Martial Archetype - Sevenfold Blade
For many years arcane spellcasters have explored the secrets of the colours of magic, much in the same way they have explored Power Words and exotic spellcasting components. Most famous of these spellcasters were the Initiates of the Sevenfold Veil, whose prismatic spells could call up potent defensive wards in a myriad of many colours.
The Sevenfold Blades are students of these teachings who applied the magic of colours instead to martial practice, wreathing their weapons in a technicolour dream. Many Sevenfold Blades originated as friends or servants of the Initiates, picking up pieces of their magic along the way or even being taught directly, but as the knowledge spread other fighters have sought out the teachings, finding the adaptive power of the rainbow to serve as adequately as any other martial practice.
In contrast to their knowledge-seeking predecessors who focused on careful study, Sevenfold Blades are typically artistic types - whether it be music, writing, painting, or other forms, and often see their fighting as an extension of their art. While not universally the case the practice tends to attract those who seek the spotlight, drawing attention to themselves, or otherwise showing off their craft. It is this unifying drive that has helped propagate the practie, even from its humble beginnings.
Some features of the Sevenfold Blade utilise spells. You use your Constitution modifier as the spellcasting ability modifier for these features.
Prismatic Blade
When you roll initiative, you channel prismatic energies through your weapons. Roll a d8 on the following table. Your weapon is wreathed in the colour of magic rolled, and deals an additional 1d4 damage on each successful weapon attack.
| d8 | Colour | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red | Fire |
| 2 | Orange | Acid |
| 3 | Yellow | Lightning |
| 4 | Green | Poison |
| 5 | Blue | Cold |
| 6 | Indigo | Psychic |
| 7 | Violet | Force |
| 8 | Prismatic | Roll twice more, gaining each colour rolled. Prismatic rerolls can stack, but duplicate types are rerolled until all colours are active. |
If you have multiple colours active, you deal 1d4 damage of each colour you hold.
As a bonus action on your turn you can reroll on the table again to change your colours. Prismatic Blade ends when combat does, or otherwise when the DM deems you out of active danger.
Dazzle the Masses
The Sevenfold Blade is a master of many colours. You gain the use of the Light and Dancing Light cantrips. In addition, you gain proficiency in one of the following skills: Performance, Persuasion, or Deception.
Sevenfold Veil
At 7th level you gain Resistance to the active colour(s) of your Prismatic Blade.
Unleash the Seven
At 10th level you gain the ability to expel your Prismatic Blade colours as an action. This takes the form of a spell based upon the table of colours below. In the event you have multiple colours active, you unleash all of them as part of the same action, potentially choosing different targets for each one, but you may only use one spell from each colour at a time. Spells from Unleash the Seven are treated as being cast from a spell slot equal to 1/3 your Fighter level (rounded up).
When you use Unleash the Seven, your Prismatic Blade is deactivated until you roll initiative or use a bonus action to regain its power. This feature can be used a number of times equal to your constitution modifier. You regain one expended use on a short rest, and all expended uses on a long rest.
| Colour | Spell |
|---|---|
| Red | Scorching Ray/Fire Shield (Warm only) |
| Orange | Melf's Acid arrow/Cure Wounds |
| Yellow | Lightning Bolt/Longstrider |
| Green | Ray of Sickness/Protection from Poison |
| Blue | Rime's Binding Ice/Armour of Agathys |
| Indigo | Tasha's Mind Whip/Mirror Image |
| Violet | Magic Missile/Vortex Warp |
Improved Dazzle the Masses
From 10th level your Light cantrip is now improved to the Daylight spell, which you can cast at will, but may only have one use active at a time. Casting it a second time immediately ends the first cast.
In addition, you now apply your proficiency bonus twice to the skill you chose for Dazzle the Masses.
Prismatic Protection
From 15th level you project a safeguarding aura in a 15ft aura when you have an active Prismatic Blade. Friendly creatures in the area gain your Sevenfold Veil resistances. In addition, if a friendly creature in the aura takes damage from a colour you don't have active, you can use your Reaction to attempt to steal a fragment of the colour. The target creature reduces the damage taken by 2d6, and your Prismatic Blade then gains the colour, alongside any other active colours you may have.
Kaleidoscopic Doom
From 18th level you gain the ability to attempt to tear the very fabric of magic from a creature. Once per short rest you can use your action to target a creature with the Dispel Magic spell, as if cast from a 6th level spell slot. If any spell requires a spellcasting ability check, you use your Constitution modifier for this. For each spell removed from the target, they take 1d6 damage per spell level, starting at the lowest level spell removed first. The damage type for these removals goes in colour order - starting at red, then orange, and so on, resetting back to red after violet.