Soulknife with Ancestral Relic (Mindblade)?

[Scorpions__]

Eh?






DM[F]R

[Ranos]

Because the mindblade's not actually an object but the effect of a supernatural ability, this won't work. Sorry, you'll have to find another way to make soulknife halfway viable.

[Machiavellian]

I once used a OA Samurai 7/Soulknife 5/Iaijutsu Master 8, who's Ancestral katana was broken, and thus became a literal part of his soul. Try that one!

[peacenlove]

ANCESTRAL RELIC [GENERAL]

You own an ancestral heirloom and can invest it with increasing power.
Prerequisites:Any good alignment, character level 3rd.
Benefit: Choose an item you own. The item must be of masterwork quality, and it must be an item that once belonged to a member of your family. Alternatively, the item may have belonged to another person to whom you are somehow connected, such as another member of your religious order.

Never heard of masterwork quality mindblades. (Ninjaed btw :smallcool:)

[AstralFire]

Because the mindblade's not actually an object but the effect of a supernatural ability, this won't work. Sorry, you'll have to find another way to make soulknife halfway viable.

There's some precedent - isn't there a soulknife legacy weapon?

[Fax Celestis]

There's some precedent - isn't there a soulknife legacy weapon?

Yup.

To be honest, it's not going to break anything, and any reasonable DM will allow it given sufficient backstory ('it's not a creation of my mind, it's an ancestral weapon passed down from father to son as the result of a blessing from Kelanen, the god of swordplay').

[Machiavellian]

There's some precedent - isn't there a soulknife legacy weapon?

Yes there is, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what its called...

Operation: Google-Fu y'all

[T.G. Oskar]

Because the mindblade's not actually an object but the effect of a supernatural ability, this won't work. Sorry, you'll have to find another way to make soulknife halfway viable.

Kensai?

It'd...be the same, but since you can take Mind Blade for your Weapon Focus...that'd make your signature weapon nearly indestructible, since it reforms at will and cannot be sundered. Not to mention that it can be reshaped into several different ways.

Of course, it *might* not work by RAW, but if it does, it would be nice. Considering you have that + Withstand (to use Concentration for something other than psionic focus), Power Surge for better Strength, and Instill...to make him the best cohort. And technically, you wouldn't lose that much...

[Ranos]

Yes there is, but for the life of me, I cannot remember what its called...

Operation: Google-Fu y'all

The Mau-Jehe. And yeah, even though it's not RAW, I'd allow it as a DM as well. Then laugh at you for being a soulknife.

[Machiavellian]

The Mau-Jehe. And yeah, even though it's not RAW, I'd allow it as a DM as well. Then laugh at you for being a soulknife.

BTW, soulknife, if built well (ie: my build above) can be both functional and fun to play.

[Foryn Gilnith]

BTW, soulknife, if built well (ie: my build above) can be both functional and fun to play.

The same goes for Adept, Expert, Aristocrat, Warrior, and Commoner (the last 2.5 are iffy, though). Doesn't comment too much on the relative strength of the class.

[Machiavellian]

The same goes for Adept, Expert, Aristocrat, Warrior, and Commoner (the last 2.5 are iffy, though). Doesn't comment too much on the relative strength of the class.

So my "Unarmed" Iaijutsu Master isn't viable for anyone who wants that element of surprise?

[balistafreak]

BTW, soulknife, if built well (ie: my build above) can be both functional and fun to play.

There's a difference between "functional" and "awesome". Past a certain prerequisite of power "fun to play" ceases to be a function of power, which is nice (Tier 3/4 classes) but a lot of people like being gods anyways (Tier 1/2).

That's the beef most people have. It's not that they can't have fun without a powerful character, it's just that they'd, you know, like to have a powerful character. :smalltongue:

[AstralFire]

My main issue with soulknife is that it's mechanically boring, tbh.

A monk is completely ineffective without a lot of work, but the sheer variety of options available to it mean that with a little houseruling, a little DM help, and a little building, I still have a lot of possible actions to take that are cinematic and relatively as effective as each other. :smallwink: Soulknife gets essentially one special attack - that's the core issue, to me.

