gamecat
Explorer
Well, after all these revisions, here's the new sword mage, finally (?) balanced. Commentary is appreciated and welcomed.
Old wrassling with this concept has been pounded out here:
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?t=22387
Sword Mage
The flashing lights, pulsating music, and crowded bodies on the dance floor of the former House Brotsch's traditional Yuiderdam ceremony were no inhibition. The sword mage was there with a purpose. He was there to defeat a man. The mage squinted through the lights, through the crowd of people dancing into a mad illusion induced frenzy, when he saw his man. A few arcane syllables tumbled out of his mouth, and scarlet energy suffused his now-drawn longsword. The dancers were oblivious, focused entirely on the movements and slamming beat. The mage ran and leaped onto the wall, ran alongside it, and fell from it, clashing blades with his opponent...
A fearsome opponent, the Sword Mage is an arcane spellcaster who focuses on
movement-oriented combat as well as channeling spells through a sword. Sword
Mages tend to form loose colleges around one powerful individual, as demonstrated by the Sword Mages Swieger Tlaristlar, Jaaster Myryryl and
Shouse.
Requirements: To qualify to become a sword mage, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +4.
Concentration: 7 ranks.
Tumble: 5 ranks.
Feats: Arcane Strike [see below], Combat Casting, Dodge, Weapon Focus ([DM's discretion on what weapons may be used with this class... I rule
short, bastard, and longswords legal])
Spellcasting: Able to cast Expeditious Retreat, Cat's
Grace, and Greater Magic Weapon as arcane spells.
Arcane Strike [General]
You can channel arcane energy intp your melee attacks.
Prerequisites: Ability to cast arcane spells, base attack bonus +4
Benefit: As a free action usable once per round, you may sacrifice one of your arcane spells for the day to grant benefits to your next melee or ranged attack. For each level of the spell sacrificed, you gain a +2 bonus to hit and deal an extra +1d6 points of damage. The bonus you gain to hit cannot exceed your base attack bonus, but if you sacrifice a spell of such a level that the bonus to hit exceeds your base attack, you still gain the normal extra damage due to the spell’s level. This feat is a supernatural ability.
Class Skills
Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Jump (Str), Knowledge (any)(Int), Spellcraft (Int) and Tumble (Dex). See the Player’s Handbook, Chapter
Four: Skills, for skill descriptions.
Skills at each level: 2+Int Modifier.
Hit Die: d4
(Rogue BAB advancement, good reflex saves, spellcasting advancement as
planeshifter (advancement on every level but 1st, 5th, and 9th))
1st: Swordcasting: For a sword mage, a hand holding a sword is considered empty for the purposes of somatic components for arcane spells. Note that the mage must still be able to freely move his arm, so a grappled sword mage is one who still will have difficulty casting somatic spells.
2nd: Canny Defense: When not wearing armor or using a shield, a sword
mage adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per sword mage class level to her Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a sword mage is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus.
3rd: Improved Reaction: At 3rd level, a duelist gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks. At 9th level, the bonus increases to +4. This bonus stacks with the benefit provided by the Improved Initiative feat.
4th: Arcane Jinking: When taking a charge action in combat (see Chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook), a sword mage can make a number of turns, each of not more than 90 degrees, equal to his Intelligence modifier. The action still counts as a charge.
5th: Channel Touch: A 4th level sword mage may use his sword as the
touch for a touch spell. For example, after Transmuting Shocking Grasp, Westenberger the Jovial may make a melee touch attack with his longsword and
deal shocking grasp damage. If he desires, he may instead make a melee attack and deal sword damage in addition to shocking grasp damage.
6th: In Defiance of Gravity: A 6th level sword mage can take part of one of his move actions on a wall if he begins and ends his move on a horizontal surface. The height he could achieve on the wall is limited only by this movement restriction. If the sword mage fails to end his move on a horizontal surface, he falls prone, taking damage as appropriate for your height above the floor. Treat the wall as a normal floor for the purposes of measuring movement. Passing the boundary between horizontal and vertical is equivalent to 5 feet of movement along a normal floor. Opponents on the floor still get attacks of opportunity as the sword mage moves up the wall within areas they threaten.
For instance, Brandon Westenberger the Jovial has a speed of 60 feet (due to his Expeditious Retreat spell). He begins his action standing next to the wall. He runs up the wall at a 45-degree angle ("diagonally") for 15 feet, which also puts him 15 feet farther along the hall. At this point, Westenberger runs 15 feet straight down the wall, ending his move on a 5 foot square immediately next to the wall, and takes his attack normally against an opponent there, which potentially sets up flanking for his comrades. If the wall had a ledge within 30 feet, Westenberger could have ended his move on it instead of heading back down the wall.
A crafty sword mage can (and often does) take other move actions in conjunction with with moving on a wall. For instance, the Spring Attack feat allows attacks to be made from the wall against a foe who is standing on the floor who is within the area you threaten. However, if the sword mage is somehow prevented from completing his move, he falls. Likewise, you could tumble along the wall to avoid attacks of opportunity.
7th: Enhanced Arcane Strike: A 7th level sword mage adds his sword
mage class levels to the damage that any arcane strike attack that successfully hits.
8th: Fast Movement: A sword mage of at least 8th level's land speed
is faster than the norm for his race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the sword mage’s speed because of any load carried.
10th: Greater Arcane Strike: A sword mage of 10th level has reached the apse of efficiency when transfering spells to energy. All bonus damage dice produced by use of the Arcane Strike feat are increased to d8s.
