The Crusader

Devoted knight, divine agent, instrument of vengeance, peerless fighting machine — the crusader is a warrior dedicated to good, evil, law, chaos, or some other cause.

Manœuvres Readied

You must ready manœuvres before you can use them by praying for 5 minutes. They stay readied until you pray again and change them. When you initiate a manœuvre, you expend it for the current encounter, so each one can be used once per encounter (unless you recover them, as described below).

You do not control access to your readied manœuvres. Before you take your first turn in an encounter, two of your readied manœuvres are granted to you at random. The rest of your readied manœuvres are withheld. At the end of each turn, a random previously withheld manœuvre is granted to you. You can freely choose to initiate any granted manœuvre, but you cannot initiate a withheld manœuvre.

If you cannot be granted a manœuvre because you have no withheld manœuvre remaining, instead you recover all expended manœuvres, a new set of readied manœuvres (as many as you started the combat with) is granted to you at random and the whole process begins again. You begin an encounter with an additional granted manœuvre at 10th level and again at 20th level.

Initiating a Manœuvre

Because you do not have spell slots, you do not expend spell slots when initiating a manœuvre. Instead, it is simply expended and must be recovered as above. When determining the effect of a manœuvre, you treat the manœuvre as having been used from a slot of level equal to your highest known manœuvre level (except that cantrips work as normal).

Initiating Ability

The initiating ability you use depends on which discipline you're using. Each one has two listed, and you use the higher one - the ones a crusader can access are Devoted Spirit (Con Cha), Stone Dragon (Str Con), and White Raven (Wis Cha).

You use your initiating ability whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your initiating ability modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a manœuvre you initiate or when making an attack roll with one.

Manœuvre Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your initiating ability modifier

Manœuvre Attack Modifier = your proficiency bonus + your initiating ability modifier

Stances

You know one stance from the Devoted Spirit, Stone Dragon, or White Raven discipline. At 2nd, 8th, and 14th level, you learn one more stance. You can be in one stance at a time and change the stance you are in as a bonus action.

Steely Resolve

When you take damage you can choose to delay some of that damage. Delayed damage doesn't reduce your hit points until the end of your next turn; mark the delayed damage separately. You can delay up to 5 points of damage at a time.

When you are healed, you can have some or all of that healing reduce your delayed damage instead of increasing your hit points. You can delay 5 more damage at a time at each of 3rd, 7th, 11th, 15th and 20th level.

You get a bonus on damage rolls equal to 1/5 of your delayed damage, to a minimum of 1.

Indomitable Soul

From 2nd level, you become proficient in wisdom saves.

Favoured Discipline

From 3rd level, you choose a favoured discipline out of the ones you can learn manœuvres from. That discipline gives additional class features at 3rd, 13th and 17th levels.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increasse 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

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

Smite

From 6th level, once per turn, when you hit an enemy with a melee attack, you can expend a manœuvre to deal an extra 1d4 radiant damage, times your highest manœuvre level, to the target rather than using the manœuvre normally.

Zealous Surge

From 9th level, you can re-roll a saving throw. This ability does not require an action. You simply decide to use it after seeing the result of your saving throw roll but before the DM tells you if it fails or succeeds. Once you use this ability, you must complete a long rest to use it again.

Die Hard

From 10th level, when you fall unconscious, you automatically become stable and don't need to take death saves - though attacking you while unconscious or abilities which kill you outright can still kill you.

Mettle

From 14th level, whenever you take a constitution or wisdom save for half damage, instead you take half damage on a failed save and no damage on a successful save.

Double Strike

At 20th level, when you initiate a manœuvre which affects your next attack, it affects both of the attacks in your next attack action. When you initiate a manœuvre which has you make a weapon attack as part of the effect, you attack twice and the effects apply to both attacks.

The Swordsage

A master of martial manœuvres, the sword sage is a physical adept — a blade wizard whose knowledge of the Sublime Way lets them unlock potent abilities, many of which are overtly supernatural or magical in nature. Depending on which disciplines they choose to study, a swordsage might be capable of walking through walls, leaping dozens of feet into the air, shattering boulders with a single touch, or even mastering the elements of fire or shadow. Whatever their specific training, a swordsage blurs the line between martial prowess and magical skill.

Manœuvres Readied

You must ready manœuvres before you can use them by meditating for 5 minutes. They remain readied until you change them. When you initiate a manœuvre, you expend it for the current encounter, so each one can be used once per encounter (unless you recover them, as described below).

As an action, you can recover an expended manœuvre by quickly focusing your mind, so long as you haven't moved yet that turn. You choose and recover one expended manœuvre, but can't move for the rest of your turn.

Initiating a Manœuvre

Because you do not have spell slots, you do not use them when initiating a manœuvre. Instead, it is simply expended and must be recovered as above. When determining the effect of a manœuvre, you treat the manœuvre as having been used from a slot of level equal to your highest manœuvre level (except cantrips work as normal).

Initiating Ability

The initiating ability you use depends which discipline you're using. Each one has two listed, and you use the higher one - the ones a swordsage can access are Desert Wind (Int Cha), Diamond Mind (Str Int), Setting Sun (Int Wis), Shadow Hand (Dex Wis), Stone Dragon (Str Con), and Tiger Claw (Str Dex).

You use your initiating ability whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your initiating ability modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a manœuvre you initiate or when making an attack roll with one.

Manœuvre Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your initiating ability modifier

Manœuvre Attack Modifier = your proficiency bonus + your initiating ability modifier

Stances

You know one stance from the Desert Wind, Diamond Mind, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, Stone Dragon, or Tiger Claw discipline. At 2nd, 5th, 9th, 14th and 20th level, you learn one more stance. You can be in one stance at a time and change the stance you are in as a bonus action.

Quick to Act

You add your proficiency bonus to initiative checks.

Weapon Focus

Choose one type of weapon. You can treat that weapon as though it had the finesse, light or reach property, or as though it didn't have the heavy, two-handed or loading property.

Light Armour Specialist

From 2nd level, while you are wearing light armour and not using a shield, your AC equals the armour's normal AC bonus + your wisdom modifier (so in studded leather, your AC is 12 + your dexterity modifier + your wisdom modifier).

Favoured Discipline

From 3rd level, you choose a favoured discipline out of the ones you can learn manœuvres from. That discipline gives additional class features at 3rd, 13th and 17th levels.

Ability Score Improvement

When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increasse 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

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

Sense Magic

From 6th level, you can cast detect magic at will. If it matters, the spellcasting ability is wisdom.

Insightful Strike

From 7th level, you can add your wisdom modifier to the damage dealt by manœuvres from your favoured discipline.

Evasion

From 9th level, when you are subjected to an effect that allows you to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, you instead take no damage if you succeed on the saving throw, and only half damage if you fail.