[Optimystik]

It's a whole class whose class feature is "has a weapon." Then they printed the Soulbound Weapon Psywar and I never looked back.

[true_shinken]

So my "Unarmed" Iaijutsu Master isn't viable for anyone who wants that element of surprise?
How do you perform iaijutsu with a weapon you never sheathe, btw?

[Machiavellian]

How do you perform iaijutsu with a weapon you never sheathe, btw?

I use the Quick Shape as Quick Draw

[realbombchu]

I recognize that the soulknife needs a lot of work to be viable as a single class. I still think it's possible to fix, but that's just my very humble opinion. In response to the original post, it's breaking the rules, but I would allow it because you're making a less than optimal choice for your character class.

[Optimystik]

How do you perform iaijutsu with a weapon you never sheathe, btw?

I would allow the Soulknife "Free Draw" ability to count for Iaijutsu.

Incarnum Blade is a great fit for Soulknives as well (Plus, it can get them to 16 BAB.)

[Machiavellian]

I would allow the Soulknife "Free Draw" ability to count for Iaijutsu.

Incarnum Blade is a great fit for Soulknives as well (Plus, it can get them to 16 BAB.)

exactly what I said (meant), and one of the many feats used

[true_shinken]

I use the Quick Shape as Quick Draw
That's not really drawing a weapon meaning iaijutsu techniques would have absolutely no impact on something like that.
Iaijutsu is the art of drawing and attacking in one fluid motion (and OA adds that 'ki' fluff, but still requires the drawing thing). Generating a weapon with your mind is not drawing it.
Anyway, your build is not overpowered or anything so I guess a friendly DM would allow it even if it is not exactly accurate.


I would allow the Soulknife "Free Draw" ability to count for Iaijutsu.
Iaijutsu does not even need Quick Draw to work, it just needs you to draw a weapon, something a Soulknife never does. I'm a huge fan of Rurouni Kenshin so I tend to get picky when it's about iai, sorry. ^^


Incarnum Blade is a great fit for Soulknives as well (Plus, it can get them to 16 BAB.)
That I agree with. I had an elan Soulknife/Incarnum Blade in my game once and she kicked MAJOR ass.

[Optimystik]

Iaijutsu does not even need Quick Draw to work, it just needs you to draw a weapon, something a Soulknife never does. I'm a huge fan of Rurouni Kenshin so I tend to get picky when it's about iai, sorry. ^^

The ability is called "Free Draw" so I'd say it's up to a DM.


That I agree with. I had an elan Soulknife/Incarnum Blade in my game once and she kicked MAJOR ass.

It also fits the "ancestral weapon" fluff the OP is going for to a tee - since you are literally using the souls of your ancestors.

It also turns your mind-blade blue, which is pretty awesome in itself. :smallsmile:

[Thalnawr]

There's also something from Dreamscarred Press. In their High Psionics Compilation, there are crystal hilts, which are masterwork by default. They're also enchant-able, and those properties are available as new mindblade enhancements.

If you're allowed to use this, then you've also potentially got access to alternate soulknife class features and a whole bunch of feats that might actually make the class worthwhile to play.

[Optimystik]

If 3rd party enters the picture you can address a lot of problems with the Soulknife. Take this blurb from Untapped Potential:



Soulknives and Prestige Classes
Sometimes, a soulknife may qualify for a prestige class with "+1 level of existing manifesting class" as part of a normal class benefit. This increased psionic training helps those who follow the path of the mind blade as well as the path of the manifester. At each level where a manifester level would increase by one, treat the soulknife as if he had gained a level for the purposes of Mind Blade and Mind Blade Enhancement.

It's less common, but sometimes a multiclass soulknife enters one of these prestige classes with a bit of manifesting talent. In this special case, each indicated level of the prestige class advances both the soulknife's mind blade and blade enhancement as above, as well as his existing manifesting prowess by one level.

UTP also contains a variant Soulknife, with a pretty neat capstone (Double Strike) and faster mind blade enhancement (you get your +5 mind blade as early as 12, and only thereafter can start adding the enhancements to it.)