Mind Blade/Soulbow clarification

[Sovereign88]

Hi,
just a quick question. Does the Soulknife's Weapon Focus: Mind Blade bonus talent also apply to the Soulbow's Mind Arrows? I am not a native speaker an the following sentence (from Complete Psionic) confuses me :smallbiggrin::

"Any feats previously requiring specific weapon choice (such as Weapon Specialization) for your mind blade also apply to your mind arrow, if applicable."

In some guides it does und in some guides it does not.

[Than]

Yes. Weapon Focus: Mind Blade also gives you Weapon Focus: Mind Arrow.

Mind Blade = Mind Arrow.

Weapon Specialization: Mind Blade also gives you the feat for Mind Arrow.

Any feat that works only for Mind Blade also works for Mind Arrow.

[Sovereign88]

Sweet! Thanks for the reply, Than.

One more thing. Could a Mind Arrow be used with an actual bow?

"As a free action, you can create a semisolid arrow composed of psychic energy...... The bolt is identical in all ways (except visually) to an arrow shot from a composite longbow."

The arrows are merely created.

One could argue that "except visually" means it has different physical attributes (e.g. no feathers, no tip, no nock, etc). Or it just looks differently (e.g. shining blue). Any thoughts on that?.

[Gerrtt]

No, it's not so much an actual arrow/bolt as it is a blast of psychic energy. I don't see anything in the ability description that indicates that you can use it with an actual bow.

I do find it silly that you can use the mind arrow enhancement ability to give it returning though...especially since mind arrows dissipate after one round.

[Psyren]

I don't see anything in the ability description that indicates that you can use it with an actual bow.

It's "identical in all ways, except visually" to an arrow. Thus you can shoot it out of a bow by RAW.

It's a bit cheesy (or perhaps I should say unintended) with magical bows but it does work.

[KillingAScarab]

Check out RMS Oceanic's soulbow handbook: How to Kill a Yak... With MIND BULLETS (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=275200). It acknowledges that there are downsides to not being able to use an actual bow, but this is my favorite part of it (other than the title).


The third is the unique one: Lucky. To be specific, Lucky is a +1 ability the Soulknife and Soulbow can apply to their weapons, allowing a rerolling of the attack roll once a day. For a sword or a bow, it doesn't sound very interesting. You're not putting it on a bow however, you're putting it on an arrow. Each arrow you sling with an in-built way to reroll a bad attack enhances your accuracy on an unusually reliable way.

It also makes a case for benefiting from two-weapon fighting since you shoot a mind arrow out of a hand. It's acknowledged that not every DM is going to give you that one, but oh, how sweet it is if they do.

[Gerrtt]

It's "identical in all ways, except visually" to an arrow. Thus you can shoot it out of a bow by RAW.

It's a bit cheesy (or perhaps I should say unintended) with magical bows but it does work.

If you want to be that specific it requires a free hand to create and project the arrow, but it requires two hands to use a bow. How can you project the arrow if your hands are wrapped up using the bow? You could argue that the bow projects the arrow, but the ability specifically says you do (with your free hand).

So, yes, it's identical in all ways to an arrow except visually (and that it's semisolid and composed of psychic energy distilled from your mind, again, specifically in the description) and without a free hand you can't project it.