Secondary Discipline

From 10th level, you choose a secondary discipline. You become proficient in the skill associated with your secondary discipline (see the discipline list for associated skills) just as though you had actually taken it as a favoured discipline at 3rd level. At 14th level, your insightful strike feature works with your secondary discipline manœuvres.

Defensive Stance

From 11th level, you can re-roll failed saving throw results of 1 or 2 while in a stance from your favoured discipline. If you have advantage on the saving throw, you can re-roll both dice if either die comes up 1 or 2. At 18th level, this also works with stances from your secondary discipline.

Dual Boost

From 20th level, you can initiate two manœuvres that target only yourself as a single action. If both have an initiation time of one bonus action, you can initiate both as a single bonus action. Also, you can concentrate on two manœuvres at once.

The Warblade

The warblade was born for conflict. Swift, strong, enduring, and utterly confident in their martial skills, they seeks to test themself against worthy foes.

Manœuvres Readied

You must ready manœuvres before you can use them by exercising for 5 minutes. They remain readied until you exercise again and change them. When you initiate a manœuvre, you expend it for the current encounter, so each one can be used once per encounter (unless you recover them, as described below).

You can recover all expended manœuvres as a bonus action when you make a melee attack with the attack action (you can swing into a space nearby which appears empty, just as you would to try to hit an invisible creature).

Initiating a Manœuvre

Because you do not have spell slots, you do not expend spell slots when initiating a manœuvre. Instead, it is simply expended and must be recovered as above. When determining the effect of a manœuvre, you treat the manœuvre as having been used from a slot of level equal to the highest level of a manœuvre you know. (except that cantrips work as normal).

Initiating Ability

The initiating ability you use depends on which discipline you're using. Each one has two listed, and you use the higher one - the ones a warblade can access are Diamond Mind (Str Int), Iron Heart (Dex Con), Stone Dragon (Str Con), Tiger Claw (Str Dex) and White Raven (Wis Cha).

You use your initiating ability whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your initiating ability modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a manœuvre you initiate or when making an attack roll with one.

Manœuvre Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your initiating ability modifier

Manœuvre Attack Modifier = your proficiency bonus + your initiating ability modifier

Stances

You know one stance from the Diamond Mind, Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw, or White Raven discipline. At 4th, 10th and 16th level, you learn one more stance. You can be in one stance at a time and change the stance you are in as a bonus action. Each stance details what happens when you are in that stance.

Battle Clarity

Whenever you are called upon to take a dexterity save, you can take an intelligence save instead. Once you've used this ability, you must take a short or long rest to do so again. You can do this once more between rests at each of 6th and 14th level.

Battle Ardour

From 2nd level, you add double your intelligence modifier (if your intelligence modifier is positive) to the damage roll on a critical hit.

Uncanny Dodge

From 7th level, you can halve the damage you take from an attack as a reaction, so long as you can see the attacker.

Battle Cunning

From 9th level, you can re-roll any die in an attack roll or damage roll that comes up equal to or under your intelligence modifier. You must accept the new result, even if it's worse.

Die Hard

From 10th level, when you fall unconscious, you automatically become stable and don't need to take death saves - though attacking you while unconscious or abilities which kill you outright can still kill you.

Battle Skill

From 11th level, you add your intelligence modifier to any opposed skill check that you make to prevent a creature or effect doing something to you, such as grappling or shoving you, or to free yourself from a creature who is doing so.

Battle Mastery

From 15th level, when you make an opportunity attack, you add your intelligence modifier to the attack and damage roll.

Combat Reflexes

From 18th level, you can take an extra reaction each round, but only to make an opportunity attack.

Stance Mastery

At 20th level, you can be in two stances simultaneously. You can change one or both of those stances as one bonus action.

Disciplines

A discipline is three things: it is a source of additional features and an extra skill when taken as a primary discipline (much like other classes' archetypes), it is a manœuvre list, just like a spell list is for a spellcaster, and it is a stance list, from which initiators choose their stances.

Manœuvres

A manœuvre is a spell, with a grand host of exceptions:

Initiating Abilities

Whenever your spellcasting ability is called for, instead, use whichever is higher of the two initiating abilities which are associated with your discipline.

The Nine Swords

Manœuvres are not spells of their ordinary school. Instead, their school is the same as the discipline they are from - for example, if someone uses faerie fire as a manœuvre, looking at the area with detect magic would inform you that the effect was of the desert wind school, not the evocation school.

What's In A Name?

Each manœuvre that replicates an existing spell has an extra name given. Just like any effect that would reveal its school reveals its school as a manœuvre, any effect which identifies the specific manœuvre used reveals its name as a manœuvre. For example, faerie fire is called blistering flourish when used as a manœuvre, so any effect that would reveal the specific spell used reveals blistering flourish, not faerie fire. They're still not different spells, so they won't stack (not that that makes much difference in this case).

Stances

Stance are relatively intuitive. Each stance provides you with certain benefits, but you can only gain the benefits of one stance at a time (20th-level warblades notwithstanding), known as being in that stance. As a bonus action, you can change which stance you are in, and therefore the benefits.

Discipline Skills

When you choose a discipline as your favoured discipline, or your secondary discipline as a swordsage, you become proficient in the discipline's associated skill. If you are already proficient with the skill, you become proficient with another skill of your choice from your class's skill list.

Discipline Features

It bears restating that you only gain discipline features if the discipline is your favoured one - they offer all kinds of benefits, but only if you take them as your primary discipline, not just if you have access to the discipline - essentially, they work just like a path, college, domain, circle, archetype, tradition, archetype (again), archetype (this is why we can't have nice things), origin, patron, or tradition (not you as well!).

The Desert Wind

"Air, I should explain, becomes wind when it is agitated."

— Titus Lucretius Carus, On the Nature of Things.

Speed and mobility are the hallmarks of the Desert Wind discipline. Desert Wind manœuvres often involve blinding flurries of blows, quick charges, and agile footwork. Some manœuvres from this school, however, draw power from the supernatural essence of the desert and allow an adept practitioner to scour their foes with fire.

2nd Level

Burning Brand (Branding Smite), Fan the Flames (Scorching Ray), Flashing Sun

3rd Level *

Death Mark

4th Level **

Firesnake, Searing Blade, Searing Charge

5th Level **

Leaping Flame, Lingering Inferno (Immolate^{EE, XGtE})

6th Level **

Desert Tempest, Ring of Fire

7th Level ***

Salamander Charge

8th Level ***

Great Wyrm's Breath of Smoke (Incendiary Cloud)

9th Level ******

Inferno Blast

Distracting Ember

1st-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: 30 ft.

Components: V

Duration: 1 round

You create a magmin in an unoccupied space on the ground within range. The magmin gets no turn in combat and no reactions. It does, however, get in enemies' ways, and enemies have no special ability to realise that the magmin can't do anything. Its death burst ability works as normal - you can blow up your own magmin if you're a total monster.

