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Sohei Handbook
Skyrock:
"Hence it comes that all armed prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed prophets have been destroyed. For, besides the things that have been said, the nature of peoples is variable; and it is easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to keep them in that persuasion. And thus things must be ordered in such a mode that when they no longer believe, one can make them believe by force."
- Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince
Even ascetic warrior-monks can't escape the Chainmail Bikini Trope.
Welcome to the Sohei, an obscure base class from 3.0 Oriental Adventures. It got a half-hearted 3.5 upgrade in Dragon Magazine #318, but has since not been acknowledged by WotC in the official 1st party books, unlike many other OA base classes like the Shugenja, the Samurai or the Wu Jen.
You are a primary martial, but with only a medium BAB and without the maneuvres that made the Swordsage viable despite that handicap.
You are a divine half-caster like the Paladin, but without the splatbook support to make your casting still viable, such as through Battle Blessing.
You are one of the last base classes in 3.5 - along with the Factotum and the Expert - to have the 3.0 Iaijutsu Focus as a class skill, but your major class feature makes it impossible to use it, along with your meager spellcasting.
If you know half a thing about CO, you must by now realize that you are in for a wild ride with a terrible, conflicting, self-defeating class, and you are perfectly right. Bear with me as we try to salvage this wreck as best as we can.
Color Scheme
Red - An extremely weak option, or one that could even leave you worse than you were
Purple - An sub-optimal option. You should generally avoid it, but it can sometimes be made to work or good for flavour.
Black - An average option. You don't do terribly if you go with it, but neither is it particularly good.
Blue - A good option. You generally do well to get it.
Gold - An option so good that you shouldn't pass it up ever.
Table Of Contents
1. Class Features
2. Ability Scores / Skills
3. Races / Templates
4. Feats
5. Spells
6. Multi-Classing (Break-Off Points / Base Classes / Prestige Classes)
7. Partial Gestalt
8. Items
9. Sample Builds
Skyrock:
Class Features
"When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength. Thanks to the teachings of Buddha, I have been able to take this second way."
- Dalai Lama
Alignment - only lawful: Alignment restrictions are very commonly ignored by DMs, but don't count on it.
Hit Die d10: On par with most other martial classes, and enough to make it to the front lines where you belong.
2 Skill Points: This stings, especially as your skill list is rather short and you won't be able to focus on Intelligence.
Proficiencies: All simple and martial weapons, and all armor (except shields). Sword&Board isn't the winner's fighting style anyway, so we can work with it.
Good Fortitude and Will Save: Being good in the two most important saves will be helpful, and it synergizes well with Mettle later down the road.
Bad Reflex Save: One bad save, and fortunately it is the least important one. We will only have a moderate Dex bonus at best as baseline, but Ki-Frenzy helps a bit.
Medium BAB: That stings on any melee class. Better hope that you are in a partial gestalt game to get that one fixed.
Ki-Frenzy: Welcome to your main shtick, which combines a poor man's Barbarian Rage with a poor man's Monk Flurry of Blows. While you get a boost to Dexterity and Strength, you won't have access to any of your spells and skills for that time, and be fatigued afterwards.
Ki-Frenzy might or might not qualify you for feats and prestige classes that require Rage or Frenzy to enter. There is the old 3.0 precedent of the OA Bear Warrior who could enter based on either Rage, Frenzy or Ki-Frenzy, while the CW 3.5 update has eliminated Ki-Frenzy. Check with your DM ASAP, your options and the overall viability of the Sohei depend a lot on it.
Weapon Focus: One of the weakest feats you could get, but at least it is free and a very common prerequisite.
Deflect Arrows: Not really useful, but it's for free.
Diehard: Another useless feat for free. The best that can be said about it is that it could later provide a free bonus feat from Ordained Champion and possibly Singh Rager.
Spellcasting: Like the Hexblade, Paladin or Spellthief, it is too little too late. The lack of splatbook support to expand the original tiny spell list and make it more useable through things like Battle Blessing add insult to injury.
Strength of Mind: Immunity to stun? Yes please! Immunity to sleep will probably not play much of a role at level 5 and beyond.
Defensive Strike: If you use Total Defense, you gain a cumulative attack bonus against the whiffer next turn. You will most likely never use Total Defense, if you even remember in play that this option exists at all, so this is another useless freebie.
Damage Reduction: DR1/- would have been nice on low levels, but on level 7 it is both negligible and commonly ignored. It improves up to DR5/- over the course of the Sohei levels, but like your spellcasting it is too little too late.
