Character Help: Illumian Soulknife build

[bkdubs123]

I find it pretty morally reprehensible of the GM to force players into 6 random class levels so as to "ensure no min-maxing," while knowing that such random characters might be so poorly constructed as to be forced to min-max if only to be at all effective...

[Unbeliever]

I find it pretty morally reprehensible of the GM to force players into 6 random class levels so as to "ensure no min-maxing," while knowing that such random characters might be so poorly constructed as to be forced to min-max if only to be at all effective...

+1 

I occasionally like to, y'know, create the character I'm playing.  It will also wreck interparty balance.  And, it just creates this weird situation where you have to optimize around the goddamn classes you're forced to take.  Hence, the ur-priest, chamelen, and so on suggestions. 

[CantripN]

I'll even add in the option for Beholder Mage. In this situation, it seems about right.

[Saxony]

Can you guys stop bitching and help already?

Unfortunately, I don't know anything about those classes except for the following.

If you go into Soulbow, and use the Lucky enhancement for your Mind Arrows, you will have a reroll for every one of your attacks in case they miss. The Lucky enchancement only works once per day, but every time you attack, you are creating a new weapon with a brand new charge for using the Lucky ability.

So that will help out your accuracy. It's a little cheesy, but you're a Soulbow, so it's really just evening the odds and it's completely legit as far as following rules go.

You could also possibly take many levels the Kensai prestige class from Complete Warrior to buff up your Mind Arrows more. You could also take the Ancestral Relic feat from Book of Exalted Deeds. Or take a single level in Samurai base class from Oriental Adventures and use their Ancestral Daisho ability. The Oriental Adventures Samurai is much different from the Complete Warrior Samurai. The Complete Warrior version sucks ass and doesn't get the Ancestral Daisho ability.

Or do all three and get an uber weapon. However, both the Kensai and Oriental Adventures Samurai have strict codes of conduct. Sort of the like the Paladin. Your character would be quite restricted, twice over. I'm not sure if the Ancestral Relic feat also has a code of conduct, but it might. Just so you know.

Good luck.

[Mixster]

Level adjustment buy-off in effect? Then this is piece of cake:

Divine Minion 1 (bought off)/Soulknife 2/Beholder Mage 3/Incantatrix 1/Lurk 1.
You'll need to use Aberrant wild shape from Lord of Madness, you also needs assume supernatural ability, which you will retrain into the better metamorphic transfer at level 6 where you grab practiced manifest. If this isn't allowed, you will need 6 levels of Master of Many forms, and would be better of being an Ur-Priest.
Ok, so the build goes as follows: You cast about as well as an 8th level wizard, but you shore up a bunch of weird abilities from your other classes, making you able to do a bunch of weird stuff.

Alternatively:
Ghost Savage Progression 2 (bought off)/Soulknife 2/Lurk 2/Whatever you fancy 3 (probably soulbow). Your race is probably grey elf, but other kinds of elves are fine too. You are indesribably old, (so +3 to all physical stats), and you are of course a faerie mystery initiate. Your ghost was created in a desecrated zone by some dude with the Corpse Crafter feat. You put your highest stat in int (assuming it is an 18), you will be having D12+9HP per level. As well as being incorporeal. Your main attack will be telekinesis, but you will do all that jazz with black lotus covered stuff that you picked up with hidden talent.
You could take all 4 levels of the ghost savage progression.

If you really want to be the main line fighter, you could do something with a Half-minotaur so you will at least have huge stats, then you don't need to worry that much about BAB.

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Can you get the LA+1 alternate illumian instead?

That could vastly improve your character.

[CantripN]

Another thing I can see working for you is Bloodlines, given the number of classes. Not sure it's a good idea, but it can work.

[Mixster]

Can you get the LA+1 alternate illumian instead?

That could vastly improve your character.

What do you prefer from it? Going with loads of Zill runes to get a bunch of sneak attack damage? (IIRC taking just Zill runes give you +8 sneak attack dice on level 10).

Or would you just take a level of druid, and then add Sheleash twice, to get +8 to your animal companion?

A Divine Minion (old school) Illumian with 1 level of druid and 4 junk levels could actually be a decent Tier 3-4 build, with Sheleash twice or better yet, just divine minion illumian with aberrant wild shape and shel shel shel shel would make you able to turn into an eye tyrant IIRC.

