[Edit the Stellar Heart has been added so this Playbook now has the full Class and Heart options available!]

Hey all so we are bringing you another class preview early as a new years gift! There will be the planned January release of the Eternalist our take on the cleric later in the month! This is a special entry in a series of blogs as we discuss our Classes and their design intentions. With each blog the Class' updated Playbook is going to be released so the Soulshaped, our take on the Sorcerer, has received updates!

Soulshaped

Soulshaped are made when as their soul makes its way to their body it comes into contact with something powerful, maybe the soul of a legendary being that just passed away, maybe a deity or an outsider, or maybe the raw power of on of the Realms. This irrevocably changes the nature of the soul,  as the Soulshaped grows their form will change to better reflect the nature of their altered soul. It s a class about finding ones identity as their body changes to better reflect the truest version of themselves. 

Core Aspects: These are nearly identical to the Sorcerer bar the fact their Hit Die is now a d4.

Unique Aspects: All Classes gain a unique Inspired action and Mark of Fate effect. For the Soulshaped this allows you to spend a Mark of Fate to choose any Metamagic option (including those you do not know) whose Soul Point cost is less than your Soulshaped Level, you can use if for free. While your Inspired action, lets you expend and roll a Hit Die to gain that much Soul Points.

Heart Form

At Level 1 you pick what altered the nature of your soul, often Soulshaped will be known as an X heart based on what changed their soul so you could be a Dragon Heart or a Phoenix Heart Soulshaped. Importantly every Heart Form will apply a Template or Ancestry to you which will be referred to as your progress through the class, this is probably the most in any class that your subclass will impact play whihc is why it was very important you got access at Level 1. This Feature is first gained at level 1 with further unlocks at levels 6, 10, and 14. As covered in the Arcanist Class preview, one difference to note from level 6 onwards is you can choose to either progress through a subclass's 4 tiers or to pick up the first tier of a different subclass. 

Metamagic

This Feature works the same as with the sorcerer bar being unlocked at Level 1. One thing to note though we have expanded the offerings of Metamagic to 20 Options in total, with Soulshaped generally gaining 8 Metamagic options as they Level, though some Heart Forms and the Metamagical Studies Feat grant access to more options if you want to build for maximum Metamagic options.

Soul Magic

This is your Spellcasting Feature, but it does work very differently. You are still a Determination Cosmic caster, but instead of Spell Slots we use Soul Points. The reason for this was the sorcerer already had this mechanic for exchanging Sorcery Points for Spell Slots, and it made sense to consolidate the two resources into one. So Soul Points act as your Spell Slots and your resource for your Class' mechanics.

On top of that you do not Prepare like a normal spellcaster does, as the magic is sourced from your wild soul, you have the normal maximum number of spells you can Prepare each day, but instead of picking them at the start of the day, you Preparation choices are not locked in until you have cast the spell. On top of this each Heart Form has a small list of always Prepared spells in the same vane as Eternalist or World Speaker, unlike them however whenever you gain a Soulshaped Level you can swap out one of these Heart Spells for another of a set list covered in the Heart Form. 

Then we come to Material Components, as you magic comes from within you ignore Material Components that are not Consumed or cost GP, though these can be ignored by spending Soul Points adding greater flexibility to the Soulshaped.

My hope is these changes help the Soulshaped stand out from the other spellcasters, especially from the Arcanist, and be its own unique kind of spellcaster.

Font of Magic

Now at 2nd Level, this Feature lets you unleash your soul in the form of the Unleash Soul X action, when you gain the Feature you can choose between Body, Magic, Mind, and Soul each with their own variant of the action and what it can do.

Consuming Magic

This Level 3 Feature, increases you Hit Die size as you gain Levels in this Class, with it increasing in size to a d6, and increasing your Soul Points by your Endurance. When under the effects of the Desperation condition (25% health or less) you can choose any spell from your Spell List of any Circle (even if you have not Prepared it), and expend and roll a Hit Die. 

If you rolled a result equal to or higher than the number of Soul Points needed to cast the spell at its base Circle, you do so without needing to expend any Soul Points. You cannot apply any Metamagic to the spell unless the result of the Hit Die roll was greater than that of the Soul Points needed for the spell, the difference between the rolled result and the Soul Points needed for the spell being the number of Soul Points you have to spend on Metamagic options.

If the Hit Die rolled less than the Soul Point cost of the spell, it is still cast, but you expend 1d6 additional Hit Die and take Cosmic damage equal to 6 times the Circle of the Spell, that cannot be altered in any way ignoring Immunity, Resistances, Reductions, and similar effects. It is an optional high risk, high reward option, for use when the fight is at its worst.

