The Spellsword

Shadows clinging to his form and blurring the edges, a great armored figure strides into the melee, enemies scattering before him as his sword rises and falls. Tracing a sigil in the air, the dark knight points his sword at the last remaining foe as black lightning jumps from its tip. A strike, a scream, and silence.

A half-orc stands with the few remaining defenders left before the breach in the city walls, watching the oncoming goblins pour forth. Readying his shield, the half-orc gives a defiant scream in an ancient language just before the wave of enemies crashes. His armor blazes with power as he breaks the enemies upon his might.

An elf silently waits with eyes closed and arrow knocked, wrapped in magic away from the prying eyes of the crowds and guards. Spotting her quarry through the eyes of her raven, she holds her breath. Moments pass before she lets fly the arrow. With a whispered word the arrow explodes in a blaze of fire darting forward.

These heroes are spellswords, warriors studied in the art and application of magic and fighting. Dark knights, noble scions, guardians of knowledge and lore, stories abound with tales of spellswords and their deeds.

Swords and Sorcery

Spellswords earn their power through diligent training and study, exercising both their minds and bodies to overcome obstacles mental and physical. While not as diversely talented in martial prowess as a fighter nor able to command as great a degree of power as a wizard, the spellsword proves their worth in their flexibility of action. They stand in a middle ground that does not quite belong to either world but hone their skills sharply enough to pass in either.

Fusion of ability

A wizard skilled with a blade or a warrior who picks up a few parlor tricks is no spellsword - spellswords have seamlessly mixed the arcane arts with the martial, a blended style fierce and recognizable for the threat it is. Nor is a sword itself required - spellswords favor a range of weapons, from bows to polearms to hammers. Spellswords are known for their pursuit of knowledge and fortitude in battle, often recognized for their heroics and brilliant strategies.

Spellswords are often found guarding caravans and travelers moving between major cities as they journey from one hub of knowledge to the next or as protectors of an ancient library. When significant danger arises, they act as the first and last line of defense.

Creating a Spellsword

When making a spellsword, consider what drove your character to pursue both martial prowess alongside arcane skill. Perhaps they come from a long line of mages, but their studies were interrupted by conscription into their liege lord's army.

Perhaps while training as a guard for the mage's council, you snuck into their libraries at night to read their books and learn their secrets?

Have you always jumped at the call to adventure, or were you a naive pupil cast out by your masters over a mistake? Did your parents pay your way through your studies until the money ran out?

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Credit: Cover Art for Tamora Pierce's Lioness Rampant

Quick Build

You can make a spellsword quickly by following these suggestions. First, Strength should be your highest ability score, followed by Intelligence. Second, choose the scholar background.

Class Features

As a spellsword, you gain the following class features:

Hit Points

• Hit Dice: 1d10 per level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light armor, Medium armor
• Weapons: Simple weapons, Martial weapons
• Tools: None

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• Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Arcana, History, Investigation, Intimidation, Perception

Equipment

You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:

• (a) scale mail or (b) leather armor
• (a) a longsword or (b) a martial weapon
• (a) a longbow and a quiver of 20 arrows or (b) a martial weapon or (c) a simple weapon
• (a) a Scholar's Pack or (b) an Explorer's Pack
• an empty spellbook

Arcane Endowment

Starting at 1st level, upon finishing a short or long rest, you may endow your weapon with either acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison damage, granting a +1 damage bonus of that type to your weapon attacks. This damage type is used with later abilities.

Preternatural Awareness

At 1st level, your martial training and magical knowledge combine to give you a heightened sense of the unnatural. You subconsciously detect the presence of magic at work within 30 ft of you, although you are unable to get a sense of the location or type of magic.

Fighting Style

At 2nd level, you adopt a particular style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

Archery

You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Great Weapon Fighting

When you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack you make with a melee weapon that you are wielding with two hands, you can reroll the die and must use the new roll, even if the new roll is a 1 or a 2. The weapon must have the two-handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

Spellcasting

Beginning at 2nd level, as a student of arcane magic, you have a spellbook containing spells that show the first glimmerings of your true power. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and the end of the class description for the spellsword spell list.

Spellbook

At 2nd level, you have a spellbook containing three 1st-level spellsword spells of your choice.

Preparing and Casting Spells

The Spellsword table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest. You prepare the list of spellsword spells that are available for you to cast. To do so. choose a number of spellsword spells from your spellbook equal to your Intelligence modifier + half your spellsword level (minimum of one spell).

The spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For example, if you're a 6th-level spellsword, you have four 1st-level and two 2nd-level spell slots. With an Intelligence of 16, your list of prepared spells can include six spells of 1st or 2nd level, in any combination, chosen from your spellbook. If you prepare the 1st-level spell magic missile, you can cast it using a 1st-level or a 2nd-level slot. Casting the spell doesn’t remove it from your list of prepared spells. You can change your list of prepared spells when you finish a long rest.

