Bladesinger of Old (3.5e Prestige Class)

A bladesinger of old facing off against a hoard of undead scarabs

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The Bladesingers of Old are practitioners of the original elven martial art known as the "Bladesong". Once upon a time, they were a proud and noble caste of warrior-mages who traveled the countryside in order to defend the elven way of life. Sadly in this more modern age, they are a dying breed. They are little more than living myths and legends of a bygone era, having slowly been usurped by a simpler and profoundly less elegant "art" of sword magic. While there are still a handful of bladesingers of old in the world, they are without doubt in the twilight of their existence.

A Personal Note

This prestige class was designed to reflect the original bladesinger from the 2nd edition Complete Book of Elves. Some artistic license was taken, adding a chasm between the original interpretation of the kit and its more modern 3rd and 4th edition prestige classes, especially once the Tome of Battle was released. It was of my humble opinion that most of the genuine flavor and style of the bladesinger kit was lost in the translation, and this class is an attempt to bring it back to life in all its wonder. What's more, it was also an exercise to create a functional and competitive practitioner of evocation magic which is commonly held to be the "weakest" form of magic in the game.

The Bladesong

The Bladesong—the true bladesong, not that foul atrocity of sword magic that has usurped the name—is an extremely demanding martial art, the epitome of Tel'Quessir mastery of the sword, and one that is never taught to those lacking pure Tel'Quessir blood. Unlike the martial arts of other races, this elven fighting style emphasizes beauty and economy of movement over sheer destructive power. However, the elven bladesong is deceptively dangerous, for all its seeming gentleness and apparent grace. It is a primarily defensive style of combat, with devastating strikes considered less important than a superior guard position. From this superior defensive posture, magical attacks and spells may be used without fear of successful counter-attack when performed by a Tel'Quessir fully proficient in the style. In addition to the violent purpose inherent to all martial arts, the bladesong is uniquely Tel'Quessir in the fact that the aesthetic components of the style are as important as it's martial efficacy, with its dance-like movements and the haunting whistling sounds produced by the sword blade cutting through the air being the source of the name bladesong.

Those who practice this truest form of the bladesong appear as if they are dancing when they fight. Their movements seem misleadingly slow and elegant, deflecting opponents' blades while lazily drifting back to score hits themselves. Bladesingers of old do not believe in smashing blows or strong and crushing offense, but rather in guiding their opponents to anticipate a different attack entirely, thus overbalancing the foe and making him seem clumsy.

Organization and Society

While the bladesingers of old group themselves into overlapping guilds and knighthoods as an institution, they normally do not travel together in groups, but instead wander separately to better spread the ways of the Tel'Quessir and defend the ways of elvenkind, roving from one elven settlement to the next as troubleshooters, and dealing with whatever problems they come across, honor-bound to come to the aid of any elf in distress they come across. In their travels they are treated with the utmost respect and admiration by the elves they meet, being treated as heroes in the communities they enter, much as a human Paladin would be in a human village. They are the champions of the Tel'Quessir, the Knights of The People and defenders of the elven way of life, practicing an ancient and honored elven art and giving their lives if necessary to defend elven society, and they are accorded status of heroes and the respect such due such a station whenever they are encountered.

On rare occasions, bladesingers of old have been known to forgo their wandering ways and settle down in a large elven community. There they offer themselves to a powerful and well-respect elven house, serving as a bodyguard and staunch defender of the elven way of life.

Becoming a Bladsinger of Old

In a bygone age when bladesingers were more common, a bladesinger of old would return home to the academy that trained them, offering themselves as a master, and thus training entire classes of Tel'quessir to take their mantle. Now in the twilight years of a dying artform, the few remaining bladesingers instead spend their final years questing for a suitable apprentice to follow in their footsteps. Once found, they test them in subtle ways, judging them on whether or not they are upstanding examples of the elven way of life, and whether or not they have the gods-granted talent to hear the bladesong within.

Entry Requirements

BAB:	+3
Race:	Elf (any subrace except drow).
Skills:	Perform (Dance) 8 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks.
Feats:	Weapon Finesse and Weapon Focus (any one-handed melee weapon).
Spellcasting:	Able to cast 2nd-level evocation or abjuration arcane spells.
Initiation:	Able to initiate at least five martial maneuvers from no less than three different disciplines.

