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Using a secret passed down through the generations, the incarnum blade shapes soul energy drawn from the greatest warriors of the past into a special soulmeld that is incorporated into his melee weapon of choice.

Requirements

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: You gain no new proficiencies with weapons, armor, or shields.

Shape Blademeld (Su): At 1st level, you gain the ability to create a special soulmeld called a blademeld by wrapping incarnum into a melee weapon of your choice. Doing so ties the chosen weapon more closely to your mind and soul and grants it special powers. A weapon with a blademeld shaped on it appears to have a blue glow and is treated as a magic weapon for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. Its hardness improves by 5, and its hit points increase by 5 per level you possess in incarnum blade. The weapon also gains a bonus on saving throws equal to your incarnum blade level.

Shaping the blademeld requires 8 hours of rest followed by 1 hour of meditation, just like shaping any other soulmeld does. The blademeld remains shaped until you unshape it, though it unshapes automatically if the weapon to which it is attached is sundered or otherwise destroyed. Simply losing possession of the weapon does not unshape the blademeld, and it still retains its enhanced hardness, hit points, and save bonuses even if you are not holding it. The wielder benefits granted by the blademeld do not apply to anyone else who might pick it up.

Blademeld Chakra Bind (Su): When you shape your blademeld, you can bind it to one of your body's chakras. Doing so grants you a special ability that lasts as long as the blademeld is shaped and the weapon is held. Unlike most soulmelds, the blademeld's appearance does not change while it is bound to a chakra, and the affected chakra is not apparent in any way to an onlooker. Furthermore, the weapon to which the blademeld is attached is still wielded normally, even if it is bound to a chakra other than your hands. You can be disarmed normally, and it can still be sundered in the usual way. If you lose or put down the weapon while it is bound, it remains bound and retains the special characteristics it gains from the blademeld; you also retain the special ability gained from the bind. No one else can benefit from the weapon's incarnum-based powers.

Unlike a typical chakra bind, this one does not close the corresponding body slot. For example, a blademeld bound to your hands chakra does not prevent you from wearing a pair of magic gloves. Blademeld chakra bind does not grant you the ability to bind soulmelds or other magic items to your chakras.

At 1st level, you can bind your blademeld to any of your least chakras (crown, feet, or hands); at 2nd level, you can bind it to any least or lesser chakra; and at 3rd level, you can bind it to any least, lesser, or greater chakra. At 4th level, you can bind your blademeld to your heart chakra, and at 5th level, you can bind it to your soul chakra. Binding your blademeld to a chakra grants you a special ability according to the chakra chosen, as detailed below.

Crown Chakra: As long as this chakra bind is in effect, you have uncanny battlefield insight. Opponents that flank you do not gain the normal +2 bonus on attack rolls against you, though they still gain any other benefits they normally would, such as the ability to deliver a sneak attack. You also gain a +4 insight bonus on opposed attack rolls made to avoid being disarmed of the weapon with the blademeld or to avoid having it sundered. In addition, you gain a +4 insight bonus on Sense Motive checks made when someone attempts a feint against you in combat (see the Bluff skill description, page 68 of the Player's Handbook).

Feet Chakra: You react more quickly than usual to danger, gaining a +2 insight bonus on initiative checks while this chakra bind is in effect. In addition, you can make attacks of opportunity with the blademeld weapon even while flat-footed.

Hands Chakra: You can deal precise blows in combat. While the blademeld is bound to this chakra, you gain a +1 insight bonus on damage rolls made with the blademeld weapon.

Arms Chakra: You can deal devastating strikes in combat. While it is in effect, this chakra bind grants you a +4 insight bonus on attack rolls made to confirm a critical threat with the blademeld weapon.

Brow Chakra: You can more effectively battle foes that you can't see clearly while this chakra bind is in effect. Every time you miss an attack with the blademeld weapon because of the opponent's concealment, you can reroll your miss chance percentile roll once to see if you actually hit. This ability functions much like the Blind-Fight feat. If you already have Blind-Fight, you gain no additional benefit—that is, you are still entitled to only one reroll.

Shoulders Chakra: You gain the ability to avoid certain particularly deadly strikes. Any time a melee attack would deal you a critical hit, you have a 25% chance to negate the extra damage from it. This ability is active as long as this chakra bind is in effect. You need not be aware of the attack for the ability to function, but it grants no benefit if you are unconscious or otherwise helpless. This chakra bind has no effect against sneak attacks, and its benefit does not stack with that of the fortification armor or shield special quality.

Throat Chakra: At will, you can brandish the weapon bearing the blademeld and utter a hearty battle shout that demoralizes foes. Each enemy within 60 feet who can hear you must save or become shaken for 1 round (Will DC 10 + incarnum blade level + Con modifier). You can use this ability at will as a standard action as long as the chakra bind is in effect.

Waist Chakra: As long as this chakra bind is in effect, you are incredibly stable and well balanced when wielding your blademeld weapon. You gain a +10 insight bonus on checks made to avoid being bull rushed, grappled, tripped, or overrun. You also retain your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even while flat-footed.

Heart Chakra: The weapon bearing the blademeld grants you improved health and well-being in combat as long as this chakra bind is in effect. You gain bonus hit points equal to twice your character level (maximum +40). These extra hit points are not lost first the way temporary hit points are; if you change the chakra bind of your blademeld, you lose them immediately.

Soul Chakra: Your blademeld weapon gains an alignment for the purpose of overcoming damage reduction. When you activate the chakra bind, you can choose any single alignment component (chaos, evil, good, or law) that matches one of your own. Thereafter, the choice cannot be changed until a new blademeld is shaped. Against creatures with an alignment subtype (not just an alignment) opposed to the selected component, your weapon deals an extra 1d6 points of damage. If the blademeld weapon would ordinarily deal extra damage to the opponent because of the bane special quality or any of the alignment weapon qualities, the extra damage dice stack.

For example, a lawful good incarnum blade who chooses this chakra bind could grant either the lawful or the good alignment to his blademeld weapon. If he chose good, his weapon would deal an extra 1d6 points of damage to all creatures with the evil subtype (such as demons and devils), but not to an evil necromancer who does not have the evil subtype.

Rebind Blademeld (Su): At 3rd level, you gain the ability to change the chakra to which your blademeld is bound. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Constitution bonus (minimum 1/day). Rebinding your blademeld is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.

At 5th level, you can change one or both of your blademeld's two chakra binds simultaneously as a standard action.

Dual Chakra Binding: Upon attaining 5th level, you can bind your blademeld to two of your chakras simultaneously. The second chakra bind must be one that was gained at a lower incarnum blade level than the first. For example, if the first chakra bind is throat, the second cannot be waist; it must be lesser or least. You gain the special abilities from both chakra binds as though you were using each independently.

Advancement

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Shape blademeld, blademeld chakra bind (crown, feet, hands)
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Blademeld chakra binds (arms, brow, shoulders)
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Rebind blademeld, blademeld chakra binds (throat, waist)
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Blademeld chakra bind (heart)
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Dual chakra binding, blademeld chakra bind (soul)