Karath-nulah (Weapon of the Heart)

Posted by EarthDragon on 23rd December 2016.

A karath-nulah recognizes that their own mind (though they think of it as their “heart”) is the most beautiful—and the most deadly—thing in all creation. With this understanding and through extended practice, a karath-nulah learns to forge their mental strength into a shimmering blade of semisolid psychic energy. Each karath-nulah’s personal blade, referred to as a karatha, differs in colour and shape according to their personality, mental strength, and even mood. Although no two karatha look alike, all share the same lethal qualities. Because karath-nulah turn the power of their minds to such weaponry, they are notorious for their violence.

  Adventures

While caution and forethought go into a karath-nulah’s preparation for adventure, most have a hard time restraining their natural bravado and showmanship. After all, how many adventurers can dispatch opponents with a blade materialized from pure thought? Thus, for many karath-nulah, adventuring presents an opportunity to do what they love most: Wield the idealized blade wrought of their innermost desires.

  Alignment

Despite their inborn showmanship, karath-nulah are often lawful, utilizing a disciplined mindset to idealize and materialize their mind blades. Chaotic-aligned karath-nulah rely on strength of spirit instead of rigid discipline to materialize their mind blades. Characters who are neutral with respect to law and chaos rarely become karath-nulah.

  Background

More than any other psionic class, the karath-nulah fights with psionic power directly in both melee and ranged combat. Strength, combat prowess, and psionic talent allow the karath-nulah to claim equal footing—at least—with any other combat-oriented class on the field of battle.

  Races

The inborn gift for psionics is unpredictable, and it can show up in any of the common races. Of the races with a penchant for psionic ability, elan and gith seem especially likely to end up as karath-nulah. Among all other creatures, virtually no opportunity for karath-nulah training is available, though some manage to either find an isolated master or learn the techniques on their own.

  Other Classes

Karath-nulah are most comfortable with those who have similarly aggressive bents, such as noh-li, freth-yarl, and ravenna. They are less comfortable with ghul-yarl (perhaps due to a feeling of competition), fedaykin, spellcasters, terran-rah, and wilders, though a karath-nulah can discipline himself to manage most any relationship.

  Game Rule Information

  Abilities

Strength is an ideal ability for a karath-nulah, augmenting his melee prowess. Dexterity provides better defence and bonuses on ranged attacks, and is useful in the arts of stealth, at which many karath-nulah excel. Constitution upgrades the karath-nulah’s toughness.

  Alignment

Any.

  Vitality Points

d10.

  Class Skills

The karath-nulahs class skills (and the key ability for each skill)’are Autohypnosis (Wis), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (psionics) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Spot (Wis), and Tumble (Dex).

  Skill Points at 1st Level

(4 + Int modifier) x 4.

  Skill Points at Each Additional Level

4 + Int modifier.

  Class Features

All of the following are class features of the karath-nulah.

  Weapon and Armour Proficiency

Karath-nulah are proficient with all simple weapons, with their own mind blades, and with light armour and shields (except tower shields).

  Mind Blade (Su)

As a move action, a karath-nulah can create a semisolid blade composed of psychic energy distilled from their own mind. The blade is identical in all ways (except visually) to a short sword of a size appropriate for its wielder. For instance, a Medium karath-nulah materializes a Medium mind blade that he can wield as a light weapon, and the blade deals 1d6 points of damage (crit 19–20/×2). Karath-nulah who are smaller or larger than Medium create mind blades identical to short swords appropriate for their size, with a corresponding change to the blade’s damage (see Table 7–4 and Table 7–5 in the Player’s Handbook). The wielder of a mind blade gains the usual benefits to his attack roll and damage roll from a high Strength bonus. The blade can be broken (it has hardness 10 and 10 hit points); however, a karath-nulah can simply create another on his next move action. The moment he relinquishes his grip on his blade, it dissipates (unless he intends to throw it; see below). A mind blade is considered a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. A karath-nulah can use feats such as Power Attack or Combat Expertise in conjunction with the mind blade just as if it were a normal weapon. He can also choose mind blade for feats requiring a specific weapon choice, such as Weapon Specialization. Powers or spells that upgrade weapons can be used on a mind blade. A karath-nulah’s mind blade improves as the character gains higher levels. At 4th level and every four levels thereafter, the mind blade gains a cumulative +1 enhancement bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls (+2 at 8th level, +3 at 12th level, +4 at 16th level, and +5 at 20th level). Even in places where psionic effects do not normally function (such as within a null psionics field), a karath-nulah can attempt to sustain his mind blade by making a DC 20 Will save. On a successful save, the karath-nulah maintains his mind blade for a number of rounds equal to his class level before he needs to check again. On an unsuccessful attempt, the mind blade vanishes. As a move action on his turn, the karath-nulah can attempt a new Will save to rematerialize his mind blade while he remains within the psionics-negating effect.

  Weapon Focus (Mind Blade)

A karath-nulah gains Weapon Focus (mind blade) as a bonus feat.

  Wild Talent

A karath-nulah gains Wild Talent as a bonus feat. (This class feature provides the character with the psionic power he needs to materialize his mind blade, if he has no power points otherwise).

  Throw Mind Blade (Ex)

A karath-nulah of 2nd level or higher can throw his mind blade as a ranged weapon with a range increment of 30 feet. Whether or not the attack hits, a thrown mind blade then dissipates. A karath-nulah of 3rd level or higher can make a psychic strike (see below) with a thrown mind blade and can use the blade in conjunction with other special abilities (such as Knife to the Soul; see below).

