This is my swordsage rewrite. it develops one of the abilities that they gained in the version out of the book. it exchanges one of it's abilities for something out of another book. and please note, this class is a replacement for all the tomb of battle classes, which is what my dm asked for.
Saves: Reflex and Will Favored
Skills (6 + Int Modifier per level): Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Heal, Intimidate, Knowledge (history), Perception, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Spellcraft, Stealth, Swim.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: As a Swordsage, you are proficient with simple weapons, martial melee weapons (including those that can be used as thrown weapons), and light armor, but not with shields.
Maneuvers: You begin your career with knowledge of all martial maneuvers.
Once you know a maneuver, you must ready it before you can use it (see Maneuvers Readied, below). A maneuver usable by a Swordsage is considered an extraordinary ability unless otherwise noted in its description. Your maneuvers are not affected by spell resistance, and you do not provoke attacks of opportunity when you initiate one.
You learn one additional at each level beyond the first. You must meet all of a maneuver’s prerequisites to learn it. The highest level maneuver you can learn is equal to ½ your initiator level, round up.
Upon reaching 4th level, and at every even-numbered Swordsage level after that, you can choose to learn a new maneuver in place of one you already know. You can choose a new maneuver of any level you like, as long as you observe your restriction on the highest-level maneuvers you know and prerequisites. You can swap only a single maneuver at any given level.
Maneuvers Readied: You can ready four of your six maneuvers known at 1st Level; at 2nd level and every even level after you gain one additional maneuver readied. As you advance in level and learn more maneuvers, and you are able to ready more, you must still choose which maneuvers to ready. You ready your maneuvers by meditating and exercising for 5 minutes. The maneuvers you choose remain readied until you decide to meditate again and change them. You need not sleep or rest for any long period of time to ready your maneuvers; any time you spend 5 minutes in meditation, you can change your readied maneuvers.
You begin an encounter with all your readied maneuvers unexpended, regardless of how many times you might have already used them since you chose them. When you initiate a maneuver, you expend it for the current encounter, so each of your readied maneuvers can be used once per encounter.
You can recover an expended maneuver by using a full-round action to quickly meditate. Doing this provokes an attack of opportunity. If you complete your meditation, you can choose one expended maneuver to refresh. It is now available for use in a subsequent round.
Stances Known: You begin play with knowledge of one stance from any discipline open to you. At 2nd, and every three levels after you gain a additional stance. Unlike maneuvers, stances are not expended, and you do not have to ready them. All stances you know are available to you at all times, and you can change the stance you currently use as a swift action. A stance is an extraordinary ability unless otherwise stated in the stance description.
You initiate a stance as a swift action. A stance remains in effect indefinitely and is not expended. You enjoy the benefit your stance confers until you change to another stance you know. You can remain in a stance outside of combat situations, and you can enjoy its benefit while exploring or traveling.
Unlike with maneuvers, you cannot learn a new stance at higher levels in place of one you already know.
Quick To Act (Ex): You gain a +1 bonus on initiative checks. This bonus increases by 1 at 5th and every 5 levels after. In addition, at 5th level you add your Wisdom modifier to your initiative in addition to you Dexterity modifier. At 10th level whenever you roll for initiative, you can roll twice and take either result. At 15th level you always act in a surprise round, but if you fail to notice the ambush, you act last, regardless of you initiative result (you act in the normal order in following rounds). At 20th level, anytime you roll initiative, assume the roll resulted in a natural 20.
Discipline Mastery (Ex): As a Swordsage, you can focus your training to take advantage of a discipline’s fighting style. Each time you gain the Discipline Mastery ability, select one of the Swordsage disciplines to which that focus applies. You can select a different discipline each time you gain Discipline Mastery, but you must know at least one martial maneuver from the selected discipline. Even if you select a different discipline at higher levels, your discipline choice for earlier abilities does not change.
This focus manifests in the following ways.
Discipline Focus: At 1st level, you gain the benefit of the weapon focus feat for all weapons associated with the chosen discipline. In addition you can use your initiator level in place of your BAB for all strikes executed from the chosen discipline. And finally you add ½ your Swordsage level to all checks for the chosen discipline key skill.
Insightful Strike: At 4th level, you can add your Wisdom modifier as a bonus on damage rolls whenever you execute a strike from the chosen discipline. At 12th level, you can choose a second discipline to which this ability applies.
Defensive Stance: At 8th level, you gain a +2 bonus on saving throws whenever you adopt a stance from the chosen discipline. And you use your initiator level instead of you BAB for your CMD while in a stance the chosen discipline. At 16th level, you can choose a second discipline to which this ability applies.
