The Swordmage
Swordmages are warriors who have mastered a rare and unique form of arcane magic that combines swordplay, magic, elemental control, and even the art of Teleportation. Such warriors usually find work as adventurers, scholars, or bodyguards due to their unique skills.
Class Name
| Level | Prof. Bonus | Features | Swordmage Step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | +2 | Swordmage's Arsenal, Swordmage Warding, Weapon Bond | — |
| 2nd | +2 | Swordmage Step, Fighting Style | 15ft |
| 3rd | +2 | Swordmage's Aegis, Bond Blade | 15ft |
| 4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 15ft |
| 5th | +3 | Extra Attack, Swordmagic | 20ft |
| 6th | +3 | Swordmage's Aegis feature | 20ft |
| 7th | +3 | Combat Magic | 20ft |
| 8th | +3 | ASI | 25ft |
| 9th | +4 | Improved Swordmagic | 25ft |
| 10th | +4 | Magical Pursuits | 25ft |
| 11th | +4 | Swordmage's Aegis feature | 30ft |
| 12th | +4 | ASI | 30ft |
| 13th | +5 | Dimensional Thunder | 30ft |
| 14th | +5 | Greater Flourishes | 30ft |
| 15th | +5 | Improved Swordmage Step, Dance of the Sword | 35ft |
| 16th | +5 | ASI | 35ft |
| 17th | +6 | Swordmage's Aegis feature | 35ft |
| 18th | +6 | Death's Resurgence | 35ft |
| 19th | +6 | ASI | 35ft |
| 20th | +6 | Total Aegis | 35ft |
Class Features
As a Swordmage, you gain the following class features
Hit Points
- Hit Dice: 1d10 per Swordmage level
- Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier
- Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Swordmage level after 1st.
Proficiencies
- Armor: light armor, medium armor
- Weapons: simple weapons, glaives, greatswords, longswords, rapiers, scimitars, and shortswords
- Saving Throws: Constitution, Intelligence
- Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, History, Intimidation, Perception, Religion
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- one martial melee weapon and one simple melee weapon
- (a) leather armor and a shortbow with 20 arrows, or (b) a chain shirt and 2 daggers
- 4 daggers
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack, (b) an explorer's pack, or (c) a scholar's pack
First Level
Swordmage's Arsenal
Daggers, glaives, greatswords, longswords, rapiers, scimitars, and shortswords are Swordmage Weapons. You can use any of these weapons as an Arcane Focus for spells you cast.
Swordmage Warding
If you are wielding a Swordmage weapon and not wearing Heavy armor or a shield, you gain +1 to AC. If the weapon is not Two-Handed and you have at least one empty hand, you gain +3 to AC instead.
Weapon Bond
You can bond yourself to up to three weapons in an hour-long ritual of meditation and focus, at the end of which you touch up to three Swordmage Weapons and bond to them. As a bonus action, you can cause one of these weapons to teleport to your hand as long as it is on the same plane as you.
In addition, each of these bonded weapons gains the thrown property with a range of 20/30. Light weapons have a range of 30/45 and Heavy weapons have a range of 10/20.
Second Level
Swordmage Step
You gain the ability to step through dimensions, teleporting around the battlefield. You can teleport up to 15 feet on your turn, each foot of teleportation costing 1 foot of movement. Once you have teleported using this feature a number of times equal to your Intelligence Modifier + 1, you must complete a Long Rest before using it again, regaining all uses. You regain 1 use after completing a Short Rest.
At 5th, 8th, 11th, and 15th levels, the range of Swordmage Step increases by 5 feet. If the range of Swordmage Step is more than your movement, you can still teleport the full distance by using all of your movement.
Fighting Style
Fighting Style
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.
Protection When a creature you can see attacks a target other than you that is within 5 feet of you, you can use your reaction to impose disadvantage on the attack roll. You have a hand free and benefit from Swordmage Warding.
Two-Weapon Fighting When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.
Third Level
Swordmage's Aegis
Swordmages are masters of a specialized form of magic that allows for teleportation, especially towards specific singled-out targets. Swordmages use this ability in different styles, called Aegises. At 3rd level, choose Aegis of Assault, Aegis of Ensnaring, or Aegis of Shielding, each of which are detailed at the end of this class.
Bonded Bladework
You may use Intelligence, instead of Strength or Dexterity, for weapon attacks made with Bonded Swordmage Weapons.
Fifth Level
Extra Attack
You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.
Swordmagic
All Swordmage weapons you wield count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage.