Flashing Sun

2nd-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Personal

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You make an attack action as part of the initiation, except that you make one more attack than normal. However, each of these attacks has disadvantage until you miss with one.

Death Mark

3rd-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: See Text

Components: V, S, M (Bat guano, sulphur)

Duration: Instantaneous

You use a melee attack to charge energy into a creature, which then explodes out of it. The energy explodes into flames with a range of 10 feet for each size category the target is above small, or 5 ft if it's small or diminutive.

If your attack hits, every creature other than you within the given range takes fire damage equal to 3d6, plus 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. If it misses, nothing happens.

Firesnake

4th-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self (60 ft snake, 5 ft wide)

Components: V, S, M (A snake's tooth)

Duration: Concentration, up to 5 rounds

You slam your weapon or palm into the ground, and a snake of fire writhes out from you along the ground, growing up to 60 feet in length and also moving 60 feet per round. The firesnake finishes its initial movement with its tail in contact with you and its head up to 60 feet away, taking any path to get there which is itself no more than 60 feet long - it could go forwards 20 feet, right 10 feet, back 10 feet and left 20 feet, crossing over itself.

In subsequent turns, the firesnake can move onwards, its head continuing in any direction it wants, and its tail following the path its head took last round - essentially the firesnake consists of a head, and the last 11 squares that head occupied. It takes your action to direct the firesnake; else, it continues straight in the direction it last moved (straight away from the section just behind the head).

A creature who moves into the firesnake for the first time on its turn or starts its turn there takes fire damage equal to 1d8 times your highest manœuvre level.

Searing Blade

4th-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: 1 round

Your melee attacks deal extra fire damage equal to 2d6, plus your highest manœuvre level.

Searing Charge

4th-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (A charred feather)

Duration: 1 round

You gain the ability to fly at twice your base land speed, and the first attack you make this round does extra fire damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level.

Leaping Flame

5th-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: 100 ft

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You immediately teleport to any space within range which is adjacent to a creature who just attacked you.

Desert Tempest

6th-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (A handful of sand)

Duration: 1 round

This turn, when you move out of a square adjacent to an enemy, you can attack that enemy. You get no special ability to avoid opportunity attacks, though! You can only attack each enemy once per round in this way.

Ring of Fire

6th-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute, or until discharged

You raise your weapon up to the sky, and at the tip, a fiery trail begins. You immediately dash as part of the initiation. Whenever you move during the duration, make a note of your trail. If that trail crosses its own path at any point, the manœuvre ends immediately but the ring of fire completes - every creature within the area enclosed by the trail, including creatures on one of the squares occupied by part of the trail that is enclosing the area but excluding you, takes fire damage equal to 2d6 times your highest manœuvre level.

Salamander Charge

7th-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (A charred feather)

Duration: Concentration, up to 5 rounds, see text

You dash as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. When you move this turn, a shimmering wall of fire appears behind you, occupying every space you move through. The wall lasts for as long as you concentrate. When the wall is created, each creature within 5 feet of the wall takes fire damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. Each creature who is actually in the wall takes that much damage again. Each time, a successful dexterity save halves the damage.

This damage is also dealt to a creature when it approaches within 5 feet of the wall for the first time each turn or starts its turn there, and when it enters the wall for the first time or starts its turn there. Essentially, a creature who is actually in the wall at any point in its turn takes the damage twice.

Inferno Blast

9th-level Desert Wind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: 60 ft radius burst centred on you.

Components: V, S, M (brimstone)

Duration: Instantaneous

With a loud shout, you slam your weapon into the ground and focus your ki into a blast of white-hot fire that does 100 points of fire damage to each other creature within 60 feet.

Stances

The following stances are part of the Desert Wind discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of desert wind manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum level and a number of asterisks equal to the number of desert wind manœuvres you must know - for example, 5* means you must know one desert wind manœuvre and have reached 5th level.

The Devoted Spirit

"Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light"

— Helen Keller

F - aith, piety, and purity of body and mind are the wellsprings of a warrior’s true power. Devoted Spirit manœuvres harness a practitioner’s spiritual strength and her zealous devotion to a cause. This discipline includes energies baneful to a creature opposed to the Devoted Spirit student’s cause, abilities that can keep an adept fighting long after a more mundane warrior would fall to his enemies, and strikes infused with vengeful, fanatical power.

Shield Block

2nd-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: 5 feet

Components: S, M (A statuette of a shield)

Duration: Instantaneous

When an enemy attacks an adjacent ally while you wield a shield, you can initiate this manœuvre to reduce the attack roll by 4, plus your highest manœuvre level.

Defensive Rebuke

3rd-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: S, M (a thorn)

Duration: 1 round

For 1 round, you gain the ability to draw the aggression of your enemies. Each enemy you hit while this manœuvre is active provokes an opportunity attack from you for every single attack they make which targets one of your allies (other than you), and these extra opportunity attacks do not use up your reaction. These enemies are aware of the consequences of attacking your allies due to this ability.

Divine Surge

4th-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a melee attack which deals additional damage equal to 2d8, plus 1d8 times your highest manœuvre level.

Daunting Strike

5th-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a snarling face carved in wood)

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a melee attack as part of this manœuvre. If you hit, the enemy must take a wisdom save or be frightened of you for one round.

Zealous Charge

5th-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (A page from a holy text)

Duration: 1 round

You dash as part of this manœuvre. Your next melee attack channels divine fury. If you are good and the target is evil or vice versa, or lawful neutral and the target is chaotic, or chaotic neutral and the target is lawful, or true neutral and the target is neutral on neither axis, the attack deals extra damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level and you get resistance to damage for 1 round.

Rallying Strike

6th-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self/30 feet

Components: V, M (A piece of a flag)

Duration: Instantaneous

If your next melee attack this round hits a creature with an alignment which is not exactly identical to yours and who poses a threat to you or your allies in a direct, immediate way, you and all allies within 30 feet are healed for 1d6 times (your highest manœuvre level, minus 3) - initially 3d6 - plus your initiating ability modifier.

Castigating Strike

7th-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: See text

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

If your next melee attack this round hits a creature with an alignment that is not exactly identical to yours, the target takes radiant damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. Each other enemy within 30 feet takes 3d6 less damage and takes a constitution save for half damage. The initial target also takes a constitution save. Each creature who fails has disadvantage on attack rolls for 1 minute.

Shield Counter

7th-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Your reach

Components: V, M (A statuette of a knight with a shield)

Duration: Instantaneous

When an enemy within reach attacks an ally, but before they roll to hit, you can use this manœuvre to whack them with your shield (if you're wielding one). Treat the shield as a mace. If you hit the enemy, their attack automatically misses.

Sacrificial Divine Surge

8th-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You lose a positive whole number of points of constitution of your choice, then make a melee attack which deals an extra 8d6 points of damage, or 10d6 if your highest manœuvre level is 9th. For each point of constitution you lose, you get a +1 bonus to the attack roll and deal another 2d6 points of damage.

