New Class: Spellsword
Idealy, I would like to see an equal amount of classes for the various character archetypes in the world of Tamriel. With 3 main styles (warrior, mage, & thief), ten classes just doesn't divide up equally. With 3 main class styles, and 3 possible hybrid styles, we need either 6 or 12 classes. Deleting 4 classes might be the best approach, so it looks like we need to add at least 2 more.
Here's what we have so far:
Main Class Styles
Warrior: Warrior and Barbarian
Mage: Mage and Sorcerer
Thief: Thief and Rogue
Hybrid Class Styles
Warrior / Mage: Crusader
Mage / Thief: Bard
Thief / Warrior: Monk and Ranger
So the obvious holes are that the Warrior / Mage hybrid and Mage / Thief hybrid only have 1 class option each.
Today we're gonna take a look a new Warrior / Mage hybrid: The Spellsword
So if you've been following along, and are a fan of magic users, you may have noticed that the Spellsword is currently a Sorcerer subclass. Or more accurately, was a Sorcerer subclass. Not only that, but as you'll soon find out, the Battlemage is a subclass for the Spellsword, which is also currently a subclass for the Sorcerer. Well fear not sorcerer lovers, there is a lot in store for the upcoming Sorcerer revisit! But we'll discuss that another day.
CONCEPT
Wielding a sword in one hand and a spell in the other, Spellswords are usually skirmishers for the Imperial troops, mercenaries, treasure hunters, or adventurers. They are typically more armored than a mage, yet not as resilient as a warrior, and often rely on conjured allies to distract their enemies.
Spellswords are half-casters and half warriors, using both physical and mental might to breakthrough their enemies.
SPELLSWORD
Spellswords are spellcasting specialists trained to support Imperial troops in skirmish and in battle. Veteran spellswords are prized as mercenaries, and well-suited for careers as adventurers and soldiers-of-fortune.
CLASS FEATURES
As a spellsword, you gain the following class features.
HIT POINTS
Hit Die: 1d8 per spellsword level
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Endurance modifier
Hit Points At higher levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Endurance modifier per spellsword level after 1st
PROFICIENCIES
Armor: Light armor, medium armor
Weapon: Marksman, Short Blade, and Long Blade
Saving Throws: Endurance, Willpower
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, First Aid, Insight, Lore.
Schools of Magic: Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion, and Restoration
SPELLCASTING
You've learned to augment your martial prowess with the ability to cast spells. See chapter 10 of the Player's Handbook for the general rules of spellcasting.
Known Spells
Starting at 1st level, you know 2 cantrips and 2 novice level spells of your choice from the schools of magic you are proficient in.
Each time you gain a new skill level in spellcasting, you learn 1 spell of your choice from a school you are proficient in. For example, at 9th level, you can choose one 3rd level or lower spell from your any school of magic you are proficient in.
You can learn additional spells by hiring a spell trainer, usually found in settlements throughout Tamriel, or by finding spell books.
Casting Spells
The spellsword's table shows how much magicka you have to cast your spells. To cast one of your spells of 1st level or higher, you must expend magicka, as noted in the spell's description. Some spells can be cast at a higher level, however, you can only cast a spell up to the maximum spell level you know, determined by your class level.
Regaining Magicka
You regain magicka limited to your Intelligence modifier while resting. The amount of magicka you regenerate is equal to half your Intelligence modifier, rounding down (minimum of 1) for each hour spent resting during a short rest, and you regain an amount magicka equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum of 1) when you complete a long rest.
Governing Attribute
Each school of magic is governed by a specific attribute, which determines the effectiveness of your spell.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus +
the school's Governing Attribute modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
the school's Governing Attribute modifier
WEAPON BOND
At 1st level, you can perform a ritual that creates a magical bond between yourself and a weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can been done during a short rest. The weapon must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you touch the weapon and forge the bond.
Once you have bonded a weapon to yourself, you can't be disarmed of that weapon unless you are incapacitated. If it is on the same plane of existence, you can summon that weapon as a bonus action on your turn, causing it to teleport instantly to your hand.
You can have up to two bonded weapons, but can summon only one at a time with your bonus action. If you attempt to bond with a third weapon, you must break the bond with one of the other two.
