Energized Soul [3.5 Feat]

[Lix Lorn]

Elemental Soul
Prerequisites: Mind Blade or Mind Arrow ability.
Benefit: By using a Standard action to focus, you may change your Mind Blade or Mind Arrow to deal Fire, Cold, Electricity, Sonic or Acid damage. To change the damage to a different element or back to it's normal damage type requires a second standard action.
Normal: Mind Blades and Mind Arrows deal weapon damage.

Polarised Soul
Prerequisites: Elemental Soul.
Benefit: When using the Elemental Soul feat, you may choose to deal negative or positive energy damage. (Damage dealt in this way always deals damage, regardless of whether the target is normally healed by negative or positive energy. Negative energy weaponised like this causes pure destruction, while positive energy causes an overload of life energy.)
Normal: The Elemental Soul feat only allows you to deal elemental damage.

* * *

I don't know how good these are. I hear the Soulknife is Bad, but the Soulbow is better, so I'm not sure just whether this is overstrong.
Also, I thought they were force effects. Good thing I checked.

[jiriku]

"Never heals" is a sticking point. The ability to permanently deplete hit point totals is too strong for a two-feat chain available at level 1.

Alternatives might include:

Damage can only be recovered through magical healing. (weak)
Damage can only be recovered through magical healing, and even magical healing requires a caster level check. (stronger)
Damage can only be recovered through mundane healing. (strongest)

[The-Mage-King]

"Never heals" is a sticking point. The ability to permanently deplete hit point totals is too strong for a two-feat chain available at level 1.

Alternatives might include:

Damage can only be recovered through magical healing. (weak)
Damage can only be recovered through magical healing, and even magical healing requires a caster level check. (stronger)
Damage can only be recovered through mundane healing. (strongest)


I think she means that damage dealt with it cannot restore HP to anything, regardless of its state of life or unlife.

Am I right?

[Milskidasith]

"Never heals" is a sticking point. The ability to permanently deplete hit point totals is too strong for a two-feat chain available at level 1.

Alternatives might include:

Damage can only be recovered through magical healing. (weak)
Damage can only be recovered through magical healing, and even magical healing requires a caster level check. (stronger)
Damage can only be recovered through mundane healing. (strongest)


I am pretty sure the intent is "It doesn't heal living guys if you hit them with positive energy damage and doesn't heal undead if you hit with negative (though they may be immune)", not "This damage is permanent and irreversible."

[Lix Lorn]

Yeahyeah, that's what I meant. I'll word it more obviously.

[Milskidasith]

Yeahyeah, that's what I meant. I'll word it more obviously.

Question: What about immunity to negative energy? It is possible to get this immunity; does this bypass that, or not? I would assume not.

[Lix Lorn]

It does not, and nor would the positive variety bypass positive energy immunity.

[jiriku]

It's cool then. Honestly, this a really mild benefit for a 2-feat investment. I'd suggest you roll them both into a single feat and have the positive/negative benefit "unlock" when the character acquires a slightly higher-level class feature or a set amount of base attack bonus.

[Lix Lorn]

Something like, elemental as normal, positive/negative at +6, maybe force at +11?

[Mongoose87]

I'd roll them into one, then perhaps add a feat that makes your arrow ignore x amount of energy resistance.

[Lix Lorn]

Wow, is the soul___ THAT bad? XD

[Mongoose87]

It's bad enough that the Soulbow considered significantly better than the Soulknife, usually requires one of either the "Bow Trick" or the "Multi-armed trick," to be good at what it does.

[DracoDei]

I don't think rolling it into one feat is the way to go. There are enough Soul-knife fixes on this board... this works well in combination with most of them I would think, and that is good enough for me.