Seventh Level
Combat Magic
Swordmages don't cast spells as wizards or other spellcasters do, but this should not be confused to mean they aren't practitioners of the Art. A Swordmage has access to a variety of magical effects called Swordmage Flourishes that they employ in combat to damage enemies, protect allies, or control the battlefield.
You can only use one Swordmage Flourish per turn. Use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a Swordmage Flourish and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus +
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus +
Arcane Lance: When you hit with a Swordmage Weapon, you can choose to deal an additional 2d6 Force damage and force the target to succeed on a Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 15 feet. You can then choose to move up to 15 feet, as long as you end that movement adjacent to the target.
Blazing Pursuit: When you hit a creature with a Swordmage Weapon, you set them ablaze for 1 minute. At the start if each of their turns, they take 1d8 Fire damage. While they are ablaze, whenever they end their turn, you may us your reaction to teleport to a space adjacent to them as long as they are within 60 feet of you. At the end of each of their turns (before you teleport) they may attempt a Constitution saving throw, ending the effect on a success.
Dimensional Cleave: When you damage a creature with a Swordmage Weapon, all creatures marked by you except for the initial creature take Force damage equal to the damage you just dealt.
Electrified Lash: As an action, you emit lethal lightning from a Swordmage Weapon you're wielding. Any number of creatures you choose that you can see within 30 feet of you must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 Lightning damage on a failure, or half as much on a successful save.
Falcon's Mark: As an action, you throw a Swordmage Weapon as if it had the Thrown property with a range of 60/120. If you hit, the target takes an additional 2d10 Force damage and is Marked by you until the end of your next turn. This does not end any previous Marks. Your weapon then immediately teleports to your hand.
Frost Backlash: When you take damage from a melee attack, you can use your Reaction to deal 3d10 Cold damage to the attacker and cause their speed to be slowed by 20 until the end of their next turn. A creature that succeeds on a Constitution saving throw takes half damage and is only slowed by 10 feet.
Spellbinder's Gift: As an action, choose a damage type: Acid, Cold, Fire, or Lightning. Then choose any number of weapons within 30 feet of you. For the next minute, or until you end this effect on your turn (no action), those weapons deal the chosen damage type instead of their normal damage.
Sword of Sigils: As a bonus action, you imbue a weapon you are wielding with divination magic. Until the start of your next turn, all creatures you hit with that weapon are marked by you until the end of your next turn. This does not end any previous Marks.
Vanishing Blade: If you make an attack with a Swordmage Weapon on your turn, you can use a bonus action to turn invisibile until the end of your next turn. This invisibility ends after you cast a spell or make an attack.
Ninth Level
Improved Swordmagic
You learn three cantrips from the Wizard spell list. At least one of these spells must be Booming Blade, Greenflame Blade, Lightning Lure, or Sword Burst. When you make an attack on your turn using the Attack Action, instead of making a second attack with Extra Attack, you can cast one of these four spells.
In addition, you can use your item interaction instead of a bonus action to teleport a Bonded Swordmage Weapon to your hand.
Tenth Level
Magical Pursuits
Despite their focus on combat magic, Swordmages are scholars of the Arcane Arts. You become proficient with the Arcana skill if you aren't already, and if you are, your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make with that skill. In addition, you can cast Detect Magic at-will without expending a spell slot.
Thirteenth Level
Dimensional Thunder
Whenever you teleport, you can emit thunderous energy, either before or after the teleport. If you do so, each creature within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw, taking 3d8 Thunder damage on a failure.
Fourteenth Level
Greater Flourishes
Increase all Swordmage Flourishes gain an additional use between rests. In addition, you learn one Greater Flourish from the list below, and each time you gain a level in this class, you can replace one Greater Flourish you know with a new one. All Greater Flourishes require you to hit with or wield a Swordmage Weapon. Once you have used a Greater Flourish twice, you must complete a Long Rest before using it again.
Arcane Deflection: When you are targeted by an attack made from within your melee weapon's range, you may use your reaction to attempt to parry the blow. Make an attack roll against an AC equal to the triggering attack total, adding your current Swordmage Warding bonus to the total. If you hit, the triggering attack misses you and you deal damage to the attacker as though you hit it with your weapon. That creature can't target you with any attacks until the end of its turn.
Arcane Transport: When you teleport, you may allow one adjacent ally to use their reaction to teleport with you. If they do, they must teleport to a space adjacent to your destination. At the end of this teleportation, that ally may make a single melee attack against a creature within their weapon's range. If they don't make this attack, you can use this Greater Flourish a second time between Rests.