Table: The Bladesinger of Old

Hit Die: d8

Level	Base Attack Bonus	Saving Throws			Special	Spellcasting
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+0	+2	+2	Bladesinging, Deft Combatant, Way of the Blade	+1 level in an existing initiation class
2nd	+2	+0	+3	+3	Poetry in Motion, Uncanny Dodge	+1 level in an existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd	+3	+1	+3	+3	Evocative Magic, Harmony of the Blade	+1 level in an existing initiation class
4th	+4	+1	+4	+4	Eldritch Manipulation, Elvish Grace	+1 level in an existing arcane spellcasting class
5th	+5	+1	+4	+4	Unleashed Magic	+1 level in an existing initiation class

Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level)
Autohypnosis (Wis), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Wis), Gather Information (Cha), Handle Animal (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (any, taken individually) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Perform (Cha), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str), and Tumble (Dex)

Elvish Code of Conduct

Similar to a paladin, a bladesinger of old is restricted by a code of honor, you act as a paragon of elven virtue and will do everything within your power to aid a fellow elf of good heart. A bladesinger of old that knowingly and willfully breaks their vows—especially by murdering innocent elves—can also expect to be hunted down and executed by the rest of their order should word of their disgrace reach their elongated ears.

The Oath of the Bladesingers of Old

The following is translated from the auld elvish tongue.

I walk in the light but darkness surrounds me;
Mighty are the foes of my people;
I am their shield;
My blood for their blood,
My life for their life;
My weapon and I are one;
We will serve our people and the elven way.
I have sworn this oath upon my life;
This day and forever, I name myself bladesinger!

Class Features

Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A bladesinger of old is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as with light and medium armor but not shields.

Spellcasting: At each even level, a bladesinger of old gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class they belonged to before adding the prestige class. They do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If they had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a bladesinger of old, they must decide to which class they add the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Initiating: At each odd level, a bladesinger of old level gains new maneuvers known, manuevers readied, and stances known as if they had also gained a level in whatever martial initation class in which they possessed before they added the prestige class level. They do not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. If a character had more than one martial class before they became a bladesinger of old, they must decide to which class they add each level of this class for the purpose of determining their martial abilities.

Disciplines: Upon becoming a bladesinger of old, the character must sacrifice access to two of their previous disciplines. In exchange, they gain access to the Devoted Spirit, Iron Heart, and White Raven disciplines if they do not already have access. If, however, they already have access to all three of these disciplines, they do not need to sacrifice any of their previous ones.

Bladesinging (Ex): You have learned to combine both your martial prowess and your spellcasting talents into an artistic whole, allowing you to use the bladesong as a replacement for your spellcasting components. In effect, your weapon takes the place of any inexpensive material components as per the Eschew Materials feat, your dancing and swaying takes the place of somatic components, and the singing of your blade as it slices through the air replaces your verbal components. This makes it all but impossible for your enemies to deduce what spells you are casting, giving them a penalty on any attempts to do so equal to twice your class level. You must be wielding a one-handed melee weapon in one hand while your off-hand is empty in order to benefit from this feature. Being silenced or restrained still impacts your ability to cast spells as normal, your bladesinging simply makes it harder to identify what you're casting.

Deft Combatant: You gain Dodge as a bonus feat. At 3rd level you gain Mobility as a bonus feat. And at 5th level you gain the Spring Attack feat as a bonus feat.

In addition, you may use your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier when making trip or disarm attempts, and any one-handed weapon you wield for which you have the Weapon Focus feat is treated as if it possessed the tripping and disarming weapon properties if they do not already.

Way of the Blade: Despite the name of this feature, you have mastered the use of a specific type of one-handed weapon (as determined by the Weapon Focus feat you used to qualify for this class) such as the longsword, dagger, rapier, or shortspear. This selection need not be a traditional elven weapon; many bladesingers of old chose to focus on wide range of weapons, such as Vaegos Gentlelake of Myth Nantar who was renowned for his mastery with a whip. Regardless of your choice, you are treated as a Fighter of your caster level for the purposes of meeting feat prerequisites relating to your chosen weapon type, and you may use your Dexterity in place of Strength when qualifying for Combat feats.

Upon your initiation into a bladesinger's guild or apprenticeship with another bladesinger of old, you gained a sacred tattoo representative of your weapon of choice, usually depicting some fantastical beast that personifies your style of combat. A longsword might be represented by a great cat such as a panther or displacer beast, a whip by a striking serpent or writhing octopus, or a shortspear by a cresting narwhal or charging rhinoceros.