First Revelation

This is the first of many Features to refer to your Heart Form. For this effect you can alter your Size Category to remain the same or move one category higher or lower. 

Feats

This Feature is first gained at level 4 with further unlocks at levels 8, 12, 16, and 19. Importantly each time you would gain this Feature you can increase one Trait's value by 1 AND gain a Feat. We would advise looking at the Spellcasting Feats such as the Metamagical Studies, Quick Nap or Spell School Specialisation Feats.

Soulful Insight

This Feature at Level 5 lets Soulshaped spend 1 Soul Point to reroll failed Trait Tests (bar Attack Rolls) and gain an Ancestry/Template Feature from your Heart Form.

Soulful Rest

This Feature works lets you use Determination rather than Endurance when recovering HP during a Short Rest, and let you spend Soul Points to recover additional HP.

Defined Nature

From 7th level, this allows the Soulshaped to maintain or alter their current Entity Types.

Tap Into The Future

This modifies the Unleash Soul action, increasing its duration, letting you use additional metamagic when under its effects, and letting you spend Soul Points to benefit from the next Tier of your Heart Form Features early.

At Higher Levels

From here on many Features grant you more ways to use Soul Points, modifying your ability to use Metamagic, and continue you down your path of transformation such as letting you grow natural weapons, unique defences, and letting you unlock the final form at 20th Level. 

Soulshaped Heart Forms

There are a number of Heart Forms that a Soulshaped can gain access to. 

Cosmic Heart 

These Soulshaped source their powers from the raw power of magic. Once per turn when you expend a Mark of Fate or spend Soul Points for anything other than casting a spell, such as Metamagic or for a Feature, you must roll a d20. If it is less than your Skill Bonus you have to roll on the Cosmic Chaos Table a d300 (determined by rolling a d3 to determine which d100 Table to refer to then rolling the d100 for the result) Table of wildly differing results some incredibly helpful and some not. As a note higher results are better but Table 1 is mostly bad, Table 2 is mostly neutral, and Table 3 is mostly good. As you progress through this Heart Form you will gain greater control of this chaos and access to more Soul Points and spellcasting options. 

Dragon Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from a dragon's soul. As you progress through this Heart Form you will gain more and more draconic Features such as dragon's breath, wings, talons, and more, culminating in being able to transform into a Dragon.

Eikon Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from an Eikon's soul, an elemental entity revered such that through faith, they have changed and warped to become a unique kind of Eternal. When you gain this Heart Form you will pick one of the elements to bond to, as you fight elemental enemies you will be able to develop the attunement you have and form new ones to gain access to new Eikon Actions. This is a Martial subclass for the Soulshaped for those wanting to trike down their foes with elemental power.

Eternal Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from an Eternal or the powerful soul of a Demi-Eternal. As you progress through this Heart Form you will gain more and more Demi-Eternal Features and enhancing your Eternal magic, as this Heart Form lets your Prepare spells from both the Eternal and Cosmic Spell Lists. 

Legends Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from a soul of a legendary figure. This Heart Form has again a slight martial focus, though partly on melding your martial and spellcasting ability together, and enhances your Unleash Soul action.

Masked Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from a soul of a Masked Evil or an area tainted by their corruption. This Heart Form is in many ways a dark mirror to the Eternal Heart, with modifications to the Unleash Soul action, granting you more diabolic features as you progress and modifying your spellcasting.

Outsider Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from an Outsider or the energies of the Outside. As you progress through this Heart Form you will gain more and more eldritch Features and powers, you utilise psionics rather than normal spellcasting though still with a Soulshaped flare. 

Phoenix Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from a phoenix's soul. As you progress through this Heart Form you will gain more and more avian Features while also gaining many modifications to using fire and lightning based spells and many healing effects, including the ability to be reborn in flame after dying.

Primordial Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from a primordial's soul or one of the Realms Primoridal. As you progress through this Heart Form you will gain more and more elemental Features while also gaining many modifications to using spells based around your chosen element. 

Stellar Heart

These Soulshaped source their powers from the energies of the Realms of the Heavens. As you progress through this Heart Form you will be able to use Ritual Magic, gaining enhancements to Divination school spells, and being able to use constellations and the power of stellar phenomena to aid you. 

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So that is the Soulshaped I hope people find this Class interesting and feel free to ask questions or give feedback! The draft document has been updated to reflect the above. Hopefully it gives you a sign of where we are taking this game!