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Hi
I got a few questions about the Shielded Blade archetype for the Soulknife (Psionic Unleashed) and hope someone can help me.
There are just a few things I'm not quite clear on, I'll try to structure it into separate questions.
Since the character is for an E6 game, I'm going to look at examples at level 6 mostly, but most of them are general questions.
a) At 6th level a Shielded Blade (SB) can enhance her Mind Shield (MS) with a +2, correct? Together with the Improved MS blade skill that be a +5 to AC total?
b) As the SB gets the MS blade skill for free, does that +2 bonus apply always, even when the Mind Blade (MB) is not formed? Even when sleeping or flatfooted? Would he only get the +2, +3 from Improved Mind Shield or the whole +5?
b2) If not, what action is it to form the MS?
c) What happens if the SB has her MS formed and then decides to grab the 1-handed Mind Blade with both hands for higher strength/PA damage? Not possible to do at all because she's wearing a Heavy Shield after all, or does the Mind Shield simply vanishes for this round? When does it come back? Once the hand is free once again?
d) In case c) is impossible to do, can the SB decide to use only the base Mind Shield blade skill and not the Form Mind Shield ability? Aka just get the +2/+3 but not the enhancement, but not actually be treated as if wielding a heavy shield.
e) When the MS and the MB are formed at the same time, it states the enhancement bonus is 1 lower for the MB. Does this -1 penalty also apply to the Mind Shield? What would the enhancement bonuses at level 6 be? +1 on the blade, +2 on the shield, or +1 on both?
f) "a shielded blade can use the mind shield as if it was in all ways (except visually) a masterwork heavy steel shield". What does it look like then? Completely invisible? Translucent disc attached to the arm/hand? Blue glowing forcefield?
f2) I guess the same could be asked about the Mind Armor of the Armored Blade archetype.
Ok, I think those are most of my questions that had bothered me. I hope I'm not too confusing here.
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I'll try to answer these as best I can - this is a LOT of questions :)
a) Mind Shield (1st level) grants +2. Improved Mind Shield (2nd level) improves that by 1. Enhanced Mind Blade grants a +2 at 6th level with a Max Enhancement +2, so yes, you could have a +5 to your AC from the shield bonus at 6th level.
b) This is the relevant part: "All blade skills may only be chosen once and require the soulknife to be using her mind blade unless otherwise stated in the skill's description." In this case, it says as long as she has a hand free, but it does not specify the blade does not need to be formed. The intention is that they are both out. I might alter that wording to be a little clearer, but you have to have the mind blade out, too.
c) She no longer has a hand free, so she loses the shield bonus to AC. All of the shield bonus.
c) No. It's one of the (minor) drawbacks of the class - you get a much stronger shield, but you lose some of the flexibility of the original blade skill.
e) No, the Mind Shield keeps the full bonus. +1 blade, +2 shield.
f) Whatever you want it to look like, as long as it resembles some sort of shield. Just like a mind blade can look like a fish with a sharp edge if you really wanted it to.
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Here's a question for you Jeremy, just to be sure.
When a Soul Blade, or Soul Blade Variant, chooses a power for their weapon/shield/armor that stays put.
It is not just that they can switch it at will, they have the Bashing Enhancement bonus, then turn it off to do the Ghost Touch, etc?
One of the consistent issues I've run up against are those who switch what powers their blades, etc
Configuring the special abilities on mind blade / armor / shield is not an at-will ability.
"A soulknife can reassign the ability or abilities she has added to her mind blade; see below. To do so, she must first spend 8 hours in concentration. These cannot be the normal 8 hours used for rest, even if the soulknife does not require sleep. After that period, the mind blade materializes with the new ability or abilities selected by the soulknife."
The exception to this is the Fluid Form blade skill, which imposes a cumulative -1 penalty on the enhancement bonus every time it is used to reconfigure the special abilities.
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Ancient spirits of FAQ, transform this decayed thread, to Thread-Ra—the ever posting!
Q: The shielded blade's form mind shield ability states: "A shielded blade still applies the shield's shield bonus to her AC when performing a shield bash."
Does this count as Improved Shield Bash for purposes of feat requirements? Or do shielded blades need to take that (useless, to them) feat in order to take additional shield combat feats?
Ancient spirits of FAQ, transform this decayed thread, to Thread-Ra—the ever posting!
Q: The shielded blade's form mind shield ability states: "A shielded blade still applies the shield's shield bonus to her AC when performing a shield bash."
Does this count as Improved Shield Bash for purposes of feat requirements? Or do shielded blades need to take that (useless, to them) feat in order to take additional shield combat feats?
It wouldn't be the first time a class gave an ability which made a feat redundant. RAW it still needs the feat.