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.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d10 per crusader level.
Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier.
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier for each crusader level after 1st.
Proficiencies
Armour: All armour, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Constitution, Charisma
Skills: Choose two from Athletics, History, Intimidation, Persuasion, Religion or Survival.
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
- (a) a priest's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- Chain mail and a holy symbol
Class Features
As a crusader, you gain the following class features:
Manœuvres
From 1st level, you can use a variety of special spells known as manœuvres which follow different rules to normal spells.
Learning Manœuvres
You begin with knowledge of five martial manœuvres. Each manœuvre can come from any of the Devoted Spirit, Stone Dragon, and White Raven lists (you can pick each manœuvre from a different list; you don't have to choose which list to use). Once you know a manœuvre, you must ready it before you can use it (see Manœuvres Readied, below). You learn additional manœuvres at higher levels, as shown on Table: The Crusader. You must meet a manœuvre’s prerequisite to learn it. See Table: The Crusader to determine the highest-level manœuvres you can learn.
The Crusader
Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Manœuvres Known | Manœuvres Readied | Stances Known |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | +2 | Steely Resolve 5 | 5 (1st) | 5 (2) | 1 |
2nd | +2 | Indomitable Soul | 5 (1st) | 5 (2) | 2 |
3rd | +2 | Favoured Discipline, Steely Resolve 10 | 6 (2nd) | 5 (2) | 2 |
4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 6 (2nd) | 5 (2) | 2 |
5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 7 (3rd) | 5 (2) | 2 |
6th | +3 | Smite | 7 (3rd) | 5 (2) | 2 |
7th | +3 | Steely Resolve 15 | 8 (4th) | 5 (2) | 2 |
8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 8 (4th) | 5 (2) | 3 |
9th | +4 | Zealous Surge | 9 (5th) | 5 (2) | 3 |
10th | +4 | Die Hard | 9 (5th) | 6 (3) | 3 |
11th | +4 | Steely Resolve 20 | 10 (6th) | 6 (3) | 3 |
12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 10 (6th) | 6 (3) | 3 |
13th | +5 | Favoured Discipline Feature | 11 (7th) | 6 (3) | 3 |
14th | +5 | Mettle | 11 (7th) | 6 (3) | 4 |
15th | +5 | Steely Resolve 25 | 12 (8th) | 6 (3) | 4 |
16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 12 (8th) | 6 (3) | 4 |
17th | +6 | Favoured Discipline Feature | 13 (9th) | 6 (3) | 4 |
18th | +6 | Steely Resolve 30 | 13 (9th) | 6 (3) | 4 |
19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 14 (9th) | 6 (3) | 4 |
20th | +6 | Double Strike | 14 (9th) | 7 (4) | 4 |
At 4th level, and every 2 levels thereafter, you can learn a single new manœuvre in place of one you already know. You can choose a new manœuvre of any level up to the maximum you can know; you need not replace the old manœuvre with another of the same level. For example, at 10th level, you could swap a manœuvre for a manœuvre of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new manœuvre.
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.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d8 per swordsage level.
Hit Points at 1st Level: 8 + your Constitution modifier.
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifer for each swordsage level after 1st.
Proficiencies
Armour: Light armour
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial melee weapons (icluding thrown weapons)
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Dexterity, Strength
Skills: Choose three from Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Arcana, Athletics, History, Intimidation, Insight, Investigation, Medicine, Stealth and Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a two-handed martial melee weapon or (b) a light martial melee weapon and versatile martial melee weapon
- (a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- Leather armour and an arcane focus
Class Features
As a swordsage, you gain the following class features:
Manœuvres
From 1st level, you can use a variety of special spells known as manœuvres which follow different rules to normal spells.
Learning Manœuvres
You begin with knowledge of six martial manœuvres, which come from any of the Desert Wind, Diamond Mind, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, Stone Dragon, and Tiger Claw lists.
The Swordsage
Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Manœuvres Known | Manœuvres Readied | Stances Known |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | +2 | Quick to Act, Weapon Focus | 6 (1st) | 4 | 1 |
2nd | +2 | Light Armour Specialist | 7 (1st) | 4 | 2 |
3rd | +2 | Favoured Discipline | 8 (2nd) | 5 | 2 |
4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement, | 9 (2nd) | 5 | 2 |
5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 10 (3rd) | 6 | 3 |
6th | +3 | Sense Magic | 11 (3rd) | 6 | 3 |
7th | +3 | Insightful Strike | 12 (4th) | 6 | 3 |
8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 13 (4th) | 7 | 3 |
9th | +4 | Evasion | 14 (5th) | 7 | 4 |
10th | +4 | Secondary Discipline Skill | 15 (5th) | 8 | 4 |
11th | +4 | Defensive Stance | 16 (6th) | 8 | 4 |
12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 17 (6th) | 8 | 4 |
13th | +5 | Favoured Discipline Feature | 18 (7th) | 9 | 5 |
14th | +5 | Secondary Discipline Insight | 19 (7th) | 9 | 5 |
15th | +5 | 20 (8th) | 10 | 5 | |
16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 21(8th) | 10 | 5 |
17th | +6 | Favoured Discipline Feature | 22 (9th) | 10 | 5 |
18th | +6 | Secondary Discipline Defence | 23 (9th) | 11 | 5 |
19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 24 (9th) | 11 | 5 |
20th | +6 | Dual Boost | 25 (9th) | 12 | 6 |
(You can pick each manœuvre from a different list; you don't have to choose which list to use). Once you know a manœuvre, you must ready it before you can use it (see Manœuvres Readied, below). You learn additional manœuvres at higher levels, as shown on Table: The Swordsage. You must meet a manœuvre’s prerequisite to learn it. See Table: The Swordsage to determine the highest-level manœuvres you can learn.
At 4th level, and every 2 levels thereafter, you can learn a single new manœuvre in place of one you already know. You can choose a new manœuvre of any level up to the maximum you can know; you need not replace the old manœuvre with another of the same level. For example, at 10th level, you could swap a manœuvre for a manœuvre of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new manœuvre.
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.
Hit Points
Hit Dice: 1d12 per warblade level.
Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + your Constitution modifier.
Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d12 (or 7) + your Constitution modifer for each warblade level after 1st.
Proficiencies
Armour: Light and medium armour, shields
Weapons: Simple weapons, martial melee weapons
Tools: None
Saving Throws: Intelligence, Wisdom
Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Athletics, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Persuasion or Survival
Equipment
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
- (a) a martial weapon and a shield or (b) two martial weapons
- (a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon
- (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack
- A chain shirt and a druidic focus
Class Features
As a warblade, you gain the following class features:
Manœuvres
From 1st level, you can use a variety of special spells known as manœuvres which follow different rules to normal spells.
Learning Manœuvres
You begin with knowledge of five martial manœuvres. Each manœuvre can come from any of the Diamond Mind, Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw, and White Raven lists (you can pick each manœuvre from a different list; you don't have to choose which list to use). Once you know a manœuvre, you must ready it before you can use it (see Manœuvres Readied, below). You learn additional manœuvres at higher levels, as shown on Table: The Warblade. You must meet a manœuvre’s prerequisite to learn it. See Table: The Warblade to determine the highest-level manœuvres you can learn.