Strike of Righteous Vitality

9th-level Devoted Spirit

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: See text

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

If your next melee attack this round hits a creature with an alignment which is not exactly identical to yours and who poses a threat to you or your allies in a direct, immediate way, you or an ally within 10 feet is healed for 100 hit points, and any disease affecting them is cured, along with the blinded and deafened conditions.

Stances

The following stances are part of the Devoted Spirit discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of devoted spirit manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum level and a number of asterisks equal to the number of devoted spirit manœuvres you must know - for example, 11** means you must know two devoted spirit manœuvres and have reached 11th level.

The Diamond Mind

"An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded."

— Isador Akios, Dawn of War

True quickness lies in the mind, not the body. A student of the Diamond Mind discipline seeks to hone his perceptions and discipline his thoughts so that he can act in slivers of time so narrow that others cannot even perceive them. A corollary of this speed of thought and action is the concept of the mind as the battleground. An enemy defeated in his mind must inevitably be defeated in the realm of the physical as well.

Onyx Mind

1st-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a black glass bead)

Duration: Instantaneous

You focus your mind to gain advantage on a wisdom or charisma save and you are always considered proficient.

Aquamarine Flow

2nd-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a blue glass bead)

Duration: Instantaneous

Your mind and body alike flow faster. You gain advantage on an intelligence or dexterity save and are treated as proficient.

Emerald Razor

2nd-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a green glass bead)

Duration: Instantaneous

Your blade glows green like an emerald, and carves straight through armour. You make a single attack against an enemy, replacing the static part of your opponent's listed AC with 10 and ignoring any shield they're wielding. For example, normally, a creature with studded leather armour would have an AC of 12 + their dexterity modifier. You treat it as 10 + their dexterity modifier. A creature with plate armour and a shield would normally have an AC of 20, but you treat it as 10. You also ignore any effect which sets someone's AC to a certain value or minimum (like mage armour or barkskin) or gives a static bonus to it (like shield).

Opal Armour

3rd-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a mutlicoloured glass bead)

Duration: Instantaneous

Your body and mind harden. You gain advantage on a strength or constitution save and are considered proficient.

Garnet Strike

3rd-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (A purple glass bead)

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

For the duration, when you hit with a melee attack, you can roll an investigation check and use that instead of the normal damage roll. In this case, you don't add your strength modifier to the damage. You usually do damage equal to 1d20 + your proficiency bonus + your intelligence modifier.

Bounding Assault

4th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: 1 round.

You dash as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. You get advantage on melee attack rolls this turn.

Mind Strike

4th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You attempt to bring your weapon down on an enemy's head. You make an attack, and if it hits, the target loses 1d4 points of wisdom. A successful wisdom save halves the reduction. Lost wisdom points are restored at a rate of 1 per hour.

Rapid Counter

5th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: None!

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You immediately take an opportunity attack against a creature who has just provoked one. You can then use your reaction to make an actual opportunity attack as well, if you still have your reaction, or you can save it for something else.

Moment of Alacrity

6th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

This manœuvre initially does nothing, but at the start of the next round, your initiative count increases by 20 for the rest of the encounter, usually meaning that you'll go first.

................................................................................

Moonstone Strike

6th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (A white glass bead)

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

For the duration, whenever you hit with a melee attack, you can roll a two investigation checks and add them together instead of the weapon's normal damage roll and use that instead. In this case, you don't add your strength modifier to the damage. Essentially, you usually do damage equal to 2d20 + twice your proficiency bonus + twice your intelligence modifier.

Avalanche of Blades

7th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You make an attack action as part of initiating this manœuvre. You get advantage on each attack, and if the attack hits, you can make another attack without advantage, and if that attack also hits, you can make yet another attack, this one with disadvantage. If you make an attack with an offhand weapon this turn, you can do the same with that weapon as well.

Aquamarine Motion

7th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You channel a watery flow through your mind, allowing you to move instantly as though it were your turn.

Diamond Defence

8th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (a colourless glass bead)

Duration: Instantaneous

When you would make a saving throw, you can use this manœuvre before making the roll. You automatically pass the saving throw instead of rolling it.

Alternatively, when you fail a saving throw, you can use this manœuvre to re-roll it, and you get advantage on the re-roll. In this case, you use it after the DM reveals whether the roll is passed or failed.

Time Stands Still

9th-level Diamond Mind

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

Take an extra turn after this one. During the extra turn, you can't use this manœuvre again.

Stances

The following stances are part of the Diamond Mind discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of diamond mind manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum level and a number of asterisks equal to the number of diamond mind manœuvres you must know - for example, 9** means you must know two diamond mind manœuvres and have reached 9th level.

The Iron Heart

"The great questions of the day will not be settled by means of speeches and majority decisions but by iron and blood."

— Otto von Bismarck

Absolute mastery of the sword is the goal of the Iron Heart discipline. Through unending practice and study, the Iron Heart adept achieves superhuman skill with their weapons. Iron Heart manœuvres are demonstrations of uncanny martial skill—weaving patterns of steel that dizzy, confuse, and ultimately kill with no recourse.

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Exorcism of Steel

3rd-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Reach

Components: V

Duration: 1 minute/1 round

You furiously strike, doing no damage, but instead causing a shockwave of pain that prevents a creature from attacking accurately. The target gets disadvantage on attack rolls for 1 minute, but a strength save reduces this to just one round.

Lightning Recovery

4th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V,

Duration: Instantaneous

When you miss with an attack, you can initiate this manœuvre to re-roll the attack roll. The attack still gets any bonus damage, advantage or disavantage on the attack roll, or so forth. Essentially, you make it again as though you hadn't rolled the attack yet.

Mithral Tornado

4th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a leaf)

Duration: Instantaneous

You spin around with your blade, striking multiple foes. Make a single melee attack against each enemy within your reach. You get a +2 bonus on each of the attack rolls.

Dazing Strike

5th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You bring your weapon down hard, potentially dazing your opponent. Your attack deals normal damage if it hits, and if it does, your target must take a constitution save. If they fail the save, they can't take any actions or reactions for one round, and if they've taken their reaction this round, they don't recover it on their next turn.

Iron Heart Focus

5th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a pinch of iron filings)

Duration: Instantaneous

You can use this manœuvre when you fail a saving throw to re-roll the saving throw. You still have any bonuses, penalties, advantage or disadvantage that you had on the initial roll.

Iron Heart Endurance

6th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a drop of your own blood)

Duration: 1 minute

You gain temporary hit points equal to four times your highest manœuvre level.

Manticore Parry

6th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (a fragment of manticore spine)

Duration: Instantaneous

Manticore Parry works like Wall of Blades (see previous page) except that if you deflect a melee attack, you can redirect the attack into another creature adjacent to you (ignoring whether or not the attacker could normally hit that creature from where they're standing). Use the attacker's initial attack roll to determine whether the attack hits or misses its new target (if the attack roll was initially 20, it will critically hit the new target).

