6 Alternative Swordsage Class Features [Archive] - Wizards Community

6 Alternative Swordsage Class Features [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
DarkRhystar
11-20-06, 06:12 PM Unearthed Arcana and the Players Handbook II introduced things called "Class Feature Variants" which allowed a new feature to be substituted into a class in place of an existing feature.

I've created these 6 Alternative Class Features in order to give the Swordsage (Tome of Battle) a bit more flavor and to make it a great deal more customizable. Some of them are a bit powerful (most noticeably the ones which replace Quick to act) whereas others may actually appear to hurt a character more than they help (Reckless Maneuvering). The former give abilities at a slower pace however and the latter give powerful abilities up front to make the trade off more equitable.

I hope you find them interesting and fun to play. :)

Relentless Maneuvering
Most other Swordsages focus on quickness however by selecting this class feature, you acknowledge that such is not always the best choice. The keys to victory do not lay within speed but efficiency. You choose to forgo your training which would improve your reaction time and speed to focus on perfecting your maneuvers and utilizing them in battle. While this technique may expose a Swordsage to much danger and lengthen some fights, it will also greatly increase the Swordsage's contribution to such fights. The victor of a battle may or may not be the one who strikes first, however the one who strikes last will always be the victor.
Level: 1st.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Quick to act class feature (or any later improvements to that class feature).
Benefit: You gain the ability to recover any maneuver used as a free action once per encounter. You gain an additional use per encounter of this ability at 5th level and every 5 levels after (10, 15, 20...etc).

Superior Discipline
At the very core of the Swordsage lays the disciplines and maneuvers known and often times the Swordsage's very survival depends on them. While some Swordsages would focus in other areas, the dedicated Swordsage realizes that such is where the most worthwhile training is found. By selecting this class feature, you forgo the speed you would normally receive to gain a bonus to various disciplines. Some may brag to be good at something, but only a select few can brag to be the best at it.
Level: 1st.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Quick to act class feature (or any later improvements to that class feature).
Benefit: At levels 1, 5, and every 5 levels after (10, 15, 20...etc), you may choose a discipline to strengthen. All attack rolls and DCs of maneuvers from the chosen discipline increase by 1. Disciplines may be selected more than once and all benefits are cumulative.

Reckless Maneuvering
Sometimes you get hit in battle and that's just the way it works. It's bound to happen. However, what's truly important is to still be able to retaliate. By selecting this class feature, you display a single-minded focus of defeating enemies and throw caution to the wind. Sure they can hit you now, but once its your turn they're in for a whole world of hurt.
Level: 2nd.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the AC bonus class feature.
Benefit: You gain the ability to ready additional maneuvers equal to your Wisdom bonus (if any).

Shadowsage Specialist
The Swordsage is a warrior both light of foot and of armor. By selecting this class feature, you realize that a strong defense is just as good as a strong offense and to neglect one for the other is a poor decision. By spending your time honing your reflexes, you gain the Uncanny Dodge ability and its improved version. Due to this, you are unable to give all disciplines the time they would need to mature and are forced to abandon one. While a Swordsage choosing this class feature may be less effective in battle, a smart Swordsage realizes that victory in battle is meaningless if one is not alive to see it.
Level: 1st.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you must choose one discipline other than Shadow Hand to permanently remove from the list of disciplines available to you.
Benefit: Upon reaching 4th level, you gain the Uncanny Dodge class feature and upon reaching 8th level, you gain the Improved Uncanny Dodge class feature.

Magically Attuned
A normal Swordsage is attuned to the magic inherent with items themselves, however once in a great while, a Swordsage displays an attunement to magic in general. By selecting this class feature, you give up the ability to discern the properties of weapons and armor found in order to detect and find magic itself. While you may not be able to determine just what kind of magic is around you, you are far more acutely aware of its existence.
Level: 7th.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Sense Magic class feature .
Benefit: Upon reaching 7th level, a Swordsage gains Detect Magic as a spell-like ability which may be used 3 plus the Swordsage's Wisdom modifier times per day. Upon reaching 14th level, a Swordsage gains the ability to use Arcane Sight as per the spell for a number of minutes per day equal to the Swordsage's level. These minutes need not be consecutive and this ability may be activated and deactivated by the Swordsage at will. The caster level of these abilities is equal to the Swordsage's class level.

