Theme: Spellsword

## Heroes that wield Sword and Sorcery

In the worlds of High Fantasy it is a viewpoint shared by many that to get ahead in life some amount of magic is absolutely necessary. The Spellsword represents this ideal applied to the point of view of those who are martially trained. There a numerous Schools and institutions that may teach warriors to blend magic with warfare, with these schools teaching their students magic from the full range of Magic Traditions. As part of your training, you study the Magics of one of the Magic Traditions (Arcane, Creation, Natural or Supernatural) and improve your mind through Magical Training to better harness these Magics.

As you advance in your studies, you learn to seamlessly blend you attacks with spells, allowing you to cause significant harm to your enemies or undermine their defences against your magic. Eventually you master the a Martial Maneuver unique to Spellswords of your chosen Tradition of Magic, granting you either the ability to teleport, infuse attacks with elemental power, or ensnare or frighten your enemies.

The fantasy of a Character that wields both weaponry and magic to achieve their goals is pervasive throughout media. We see it in numerous Characters within High Fantasy novels, films, video games and animation. To better enable Players to engage with this fantasy, we provide them the tools through this Theme to choose the Tradition of Magic which best fits their vision for a Hero which blends magic and warfare. Additionally we enable them to seamlessly use spells alongside their attacks, and use their Action Surge ability to perform magical combos which are beyond the capabilities of other Spellcasters. This Theme is an excellent choice for those looking to mix a small amount of spellcasting into their Heroic Characters.

## Prerequisites

The Spellsword Theme is available to the Hero Archetype only.

It is well suited for High Fantasy settings involving heroic exploits and cinematic action.

## Level 3 Features

At Level 3 your Character gains the following features:

### Spellcasting

You have begun to explore how you may incorporate magic of into your repertoire as a combatant.

#### Spell List and Spellcasting Ability

* Spellswords may learn Spells from one Tradition of Magic of their Choice: Arcane, Creation, Natural or Supernatural. The Tradition of Magic chosen by the Spellsword is used to distinguish different disciplines of Spellswords from each other (e.g. Arcane Spellswords and Supernatural Spellswords etc).

* Spells learned through this Theme are referred to as Spellsword Spells.

* Your Spellcasting Ability Modifier depends upon your choice of Tradition of Magic:
	+ Arcane Spellswords use Intelligence
	+ Creation Spellswords use Charisma
	+ Natural and Supernatural Spellswords both use Awareness
* You use this Ability Modifier whenever a Spellsword Spell refers to your Spellcasting Ability.
* In addition, you use this Ability Modifier when setting the Saving Throw DC for a Spellsword Spell you Cast and when making an Attack roll for such a Spell.
	+ Spell save DC = 8 + your Proficiency bonus + your Spellsword Spellcasting Ability Modifier
	+ Spell Attack Modifier = your Proficiency bonus + your Spellsword Spellcasting Ability Modifier
* Additionally, the Spellsword Tradition you choose determines the Spellsword Maneuver you gain at 10th Level (see Spellsword Maneuvers).

#### Cantrips

* Cantrips are a subset of Spells which you may cast without expending a Spell Slot.
* You learn two Cantrips of your choice from the Tradition of Magic you chose.
* You learn additional Cantrips of your choice from the Tradition of Magic you chose at higher levels, as shown in the Cantrips Known column of the Spellsword Spellcasting Table.
* You may replace one Cantrip of your choice with another from the Tradition of Magic you chose whenever you Level Up.

#### Spell Slots

* The Spellsword Spellcasting Table shows how many Spell Slots you have to cast your Spells of 1st Level and higher.
* To Cast one of these Spells, you must expend a Slot of the Spell's level or higher.
	+ For example, if you know the 1st-level Spell Shield and have a 1st-level and a 2nd-level spell slot available, you can cast Sleep using either slot.
* You regain all expended Spell Slots when you finish a Long Rest.

#### Spells Known of 1st Level and Higher

* You may learn any Spell from the Tradition of Magic you chose.
* The number of Spells you may learn increases as you level up.
* You may not learn a Spellsword Spell of higher level than that granted by the Spell Slots you gain from this Archetype (see the Spellsword Spellcasting Feature Table)
* The total number of Spells you may learn is equal to one + Half your Hero Level rounded up (see the Spellsword Spellcasting Feature Table)
* You may learn any combination of Spells from your Chosen Tradition of Magic from any Spell Slot Level, provided they do not exceed the total number of Spells available at your Level and are of a Spell Level you can Cast as a Spellsword (see the Spellsword Spellcasting Feature Table)

#### Replacing Spells Known of 1st Level or Higher

* Whenever you gain a New Level, you may in addition to learning new Spells replace as many Spells from your chosen Tradition of Magic you know with other Spells available from that Tradition of Magic.

#### Ritual Casting

* You can Cast any Spell you have learned as a Ritual if that Spell has the ritual tag.
* The duration to cast a Ritual is the Spell's usual casting time plus 10 minutes.
* When you Cast a Spell as a Ritual you do not expend a Spell Slot.
* Casting a Spell as a Ritual requires you maintain Concentration on the Spell throughout performing the Ritual.