IMBUE MAGIC
At 2nd level, you learn to invoke powerful magic within your weapon. You choose to learn one Elemental Imbuement listed below.
As a bonus action, you infuse a single weapon with the magical energy of a known Elemental Imbuement for up to 8 hours. While active, attacks with this weapon deal an additional 1d4 damage of the chosen damage type. This damage is considered magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage.
The damage dealt by your Imbue Magic feature increases as you gain Spellsword levels, as shown in the Imbue Magic column of the Spellsword table. Your enchantment lasts until the spell ends, but it can end early if the weapon is wielded by another creature, or if you fall unconscious.
If you use this ability to imbue the same weapon again, your current enchantment leaves and is replaced by the new enchantment.
You learn an additional Elemental Imbuement at 6th level and again at 11th level, and you can choose 1 Arcane Imbuement at 14th level.
Elemental Imbuements
Choose from the following:
Flame. Your enchant your weapon with the elemental damage of fire.
Glacier. Your enchant your weapon with the elemental damage of frost.
Storm. You enchant your weapon with the elemental damage of shock.
Venom. Your enchant your weapon with the elemental damage of poison.
Arcane Imbuements
Choose from the following:
Decay. Your enchant your weapon with the magical damage of disease.
Gloom. Your enchant your weapon with the magical damage of shadow.
Light. Your enchant your weapon with the magical damage of radiant.
Mystic. Your enchant your weapon with the magical damage of magic.
MYSTIC PATH
At 3rd level, you choose a martial mystic path. Choose either Battlemage, Warlock, or Witch Blade, which are detailed at the end of the class description. Your path grants you features at 3rd level, and then again at 6th, 14th, and 20th level.
ATTRIBUTE SCORE IMPROVEMENT
When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th and 19th level, you can increase one attribute score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two attribute scores by one
EXTRA ATTACK
Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
SPELL WEAVING
Beginning at 7th level, when you use your action to cast a cantrip, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.
ELDRITCH STRIKE
At 11th level, you learn how to make your weapon strikes undercut a creature's ability to resist your spells. When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, that creature has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes against a spell you cast before the end of your next turn.
ARCANE MIGHT
By 15th level, if your total for an Intelligence check is less than your Intelligence score, you can use that score in place of the total.
IMPROVED SPELL WEAVING
Starting at 18th level, when you use your action to cast a spell, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.
BATTLEMAGE
Battlemages are wizard-warriors, trained in both lethal spellcasting and heavily armored combat. They sacrifice mobility and versatility for the ability to supplement melee and ranged attacks with elemental damage and summoned creatures.
BATTLEMAGE MASTERY
When you choose this focus at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in Heavy Armor
IMBUE DEFENSE
Starting at 3rd level, you can use your Imbue Magic feature to invoke powerful magic within your armor instead of your weapon. You learn the following Battle Imbuement.
Battle Imbuement
Defense. You gain a +1 bonus to your AC.
As a bonus action, you can imbue a set of armor with the energy of a known Arcane Imbuement, Battle Imbuement, or Elemental Imbument for up to 8 hours. While active, you gain resistance to all attacks made against you with this type of damage. Your enchantment ends if you remove your armor or if you fall unconscious.
If you use this ability to imbue the same armor again, your current enchantment leaves and is replaced by the new enchantment.
BATTLE WARD
Also at 3rd level, as a reaction you can create a magical ward on a number of friendly creatures of your choice within 30 feet of you, including yourself. A creature gains a ward from 1d6 to 3d6 hit points (your choice). You have a total pool of 3d6 that you can expend. Subtract the dice given with each use from that total.
The wards last until the end of your next turn. When a warded creature is targeted with an attack that deals damage, the ward takes the damage instead. If the ward is reduced to 0 hit points, any excess damage carries over to the creature being attacked. The ward does not benefit from any resistances from you or the warded creature.
This pool increases to 6d6 at 11th level, 9d6 at 14th level, and 12d6 at 18th level.
You regain all expended dice from your pool when you finish a long rest.
BATTLE AURA
At 6th level, you and friendly creatures within 10 feet of you have resistance to damage from spells.
