School of Swords

Blades, or bards of the College of Swords, amuse with daring feats of sword proficiency. Blades do acrobatics including sword swallowing, knife throwing, juggling, and simulated combats. They use their weapons to entertain, but they are also highly trained and adept fighters.

Their skill with weaponry motivates many swords to live double lives. One blade may utilize a circus company to conceal wicked activities such as killing, robbery, and blackmail. Other blades strike at the evil, bringing justice to bear on the cruel and strong. Most troupes welcome a blade's skill for the thrill it brings to a show, but few performers truly trust a blade among their ranks.

Blades who forsake their life as performers frequently get into problems, making it impossible to continue their covert activities. Most troupes cannot risk having a sword caught stealing or acting in vigilante justice. With their weapon abilities and magic, these blades can act as enforcers for thieves' gangs or go out on their own as adventures.

Cunning Combatant

When you join the School of Swords at 3rd level. You can take a bonus action on each of your turns in combat. This action can be used only to take the Dash, Disengage, or Dodge action.

Swords Style

At 3rd level, you adopt a style of fighting as your specialty. Choose one of the following options:

Dual Wielding

You gain the two-weapon fighting style, allowing you to add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack. Additionally, when taking the attack action you can make your two-weapon fighting attack part of that same attack instead of a bonus action. Additionally, when taking the attack action, you can make your two-weapon fighting attack as part of that same attack instead of a bonus action.

Dueling

You gain the dueling fighting style, which, when you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, allows you to gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon. Additionally, you can use your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your AC for that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss you.

Bonus Proficiencies

When you join the College of Swords at 3rd level, you gain proficiency with medium armor and martial weapons.

If you’re proficient with a simple or martial melee weapon, you can use it as a spellcasting focus for your bard spells.

Extra Attack

Starting at 6th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. Moreover, you can cast one of your cantrips in place of one of those attacks.

Flourishing Strike

Starting at 15th level, you learn to trade accuracy for a dazzling of swift strikes. If you take the Attack action on your turn and have advantage on an attack roll against one of the targets, you can forgo the advantage for that roll to make an additional weapon attack against that target, as part of the same action. You can do so no more than once per turn. Additionally, when you do so, select a number of creatures equal to your proficiency bonus + your Charisma modifier who have line of sight. They must succeed on a contested check of their Wisdom(Insight) vs. your Charisma(performance) roll. On failure the creature is charmed by you until the end of your next turn. They have advantage on this check if they are hostlie to you and this effect automatically fails anyone targeted by the attack.