The Warblade
Level | Proficiency Bonus | Features | Manœuvres Known | Manœuvres Readied | Stances Known |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | +2 | Battle Clarity | 3 (1st) | 3 | 1 |
2nd | +2 | Battle Ardour | 4 (1st) | 3 | 1 |
3rd | +2 | Favoured Discipline | 5 (2nd) | 3 | 1 |
4th | +2 | Ability Score Improvement | 5 (2nd) | 4 | 2 |
5th | +3 | Extra Attack | 6 (3rd) | 4 | 2 |
6th | +3 | Battle Clarity (2) | 6 (3rd) | 4 | 2 |
7th | +3 | Uncanny Dodge | 7 (4th) | 4 | 2 |
8th | +3 | Ability Score Improvement | 7 (4th) | 4 | 2 |
9th | +4 | Battle Cunning | 8 (5th) | 5 | 2 |
10th | +4 | Die Hard | 8 (5th) | 5 | 3 |
11th | +4 | Battle Skill | 9 (6th) | 5 | 3 |
12th | +4 | Ability Score Improvement | 9 (6th) | 5 | 3 |
13th | +5 | Favoured Discipline Feature | 10 (7th) | 5 | 3 |
14th | +5 | Battle Clarity (3) | 10 (7th) | 5 | 3 |
15th | +5 | Battle Mastery | 11 (8th) | 6 | 3 |
16th | +5 | Ability Score Improvement | 11 (8th) | 6 | 4 |
17th | +6 | Favoured Discipline Feature | 12 (9th) | 6 | 4 |
18th | +6 | Combat Reflexes | 12 (9th) | 6 | 4 |
19th | +6 | Ability Score Improvement | 13 (9th) | 6 | 4 |
20th | +6 | Stance Mastery | 13 (9th) | 7 | 4 |
At 4th level, and every 2 levels thereafter, you can learn a single new manœuvre in place of one you already know. You can choose a new manœuvre of any level up to the maximum you can know; you need not replace the old manœuvre with another of the same level. For example, at 10th level, you could swap a manœuvre for a manœuvre of 5th level or lower, as long as you meet the prerequisite of the new manœuvre.
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:
A Square Spell in a Round Slot
Manœuvres do not use spell slots and work as described in the classes above. They can never be initiated as a ritual no matter what. Cantrips use their normal advancement.
The Universe Hea... Wait, Wrong Subsystem
All of the manœuvre's components are relaxed. For a verbal component, you must speak the component but no-one actually needs to hear it, so it works if you are silenced but not if you are gagged and can't move your tongue. For a somatic component, you need to be able to move at least one hand more than a little, but you can hold anything in it, such as a weapon or a shield.
You can use material components or a spellcasting focus so long as you are wearing or holding them, or they are otherwise within half an inch of your body - or painted onto any part of your shield, in the case of a holy symbol - and firmly attached to you. For example, a focus crystal can be kept in a pocket under your armour, a wand can be strapped to your leg, a totem can be worn as a crown, a sprig of mistletoe can be tied around your body, a holy symbol amulet works while worn, and, of course, an emblem works with your shield. A crusader uses a holy symbol, a swordsage uses an arcane focus and a warblade uses a druidic focus.
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.
Associated Skill
Acrobatics
Initiating Abilities
Intelligence, Charisma
Discipline Powers
Burning Desire
When you take this favoured discipline at 3rd level, you gain resistance to fire.
Burning Ambition
At 13th level, your fire manœuvres and other attacks using fire are difficult to resist. A creature who is immune to fire takes half damage from fire damage you use on them and a creature who is resistant to fire takes three quarters damage. Any other abilities that reduce the fire damage you deal to a creature because of its type (that is, if the damage might not be reduced were it some other type) are half as effective.
Burning Hatred
At 17th level, you can set yourself ablaze with fires of fury for 1 minute. The flames do you no damage, but channel themselves into your manœuvres and attacks. For the duration, each weapon attack you make deals 5d6 points of fire damage as well as its normal damage, and each manœuvre you initiate may, at your option, deal this extra fire damage, even if it doesn't normally deal any damage at all.
Manœuvres
The following manœuvres are part of the Desert Wind discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other desert wind manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.
0 Level
Burning Blade (Green-Flame BladeSCAG)
1st Level
Blistering Flourish (Faerie Fire), Distracting Ember, Fire Riposte (Hellish Rebuke), Dragon's Flame (Burning Hands), Wind Stride (Expeditious Retreat), Zephyr Dance (Shield)
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 (ImmolateEE, 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.
Flame's Blessing (1)
You are resistant to fire while in this stance. From 16th level, you are immune to fire while in this stance.
Cloak of Calamity (5*)
You channel your inner disrespect for the victims of fires before yours and wear it as armour against those who would oppose you. Whenever an adjacent opponent hits you with a melee attack, they take 5 points of fire damage.
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Q: Why did you rename...
A: Let me stop you right there. Yes, I know technically the word literally means any total burning of something, but it usually refers to a historical event which...
Q: You mean a historical event like the Crusades?
A: Ignoring the difference between living memory and mediæval history, crusade is probably more commonly used to mean any militaristic action of percieved righteousness ("Will you join in our crusade, will you take your place with me? Beyond the barricade is there a place you long to see?") than the actual Crusades. Oh, and if I renamed the crusader, it would throw everyone off - everyone remembers that the initiators are swordsage, warblade and crusader, not zealot.
Q: So what was wrong with "Wyrm's Breath" then?
A: It was boring and we have upcasting now. You'll notice it also does a totally different thing. That's why a lot of the "Such and such only better" manœuvres are gone or do different things from they used to.
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Rising Phoenix (15***)
A column of superheated air lifts you up as though you had been reborn from your own ashes. While you are in this stance, you can fly as fast as you can walk, and can hover, but you can only actually float 10 feet in the air above a solid or liquid surface (though that's not to say that the surface has to be able to support your weight). If you ever aren't within 10 feet of such a surface, the stance ends, which will usually drop you down to the ground below (though if on any of your turns you are up to 10 feet above the ground, you can enter the stance again to save yourself and are very lucky).
Whenever you take the attack action, the column bursts into flame, dealing 3d6 points of fire damage to any creature within 5 feet of the column of air except for you (the column occupies your space, and each of the spaces directly between you and the surface below).
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.
Associated Skill
Intimidation
Initiating Abilities
Constitution, Charisma
Discipline Powers
Opportune Moment
When you take this favoured discipline at 3rd level, you gain the ability to take a opportunty attack once per round without using your reaction to do so.
Aura of Thorns
Starting from 13th level, when you take damage from a melee attack, you can use your reaction to deal half as much damage back to the attacker. Apply your resistance or vulnerability to the damage, not theirs (suppose a creature who is resistant to slashing rolls 10 slashing damage against you while you're vulnerable to slashing. You take 20 damage, so the creature takes 10).
Zeal and Fury
From 17th level, you put your weight into your attacks while using your force of personality to guide your weapon. The first time you hit an enemy with a melee weapon attack in a round, the attack deals extra damage equal to your constitution modifier times your charisma modifier. Use the absolute value of each, to a minimum of 1 - if one of these ability scores slips below 8, this means that you actually start landing stronger and stronger blows in your desperation!
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Q: What does "Absolute value" mean?
A: The abolute value of a positive number equals that number. The absolute value of a negative number equals that number, times -1 - the absolute values of 2 and -2 are both 2.