  Psychic Strike (Su)

As a move action, a karath-nulah of 3rd level or higher can imbue his mind blade with destructive psychic energy. This effect deals an extra 1d8 points of damage to the next living, non-mindless target he successfully hits with a melee attack (or ranged attack, if he is using the throw mind blade ability). Creatures immune to mind-affecting effects are immune to psychic strike damage. (Unlike the rogue’s sneak attack, the psychic strike 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, non-mindless creatures not immune to mind-affecting effects.) A mind blade deals this extra damage only once when this ability is called upon, but a karath-nulah can imbue his mind blade with psychic energy again by taking another move action. Once a karath-nulah has prepared his blade for a psychic strike, it holds the extra energy until it is used. Even if the karath-nulah drops the mind blade (or it otherwise dissipates, such as when it is thrown and misses), it is still imbued with psychic energy when the karath-nulah next materializes it. At every four levels beyond 3rd (7th, 11th, 15th, and 19th), the extra damage from a karath-nulah’s psychic strike increases as shown on the second table below.

  Free Draw (Su)

At 5th level, a karath-nulah becomes able to materialize his mind blade as a free action instead of a move action. He can make only one attempt to materialize the mind blade per round, however (if, for example, he must make a Will save to materialize it within a null psionics field).

  Shape Mind Blade (Su)

At 5th level, a karath-nulah gains the ability to change the form of his mind blade. As a full round action, he can change his mind blade to replicate a longsword (damage 1d8 for a Medium weapon wielded as a one-handed weapon) or a bastard sword (damage 1d10 for a Medium weapon, but he must wield it as a two-handed weapon unless he knows the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword) feat). If a karath-nulah shapes his mind blade into the form of a bastard sword and wields it two-handed, he adds 1-1/2 times his Strength bonus to his damage rolls, just like when using any other two-handed weapon. Alternatively, a karath-nulah can split his mind blade into two identical short swords, suitable for fighting with a weapon in each hand. (The normal penalties for fighting with two weapons apply.) However, both mind blades have an enhancement bonus 1 lower than the karath-nulah would otherwise create with a single mind blade. For example, a 12th-level karath-nulah normally creates a single +3 mind blade, but he could use this ability to instead materialize two +2 mind blades.

  Mind Blade Enhancement

At 6th level, a karath-nulah gains the ability to enhance his mind blade. He can add any one of the weapon special abilities on the table below that has an enhancement bonus value of +1. At every four levels beyond 6th (10th, 14th, and 18th), the value of the enhancement a karath-nulah can add to his weapon improves to +2, +3, and +4, respectively. A karath-nulah can choose any combination of weapon special abilities that does not exceed the total allowed by the karath-nulah’s level. For example, an 18th-level karath-nulah could add two +2 weapon special abilities, or one +1 weapon ability and one +3 weapon ability. The weapon ability or abilities remain the same every time the karath-nulah materializes his mind blade (unless he decides to reassign its abilities; see below). The ability or abilities apply to any form the mind blade takes, including the use of the shape mind blade or bladewind class abilities. A karath-nulah can reassign the ability or abilities he has added to his mind blade. To do so, he must first spend 8 hours in concentration. After that period, the mind blade materializes with the new ability or abilities selected by the karath-nulah. For example, a 10th-level karath-nulah might have initially chosen to imbue his weapon with psychokinetic burst, a +2 weapon special ability. Every time he materializes the weapon, it is a +2 psychokinetic burst mind blade. However, on learning that he may face a mind flayer the next day, he could take 8 hours to change his mind blade’s special ability from psychokinetic burst to mindcrusher.

  Speed of Thought

A karath-nulah gains Speed of Thought as a bonus feat at 6th level.

  Bladewind (Su)

At 9th level, a karath-nulah gains the ability to momentarily fragment his mind blade into numerous identical blades, each of which strikes at a nearby opponent. As a full attack, when wielding his mind blade, a karath-nulah can give up his regular attacks and instead fragment his mind blade to make one melee attack at his full base attack bonus against each opponent within reach. Each fragment functions identically to the karath-nulah’s regular mind blade. (For example, if the mind blade were in the form of a +1 keen bastard sword, due to the karath-nulah’s mind blade enhancement and shape mind blade abilities, each fragment attacks and deals damage as a +1 keen bastard sword.) When using bladewind, a karath-nulah forfeits any bonus or extra attacks granted by other feats or abilities (such as the Cleave feat or the haste spell). The mind blade immediately reverts to its previous form after the bladewind attack.

  Greater Weapon Focus (Mind Blade):

A karath-nulah gains Greater Weapon Focus (mind blade) as a bonus feat at 9th level.

  Knife to the Soul (Su)

Beginning at 13th level, when a karath-nulah executes a psychic strike, he can choose to substitute Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma damage (his choice) for extra dice of damage. For each die of extra damage he gives up, he deals 1 point of damage to the ability score he chooses. A karath-nulah can combine extra dice of damage and ability damage in any combination, so a 19th-level karath-nulah could choose to strike for 3 points of Charisma damage and an extra 2d6 points of damage. The karath-nulah decides which ability score his psychic strike damages and the division of ability damage and extra dice of damage when he imbues his mind blade with the psychic strike energy.

  Multiple Throw (Ex)

At 17th level and higher, a karath-nulah can throw a number of mind blades per round equal to the number of melee attacks he could make. Thus, a 17th-level karath-nulah could throw two mind blades, with a base attack bonus of +12/+7. If he had used shape mind blade to materialize a mind blade for each hand and thus fight with two weapons, he could throw four mind blades in a round.

  Ex-Members

There are no special restrictions on karath-nulah or rules concerning them losing class features due to transgressions.

* Base attack bonuses are handled differently for epic characters.

** Save bonuses are handled differently for epic characters.