Shatter the Rust

7th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a few flakes of rust)

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a melee attack against a creature, which does additional damage equal to the difference between that creature's maximum and current hit points, or half as much on a successful constitution save.

Wolfram Scything Blade

7th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, M

Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

Your blade moves with unparallelled speed. Whenever you hit for the first time in your turn with a melee weapon attack, you can make one more melee attack, but only against a different target.

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Adamantine Hurricane

8th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a butterfly wing)

Duration: Instantaneous

You spin around with your blade, striking multiple foes. Make two melee attacks against each enemy within your reach. You get a +4 bonus on each of the attack rolls.

Titanium Throw

8th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: 30 foot line

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You throw your weapon, and it bursts straight through every single creature in its path, before levitating ominously back to your hand. Each creature on a 30 foot line takes 15d6 points of damage. A successful dexterity save halves the damage.

Strike of Orichalcum Clarity

9th-level Iron Heart

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a single melee attack with advantage. If the attack hits, it deals an extra 100 points of damage to the target. If the attack is a critical hit, it deals an extra 200 points of damage to the target instead.

Stances

The following stances are part of the Iron Heart discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of iron heart manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum level and a number of asterisks equal to the number of iron heart manœuvres you must know - for example, 9** means you must know two iron heart manœuvres and have reached 9th level.

The Jade Phœnix

"“The phœnix must burn to emerge.”

― Janet Fitch, White Oleander

Manœuvres and magic cannot stand apart for long. The disciples of the jade phœnix recognise this, wielding both together. The Jade phœnix is not a martial discipline, but instead replaces your favoured discipline.

The Master of Nine

“I really try to ask myself the question of nine. Will this matter in nine minutes, nine hours, nine days, nine weeks, nine months or nine years? If it will truly matter for all of those, pay attention to it.

― Whitney Wolfe

Some savants of the Nine Disciplines believe that none of the paths are complete, true disciplines in and of themselves, and instead, they seek to learn all of them. The Master of Nine is not a martial discipline, but replaces your favoured discipline.

The Nine Arrows

“The archer is the true weapon; the bow is just a long piece of wood.”

― Sebastien de Castell, Traitor's Blade

Disciples who mourned their lack of skill at range looked for ways to deliver their phenomenal martial prowess from afar. The Nine Arrows is not a martial discipline, but instead replaces your favoured discipline.

The Ruby Knight

“Blood-red rubies flashed in the sunlight, like the eyes of a demon clutched in his hands.”

―V.S. Carnes, Sand for Dreams

Those who stand against the divine will find that the devout, in turn, stand against them. The ruby knight order is not a martial discipline, but replaces your favoured discipline with the ability to cast divine spells.

The Setting Sun

“When the sun has set, no candle can replace it.”

― George R.R. Martin, A Storm of Swords

Strength is an illusion. Adherents of the Setting Sun philosophy understand that no warrior can hope to be stronger, quicker, and more skillful than every one of their enemies. Therefore, this discipline includes manœuvres that use an adversary’s power and speed against them. Setting Sun manœuvre include throws and imitative strikes. The highest forms of the Setting Sun require an adept to empty themself of preconception and impulse to become a hollow vessel unhindered by want.

Baffling Defence

2nd-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

When an enemy would hit you with an attack, unless they score a critical hit, you can initiate this manœuvre and make an insight check. If the insight check result is greater than the attack roll, the attack fails.

Clever Positioning

2nd-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a melee attack against a creature within your reach, and if the attack hits, the target must take an intelligence save. If they fail, you swap positions with them (whichever of you is larger chooses where they end up, but must occupy the other's entire previous space). If there is no way that you can both be positioned, you don't move.

Feigned Opening

3rd-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You can initiate this manœuvre when an enemy makes an opportunity attack against you, just before they roll the attack roll. If they miss, they provoke an opportunity attack from you - if they hit, they provoke one from everyone except you!

Broken Shield Strike

4th-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (A broken piece of shield)

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a melee attack that deals extra damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. The target must take a dexterity save; if they fail, further attacks against them have advantage for one round.

No Escape

5th-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V

Duration: Instantaneous

You can use this manœuvre in one of two ways when an adjacent enemy moves. Either move into their space as soon as they leave it, or move into a space adjacent to them when they finish their move (if you can move that far normally).

Asteroid Throw

6th-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Reach

Components: V, S, M (A handful of pebbles)

Duration: Instantaneous

You throw an enemy away from you. The opponent can attempt a dexterity save to avoid being thrown; if they fail, you throw them up to 60 feet away, and they, and every creature they pass through, take 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage times your highest manœuvre level. The thrown creature falls prone.

Reign of Confusion

6th-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

When an enemy would hit you with an attack, unless they score a critical hit, you can initiate this manœuvre and make an insight check. If the insight check result is greater than the attack roll, change the target of the attack to any creature adjacent to you other than the attacker (even if they're not in the attacker's reach). Keep the initial attack roll result. If the attack is a ranged attack, or there is no other creature adjacent to you, the attack just fails instead.

Hydra-Slaying Strike

7th-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (A dead animal tooth)

Duration: 1 minute/1 round

You make a single attack. If the attack hits, the target cannot make more than one attack in a single action, bonus action or reaction for 1 minute, or 1 round if they make a successful constitution save. This usually prevents the extra attack, multiattack and flurry of blows abilities from working properly, but not two-weapon fighting or the monk's single extra martial arts attack.

Fool's Strike

8th-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

When an enemy hits or misses you with an attack, you can initiate this manœuvre and make an insight check. If the insight check result is greater than the attack roll, the attack automatically hits the attacker. If it is a ranged attack, it just misses instead.

Unlike many other abilities that redirect attacks, you can use it normally on a critical hit, and do not need to roll a 20 yourself.

Meteor Throw

9th-level Setting Sun

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (a carved rock)

Duration: Instantaneous

You dash as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. Whenever you move at least 10 feet, you can throw an enemy without taking an action to do so. The creature you are trying to throw makes a dexterity save, but for this save, the DC is (8 + your proficiency bonus + your initiating ability modifier + 2 for every 5 feet you have moved so far this turn).

If the save is failed, you can throw the target up to 10 feet, plus a number of feet equal to the number by which the target failed the save, and they take 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage, plus bludgeoning damage equal to the number by which they failed the save, and fall prone.

Each time you move at least 10 feet, you can throw the same or a different creature.

Stances

The following stances are part of the Setting Sun discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of setting sun manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum level and a number of asterisks equal to the number of setting sun manœuvres you must know - for example, 9** means you must know two setting sun manœuvres and have reached 9th level.

The Shadow Hand

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."

― Martin Luther King Junior.