Manœuvres
The following manœuvres are part of the Devoted Spirit discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other devoted spirit manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.
1st Level
Entangling Blade (Ensnaring Strike), Revitalising Strike, Vanguard Strike (Guiding Bolt)
2nd Level
Foehammer, Shield Block,
3rd Level*
Defensive Rebuke
4th Level*
Divine Surge
5th Level*
Daunting Strike, Zealous Charge
6th Level**
Rallying Strike
7th Level**
Castigating Strike, Shield Counter
8th Level**
Sacrificial Divine Surge
9th Level***
Strike of Righteous Vitality
Revitalising Strike
1st-level Devoted Spirit
Initiation Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self/10 feet
Components: V, M (A tiny piece of a flag)
Duration: 1 round
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 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level, plus your initiating ability modifier.
Foehammer
2nd-level Devoted Spirit
Initiation Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Components: V
Duration: 1 round
If your next melee attack this round hits, it does additional damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. Further, damage the attack deals is true damage instead of damage of its original type - true damage cannot be prevented, mitigated or resisted by any means whatsoever.
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.
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Q: Do unaligned creatures have an alignment which is not exactly identical to mine?
A: No. They do not have an alignment at all.
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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.
Lost points of constitution that you accept in this way are automatically restored at a rate of one per hour.
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.
Iron Guard's Glare (1)
Your steely gaze causes even the most resolute of foes to have trouble looking away to attack your allies.
While you are in this stance, enemies within your reach have disadvantage on attack rolls against your allies (other than you), though they are aware of this.
Martial Spirit (1)
Your lust for battle is infectious, inspiring your allies to keep fighting despite - or perhaps even because of - their wounds.
While you are in this stance, whenever you hit an enemy who poses a genuine threat to you with a melee attack, you or an ally within 30 feet is healed for 2 points of damage.
Thicket of Blades (5*)
Your weapon is held ready to strike any creature who makes even the slightest movement.
While you are in this stance, your enemies can't avoid provoking opportunity attacks from you by taking the disengage action. Further, an enemy provokes an opportunity attack from you when they move out of any square you can reach, not just out of your reach entirely.
Aura of Zeal (11**)
You fill yourself with righteous indignation or vile pride, empowering yourself to become the embodiment of the alignment you stand for.
While you are in this stance, you gain two of the following benefits based on your alignment:
-
Chaotic: Whenever you roll the maximum result on a damage die, treat it as double its actual result (so when you wield a greatsword, each d6 can roll 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 12).
-
Lawful: When you make any roll, you can choose to use your passive result plus 1.
-
Neither: Once per round, instead of rolling a d20 roll, you can roll 2+((1d2-1)*17) instead (that is, flip a coin: heads is 19, tails is 2).
-
Good: Whenever you or an ally within 10 feet hits an evil creature with a melee weapon attack, the attacker heals 2d6 hit points.
-
Evil: Whenever a good creature hits you or an ally within 10 feet with a melee weapon attack, the attacker takes 2d6 points of necrotic damage.
-
Neither: You get both of the above benefits, but the damage or healing is only 1d6 points.
Immortal Fortitude (15***)
Despite the horrific wounds you suffer, the flash of searing spells, and the crash of a foe's mighty attacks, you stand resolute on the field. So long as the potential for victory exists, you fight on.
While in this stance, if you take enough damage to reduce you to 0 hit points, calculate the damage you have taken beyond enough to reduce you to 0 (essentially, the number of hit points below 0 the damage would reduce you to if that were possible). Take a constitution save with a DC equal to half of that value. If you pass, you do not fall unconscious, and instead, you are reduced to 1 hit point, instead of 0.
Relying on this power is dangerous, however. Each time you successfully save yourself from unconsciousness with this stance, mark a single failed death save on yourself even though you are still conscious. This failed death save lasts until you leave this stance. If you really are knocked unconscious, you start rolling for further death saves as normal.
If you pass a third constitution save, you don't die instantly despite having three failed death saves marked on you, but you can't attempt to save yourself from unconsciouness while you have three failed death saves on you, so you will need to leave the stance and enter it again. If you are reduced to 0 hit points a fourth time, you will die outright because you have three failed death saves.
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Q: Does Thicket of Blades allow me to make more than one opportunity attack in a round? What if I also use Defensive Rebuke?
A: No. Defensive Rebuke only allows you to make its own opportunity attacks for free, not opportunity attacks in general or the ones that Thicket of Blades provides you. If you use both, you can take one attack for each time an enemy attacks an ally, plus one more total for either thicket of blades' effect or a standard oppotunity attack
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.
Associated Skill
Investigation
Initiating Abilities
Strength, Intelligence
Discipline Powers
Clock of Perfect Quartz
When you take this favoured discipline at 3rd level, you can take an investigation check instead of a constitution save to maintain concentration on a manœuvre.
Malachite Phœnix Shield
From 13th level, your physical strength and mental resolve allow you to tap into the powers of life and rebirth. Any damage you would take is reduced by your strength modifier + your intelligence modifier.
Strike of Obsidian Shards
At 17th level, you gain the ability to perform a special attack called a strike of obsidian shards, by slamming your weapon so hard into the ground that it shatters into pieces, striking every opponent within your choice of a 60 foot line, a 30 foot cone, or a 10 foot radius burst centred on you. Your sheer force of will guides the shards unerringly into your foes, with no chance for them to avoid the attack, and around your allies, automatically missing them, and once the strike of obsidian shards is completed, your weapon reforms in your hand, undamaged by the attack.
However, the true power of the strike of obsidian shards is that it can replace any melee attack, applying any bonus effect to every single hit you land with the attack as well as doing normal weapon damage. This includes the melee attack made as part of a manœuvre.
Once you have used the strike of obsidian shards, you cannot do so again until you complete a long rest.
Manœuvres
The following manœuvres are part of the Diamond Mind discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other diamond mind manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.
1st Level
Nightmare Blade, Onyx Mind
2nd Level
Aquamarine Flow, Emerald Razor
3rd Level*
Garnet Strike, Opal Armour
4th Level**
Bounding Assault, Disrupting Blow (Staggering Smite), Mind Strike
5th Level**
Rapid Counter
6th Level**
Moment of Alacrity, Moonstone Strike
7th Level***
Avalanche of Blades, Aquamarine Motion
8th Level
Diamond Defence
9th Level
Time Stands Still
Nightmare Blade
1st-level Diamond Mind
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, M (A small glass bead that imitates the relevant gem - see below)
Duration: Instantaneous
Your blade becomes the stuff of nightmares, even it takes on the lustrous hue of a gemstone. Before you attack, the creature you attempt to attack must take a wisdom save. If they fail, you get advantage on the attack roll. The attack also deals extra damage, though it only does half as much if the save is passed - as your highest manœuvre level increases, the nightmare blade changes in power and appearance:
- 1st: Sapphire: 1d6 points of cold damage.
- 2nd: Peridot: 1d8 points of acid damage.
- 3rd: Amber: 1d10 points of lightning damage.
- 4th: Ruby: 2d6 points of fire damage.
- 5th: Topaz: 2d8 points of thunder damage
- 6th: Malachite: 2d10 points of poison damage.
- 7th: Amethyst: 4d6 points of psychic damage
- 8th: Diamond: 4d8 points of force damage.