AC Bonus: Starting at 2nd level, you can add your Wisdom Modifier as a bonus to Armor Class, so long as you wear light armor; are unencumbered, and do not use a shield.
Bonus Feat: At 3rd level, and every 5 levels thereafter, a Swordsage may select a bonus feat. These feats must be taken from the following list: Adaptive Style, Blade Meditation, Clarion Commander, Desert Fire, Desert Wind Dodge, Distant Horizon, Falling Sun Attack, Gloom Razor, Iron Heart Aura, Perfect Clarity of Mind and Body, Reaping Talons, Scorching Sirocco, Shadow Blade, Shadow Trickster, Shards Of Granite, Song of the White Raven, Stone Power, Stormguard Warrior, Sudden Recovery, Tiger Blooded, Unnerving Calm, Vital Recovery, White Raven Defense. A Swordsage must meet all of the prerequisites normally required for these feats to select them
Deflect Arrows: At 6th level, the Swordsage gains the feat deflect arrows, except you do not have to have at least one hand free as long as a weapon is held in one hand.
Sense Magic (Su): At 7th level, you gain Detect Magic at will, this works just like detect magic. The Swordsage uses his initiator level check instead of a knowledge (arcane) skill check. The Swordsage, as a move action, can focus on one object gain the equivalent of all three rounds in one round. While focusing on one object, the Swordsage does not detect magic on any other object. The Swordsage can focus on objects even if they are currently held by another person.
Spell Reflection (Su): At 9th level, you gain the supernatural ability to reflect magical attacks back on their caster. If an enemy misses with a spell or spell-like ability aimed at you, you can use an immediate action to redirect the effect back at its originator. The spell or ability attacks the original caster (who makes a new attack roll using the same modifier as the original attack). If it hits, the caster is subject to the normal effect of the spell or ability.
For example, if a 3rd-level wizard missed you with a scorching ray, you could use an immediate action to redirect the ray back to the wizard. The wizard would immediately make a new ranged attack roll (using the same modifier) against his own touch AC; if the attack succeeds, the scorching ray deals its normal damage to the wizard.
This effect applies only to spells and spell-like abilities that require an attack roll. Other spells and spell-like abilities that affect a target aren't subject to this reflection.
If a single spell or ability misses you more than once at the same time (such as scorching ray cast by a high-level caster), you can redirect each portion of the spell that missed. Using the example above, if you were missed by two of the three rays from an 11th-level wizard's scorching ray spell, you could redirect only those two rays (but not the one that hit).
You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Wis modifier (minimum 1/day).
Disrupt Magic (Su): At 11th level, you may use a targeted Dispel Magic against any magic item you know the properties of from using the Sense Magic ability. You use your initiator level instead of caster level to make the check and it can only function on one item at a time. Using this ability is a standard action that provokes attacks of opportunity.
You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 1 + your Wis modifier (minimum 1/day).
Craft Arms and Armor (Su): At 14th level, you gain the feat Craft Magic Arms and Armor, you use your initiator level in place of caster level. You may only enchant weapons you can use and armor you can wear.
Improved Spell Reflection (Su): At 17th level, you can now reflect a larger selection of spells and spell-like abilities.
If the spell or ability is a burst, cylinder, sphere or spread, in order to reflect it; you must threaten the center of the spell or ability, the spell or ability must require a reflex save, which you must have made. The entire spell or ability then retargets with its caster in the center, all effects working normally, possibly hitting you anyway. This does save the people in the normal target effect from suffering the effects, or needing to make the save, though if they are in the new area they still suffer.
If the spell or ability is a line, the spell or ability bounces back at its caster continuing the line, hitting anyone between you and the original caster a second time, making them make saves as normal. This ability doesn’t increase the length of the line; it just bounces back at the caster, saving you, and any behind you, from the effect. This spell must require a reflex save, which you must make.
Use of this improved ability counts against the number of times you can use Spell Reflection.
Dual Stance (Ex): At 19th level, you can have two stances active simultaneously. When using dual stance, one of the stances must be from a discipline chosen with the defensive stance ability. When you use a swift action to initiate or change your stance, you can initiate or change one or both stances.
Dual Boost (Ex): At 19th level, you can use two boost maneuvers simultaneously. Whenever you initiate a boost maneuver, you can also initiate any other boost maneuver that you know. Both boosts you initiate are expended normally. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Wisdom modifier.