Mettle: A great feature to have. The Hexblade got his already at level 3 while you are at level 9, but this is yours and yours alone.
Greater Frenzy: Improve your Ki-Frenzy bonuses to +4 and reduce your flurry penalty to -1. We are at level 11, but as Sohei we count and treasure our blessings.
Tireless Frenzy: No more fatigue penalties after frenzying. Finally. At level 17. Many Sohei won't ever see it as they have multiclassed out a long time ago, and there are other ways to deal with fatigue.
Whirlwind Frenzy: Frenzy bonuses up to +6, no more Flurry penalties and a speed increase are your capstone. Virtually every non-Epic Sohei who survives to level 20 will never ever see it, but it is nice to know that this feature theoretically exists.
Skyrock:
Ability Scores
"There are three things that are beyond my control: The rapids of Kamo river, the dice at gambling and the monks of the mountain."
- Emperor Go Shirakawa-In
Strength: Your main stat. Put all you can into it.
Dexterity: You are a loud, clunky heavy armor oaf, so go figure. Penalties should still be avoided (although Ki-Frenzy could temporarily cancel them). 10-12 will do.
Constitution: Everyone likes hitpoints and a good Fort save. As a melee type, you like them doubly so. 14.
Intelligence: You only get 2 skillpoints and will want to up that. As a human or with Nymph's Kiss, you could get away with a 10, but 12 is even then the safer bet.
Wisdom: Fuels your spellcasting, but that grows so slowly and gently that you can cover that with items and ability increases over the course of levels. 12 ensures that you get your first spell at level 4. - If you plan to dip Cleric and/or Psychic Warrior and advance their casting through prestige classes, the usefulness of this goes way up.
Charisma: Your only true dump stat. If you plan to dip Cleric for Devotion Feats, don't go too deep into the negatives as this determines your Turning Attempts to fuel them. If you don't plan to: Go crazy.
You must be this strong to be deemed a viable Sohei.
Skills
Balance (cc): Any character who can should have 5 ranks in Balance to avoid being flat-footed when the Grease spells and the marbles get tossed around. You might want to hold off getting them until you multiclass into something with Balance as a class skill.
Concentration: You are a crappy spellcaster, but you are still a spellcaster. Get it as high as you can. It is also a prerequisite for Kensai.
Craft: <insert witty underwater basket weaving joke>
Diplomacy: Diplomacy is one of the most ridiculous skills in the game, but you have most likely dumped Cha and are starved for skill points.
Heal: If you don't know anymore where to put your skill points, Heal 5 to get the Healing HandsCS skill trick isn't the most terrible idea. Most likely you won't have that luxury.
Iaijutsu Focus:OA Both one of the best and the worst skills for a Sohei. It can potentially give you a lot of precision damage if you attack a flat-footed target - but you can't use it while ki-frenzying, and your abilities to make a target flat-footed are sharply limited. If you rely on Ki-Frenzy, only get a few spare points in here in case that a Calm Emotions snaps you out of it pre-maturely or that you have more encounters than Ki-Frenzy uses. - It can also be viable to focus primarily on Iaijutsu damage, and use Ki-Frenzy only afterwards or as an emergency ability in case that you can't get your target flat-footed. In that case, max it. This skill has its own handbook.
Listen (cc): Terribly necessary against sneaky types and invisible. As with Balance, you might want to hold off until you multiclass into something with Listen as class skill.
Knowledge (Religion): If you plan to grab Knowledge Devotion or to enter a prestige class with this skill requirement, obviously put some points into it. Else 1 rank to be allowed rolls at all can do.
Knowledge (Shadowlands):OA This is a left-over skill from 3.0 OA that covers that region and the creatures hailing from it. If you are playing in Rokugan or if your DM is planning to use OA Shadowlands monsters, it might be useful. If he isn't, this is worthless.
Profession: Even you have better ways to earn money.
Spot (cc): See Listen. If you can only get one of them (which is very likely), high Listen and no Spot is more effective at detecting invisible things than both mediocre Spot and Listen.
Skyrock:
Races
PHB
Dwarf: Bonus to an ability you like, penalty to a dump stat, and better movement in heavy armor. Not bad. Earth DwarfUA could be even better if you can live down loss of Dex.
Elf: Penalties to Con and bonuses to Dex don't help you, and none of the elf variants have a line of stats that is helpful to you. Pass.