Enhanced Discipline Focus
The Swordsage is often seen as a bastion of versatility however such is not always the case. Many Swordsages come to realize that it does no good to train with weapons that will never be used and that it doesn't matter how skilled one is with a weapon if it's not being wielded. By selecting this class feature, you choose to focus on those skills you already possess rather than learning new ones. Versatility does not always make one more effective however as long as one remains effective versatility is not a problem.
Level: 12th and/or 16th.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the normal Discipline Focus ability upon reaching the selected level.
Benefit: If taken upon reaching 12th level, the bonus provided by Discipline Focus (Insightful Strike) selected at 4th level doubles. If taken upon reaching 16th level, the bonus provided by Discipline Focus (Defensive Stance) selected at 8th level doubles.

Disclaimer: I have not play tested these so until such time as I have or have been given feedback from those who have, please be aware that their use may adjust the power level of your game. While I do not believe this will occur in a significant fashion, you have been given fair warning. :)
Soel Griffin
11-21-06, 01:21 AM Interesting. Cool variant abilities.

Although I'm not so sure Magically Attuned is different enough from the Sense Magic ability.
Neutronium_Dragon
11-21-06, 01:59 AM Shadowsage Specialist is a problem. Unless you're going for Master of Nine as an otherwise-pure Swordsage (difficult to do), you're almost never going to be investing in all six disciplines anyway; 3-4 is about the most which you can practically support. The end result is that this really doesn't cost you anything.
DarkRhystar
11-21-06, 07:31 PM Thanks for the replies. :)

Interesting. Cool variant abilities.

Although I'm not so sure Magically Attuned is different enough from the Sense Magic ability.

That was the goal. I didn't want it to be too different rather I wanted it to remain similar to Sense Magic. Rather than representing an entirely new aspect of the class as some other variants above do, I wanted it to simply be another take on an innate affiliation with magic. :)

Shadowsage Specialist is a problem. Unless you're going for Master of Nine as an otherwise-pure Swordsage (difficult to do), you're almost never going to be investing in all six disciplines anyway; 3-4 is about the most which you can practically support. The end result is that this really doesn't cost you anything.

With just the default Swordsage list, I believe you can get the level 9 maneuvers of 4 disciplines with room leftover for about 3 or so maneuvers from a 5th discipline. The 6th discipline is extraneous. Even though without striving for the highest level of each discipline, you could cherry pick the ones you like from each (meeting individual requirements of course)...

I think you have a point, yet one could turn that point around.

That extra discipline may be unnecessary baggage that the class may never take advantage of. In essence, it could very well be a dead feature. In this case, the variant actually converts it from a dead feature to a useful one. Of course, that changes the question to "Is this ability overpowered to give the Swordsage?"

So, the Shadowsage Specialist either needs more requirements or works as-is (depending on your view of the class as-is and the value of UD/IUD).

Assuming the former, what sort of trade offs would be more suitable for Shadowsage Specialist? 2 disciplines?
Crashy75
11-21-06, 10:13 PM Interesting ideas. No time to critique now, but i'll give you a bump :D
DarkRhystar
11-28-06, 03:14 PM One last chance for reviews, critiquing, and comments before this thread sinks into the dank and smelly place that is the fate of all lost threads who have long since given up all hope of new posts. :bigeyes:
Greg K
11-28-06, 05:05 PM Unearthed Arcana and the Players Handbook II introduced things called "Class Feature Variants" which allowed a new feature to be substituted into a class in place of an existing feature.

