Sword Saint

Fighters are skilled with various form of weapons, capable of delivering death in numerous ways on the battlefield. Sword Saints are fighters who discard their knowledge and skills of various martial weapons, opting to focus on the Art of the Sword. With every step on this martial journey, the need for metal becomes meaningless as their will and obsession with the artform becomes corporeal and sentient; the final culmination of the maddening journey to truly understand and master the sword. A sword saint is no longer a fighter of many skills, a master of none; for he has stripped himself bare and given his very being to a single artform, a new way of life.

Sword saints are capable of personifying their true sword in various forms, whether it be encompassing their enemies in an aura of sentient sword energy, slicing down their enemies from great distances, and forming a weapon capable of manipulating the material plane with its every movement. As they are now one with their sword, it is a reflection of the user's soul and thereby personifies their emotions and mental state, often dictating the type of damage a sword saint uses to deliver death to its enemies.

Restriction: Swords

If you are using a melee weapon other than a shortsword, longsword, greatsword, scimitar, and rapier when using sword maneuvers, your weapon is immediately destroyed after performing the sword maneuver as it is unable to handle your sword energy.

Bonus Proficiencies

You become proficient with shortswords, longswords, rapiers, scimitars, and greatswords. If you are already proficient with shortswords, longswords, rapiers, scimitars, and greatswords you can then choose two tools to gain proficiency with instead.

A Saint's Touch

Your journey on the Way of the Sword has made you very capable when it comes to controlling a blade. At 3rd level, when wielding a sword and before making an attack roll, you can declare the type of damage you intend to deal:

• Stab or Thrust: Piercing damage
• Slash or Strike: Slashing damage
• Slam: Bludgeoning damage

As your mastery with the sword grows, you are able to identify the best way to inflict damage to an enemy with your sword. At 7th level, as a bonus action, you can take the time to analyze your foe and gain advantage on your next attack against said creature.

Manifested Ideology

Firstly, how does your ideology of the Sword manifest in the material plane? Sword saints often attribute their ideal sword to a primary aspect of themselves, often reflected in the type of damage their attacks are capable of causing. Pick a trait from those below that reflects your Way of the Sword.

Charisma

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as lightning damage.

Honesty

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as force damage.

Humility

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as radiant damage. 

Immorality

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as acid damage.

Justice

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as thunder damage.

Logic

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as cold damage. 

Manipulation

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as psychic damage. 

Pain

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as necrotic damage.

Pride

Your sword ideology manifests in the material plane as fire damage. 

Sword Energy

At 3rd level, you begin to learn how to manifest your sword ideology into the material plane, allowing you perform special feats and maneuvers. The number of times you can manifest your sword ideology is equal to double your proficiency bonus, and you refill your well of energy at the end of a long rest. The DC for your sword maneuvers is 8 + your STR modifier + your proficiency bonus.

Your sword energy allows you to execute the following maneuvers:

• Saint Aspect: Whenever you attack, your ideology of the Way of the Sword is always present in your attacks, always felt by your foe. At 3rd level, you do an extra 1d4 manifestation damage with your melee attacks. The damage increases to 2d4 at 5th level, 3d4 at 11th level, and 4d4 at 17th level.
• Flying Slash: Consume 1 point of sword energy to wreath your weapon in a cloak of your sword ideology. You can target a creature up to 30ft away from you with a melee weapon attack as a blade of your manifested ideology flies towards the target. This attack deals 1d6 + your STR modifier manifestation damage. A point of sword energy yields 3 uses of this maneuver, before you risk wearing out the integrity of your weapon.
  • Restriction Penalty: If you are using a restricted weapon type, you take 1d6 + your STR modifier manifestation damage and the DM rolls to see which ally you hit with your wayward attack.