Blades of Fiery Wrath: As an action, you a number of fiery duplicates of your weapon equal to your Intelligence modifier, each to a space within 30 feet of you. Then, each weapon makes an attack against a creature within its range, as if you were wielding it. On a hit, the weapon does an additional 2d6 Fire damage, and all of its damage is Fire instead of its normal type. No more than one fiery duplicate can attack a single creature each turn. As a Bonus Action on subsequent turns, you can cause each weapon to move to a different space within 30 feet of you and repeat this attack. Whenever a weapon hits, it disappears after the attack.
Energy Theft: When you hit a creature with a Swordmage Weapon, you can force them to succeed on a Constitution saving throw. If they fail, they lose one damage resistance of your choice, or one immunity of theirs becomes resistance instead, for 1 minute. The creature can repeat this save at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on a success. While the effect persists, you gain resistance to the effected damage type, or immunity if you already have resistance. If the target succeeds on their initial saving throw, you can use this Greater Flourish a second time between Rests.
Lightning Clash: As an action, choose one creature you can see within 60 feet of you. You move in a straight line towards target, passing moving throw enemy and ally spaces alike. All creatures in our path or that you pass within 5 feet of as you move must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw, taking 6d6 Lightning damage on a failure or half as much on a success. Creatures directly in your path make this save at disadvantage. Then, make a melee attack against the chosen target. If you hit, that attack does an additional 8d6 Lightning damage and you push the target up to 15 feet away from you.
Transposing Lunge: As an Action, force a creature within 60 feet of you to make a Constituiton saving throw. On a failure, the target is teleported to a space of your choice within range of your Swordmage Weapon. You may then make an attack with advantage against the target. If the target succeeds on their saving throw, you can use this Greater Flourish an additional time before completing a Long Rest.
Fifteenth Level
Improved Swordmage Step
You add your Proficiency bonus to the number of uses of Swordmage's Step you have per day.
Dance of the Sword
You gain an additional reaction. This can be used in any way that a normal reaction can be used, but you can't use more than one reaction per turn. At the start of your turn, you regain all spent reactions.
Eighteenth Level
Death's Resurgence
When you are reduced to 0 HP, you can use your reaction to make an attack with a Swordmage Weapon. If you hit, you deal normal damage, plus an additional 5d6 Necrotic Damage. You gain temporary Hit Points equal to the amount of Necrotic Damage done by this attack. These temporary Hit Points are applied to the triggering damage, and might prevent you from being reduced to 0 HP.
Twentieth Level
Total Aegis
As an action, you can Mark any number of creatures you can see within 60 feet of you. These creatures are Marked for 1 minute or until you end a mark on your turn (no action). Once you use this feature, you can't use it again until you complete a Long Rest.
In addition, the benefit of your Swordmage Warding increases by 2.
Aegis of Assault
Swordmages of this tradition believe offense is the best defense, and heavily punish enemies for their aggression with aggression of their own. Their Marks force enemies to attack the Swordmage, or else face their wrath.
Third Level
Mark of Assault
As part of any Action you take on your turn, you may Mark a creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The creature remains Marked for 1 minute, until you Mark a second target, or until you end the mark on your turn (no action). Whenever that creature makes an attack against any creature other than you, you may use your reaction to make a melee attack against that creature, resolved after the triggering attack. As part of this reaction, you may use your Swordmage Step to teleport, as long as you end the teleport within melee range of the triggering creature. When used this way, Swordmage Step has a range of 60 feet.
Sixth Level
Dragon's Teeth
When you hit a creature with a Swordmage Weapon, shards of arcane force embed themselves in the target, goading it to attack you. If the creature is not adjacent to you when it ends its next turn, it takes 4d4 Force damage.
Extra Mark
Marked creatures remain Marked until you Mark a third, instead of until you mark a second.
Eleventh Level
Dual Lightning Strike
Once per turn, when you hit a creature with a Swordmage Weapon, you may immediately use your Swordmage Step feature to teleport to a space adjacent to a second creature and make an additional attack. If you hit with this additional attack, it does an additional 1d8 Lightning damage. You cannot use this feature if you do not have any remaining uses of Swordmage Step, nor can you use it on the same turn on which you cast a spell.
Seventeenth Level
Hellspike Assault
When you hit a creature with a Swordmage Weapon, you may immediately teleport a distance equal to your Swordmage Step distance and make another attack with a Swordmage Weapon. If you hit, repeat this process until you miss, making a maximum number of attacks equal to your Intelligence modifier + 1. Once you have used this feature, you cannot use it again until you complete a Long Rest.
