Prestige Classes

BLADESINGER

Bladesingers are elves who have blended art, swordplay, and arcane magic into a harmonious whole. In battle, a bladesinger’s lithe movements and subtle tactics are beautiful, belying their deadly martial efficiency. Multiclass fighter/wizards are the most obvious candidates for the prestige class, although any elf who can wield a martial weapon and cast arcane spells can become a bladesinger. Bladesinger ranger/wizards, rogue/wizards, and even bards are not unknown. Bladesingers command great respect in most elf communities, and NPC bladesingers usually serve as itinerant guardians and champions of the elf community at large.

Hit Die: d8.

Requirements

To qualify to become a bladesinger, a character must fulfill all of the following criteria.

Race: Elf or half-elf.

Base Attack Bonus: +5.

Skills: Balance 2 ranks, Concentration 4 ranks, Perform (dance) 2 ranks, Perform (sing) 2 ranks, Tumble 2 ranks.

Feats: Combat Casting, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Weapon Focus (longsword or rapier).

Spells: Able to cast arcane spells of 1st level.

Class Skills

The bladesinger's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Concentration (Con), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Perform (Cha), Spellcraft (Int), and Tumble (Dex).

Skill Points at Each Level: 2 + Int modifier.

Table: The Bladesinger

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the bladesinger prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Bladesingers gain no proficiency with any weapon. They gain proficiency with light armor but not with shields.

Spells per Day: At every odd-numbered level gained in the bladesinger class, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in an arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before adding the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained, except for an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before becoming a bladesinger, she must decide to which class she adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Bladesong Style (Ex): When wielding a longsword or rapier in one hand (and nothing in the other), a bladesinger gains a dodge bonus to Armor Class equal to his class level, up to a maximum of her Intelligence bonus. If the bladesinger wears medium or heavy armor, she loses all benefits of the bladesong style.

Lesser Spellsong (Ex): When wielding a longsword or rapier in one hand (and nothing in the other), a bladesinger of 2nd level or higher can take 10 when making a Concentration check to cast defensively.

Song of Celerity (Ex): Once per day, a bladesinger of 4th level or higher may quicken a single spell of up to 2nd level, as if she had used the Quicken Spell feat, but without any adjustment to the spell’s effective level or casting time. She may only use this ability when wielding a longsword or rapier in one hand (and nothing in the other). At 8th level and higher, she can quicken a single spell of up to 4th level.

Greater Spellsong (Ex): A bladesinger of 6th level or higher ignores arcane spell failure chances when wearing light armor.

Song of Fury (Ex): When a 10th-level bladesinger makes a full attack with a longsword or rapier in one hand (and nothing in the other), she can make one extra attack in a round at her highest base attack bonus, but this attack and each other attack made in that round take a –2 penalty. This penalty applies for 1 round, so it also affects attacks of opportunity the bladesinger might make before her next action.