Spellblade

A valiant human raises up his flaming sword and slashes in a wide arc, striking down four goblins. He rushes forward, his blade suddenly cold with frost, ready to strike down the goblin chief.

Out of sight, a half-elf hunts an orc through an ancient ruin. With a word she vanishes into a misty smoke and reappears at the side of the burly orc. She digs her sabre deep into his ribs and before the orc could react, as if on its own accord the thin blade shot from his side, flew through the air around him, and struck him hard across the throat, ending his life.

A dragonborn takes watch during a night in a deep and dangerous wood, his armor shining in the light of the dwindling campfire, his battleaxe grasped in hand. To keep himself busy he recites the words of his spells under his breath, incantations he has forever branded into his mind from constant vigilant memorisation over many years of his life.

Spellblades are masters of melding both martial prowess and arcane might. They posses a passion for knowledge and combat that pushes many into the roles of adventurers in a serach to uncover secrets and hone their skills to new levels.

Warriors of the Arcane

One of the first skills a spellblade learns is how to use their weapons as a focus for casting spells. Spellblades also learn how to channel their magic into any strike and therefore could use any weapon to combine their martial and magical skills. Spellblades don't use spell books, they learn their spells through intense memorisation, ready to call upon their incantations at any moment.

One of the most straightforward yet an absolute staple of a good spellblade is the ability to defend themselves and their allies with wards. Because of the mental concentration and focus they require for combat and in learning new things, warding comes almost naturally to spellblades. Their capacity for more wards seem to go hand in hand with the acquisition of more skills and knowledge, as if a greater amount of knowledge kept in the mind demands your body to have greater defenses for itself.

Metal and Magic

While all spellblades share the ability to meld magic with weaponry, the specific styles in which they implement spellblading in combat is varied. Spellblades tend to strive towards not just learning spells, but understanding how and why magic works the way it does. This opens up pathways to unusual hybrid forms of magic that is typically too hard to study and must simply be performed.

Creating a Spellblade

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As you create your Spellblade character, consider how you obtained your particular skillset. Did you study magic and weapon fighting at different times in your life or at the same time? Were you an aspiring warrior who discovered battle magic from a mentor? Or a wizards apprentice who took to the art of war? Maybe a spellblade mentor taught you everything he could? Or perhaps you taught yourself everything by scouring arcane books and endless practice with your weapon.

Consider your profession before you became an adventurer. Were you a mercenary, or did you fight in the kings army? Were you a wizard's lowly apprentice? Or possibly a wizard's bodyguard, who began to read his employers spellbooks?

What drew you to leave that life to become an adventurer? Was it a search for knowledge unknown? Is adventuring a path to further honing your skills? Perhaps you were tired of fighting in an army and desired to strike out on your own.

Quickbuild

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You can make a Spellblade quickly by following these suggestions. First, make Strength or Dexterity your highest score, depending on which weapons you would like to use, followed by Intelligence. Second, choose the soldier background.

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Class Features

As a spellblade, you gain the following class features

Hit Points

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• Hit Dice: 1d8 per spellblade level
• Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier
• Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per spellblade level after 1st

Proficiencies

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• Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor, shields
• Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
• Tools: none

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• Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
• Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Arcana, History, Intimidation, Investigation, Medicine, Persuasion, and Religion

Equipment

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

• (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
• (a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
• (a) a Scholar's Pack or (b) an Explorer's Pack
• (a) Scale Mail or (b) Leather Armor

Bond with Arms

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You can bond with up to 3 weapons, or 2 weapons and a shield. It takes an hour of meditation with the weapon or shield for it to become bonded. If a bonded weapon or shield is on the same plane of existence, you can speak a command word as an action and have the item teleported into your empty hand. You can only summon one weapon or shield with the action.

If you attempt to bond with a new weapon or shield but you already have the maximum number of weapons and shields bonded, you break the bond with one of the other weapons or shield.

Arcane Ward

Your understanding of magical protection can create wards to protect you and your allies. You have a pool of ward points that replenishes when you take a long rest. At 1st level you have one ward point, and you gain one more at every level.

When you or an ally within 15 feet of you takes damage, you can use your reaction to spend any number of ward points. For every ward point spent, the damage dealt to them is reduced by 5.

At 6th level, the range increases to 30 feet, and at 18th level, the range increases to 60 feet.

Fighting Style

At 2nd level, you adopt a 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

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

Defense

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

Dueling

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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

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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. The weapon must have the two-Handed or versatile property for you to gain this benefit.

