Psion Prestige Class : Illumine Soul
"Know what you want, focus on that desire, reach out to the Positive as well as within to your power, and forge a thing of pure beauty." -Dinelen Tiriandara, an illumine soul
The illumine soul is a living conduit of positive energy. He is able to forge a blade of semisolid psychic energy and infuse it with the essence of the Positive Energy Plane to deal lethal strikes to undead opponents. As an illumine soul practices this unique talent, he learns to fill up his being with the power of the Positive Energy Plane, becoming a light in the darkness and turning undead away from his radiance.
Desirous of something more than raw psychic energy, an illumine soul learns to reach behind the sky and form a mental link with the Positive Energy Plane. He entwines this energy with that of his own psionic mastery to create a formidable weapon of brilliance that extinguishes all shadows. Whether multiclass or single-classed, illumine souls must have some levels in the soulknife class, since it is that class from which they gain some of their necessary requirements. However, while soulknives focus on working with pure psychic energy, illumine souls infuse their mind blade (and mind and body as well) with positive energy. While not necessarily interested in or beholden to divine agencies, illumine souls focus a portion of their studies on religious matters to better understand the source of power drawn upon by clerics and paladins.
Requirements
To qualify to become an Illumine Soul, a character must fulfill all the following criteria:
- Alignment: Any non-evil
- Skills: Knowledge (psionics) 8 ranks, Knowledge (religion) 4 ranks.
- Special: Mind blade, psychic strike +1d8.
Class Skills
The illume soul's class skills are Autohypnosis, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Heal, Hide, Jump, Knowledge (psionics), Knowledge (religion), Listen, Move Silently, Profession, Spot, and Tumble.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Class Features
All the following are class features of the illumine soul prestige class. An illumine soul focuses mainly on his ability to channel positive energy through his mind blade as well as his body.
Positive Energy Conduit (Su): At 1st level, you forge a permanent link with the Positive Energy Plane that charges your psychic strike with positive energy. This link allows you to deal damage to undead (both intelligent and mindless) using your psychic strike.
Improved Mind Blade (Ex): You add your illumine soul levels to your levels in the soulknife class to determine your mind blade's enhancement bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls and the mind blade enhancement class feature you have as a soulknife. In addition, you can add ghost touch to the list of weapon special abilities you can choose from.
Psychic Strike (Su): This ability functions like the soulknife ability of the same name. The extra damage dealt increases by 1d8 points at 1st and 4th levels. The bonuses on damage stack with psychic strike bonuses from your soulknife class levels.
Positive Energy Ray (Ps): At 2nd level, you can project a ray of positive energy from your mind blade that deals damage (on a successful ranged touch attack) to any undead creature within 60 feet that it strikes. It takes a standard action to project a positive energy ray, and the ray deals 2d6 points of damage for every class level you have. You can project such a ray a number of times per day equal to your illumine soul class level.
Death Ward (Ps): When you expend your psionic focus, you gain protection against the powers of undeath for 1 minute. While enjoying this protection, you are immune to all magical and psionic death effects, energy drain, and any negative energy effects. This ability doesn't remove negative levels that you have already gained, nor does it affect the saving throw you must make 24 hours after gaining a negative level.
Undead Mind Bane (Su): At 3rd level, your mind blade becomes permanently enhanced with the undead bane weapon special ability. This weapon enhancement remains constant, despite any other changes or modifications you might make to your mind blade (for instance, using the mind blade enhancement ability of the soulknife).
Positive Energy Healing (Su): When you reach 4th level, your connection with the Positive Energy Plane provides you with a healing ability that you can use on yourself once per day. This healing kicks in automatically (without any action on your part) on the first occasion in a 24-hour span when your hit points drop to 0 or lower. When this occurs, a flood of positive energy discharges through the conduit you maintain with the Positive Energy Plane and instantly heals 5d8+5 points of damage. This healing is timely enough to keep you alive if the amount of damage you just took was otherwise enough to kill you, assuming that the healing you receive leaves your current hit points at -9 or higher.
Positive Energy Flare (Ps): Upon reaching 5th level, you can take a standard action and expend your psionic focus to radiate positive energy that deals damage to all undead within 30 feet of you. You deal 2d6 points of damage for every class level you have to all undead within range. The affected undead get a Will save (DC 10 + your illumine soul level + Cha modifier) for half damage.
| Illumine Soul | Hit Die: d10 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CL | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special |
| 1st | +0 | +2 | +0 | +2 | Positive energy conduit, improved mind blade, psychic strike +1d8 |
| 2nd | +1 | +3 | +0 | +3 | Positive energy ray, death ward |
| 3rd | +2 | +3 | +1 | +3 | Undead mind bane |
| 4th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Positive energy healing, psychic strike +2d8 |
| 5th | +3 | +4 | +1 | +4 | Positive energy flare |
Playing An Illumine Soul
Forging a link with the Positive Energy Plane is only the first step of your mission. Once that link is complete, your goal is to actively seek out and destroy undead every chance you get.
Past deeds and honors are of little consideration when it comes to combating these horrible creatures. Just as you don't rest on your past achievements in bringing undead to their final rest, you aren't concerned with an undead creature's accomplishments while it was still breathing. Neither are you worried about an undead's current activities or philosophical bent. When it comes to undead, there can be no middle ground-they must all be destroyed.
Becoming an illumine soul is a personal decision. There might exist small groups here and there of illumine souls who feel their goals are best served by organizing their activities instead of working individually, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Where such groups exist, their primary goal is typically eradicating undead, not recruiting and training new members.