Gnome: Constitution is always welcome, but Strength penalties are not. Iaijutsu-focussed Sohei could get some use out of the Gnomish QuickrazorRoS.
Half-Elf: Does nothing useful, and doesn't even bring any racial substitution levels. Next.
Halfling: The stats and the small size just don't work for you, and the other features don't make up for it. Strongheart Halfling with its free feat is probably the best of the bunch.
Half-Orc: You don't really care about the Charisma penalty, while a plus to Str and and a minus to Int cancel each other out. The remaining features are nothing useful for you. Half-Orc ParagonUA is mildly interesting if your DM equates Ki-Frenzy with Rage, as it grants one extra use of it per day.
Humans: Free feat, more skill points. As always among the best choices.
Oriental Adventures
Hengeyokai: Wis penalties hurt, but some of the ability score increases could make it worth it, and there are some nice special abilities like fly or burrow speeds from level 1 on. It might also help to get into Warshaper earlier. Note that the Dragon #318 3.5 update has reduced their LA to +0.
Korobokuru: More Con is nice, but Int penalties hurt such a skill-starved class, and the rest of the race does little good for you.
Nezumi: Bonus to Con, penalty to a dump stat. Access to a natural unarmed strike could be helpful for a reach weapon fighter, access to Scent as a feat is quite unique. Not ideal, but neither terrible.
Spiritfolk: No stats changes, nothing impressive, nothing debilitating. The swim speeds of River and Sea Spiritfolk could be handy in a nautic campaign, but other than that this race is unremarkable for our purposes.
Varana: No stats changes since the 3.5 update in Dragon #318, bonuses to skills that armor penalty will make you fail anyway, and a natural climb speed. Not very helpful.
Other
Azurin:MoI If you plan to use soulmelds, a viable alternative to humans.
Buomman:Planar Handbook Wisdom bonus and penalty to a dump stat. Their Silent Bob routine might be inconvenient for role-playing.
Earth Genasi, Lesser:PGtF/FRC Has plusses on two right things and minusses on one thing that hurts and one thing that you don't care about. If you can't use the Lesser version for LA+0, the full race isn't worth LA+1.
Illumian:RoD Aeshkrau helps to catch up on caster levels and to make you less Wisdom dependent for your spellcasting. It might also make Psychic Warrior a more viable dip if your baseline Strength is high enough. The other sigils are probably not too useful for you.
Kobold: A race with a very low optimization bottom, but probably the highest ceiling depending on how much cheese you can stomach. Not a fan of them and not the focus of this handbook, so look elsewhere for details. The code word is "Dragonwrought".
Maenad:XPH Only worth mentioning for the novelty of the Outburst ability, which allows you to pack even more mindless frenzy on top of your Ki-Frenzy. For actual optimization, this brings very little to the table.
Warforged:ECSThe best thing about this race is its built-in immunity to fatigue while still having a Constitution score, which is both good for making the most of your Ki-Frenzy. The ability adjustments are about even for you, making this roughly as good as a human who took Tireless as starting feat.
Water Genasi, Lesser:PGtF/FRC One plus in the right place, one minus on a dump stat. If you can't use the Lesser version for LA+0, the full race isn't worth LA+1.
Water Orc:UA The massive Strength bonus and the Con bonus might make it bearable to have a penalty on all mental ability scores. Not the best race for a Sohei, but neither terrible.
Templates
Arctic:Dr306 LA+0. Plus to Con, minus to a dump stat. Something for nothing.
Draconic Creature: LA+1. Bonuses to Str, Con and a dumpstat, some natural armor, a weak natural weapon and also darkvision if you hadn't already. With LA buy-off, it is a good trade.
Dragonborn:RotD LA+0. Con bonus and Dex penalty, combined with elimination of the original racial features and a choice of a new one. Can be terrible, can sometimes be very worth it.
Necropolitan:LM LA"+0" (special one-time XP penalty). This one is normally good to reduce MAD by taking Con out of the equation, but you need Con for your Ki-Frenzy.
Unseelie Fey:Dragon Mag #304 LA+0. This template is only worth mentioning for Vernal Touch, which removes fatigue at-will as a standard action. The stat modifiers are terrible for a Sohei.
Skyrock:
Feats
General Feats
Able Learner:RoD You will multiclass a lot. This one will help you to buy class skills always at class skill price, not cross-class price. 1st level humans and doppelgangers only (could also appy to azurin, illumians etc.)
