Bladesinger

scorpio@calweb.com

	The word Bladesinger rings true to any elf worthy of being called elven. Bladesingers are the holy warriors of elvenkind, the defenders of the elven nations, the highest form of true elf that can exist. A bladesinger is not something that an elf can merely learn, it is something they are born to become. It is in their blood and therefore only a true, full-blooded elf may ever hope to learn the ways of the bladesong. The bladesong is an ancient elven fighting style, combining the arcane arts with the whirling blade style of ancients. Only other bladesingers know this art form true enough to train those bladesingers who have been called into action from their royal bloodlines.

	Fighters, Rangers, Paladins and Barbarians are most common among the bladesingers, though even this is not enough to advance in the art of the bladesong. One must also combine a strong fighting ability with the arcane arts, thus all bladesingers are also accomplished sorcerers or wizards, and sometimes, rarely even bards. A character hoping to become a bladesinger must act the part even before this great moment comes. This character must be 100% true to his elven heritage before he will be trained in using his blood given abilities to their fullest extent.

	Bladesingers of high renown are often known to lead the elven footmen into battle. Encounters with bladesingers are always friendly among the elves. Any elf who meets a bladesinger is automatically treated as “Friendly” for purposes of reaction rolls, as long as said elf is of good standing in the eyes of the elven nations. Obviously malevolent elves would not react as kindly to the bladesinger, often even wishing him harm. Bladesingers must choose one medium sized or smaller weapon as a chosen weapon. All class abilities are determined while the bladesinger wields this weapon. Any time the bladesinger is not wielding his chosen weapon (unless he has Quickdraw and can draw it immediately) or when he is carrying a shield or wielding a large sized weapon he will lose all class abilities.

Class		Base		Fort		Ref		Will		Special
Level		Attack		Save		Save		Save

1st		+1		+0		+2		+2		Manipulate armor
2nd		+2		+0		+3		+3		Imbue Weapon
3rd		+3		+1		+3		+3		att/dmg bonus +1
4th		+4		+1		+4		+4		AC Bonus +1
5th		+5		+1		+4		+4		Smite
6th		+6		+2		+5		+5		att/dmg bonus +2
7th		+7		+2		+5		+5		Phase Weapon
8th		+8		+2		+6		+6		AC Bonus +2
9th		+9		+3		+6		+6		att/dmg bonus +3
10th		+10		+3		+7		+7		Whirl of Cuts

Hit Dice: d8

Requirements
To qualify to become a bladesinger, a character must fulfill the following criteria.
Race: Elf
Base Attack Bonus: +4
Concentration: 8 ranks
Feats: Weapon Proficiency (chosen weapon), Weapon Focus (chosen weapon), Combat Casting.
Spellcasting: Ability to cast 3rd level arcane spells.

Class Skills
The bladesingers class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Intuit Direction (Wis), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Spellcraft (Int), Spot (Wis), Use Rope (Dex), and Wilderness Lore (Wis).
Skill Points: 4 + Int modifier.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the bladesinger prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A bladesinger is proficient with all simple and martial	 weapons of medium or smaller size, light armor and medium armor. Note that armor check penalties for armor heavier than leather apply to the skills Balance, Escape Artist, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, Pick Pockets, and Tumble.

Concentration: Gain +1 competence bonus per class level to all Concentration checks made for casting defensively. This bonus does not count for any other type of concentration checks.

Manipulate Armor: At level 1 the bladesinger may reduce armor spellcasting failure chances by 20% when wearing armor of elven make, such as elven chainmail. This ability can drop it to 0% (such is the case with elven chainmail) making those armors specifically useful while casting spells in combat.

Imbue Weapon: The bladesinger, upon reaching level 2 may imbue his chosen weapon with touch spells. Any touch attack or ranges touch attack spell may be placed onto the bladesingers chosen weapon. Doing this is a full-round action that does provoke an attack of opportunity (unless concentration check is made). This action allows the caster to imbue the weapon with the touch spell (assuming the spell has a casting time of 1 action) and then swing his weapon at the opponent, inflicting damage from the weapon and releasing the effects of the spell on the victim. Beneficial spells may be used in this way as well, but it’s not wise since an attack roll is required (thus damage from the weapon). When using this ability the sword may release the touch effect even if the sword does not breach the armor of the opponent. If the attack roll is high enough to hit the targets normal AC then all effects happen. If the attack roll is high enough to hit the opponent with a normal touch attack spell (i.e. no armor and shield) but not enough for the sword to cause damage, then the spell releases onto the target but the sword still does no damage.

Attack and Damage Bonus: At level 3 the bladesinger adds a +1 bonus to all attack and damage rolls made with his chosen weapon. This ability increases to +2 at level 6 and +3 at level 9.

Armor Class Bonus: At level 4 the bladesinger gains a +1 bonus to his AC the round in which he casts an imbued spell onto his weapon. This bonus increases to +2 at level 8.

Smite Elven Enemies: At level 5 the bladesinger gains the ability to Smite the racial enemies of elves once per day. This allows the bladesinger to add his CHA bonus to his attack roll and his class level into damage. Natural enemies of elves include but are not limited to drow, goblinoids and giants. This is a supernatural ability in which the attack is considered part of the action.

Phase Weapon: At level 7 the bladesinger gains the ability to phase his weapon and attack (in the same action) once per day. This ability causes the weapon to ignore armor and shields and all physical things blocking it. The weapon is considered to be made of “force” for purposes of hitting incorporeal creatures. This is a supernatural ability.

Whirl of Many Cuts: At level 10 the bladesinger may attempt the famous “Whirl of Many Cuts” once per day as a full-round action to all enemies within 10’ of him. This ability allows the bladesinger a brief burst of unnatural quickness in action to slice down his enemies. Those who witness this ability view it as a blade (or other weapon) whirling about in a circle as fast as a whirlwind, cutting down enemies where they stand. The bladesinger makes an attack roll at his highest base attack against each target No more than one attack may be made per target in this way. In the round this ability is used and the following round, the bladesinger loses all bonuses to Dexterity and loses the ability to make attacks of opportunity due to the dizzying effect of performing this deadly attack. At the end of the attack, the bladesinger must end up back in the position he was in when he started. This is a supernatural ability.

Fallen Bladesingers
Bladesingers who do not honor their elven heritage and people, who do not strive and go forward to advance and improve the elven society will find themselves stripped of their bladesinging ability, losing all special class abilities until they have Atoned to the elven gods. The view of a bladesinger to his elven family and people is very similar in the way a paladin would view the god he worships. He would do anything for them.