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Two-Weapon Fighting

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When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

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Spellcasting

When you reach 2nd level you augment your martial prowess with the ability to cast spells. See chapter 10 for the general rules of spellcasting and refer to the end of this class for spellblade spells.

Spell Slots

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The Spellblade table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st level and higher. To cast one of these spell, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.

Spells Known of 1st level and higher

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You know two 1st level spells of your choice from the spellblade spell list. The spells known column of the spellblade table shows when you learn more spellblade spells of your choice. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots. For instance, when you reach 5th level in this class, you can learn one new spell of 1st or 2nd level. Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the spellblade spells you know and replace it with another spell from the spellblade spell list, which also must be of a level for which you have spell slots.

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Spellcasting Ability

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Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your spellblade spells, since you learn your spells through 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 spellsword spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.

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

Spell Attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier

Spellcasting Focus

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

Arcane Smite

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Starting at 2nd level, when you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one spell slot to deal either acid, cold, fire, or lightning damage to the target, in addition to the weapon's damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 5d8.

Mind Ward

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By 3rd level, your mental practices help to protect your mind, granting you proficiency in charisma saving throws

Spellblade Archetype

At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that represents the path you have chosen to take in the way in which you blend your arcane and martial techniques: The Arcane Knight, the Warp Walker, the Spellbow, or the Battle Mender. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 15th, and 20th level.

Ability Score Improvement

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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

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Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the attack action on your turn.

Enhanced Arms Bond

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At 6th level, you have learned how to improve the bond with your weapons. You can now speak the command word and have your weapons or shield teleport to your hand as an action or as a bonus action.

Arcane Ward Versatility

Starting at 6th level, when you or an ally within 30 feet of you must make a saving throw, as a reaction you can spend one Ward Point and grant a bonus equal to your intelligence modifier (minimum of 1) to their saving throw. You may grant this bonus before or after they make the roll, but before the result is determined.

At 18th level, the range increases to 60 feet.

Arcane Studies

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At 10th level your personal studies have proven useful. Choose two 1st level spells that can be cast as a ritual. You may cast these spells but only as a ritual. They are spellblade spells for you and it does not count towards your spells known.

Improved Arcane Smite

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By 11th level, your mind, body, and weapon act as a single unit, opening up the possibilities of more damage and new elements. You can now use radiant or necrotic damage for your Arcane Smites.

Additionally, whenever you hit a creature with a bonded melee weapon, the creature takes an extra 1d8 damage of either acid, cold, fire, lightning, radiant or necrotic damage. If you also use your Arcane Smite with an attack, you add this damage to the extra damage of your Arcane Smite, both the extra damage and the smite must be of the same damage type.

Unweaving Touch

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Beginning at 14th level, once per day you can use your action to end one spell on yourself or on one willing creature that you touch. When you end a spell using this feature, you learn exactly what the spell does as well as it's school of magic, if any.

Magical Intuition

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Upon reaching 14th level you may use any magic item that requires you to be a wizard to its fullest extent.

Spellblade Archetypes

Different spellblades have different focuses in the way they combine the use of mind, body, magic, and weapon. The archetype you choose reflects the way you believe these factors should interact.

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Arcane Knight

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The Arcane Knight hones their martial prowess by strengthening the energy behind their weapon swings with magical power. Not only are they masters of the front lines, they become more versed in less common elemental energies than other spellblades do.

Knight Magic

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Starting at 3rd level, you learn additional
spells when you reach certain levels in this class,
as shown in the Arcane Knight Spells table. The spells count as spellblade spells for you, and it doesn’t count against the number of spellblade spells you know.

Arcane Knight Spells

Spellblade Level	Spells
3rd	Hellish Rebuke, Compelled Duel
5th	Enlarge/Reduce, Hold Person
9th	Elemental Weapon, Protection from Energy
13th	Elemental Bane, Stoneskin
17th	Destructive Wave, Hold Monster

Bonus Proficiency

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When the spellblade chooses this archetype at 3rd level, he or she gains proficiency with heavy armor.

Cleave

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At 3rd level as an action you can cleave a bonded melee weapon through multiple foes. You can use your action to make a melee attack against any number of creatures within 5 feet of you, with a seperate attack roll for each target. You do not add your ability score modifier to the damage of these attacks.

Elemental Adept

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Upon reaching 7th level your arcane smites can use poison, psychic, or thunder damage. If the weapon you cleave with is not magical and is bonded to you, it is magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.

Additionally, you can choose one type of damage when you finish a short or long rest. You gain resistance to that type of damage until you choose a different one with this feature.