Apprentice:DMG2 This one could be used to fix your skill list, depending on your mentor. Philosopher and Spellcaster can make it easier to get into Horizon Walker, Slayer and Warmind depending on which Knowledge you pick (and net you UMD as class skill or Concentration bonuses). 1st level only.
Tireless:PGtF Let's you ignore fatigue, which will happen very frequently to you as Ki-Frenzy runs out. 1st level only, and the fluff restrictions may tie you to one of a few races and/or make this unavailable in your campaign.
Tireless:Dragon Magazine #318 Does the same as the above, but comes straight from the OA 3.5 update booklet and requires you to belong to the Crane clan. Might work in certain milieus where the FR version doesn't and vice versa, depending on how strict your DM is on fluff prerequirements.
Combat Feats
Back to the Wall:Ravenloft Player's Handbook This 2nd party feat is only worth mentioning because it helps to make more of the bad Diehard feat in a thematically very fitting way, by providing fixed attack and damage bonuses below certain HP tresholds. You probably don't have the spare feat to throw good money after bad.
Combat Reflexes: You most likely wield a reach weapon. Combat Reflexes is better the more Dex you have. Ki-Frenzy boosts your Dexterity. Go figure.
Improved Initiative: If you plan to focus on Iaijutsu Focus over Ki-Frenzy, this is a good way to catch a target flat-footed. Even if not, it is a solid feat.
Improved Unarmed Strike: If you wield a reach weapon, this is one way to threaten your inner 5' ring. Spiked gauntlets and armor spikes will probably do well enough for cheaper.
Intuitive Attack:BoED You can replace your Strength Mod for your Wisdom mod for attack rolls (not damage). As your Wisdom gets no boost from Ki-Frenzy, not really worth it.
Power Attack: You won't be as good at that as other melee types with your 3/4 BAB and your Flurry penalties, but you will still want it to do any noticeable damage.
Quick Draw: Even if you plan to make use of Iaijutsu Focus, a cheap Least Crystal of Return from MIC on your main weapon does the same for a very cheap price.
Travel Devotion:CD The lawful way to pounce. Much better if you get if for free as part of a Cleric dip, but if you are really tight in class levels it could be taken on its own.
Spellcasting Feats
Practiced Spellcaster:CA/CD Can up your caster level in either Sohei or another class. The skill requirement will be tough without multiclassing. The psionic counterpart is Practiced ManifesterCPsi.
Rage Feats
This section depends on your DM accepting ki-frenzy as equivalent to rage and frenzy for prerequisites. If he doesn't this whole section becomes obviously so deep red that I'd need a new color to express how terrible it is.
Cobalt Rage:MoI If you have some essentia lying around, this could make your ki-frenzy attacks more effective.
Ettercap Berserker:UE If you can get your DM to apply this RAW, you get a +6 Con bonus while frenzying. He will probably go with the more sane RAI reading that it provides a +2 Con bonus over a regular rage/frenzy, which makes this a worse Improved Toughness.
Extend Rage:CW/ECS +5 rounds to the duration of your ki-frenzy. Another way to make fatigue an effective non-issue in long fights.
Extra Rage:CW +1 Ki-Frenzy per day.
Gnoll Ferocity:RotW Gain a natural bite attack while frenzying. Restricted to gnolls, but "the DM may make this feat available to other animal-headed races". Listen up, Nezumi and Hengeyokai.
Ice Troll Berserker:UE +2 natural armor bonus during ki-frenzy. Has some synergy with Reckless Rage.
Instantaneous Rage:CW You can enter your ki-frenzy now in reaction to others. If you really need more Dex for your Reflex Save, or have another use for ki-frenzy like Mad Foam Rager, it could have an occassional use.
Intimidating Rage:CW You are too terrible at intimidating to get any use from it.
Mad Foam Rager:PHB2 Delaying one attack, spell or other effect against you for 1 round 1x/rage can be life-saving, but it is very situational and one round isn't much time.
Raging Luck:ECS Gain a temporary action point while frenzying. Those d6 could save your life or turn that failed all-out Power Attack into a hit.
Reckless Rage:RoS Gain an AC penalty during your frenzy in exchange for more Str and Con. Ice Troll Berserker could cancel that penalty if it upsets you.
Righteous Wrath:BoED Add a weak shaken rider dependent on your dump stat to your ki-frenzy attacks against evil creatures. Good alignment only.
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