Old wrassling with this concept has been pounded out here:
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?t=22387
Sword Mage
The flashing lights, pulsating music, and crowded bodies on the dance floor of the former House Brotsch's traditional Yuiderdam ceremony were no inhibition. The sword mage was there with a purpose. He was there to defeat a man. The mage squinted through the lights, through the crowd of people dancing into a mad illusion induced frenzy, when he saw his man. A few arcane syllables tumbled out of his mouth, and scarlet energy suffused his now-drawn longsword. The dancers were oblivious, focused entirely on the movements and slamming beat. The mage ran and leaped onto the wall, ran alongside it, and fell from it, clashing blades with his opponent...
A fearsome opponent, the Sword Mage is an arcane spellcaster who focuses on
movement-oriented combat as well as channeling spells through a sword. Sword
Mages tend to form loose colleges around one powerful individual, as demonstrated by the Sword Mages Swieger Tlaristlar, Jaaster Myryryl and
Shouse.
Requirements: To qualify to become a sword mage, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +4.
Concentration: 7 ranks.
Tumble: 5 ranks.
Feats: Arcane Strike [see below], Combat Casting, Dodge, Weapon Focus ([DM's discretion on what weapons may be used with this class... I rule
short, bastard, and longswords legal])
Spellcasting: Able to cast Expeditious Retreat, Cat's
Grace, and Greater Magic Weapon as arcane spells.
Arcane Strike [General]
You can channel arcane energy intp your melee attacks.
Prerequisites: Ability to cast arcane spells, base attack bonus +4
Benefit: As a free action usable once per round, you may sacrifice one of your arcane spells for the day to grant benefits to your next melee or ranged attack. For each level of the spell sacrificed, you gain a +2 bonus to hit and deal an extra +1d6 points of damage. The bonus you gain to hit cannot exceed your base attack bonus, but if you sacrifice a spell of such a level that the bonus to hit exceeds your base attack, you still gain the normal extra damage due to the spell’s level. This feat is a supernatural ability.
Class Skills
Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Jump (Str), Knowledge (any)(Int), Spellcraft (Int) and Tumble (Dex). See the Player’s Handbook, Chapter
Four: Skills, for skill descriptions.
Skills at each level: 2+Int Modifier.
Hit Die: d4
(Rogue BAB advancement, good reflex saves, spellcasting advancement as
planeshifter (advancement on every level but 1st, 5th, and 9th))
1st: Swordcasting: For a sword mage, a hand holding a sword is considered empty for the purposes of somatic components for arcane spells. Note that the mage must still be able to freely move his arm, so a grappled sword mage is one who still will have difficulty casting somatic spells.
2nd: Canny Defense: When not wearing armor or using a shield, a sword
mage adds 1 point of Intelligence bonus (if any) per sword mage class level to her Dexterity bonus to modify Armor Class while wielding a melee weapon. If a sword mage is caught flat-footed or otherwise denied her Dexterity bonus, she also loses this bonus.
3rd: Improved Reaction: At 3rd level, a duelist gains a +2 bonus on initiative checks. At 9th level, the bonus increases to +4. This bonus stacks with the benefit provided by the Improved Initiative feat.
4th: Arcane Jinking: When taking a charge action in combat (see Chapter 8 of the Player's Handbook), a sword mage can make a number of turns, each of not more than 90 degrees, equal to his Intelligence modifier. The action still counts as a charge.
5th: Channel Touch: A 4th level sword mage may use his sword as the
touch for a touch spell. For example, after Transmuting Shocking Grasp, Westenberger the Jovial may make a melee touch attack with his longsword and
deal shocking grasp damage. If he desires, he may instead make a melee attack and deal sword damage in addition to shocking grasp damage.
6th: In Defiance of Gravity: A 6th level sword mage can take part of one of his move actions on a wall if he begins and ends his move on a horizontal surface. The height he could achieve on the wall is limited only by this movement restriction. If the sword mage fails to end his move on a horizontal surface, he falls prone, taking damage as appropriate for your height above the floor. Treat the wall as a normal floor for the purposes of measuring movement. Passing the boundary between horizontal and vertical is equivalent to 5 feet of movement along a normal floor. Opponents on the floor still get attacks of opportunity as the sword mage moves up the wall within areas they threaten.
For instance, Brandon Westenberger the Jovial has a speed of 60 feet (due to his Expeditious Retreat spell). He begins his action standing next to the wall. He runs up the wall at a 45-degree angle ("diagonally") for 15 feet, which also puts him 15 feet farther along the hall. At this point, Westenberger runs 15 feet straight down the wall, ending his move on a 5 foot square immediately next to the wall, and takes his attack normally against an opponent there, which potentially sets up flanking for his comrades. If the wall had a ledge within 30 feet, Westenberger could have ended his move on it instead of heading back down the wall.
A crafty sword mage can (and often does) take other move actions in conjunction with with moving on a wall. For instance, the Spring Attack feat allows attacks to be made from the wall against a foe who is standing on the floor who is within the area you threaten. However, if the sword mage is somehow prevented from completing his move, he falls. Likewise, you could tumble along the wall to avoid attacks of opportunity.
7th: Enhanced Arcane Strike: A 7th level sword mage adds his sword
mage class levels to the damage that any arcane strike attack that successfully hits.
8th: Fast Movement: A sword mage of at least 8th level's land speed
is faster than the norm for his race by +10 feet. This benefit applies only when he is wearing no armor and not carrying a heavy load. Apply this bonus before modifying the sword mage’s speed because of any load carried.
10th: Greater Arcane Strike: A sword mage of 10th level has reached the apse of efficiency when transfering spells to energy. All bonus damage dice produced by use of the Arcane Strike feat are increased to d8s.
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