#### Spellcasting Focus

* You may use a Spellcasting Focus whenever a costless material component is required to perform a Spellsword Spell.
* You may use any Weapon as a Spellcasting focus.

### Magical Training

* You may add +1 to one of the following Ability Scores: Intelligence, Charisma or Awareness. You may not increase an Ability Score above 17 with this feature.
* Alternatively you may choose one Basic Magic Feat from the Basic Feats section.
	+ We recommend choosing the Weapon Bond or Familiar Feat.

## Level 6 Features

At level 6 your Character gains the following features:

### Sword and Sorcery

* When you take the Attack Action, you may replace one of the Attacks you make with the Casting of a Cantrip. The Cantrip must have a casting time of one Action or one Bonus Action.

### Magic Surge

* You may Cast a Levelled Spell as part of the Action granted by the Action Surge Feature, even if you have already Cast a Levelled Spell this Turn.
	+ You may not use this Feature to Cast more than two Levelled Spells during a single Turn.

## Level 10 Features

At level 10 your Character gains the following features:

### Spell Combo

* When you Hit a Target with an Attack, you may subtract a roll of your Martial Die from the next Saving Throw they make to resist the effects of a Spell or Martial Maneuver you use against them before the End of your Next Turn.
	+ A Spell or Martial Maneuver which occurs as part of an Attack may only benefit from this Feature as part of an Attack which occurs after an initial Attack.

### Spellsword Maneuvers

* You learn one of four Martial Maneuvers unique to Spellswords. The Maneuver you learn depends upon the Tradition of Magic you chose.
* Spellsword Maneuvers differ from most Martial Maneuvers as they require you expend Spell Slots instead of Stamina, and the DC of effects created by a Maneuver are determined by your Spellsword Spellcasting Ability Modifier.
	+ Spellsword Save DC = 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Spellsword Spellcasting Ability Modifier
* Otherwise, follow the same rules described for Martial Maneuvers (e.g. you may not use more than one Maneuver for a given trigger)

#### Arcane Spellsword: Teleporting Attack

* You gain this Martial Maneuver if you chose the Arcane Tradition of Magic.
* When you make a Weapon Attack, you may expend a Spell Slot of 1st Level or higher to immediately teleport to a position you can see as part of the Attack. The maximum Distance you may travel is equal to 10ft multiplied by the Spell Slot's Level. You may choose to Teleport before or after the Attack occurs.

#### Creation Spellsword: Elemental Attack

* You gain this Martial Maneuver if you chose the Creation Tradition of Magic.
* Once per Turn, when you Hit a Target with a Weapon Attack, you may expend a Spell Slot of 1st Level or higher to empower the Attack with an Elemental Damage Type of your Choice: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, Poison or Thunder). The Attack deals Additional Damage of the type Chosen equal to two Rolls of your Martial Die, plus an additional roll for each Spell Slot Level above 1st Level the Spell Slot expended was.

#### Natural Spellsword: Ensnaring Attack

* You gain this Martial Maneuver if you chose the Natural Tradition of Magic.
* Once per Turn, when you Hit a Character you can see with a Weapon Attack, you may expend a Spell Slot of 1st Level or higher to cause Ensnaring Vines to grapple the Target. The Target must make a Strength Saving Throw against your Spellsword Save DC or become Restrained until the Start of your next Turn.
* If you expended a Spell Slot higher than 1st Level, for each Spell Slot Level higher you may cause another Character you can see within 10ft of the original Target to also make this Saving Throw, suffering the same effects of this feature on a Failed Saving Throw.
* A Character may expend an Action or an Attack to attempt to remove the Vines from a bound Target, ending the effect on a Successful Athletics Skill Check against your Spellsword Save DC.

#### Supernatural Spellsword: Frightening Attack

* You gain this Martial Maneuver if you chose the Supernatural Tradition of Magic.
* Once per Turn, when you Hit a Character you can see with a Weapon Attack, you may expend a Spell Slot of 1st Level or higher to attempt to Frighten them. The Target must make an Awareness Saving Throw against your Spellsword Save DC or become Frightened of you until the Start of your next Turn.
* If you expended a Spell Slot higher than 1st Level, for each Spell Slot Level higher you may cause another Character you can see within 10ft of the original Target to also make this Saving Throw, suffering the same effects of this feature on a Failed Saving Throw.
* Fiends and Undead have Disadvantage on Saving Throws caused by this Feature.

## Level 14 Features

At level 14 your Character gains the following features:

### Improved Sword and Sorcery

* When you take the Attack Action, you may replace one of the Attacks you make with a Casting of a Cantrip of a Spell of 2nd Level or lower. The Spell must have a Casting time of one Action or one Bonus Action.

## Copyright Notice

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

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This work includes material taken from "7e” by Peter Rees and materials taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC. Both "7e" and the "SRD5.1" are Licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode