability even if you would be otherwise unable to act, such as if you were bound and helpless.

Midnight Gloves
Descriptors: Shadow
Chakra: Hands, arms, soul
Saving Throw: None
Gloves seemingly made of the supplest leather and finest silk cover your hands, leaving your fingertips exposed. Upon closer inspection, you can see that the gloves are actually made of a very dark blue, shadowy substance which flows and ripples as you look at it.
While wearing your midnight gloves, your touch saps vitality. You may make a touch attack as a standard action which, if successful, deals one point of Constitution damage to your target.

Essentia: For every point of essentia you invest in your midnight gloves, your touch also deals 1d4 points of cold damage.

Chakra Bind (Hands)
Wisps of shadow undulate around your gloves. You feel that with these shadows you can conceal yourself, sneak up on opponents, and drain life from those you fight.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the Shadow Hand school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his midnight gloves could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Arms)
Your gloves flow up your arms, covering your arms in darkness. When you strike your enemies, ribbons of shadowy incarnum thrust your weapon harder and steer it to a vulnerable location, regardless of what may conceal or protect your target.
You may sneak attack like a rogue. Whenever your target is flat-footed or denied his Dexterity bonus to AC, you deal 1d6 extra sneak attack damage per point of invested essentia. In addition, if your opponent is protected by concealment, you may ignore 5% concealment per point of essentia invested in your midnight gloves; if your opponent is immune to sneak attacks, you have a 5% chance to affect him with this extra damage per point of invested essentia.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
The power of incarnum briefly wrenches your soul out of your body, replacing it with shadow.
Once per encounter, you may turn yourself into a living shadow. For 1 round per point of invested essentia, you become incorporeal and gain the immunities of the Undead type.

Hakama of Twilight
Descriptors: None
Chakra: Feet, waist, soul
Saving Throw: None
A hakama is piece of clothing similar to a waist cape worn by samurai and martial-arts masters from Rokugan to conceal their stances and leg movements. This hakama, decorated with a setting sun on an indigo background, prevents opponents from seeing that you are braced to throw them, even though you seem to be perfectly at ease.
While wearing your hakama of twilight, you easily prepare for battle while seeming to be caught off guard. You can act normally during a surprise round as long as this soulmeld is shaped.

Essentia: For every point of essentia you invest in your hakama of twilight, you gain a +2 bonus on grapple checks, trip attempts, and disarm attempts.

Chakra Bind (Feet)
Your hakama shifts its mass down towards the ground just above your feet, giving you the perfect counterbalance to throw your opponents or deflect their path.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the Setting Sun school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his hakama of twilight could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Waist)
Most of your hakama’s mass shifts to just above your waist. As an opponent rushes at you, your hakama absorbs his momentum, allowing you to strike back with greater force or redirect it at another opponent close to you.
While your hakama of twilight is bound to your waist chakra, you are always considered to be braced against a charge; if you actually do brace yourself against a charge, your attack does triple damage rather than double damage. In addition, you gain one additional attack of opportunity per round per point of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
The souls of ancient masters teach you to use your opponents’ momentum to let you move around the battlefield and perform amazing acrobatics.
Once per encounter, when you make a successful trip or disarm attempt, you may move your opponent 5 feet for every point of essentia invested in this soulmeld. In addition, you may move up to the same distance as your opponent was thrown. Any amount of this movement may be up a wall or other vertical surface; you may hold onto the surface and stay there until the beginning of your next turn, when you drop to the floor without taking damage. Alternately, you may move straight up to grab onto and move along the ceiling; at the beginning of your next turn, you drop back to the ground without taking any damage.

Granite Mail
Descriptors: None
Chakra: Waist, feet, soul
Saving Throw: None
Your body is covered with a rocky suit of armor—some pebbles cover your chest with chain mail, a few rock flakes cover your legs like scale mail, and a few larger stones protect your arms with plate mail.
While this soulmeld is shaped, you have the mass and strength of stone. Your size category effectively increases by 1 as if by the Powerful Build ability.

Essentia: For every point of essentia you invest in your granite mail, you gain a +2 enhancement bonus to Fortitude saves.

Chakra Bind (Waist)
Your suit of armor becomes denser and more massive, aiding you in striking harder and adding momentum to your blows.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the Stone Dragon school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his granite mail could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Feet)
The stone forming the legs and boots of your armor slams down into the earth, rooting you in place against any charge or onslaught.
While your granite mail is bound to your feet chakra, you gain the benefits of the psionic power immovability. You may activate or deactivate the immovability as a move action or a swift action, potentially allowing you to deactivate the ability, move, and become immovable somewhere else. In addition, one square adjacent to you of your choice per point of invested essentia is treated as difficult terrain while this ability is activated.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
You become one with the stone, taking on the characteristics of the earth around you.
Your granite mail grants you the qualities of stone. You take damage as if you were an object—normal damage from acid or sonic attacks, half from fire, electricity, or ranged attacks before applying hardness, one quarter from cold before applying hardness, and immunity to nonlethal damage, as well as immunity to effects requiring a Fortitude save unless they affect objects. You also gain hardness equal to the amount of essentia invested in your granite mail.