Never show an adversary what they expect to see. The Shadow Hand discipline emphasizes deception, misdirection, and surprise. The most effective blow is one struck against an enemy who does not even know they are in danger. Because the study of deceit as a philosophy often leads into darker practices, some Shadow Hand manœuvres employ the supernatural cold and darkness of pure shadow.

Manœuvres

The following manœuvres are part of the Shadow Hand discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other shadow hand manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.

Bloodletting Strike

5th-level Shadow Hand

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (A drop of blood)

Duration: Permanent/See text

You make a single melee attack. The target loses a number of hit points equal to your highest manœuvre level at the start of each of its turns. When it does, it can take a constitution save to end the effect. Another creature's medicine check at your save DC made as an action can stop the bleeding.

Shadow Noose

6th-level Shadow Hand

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

Choose a target in range. A shadowy noose strangles that creature, dealing necrotic damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. The target must take a constitution save. If it fails, it is paralysed for one round.

Stalker in the Night

6th-level Shadow Hand

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: M (a black piece of cloth)

Duration: 1 round

You can use this manœuvre only while you are hidden. Whatever actions you perform during your turn, you don't reveal yourself unless you are still exposed at the end of the round.

For example, you could dart forwards 10 feet, attack a creature, and dart away 20 feet into hiding. The creature you attacked would know that it had taken damage, as though stabbed by an invisible blade, but not where the attack had come from.

Because enemies are unable to locate you, you don't provoke opportunity attacks for anything you do this turn.

Death in the Dark

7th-level Shadow Hand

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a single melee attack against a flat-footed opponent. If the attack hits, the target must take a strength save, a dexterity save and a constitution save.

For each failed save, the target takes additional damage equal to 3d6 plus twice your highest manœuvre level. For example, if you know an 8th-level manœuvre, a target who fails 2 saves and passes 1 would take 6d6+32 points of damage.

Enervating Shadow Strike

8th-level Shadow Hand

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: See text

You wreathe your blade in necromantic energy and strike an enemy with a single melee attack as part of initiating this manœuvre. If the attack hits, the target loses 1d4 levels!

This works as follows: for a start, if the level loss is greater than either the target's challenge rating (if it has one) or its hit dice, it just dies. Else, for each level lost, that creature loses hit points equal to a roll of their hit die at that level, plus their constitution modifier, so a wizard 15/barbarian 2 with 16 constitution would lose 2d12+1d6+9 hit points if they lost 3 levels. This decreases their maximum and current total.

Next, the creature's proficiency bonus is recalculated as though it had fewer levels or points of challenge rating. For example, the 17th-level character's proficiency bonus is +6, but it's reduced to +5 by this effect.

Finally, the creature loses any abilities or improvement to abilities which isn't available at the new level. A 17th-level rogue who loses 3 levels only has 7d6 sneak attack after the reduction, for example. In the case of spellcasting, for simplicity's sake, the creature loses access to its highest-level spells if brought below the level they earn them, but doesn't otherwise lose spells or spell slots. For example, a 17th-level wizard who loses 3 levels loses access to 8th- and 9th-level spell slots but suffers no other loss of spellcasting.

Lost levels are restored at a rate of one per 6 hours.

Five-Shadow Creeping-Ice Enervation Strike

9th-level Shadow Hand

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: See text

Our market research shows that players like abilities with really long names, so we made a manœuvre with the longest ability name ever!

You make an attack with a melee weapon. If the attack hits, the target takes an additional 15d6 points of damage and loses 2d6 points from each of strength, dexerity and constitution. The target can take a save on each of these three scores to prevent losing points from it.

The target must then take an intelligence save, failing which they have disadvantage on attack rolls for 1d6 rounds, and a wisdom save, failing which their speed is reduced to 0 feet for 1d6 rounds.

Each of the three reduced ability scores recovers at a rate of one point per hour.

Stances

The following stances are part of the Shadow Hand discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of shadow hand manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum level and a number of asterisks equal to the number of shadow hand manœuvres you must know - for example, 9** means you must know two shadow hand manœuvres and have reached 9th level.

The Stone Dragon

"Her teeth were as lethal as any sword, her tail a giant mace."

― Christopher Paolini, Eragon

The strength and endurance of the mountains epitomize the Stone Dragon discipline. The methodical and relentless application of force allows a student of this philosophy to defeat any foe. Strikes of superhuman power and manifestations of perfect, idealized force make up the Stone Dragon manœuvres.

Manœuvres

The following manœuvres are part of the Stone Dragon discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other stone dragon manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.

Shed the Scales

6th-level Stone Dragon

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: 20 feet

Components: V, S, M (A scale)

Duration: Instantaneous/1 minute

With a burst of effort, you cause your armour to fly off your body and strike the creatures around you. Each creature within range (except you) takes damage equal to 1d6 times the increase in AC the armour provides (assuming the wearer has a dexterity score of 10) plus 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. 1 minute later, the armour flies back onto your body or on the ground in your space (you choose).

Apart from dealing damage, you can use this manœuvre to remove armour more easily (or clothing, in which case it deals no damage). You can remove just some layers of clothes to change disguises quickly.

Colossus Strike

7th-level Stone Dragon

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: S

Duration: Instantaneous

You make a melee attack that deals 6d6 extra points of damage, and the target must take a constitution save or be hurled back 1d4*5 feet and fall prone. If they are thrown into a creature, they stop and both creatures take 2d6 bludgeoning damage. If they are thrown into a barrier, they either crash through or stop as appropriate, and take 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage either way (or maybe piercing damage from a window).

Wings of Stone

8th-level Stone Dragon

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: 60 feet

Components: V, S, M (a stone carved into the shape of a wing)

Duration: 1 Round

You form a chain of pure willpower, attach it to your weapon, and launch the weapon at a creature. If you are in the air, or the target is on the ground, or both, this simply allows you to make a melee weapon attack from 60 feet away. You pull on the chain after making the attack, hit or miss, and the weapon returns to your hand. Then the chain disintegrates.

However, if you are on the ground and your target is in the air, if struck, they are dragged to the ground. They can take a dexterity save to avoid falling damage, but are dragged to the ground nonetheless. The creature finds itself unable to attempt to take flight again for one round.

If your favoured discipline is stone dragon or setting sun, you can leap up at the creature to attack them with a claw or unarmed strike; you don't take falling damage yourself. If your favoured discipline is nine arrows, you don't create a special chain and can target anyone you can hit with a ranged attack.

Mountain Tombstone Strike

9th-level Stone Dragon

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: See text

You make a melee attack with advantage. If the attack hits, the target takes a constitution save. If they fail, roll 2d6. If this is greater than their constitution score, they die, else they are reduced to one point of constitution. If they pass, they lose 2d6 points of constitution. Lost constitution points are restored at a rate of 1 per hour.

