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View Full Version : [3.5, Feat, Incarnum] Conceal Soulmelds



Shhalahr Windrider
2010-12-19, 09:52 AM
I’ve been looking at Magic of Incarnum recently, and have been interested in playing a meldshaper. One thing that has been sticking out to me though is the obvious nature of soulmelds. That is, after shaping a meld, you’ve got a big glowing sign that screams, “Hey! This is someone special! Treat him accordingly!” While this kind of attention can be nice, there may be times when you want to be a bit more subtle.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any way to tone the melds down. Only thing you can do to lose the attention is to unshape them. And as near as I can tell, most melds can only be unshaped at the same time you are shaping other melds, which requires 8 hours rest. Not convenient at all. Even if you got your party wizard or cleric to make liberal use of unshape soulmeld to get around that, you’d still lose your melds until you get that rest anyway.

So, I’m toying around with the following:


Conceal Soulmelds [Incarnum]

You can make your soulmelds undetectable to normal senses.

Prerequisites: Ability to shape soulmelds

Benefit: As a move action, you can conceal any or all soulmelds you currently have shaped. A concealed soulmeld cannot be detected by any of the normal senses. It is invisible, inaudible, incorporeal, and gives off no smell. Detect magic, detect incarnum, see invisibility, and similar effects can still detect a concealed soulmeld.

A concealed soulmeld does not grant any of its benefits while concealed.

You may may reveal any and all concealed soulmelds as a move action.

Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. You may use a swift action to conceal or reveal any number of soulmelds up to the amount of essentia invested in this feat. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours.

You gain one point of essentia.


Draft 1
Conceal Soulmelds [Incarnum]

You can make your soulmelds invisible to the naked eye.

Prerequisites: Ability to shape soulmelds

Benefit: As a move action, you can conceal any or all soulmelds you currently have shaped. A concealed soulmeld is invisible. Detect magic, detect incarnum, see invisibility, and similar effects can still detect a concealed soulmeld.

A concealed soulmeld does not grant any of its benefits while concealed.

You may may reveal any and all concealed soulmelds as a move action.

Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. You may use a swift action to conceal or reveal any number of soulmelds up to the amount of essentia invested in this feat. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours.

You gain one point of essentia.

Any thoughts?

EDIT:
Just got thinking of a few feats that could further enhance this:

Rapid Conceal Soulmelds
Rapid Conceal Soulmelds

You can hide or reveal your soulmelds in the blink of an eye.

Prerequisites: Conceal Soulmelds, Meldshaper level 6, Con 15

Benefit: You can hide or reveal soulmelds with your Conceal Soulmelds feat as a swift action. Investing essentia into Conceal Soulmelds allows you to hide or reveal a number of soulmelds equal to the points invested as an immediate action.

Normal: It takes a move action to conceal or reveal your soulmelds. Investing essentia only allows you to conceal or reveal soulmelds as a swift action.

Hidden Soulmeld [Incarnum]
Hidden Soulmeld [Incarnum]

You can benefit from your concealed soulmelds.

Prerequisites: Conceal Soulmelds, Meldshaper level 3, Con 13

Benefit: Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. When you do so, choose one soulmeld for each point invested. Theses soulmelds continue to grant their normal benefits, even when concealed. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours.

You gain one point of essentia.

Normal: Concealed soulmelds do not grant their benefits.

Frog Dragon
2010-12-19, 10:08 AM
I had pretty much exactly this idea. You got there first. Homebrew swordsage...

Sounds fairly decent, slightly underpowered maybe. Seems like it could be worthwhile in some situations however. The last paragraph was a bit confusing. Took me a while to realize that it essentially allows you to reveal soulmelds faster.

Shhalahr Windrider
2010-12-19, 10:16 AM
Sounds fairly decent, slightly underpowered maybe.
Yeah. I figure that in some campaigns, the basic benefit of the feat could be a houseruled ability for soulmelds in general without much power creep. Depends how often one needs to appear mundane in that world.


Seems like it could be worthwhile in some situations however. The last paragraph was a bit confusing. Took me a while to realize that it essentially allows you to reveal soulmelds faster.
Right. It’s there to help with those surprise-round situations. Figure using a swift action might make the whole more worthwhile as a feat.

I think I prefer keeping the base hide/reveal ability as a move action, especially if one used gave it out for free as mentioned above. It would still be faster than manually removing all the equivalent magic items.

EDIT:
Just realized that their are more senses than vision. Bound soulmelds in particular tend to have corporeal forms. Beefed up the feat by making it apply to all senses.

Revised version
Conceal Soulmelds [Incarnum]

You can make your soulmelds undetectable to normal senses.

Prerequisites: Ability to shape soulmelds

Benefit: As a move action, you can conceal any or all soulmelds you currently have shaped. A concealed soulmeld cannot be detected by any of the normal senses. It is invisible, inaudible, incorporeal, and gives off no smell. Detect magic, detect incarnum, see invisibility, and similar effects can still detect a concealed soulmeld.

A concealed soulmeld does not grant any of its benefits while concealed.

You may may reveal any and all concealed soulmelds as a move action.

Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. You may use a swift action to conceal or reveal any number of soulmelds up to the amount of essentia invested in this feat. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours.

You gain one point of essentia.

Also: Thought of a few ways to extend it into a feat tree.

Rapid Conceal Soulmelds
Rapid Conceal Soulmelds

You can hide or reveal your soulmelds in the blink of an eye.

Prerequisites: Conceal Soulmelds, Meldshaper level 6, Con 15

Benefit: You can hide or reveal soulmelds with your Conceal Soulmelds feat as a swift action. Investing essentia into Conceal Soulmelds allows you to hide or reveal a number of soulmelds equal to the points invested as an immediate action.

Normal: It takes a move action to conceal or reveal your soulmelds. Investing essentia only allows you to conceal or reveal soulmelds as a swift action.

Hidden Soulmeld [Incarnum]
Hidden Soulmeld [Incarnum]

You can benefit from your concealed soulmelds.

Prerequisites: Conceal Soulmelds, Meldshaper level 3, Con 13

Benefit: Once per day, you can invest essentia into this feat. When you do so, choose one soulmeld for each point invested. Theses soulmelds continue to grant their normal benefits, even when concealed. Once the amount of essentia invested is chosen, it cannot be altered and remains invested for 24 hours.

You gain one point of essentia.

Normal: Concealed soulmelds do not grant their benefits.