Elemental Blademaster (Kineticist)
The kineticist is a very unusual class, and there’s a lot there to wrap your head around. Once you actually sit down to play one, they can be a lot of fun, of course, but they take a bit of getting used to, and sometimes you just miss the simplicity of having a good sword or axe to do in your foes. Today’s kineticist archetype should help bring you back to your comfort zone, as it focuses on using kinetic power to create powerful energy weapons.
New Kineticist Archetype
Elemental Blademaster
Even when one can wield the very elements themselves, there are few things as comforting as a good weapon in hand, and some kineticists choose to focus on shaping the elements into shapes and forms that are familiar to them. Elemental blademasters focus on channeling energy into powerful melee weapons, using the elements to devastate their foes in ways that mimic traditional combat.
Kinetic Blade (Su): At 1st level, when selecting her infusion, an elemental blademaster must choose the kinetic blade infusion. At 5th, 11th, and 17th levels, when she gains the ability to replace one of her infusions with another infusion of the same effective spell level or lower, she may not choose to replace the kinetic blade infusion.
Superior Blade (Su): Beginning at 3rd level, whenever an elemental blademaster uses the kinetic blade infusion, the shape she gives the blade makes it more useful in combat. Each time she uses this infusion, she can choose one or more of the following properties to apply to her kinetic blade. Each property costs 1 or more modification points. At 3rd level, she has 1 modification point to apply, but this number increases by 1 at 6th level, and again at 11th and 16th levels (to a maximum of 4 points at 16th level).
Brace (1 point): If the elemental blademaster uses a readied action to set the weapon against a charge, she deals double damage on a successful hit against a charging creature (note that, in order to effectively use this property, the elemental blademaster must have a way to brace the weapon against a charge, such as the enduring blade class feature gained at 9th level).
Defensive (2 points): The weapon grants a +1 shield bonus to AC while wielded.
Disarm (1 point): The weapon grants a +2 bonus on Combat Maneuver check to disarm an opponent. This bonus increases by 1 at 7th level and every four levels thereafter.
Greater Critical Multiplier (2 points): The weapon’s critical multiplier increases to x4. The weapon must already have the improved critical multiplier property in order to select this property.
Greater Critical Threat Range (2 points): The weapon threatens a critical hit on a roll of 18-20. The weapon must already have the improved critical threat range property in order to select this property.
Improved Critical Multiplier (2 points): The weapon’s critical multiplier increases to x3.
Improved Critical Threat Range (2 points): The weapon threatens a critical hit on a roll of 19-20.
Reach (1 point): The weapon can be used to strike opponents 10 feet away, but can’t be used against an adjacent foe.
Trip (1 point): The weapon can be used to make trip combat maneuvers. If the elemental blademaster is tripped during her own trip attempt, she can drop the weapon to avoid being tripped.
Two-Handed (1 point): The elemental blademaster must use both hands to wield the weapon, preventing her from holding anything in her off-hand or using it for other purposes (such as her gather power class feature). However, attacks made with the weapon deal 1 additional point of damage per damage dice rolled as part of her blast.
This ability replaces the elemental overflow class feature.
Biting Blade (Su): At 5th level, an elemental blademaster learns to better bypass defenses with her kinetic blade. When she uses the kinetic blade infusion on physical blasts, they count as both cold iron and silver for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction. When she uses the kinetic blade infusion on an energy blast, if the target has a relevant energy resistance, she treats that resistance as though it were 5 lower than it actually is, and if the target is immune to the relevant energy type, it still suffers 1/4 the damage, regardless.
At 13th level, her ability to bypass defenses improves still further. When she uses the kinetic blade infusion on physical blasts, they count as adamantine for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction (in addition to counting as cold iron and silver). When she uses the kinetic blade infusion on an energy blast, if the target has a relevant energy resistance, she treats that resistance as though it were half lower than it actually is, and if the target is immune to the relevant energy type, it still suffers 1/2 the damage, regardless.
This ability replaces the metakinesis class feature.
Enduring Blade (Su): At 9th level, an elemental blademaster is able to maintain her kinetic blade for longer periods of time. When she uses the kinetic blade infusion, the blade remains until the beginning of her next turn, allowing her to make attacks of opportunity, ready actions to attack with it, and so on.
Twin Blades (Su): At 17th level, when an elemental blademaster uses the kinetic blade infusion, she can choose to create two blades, instead of one. For each blade, the damage dice are reduced by 1 step (1d4+1 + her Constitution modifier, plus 1d4+1 per 2 kineticist levels beyond 1st, for physical blasts, and 1d4 + 1/2 her Constitution modifier, plus 1d4 per 2 kineticist levels beyond 1st, for energy blasts). When applying the effects of the elemental blademaster’s superior blade class feature, she must distribute her modification points among the two blades. This ability does not grant the Two-Weapon Fighting feat or any special ability to fight with two weapons.
Kinetic Parry (Su): Beginning at 19th level, as an immediate action, when an elemental blademaster is the target of a melee attack, she can accept 1 point of burn in order to conjure an elemental blade to parry the blow with. She must make an attack roll, as though with a kinetic blade. If the result of her attack roll is greater than the attacker’s result, the attack misses, and the weapon used to make the attack (or the attacker, if the attack was made with a natural weapon) suffers a number of points of damage equal to the elemental blademaster’s class level, which is of the same type (and subject to the same damage reduction and resistances) as any blast she has access to of her choice.
This ability replaces the metakinetic master class feature.