Oath of Blades Swordsman

The Oath of Blades  A swordsman is more than just a mere warrior.  He is the inheritor of a great legacy.  As such, upon taking this Archetype, he swears a binding Oath.  The features for this Archetype are balanced on the requirement that he keeps to this Oath, necessarily limiting his options in a number of ways.  A Swordsman who violates his Oath does not mystically lose his abilities, as they are learned skills, but the violation WILL be discovered, and other Swordsmen WILL seek him out to make him atone.

The tenets of the Oath are as follows

- Never use any weapon other than a (one-handed) sword or dagger, even in the most extreme of circumstances (for these purposes, unarmed strikes and makeshift weapons do not count as a violation)

- Always show courtesy to other Swordsmen

- When two Swordsmen meet for the first time, they must decide between themselves who is the superior duelist.  This is typically resolved by each man revealing their stance, and one conceding the superiority of the other, but sometimes a duel must be fought.  Its is the duty of a Swordsman to fight until he, or his opponent, yields in such situations (note that common sense is an exception here; two Swordsmen who meet on the same side on the field of battle are not going to abandon the larger fight to duel one-another in such circumstances)

- Never harm the undeserving (this is actually a summation of a number of rules, such as “never steal from those that cannot afford it” and “never hurt the innocent, nor allow them to come to harm”)

The Dance Begins

At 3rd level, You gain the benefits of the Dual Wielder Feat, and proficiency in Charisma (Perform).  If you are already proficient in Charisma (Perform),  you gain Expertise (double your Proficiency Bonus).

Dual Wielding Fighting Style

Dual Wielding

Dance of Pursuit

Starting at 3rd level, when an enemy provokes an opportunity attack from you, you may instead use your reaction to move up to your speed toward that enemy, if possible (i.e. you must have a fly speed if your enemy flies upward).  This movement does not provoke Opportunity Attacks.

The Flurry of Blades

At 7th level, you may use your Bonus Action for one of the following

Offensive Flurry:  When you attack with your off-handed weapon, you may make an additional attack

Defensive Flurry:  You may forego your off-handed attack entirely and focus on defense.  Add your Charisma bonus to your AC and Dexterity Saves until the beginning of your next turn.

The Dance Intensifies

At 10th level, you gain +10 feet to your movement, and if you are subject to the restrained condition that allows an escape check or by a spell with a Saving Throw,  you may use your reaction to make a Charisma (Perform) check (DC = to the save/escape DC) to escape immediately, and move up to your speed to move out of the range of the attack/effect.  This may be in addition to any check or save you are normally allowed, but in the case of spells with multiple effects, the Charisma (Perform) check ONLY removes the restrained condition, and does not eliminate any other effects. Y

You may also stand from prone for only 5’ of movement

The Dance Cannot Be Broken

At 15th level, your force of personality has become nearly indomitable.  You gain proficiency in Charisma saves (if you were already proficient in Charisma saves, you may choose proficiency in any other save).  

In addition, you add your Charisma bonus to all Death Saves.

Finally, you may use your Charisma Save in place of any other save.  You must choose to use this ability before you make the roll.  Once you use this ability, you may not use it again until you have completed a short or long rest.

Death in the Dance

At 18th level, you can use both of your uses of Action Surge on the same turn.  In addition, whenever you reduce an opponent to 0HP, you may immediately make a Charisma (Perform) roll, representing a flourish of the blade or other minor celebration, and gain temporary HP equal to the result.