[awaken DM golem]

Lurk 1 with the True Thief acf gets Trapfinding.
That's at least useful.

Soulknife 2 / UrPriest X / Soulbow 1
... is a quick and dirty "good" soulknife build.

idk Savant , you could (should) put it off 'til you're better 

[The_Mad_Linguist]

Can you get the LA+1 alternate illumian instead?

That could vastly improve your character.

What do you prefer from it? Going with loads of Zill runes to get a bunch of sneak attack damage? (IIRC taking just Zill runes give you +8 sneak attack dice on level 10).

Or would you just take a level of druid, and then add Sheleash twice, to get +8 to your animal companion?

A Divine Minion (old school) Illumian with 1 level of druid and 4 junk levels could actually be a decent Tier 3-4 build, with Sheleash twice or better yet, just divine minion illumian with aberrant wild shape and shel shel shel shel would make you able to turn into an eye tyrant IIRC.

I'm pretty sure that you're only supposed to be able to take each sigil once.

[Lycarn]

SO! I talked to one of the other players and traded savant to him for Ranger.

So now I have a little more BAB and flexibility.


Level   Class   BaB   Fort   Ref   Will   Feat   Class Ability
1   Soulknife   0   0   2   2   Improved Sigil (Aesh)   Mind Blade, Weapon Focus (Mind Blade), Hidden Talent (Dimension Hop)
2   Soulknife   1   0   3   3      Throw Mind Blade
3   Soulknife   2   1   3   3   Improved Buckler Defense   Bonus Feat (Power Attack)
4   Ranger   3   3   5   3      Track, Wild Empathy, Favoured Enemy (Arcane Hunter)
5   Soulknife   4   3   6   4      +1 Mind Blade
6   Ranger   5   4   7   4   Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Two-Bladed Sword)   Two-Weapon Fighting
7   Warblade   6   6   7   4      Battle Clarity (Reflex Saves), Weapon aptitude
8   Shadow Sentinel   7   8   9   4      Umbral Blade +1, Morphic Blade (type), shadowstrike
9   Shadow Sentinel   8   9   10   4   Improved Two-Weapon Fighting   Shadowbane
10   Shadow Sentinel   9   9   10   5      Shadowsharp
11   Lurk   9   9   12   7      Bonus Feat
12   Lurk   10   9   13   8   Improved Critical (Two-Bladed Sword)   Psionic Sneak attack +1d6
13   Shadow Sentinel   11   10   14   8      Umbral Blade +2
14   Shadow Sentinel   12   10   14   8      Morphic Blade (Material)
15   Shadow Sentinel   13   11   15   9   Greater Two-Weapon Fighting   Umbral Blade +3
16   Shadow Sentinel   14   11   15   9      Shadow Drain
17   Shadow Sentinel   15   12   16   9      Umbral Blade +4
18   Shadow Sentinel   16   12   16   10   Two-Weapon Rend   Morphic Blade (alignment)
19   Shadow Sentinel   17   13   17   10      Umbral Blade +5
20   Warblade   18   14   17   10      Uncanny Dodge

This is currently what my build is looking like. My DM is letting me use the whole Two-bladed sword as my Umbral weapon so both ends will have the +5 bonus. If anyone has any suggestions on this one I'm all ears.

Also Two-bladed sword could be changed to any slashing double weapon.

[Mixster]

Also Two-bladed sword could be changed to any slashing double weapon.

Hmm, so you could be a bladebearer of the Valenar? There's a Revenant blade PrC, that makes fighting with a double scimitar quite good. Here's a handbook for it: http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/19872270/The_Revenant_Blade_Handbook
It, among others, grant you Improved Critical, Spring Attack, Great Cleave and Blind-Fight (or improved trip).

The PrC is a decent sneak, and a decent combat monster.

It does require you to be elf though, unless you can somehow have that requirement waived.

I'm pretty sure that you're only supposed to be able to take each sigil once.

I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to take it in the first place. But it actually doesn't mention what you can and cannot do. Still what would you get? To me it just seems like a dude who gets some sneak attack and some better saves for free, not all that for +1 LA. Better than standard illumian, but not that powerful.