At 11th level you may use poison, psychic, or thunder damage as a damage type for your extra damage gained from Improved Arcane Smite.

Enhanced Cleave

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At 15th level your weapons are infused with a bright arcane energy that can magically increase that weapons range. If you are using a bonded melee weapon, your Cleave can now target any number of creatures within 10 feet of you. As before, you do not add your ability score modifier to the damage of these attacks.

Overwhelm

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When you reach 20th level, as an action, you strike your weapon into the ground. Everyone you choose within 30 feet of you that is touching the ground must try to resist the shear arcane might that will forceably hold them flailing in the air. Every target must make a strength saving throw. On a failure, they are restrained while hovering 3 feet from the ground until the end of your next turn. Once you use this feature, it can't be used again until you finish a long rest.

Warp Walker

The Warp Walker excels at using magic to alter and warp themselves and their weapons in a hybrid form of kinesis and

teleportation that is most unusual.

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Warp Magic

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Starting at 3rd level, you learn
additional spells when you reach
certain levels in this class, as shown
in the Warp Walker Spells table. The spells
count as spellblade spells for you, and it doesn’t count against the number of spellblade spells you know.

Warp Walker Spells

Spellblade Level	Spells
3rd	Jump, Armor of Agathys
5th	Misty Step, Blur
9th	Gaseous Form, Blink
13th	Confusion, Dimension Door
17th	Teleportaion Circle, Illusory Double

Minor Telekinesis

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You learn the Mage Hand cantrip. The hand is invisible, and if your bonded weapon or shield weighs more than 10 pounds, the hand may carry the bonded weapon or shield as if it was 10 pounds.

Opening Burst

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Starting at 3rd level, on your first turn of combat you don't trigger attacks of opportunity on you, and if you take the attack action, you can attack one extra time.

Weapon Warp

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At 7th level, if you make your first weapon attack with a bonded weapon and it hits, you can have that weapon suddenly zip directly at a different target within 15 feet and attack, or fly up and hurtle towards the first target to attack again. The second attack is made with advantage. Regardless of whether the second attack hits or misses, the weapon flies back into your hand.

If your Opening Burst Feature is activated, then this feature can work on either the first or second attacks, but only once on your turn.

Eldritch Tear

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Starting at 15th level as an action while you are holding a bonded melee weapon, you may expend a spell slot higher than 1st level to teleport to a place you can see up to 30 feet away. Every creature in a line from where you were and where you teleported to must make a dexterity saving throw. On a failure they take damage as if you used your Arcane Smite feature with your weapon in hand of one spell slot lower, on a success they take half damage.

Eldritch Tear does not damage inanimate objects unless you choose to. For example, if you choose to teleport through a window, the window is not harmed unless you choose for it to be harmed.

Warp Walking

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Upon reaching 20th level, with a burst of energy you can teleport and attack multiple times in a manner of seconds. As an action, you can make 4 attacks. After each attack you must teleport between 5 to 30 feet away. These attacks are made with advantage and if a target is hit by at least one of these attacks, they must make a wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be stunned for one minute. They can repeat this saving throw at the end of each of their turns to end the effect early. You may not use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Spellbow

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Spellblades with talent in the melding of arcane magic with the bow, crossbow or even thrown weapons such as the javelin are known as spellbows. Spellbows strive to turn the tides of battle with their powerful damage and support from a distance.

Bow Magic

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Starting at 3rd level, you learn additional spells when you reach certain levels in this class, as shown in the Spellbow Spells table. The spells count as spellblade spells for you, and it doesn’t count against the number of spellblade spells you know.

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Spellbow Spells

Spellblade Level	Spells
3rd	Ice Knife, Chromatic Orb
5th	Melf's Acid Arrow, Cordon of Arrows
9th	Conjure Barrage, Lightning Arrow
13th	Greater Invisibilty, Locate Creature
17th	Rary's Telepathic Bond, Swift Quiver

Arcane Accuracy

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At 3rd level you learn two wizard cantrips that require a ranged spell attack roll.

Supressing Strike

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At 3rd level, you have learned how use your strikes to suppress an enemy by firing near or around them in a threatening and distracting way. After you take the attack action or use the cast a spell action to cast a cantrip requiring a spell attack roll, you may use your bonus action to make an attack against a target which you had attacked with your action. If this attack hits, the creature takes no damage and instead has either disadvantage on its next attack roll or disadvantage on its next saving throw, whichever happens first, until the end of its next turn.