- 9th: Obsidian 4d10 points of necrotic damage
These effects are cumulative, so an obsidian nightmare blade deals a total of 7d10+7d8+7d6 extra damage.
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.
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Q: What does Moment of Alacrity do if I houserule that we roll initiative each round?
A: Change the text of Moment of Alacrity to read "This manœuvre gives a +20 bonus to the initiative rolls for the rest of the combat." However, its duration is still instantaneous, so it can't be dispelled to remove the +20.
Q: Does Moment of Alacrity stack with itself?
A: Technically no, functionally yes. It's a bit like asking if two fireballs stack. Your initiative will increase by 20, and then by 20 again, so the answer to the question you're really asking is "yes". The altered version to handle people's houserules doesn't, as written, stack with itself, but any DM who writes houserules has their own opinion of whether or not it should.
Q: Moving on, what happens if I use an ability like nightmare blade while using Garnet or Moonstone Strike?
A: Garnet and Moonstone Strike only replace the weapon damage and your strength modifier. So Garnet Strike + Amber Nightmare Blade = 1d20 + 1d10 + 1d8 + 1d6 + proficiency + intelligence.
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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.
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Q: Can I take a reaction between my turns? Do I get an extra reaction per round when I get an extra turn?
A: Yes to both questions, though you don't usually have much opportunity to use the reaction.
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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.
Tiger's Eye Clarity (1)
While you are in this stance, you focus on defending yourself against one particular enemy to the exclusion of all others. That enemy has disadvantage on attack rolls against you, but other enemies have advantage on attack rolls against you. You choose an enemy to defend yourself against when you enter the stance in combat, whenever you enter combat, and at the start of each of your turns in combat.
Pearl of Black Doubt (5*)
While you are in this stance, your dodges crush the spirit of enemies with every miss. You get a bonus to AC equal to the number of attacks that have missed you since your last turn.
Prismatic Wind (9**)
Your perception becomes so fine-tuned that you can hear your foes' slightest movements on the wind, allowing you to locate invisible enemies with pinpoint accuracy. While you are in this stance, you have blindsight out to 30 feet, and advantage on perception checks to hear creatures.
Declaration in Jade (15***)
Your hand glows a bright green colour, and seems to move almost of its own accord. While you are in this stance, you can initiate one manœuvre that would normally use your reaction without actually using your reaction - essentially, you get an extra reaction each round that can only be used to initiate manœuvres.
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.
Associated Skill
Perception
Initiating Abilities
Dexterity, Consitution
Discipline Powers
Steel Skin
From 3rd level, when you take this favoured discipline, you get a +1 bonus to AC so long as you are wearing armour.
Mithril Stride
From 13th level, your enemies have disadvantage on attack rolls for opportunity attacks they make against you.
Adamantine Fist
From 17th level, when you attack, you can make an unarmed strike in addition to your normal weapon attacks, which is usually used to allow you to benefit an extra time from an effect that improves your attack damage or make another attempt to land a manœuvre that requires that you hit.
Manœuvres
The following manœuvres are part of the Iron Heart discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other iron heart manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.
1st Level
Steely Strike
2nd Level
Disarming Strike, Wall of Blades
3rd Level*
Exorcism of Steel, Iron Heart Surge (Dispel Magic)
4th Level**
Lightning Recovery, Mithral Tornado
Steel Wind Strike is an exception to manœuvres having different names from the spell, because it's just too perfect already - you couldn't tell it from the rest without knowing.
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5th Level**
Dazing Strike, Iron Heart Focus, Steel Wind StrikeXGtE
6th Level**
Iron Heart Endurance, Manticore Parry
7th Level***
Shatter the Rust, Wolfram Scything Blade
8th Level***
Adamantine Hurricane, Titanium Throw
9th Level****
Strike of Orichalcum Clarity
Steely Strike
1st-level Iron Heart
Initiation Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 round
You focus yourself on a single enemy of your choice. You have advantage on melee attack rolls against that enemy but other enemies have advantage on attack rolls against you.
Disarming Strike
2nd-level Iron Heart
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, M (A knucklebone)
Duration: Instantaneous
You make an attack action, and for each melee attack that hits, you can then attempt to disarm the target of that attack (see DMG 271) even if the disarm rules are not in use.
Wall of Blades
2nd-level Iron Heart
Initiation Time: 1 reaction
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
When you are hit with an attack, you can use this manœuvre to make an attack roll with a melee weapon you are holding (you're not holding your own unarmed strike!). If your modified attack roll is higher than the attack roll that just hit you, the attack misses instead. The exception is that if the original attack roll was a critical hit, you must also score a critical hit to deflect the attack, but if you score a critical hit, the attack is deflected no matter how high it is.
- Critical attack only: Never deflects
- Critical reaction only: Always deflects
- Criticial attack and reaction: Always deflects.
Q: [Literally any question involving Iron Heart Surge.]
A: For the uninitiated, Iron Heart Surge used to be a manœuvre that was clearly meant to allow you to resist abilities, but ended up letting you dispel them instead. It's not clear exactly what it was meant to allow you to resist - try working out what "spell, effect, or other condition currently affecting you" means. Particularly liberal interpretations might have let you shrug off the sun. Rather than work out what the hell it's meant to do, it's now dispel magic. Rage on.
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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.
Q: How does Wolfram Scything Blade work with other manœuvres?
A: You can both make a scything attack and a disarming attack if you have WSB active when you use disarming strike, and the scything attack gives you another disarming attack. You can re-roll the WSB attack with lighting recovery or use lightning recovery to make an attack hit so you can claim the WSB attack. You can choose what order you attack enemies with for mithral tornado, and when the first of those attacks hit, hit another using WSB. You get a normal extra attack with dazing strike and shatter the rust, not one with a bonus effect. You don't get any benefit with wall of blades or exorcism of steel at all.
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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.
Punishing Stance (1)
While you are in this stance, you deal 1d6 extra points of damage with each attack, but take a -2 penalty to your AC.
Absolute Steel (5*)
While you are in this stance, your speed increases by 10 feet. If you move at least 10 feet away from your initial position in a round, you get a +1 bonus to AC during that round.
Dancing Blade Form (9**)
While you are in this stance, your reach increases by 5 feet during your turn only. Outside of your turn, you use your ordinary reach for determining whether or not enemies provoke opportunity attacks from you and the reach of any attacks you can make as a reaction.
Supreme Blade Parry (15***)
While you are in this stance, so long as you are proficient with a melee weapon you are wielding (not just your unarmed strike) you reduce any damage you take by your proficiency bonus, after applying any damage resistance or vulnerability, to a minimum of 0.
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.
Associated Skill
Arcana
Discipline Powers
Spellcasting
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast arcane spells, including cantrips, just as an eldritch knight does (using the same focus as for your manœuvres).
Quickening Strike
At 13th level, you gain the ability to cast any spell with a casting time of 1 action as a bonus action whenever you successfully hit with an attack made as part of a manœuvre.
Emerald Immolation
At 17th level, you can explode in a burst of emerald flame as an action. This scorching flame deals 10d6 points of fire damage and 10d6 points of true damage to each creature within 20 feet. True damage cannot be prevented, mitigated or resisted by any means. You are destroyed along with your equipment, but return, fully healed of damage and conditions, 1d6 rounds later.
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.
Associated Skill
History
Discipline Powers
Iron Raven Spirit
From 3rd level, ignore your class discipline list when determining which manœuvres you can take.
