Reworked Soulknife 1.3

Play reveals some unfortunate things about how the default soulknife subclass functions. This is my attempt to rework and rebalance many of the features, while adding quality of life upgrades. Reworking the class to focus on charisma in addition to roguish dexterity fills a damage-dealing scout role, and allows the class to play in a variety of new ways. 

The main problems are: 

1. restricting the subclass specifically to the magical blades removes one of the most interesting things about many dnd characters, the ability to find and use interesting and flavorful magical weapons. It also means that damage doesn't scale with the characters, as the psionic blades are always going to be the same. Instead, we can rework to make them function like pact weapons, and add variety to the soulknife that wasn't there before. 

2. The class is heavily backloaded, and in a bad way. Not receiving in-combat mechanical benefits from your subclass until level 9 isn't just bad, it's debilitating. We can move that forward to level 3 while keeping the way that the class continues to improve as they learn, through implementing a battlemaster-like system, though ours is much more based on movement and disabling rather than the battlemaster's damage. 

Psionic Knack

Beginning at 3rd level, you become a wellspring of psionic power. This manifests in small ways, allowing you to bend the world to your will unconsciously. When you fail an ability check, you may roll an additional 1d6 and add the result to your roll. When you reach certain levels in this class the dice tier increases: at 5th level (d8), 11th level (d10), and 17th level (d12). If the roll succeeds, you may not use this ability again until you complete a short or long rest

Psionic Whispers

Beginning at 3rd level, a soulknife learns to form telepathic bonds with willing subjects. As an action, you may choose one or more creatures you can see. The chosen creatures may speak telepathically with you, and you may speak telepathically with them. To send or receive a message (no action required), you and the other creature must be within 1 mile of each other. A creature can't use this telepathy if it can’t speak any languages, and a creature can end the telepathic connection at any time (no action required). You and the creature don’t need to speak a common language to understand each other. Your psionic link lasts 8 hours divided evenly among the creatures you choose.

Once you establish a mental link, you cannot do so again until you finish a long rest.

Dissonant Strike

Beginning at 3rd level, a soulknife learns for embrace their inherent psionic energy. Whenever you take the Attack action, you chose to channel psychic energy through your weapon or manifest a psychic blade from a free hand and make the attack with that blade. The blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse, thrown, and magic properties. It has a normal range of 60 feet and no long range, and on a hit, it deals psychic damage equal to 1d6 plus your charisma modifier. The blade vanishes immediately after it hits or misses its target, and it leaves no mark on its target if it deals damage. If you channel energy through your equipped weapon, it gains the properties of that weapon and is treated as a magical weapon, dealing psychic damage plus your charisma modifier rather than its normal damage type.

After you attack, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second weapon or psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn. The damage die of this bonus attack is 1d4, instead of 1d6.

Whenever your attacks strike a target and deal psychic damage, you become further attuned, gaining a point of resonance.

Resonance

When you choose the soulknife archetype at 3rd level, you learn ways to use your psychic resonance to disrupt the battlefield.

You learn three attunements of your choice, detailed under "Attunements" below. Attunements create a variety of beneficial or harmful effects. You may only use one attunement per turn. You learn an additional attunement of your choice at 7th, 10th, and 15th level. Each time you learn a new attunement, you can also replace one attunement you know with a different one.

You begin each combat encounter with resonance equal to your proficiency bonus and may hold up to twice your proficiency bonus worth of resonance at any time. Any resonance not spent within a minute after combat ends is lost.

Arcane Disturbance

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you may spend 3 resonance to disrupt your opponents concentration. Rather than the standard save for concentrating on a spell, they must succeed on a CHA saving throw (DC {{modifier:cha}}). If they fail this saving throw, any spell they are currently concentrating on is disrupted.

Befuddle

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you can spend 2 resonance to scramble their sense of the battlefield. The target cannot take reactions until the end of their next turn.

Borrow Arcane Knowledge

While linked to an ally through Psionic Whispers, you may spend 4 resonance to cast a spell that the ally has prepared. You cast the spell as though you are them in all respects, including ability scores and casting level. If the spell requires expensive material components, you must have them at hand. Your ally's spell slot is consumed as though they had cast the spell. If you cast a spell that requires concentration, you may not concentrate on the spell.

Casual Break

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you may spend 3 resonance to force your damaged target to abandon their previous action. The target must make a charisma saving throw (DC {{modifier:cha}}). On a failed save, the target may not repeat their last action. (For example, if they attacked with a broadsword, or breathed fire, they must instead do something else.)

