So, I was reviewing an NPC prior to adding it to Lilith's online stat block bank (plug, plug), and I realized that there are 1 or 2 major differences in the two versions of the bladesinger prestige class. The older (3.0) version appears in FR: Races of Faerun. The newer (3.5) appears in Complete Warrior. The requirements for entry are basically identical (a few skill ranks difference here or there), the skills, base attack bonus, and saving throws are all the same, but the class features and spellcasting have been substantially reworked. It would seem that the older version is substantially more powerful, and I like it better. I think the spellcasting of the newer version is much too weak to be very useful, and I don't really see any reason to use the newer one. Does anyone have anything to add?
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It would seem that the older version is substantially more powerful, and I like it better. I think the spellcasting of the newer version is much too weak to be very useful, and I don't really see any reason to use the newer one. Does anyone have anything to add?
One of my gripes about the 3.0 version was the exclusive spell list. The 3.5 version has + lvls in existing spellcasting class so it's a lil more flexible although it's not a 1 for 1 progression like the 3.0 one. You lose the bonus feats but you get to cast in armor sooner. You get Song of Celerity earlier with the 3.5 version as well. I'd say it depends on how you approach your spells: make you better at melee or give you options other fighters don't have.
One of my gripes about the 3.0 version was the exclusive spell list. The 3.5 version has + lvls in existing spellcasting class so it's a lil more flexible although it's not a 1 for 1 progression like the 3.0 one. You lose the bonus feats but you get to cast in armor sooner. You get Song of Celerity earlier with the 3.5 version as well. I'd say it depends on how you approach your spells: make you better at melee or give you options other fighters don't have.
I see your point. I agree that the class abilities progress faster, and that's always a good thing. I realize that this is a shaky comparison, BUT... FR fiction always portrays bladesingers as mostly melee-oriented with a small, exclusive spell repertoire that enhances their abilities. If you take that away, then you have just another fighter-mage. The Spellsword from Complete Warrior gets the same spell progression, but is much better at casting in armor. I guess I'm just a little disappointed in the loss of exclusivity. In the 3.5 version, there's nothing to stop a "bladesinger" from taking any given spell, and that just seems wrong to me. I guess I'd rather have the faster spell progression than the flexibility of an unrestricted spell list.
Another major difference is the Ability: Song of Celerity. In the Races of Faerun Book, it states that starting at 6th level when making a full attack action with a rapier or longsword in one hand (and nothing in the other) the bladesinger can cast one bladesinger spell (or arcane spell with a casting time of 1 action or less) each round as a free action. When your average min maxing power player reads this he sees "6 levels in this prestige class and I can cast a spell as a free action and make a full attack every round". Let said player stew on it for a minute and he might look a little closer and see that it doesn't say quicken a spell, it says cast a spell as a free action. Under the feat "quicken spell" it states that you can only cast 1 quickened spell per round, technically these are two different things. Stew on it a little longer and you'll see a character with 5 levels in fighter, 6 in bladesinger, 9 in wizard/sorcerer (to have 5th level spell slots, enough to quicken a first level spell) casting 2 spells a round while making a full attack. Even further, skip the quicken spell feat and use the metamagic rod for quickened spells from the Complete Arcane book and they can start doing it at 12th level.
Skip to the bladesinger in the complete warrior. At 4th level they get the "revised" song of celerity. Once a day they can quicken a spell of 2nd level or lower for free, at 8th level they can quicken a spell of 4th level or lower for free.
It's not difficult to see why they "revised" the class and the ability. Although to me, bladesingers have always been something special as far back as second edition when the class was limited to full blooded elves. The pinnacle of elven warcraft, blending arcane and martial might into one being who spent centuries perfecting the forms and balance within themselves. Now it's another random fighter mage with a second hand Sudden Quicken feat.
I agree completely. The current bladesinger has definitely been nerfed. Now, casting spells as a free action, that's potentially game-breaking, so I can why the 3.5 update zapped it. But a free-action spell from the bladesinger's limited repertoire is bit more reasonable. I always thought that bladesingers shoul've gotten an bigger AC or dodge bonus (i.e. one that isn't limited by INT bonus). Seemed more in keeping with Realms fiction to have a bladesinger nearly untouchable in combat.