Stances

The following stances are part of the Stone Dragon discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of stone dragon manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum level and a number of asterisks equal to the number of stone dragon manœuvres you must know - for example, 9** means you must know two stone dragon manœuvres and have reached 9th level.

The Tiger Claw

"If you rile a tiger, he's going to show his claws"

― Rob James-Collier

Consciousness is the enemy of instinct. The Tiger Claw discipline teaches that martial superiority can be achieved by discarding the veneer of civilization, along with the higher thoughts that fetter a warrior’s actions. Tiger Claw manœuvres emulate the strikes, leaps, and pounces of animals. When infused with ki power, some Tiger Claw manœuvres also allow a martial adept to take on animalistic characteristics, speed, and bloodlust.

Rapid Strike

2nd-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: 1 round

Each attack you make this turn gets advantage on the attack roll and deals extra damage equal to 1d6 plus your highest manœuvre level. Enemies get advantage on attack rolls against you for one round.

Flesh Ripper

3rd-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: 3 rounds/1 round.

You make a single melee attack. If this attack hits, the target must take a constitution saving throw. If they fail, they take disadvantage on attack rolls and creatures have advantage on attack rolls against them for 3 rounds. Else, they take disadvantage on attack rolls for 1 round. This counts as an attack action for purposes of two-weapon fighting.

Fountain of Blood

4th-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 reaction

Range: 5 feet/30 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous/1 round

You can use this manœuvre whenever a creature within 5 feet of you falls to 0 hit points, including because you just attacked them. That creature immediately fails a death saving throw, and each enemy within 30 feet of you must take a wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you for one round.

Dancing Mongoose

5th-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You immediately take the attack action as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. You get an extra melee attack during that attack action and if you engage in two-weapon fighting this turn, you can make an extra melee attack during the two-weapon fighting bonus action. However, all your attacks this turn must be made against a single target.

You don't get two extra offhand attacks if you use twin claw style, though: even though ordinarily you would get one extra because you just made an extra main-hand attack and one extra because of the effect of dancing mongoose, you just get the extra one offhand attack.

At highest manœuvre level 8, you get two extra mainhand and two extra offhand melee attacks (but still don't get more than two extra offhand attacks with twin claw style).

Pouncing Charge

5th-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

As part of initiating this manœuvre, you dash, and then take the attack action. You get advantage on each attack roll so long as you moved at least 20 feet away from your starting position this turn.

Wolf Climbs the Mountain

6th-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: 5 feet

Components: V, S, M (a claw and a piece of rock)

Duration: Instantaneous

Choose a creature within range who is of a larger size category than you. That creature takes damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. You then move into that creature's space without provoking attacks of opportunity. You have cover against all attacks while you are in this space, and any attack which only misses you because you have that cover must roll to hit your target instead.

The creature can simply move away from you, but provokes an attack of opportunity when it leaves the space.

Hamstring Attack

7th-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: 1 minute/see text

You make a single melee attack as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. If the attack hits, the target loses 1d8 points of dexterity and its movement speed is reduced by 10 feet for one minute. A constitution save halves both the dexterity loss and the movement speed reduction.

Lost points of dexterity are restored at a rate of 1 per hour. The dexterity reduction increases to 1d10 at highest manœuvre level 8 and 1d12 at highest manœuvre level 9.

Girallon Windmill Flesh Rip

8th-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You make an attack action as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. At the end of your turn, each creature you have hit with 2 or more attacks this turn (whether as part of the attack action of not) takes 8d6 points of true damage, plus another 2d6 per attack that hit that creature beyond the second. True damage cannot be prevented, resisted or mitigated by any means whatsoever, and applies even if your initial attacks dealt no damage.

Feral Death-Blow

9th-level Tiger Claw

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: 5 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You leap onto an adjacent enemy, tearing them apart with savage blows. The target is reduced to 0 hit points and fails 2 death saves. A successful constitution save causes the target to instead take 20d6 points of slashing damage and, if this is enough to reduce the target to 0 hit points, they immediately fail 1 death save.

Stances

The following stances are part of the Tiger Claw discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of tiger claw manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum level and a number of asterisks equal to the number of tiger claw manœuvres you must know - for example, 13** means you must know two tiger claw manœuvres and have reached 13th level.

The White Raven

"Why is a raven like a writing desk? They are both so full of poetry, you see. Darkness and whimsy, nightmares and song."

― Marissa Meyer, Heartless

No warrior fights in isolation. Cooperation, teamwork, and leadership can give two warriors the strength of five, and five warriors the strength of twenty. The student of the White Raven masters manœuvres that combine the strengths of two or more allies against a common foe. Shouts and battlecries infused with ki are the signature manœuvres of the White Raven discipline.

1st Level

Douse the Flames, Lead the Attack

2nd Level*

Tactical Strike, War-Leader's Charge

3rd Level*

Raven's Cry, White Raven Tactics

4th Level*

White Raven Strike

5th Level**

Birds of a Feather

6th Level**

Order Forged from Chaos

7th Level***

Clarion Call, Flock Together

8th Level***

Angel's Wings

9th Level****

War-Master's Charge

Douse The Flames

1st-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, M (a drop of water)

Duration: 1 round

You make a melee attack as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. If the attack hits, the creature struck can't make opportunity attacks for one round. This increases by one per 2 highest manœuvre levels after 1st.

Lead the Attack

1st-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: 1 round

As part of the initiation of this manœuvre, you make a melee attack. If the attack hits, creatures have advantage on attack rolls against the creature you hit for 1 round.

Tactical Strike

2nd-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

When you initiate this manœuvre, make a melee attack. If the attack hits, it deals 2d6 points of damage, and your allies within 5 feet of the target (including you, if you are) each move up to 5 feet without provoking opportunity attacks.

War-Leader's Charge

2nd-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

As part of this manœuvre, you dash and make a single melee attack. If you move at least 10 feet before making the attack, it deals extra damage equal to 1d6, plus 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level.

Raven's Cry

3rd-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action (see text)

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S, M (a feather)

Duration: 1 round

When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you can initiate this manœuvre as a bonus action on the same turn. When you do, you give each ally within 30 feet a bonus on damage rolls equal to your highest manœuvre level plus 1 for 1 round.

White Raven Tactics

3rd-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S, M (a strip of cloth from a flag)

Duration: Instantaneous

You choose one ally within range with a different initiative count from you. Whichever of you has the lower initiative count rises to the other's initiative count, and acts just after them each round. If the ally has a lower initiative count than you, they will therefore act immediately after you. If you have a lower initiative count than them, you will take your turn earlier in subsequent rounds, but not this one.

White Raven Strike

4th-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S, M (a white feather)

Duration: 1 round

As part of the initiation of this manœuvre, you make a melee attack. If it hits, you deal extra damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level, the target's dexterity modifier is treated as 0 (unless it is already lower) when determining their AC for 1 round, and attacks against them have advantage for one round.