Casual Loop

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you may spend 3 resonance to force your damaged target to repeat their previous action. The target must make a charisma saving throw (DC {{modifier:cha}}). On a failed save, the target repeats their last action, if possible.

Cerebral Nausea

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you can spend 2 resonance to affect how they view you. The target must make a charisma saving throw (DC {{modifier:cha}}). On a failed save, the target's attacks against the soulknife have disadvantage until the end of their next turn.

Deaden Senses

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you may spend 2 resonance to impair your opponent's senses. The target must make a charisma saving throw (DC {{modifier:cha}}). On a failed save, the target has disadvantage on skill checks until the end of their next turn.

Disorienting Blow

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you can spend one 2 resonance to distract the creature, giving your allies an opening. The next attack roll against the target by an attacker other than you has advantage if the attack is made before the start of your next turn.

Ego Leech

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you may spend 2 resonance to gain 1d6{{modifier:cha}} temporary HP. You may spend 2 additional resonance to increase the temporary HP by 1d6.

Energy Transfer

You may spend 1 resonance to use improvised weapons as you would use psionic blades until end of turn, charging them with your mental energy. Playing cards, barstools, and spoons all deal equal damage when thrown (1d6+CHA).

Homing Strike

When you make an attack action on your turn, you may spend 2 resonance to roll 1d6 and add the result to your attack. You may spend an additional resonance to roll a 1d8 instead.

Inertial acceleration

When you make a move action on your turn, you may spend 2 resonance to move an additional 20 feet.

Inertial damper

When you hit a creature with a dissonant strike, you may spend 3 resonance to impair your opponent's movement. The target must make a charisma saving throw (DC {{modifier:cha}}). On a failed save, the target's movement is reduced to 0 until the end of their next turn.

Interspatial Travel

When you make a move action on your turn, you may spend 2 resonance to teleport 10 feet in any direction you can see during your move. You may spend an additional resonance to teleport an additional 10 feet.

Telekenetic Substitution

As a move action on your turn, you may spend 3 resonance to swap places with one ally you can see within 60 feet.

Ego Rush

When a soulknife grows in power, they become able to transfer themselves with their blades from space to space. Beginning at 9th level, you learn to imbue your blades with potential energy. As a move action, a soulknife can imbue their blades. When thrown this turn, as part of an attack action, the soulknife may teleport immediately to the square their blade lands. If a blade strikes a target this turn, the soulknife can teleport to any space adjacent to that target, and immediately make an attack at advantage.

Once you use this feature, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

Read Intentions

The soulknife begins to become so attuned to psychic vibrations that they can read minute changes in the mental states of those around them, allowing them to sense intentions and discern lies. Beginning at 9th level, a soulknife becomes so attuned to psychic vibrations that they can read minute changes in the mental states of those around them. As an action, you may to attune yourself with psionic energies. If you do so, you can detect creatures within 30 feet of you that think and feel, as well as the location of those creatures. In addition, you gain a rough gauge of the mental state of those creatures, and detect whether any of them mean you immediate harm.

As an additional action you may touch a creature. If you do so, the creature touched must make a CHA saving throw (DC {{savedc:cha}}). On a failed save, a creature can't speak a deliberate lie while you touch them. You know whether the creature touched succeeds or fails on its saving throw.

You can use this feature {{modifier:cha+1}} times. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended uses.

Psionic Maelstrom

Powerful soulknives can erupt into a storm of blades, becoming the center of a nexus of psionic energy. Beginning at 13th level, a soulknife can erupt into a storm of blades, becoming the center of a nexus of psionic energy. As an action during your turn, you may release any psionic resonance you have built up all at once, creating a hail of deadly energy to strike your foes. Each creature within 10 feet must make a (DC {{modifier:cha}}) saving throw. A creature takes 1d8 points of psychic damage per of resonance spent on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. 

Rip Essence

A powerful soulknife becomes so attuned to psionic energy that their expertise and finesse allows them to leech more resonance from their foes. Beginning at 17th level, a soulknife becomes so attuned to psionic energy that their expertise and finesse allows them to leech more resonance from their foes. When you use your dissonant strike to deal sneak attack damage to an opponent, you gain 2 points of resonance, rather than one. In addition, your dissonant strike attacks score a critical hit on rolls of 19-20.