Blade Dancer

A Blade Dancer fighter is one who looks to enhance their combat ability with magic. Unlike a regular spellcaster however, they use magic to telepathically control their weapons without even needing to lay a finger on them. Using various fighting styles called dances that can only work with weapons wielded in such a way, they cut through enemies with grace and elegance. 

Level 3: Proficiency in Dance

You gain proficiency in performance checks you make that involve dancing.

Level 3: Beauty of the Dance

When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you are granted the ability to animate weapons. As a bonus action, you can animate several melee weapons from your inventory, causing them to hover and orbit around you. These weapons are considered equipped by you. If you equip a weapon by any other means or use a shield, this effect immediately ends, and you cannot activate it again for 1 minute. You can animate a number of weapons with this feature equal to your Proficiency Bonus. While animated, the weapons gain the following benefits:

• Each animated weapon gains the Reach and Finesse properties if it does not already have them.
• If you enter an area of antimagic, this effect ends immediately, and the weapons return to your inventory.
• You may increase the base damage die of each animated weapon to 2d6.
• You can use the animated weapons to make your attacks as normal. At the end of your turn, each animated weapon that remains active lashes out at every creature it hit during that turn, dealing force damage equal to your Proficiency Bonus. A weapon can deal this bonus damage only once per turn to each creature, though multiple weapons can trigger this effect on the same creature.
• Attacks made with animated weapons score a critical hit only on a natural 20, regardless of any features or effects that would otherwise expand your critical hit range.

Level 7: Dancing Reflection

At 7th level you you learn how to use your animated arsenal more precisely. When you are attacked, you can interpose your animated weapons to protect yourself. As a reaction when you are hit by an attack, you can interpose any number of weapons animated by Beauty of the Dance between yourself and the attacker, reducing the damage you take by 2d6 + your fighter level. If the damage of the triggering attack is reduced to 0, you can immediately make one attack with advantage with each weapon you interposed, targeting the attacker. These attacks do not require an action. After resolving this reaction, each weapon you interposed becomes inactive. An inactive weapon cannot be used to make attacks or to activate Dancing Reflection until the end of your next turn.

Level 10: Flowing Choreography

At 10th level, you learn how to connect with your weapons on a deeper level. Whenever you make an attack with a weapon animated by Beauty of the Dance, if you have an available attunement slot, you can choose to become attuned to that weapon for the duration of the attack. The weapon becomes unattuned immediately after the attack resolves. You cannot use this feature on cursed weapons.

Additionally, if you use Dancing Reflection while you have only one remaining active weapon animated by Beauty of the Dance, you can end Beauty of the Dance for one of your animated weapons to remove the inactive condition from another weapon of your choice.

Level 15: Elegant Blade

At 15th level, your elegance has improved with these weapons. At the end of your turn, if you did not make an attack with a weapon animated by Beauty of the Dance during that turn, you gain the following benefit with this weapon until the start of your next turn: you can use Dancing Reflection once without the interposed weapon becoming inactive. When used in this way, the damage reduction from Dancing Reflection increases to 3d10 + your fighter level.

Additionally, the force damage dealt by Beauty of the Dance at the end of your turn increases to 5 + your Proficiency Bonus per triggering weapon.

Level 18: Dance of Blades

At 18th level, you gain the ability to dance to a certain flow. Whenever you roll initiative or activate Beauty of the Dance, you can choose to adopt one of the following dances. Only one dance can be active at a time. The chosen dance remains active until Beauty of the Dance ends or you activate Beauty of the Dance again.

Irascibilis
This dance emphasizes aggressive footwork and exaggerated, punishing motions. The force damage dealt by Beauty of the Dance at the end of your turn increases to an amount equal to your fighter level per triggering weapon.

Once per long rest, when the end-of-turn automatic weapon hits from Beauty of the Dance would activate, you can cause each animated weapon to strike twice against each of its targets instead of once.

Talionis
This dance focuses on baiting attacks and punishing exposed foes. Whenever you use Dancing Reflection, the damage you take from the triggering attack is reduced by an additional amount equal to your Proficiency Bonus.

Once per long rest, at the end of your turn, you can prepare to perfectly deflect incoming attacks. Until the start of your next turn, you can use Dancing Reflection with any number of your animated weapons without causing those weapons to become inactive. This effect functions independently of Elegant Blade.

Caterva
This dance turns you into a whirling storm of steel. Whenever you use Dancing Reflection, you gain the benefits of the Shield spell until the end of your next turn.

At the end of your turn, for each weapon animated by Beauty of the Dance that you did not use to make an attack during that turn, that weapon automatically strikes every hostile creature of your choice within 15 feet of you, dealing damage equal to your fighter level.

Once per long rest, at the end of your turn, you can exert yourself to deliver a performance of a lifetime, gaining one additional reaction until the start of your next turn. Until the start of your next turn, you can use your reaction at the end of another creature’s turn to move up to your speed without provoking opportunity attacks. After moving in this way, each of your animated weapons that is not inactive deals damage equal to your fighter level to all hostile creatures within 15 feet of you.