• Saint's Presence: Consume 2 points of sword energy to expose those around you to what you believe the Way of the Sword is, your sword ideology. You manifest your sword ideology in a 15ft aura around yourself, its form based on your sword ideology:

	Aspects	Damage Type	Presence Form	Saving Throws
1	Pride	Fire	Sweltering Heat	CHA
2	Humility	Radiant	Calming Light	INT
3	Logic	Cold	Falling Rain or Ice Storm	CON
4	Manipulation	Psychic	Cacophony of Voices	WIS
5	Immorality	Acid	Murky Fog Cloud	WIS
6	Pain	Necrotic	Darkness	CON
7	Honesty	Force	Tornado	INT
8	Charisma	Lightning	Electric Field	WIS
9	Justice	Thunder	Sound of a marching army	CON

 

• When a creature enters your presence for the first time on a turn or starts its turn in your aura, it must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 2d6 + your STR modifier manifestation damage. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage. Maintaining your presence requires concentration, and you are unable to use any other maneuvers that require sword energy while your presence is manifested. Furthermore, your presence does not discriminate between enemy and ally as all must face your sword ideology.
• At 10th level, Saint's Presence now deals 2d10 + your STR modifier manifestation damage, has a radius of 30 feet, and costs 1 point of sword energy to release.
  • You are now capable of differentiating allies and enemies.
  • It only requires a bonus action instead of a full action to release your presence.

Restriction Penalty: If you are using a restricted weapon type, you will be unable to manifest Saint's Presence as you are unable to fully realize your sword ideology through an unfit conduit

Saintly Defense

Your path to sainthood in the Way of the Sword has led you to shed the need for heavy armors, trusting in your trained reflexes and your sharp mind to react to any form of attack. You gain the Beginner benefit below, and you gain an additional benefit at the 7th level and 10th level in this subclass.

Beginner (3rd Level)

When wielding a shortsword, longsword, or greatsword, and wearing either no armor or light armor, your AC is equal to 10 + your DEX modifier + your STR modifier.

Adept (7th Level)

As a reaction, you can consume 1 point of sword energy to parry a ranged weapon attack that you can see. When you do so, the damage you take from the attack is reduced by 1d8 + your STR modifier + your fighter level.

Saintly (15th Level)

At 15th level, when you use your reaction to parry ranged attacks, it now applies to magical attacks. Additionally, you can spend another point of sword energy to launch a flying slash at the origin of the attack, so long as you can see it and it is within range.

 

Saint's Zealotry

At 7th level, your obsession with mastering the blade has strengthen your mind and your sword ideology. You gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws and you gain resistance to your manifestation damage type.

Energy Mastered

By 10th level, you have come to fully understand the well of sword energy within you and it has bore fruit.

• Using an action, you regain sword energy equal to half your Strength modifier. You can only do this once per long rest.
• Your mastery over sword energy has increased the range of your flying slash to 60 feet, and its damage increases to 1d10 + your STR modifier.
• When you activate Saint's Presence, you gain resistance to slashing damage.

Canonization of the Sword

Your obsession and dedication to the Art of the Sword has brought you to the pinnacle of the artform, granting you the title of Sword Saint and further polishing your sword skills.

At 15th level, when you take a long rest, you can take an hour to meditate and infuse sword energy into your weapon, allowing you to immediately execute a sword energy maneuver during combat. This only applies to the first attack made with the prepared weapon. Additionally, you can use other sword maneuvers while Saint's Presence is activated, so long as you have the sword energy required to do so.

A Saint's True Sword

At 18th level, you have finally reached the pinnacle of the Way of the Sword, a sword saint whose sword ideology has been fully realized.

• Choose a number of creatures within your remaining movement and equal to your remaining sword energy. These targets must make a Dexterity saving throw as you assault them at blinding speeds, bearing witness to a Sword Saint's true blade, his ideology fully manifested. The save DC is your maneuver DC.
• On a failed save, the creature takes 8d10 manifestation damage and must make a Wisdom saving throw or be stunned until your next turn, unable to comprehend such mastery of the sword.
• On a successful save, the creature takes half damage and is not stunned.