Order of the Spellsword
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Spellswords are magical soldiers of fortune, bringing their fighting magic and tactical expertise to bear on the battlefield. Mercenaries who blend magic and martial prowess, Spellswords eschew the normal position of backline spellcaster and jump headlong into the fray, using their command of violent magic to vanquish their enemies from the front lines.
Order of Spellswords Features
Mage Level – Feature
2nd – Battlemage, Fighting Style
6th – Battle Casting
10th – Ability Score Increase
14th – Spell Transduction
20th – Deadly Prowess of the Archmage
Battle Mage
At 2nd level when you select this order, you gain proficiency in medium armor and with a martial weapon of your choice. You also gain an additional hitpoint per Mage level.
Fighting Style
At 2nd level, you learn mystical arts of self defence, wielding magical force into warding shields that emanate from your arcane focus, or blending magic and swordplay into one strategic art. You may choose one of the following Fighting Styles. You may only choose a fighting style once, even if you are later able to choose a different style.
Arcane Armor
When you are under the effect of a spell that grants a bonus to your AC, gives you a minimum AC, or that grants you an AC calculation (such as barkskin, mage armor, shield, or shield of faith), you are considered to have half cover when making saving throws against spells.
Fast Casting
You can add your spellcasting modifier to your Initiative roll; if you do so, the only action you may take in your first turn of combat is the Cast a Spell action. When you are surprised, you may still cast spells requiring a bonus action on your first turn of combat.
Martial Focus
You may use any martial weapon as a spellcasting focus. You must mark the weapon with arcane sigils, and you may change your Martial Focus after a short rest. When casting cantrips with your Martial Focus, you gain a +1 to your spell attack rolls.
Sweordrūna
Choose one of the following damage types: acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, or thunder. When you inflict damage with a weapon attack using a melee weapon with which you are proficient, you inflict an additional point of damage of that type, or three additional points on a critical hit as the magical energy bursts forth on impact. When you complete a short or long rest, you may change the type of extra damage your weapon inflicts.
Sword & Ward
When you are holding a melee weapon in one hand and your spellcasting focus in the other, you add one-half your Proficiency bonus to your AC.
Battle Casting
At 6th level, when you take the Attack Action, you can cast a Cantrip with a casting time of one action as a bonus action. Cantrips you cast in this way are cast at half of your character level.
Additionally, you do not suffer disadvantage when making ranged spell attacks when a hostile creature is within 5 feet of you.
Ability Score Increase
At 10th level, you gain another Ability Score Increase. You can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature..
Spell Transduction
At 14th level you may use your item interaction on your turn to transfuse magical force from a memorized spell into a melee weapon you are holding, and transfer it to a creature you strike with that weapon. The spell cannot be of a level higher than your proficiency bonus, and it must have a casting time of one action, and must either target a creature or a point.
You can hold the spell within the melee weapon you have transfused for one minute. When you strike an enemy with a melee weapon attack using the transfused weapon, you may use a bonus action to expend the memorized spell you transfused. The attack takes the place of any somatic components required for the spell. If the spell you transfuse requires an attack roll, treat your melee weapon attack as the attack roll for that spell. If the spell you transfuse requires a saving throw, you can use your attack roll as the Spell Save DC. Spells with areas of effect are centered on the creature, or the space occupied by the creature.
Transfusing magical energy this way is dangerous and unstable. If your attack roll with a transfused weapon critically misses, the magical energy backfies, inflicting 1d8 Force damage to you per level of the spell transfused. Once you use Spell Transduction a number of times equal to your Intelligence bonus (minimum of once), you must complete a long rest before using this ability again.
Deadly Prowess of the Archmage
At 20th level, you can enter into a magic-altered state of mind that heightens your battle prowess. Deadly Prowess of the Archmage lasts for 1 minute, during which time you gain the following benefits:
- Creatures who fail saving throws against damaging, memorized spells you cast are shoved back a number of feet equal to the level of the spell slot used to cast the spell, or are knocked prone (your choice).
- Melee weapons you are holding that are transfused with a spell through Spell Transduction inflict an additional point of Force damage for every level of the spell stored within, until the spell is cast.
- Creatures that make opportunity attacks against you suffer a number of hit points of Force damage equal to the highest level spell slot you have memorized to invoke an Aetheric Aura.
Once you use Deadly Prowess of the Archmage, you cannot use this feature again until you complete a long rest.