At 18th level, the range of this aura increases to 30 feet.
SPELL REFLECT
Starting at 14th level, while wearing heavy armor, your arcane expertise allows you to redirect harmful spells back at your enemies.
When you are required to make a Willpower saving throw against a magical spell, you can use your reaction to attempt to reflect the spell back to the caster. On a successful save you reflect the harmful effect back to the caster. On a failed save, you are unable to reflect the spell.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
DRAINING AURA
At 20th level, you can drain the life force of others around you to heal yourself. As an action, you create a 30-foot-radius sphere of draining aura, centered on yourself. Any number of creatures of your choice within the aura must make a Willpower saving throw. On a failed save, the aura drains 1d6 hit points. A creature can choose to fail the saving throw. You are healed for the total amount of hit points drained.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.
WITCH BLADE
Witch Blades create unique bonds with their weapons, being able to conjure them at will. This allows them to be armed at the slightest thought, never having to be worried about being caught off guard, and making them the perfect assassin.
MYSTIC BINDING
When you choose this path at 3rd level, you learn the spell bound weapon if you haven't already learned it. You can cast this spell as a cantrip, without the use of magicka. When you cast this spell, you are able to cast it as a bonus action, and you can choose to create a unique spectral weapon called the Witch Blade. This weapon counts as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to non-magical attacks and damage.
When you conjure a witch blade, you can choose the form that this melee weapon takes each time you create it.
Your witch blade disappears if it is more than 5 feet from you for 1 minute or more. It also disappears if you use this feature again, if you dismiss the weapon (no action required), or if you die. When the witch blade is formed, it automatically gains the benefits of your Weapon Bond feature, allowing you to use a bonus action to re-summon this weapon to your hand.
You can transform one magic weapon into your witch blade by performing a special ritual while you hold the weapon. You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. You can then dismiss the weapon, shunting it into a realm of oblivion, and it appears whenever you summon your witch blade thereafter. You can't affect an artifact or sentient weapon in this way. The weapon ceases being your witch blade if you die, if you perform the 1 hour ritual on a different weapon, or if you use a 1 hour ritual to break your bond to it. The weapon appears at your feet if it is in its realm of oblivion when the bond breaks.
Additionally, you are also able to use your Imbue Magic feature to augment your witch blade.
EMPOWERED ELEMENTS
At 6th level, the energy you wield with your bound weapon becomes more potent. The damage dealt by your Imbue Magic feature ignores resistances to the same type of damage dealt.
ARCANE CHARGE
At 14th level, you gain the ability to teleport up to 30 feet to an unoccupied space you can see as a bonus action. On your turn, you can teleport as an additional action on top of your regular action and a possible bonus action.
Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. Starting at 17th level, you can use it twice before rest, but only once on the same turn.
SUPERNATURAL REVISAL
At 20th level, your witch blade has the ability to turn failure into success. If an attack made with your bound weapon misses a target within range, you can turn this miss into a hit.
Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest.
WARLOCK
Experts in arcane secrets, Warlocks have unlocked esoteric knowledge that gives them the upper hand by augmenting common spells to create powerful and unexpected effects.
BOOK OF SHADOWS
When you choose this path at 3rd level, you learn how to weave magic into a grimoire of spells, known as a Book of Shadows. Choose three cantrips from any class's spell list (the three needn't be from the same list). While this book is on your person, you can cast those cantrips at will. If they don't appear on your Spellsword list, they are nonetheless Spellsword spells for you.
At 6th level, you learn how to inscribe magical rituals into your Book of Shadows. Choose two 1st-level spells that have the ritual tag from any class's spell list (the two needn't be from the same list). With your Book of Shadows in hand, you can cast the chosen spells as rituals. You can't cast the spells except as rituals, unless you've learned them by some other means. You can also cast a Spellsword spell you know as a ritual if it has the ritual tag.
On your adventures, you can add other ritual spells to your Book of Shadows. When you find such a spell, you can add it to the book if the spell's level is equal to or less than half your Spellsword level (rounded up) and if you can spare the time to transcribe the spell. For each level of the spell, the transcription process takes 2 hours and costs 200 septims for the rare inks needed to inscribe it.