Destroy Magic (Su): At 20th level, your ability to disrupt magic reaches its full potential. Any object you target with your Disrupt Magic ability gets a Will save DC (15+1/2 your initiator level + your wisdom modifier) or is permanently destroyed. An object currently in another creature’s possession can use its own Will save bonus or its possessor’s, whichever is higher.
Even artifacts are subject to this ability, though there is only a 1% chance per initiator level of actually affecting such powerful items. If successful, the artifact’s power unravels, and it is destroyed. If an artifact is destroyed, you must make a DC 25 Will save or permanently lose the Sense Magic, Disrupt Magic, Spell Reflection, Improved Spell Reflection and Destroy Magic abilities. These abilities cannot be recovered by mortal magic, not even miracle or wish. Destroying artifacts is a dangerous business, and it is 95% likely to attract the attention of some powerful being who has an interest in or connection with the device.
You can choose to not use this ability and instead only Dispel Magic the item as per Disrupt Magic.
please critique.
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Hm...
While interesting, it seems like you gave it a bit too much. The change to Sense Magic is interesting, as is the upgrades it receives later. I don't agree with giving the initiative bonus from level and then adding wisdom on top of that, and then all of the other abilities thereafter regarding initiative, seeing as they get a maneuver that adds +20 in the mid-levels...
Why exactly are you giving it deflect arrows and spell reflection? It hardly seems like it fits, and spell reflection is quite powerful, even with a per day limit. Also, it doesn't seem like it needs bonus feats. That's a bit too much icing on the cake, especially when you take into account all of the other class features you jammed in. Why does it need Craft Magic Arms and Armor for free?
This is waaaaay too much for one class to have. I know your goal was to replace all three classes with one, but this is ridiculously powerful. Even without the Martial Maneuvers, just these class abilities are a bit more than most would get... Consider when you think about this class that they have 9 levels of maneuvers, which they now have access to any on the list at any time (which means he could be healing, burning foes to death, or rallying the troops on any given turn). I think a lot of these class features should be stripped away. You should start from scratch rather than tacking things onto the swordsage base, because the general consensus is that the Bo9S classes are at least as powerful as the Pathfinder base classes.
While interesting, it seems like you gave it a bit too much. The change to Sense Magic is interesting, as is the upgrades it receives later.
thank you, the changes to sense magic is based directly on detect evil from the paladin.
I don't agree with giving the initiative bonus from level and then adding wisdom on top of that, and then all of the other abilities thereafter regarding initiative, seeing as they get a maneuver that adds +20 in the mid-levels...yeah i thought it was a bit much myself, but the quick to act +1 every couple of levels was not really usefull and i was going to take it out.
Why exactly are you giving it deflect arrows and spell reflection? It hardly seems like it fits, and spell reflection is quite powerful, even with a per day limit.
spell reflection is a optional replacement from the splash books... anyone one can take it if they get evasion, and this class originally got evasion. i thought it went smoothly with the detect and destroy magic abilities.
Also, it doesn't seem like it needs bonus feats. That's a bit too much icing on the cake, especially when you take into account all of the other class features you jammed in.
the one thing i felt the class needed was feats, with the new system, more classes give more feats.
Why does it need Craft Magic Arms and Armor for free?
it just goes with the whole detect magic line, i could easily live without it, i start classes with lots of idea, and then cut off the fat... this is kinda a first draft.
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Alright well, I really do like the sense magic/disable magic line. On the flip-side though, I think you should really take a look at say, the wizard's class table, as it's the easiest direct comparison. The biggest thing about the swordsage is that it has all of those maneuvers and stances and such, and they get to use them all day. Some of the stances can emulate class features fairly well, like the assassin's stance for +2d6 sneak attack, or the Leaping Dragon's Stance that emulates the monk's leap of the heavens (or whatever it's called now). With so many options already available, and even more because you want to give them access to every school, I honestly think it should get less class features, not more.
What's the general idea? Equivalent Exchange (sorry, been watching a lot of FMA lately), in that to add power you must first take some away. Just my 2 coppers
Ok, couple of things here:
Maneuver's Known- It doesn't address which disciplines the Swordsage knows so are you going for the original 6 (desert wind, diamon mind, setting sun, shadow hand, stone dragon, and tiger claw) or allowing the swordsage to pull from all disciplines?
I ask only because I think the Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, and White Raven doesn't mesh well with the over-all characteristics of the Swordsage and diminished those disciplines in regards to the other 2 classes.
Quick to Act- I like the progression except the +20 to initiative check at 20th level. I'd consider re-working it to allow 2 initiative rolls or an automatic 10 if both rolls aren't to the player's liking.
Bonus Feat- Good stuff, though there are some feats that reflect the usage of the disciplines i've talked about above. With the restriction of those 3 disciplines, the Swordsage would lose access to some feats in the selection.
Spell Reflection/Imp. Spell Reflection- I really like this idea. It gives it a great tool against magic users but with the limit to per/day, can't be used all the time and it still requires the caster to make secondary attacks/reflex saves and thus missing himself.
Discipline Mastery- Good idea, and I somewhat like the fact that you can use your Initiator Level instead of BAB when using strikes of a certain discipline, but that might be a little over-powered. But a question I have is, what happens after 8th level? Does it progress further (say every 4 levels) to incorporate additional disciplines?
Craft Arms/Armor- Great addition. The fact that you can only use weapons/armor your prof. with gives it a little restriction but adds flavor.
I state these questions and comments because I'm making a back-up character in case my rogue/swashbuckler dies and I really want to use this conversion. Some things to concern me (as noted) but I want to make sure things are balanced.
Great job BTW.
my dm wants to replace the other classes from this book and open up the allowable disciplines... restrict it back down to the 6 from the book if you don't want to do this.Ok, couple of things here:
Maneuver's Known- It doesn't address which disciplines the Swordsage knows so are you going for the original 6 (desert wind, diamon mind, setting sun, shadow hand, stone dragon, and tiger claw) or allowing the swordsage to pull from all disciplines?
Quick to Act- I like the progression except the +20 to initiative check at 20th level. I'd consider re-working it to allow 2 initiative rolls or an automatic 10 if both rolls aren't to the player's liking.good idea, i'll do that.
Spell Reflection/Imp. Spell Reflection- I really like this idea. It gives it a great tool against magic users but with the limit to per/day, can't be used all the time and it still requires the caster to make secondary attacks/reflex saves and thus missing himself.yeah i like it too.
Discipline Mastery- Good idea, and I somewhat like the fact that you can use your Initiator Level instead of BAB when using strikes of a certain discipline, but that might be a little over-powered. But a question I have is, what happens after 8th level? Does it progress further (say every 4 levels) to incorporate additional disciplines?nothing happens to it at 8, you gain a second discipline to have insightful focus in, you gain no more that give you the ability to use your initiator level instead of bab, if you want to de-power it some, attach it to class level instead of initiator level.. this well mimic the monk flurry of blows ability almost exactly.
Craft Arms/Armor- Great addition. The fact that you can only use weapons/armor your prof. with gives it a little restriction but adds flavor.agreed, remember to pick up spellcraft as a skill, you can't make magic items without it.
Great job BTW.
thank you i try ;-)
Alright well, I really do like the sense magic/disable magic line. On the flip-side though, I think you should really take a look at say, the wizard's class table, as it's the easiest direct comparison. The biggest thing about the swordsage is that it has all of those maneuvers and stances and such, and they get to use them all day. Some of the stances can emulate class features fairly well, like the assassin's stance for +2d6 sneak attack, or the Leaping Dragon's Stance that emulates the monk's leap of the heavens (or whatever it's called now). With so many options already available, and even more because you want to give them access to every school, I honestly think it should get less class features, not more.
What's the general idea? Equivalent Exchange (sorry, been watching a lot of FMA lately), in that to add power you must first take some away. Just my 2 coppers
I would say a lot of your argument is for the restriction of the disciplines, which if the dm hadn't asked for them to be open they would be the normal 6, i would tell you to just change this bit.
I changed Quick to Act to this:
Quick To Act (Ex): You add your Wisdom modifier to you initiative in addition to your Dexterity modifier. In addition, at 5th level any time you roll for initiative you can change your roll to a 10 as if that was the number you rolled. At 10th level whenever you roll for initiative, you can roll twice and take either result. At 15th level you always act in a surprise round, but if you fail to notice the ambush, you act last, regardless of your initiative result (you act in the normal order in following rounds). At 20th level, anytime you roll initiative, you can change your roll to a 15 as if that was the number you rolled.
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My argument about the disciplines is that it opens much more to the class, and then you added a bunch of class features on top of those. I'm not critiquing it because I'm going to use it, because I think the Bo9S classes are hovering around the power level of pathfinder as it stands, but I am trying to help you with your conversion by finding any holes in it that I can.
As for Quick to Act- I think that they should choose to either "take 10" or to roll, rather than saying "now your initiative will never be lower than X, no matter the situation". Just like with skills, you either have to gamble or take the safe bet.
I may not have been completely happy with the rest of the book, but the Tome of Secrets has a really good Swashbuckler in it.