Preparing a new list of spellsword spells requires time spent studying your spellbook and memorizing the incantations and gestures you must make to cast the spell: at least 1 minute per spell level for each spell on your list.

Spellcasting Ability

Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your spellsword spells, since you learn your spells through dedicated study and memorization. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a wizard spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

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Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

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Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Your Spellbook

The spells that you add to your spellbook as you gain levels reflect the arcane research you conduct on your own, as well as intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil wizard's chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library.

Copying a Spell into the Book When you find a spellsword spell of 1st level or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a level for which you have spell slots and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it. Copying a spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation. For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it. Once you have spent this time and money, you can prepare the spell just like your other spells.

Replacing the Book You can copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book— for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. You need spend only 1 hour and 10 gp for each level of the copied spell. If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have prepared into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find new spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many wizards keep backup spellbooks in a safe place.

The Book's Appearance Your spellbook is a unique compilation of spells, with its own decorative flourishes and margin notes. It might be a plain, functional leather volume that you received as a gift from your master, a finely bound gilt-edged tome you found in an ancient library, or even a loose collection of notes scrounged together after you lost your previous spellbook in a mishap.

Spellcasting Focus

You can use an arcane focus (found in chapter 5) or a weapon as a spellcasting focus for your spellsword spells.

Learning Spells of 1st Level and Higher

Each time you gain a spellsword level, you can add one spellsword spell of your choice to your spellbook. This spell must be of a level for which you have spell slots, as shown on the Spellsword table. On your adventures, you might find other spells that you can add to your spellbook (see the “Your Spellbook” sidebar).

Close-Quarters Spellcasting

Beginning at 2nd level, you have learned to harness and channel energy with greater flexibility. Whenever you could make a ranged spell attack, you may instead make a melee spell attack against a target within your reach.

Archetype

When you reach 3rd level, you specialize the form your magic takes when intertwined with your martial abilities. Choose whether you will be a Doom Blade, a Guardian, or a Ravager.

Your choice grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th,and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Extra Attack

Starting at 5th level, you may make a second weapon attack as part of the Attack action.

Endowed Ward

Beginning at 6th level, you now weave energy into your defense. As long as you are armed, you have resistance against your Arcane Endowment damage type.

Improved Arcane Endowment

By 10th level, you are so suffused with arcane might that all your weapon strikes carry more arcane power with them. Your damage bonus from Arcane Endowment increases to 1d8 of your Arcane Endowment damage type.

You may now switch your Arcane Endowment damage type after a minute of concentration instead of at the end of a short or long rest.

Dispelling Strike

Starting at 11th level, your blade can cut through carefully woven spells. After hitting a creature or object with a weapon attack but before rolling damage, you may attempt to dispel a magical effect active upon your target. Make your damage rolls as normal and use it as a check to dispel the effect. The DC equals 10 + the spell's level. On a successful check, the spell ends.

You may use this feature once per short rest.

Battle Magic

Starting at 14th level, when you use your action to cast a spellsword spell, you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action.

Piercing Eyes

By 18th level, your mastery of combat-infused magic leaves you with unerringly sharp senses. You get advantage on saves vs illusion magic and can always sense the location of magic and magical items within 30 ft of you, even when they would be otherwise obscured. You do not suffer disadvantage on any checks related to lack of sight when interacting with spells and things of magical origin.

Archetypes

Spellswords specialize in the application of their magic to enhance their skills.

The archetype you choose reflects the focus and efforts of your training and study.

Doom Blade

Doom Blades sculpt their magic into curses designed to hamper specific foes. Doom Blades have a predilection for leaning towards the darker arts, accepting that the ends justify the means when it comes to getting results.

Doom Blade's Curse

Starting at 3rd level, you have learned to bind your magic to an enemy, weakening them against you. As a bonus action, you may curse a creature you can see within 30 feet of you.

For the next minute, once per turn you may re-roll any number of damage dice rolled by that creature, choosing which result to keep.

You may use your curse a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (a minimum of once) per long rest.

Doom Blade's Boon

You have learned to collect the power released from a creature dying while under your curse to earn temporary boons. You start knowing 3 boons at 3rd level, then another at 10th level and 15th level. You may choose to receive only one boon at a time.

• Devouring Strike: When you deliver the killing blow against a creature under your curse, you gain temporary hit points equal to the damage rolled.

• Death Spike: The cursed creature explodes in a 5ft radius, dealing 1d10 + Intelligence modifier of your Arcane Endowment energy type against each creature in the area unless they make a Reflex save for half damage against your spell save DC.

• Violent Cleave: When you deliver the killing blow with a melee atack against a creature under your curse, you may immediately make another attack against a creature within your reach as part of your Attack action.