Tiger Pelt
Descriptors: None
Chakra: Arms, brow, soul
Saving Throw: See text
A luxurious tiger pelt drapes over your head and down your back like a cloak. The tiger’s head rests over yours, with its mouth positioned so that its teeth frame your face, and its arms and legs lay on top of your own.
The ferocity of wild beasts courses through you. While this soulmeld is shaped, you gain a cumulative +1 bonus on melee attack and damage rolls each time you are struck in melee; this bonus fades if you go more than one round without being hit.

Essentia: For every point of essentia you invest in your tiger pelt, the amount of time you may go without losing your bonus increases by one round. Also, you gain a bonus on Reflex saves equal to the amount of essentia invested while you are affected by the bonuses from being struck.

Chakra Bind (Arms)
The arms of the tiger pelt sink into your arms, giving you tiger claws. You gain the instincts and skill of a predator and you are eager to spill your enemies’ blood.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the Tiger Claw school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his tiger pelt could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Brow)
The eyes of the tiger pelt open and its head rises off yours. It gives a roar, startling your opponents.
Once per encounter per point of essentia invested in your tiger pelt, you may have it roar as a swift action. If opponents within 30 feet of you fail a Will save with a DC equal to 10 + 1/3 your meldshaper level + your Constitution modifier, they become shaken. If they fail another save against this in the same encounter, they become frightened; failing a third save makes them panicked.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
Your tiger pelt merges completely with your skin, giving you the appearance of a humanoid tiger, as well as a tiger’s muscular system.
Your tiger pelt grants you the tiger’s strong muscles, flexible spine, and powerful legs, which you can use together to make incredible leaping attacks. As a full attack action, you can make a Jump check and move the distance specified. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity with this movement, and you make take one standard action at the end of the jump to attack, initiate a maneuver, or activate a soulmeld.

Ivory Helm
Descriptors: None
Chakra: Crown, throat, soul
Saving Throw: None
A helm of intricately woven strands of ivory and skillfully shaped plates of platinum settles onto your head. It has a bird of prey motif, with a tiny raven seeming to fly out the front of it. The helm covers your eyes, but you can see through it perfectly; looking through the eyeholes lets your vision cut through barriers and darkness.
You are granted the excellent vision of all birds of prey. While this soulmeld is shaped, you gain low-light vision, darkvision out to 60 feet, and a +2 bonus on Spot and Search checks.

Essentia: For every point of essentia you invest in your ivory helm, the range of your low-light and darkvision increases by 10 feet and the bonus on Spot and Search checks increases by +2. In addition, you may treat total cover or total concealment as regular cover or concealment as long as your target is within 5 feet per point of invested essentia.

Chakra Bind (Crown)
As the helm settles more snugly on your head, you see lines of fire, targeting ranges, and other tactical information overlay your vision as voices point out the best place for your allies to charge.
You gain the ability to initiate one maneuver of the White Raven school. You choose the maneuver granted when you shape the soulmeld, and the maneuver chosen may not be changed until the soulmeld is reshaped. The maneuver chosen must be a strike, counter, or boost (not a stance), and is treated as having been gained through the Martial Study feat for purposes of recovery and the like. You may choose a maneuver whose level is less than or equal to your maximum essentia capacity for this soulmeld; for example, a 1st-level meldshaper could choose a 1st-level maneuver, and a 20th-level meldshaper with the Improved Soulmeld Capacity feat applied to his ivory helm could choose up to a 5th-level maneuver, regardless of the actual amount of essentia invested in this soulmeld.

Chakra Bind (Throat)
Your ivory helm becomes a Great Helm, covering your entire face instead of just your eyes. It now amplifies your voice whenever you give commands.
The range of all of your maneuvers with their range expressed in feet increases by 5 feet per point of essentia invested in your ivory helm. Also, once per encounter you may take a standard action to either share one of your readied maneuvers with an ally adjacent to you or share one of your shaped soulmelds with an ally adjacent to you until the end of the encounter. If you share a maneuver with a martial adept, he adds the maneuver to his maneuvers known and maneuvers ready for the encounter (and maneuvers granted, if he is a crusader); otherwise he treats the maneuver as if gained through the Martial Study feat. If you share a soulmeld with a meldshaper, he may bind it to a chakra or invest essentia in it as normal; otherwise he treats the soulmeld as if gained through the Shape Soulmeld feat.

Chakra Bind (Soul)
Your ivory helm shines with a brilliant white light, drawing the attention of your allies and encouraging them while distracting and irritating your enemies.
You and any allies within 30 feet add half the amount of essentia invested into this soulmeld as an enhancement bonus to all d20 rolls and any opponents within 30 feet subtract the same amount as an enhancement penalty from their d20 rolls.

PairO'Dice Lost
2009-01-06, 04:16 PM
Surely this isn't either so perfect or so horrible as to go without comment, is it? Or is it that incarnum is really as unpopular as people make it out to be?

Fax Celestis
2009-01-06, 04:49 PM
How did this slip under the radar...?