Birds of a Feather

5th-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

To use this manœuvre, you must have at least one ally positioned such that you and they are on opposite sides of a creature in both of your melee reaches. You make a melee attack as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. That creature can also make a melee attack. Then, any other pair of allies who are on opposite sides of the target can attack, and any ally who is on the opposite side from an ally who can already attack can attack.

Consider two creatures to be "Opposite" the target if a line drawn between the centre of the two creatures passes through (not just touches) the target's space. For a medium target, this means that a creature can stand directly opposite you or in one of the squares next to it.

(Another way to visualise this is to suppose that you walked up to the target (if you're more than 5 feet away) and fired a cone effect directly at the target. If the cone effect would hit your ally and they are not on the very edge of the effect, they are opposite the target.)

Order Forged From Chaos

6th-level White Raven

Initiation Time: Your movement

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S, M (a small symbol consisting of a circle, an arrow, and five broken points.)

Duration: Instantaneous

You initiate this manœuvre by giving up your movement rather than taking any actions. Instead, all your allies can immediately move as though it were their turn.

This movement is just normal movement, so it still provokes opportunity attacks as normal. Further, it doesn't count towards fulfilling the movement requirements of any special abilities that the target might have (though it's still subject to any restrictions that might be placed on their movement, and the movement still ends most stone dragon stances if they move more than 5 feet).

Clarion Call

7th-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action (see text)

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S, M (a feather and a figurine of a horn)

Duration: Instantaneous

When you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you can initiate this manœuvre as a bonus action on the same turn. Each ally within range - including you - can either move as though it were their turn (see Order Forged from Chaos, above), or make a single attack, immediately.

Flock Together

7th-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: Self

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

When you use this manœuvre, you make a single melee attack. Hit or miss, every other creature in range to make a melee attack against the target can do so.

Angel's Wings

8th-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 bonus action

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

Angelic wings burst from your back, and a swarm of feathers spins around your allies. A moment later, they are elsewhere. You, and each ally in range, immediately teleports anywhere else in range.

War-Master's Charge

9th-level White Raven

Initiation Time: 1 action

Range: 30 feet

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You raise your weapon high into the air and shout a valiant war-cry before leading your allies onwards to victory. You take the dash action as part of the initiation of this manœuvre, but you must then immediately use your movement to move close enough to make a melee weapon attack against a creature (if the extra movement from dashing isn't enough to do this, you can't initiate this manœuvre). You then immediately make a melee attack, and your attack deals an extra 16d6 points of damage if it hits.

Any number of creatures within 30 feet of you when you initiate the manœuvre can immediately move up to double their movement speed and make a melee weapon attack against the same target, if they're in range to do so.

If your favoured discipline is Nine Arrows, you and other creatures can make ranged weapon attacks instead, but anyone who chooses to do so cannot dash or move due to this manœuvre's effects (you can't dash, others can't move at all).

Stances

The following stances are part of the White Raven discipline. Each one has a minimum level and a minimum number of white raven manœuvres you must know to learn it, denoted by a number telling you the minimum lpevel and a number of asterisks equal to the number of white raven manœuvres you must know - for example, 9** means you must know two white raven manœuvres and have reached 9th level.

Multiclass Initiators

It is not uncommon for crusaders, swordsages and warblades to mix their martial talents together. It is not unheard of for members of other classes to attempt to take up the way of the nine swords. However, it is a difficult and arduous path to take. To enter the crusader class, one must have a constitution and charisma of at least 13; for swordsage, a dexterity and wisdom of at least 13; would-be-warblades must have a strength and intelligence of at least 13. Entering any of these classes only confers the class's proficiency in light armour, simple weapons, and martial melee weapons, not any other proficiency the class grants.

As far as manœuvres are concerned, when you take two different initiator classes, treat the number of manœuvres readied in the second class as being 0 at first level, and reduced by the same amount at each level thereafter (so effectively, your number of manœuvres readied is reduced by the number you can usually ready at first level). Similarly, reduce the number of stances known by 1. Finally, reduce the number of manœuvres known at each level so that you only earn 1 at first level.

All told, this means that you reduce the manœuvres known, manœuvres readied and stances known by 4, 5, 1 for crusader, 5, 4, 1 for swordsage and 2, 3, 1 for warblade.

Each time you learn a manœuvre, it must be one from the class you're learning it from. However, its maximum level is calculated by combining the levels of both initiator classes (so a swordsage 6/warblade 5 can use 6th-level manœuvres just like a swordsage 11 can).

You do not choose another favoured discipline at 3rd level in one initiating class if you've already reached 3rd level in another, but levels in the new class count as levels in the old for determining the effect of your favoured discipline, even if the new class can't favour that discipline.

Every 2 levels in a class which is not crusader, swordsage or warblade count as one level in a class that is crusader, swordsage or warblade for the purpose of determining the highest level of manœuvres you can learn and which stances you can learn. If you take a subclass which allows you to initiate manœuvres, you must reduce the number of manœuvres known, manœuvres readied and stances known in your second class, as above.

Finally, manœuvres and regular spellcasting don't mix: each advances separately, and you can't ready or initiate your spells or prepare or cast your manœuvres. If you are a multiclass spellcaster and your favoured discipline is Jade Phœnix or Ruby Knight, count any levels in crusader, swordsage and warblade as levels in Eldritch Knight for determining your available spell slots.

Therefore, a Jade Phœnix Swordsage 5/Warblade 4/Wizard 10 has a multiclass caster level of 13 and a multiclass initiator level of 14.

Variant Multiclass

Variant multiclass is a system by which each class has a variant multiclass archetype that can be used for most classes other than that class. In particular, the rules here can be used to variant multiclass with crusader, swordsage, or warblade with no alteration if you are a barbarian, bard, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, paladin, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, warlock or wizard.

Rather than actually taking multiclass levels in the class in question, it replaces - or, rather, is - your primal path, bard college, divine domain, druidic circle, martial archetype, monastic tradition, sacred oath, ranger archetype, rogue archetype, sorcerous origin, otherworldly patron or arcane tradition. The restrictions are as follows:

• You cannot take a variant multiclass archetype if you have any levels in that class.
• You cannot take levels in a class if you are already a variant multiclass member of that class.
• You cannot take a variant multiclass archetype in two different classses.

Essentially, you can only multiclass as a particular class once, irrespective of the type of multiclassing or order of operations. In general, it's probably inadvisable to mix standard and variant multiclassing.

All classes get similar benefits from becoming a variant multiclass member of a class - it's for the player to decide, as with regular multiclassing, whether or not a particular combination is worth it - but there are slight differences in who gets what, and they get them at different times in accordance with the usual timings for their abilities.

Variant Multiclass: Swordsage

Swordsage features are gained at the given levels:

*And another stance at 18th level.

Variant Multiclass: Warblade

Warblade features are gained at the given levels:

*And another stance at 18th level.