Some soulknives choose to focus on both offense and defense, splitting the energy of their mind blade into a sword and a shield.
Class Features
A Shielded Blade does not gain the Bonus Feat class feature.
Form Mind Shield
At 1st level, a shielded blade gains the Mind Shield blade skill, gaining a +2 shield bonus to AC as long as she has a hand free. Unlike any other soulknife who takes the Mind Shield blade skill, a shielded blade can use the mind shield as if it was in all ways (except visually) a masterwork heavy steel shield, including making shield bashes, although she does not suffer the Armor Check penalty or Arcane Spell Failure for using a heavy steel shield. The shielded blade’s mind shield is affected like a mind blade in all other ways (breaking, null psionics fields, etc). A shielded blade still applies the shield’s shield bonus to her AC when performing a shield bash.
The shielded blade’s mind shield is enhanced as the soulknife gains levels at the same, but the mind blade suffers a -1 penalty to its enhancement bonus (if any) if the shielded blade has both formed at the same time. The shielded blade may only apply the enhancement bonus for a mind shield to the Armor Class bonus of the shield, and not as a bonus to attack and damage rolls.
A shielded blade may (and eventually must) choose special abilities for the mind shield, just as she does for the mind blade. She chooses special abilities for the mind shield from the table below.
A shielded blade is always considered proficient with her mind shield.
This ability replaces the bonus feat gained at 1st level.
Improved Shield
A shielded blade of 2nd level gains her choice of either the Improved Mind Shield or Tower Mind Shield blade skill. This ability replaces the blade skill gained at 2nd level.
| Shield Special Ability | Enhancement Bonus Value | Required Level |
|---|---|---|
| Arrow Catching | +1 | 5 |
| Bashing | +1 | 5 |
| Blinding | +1 | 5 |
| Fortification, Light | +1 | 5 |
| Arrow Deflection | +2 | 7 |
| Spell Resistance (13) | +2 | 7 |
| Energy Resistance | +3 | 9 |
| Ghost Touch | +3 | 9 |
| Fortification, Moderate | +3 | 9 |
| Spell Resistance (15) | +3 | 9 |
| Energy Resistance, Improved | +4 | 12 |
| Spell Resistance (17) | +4 | 12 |
| Fortification, Heavy | +5 | 15 |
| Spell Resistance (19) | +5 | 15 |
| Energy Resistance, Greater | +5 | 15 |
Blade Skills
A shielded blade does not gain the blade skill at 2nd level.
A shielded blade adds the following blade skills to the lists of abilities she can select when she gains a new blade skill.
Minimum Level: 2nd
Expand Shield
When using the total defense action or attacking defensively, as a free action on her turn the soulknife can transform her mind shield into a tower shield until the start of her next turn. All of the standard penalties for having a mind shield shaped as a tower shield apply.
Grasping Shield
The soulknife’s mind shield takes on an adhesive quality. Once per round, she may make a free disarm attempt against any enemy that makes a melee attack that misses her. This disarm attempt counts as an attack of opportunity and does not provoke attacks of opportunity. The soulknife must have the Shield Block blade skill to choose this blade skill.
Improved Mind Shield
The shield bonus to AC granted by the soulknife’s mind shield increases by 1.
Shield Block
By expending psionic focus as an immediate action, the soulknife may block one melee attack, but not touch attack, against her by making an attack roll. If her attack roll is higher than the attack roll she is attempting to block, the attack misses.
Tower Shield Skill
While her mind shield is in tower shield form, the soulknife reduces its attack and armor check penalties by 1 (to a minimum of 0). The soulknife may take this blade skill multiple times, its effects stack. The soulknife must have the Expand Shield blade skill to choose this blade skill.
Minimum Level: 6th
Deadly Shield
The soulknife may choose to empower her mind shield with weapon special abilities, instead of shield special abilities, and may select to apply the enhancement bonus of the mind shield for attacks, rather than for armor.
Improved Deadly Shield
The soulknife retains her enhancement bonus and shield special defensive properties on her mind shield while still gaining weapon-like traits from the Deadly Shield blade skill. The soulknife must possess the Deadly Shield blade skill in order to select this blade skill.
Minimum Level: 8th
Energized Shield
As an immediate action when the soulknife is attacked in melee and by expending her psionic focus, she may charge her mind shield with one of the energy types she could normally make her mind blade deal, dealing additional points of the appropriate type of energy damage equal to her normal psychic strike damage to her attacker. This effect lasts only for one attack. The soulknife must have one of the fire blade, ice blade, lightning blade, or thunder blade blade skills to choose this blade skill.
Ranged Shield Block
When using the Shield Block blade skill, the soulknife may block a ranged attack, but not ranged touch attack. The soulknife must have the Shield Block blade skill to choose this blade skill.
Whiplash
The soulknife can throw her mind shield as a thrown weapon with a range increment of 10. In addition, by expending psionic focus as a free action after making a ranged attack with her mind shield, the soulknife can cause the shield to return back to her hand, hitting any enemy in line of effect from her target and dealing damage as a heavy shield. The soulknife makes a ranged attack roll for each enemy in the line of effect.
The soulknife may not use this blade skill if her mind shield is in the form of a tower shield.
Minimum Level: 12th
Interrupting Throw
If an enemy within 10 feet of the soulknife performs an action that would provoke an attack of opportunity, such as casting a spell without casting on the defensive, she may, as an immediate action and by expending psionic focus, throw her mind shield at that enemy as an attack of opportunity.
The soulknife may not use this blade skill if her mind shield is in the form of a tower shield.