Check both your phb (3.0/p.94 and 3.5/p.110) and DMG. ;) Also, the Urban Ranger first appeared in one of the 3.0 splat supplements. UA and PHB2 just finally started giving the idea much more use.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DarkRhystar 11-20-06, 06:12 PM	Unearthed Arcana and the Players Handbook II introduced things called "Class Feature Variants" which allowed a new feature to be substituted into a class in place of an existing feature. I've created these 6 Alternative Class Features in order to give the Swordsage (Tome of Battle) a bit more flavor and to make it a great deal more customizable. Some of them are a bit powerful (most noticeably the ones which replace Quick to act) whereas others may actually appear to hurt a character more than they help (Reckless Maneuvering). The former give abilities at a slower pace however and the latter give powerful abilities up front to make the trade off more equitable. I hope you find them interesting and fun to play. :) Relentless Maneuvering Most other Swordsages focus on quickness however by selecting this class feature, you acknowledge that such is not always the best choice. The keys to victory do not lay within speed but efficiency. You choose to forgo your training which would improve your reaction time and speed to focus on perfecting your maneuvers and utilizing them in battle. While this technique may expose a Swordsage to much danger and lengthen some fights, it will also greatly increase the Swordsage's contribution to such fights. The victor of a battle may or may not be the one who strikes first, however the one who strikes last will always be the victor. Level: 1st. Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Quick to act class feature (or any later improvements to that class feature). Benefit: You gain the ability to recover any maneuver used as a free action once per encounter. You gain an additional use per encounter of this ability at 5th level and every 5 levels after (10, 15, 20...etc). Superior Discipline At the very core of the Swordsage lays the disciplines and maneuvers known and often times the Swordsage's very survival depends on them. While some Swordsages would focus in other areas, the dedicated Swordsage realizes that such is where the most worthwhile training is found. By selecting this class feature, you forgo the speed you would normally receive to gain a bonus to various disciplines. Some may brag to be good at something, but only a select few can brag to be the best at it. Level: 1st. Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Quick to act class feature (or any later improvements to that class feature). Benefit: At levels 1, 5, and every 5 levels after (10, 15, 20...etc), you may choose a discipline to strengthen. All attack rolls and DCs of maneuvers from the chosen discipline increase by 1. Disciplines may be selected more than once and all benefits are cumulative. Reckless Maneuvering Sometimes you get hit in battle and that's just the way it works. It's bound to happen. However, what's truly important is to still be able to retaliate. By selecting this class feature, you display a single-minded focus of defeating enemies and throw caution to the wind. Sure they can hit you now, but once its your turn they're in for a whole world of hurt. Level: 2nd. Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the AC bonus class feature. Benefit: You gain the ability to ready additional maneuvers equal to your Wisdom bonus (if any). Shadowsage Specialist The Swordsage is a warrior both light of foot and of armor. By selecting this class feature, you realize that a strong defense is just as good as a strong offense and to neglect one for the other is a poor decision. By spending your time honing your reflexes, you gain the Uncanny Dodge ability and its improved version. Due to this, you are unable to give all disciplines the time they would need to mature and are forced to abandon one. While a Swordsage choosing this class feature may be less effective in battle, a smart Swordsage realizes that victory in battle is meaningless if one is not alive to see it. Level: 1st. Replaces: If you select this class feature, you must choose one discipline other than Shadow Hand to permanently remove from the list of disciplines available to you. Benefit: Upon reaching 4th level, you gain the Uncanny Dodge class feature and upon reaching 8th level, you gain the Improved Uncanny Dodge class feature. Magically Attuned A normal Swordsage is attuned to the magic inherent with items themselves, however once in a great while, a Swordsage displays an attunement to magic in general. By selecting this class feature, you give up the ability to discern the properties of weapons and armor found in order to detect and find magic itself. While you may not be able to determine just what kind of magic is around you, you are far more acutely aware of its existence. Level: 7th. Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the Sense Magic class feature . Benefit: Upon reaching 7th level, a Swordsage gains Detect Magic as a spell-like ability which may be used 3 plus the Swordsage's Wisdom modifier times per day. Upon reaching 14th level, a Swordsage gains the ability to use Arcane Sight as per the spell for a number of minutes per day equal to the Swordsage's level. These minutes need not be consecutive and this ability may be activated and deactivated by the Swordsage at will. The caster level of these abilities is equal to the Swordsage's class level. Enhanced Discipline Focus The Swordsage is often seen as a bastion of versatility however such is not always the case. Many Swordsages come to realize that it does no good to train with weapons that will never be used and that it doesn't matter how skilled one is with a weapon if it's not being wielded. By selecting this class feature, you choose to focus on those skills you already possess rather than learning new ones. Versatility does not always make one more effective however as long as one remains effective versatility is not a problem. Level: 12th and/or 16th. Replaces: If you select this class feature, you do not gain the normal Discipline Focus ability upon reaching the selected level. Benefit: If taken upon reaching 12th level, the bonus provided by Discipline Focus (Insightful Strike) selected at 4th level doubles. If taken upon reaching 16th level, the bonus provided by Discipline Focus (Defensive Stance) selected at 8th level doubles. Disclaimer: I have not play tested these so until such time as I have or have been given feedback from those who have, please be aware that their use may adjust the power level of your game. While I do not believe this will occur in a significant fashion, you have been given fair warning. :)
Soel Griffin 11-21-06, 01:21 AM	Interesting. Cool variant abilities. Although I'm not so sure Magically Attuned is different enough from the Sense Magic ability.
Neutronium_Dragon 11-21-06, 01:59 AM	Shadowsage Specialist is a problem. Unless you're going for Master of Nine as an otherwise-pure Swordsage (difficult to do), you're almost never going to be investing in all six disciplines anyway; 3-4 is about the most which you can practically support. The end result is that this really doesn't cost you anything.
DarkRhystar 11-21-06, 07:31 PM	Thanks for the replies. :) Interesting. Cool variant abilities. Although I'm not so sure Magically Attuned is different enough from the Sense Magic ability. That was the goal. I didn't want it to be too different rather I wanted it to remain similar to Sense Magic. Rather than representing an entirely new aspect of the class as some other variants above do, I wanted it to simply be another take on an innate affiliation with magic. :) Shadowsage Specialist is a problem. Unless you're going for Master of Nine as an otherwise-pure Swordsage (difficult to do), you're almost never going to be investing in all six disciplines anyway; 3-4 is about the most which you can practically support. The end result is that this really doesn't cost you anything. With just the default Swordsage list, I believe you can get the level 9 maneuvers of 4 disciplines with room leftover for about 3 or so maneuvers from a 5th discipline. The 6th discipline is extraneous. Even though without striving for the highest level of each discipline, you could cherry pick the ones you like from each (meeting individual requirements of course)... I think you have a point, yet one could turn that point around. That extra discipline may be unnecessary baggage that the class may never take advantage of. In essence, it could very well be a dead feature. In this case, the variant actually converts it from a dead feature to a useful one. Of course, that changes the question to "Is this ability overpowered to give the Swordsage?" So, the Shadowsage Specialist either needs more requirements or works as-is (depending on your view of the class as-is and the value of UD/IUD). Assuming the former, what sort of trade offs would be more suitable for Shadowsage Specialist? 2 disciplines?
Crashy75 11-21-06, 10:13 PM	Interesting ideas. No time to critique now, but i'll give you a bump :D
DarkRhystar 11-28-06, 03:14 PM	One last chance for reviews, critiquing, and comments before this thread sinks into the dank and smelly place that is the fate of all lost threads who have long since given up all hope of new posts. :bigeyes:
Greg K 11-28-06, 05:05 PM	Unearthed Arcana and the Players Handbook II introduced things called "Class Feature Variants" which allowed a new feature to be substituted into a class in place of an existing feature. Check both your phb (3.0/p.94 and 3.5/p.110) and DMG. ;) Also, the Urban Ranger first appeared in one of the 3.0 splat supplements. UA and PHB2 just finally started giving the idea much more use.