Combat
In combat, use your mind blade to attack opponents, charging it up with a psychic strike once they have closed to melee range. As with a soulknife, you should attack with a psychic strike each round if possible.
You make a great ally for a fighter, rogue, or lurk - with your enhanced maneuverability (if you have taken ranks in the Tumble skill), you can make a point to set up flanking positions for additional attack bonuses. When undead are encountered at a distance not easily bridged, you can attack using your positive energy ray. If you come upon undead in a concentrated area, you can first use your positive energy flare to soften up the rotting opposition before you bring your mind blade to bear.
It isn't uncommon for you to join a group of adventurers on your quest. There is safety in numbers, and undead can be crafty in combat. The companions who suit you best are typically like-minded individuals: clerics, paladins, and ardents all make good adventuring companions. Beyond that, any good-aligned character can be helpful in combating undead (particularly intelligent ones).
Advancement
As you continue to progress, feats such as Psionic Weapon, Greater Psionic Weapon, and Deep Impact enhance your ability to deal massive damage in a single blow. You should also consider the feats that work specifically with the mind blade, such as Mind Cleave and Mind Empowerment. While these feats are less effective against undead, they can prove useful against any other foes you face. Iris important to remember that, even though much of your energy is devoted to fighting undead, other challenges will materialize, some of which might be the living stooges of hidden undead masters. It is best to be prepared for a wide range of possibilities.
Resources
Illumine souls frequently find themselves welcome in the churches of various religions that are devoted to the destruction of undead (which is most every good-aligned religion). It isn't uncommon for you to expect free room and board from these groups, and possibly even a small discount on healing services or the purchase of holy water.
Illumine Souls In The World
"Next time that Dinelen what's-his-name comes snooping around my bonefield, he'll discover a few changes I've implemented, to his peril." -Dagnarth Vellanium, disgruntled necromancer
Any campaign in which undead are an important element is one that would benefit from the inclusion of an illumine soul. An illumine soul meshes well in a group that contains strongly aligned good characters. On the other hand, ardents, clerics, and paladins have their own ideas about where their powers originate that can be at odds with an illumine soul's understanding. Except for a burning curiosity about the order of the planes, particularly the Positive Energy Plane, illumine souls are not particularly religious folk. They tend to take an explanatory, atheistic view of how clerics are granted their powers. They do know that it isn't always healthy to be particularly vocal regarding these beliefs, and they have enough respect for the religiously inclined to keep the commentary to a minimum.
Despite discretion, however, an illumine soul's beliefs on philosophical level can still ignite occasional arguments on the nature of divinity, life, and the role of the Positive Energy Plane.
Organization
Illumine souls are usually ambivalent about the idea of joining an organization. They assert that deities are merely powerful beings who have better conduits to the Positive Energy Plane than an illumine soul does - which doesn't win them too many votes for entry into religious establishments. However, several organizations exist whose charter is concerned only with cleansing undead from the world. Illumine souls are welcome in such places. They are particularly welcome in the organization known as the Hall of the Illumine, which vaguely resembles a secular knighthood. Members are recruited from among like-minded soulknives and trained in the hall.
The training performed by the hall is governed by a headmaster and several knights. Once his training is complete, an illumine soul is free to leave (and in fact, is encouraged to do so) and begin destroying undead.
NPC Reactions
Both those affiliated with good-aligned religious organizations and dedicated scholars of psionics are familiar with the existence of illumine souls. Good-aligned NPCs who know of the prestige class and its fight against undead have a starting attitude of friendly toward such a character and his allies, especially if he or his friends are currently being afflicted by the undead. At the same time, necromancers and evil-aligned religious organizations who specialize in death (or undeath directly) are hostile toward any illumine soul they encounter, and can be expected to attack at the first opportunity.
Illumine Soul Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (religion) or Knowledge (psionics) can research illumine souls to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.
- DC 10: Illumine souls - I think they have blades made of pure mental energy. They hate undead, too.
- DC 15: Illumine souls have a blade composed both of their own mental energy and energy drawn from the Positive Energy Plane.
- DC 20: Illumine souls have forged personal links to the Positive Energy Plane. Besides enhancing their mind blades with the energy, they can fire rays, heal themselves, and protect themselves from the powers of undead foes.
Illumine Souls In Your Game
It shouldn't be difficult to find a place for illumine soul in a campaign world, given their penchant for destroying undead. Players who want to play a soulknife with a pseudo-religious bent might find the illumine soul prestige class to their liking.
Adaptation
As with the anarchic initiate, if a player wants to play an illumine soul in a campaign whose cosmology doesn't include the Positive Energy Plane, it is easy enough to change the focus of the character to a similar realm, life-affirming deity, or powerful item that encompasses light or life. For instance, in an EBERRON campaign, an illumine soul could be inspired by the plane of Irian, the Eternal Day.
Sample Encounter
Dinelen Tiriandara might engage a PC cleric or paladin in a religious debate, public or otherwise. He is also likely to be a good source of undead lore, as well as a trusted ally, should the need arise.
El 12: In one of their explorations below the earth, the PCs stumble onto a subterranean cemetery where bones are heaped high. Undead of various kinds also haunt the boneyard, and are soon encountered by the characters. Whether the PCs' strength is bolstered by the sudden appearance of Dinelen, or the PCs see Dinelen fighting a group of undead, this encounter serves as a good way to bring an illumine soul into the action.
Source: Complete Psionic