Desert Sun Shadow
From 13th level, when you initiate a manœuvre as a reaction, you can change which stance you're in as part of the reaction.
Diamond Dragon Claw
From 17th level, any attack you make gets a bonus to damage rolls equal to the number of different disciplines you have readied manœuvres from, and half that bonus on attack rolls.
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.
Associated Skill
Sleight of Hand
Discipline Powers
Clear Skies Initiate
At 3rd level, you gain proficiency in all martial weapons. Ignore any part of a manœuvre or stance saying an attack you make must be a melee attack or use a melee weapon.
Blank Space Adept
Starting at 13th level, you are exceptional at making attacks at long ranges. Double the short and long range of any weapon you wield.
Dark Sun Master
At 17th level, you gain the ability to fire a storm of arrows instead of one of your attacks. Choose a point in range and make a ranged attack against every creature within 20 feet of it. Once you use this feature, you must take a long rest before you do so again.
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.
Associated Skill
Religion
Discipline Powers
Spellcasting
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to cast divine spells, including cantrips (using the same focus as for your manœuvres). You cast as a paladin does, except that you only get as many spells known and spell slots per day as an eldritch knight but also learn two cleric cantrips, plus 1 more at 10th level, as well.
Divine Impetus
At 13th level, you can take an extra bonus action on your turn. Once you have used this ability, you must complete a short or long rest before you do it again.
Divine Fury
At 17th level, choose radiant or profane. Your attacks get a +2 bonus to hit and deal 1d10 extra damage of the chosen type.
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Q: Which classes can take these special discipline focus replacements?
A: The crusader, the swordsage and the warblade can all take any of the Jade Phœnix, Master of Nine, Nine Arrows, or Ruby Knight. Swordsages must still pick a favoured discipline to use for the insightful strike and defensive stance features.
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.
Associated Skill
Insight
Initiating Abilities
Intelligence, Wisdom
Discipline Powers
Falling Star Strike
When you choose this discipline at 3rd level, your unarmed strike damage increases to 1d4. This increases again to 1d6 at 5th level, 1d8 at 11th level, and 1d10 at 17th level. You can use your dexterity instead of your strength to determine your bonus to attack and damage rolls with an unarmed strike. Also, while you are unarmed, you can treat your unarmed strike as a melee weapon you are holding whenever a manœuvre or stance specifies that it requires you to have a weapon.
Waning Moon Sight
At 13th level, you learn to percieve enemies you can't see. You get blindsight out to 10 feet.
Dying World Ultimatum
From 17th level, when a creature misses you with a melee attack while you are unarmed, you can immediately make an unarmed strike against them if you are in range to do so. When a creature misses you with a ranged attack while you are unarmed, you can grab the projectile out of the air and sling it back at them, using your own proficiency bonus and either your dexterity modifier or setting sun initiating ability.
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Q: Does this mean I can grab a scorching ray out of the air?
A: Yes.
Q: What if your opponent has this ability too?
A: You keep going until someone hits or decides not to attack.
Manœuvres
The following manœuvres are part of the Setting Sun discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other setting sun manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.
1st Level
Close Counter, Comet Throw
2nd Level*
Baffling Defence, Clever Positioning
3rd Level*
Feigned Opening
4th Level**
Broken Shield Strike
5th Level**
No Escape
6th Level**
Asteroid Throw, Reign of Confusion
7th Level***
Hydra-Slaying Strike
8th Level***
Fool's Strike,
9th Level*****
Meteor Throw
Close Counter
1st-level Setting Sun
Initiation Time: 1 reaction
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You can initiate this manœuvre when an enemy makes a melee attack against you after moving at least 10 feet in the same round, just before they roll the attack roll.
Your opponent makes a strength save. If they fail, you prevent the attack, and can move the enemy up to 2 squares away from you in any direction (directly away, diagonally away, or perpendicular to directly away).
Comet Throw
1st-level Setting Sun
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Reach
Components: V, S, M (A rock)
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 5 feet away times your highest manœuvre level, and they take 2d6 points of bludgeoning damage times your highest manœuvre level and fall prone.
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.
Step of the Wind (1)
While in this stance, you take no penalty for moving through difficult terrain and enemies who are in difficult terrain have disadvantage on saving throws against setting sun manœuvres, as well as on opposed checks to avoid a grapple or trip attack you make.
Giant-Killing Style (5*)
While in this stance, you have advantage on attack and damage rolls against creatures of a larger size category than yours.
Shifting Defence (9**)
While you are in this stance, you can move 5 feet as a reaction when a creature makes a melee attack against you, and this movement does not provoke opportunity attacks. If you are no longer within that creature's melee attack range, that attack will miss automatically.
Ghostly Defence (15***)
While you are in this stance, if a creature who has disadvantage attacks you and misses, you can redirect their attack to another creature adjacent to you (not the attacker), using their higher attack roll as the new attack roll.
Unlike many other attack redirection abilities, this works on ranged attacks but the target must be one the attacker could target normally.
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.
Associated Skill
Stealth
Initiating Abilities
Dexterity, Wisdom
Discipline Powers
Ultravision
From 3rd level, when you take this favoured discipline, you can see perfectly fine in the dark - this is superior to standard darkvision because you can see normally even in complete darkness and even in magical darkness.
You can use this ability for up to 1 minute - freely turning it on and off between rounds without needing actions - before needing a short or long rest to use it again.
Shadowdancer's Legacy
Starting at 13th level, you gain the ability to cast dimension door at will, with the sharp limitation that both the start point and end point must be in dim light or darkness.
Bitter End
From 17th level, if you are in an area of dim light or darkness, you can attempt to make an attack which kills your opponent outright. If you do so, make a single melee attack as an action. If the attack hits, the target must take a constitution saving throw.
If the saving throw is failed, they die outright. If the attack succeeds, they take true damage equal to half their current hit points - true damage cannot be prevented, resisted or mitigated by any means.
If the attack hits, you cannot attempt another such attack until you complete a long rest (irrespective of whether the save is passed or failed). If it misses, you can attempt it again as soon as you have an action available to do so.
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.
1st Level
Clinging Shadow Strike, Shadow Blade Technique
2nd Level
Cloak of Deception (Invisibility), Draining Strike, Shadow Jaunt (Misty Step)
3rd Level*
Shadow Garrotte
4th Level**
Dim Mak, Obscuring Shadow Veil
5th Level**
Bloodletting Strike, Shadow Stride (Far StepXGtE)
6th Level***
Shadow Noose, Stalker in the Night
7th Level***
Death in the Dark, One with Shadow (Etherealness) Shadow Blink (Teleportation)
8th Level***
Enervating Shadow Strike
9th Level*****
Five-Shadow Creeping-Ice Enervation Strike
"Flat-Footed"
The following manœuvres and stances occasionally refer to an enemy being flat-footed. This doesn't refer to their actual feet (although the term originates from the idea that an enemy hasn't had time to get up on the balls of their feet yet).
Instead, you catch an opponent flat-footed with an attack whenever you have advantage on the attack roll against them, or another of that creature's enemies is within 5 feet of them and you don't have disadvantage on the attack. This is similar to the criteria for the rogue's sneak attack.
Clinging Shadow Strike
1st-level Shadow Hand
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 round
You make a melee attack which does 1d6 extra points of damage if it hits, plus 1d6 per 2 highest manœuvre levels after 1st.
