Blade Dancer (V.3)

Conjuring magical blades into your hands, one can dance around the battlefield, staying out of reach of your enemies.  Adds a slight range and magical essence to the fighter class, but still allows one to play as a type of bruiser. 

 

Knife Dancer

Your learn secret techniques to creating and summoning magical blades. 

At 3rd level you gain proficiency with either Smiths Tools or Tinkers Tools (Your choice). You also gain proficiency in Intelligence (Arcana) checks, as your innate and studied magical knowledge becomes useful. 

As a free action you can summon a blade in one or both of your hands. It may take any form you wish (knife, handaxe, dart etc.) but its statistics will remain the same. Each blade deals 1d6 (piercing or slashing) damage and has the light/thrown (15ft/30ft) and finesse properties and will work with two weapon fighting. These blades disappear at the end of the turn after they are thrown and although they are created magically, they do not count as magic for the purpose of overcoming resistances.

Battle Maneuvers

At 3rd level you learn battle maneuvers that allow you to control the battlefield to your advantage. To start, choose 3 maneuvers to learn, learning an additional one at 10th and 18th level. You have 3 uses of them, gaining all uses back on a short or long rest. These maneuvers must be called before the attack/action is made and the use is lost on a miss. 

If the maneuver requires a saving throw by the enemy, the DC = 8 + proficiency + Dexterity/Strength modifier (your choice).

1. Violent Throw.  Attack with a less accurate but more powerful blade. Use this as part of an attack, this attack takes a -4 to the attack roll. If the attack hits, roll an additional damage die for the damage. You can choose to stack this effect - each time taking an additional -4 to the roll and adding an additional damage die, up to a max of 4 times (Eg. -16 & 4d6). This attack still only takes a single use of your maneuvers. 

2. Head shot. Make an attack towards the enemies head. Enemy must make a Constitution saving throw or be dazed until the end of their next turn. When an enemy is dazed in this way, they may use an action or bonus action (not both), and lose their reaction. 

3. Leap away. When an enemy ends its turn within 5 feet of you, you can use this maneuver to leap to safety. You can use your reaction to move up to half your speed (without provoking an opportunity attack). If you have a blade in hand you may make a weapon attack (melee or ranged) as part of the movement. 

4. Hemorrhaging Blade. As part of this attack you leave part of your blade in your opponent to deal extra continuous damage. If this attack hits, the enemy must make a Constitution saving throw. If this is a melee attack, you lose the blade you used to make the attack. On a failed save, the opponent takes additional damage each time they are hit with bludgeoning, slashing, piercing or force damage, until the start of their next turn. This additional damage equals your Dexterity/Strength modifier (you choose). 

5. Fan of Knives. Using your action you throw a fan of blades at every enemy within a 40ft cone. Each enemy must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d6 damage on a failed save, or half of that on a successful one. This attack is blocked by total cover. 

Magical Blades

At 7th level your throwing blades become magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances. All your blades also gain a +1 to attack and damage rolls. 

You also learn how to absorb magical essence into your blades. When attuning to a weapon that has a rare or uncommon enchantment, you may attempt to move that enchantment to your blades permanently. You may only have one attuned weapon effect at any time, and if you add a new effect/attunement to your blades, the current one overrides the previous (which fades away). This process either destroys the initial item, or renders it inert - removing its enchantment permanently (at the DM's discretion). Discuss with your DM any specifics you wish to change. 

Note: If an item (effect) you attune to your blades to already has a +1 (or higher) bonus to attack/damage rolls, it does not stack with the bonus given by this feature - only the higher bonus will be in place. 

Steel Dancer

At 10th level the damage from your blades becomes a d8. The damage from your Fan of Knives increases to 3d8. You also gain a 4th use of your maneuvers per short or long rest. 

You also learn to start the Dance of Steel, a whirling stance that helps you move and fight like the wind. Using your bonus action you can enter the stance, which lasts for 1 minute or until you end it early as a free action. The stance is also ended immediately if you reach 0 hit-points or are incapacitated. Whilst in this stance you feel the following effects:

• You may Disengage as a bonus action.
• You have advantage on saves against being grappled or restrained. 
• If you move more than half your speed on during your turn, you gain a bonus to your AC that lasts until the start of your next turn. his bonus is equal to half your proficiency bonus, rounded up.
• If you use this feature for the full minute duration, when it ends you gain a point of Exhaustion. 

You may use this feature twice, gaining all uses back after a long rest.  

 

Bladestorm

At 15th level your Steel Dance gains an additional effect - when you begin it, or as a bonus action on a subsequent turn , you can summon a whirling mass of metal to surround you and harass your enemies.

Doing this creates a swarm of metal shards in a circle with a 15ft radius circle centered on you. Any creature that starts their turn inside the storm, moves into it during their turn or ends their turn within it takes 2d10 piercing damage. This damage can only be taken once per turn. The storm lasts as long as the dance, and is ended at the same time the dance is. 

If you decide to end the storm early you may want to explode it in a circle of death and metal. Using your bonus action you may force each creature in a 30 ft radius circle centred on you to make a Dexterity saving throw (using your maneuver DC). On a failed save they take 3d10 piercing damage, and on a successful save they take half damage. Both the Steel Dance, and the Bladestorm immediately end after doing this.

After using the explosion feature of the Bladestorm, you gain a point of Exhaustion. 

 

Blade Master

At level 18 you have mastered and strengthened your throwing blades, and you gain the following effects:

• If you do not have an attuned effect on your blades, they gain a +2 to attack and damage rolls
• The throwing range of your blades increases to (20ft/40ft) and your attacks with them ignore half cover.
• Your speed increases by 5ft. 
• You gain a 5th use of your Blade Maneuvers per short or long rest, and the damage from your Fan of Knives increases to 4d8.