Anyway, your "Open Chakra" class feature is really elegant: I like it. I would have just stacked meldshaper levels to determine binds, but your way is better--especially with the Martial Soulmelds.

Invest Maneuver's effect is clear, but the wording is awkward: do you invest into the ability, or the maneuver? Is it usable once per maneuver? Once per day?

Soulborn Counter looks nice.

I would think Incarnate Stance would give bonus essentia, not a bonus on d20 rolls.

Incarnum Recovery: does this invested essentia stack with the Invest Maneuver ability?

The Incarnum Soulmelds are awesome, btw.

PS: change those {table] tags into {table=head] tags.

PairO'Dice Lost
2009-01-06, 05:02 PM
How did this slip under the radar...?

It must have been using a Shadow Hand stance. :smallbiggrin:


Anyway, your "Open Chakra" class feature is really elegant: I like it. I would have just stacked meldshaper levels to determine binds, but your way is better--especially with the Martial Soulmelds.

Thanks!


Invest Maneuver's effect is clear, but the wording is awkward: do you invest into the ability, or the maneuver? Is it usable once per maneuver? Once per day?

I was trying to mimic the wording of the magic and psionics invest-essentia-for-free-benefits feats. Basically, you invest a number of manevers, each of which has its own essentia capacity. The first time you use it in a day, you gain those benefits. To make it an analog of the other feats, you'd be able to use it once/encounter, as the other ones are once/day because they're daily resources; however, I wasn't sure whether that would be too much of a boost.

EDIT: I've reworked it a bit; let me know if it's clearer and/or unbalancing


I would think Incarnate Stance would give bonus essentia, not a bonus on d20 rolls.

Since there are so many ways to boost your maneuvers with essentia, I didn't want to go overboard. However, considering everything still has the normal cap, I suppose extra essentia wouldn't be out of line.

EDIT: Changed.


Incarnum Recovery: does this invested essentia stack with the Invest Maneuver ability?

Well, the essentia itself doesn't stack per se, but the two abilities can be used on a single maneuver. So a martial soul with an essentia cap of 3 could invest 3 into Invest Maneuver and 3 into Incarnum recovery, but you couldn't invest 3 total and get the benefits of both.

EDIT: I added a note to make that more clear.


The Incarnum Soulmelds are awesome, btw.

I try. :smallbiggrin:


PS: change those {table] tags into {table=head] tags.

Much better, thanks. GitP is the only forum I know with table codes, so I'm still trying to figure them out.

JoshuaZ
2009-01-06, 06:26 PM
Requirements
To qualify to become a martial soul, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Skills: Martial Lore 6 ranks, Knowledge (Arcana) 6 ranks
Maneuvers: Must know one strike and either 1 boost or 1 counter, all from the Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, or Shadow Hand school.
Stances: Must know 1 stance from the Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, or Shadow Hand school.
Soulmelds: Must be able to shape 2 soulmelds; must be able to shape 1 soulmeld with an alignment descriptor or 1 necrocarnum soulmeld.



I seem to recall that all necrocarnum soulmelds have the evil descriptor so the " 1 necrocarnum soulmeld" is redundant.

Also, you may want to up the requirements so that you cannot qualify for the class so easily. As written you can qualify for the class at 4th level whereas normally PRCs cannot be qualified before 5th level. (Incarnate 1/Swordage 3 for example or Incarnate 1/Crusader 3). It may be possible to qualify after level 3 if there's a way to make knowledge(arcana) a class skill (I can't recall any specific feat that does this but it wouldn't surprise me if there is one).

PairO'Dice Lost
2009-01-06, 06:46 PM
I seem to recall that all necrocarnum soulmelds have the evil descriptor so the " 1 necrocarnum soulmeld" is redundant.

True; however, the 9th level ability uses necrocarnum melds in particular with the Shadow Hand stance, so I wanted to call that out specifically.


Also, you may want to up the requirements so that you cannot qualify for the class so easily. As written you can qualify for the class at 4th level whereas normally PRCs cannot be qualified before 5th level. (Incarnate 1/Swordage 3 for example or Incarnate 1/Crusader 3). It may be possible to qualify after level 3 if there's a way to make knowledge(arcana) a class skill (I can't recall any specific feat that does this but it wouldn't surprise me if there is one).

Well, most dual-advancement PrCs turn out underpowered if you can't get into them by around 3rd or 4th level, the Mystic Theurge being the prime example. The Jade Phoenix Mage and the Ruby Knight Vindicator are the only two dual-advancement PrCs I can think of that force you to wait until 5th or 6th level. Because incarnum on the whole is much less powerful than arcane or divine spellcasting, getting into this PrC early helps even the playing field; the martial soul has the swordsage's BAB but fewer maneuvers known, unlike the full-BAB JPM and RKV, and is between the incarnate and soulborn in terms of meldshaping, so early entry isn't unbalancing in this case.

Oh, and Able Learner will make Knowledge (Arcana) a class skill.

Fax Celestis
2009-01-06, 06:48 PM
Much better. Awesome.