Bladesingers and their swords!

[Blaydsong]

Hey guys.

I've got an 2nd edition character (High Elf Bladesinger/Force Mage Specialist) that, for the sake of nostalgia, I am trying to properly convert to 3.5. The dilemma I have is this: The original character was, because of the open nature of the original 2nd ed. Kit, specialized in the Bastard Sword. Now in 3.5, the Bladesinger prestige class states that the character has to be using a Longsword or Rapier in order to use any of the abilities within the Prestige Class (Lesser/Greater Spellsong; Song of Celerity/Fury; etc.). So does it seem feasable that if I were to spend a feat on the Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword) in order to use it one-handed, that would be a good enough cost to be able to use the abilities in said PrC? Or should there be an additional cost?

What do you think?

 

[Shin Okada]

But anyway, I suggest you to not use Bladesinger class at all to convert your character. Current Bladesinger prestige class is very weak and representing the elven fighter/mage feel poorly. And the class has not that much abilities which resembles older Bladesinger.

Instead, you can just represent your old character's fighter/mage type aspect by using other prestige classes. Say, Fighter1/Wizard5/Eldritch Knight X will do just fine. Spellsword could be good if your character wears some armor. Even Havoc Mage (in Miniatures Handbook) may give you better "Doing sword art and spell casting simultaneously" style.

Edit : Oops. I thought I was in Rules board. Or is this thread moved? But anyway, I have erased the part of this post which were saying that this topic is more appropriate in house rules board.

 

[Nyaricus]

dude, this one is a no-brainer. You will not be upsetting game balance much by using a bastard sword, and as you already stated, using up one of those prescious few feats to gain proficiency in it is good enough to equate any outstanding balance issues. Besides, since in 2e it was okay, whast wrong with having it the same in 3.xe?? Nothing. if fir your character then, adn it'll do fine now.

peace

 

[Nyaricus]

But anyway, I suggest you to not use Bladesinger class at all to convert your character. Current Bladesinger prestige class is very weak and representing the elven fighter/mage feel poorly. And the class has not that much abilities which resembles older Bladesinger.

Instead, you can just represent your old character's fighter/mage type aspect by using other prestige classes. Say, Fighter1/Wizard5/Eldritch Knight X will do just fine. Spellsword could be good if your character wears some armor. Even Havoc Mage (in Miniatures Handbook) may give you better "Doing sword art and spell casting simultaneously" style.

hmm, i thought i was going to get in the first word here, but oh well. anyways, i wouldn't listen to this in particular because you want flavour here > besides, this is about game balance regarding using a bastard sword, not which class would make this "better". You are upgrading an old character, and good for you. i should do that sometimes (recalling my first D&D character, a LG dwarven fighter with a 1-H Guisarme-Voulge. Gotta love illegal weapons haha!!)

 

[Sledge]

I also have to repeat that the current bladesinger class is fairly distant in fluff from the 2e kit. I strongly suggest that if you are going to go with this prestige class that you understand you are "reinventing" the character. Get the right feel and ignore the exact length of the sword.

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

Gonna burn the feat on EWP anyway-- switch to Elven Thinblade. The RAW don't say you can use it, but it only makes sense to allow it, and it fits the bladesinger a lot more.

But no, I wouldn't sweat the difference for a conversion character. It's a point of damage per stike on average.

 

[Blaydsong]

Gonna burn the feat on EWP anyway-- switch to Elven Thinblade. The RAW don't say you can use it, but it only makes sense to allow it, and it fits the bladesinger a lot more.

But no, I wouldn't sweat the difference for a conversion character. It's a point of damage per stike on average.

Hehe.. that's a good idea, but it just wouldn't fit this character... at least not in the way that I played it.

Thanks for the input guys. Got a couple other questions that I'm trying to puzzle out, if you don't mind helping me out with this, though it has less to do with the class.

1) The original character had a wild talent in 2nd Ed. Now, I know that wild talents are taken care of with either a level in Psion, or a feat (don't recall for sure... don't have the expanded Psionics), but I'd rather not go with that route, if I don't have to... especially since they don't have the proper power any more (Truthear). What I originally thought was to turn it into a Psionic/Spell-like Ability like in monster stats (ie. Mind Flayers). I would probably give her Discern Lies (Cl 4, Pal 3), though I don't know how often would be enough without being considered overkill.

And,
2) She was originally a Force specialist Mage. I'm just trying to figure out what would be considered a fair trade for such a specialty. Basically as I have it now, he would receive the bonuses towards any spells with the Force descriptor, and be barred from Necromancy and spells with the Death descriptor (which, as far as I can tell, is only Power Word, Kill outside the Necro school). He has a hatred for Necromantic spells even beyond that of the typical elf because of his experiences throughout his training.

Also, if there is anyone out there who might happen to have the old 2nd Ed. stats for the Ring of the Phoenix, that would be marvelous.

Thanks in advance folks.

 

[Sledge]

1) You gotta pay for it with something. A feat at least. No more that 1/day.

2) Actually grab a few levels of the Argent Savant (Complete Arcane) and you have a force specialist.

Ring of the Phoenix is from Polyhedron 82.. the gist of what the Encyclopedia Magica says about it is... identified as ring of fire resistance... if wearer dies from fire the ring melts and the wearer is reincarnated into a human phoenix, skin turns to bright orange, alignment to NG and gets an urge to fight evil at every opportunity. Gets a few spell like abilities per day. Affect normal fires 3x, Fireball 1x, Pyrotechnics 1x, Wall'o'fire 1/week.

 

[Blaydsong]

1) You gotta pay for it with something. A feat at least. No more that 1/day.

Ok... I might have to get my hands on the Expanded Psionics to get an idea of what I should be looking at.

2) Actually grab a few levels of the Argent Savant (Complete Arcane) and you have a force specialist.

I've seen this class. It's kinda cool... but I don't know if I wanna get into another PrC or not. I may take another look at it, but I probably want to keep the # of classes down to a minimum.

Ring of the Phoenix is from Polyhedron 82.. the gist of what the Encyclopedia Magica says about it is... identified as ring of fire resistance... if wearer dies from fire the ring melts and the wearer is reincarnated into a human phoenix, skin turns to bright orange, alignment to NG and gets an urge to fight evil at every opportunity. Gets a few spell like abilities per day. Affect normal fires 3x, Fireball 1x, Pyrotechnics 1x, Wall'o'fire 1/week.

Awesome! Thanks a lot. I had a rough idea of what it did, but having the specific stats is much better. Thank you again.

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

1) The original character had a wild talent in 2nd Ed. Now, I know that wild talents are taken care of with either a level in Psion, or a feat (don't recall for sure... don't have the expanded Psionics), but I'd rather not go with that route, if I don't have to... especially since they don't have the proper power any more (Truthear). What I originally thought was to turn it into a Psionic/Spell-like Ability like in monster stats (ie. Mind Flayers). I would probably give her Discern Lies (Cl 4, Pal 3), though I don't know how often would be enough without being considered overkill.

Inquisitor [Psionic]

Prerequisite: Wis 13.

Benefit: To use this feat, you must expend your psionic focus.

You gain a +10 bonus on a Sense Motive check to oppose a Bluff check.

You must decide whether or not to use this feat prior to making a Sense Motive check. If your check fails, or if the opponent isn’t lying, you still expend your psionic focus.