Further, the target must take a constitution save or have disadvantage on all attack rolls for one round.
Shadow Blade Technique
1st-level Shadow Hand
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous
You make a melee attack with advantage. If both die rolls are high enough to hit, the attack does additional cold damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level.
Draining Strike
2nd-level Shadow Hand
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V
Duration: Instantaneous
You make a melee attack. If it hits, choose an ability score. The target must take a saving throw on that ability score or lose a number of points of that score equal to your highest manœuvre level. For example, as a level 7 swordsage, if you choose constitution, the target must take a constitution save or lose 4 points of constitution. Lost ability score points return at a rate of 1 per hour from each ability score.
Shadow Garrotte
3rd-level Shadow Hand
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: 60 ft
Components: V, S, M (A strip of cloth)
Duration: Instantaneous/1 round
Choose a target in range. A shadowy garrotte strangles that creature, dealing 2d6 necrotic damage plus necrotic damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. The target must take a constitution save. If it fails, attacks against it have advantage for one round.
Dim Mak
4th-level Shadow Hand
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: 3 rounds/1 round
You touch a flat-footed creature. That creature is paralysed for 3 rounds, but a successful constitution save reduces this to just 1 round.
Obscuring Shadow Veil
4th-level Shadow Hand
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 round
You make a melee attack which does 1d6 extra points of damage if it hits, plus 1d6 per 2 highest manœuvre levels after 4th. Further, the target must take a constitution save or be blinded for one round.
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.
Child of Shadow (1)
While you are in this stance, your enemies have disadvantage on attack rolls against you if you have moved at least 15 feet away from your initial location on your previous turn - that is, you must be at least 15 feet from where you started, not just have moved 15 feet total (so you can't move around in a circle to get the benefit!).
Assassin's Stance (5*)
While you are in this stance, you can make one attack you make per turn which catches an enemy flat-footed with a finesse or ranged weapon deal an extra 2d6 points of damage, just like a 3rd-level rogue can using their sneak attack ability - the two stack.
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Q: I'm a fifth-level swordsage, fifth-level rogue. Can I use my assassin's stance to deal 2d6 extra damage to one creature, and my sneak attack to deal 3d6 extra damage to another, using two separate attacks?
A: Yes, you can apply each to a separate attack.
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Dance of the Spider (5*)
While you are in this stance, you can traverse walls and water as easily as the floor. You'll fall as normal at the end of your turn if you're not able to support your weight normally.
Step of the Dancing Moth (9**)
While you are in this stance, you hover up to 5 feet in the air, though you otherwise move as though you were on the ground. You therefore ignore any ground-based hazards unless they can reach that high. If you fall, you'll "Land" 5 feet in the air, taking falling damage for a fall 5 feet shorter than the distance from where you fell to the ground.
Balance on the Sky (15***)
While you are in this stance, so long as you have at least one hand free, you can walk on air as easily as the ground. Moving up costs double the normal movement distance; moving down costs none at all.
If your hands both become full or the stance ends while you are in mid-air, you float downwards as though under the effects of a feather fall spell.
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.
Associated Skill
Survival
Initiating Abilities
Strength, Constitution
Discipline Powers
Slate Claws
When you choose this as your favoured discipline at 3rd level, you gain two claws which deal 1d4 points of damage each. This increases to 1d6 at 5th level, 1d8 at 11th level, and 1d10 at 17th level. Treat the claws as light weapons. In reality, you do not actually grow claws, but learn to scratch at your foes with devastating effect with your hands.
Marble Jaws
At 13th level, you gain a bite attack which does 1d10 points of damage initially and 1d12 at 19th level. You can use the bite attack in addition to an offhand attack as a single bonus action in order to engage in two-weapon fighting, or use the bite attack for your initial action and use both your hands to make light weapon attacks, which can be claw attacks. You can also initiate a manœuvre using the bite attack.
Granite Talons
At 17th level, you can use your feet to make claw attacks as well as your hands. You still need to stand on one foot unless you are flying, but you can use your action to make two attacks as normal with one hand or one foot or your bite, followed by a bonus action to use every other weapon you haven't attacked with yet, except the claw on the foot you're standing with.
For example, you can make a bite attack twice, then three claw attacks, or a bite attack, two hand axe attacks and a claw attack. If you're flying, you can make another claw attack.
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Q: Can I use a maul, drop it, make a claw attack, claim I've attacked with a light weapon, and make an offhand attack?
A: As written this kind of nonsense is possible for characters with extra attack in general. I don't sanction it. Ask your DM.
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.
1st Level
Charging Minotaur, Stone Bones
2nd Level*
Mountain Hammer, Stone Vise
3rd Level*
Stone Dragon's Fury
4th Level**
Bonesplitting Strikes
5th Level**
Mountain Avalanche
6th Level**
Shed the Scales
7th Level**
Colossus Strike
8th Level***
Earthstrike Quake (Earthquake), Wings of Stone
9th Level***
Mountain Tombstone Strike
Charging Minotaur
1st-level Stone Dragon
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 Round
You dash as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. You can move into one creature's space this round, and when you do, you get a free shove attempt against that creature. You get advantage on the shove attempt.
Stone Bones
1st-level Stone Dragon
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (A rock and a bone)
Duration: 1 Round
You make a single melee attack as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. If it hits, all bludgeoning, slashing and piercing damage you take is reduced by 2 plus double your highest manœuvre level for 1 round.
Apply this reduction after any resistance or vulnerability you may have to bludgeoning, slashing or piecring damage. For example, if you are first level and vulnerable to piercing, an attack that would do 4 points of piercing damage still does.
Mountain Hammer
2nd-level Stone Dragon
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You make a single melee attack as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. The attack automatically hits objects (roll for a critical hit anyway). The attack, if it hits, deals an extra 1d6 points of damage times your highest manœuvre level, and damage it deals is true damage. True damage cannot be prevented, resisted or mitigated by any means. This means that you can break through damage thresholds on objects.
Stone Vise
2nd-level Stone Dragon
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: 1 Round
You make a single melee attack as part of the initiation of this manœuvre. The attack, if it hits, deals extra damage equal to 2d6, plus 1d6 for every 2 highest manœuvre levels after 2nd. The opponent must then take a constitution save: if they fail, their speed becomes 0 for one round. At highest manœuvre level 6 or higher, the target gets no save.
Stone Dragon's Fury
3rd-level Stone Dragon
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Reach
Components: V, S, M (a pebble)
Duration: Instantaneous
You strike out at an object or construct, dealing damage equal to 2d6, plus 2d6 times your highest manœuvre level. A construct can attempt a constitution saving throw for half damage; a creature wearing an object can attempt a dexterity saving throw to prevent the object being struck at all.
Bonesplitting Strikes
4th-level Stone Dragon
Initiation Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute
For the duration, any hit you make reduces the target's constitution by 1. This increases to 2 at highest manœuvre level 7. Lost constitution heals at a rate of 1 point/hour.
Mountain Avalanche
5th-level Stone Dragon
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (A snowball)
Duration: 1 Round
This round, you can move through enemies, and each time you do, the enemy takes 4d6 points of bludgeoning damage.
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.
Stonefoot Stance (1)
While you are in this stance, you get a +2 bonus to strength checks. You also get a +2 bonus to AC against creatures who are larger than you. You lose the benefit for one round if you move more than 5 feet in a single turn for whatever reason.
Roots of the Mountain (5*)
While you are in this stance, other creatures can't move you in any way. You lose the benefit for one round if you move more than 5 feet in a single turn for whatever reason.
Giant's Stance (9**)
While you are in this stance, your weapons and unarmed strike deal extra damage according to the following table:
Original Damage | New Damage |
---|---|
1 | 1d3 |
1d3 | 1d4 |
1d4 | 1d6 |
1d6 | 1d8 |
1d8/2d4 | 2d6 |
1d10 | 2d8 |
2d6/1d12 | 3d6 |
You lose the benefit for one round if you move more than 5 feet in a single turn for whatever reason.
Strength of Stone (15***)
While you are in this stance, any attack which would be a critical hit against you instead deals normal damage.
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.
Associated Skill
Athletics
Initiating Abilities
Strength, Dexterity
Discipline Powers
Twin Claw Style
When you choose this favoured discipline at 3rd level, you gain the following benefits:
- You add your ability modifier to the damage roll of your offhand weapon whenever you engage in two-weapon fighting.
- Making an offhand weapon attack doesn't cost you your bonus action, though you can't then use your bonus action to do so again.
- You can make as many offhand weapon attacks as you just made mainhand weapon attacks. Usually, this means that at 5th level, you can make two offhand weapon attacks and at 17th level (see Twin Claw Fury below) you can make three.
Twin Claw Shield
When you reach 13th level, when you wield a light weapon in each hand, you get a +2 bonus to AC.
Twin Claw Fury
When you reach 17th level, your fury with two weapons is exceptional. When you are wielding two light weapons, you gain the following benefits:
- You can make three attacks, not just two, when you take the attack action on your turn.
- Whenever you hit with an attack, the minimum number you need to roll to achieve a critical hit with further attacks in the same turn decreases by 1. For example, if you hit five times, your sixth attack only needs a 15 or more to hit critically.
Manœuvres
The following manœuvres are part of the Tiger Claw discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other tiger claw manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.
1st Level
Sudden Leap
2nd Level*
Claw at the Moon, Rapid Strike
3rd Level**
Flesh Ripper
4th Level**
Fountain of Blood
5th Level**
Dancing Mongoose, Pouncing Charge
6th Level**
Wolf Climbs the Mountain
7th Level***
Hamstring Attack
8th Level***
Girallon Windmill Flesh Rip
9th Level****
Feral Death-Blow
Sudden Leap
1st-level Tiger Claw
Initiation Time: 1 bonus action
Range: Self
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
You jump without spending any of your movement to do so when you initiate this manœuvre.
The DC for jumping an unusually far distance horizontally is assumed to be 3 per additional foot, and vertically is assumed to be 10 per additional foot. If this is not the case, the power level of this manœuvre may change.
Claw at the Moon
2nd-level Tiger Claw
Initiation Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: V, S, M (A claw)
Duration: Instantaneous
You leap up above an enemy to strike them. Take an athletics check to jump, with a DC equal to your target's AC. If you succeed, make a melee attack with advantage which deals extra damage equal to 1d6 times your highest manœuvre level. Else, just make a melee attack. This is considered an attack action for purposes of two-weapon fighting.
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.
Blood in the Water (1)
While you are in this stance, you get a cumulative +1 bonus on attack and damage rolls for each critical hit you score. The bonus resets to 0 if you go one minute without scoring any critical hits.
Leaping Dragon Stance (5*)
While you are in this stance, you get a +10 bonus on athletics checks concerning jumping and all jumps you make are considered running jumps (you are considered to have moved at least 10 feet before the jump even if you didn't).
Prey on the Weak (13**)
While you are in this stance, you can make a free melee weapon attack against any creature within your reach any time an enemy within 10 feet of you falls unconscious.
Wolf Pack Tactics (15**)
While you are in this stance, every time you hit with a melee weapon attack, you can move 5 feet immediately without provoking attacks of opportunity.
This can allow you to move further on your turn, or even to move to catch up with a creature you just made an attack of opportunity against - it works with any melee weapon attack, including ordinary attack action attacks, offhand attacks, attacks of opportunity, and melee attacks made as part of a manœuvre.
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"Melee weapon attack", for clarity, means a melee attack with a weapon, not just any attack with a melee weapon (conversely, whacking an enemy with a bow or stabbing them with an arrow counts).
That said, there's no particular shame in taking the Nine Arrows as your favoured discipline-equivalent, and floating gently away from an enemy while filling them with arrows.
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.
Associated Skill
Persuasion
Initiating Abilities
Wisdom, Charisma
Discipline Powers
Rook's Move
Starting from when you take this favoured discipline at 3rd level, during the first round of combat in which you are able to move, you can move up to twice your normal movement speed. Each of your allies can move an additional 10 feet in the first round of combat in which they are able to move.
Jackdaw's Eye
Starting from 13th level, you can unveil critical weaknesses in your enemies' defences. When you hit an enemy with a melee attack, your allies get a +2 bonus to attack rolls against that enemy or one round.
Murder of Crows
At 17th level, you gain the ability to give up your turn to allow up to 2 of your allies in combat to take an extra turn instead.
You use this ability when you are normally able to take a turn, and cannot use it if you can't take actions (but might use it if you are frightened or poisoned, say). The allies each take their extra turn immediately. Once you use this ability, you must complete a short or long rest before you can use it again.
If your allies are NPCs, or PCs who agree to you doing so, you can choose how they act on their extra turn (or at least advise them on how to act), so that using this ability isn't boring for you as a player!
Manœuvres
The following manœuvres are part of the White Raven discipline. To learn one, you must know at least one other white raven manœuvre per asterisk (*) after the level.
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.
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Q: What if I houserule that we roll initiative every round?
A: In that case, change White Raven Tactics' effect to read:
"You choose one ally within range. If that creature has a lower initiative count than you this round, they are moved to your initiative count, and act directly after you. In any case, for the rest of the combat, when initiative is rolled, whichever of you and the target rolls lower acts at the other's initiative count. If you target multiple different creatures during a combat, you and all of them move to the highest initiative count among those creatures and you each round."
Q: Can I use White Raven Tactics to get extra turns?
A: You shouldn't be able to - the only things it can now do are make a creature who hasn't acted yet have an initiative slightly below yours, or change your initiative count on the next turn. At best, you can take two turns nearly in a row, but that only makes up for a bad initiative roll. You should assume that any way you find to take extra turns with White Raven Tactics doesn't work.
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.
Bolstering Presence (1)
While you are in this stance, allies within 60 feet of you (including yourself) get a +2 bonus on wisdom saves and another +2 bonus (which stacks) on any type of save against a fear-related effect.
Leading the Charge (1)
While you are in this stance, any creature within 60 feet of you (including yourself) who moves into an enemy's reach and makes a melee attack against them deals additional damage equal to double your highest manœuvre level.
If your primary discipline is Nine Arrows, you and other creatures also get this benefit if they move out of an enemy's reach and make a ranged attack against that creature (or if they run up to a creature and shoot it in the face, as per the standard benefit of Clear Skies Initiate).
Pack Tactics (5*)
While you are in this stance, all creatures deal additional damage with any attack against one of your enemies within your reach equal to the number of its enemies in whose reach that creature is, including you. That is, any enemy you can reach takes additional damage from all attacks equal to the number of its enemies who can reach it, including you.