• Scultped Flesh: You take on the features of the creature as if you cast Alter Self.

• Touch of Minds: As the creature dies, you invade its mind to discover its secrets. As its last act, it makes a Wisdom saving throw against your spell DC; if it fails, you learn one important secret or fact that the creature knows.

• Grasping Fingers: Your aura becomes visible and palpable, reaching towards your enemies. Hostile creatures within 5 ft of you must make a Strength saving throw against your spell DC or become restrained until the start of your turn.

• Glimpse of Death: You project the image of death into an enemy's mind who can see the cursed creature that died. The targeted enemy must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of the dead creature's body until the end of your next turn.

• Burst of Blood: When you kill a cursed creature with a ranged, attack, you may have the creature explode in a 15ft line away from you, dealing 1d10 + Intelligence modifier of your Arcane Endowment energy type to creatures in its path unless they make a Reflex saving throw against your spell modifier DC.

Dark Presence

Starting at 7th level, you leave a lingering effect on creatures you have cursed. For the next week after having cursed a creature, you have advantage on Intimidation and Deception checks made against that creature. Additionally, you may spend an hour crafting a nightmare to enter their dreams when they fall asleep. You do not have fine control over the dream or knowledge of their experience, but you are able to specify the general contents and form of the nightmare.

Improved Curse

Starting at 15th level, creatures cursed by you must also make a Charisma saving throw or become vulnerable to the damage type of your Arcane Endowment if you are the source of the damage. Creatures with resistance to that damage type temporarily lose their resistance from all sources of damage of that type instead of becoming vulnerable.

This feature doesn't affect creatures immune to your Arcane Endowment damage type.

Dark Misfortune

By 20th level, once per short or long rest you may force a cursed creature to re-roll any die. You choose which roll they keep.

Guardian

Guardians wield their magic as a shield over their allies, imparting crucial protection and advantage on the front lines of battle.

Bonus Proficiencies

Starting at 3rd level you gain proficiency with Heavy Armor and Shields.

Eldritch Shield

At 3rd level, you have learned to directly channel magical energy into defense. Once per short or long rest, you may use your reaction to reduce damage that you or an ally within 30 feet would take by your Intelligence modifier + twice your spellsword level.

At 6th level, you may use your Eldritch Shield twice per short or long rest.

Arcane Might

By 7th level, you apply your knowledge of magic to greater effect. You may add your Intelligence modifier as a damage bonus to spells that use the damage type from your Arcane Endowment.

Eldritch Aegis

At 15th level, when you use your Eldritch Shield, you may reduce the damage that you and each ally within 30 feet of you would take. The damage reduced by Eldritch Shield is applied separately for each creature.

Guardian's Resolve

By 20th level, if you roll initiative without any uses of Eldritch Shield remaining, you regain one use of Eldritch Shield.

Ravager

Ravagers devout greater attention to destructive energy, enhancing their effectiveness at martial magic and piercing their opponents' defenses. They excel at seeking out their enemies and destroying them.

Minor Symbol

Once per short rest, you may take a minute to scribe a hidden symbol (Investigation check against your spell DC to discover) on a surface that triggers when a creature touches it. When you scribe the symbol, you choose one of three effects to be triggered:

Tracking: The creature that triggered the minor symbol must make a Charisma saving throw. On a failure, for the next hour you know the relative direction of the creature from yourself.

Binding: The creature that triggered the minor symbol must make a Strength saving throw. On a failure, it gets knocked prone.

Charming: The creature that triggered the minor symbol must make a Wisdom saving throw or become charmed by you as if under the inlfuence of the Friends cantrip.

The symbol lasts for an hour, until dispelled (as if a cantrip), or until triggered.

Ravager's Wrath

At 3rd level, you learn how to overchannel your Arcane Endowment to obliterate your foes. As a bonus action, you may begin overchanneling your Arcane Attunement for a minute. Once per turn on a successful weapon attack, you may deal extra damage of your Arcane Endowment damage type equal to your spellsword level.

You start with one use of Wrath per long rest and gain another at level 10. You suffer no adverse effects from starting your Wrath with one of these uses.

You may use this feature with no uses remaining, but, whenever you deal extra damage with Ravager's Wrath, you take damage equal to that extra damage. This damage to yourself ignores resistance and immunity and cannot be reduced. The damage to yourself multiplies by the number of additional times you enter your Wrath before finishing a long rest; e.g., the second time with no uses remaining you take two times your spellsword level, the third you take three times, etc.

Arcane Pursuit

Starting at 7th Level, while in your Wrath you may ignore difficult terrain that is magical in nature.

Eldritch Strike

At 15th level, you learn how to make your weapon strikes undercut a creature’s resistance to 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.

Cold Fury

You may half the damage you deal to yourself from your Wrath.

Spellsword Spell List