Aegis of Ensnarement
Most Swordmages tend to focus either on offensive or defensive magic. Those that utilize the Aegis of Ensarement prefer instead to focus on controlling the battlefield, allowing their allies to take the lead and deal the most damage.
Third Level
Mark of Ensnarement
As part of any Action you take on your turn, you may Mark a creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The creature remains Marked for 1 minute, until you Mark a second target, or until you end the mark on your turn (no action). While you are adjacent to a Marked creature, you can use a Bonus Action to grant advantage on the next attack roll against that target before the start of your next turn.
Whenever an attack with advantage is made against a Marked creature, you may use your reaction to use your Swordmage Step to teleport, as long as you end the teleport within melee range of the creature. When used this way, Swordmage Step has a range of 60 feet.
Finally, whenever you hit a Marked creature with an attack of opportunity, their movement becomes 0 until the end of their turn.
Sixth Level
Flame Cyclone
You may use an action to conjure a whirling cyclone of flame around yourself. The flame is a circle 40 feet in diameter, 10 feet high, and 1 foot thick. You can place this cyclone anywhere you like, as long as you are contained within it. Any creature that passes through the wall suffers 6d6 Fire damage and has their movement speed reduced by 10 feet until the end of their next turn. A creature that succeeds on a Dexterity saving throw takes half damage and isn't slowed.
The Cyclone lasts for 1 minute, until you end it on your turn (no action), or until you are no longer inside it.
When you conjure the Cyclone, you can designate any number of creatures that you can see except yourself. These creatures have advantage on their save. The wall does not block line of sight or line of effect. Once you have used this ability, you must complete a Long Rest before using it again.
Extra Mark
Marked creatures remain Marked until you Mark a third, instead of until you mark a second.
Eleventh Level
Sweeping Frostblade
As an action, you can unleash ice in a 15-foot cone. Each creature in the area must make a Constitution saving throw, suffering 8d6 Cold damage and becoming Restrained until the end of their next turn on a failure. A creature that successfully saves takes only half damage, and has their movement reduced by 10 instead of being restrained. At 15th level, the range of this cone becomes 30 feet. Once you have used this ability, you must complete a Long Rest before using it again.
Seventeenth Level
Dimensional Warp
As an action, choose any number of creatures in a 60 foot radius. Each one of those creatures teleports to another space in that radius, but only to a space that was occupied by a chosen creature. You choose where each creature teleports to. An unwilling creature can attempt a Wisdom saving throw to resist the effect. You may choose for any number of creatures teleported by this ability to suffer 6d10 Force damage. Once you have used this ability, you must complete a Long Rest before using it again.
Aegis of Shielding
The Aegis of Shielding believes that the best offense is a good defense, and has refined their magics to better serve that philosophy by not only bolstering their own defenses, but by defending their allies as well.
Third Level
Mark of Shielding
As part of any Action you take on your turn, you may Mark a creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The creature remains Marked for 1 minute, until you Mark a second target, or until you end the mark on your turn (no action). If that creature is attacked, you may use your reaction to use your Swordmage Step to teleport, as long as you end the teleport adjacent to the creature. When used this way, Swordmage Step has a range of 60 feet. As part of this reaction, you can change the target of the attack to yourself instead of the Marked creature.
Sixth Level
Elemental Aegis
Choose Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Poison damage. While your Swordmage Warding feature is active, you have resistance to that damage type. When you use Mark of Shielding, you may choose for that creature to gain this resistance as well. Whenever you complete a Short or Long Rest, you can choose another of those damage types, losing your previous resistance but gaining the new one.
Eleventh Level
Extra Mark
Marked creatures remain Marked until you Mark a third, instead of until you mark a second.
Projected Warding
As a Bonus Action, you can reduce the benefit granted by your Swordmage Warding feature by 1, and grant a +2 bonus to the AC of any number of creatures Marked by you. Creatures Marked by you can't benefit from this feature multiple times, and you can end the effect at any time on your turn (no action required).
Seventeenth Level
Ward of Brilliance
Whenever you or a creature Marked by you is the target of an attack, you may use your reaction to impose disadvantage on that attack. Then the attacker must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or else take 3d6 Radiant damage and be Blinded until the end of their next turn, or half damage and avoid blindness on a success. If the attacker hit, they make this save with disadvantage.