The Campaign Builder's Guild

The Soulblade is a magical soulknife - he doesn't use psionics, and can manifest any kind of weapon he wants. This is an attempt to bring the Soulknife up to scratch and also allow it to be used in campaigns without psionics.

HD: D10.
Class Skills: The soulbladeâ,¬,,¢s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at 1st level: 2 + Int Mod x4.
Skill Points at each additional level: 2 + Int Mod.

[class=Soulblade]
[bab=fighter]
[ref=good]
[will=good]
[special][1]Soulweapon, Weapon Focus (Soulweapon)[/1][2]Ranged Soulweapon[/2][3]Soulstrike +1D8[/3][4]+1 Enhancement[/4][5]Free Draw, Exotic Soulweapon, Split Soulweapon[/5][6]+2 Enhancement[/6][7]Soulstrike +2D8[/7][8]+3 Enhancement[/8][9]Greater Weapon Focus (Soulweapon)[/9][10]+4 Enhancement[/10][11]Soulstrike +3D8[/11][12]+5 Enhancement[/12][13]Weapon Specialisation (Soulweapon)[/13][14]+6 Enhancement[/14][15]Soulstrike +4D8[/15][16]+7 Enhancement[/16][17][/17][18]+8 Enhancement[/18][19]Soulstrike +5D8[/19][20]+9 Enhancement[/20][/special]
[/class]

Class Features
 
Weapon and Armour Proficiency: A Soulblade is proficient with all simple weapons and martial weapons, light armour and shields (except tower shields).

Soulweapon (Su): As a move action, a soulblade can create a semisolid blade composed of magical energy distilled from his own soul. The blade is identical in all ways (except visually) to any martial or simple melee weapon -without moving parts- which the Soulblade chooses when he manifests it. For instance, a Soulblade could create a longsword or shortsword, but not a flail or crossbow. The Soulweapon is identical to a normal weapon of its type (except visually) of a size appropriate to its wielder, and is considered a magic weapon for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. The Soulweapon gains the normal bonuses to attack and damage from a high strength bonus. It can be broken (it has hardness and hp equivalent to a normal weapon of its type) but the Soulblade can simply create a new one on his next move action. Powers and spells that affect weapons can be used on a Soulweapon, and feats such as power attack can be used in conjunction with it.
Even in places where magic effects do not normally function (such as within an antimagic field), a Soulblade can attempt to sustain his soulweapon by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the soulweapon is maintained for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again. On an unsuccessful attempt, the soulweapon vanishes. As a move action on his turn, the soulblade can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize his weapon while he remains within the antimagic effect. If a Soulblade drops or otherwise loses contact with his Mindweapon, it disappears.

Weapon Focus (Soulweapon): The Soulblade gains Weapon Focus (Soulweapon) as a bonus feat at first level. At 9th level he also gains Greater Weapon Focus (Soulweapon). At 13th level, he gains Weapon Specialisation (Soulweapon).

Ranged Soulweapon: At 2nd level, a Soulblade can create a ranged soulweapon and throw melee ones. He can now throw those Soulweapons with range increments (see PHb) as normal. He can also create ranged soulweapons, which function as normal (they still cannot have moving parts, except for strings). Ranged soulweapons (such as bows) have an infinite supply of ammunition which disappears after hitting (or missing) the target, and only appears when the Soulblade draws the string (or readies his weapon to use, if its a sling).

Soulstrike (Su): As a move action, a soulblade of 3rd level or higher can imbue his Soulweapon with destructive magical energy. This effect deals an extra 1d8 points of damage to the next living, nonmindless target he successfully hits with a melee attack (or ranged attack, if he is using a ranged soulweapon or throwing a melee one). Creatures immune to mind-affecting effects are immune to Soulstrike damage. (Unlike the rogue's sneak attack, the Soulstrike is not precision damage and can affect creatures otherwise immune to extra damage from critical hits or more than 30 feet away, provided they are living, nonmindless creatures not immune to mind-affecting effects.)
A mind blade deals this extra damage only once when this ability is called upon, but a soulblade can imbue his soulweapon with energy again by taking another move action.
Once a soulweapon has prepared his blade for a psychic strike, it holds the extra energy until it is used. Even if the soulblade drops the soulweapon (or it otherwise dissipates, such as when it is thrown and misses), it is still imbued with energy when the soulblade next creates it.
At every four levels beyond 3rd (7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th), the extra damage from a soulblade's Soulstrike increases as shown on the Table above.

Enhancement: Beginning at 4th level and every even level afterward, the Soulblade's Soulweapon gains a cumulative +1 enhancement bonus. This can be used as an actual enhancement bonus (see the DMG for more details) or it can be swopped out for enchantments. The enchantments a Soulblade can apply are as follows:

Bane             +1
Distance**       +1
Defending        +1
Keen            +1
Mighty cleaving    +1
Vicious            +1
Flaming          +1
Wounding         +2
Flaming Burst    +2
Anarchic*        +2
Axiomatic*       +2
Holy*            +2
Unholy*          +2
Speed            +3
Brilliant Energy +4

*This augmentation can only be applied by a Soulblade with the relevant alignment.
**This augmentation can only be applied to ranged Soulweapons.

Free Draw: At 5th level, a soulblade becomes able to materialize his soulweapon as a free action instead of a move action. He can make only one attempt to materialize the Soulweapon per round, however.

Exotic Soulweapon: At 5th level, the Soulblade becomes capable of creating an exotic soulweapon of any type that he is proficient with. It acts as a normal soulweapon in all respects. He still cannot create weapons with moving parts.

Split Soulweapon: At 5th level, the Soulblade can split his Soulweapon in half. He must divide any enhancement bonuses between the two, and they must both be of the same type - for instance, he could create two shortswords or two daggers. He is considered to have the Two Weapon Fighting feat whilst using his Soulblades in this way (but not if using other weapons unless he takes the feat).

This is mechanically more rigid than the soulknife and there really isn't much of a reason to see the class all the way to level 20. Which could be your intent. Personally, I've always seen the Soulknife a prestige class. Level 17 could have Greater Weapon Specialization (Soulweapon), and that helps a bit. It would'nt unbalance anything. Also, giving it a hexblade-like spell list would balance it out as well.

Aha. I was gonna add Greater Weapon Specialisation in...

I mean, the Soulknife is horribly weak, but... what if I added in the normal extra Soulknife abilities? At the moment they can basically get a vorpal +4 longsword, add +5D8 to an attack and then get a +2 and +1 on attack and damage...

And this is all without paying, and changeable over 8 hours...

Eh... I'd limit the soulweapon more... At the moment what is really making this class remotely unbalaced is the ability to generate reach weapons at will, for free. I mean, you can do some nasty things, but not really anything out of reach of a fighter or soulknife.

Let me ask you something, from a maximizer's viewpoint, would you take soulknife if it had a full BAB?

Personally, I wouldn't, from a maximizer's view... Soulknife's problem is that it is extremely rigid and make the abilities remotely near a reasonable power level (particularly at higher levels) you have to have full levels in soulknife. Look at the ultimate classes on Wizards. What they did balanced out the class.

Just limit the maximum soulstrike to your Int mod. That will essentially force them to divide their stats in an unoptimal way for a straight combat character.

Also, I'd drop the the ranged weapon thing. It's more a personal touch than anything.

Okay. :)