Press the Advantage (9**)
While you are in this stance, once per round you can move 5 feet without provoking attacks of opportunity, in addition to (and perhaps even during) your normal movement.
Swarm Tactics (15***)
While you are in this stance, all creatures within 60 feet except for yourself have advantage on attack rolls against any enemy you are adjacent to.
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Q: Some of the White Raven manœuvres and stances (Lead the Attack, White Raven Strike, Flock Together, War-Master's Charge, Leading the Charge, Pack Tactics and Swarm Tactics) are written very deliberately to give your enemies benefits against the target of the ability, as well as your allies. Can you exclude a creature from the effect?
A: No. These effects represent creating an opening, weakening a foe, or using weight of numbers to crush them. You can't prevent an enemy from taking advantage of a weakness you've opened in another enemy - and you'll very rarely want to anyway. On the plus side, most of these effects are actually extremely powerful in a multi-way brawl exactly because your other enemies can and will take advantage of them - and probably attack your enemies and not you!
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 Multiclassing for Initiators
If you have levels in an initiator class and wish to take a variant multiclass subclass, you refer to the benefits that the variant multiclass archetype grants a rogue, reading any instance of "9" as "13".
If you wish to take rogue as your variant multiclass archetype, you get bonus skills, thieves' cant and sneak attack immediately, expertise and uncanny dodge at 13th level, and reliable talent and blindsense at 17th level.
Note that these features don't all do the same thing for you that they do for the rogue; see the variant multiclass rogue itself for details.
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Q: Why rogue?
A: Mainly, the fact that it has an archetype feature on levels 3, 13 and 17, just like you. It's easier to shunt any features the rogue would have got at 9th level to 13th than to remember a different rule for each of the three initiators depending on what they're most similar to, and also remember what happens when you actually want to multiclass them with the similar class each time.
Variant Multiclass: Crusader
Crusader features are gained at the given levels:
Feature | Brb | Brd | Clr | Drd | Fgt | Mnk | Pal | Rgr | Rog | Sor | Wlk | Wiz |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divine Inspiration | ― | ― | 2 | ― | ― | ― | 3 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― |
Sacred Spells | ― | ― | 1 | ― | ― | ― | 3 | ― | ― | ― | 1 | ― |
Manœuvres | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Stance | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 3* | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
Steely Resolve | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Smite | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Die Hard | 10 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 13** | 18 | 14 | 14 |
Mettle | 14 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 18 | ― | ― |
Double Strike | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | 20 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― |
*And another stance at 18th level.
**Warblade gets Zealous Surge instead.
Divine Inspiration
By channeling divinity as a bonus action, you can choose a withheld manœuvre and have it become granted.
Sacred Spells
Your domain, oath or pact spells are:
1st: Compelled Duel, Wrathful Smite
2nd: Magic Weapon, Spiritual Weapon
3rd: Beacon of Hope, Crusader's Mantle
4th: Aura of Purity, Guardian of Faith
5th: Banishing Smite, Circle of Power
Manœuvres
You have a limited ability to learn and initiate manœuvres. At 1st level, you know 3 manœuvres, you only have one granted manœuvre at the start of combat and can ready all your manœuvres. From 2nd level onwards, you can use manœuvres as a crusader of half your level, rounding down.
If you are a swordsage or warblade, you instead learn one Devoted Spirit, Stone Dragon or White Raven manœuvre at 3rd level and every 2nd level thereafter.
Stance
You learn a single Devoted Spirit, Stone Dragon or White Raven stance. Whenever you gain a level, you can replace it with another stance from the same discipline. At fighter level 18, you learn another stance.
All other features work as the crusader feature of the same name.
Variant Multiclass: Swordsage
Swordsage features are gained at the given levels:
Feature | Brb | Brd | Clr | Drd | Fgt | Mnk | Pal | Rgr | Rog | Sor | Wlk | Wiz |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divine Recovery | ― | ― | 2 | ― | ― | ― | 3 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― |
Blade Magic | ― | ― | 1 | ― | ― | ― | 3 | ― | ― | ― | 1 | ― |
Manœuvres | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Stance | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 3* | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
Quick to Act | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Sense Magic | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Insightful Strike | 10 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 14 |
Defensive Stance | 14 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 18 | ― | ― |
Dual Boost | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | 20 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― |
*And another stance at 18th level.
Divine Recovery
By channeling divinity as a bonus action, you can choose an expended manœuvre and recover it.
Blade Magic
Your domain, oath or pact spells are:
1st: Guiding Bolt, Thunderous Smite
2nd: Flame Blade, Flaming Sphere
3rd: Elemental Weapon, Fireball
4th: Fire Shield, Wall of Fire
5th: Flame Strike, Telekinesis
Manœuvres
You have a limited ability to learn and initiate manœuvres. At 1st level, you know 3 manœuvres and can ready 2. From 2nd level onwards, you can use manœuvres as a swordsage of half your level, rounding down. If you are a crusader or warblade, you instead learn one Desert Wind, Diamond Mind, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, Stone Dragon or Tiger Claw manœuvre at 3rd level and each level thereafter.
Stance
You learn a single Desert Wind, Diamond Mind, Setting Sun, Shadow Hand, Stone Dragon or Tiger Claw stance. When you gain a level, you can replace it with another from the same discipline. At fighter level 18, you learn another stance.
All other features work as the swordsage feature of the same name. You must choose one discipline for insightful strike and defensive stance to function with.
Variant Multiclass: Warblade
Warblade features are gained at the given levels:
Feature | Brb | Brd | Clr | Drd | Fgt | Mnk | Pal | Rgr | Rog | Sor | Wlk | Wiz |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Divine Recovery | ― | ― | 2 | ― | ― | ― | 3 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― |
War Magic | ― | ― | 1 | ― | ― | ― | 3 | ― | ― | ― | 1 | ― |
Manœuvres | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Stance | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 3* | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
Battle Clarity | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Battle Ardour | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Battle Cunning | 10 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 14 | 14 |
Battle Skill | 14 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 18 | ― | ― |
Combat Reflexes | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― | 20 | ― | ― | ― | ― | ― |
*And another stance at 18th level.
Divine Recovery
By channeling divinity as a bonus action, you can choose an expended manœuvre and recover it.
War Magic
Your domain, oath or pact spells are:
1st: Divine Favour, Heroism
2nd: Cloud of Daggers, Heat Metal
3rd: Blinding Smite, Haste
4th: Freedom of Movement, Staggering Smite
5th: Arcane Hand, Destructive Wave
Manœuvres
You have a limited ability to learn and initiate manœuvres. At 1st level, you know 2 manœuvres and can ready both. From 2nd level onwards, you can use manœuvres as a warblade of half your level, rounding down. If you are a crusader or swordsage, you instead learn one Diamond Mind, Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw or White Raven manœuvre at 3rd level and each level thereafter.
Stance
You learn a single Diamond Mind, Iron Heart, Stone Dragon, Tiger Claw or White Raven stance. When you gain a level, you can replace it with another from the same discipline. At fighter level 18, you learn another stance.
All other features work as the warblade feature of the same name.
Document by Trianna Sanjana. D&D is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, used under the open gaming license, fair use, and other relevant laws and statutes.