If you lose your Book of Shadows, you can perform a 1-hour ceremony to create a replacement. This ceremony can be performed during a short or long rest, and it destroys the previous book. The book turns to ash when you die.
ELDRITCH INVOCATIONS
In your study of occult lore, you have unearthed eldritch invocations, fragments of forbidden knowledge that imbue you with an abiding magical ability.
At 6th level, you gain 3 Eldritch Invocations of your choice. Your invocation options are detailed below. You learn 2 additional invocations at 11th level, and again at 17th level.
Additionally, when you gain a Spellsword level, you can choose one of the invocations you know and replace it with another invocation that you could learn at that level.
Fiendish Resilience
Starting at 14th level, you can choose one damage type when you finish a short or long rest. You gain resistance to that damage type until you choose a different one with this feature. Damage from magical weapons or silver weapons ignores this resistance.
Eldritch Master
At 20th level, you can draw on your inner reserve of mystical power. You can spend 1 minute meditating to regain magicka equal to your intelligence modifier.
ELDRITCH INVOCATIONS
If an eldritch invocation has prerequisites, you must meet them to learn it. You can learn the invocation at the same time that you meet its prerequisites. A level prerequisite refers to your level in the class.
Armor of Shadows
You can cast oakflesh on yourself at will, without expending magicka.
Ascendant Step
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast levitate on yourself at will, without expending magicka.
Beast Speech
You can cast speak with animals at will, without expending magicka.
Beguiling Influence
You gain proficiency in the Deception and Persuasion skills.
Bewitching Whispers
Prerequisite: 7th level
You can cast compulsion once, using using magicka as normal. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Dreadful Word
Prerequisite: 7th level
You can cast confusion once, using using magicka as normal. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Devil's Sight
You can see normally in darkness, both magical and non-magical, to a distance of 120 feet.
Eldritch Sight
You can cast detect magic at will, without expending magicka.
Eldritch Spear
Prerequisite: wizard rend cantrip
When you cast wizard rend, its range is 300 feet.
Eyes of the Rune Keeper
You can read all writing.
Fiendish Vigor
You can cast false life on yourself at will as a 1st-level spell, without expending magicka.
Gaze of Two Minds
You can use your action to touch a willing humanoid and perceive through its senses until the end of your next turn. As long as the creature is on the same plane of existence as you, you can use your action on subsequent turns to maintain this connection, extending the duration until the end of your next turn. While perceiving through the other creature’s senses, you benefit from any special senses possessed by that creature, and you are blinded and deafened to your own surroundings.
Shadowstrike
When you hit a creature with a melee weapon, the creature takes extra shadow damage equal to your Personality modifier (minimum 1).
Mask of Many Faces
You can cast disguise self at will, without expending magicka.
Master of Myriad Forms
Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast alter self at will, without expending magicka.
Minions of Chaos
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast conjure lesser daedra once using magicka as normal. You can’t do so again until you
finish a long rest.
Mire the Mind
Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast slow once using using magicka as normal. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Misty Visions
You can cast silent image at will, without expending magicka or material components.
One with Shadows
Prerequisite: 5th level
When you are in an area of dim light or darkness, you can use your action to become invisible until you move or take an action or a reaction.
Otherworldly Leap
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast jump on yourself at will, without expending magicka.
Repelling Blast
Prerequisite: wizard rend cantrip
When you hit a creature with wizard rend, you can push the creature up to 10 feet away from you in a straight line.
Sculptor of Flesh
Prerequisite: 7th level
You can cast polymorph once using magicka as normal. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Sign of Ill Omen
Prerequisite: 5th level
You can cast bestow curse once using magicka as normal. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Thief of Five Fates
You can cast bane once using magicka as normal. You can’t do so again until you finish a long rest.
Visions of Distant Realms
Prerequisite: 15th level
You can cast arcane eye at will, without expending magicka.
Whisper of the Grave
Prerequisite: 9th level
You can cast speak with dead at will, without expending magicka.
Witch Sight
Prerequisite: 15th level
You can see the true form of any shapechanger or creature concealed by illusion or transmutation magic while the creature is within 30 feet o f you and within line of sight.
