The Way of the Wandering Blade

Ronin. Wandering, masterless samurai. Whether due to dishonor, defeat, or desertion, these former samurai can no longer call themselves the legendary fighters they once aspired to. Those who follow the way of the Wandering Blade often put their blade out to the highest bidder, earning their keep as mercenaries. Nothing is left for them but a honed blade, a honed body, and a honed mind.

This subclass was created as part of the Subclasseptember Challenge of 2022!

Update: fixed the 3rd-level Fighting Styles. Should show up now.

Lessons of the Wanderer

While your skills with a weapon remain as sharp as ever, circumstances have forced you to adapt your style to fit wherever it can. When you take this subclass at 3rd level,

• You gain proficiency in all armor and shields.
• You gain proficiency in one type of martial weapon of your choice.

You also gain an additional way to use your Unarmored Movement and Martial Arts features. Your Unarmored Movement and Martial Arts features now apply even if you are wearing armor or wielding a shield, and you still gain the benefits of your Martial Arts feature while you wield a non-monk weapon. Finally, when you take the Attack action with a non-monk weapon during your turn, you can use your bonus action to make an unarmed strike.

Lessons of the Road

Also at 3rd level, your horizons are further expanded by the experiences you have had on your journey. Choose one of the following options. You can’t take a Fighting Style option more than once, even if you later get to choose again.

• Blind Fighting. You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn’t behind total cover, even if you’re blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.

• Defense. While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

• Dueling. When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Blind Fighting

You have blindsight with a range of 10 feet. Within that range, you can effectively see anything that isn’t behind total cover, even if you’re blinded or in darkness. Moreover, you can see an invisible creature within that range, unless the creature successfully hides from you.

Defense

While you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 bonus to AC.

Dueling

When you are wielding a melee weapon in one hand and no other weapons, you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with that weapon.

Lessons of the Traveller

At 6th level, you have learned to traverse the hardships of the land. You are unaffected by nonmagical difficult terrain, and can see in dim light as if it were bright light.

Lessons of the Warrior

By 11th level, your wanderings have honed your style to further exploit openings. If you take the Attack action on your turn and have advantage on an attack roll against against one of the targets, you can forgo the advantage for that roll to make an additional unarmed strike against that target, as part of the same action. You can do so no more than once per turn.

Lessons of the Spirit

In the end, the road has only strengthened your spirit. Starting at 17th level, if you take damage that reduces you to 0 hit points, you can spend 5 ki points and use your reaction to delay falling unconscious. When you do so, you immediately take an extra turn, and any attacks made during this turn have advantage. While you have 0 hit points during that extra turn, taking damage causes death saving throw failures as normal, and three death saving throw failures can still kill you. When the extra turn ends, you fall unconscious if you still have 0 hit points.