Regardless of the form your sacred tattoo takes, any elf (including those who only possess a hint of pure elven blood, such as drow or half-elves) who see the tattoo automatically know what it is they're seeing, increasing or decreasing their attitude towards the bladesinger by two steps as appropriate to the situation. In most cases the revelation of your sacred tatoo will have a positive influence, as bladesingers are held in exceptionally high esteem by the elven people; they know that the elf standing before them will risk life and limb to protect them and their way of life. Sometimes, however, it can be quite the drawback, especially when dealing with the drow of the Underdark. As such you may choose to conceal your tattoo with heavy clothing or other forms of disguise, gaining a competence bonus equal to your class level. If using magic to conceal your tattoo, this bonus doubles.

Poetry in Motion (Ex): At 2nd level, you may add your Dexterity modifier as a circumstance bonus to your Perform (Dancing) checks. While bladesinging you may choose to make Perform (Dancing) checks in place of any Balance, Climb, Jump, or Tumble checks you make, as well as any Bluff checks made to feint. Perform (Dancing), however, now suffers from an Armor Check Penalty.

You also gain a natural affinity for the mithral armor synonymous with the elven warriors of old. While wearing mithral armor with which you are proficient, you completely ignore the Maximum Dexterity Modifier for that armor, its Arcane Spell Failure Chance drops by an additional 25%, its Armor Check Penalty drops by an additional 2 points over the normal benefits that mithral brings, and the armor is treated as if it were two categories lighter instead of only one (though this does not reduce the proficiency required to wear it, only secondary abilities that rely on certain armor categories). These increased perks only apply when you, yourself, are wearing the armor. For anyone else, even another elf, the armor functions as a normal suit of mithral armor.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): Having practiced the bladesong for some time now, you have gained a sixth sense of sorts regarding potential dangers. You retain your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) even if you are caught flat-footed or when struck by an invisible attacker. If you already possess a similar ability from another source, you automatically gain improved uncanny dodge instead. At 5th level, this becomes improved uncanny dodge.

Evocative Magic: Your saving throw DC for abjuration and damage-dealing spells (such as magic missile, lesser orb of fire, or shadow evocation, but not spells such as disintegrate or flesh to stone) are increased by your class level. This stacks with the Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus feats.

Harmony of the Blade (Ex): By 3rd level, your mastery of the master bladesong grows greater still. While wielding a one-handed weapon in your main hand, you may treat it as a light weapon or a two-handed weapon, whichever benefits you the most in any given situation. Examples include whether or not you can wield the weapon with Weapon Finesse, determining your Strength bonus to damage, and opposed checks you made when performing or defending against disarming or sundering attacks.

In addition, when making a full attack while bladesinging (using a one-handed weapon in your main hand and nothing in your off-hand), you gain one extra attack at your highest BAB.

Eldritch Manipulation: At 4th level, you gain Energy Substitution as a bonus feat with which you may spontaneously convert any eligible spell you cast without increasing the casting time or spell level. Each morning you may change which energy subtype this feat uses in much the same way a wizard prepares their spells. You may also add sonic to the list of energy types the feat can be applied to or changed to.

You also gain a circumstance bonus equal to your class level for caster level checks made to overcome spell resistance, but only when casting damage-dealing spells (see Evocative Magic above). This bonus also applies to caster level checks made when using abjuration spells such as dispel magic. This bonus stacks with similar bonuses from sources such as the Spell Penetration feat.

Lastly, whenever you cast an abjuration or transmutation spell upon yourself, it is treated as if it were modified by the Extend Spell feat.

Elvish Grace (Su): At 4th level, when bladesinging, you may use your Dexterity modifier in place of your Strength modifier when determining how much damage you deal with any melee weapon associated with your sacred tattoo. This applies to Power Attack and similar abilities as well.

Unleashed Magic (Su): The strength of your abjuration and damage-dealing spells (see Evocative Magic above) are no longer bound by their original spell level. When casting such a spell, ignore any restrictions due to the spell's level, such as a limit on the number of damage dice rolled or bonuses to a caster check. For example, a bladesinger of old with an effective caster level of 16 may cast a 3rd-level fireball spell that inflicts 16d6 damage instead of the normal maximum of 10d6. When casting dispel magic, the same bladesinger would gain a +16 bonus on his caster level check rather than the normal maximum of +10.

Special Rules

Swordsage Adaptations: If using the adaptation that allows a swordsage to initiate arcane spells in place of maneuvers, all references to spellcasting in this prestige class should instead reflect initiating maneuvers in this fashion. Likewise, references to your caster level should instead be replaced by your effective initiation level. In such cases, the swordsage's initiator class abilities increase at each level, and they do not progress any other arcane spellcasting class they may possess.

Epic Bladesingers of Old: As a five-level prestige class, the bladesinger of old does not qualify for epic progression.

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