Sorcerous Escape

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At 7th level, when you take the attack action and an enemy is within 5 feet of you, you may attack this enemy with a ranged weapon without disadvantage. You may only choose one enemy that turn to not have disadvantage with. If at least one of your ranged attacks hit this enemy, you can use your bonus action to move 20 feet without triggering opportunity attacks from that creature until the end of your turn.

Imploding Smite

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Starting at 15th level, once per turn when you arcane smite with a ranged weapon attack, you may choose any number of creatures within a 30 foot radius of the point of impact. They must succeed on a strength saving throw against your spell save DC or be pulled 10 feet in a straight line towards the point of impact and then take half the damage of the arcane smite if it is within 5 feet of the point.

Arrows of the Spellbow

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As an action you launch three arcane bolts at once which each make a spell attack on a target within 120 feet of you. On a hit these arcane bolts deal 1d6 + your intelligence modifier in force damage. After hitting or missing their targets these arrows continue to fly and are under your control. As a bonus action on each of your turns you may command each of your arrows to attack a target within 120 feet of you.

The bolts last for one minute, for which you must maintain concentration and if you fail a saving throw or an attack hits you, you can instead sacrifice one of your arrows to reroll the saving throw or impose disadvantage on the attack roll.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Combat Mender

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Combat Menders enhance their arsenal of skills with healing magic. Combat Menders are capable of aiding injured and dying allies on the frontlines while still being able to hold their own on the battlefield.

Healer's Magic

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Starting at 3rd level, you learn additional
spells when you reach certain levels in this class,
as shown in the Combat Mender Spells table. The spells count as spellblade spells for you, and it doesn’t count against the number of spellblade spells you know.

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Combat Mender Spells

Spellblade Level	Spells
3rd	Healing Word, Protection from Evil and Good
5th	Lesser Restoration, Invisibilty
9th	Beacon of Hope, Glyph of Warding
13th	Death Ward, Freedom of Movement
17th	Antilife Shell, Mass Cure Wounds

Augmented Warding

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At 3rd level you gain two more Ward Points. You gain an additional Ward Point at level 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19.

As an action, you may touch an ally and spend as many Ward Points as you have available. For each Ward Point expended that ally gains 5 hitpoints.

At 7th level this feature can now be used on a creature within 15 feet of you.

Bonus Proficiency

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When the spellblade chooses this archetype at 3rd level, he or she gains proficiency with heavy armor.

Stave off Death

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At 3rd level you learn the spare the dying cantrip.

Arcane Guidance

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At 7th level, when an ally attempts an ability check, you may use your action and spend two ward points to grant them a bonus equal to your intelligence modifier (minimum of 1). You may grant this bonus before or after they make the roll, but before the result is determined.

Disrupting Blast

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Starting at 15th level, when you smite, you can expend a spell slot of one level higher and every creature of your choice within 10 feet of you must make a strength saving throw. On a failure they each take half the damage of your smite and are pushed 5 feet in a direction of your choice.

Avatar of Inspiration

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Starting at 20th level, as an action, for 1 minute you can infuse your body and weapons with a bright arcane energy that radiates an energy that inspires allies and discourages enemies. For the duration you emit bright light in a 60 feet radius and dim light 60 feet beyond that. At the start of each of your turns (including this one) you regain 10 hitpoints. Allies within 15 feet of you have advantage on their attack rolls, and enemies within 15 feet have disadvantage on attacks rolls and disadvantage on saving throws against your spellblade spells and spellblade features.

Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest.

Spellblade Spells

Aura of Force

5th-level evocation

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• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: Self
• Components: V, S
• Duration: Concentration, 1 minute

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Waves of energy resembling weapons fly and whirl in a 20 foot aura around you, striking at your enemies. Every enemy that starts it's turn or moves into your aura must make a dexterity saving throw or take 4d10 force damage.

Booming Blast

3rd-level evocation

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• Casting Time: 1 action
• Range: 90 feet
• Components: V, S, M (the ashes of a tree struck by lightning)
• Duration: 1 round

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Every creature within a 30 foot cube within range becomes sheathed in booming energy until the end of your next turn. If a sheathed target willingly moves before then, it must make a dexterity saving throw or take 6d8 thunder damage, or half that on a sucessful one, and the spell ends.

Charge Weapon

1st-level evocation

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• Casting Time: 1 bonus action
• Range: Self
• Components: S, M (a weapon)
• Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

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Your weapon cackles with energy as you layer the blade, head, or point of your weapon with magic, until the spell ends your attacks with that weapon deal an extra 1d4 lightning damage on a hit.

Time to Drop Knowledge

Use notes to point out some interesting information.

Tables and lists both work within a note.