PersonMan
2011-06-04, 05:48 PM
The Singing Blade
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs29/i/2008/162/e/c/081___Battle_Mage_by_Arcandio.jpg
A Desert Wind focused Singing Blade, after a successful performance.
Image by Arcandio (http://arcandio.deviantart.com/).
Entry Requirements:
Spellcasting: Able to spontaneously cast 1st level arcane spells
Martial Maneuvers: Must know at least one second level White Raven maneuver and one first level Desert Wind maneuver or one second level Desert Wind maneuver and one first level White Raven maneuver.
Martial Stances: Must know at least one White Raven or Desert Wind stance
Skills: Perform 7 ranks
Special: Must have the Bardic Music class feature
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d10
Notes:
I really dislike the alignment restriction on bards, so I won't bother to apply it to this class-after all, anyone using the restriction can't be lawful and be able to meet the pre-reqs.
The hit die I wasn't sure of, as a member of the PrC could be coming from Swordsage, Crusader or Warblade-I eventually decided to average the possibilities and got a d10.
Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Hide, Jump, Knowledge(all skills, taken individually), Listen, Martial Lore, Perform, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Tumble
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Maneuvers Known
Maneuvers Readied
Stances Known
Spells
1st
+0
+2
+0
+2
Bardic Music, Initiator Training, Bardic Knowledge
1
0
0
2nd
+1
+3
+0
+3
Maneuverable Song, Battle Caster
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3rd
+2
+3
+1
+3
Song of Fiery Defense
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
4th
+3
+4
+1
+4
Poetic Advance
1
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5th
+3
+4
+1
+4
Allied Boost
0
1
0
6th
+4
+5
+2
+5
Musical Empowerment(fast movement)
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
7th
+5
+5
+2
+5
Shifting Spellcasting
1
0
1
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
8th
+6
+6
+2
+6
Musical Empowerment(bonus to skills)
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
9th
+6
+6
+3
+6
Song of Unwavering Advance
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
10th
+7
+7
+3
+7
Allied Stance, Musical Empowerment(extra attack)
1
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A singing blade gains no proficiencies with weapons or armor.
Spellcasting: At all levels except 1st and 5th, a singing blade gains additional spells per day(and spells known) as if she had also gained levels in her previous arcane spellcasting class. If she had multiple arcane spellcasting classes, she chooses one to advance. The singing blade gains no other benefits, such as bonus feats, of gaining levels in her previous arcane spellcasting class.
Maneuvers: At levels 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 you gain one maneuver known from the Desert Wind or White Raven disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your singing blade level to your initiator level to determine the highest level of maneuvers that you can learn. At level 5 you gain an additional readied maneuver.
Stances Known: At level 7 you learn a new stance from the Desert Wind or White Raven disciplines. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Bardic Knowledge: A singing blade's singing blade levels stack with her bard levels to determine her bonus to bardic knowledge. She also gains half of her bardic knowledge bonus as a synergy bonus to Martial Lore checks.
Notes:
This is mainly a flavor thing-after all, the singing blade spends a lot of time dealing with martial maneuvers and the like, so why not collect stories about them, too?
Bardic Music: A singing blade's singing blade levels stack with his bard levels to determine the types of bardic music he has access to, as well as the bonus he gives with them. A singing blade also gains access to new bardic music types, which function just as those described in the Player's Handbook.
Song of Fiery Defense(Su): At 3rd level a singing blade with 10 or more ranks in Perform can play a song that causes waves of heat to roll off of herself and her allies. This gives herself and all allies that can hear the song a +1 bonus to AC per three class levels. The effects of this song last for as long as the singing blade sings and three rounds thereafter.
Notes:
This fits in well with the Desert Wind maneuvers that singing blades have access to-as well as the White Raven ones, since they have a lot of buffing abilities, too.
Song of Unwavering Advance(Su): At 9th level a singing blade with 16 or more ranks in Perform can inspire her allies with a confidence in their victory that allows them to move more quickly and without worry of reprisal. While playing and for 5 rounds thereafter, a singing blade and all of her allies that can hear her gain a 5 foot bonus to their base land speed and a +3 bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity incurred due to movement.
Notes:
Once again, this fits in with the flavor of both disciplines the singing blade gets-Desert Wind is all about movement and White Raven has quite a bit of "help allies move all over the place" stuff.
Initiator Training: At 1st level a singing blade gains Initiator Training* as a bonus feat. If he already has this feat, he may take any feat for which he qualifies.
*New feat. See below.
Notes:
I was surprised that this wasn't in the book. It's basically a Practiced Spellcaster for initiators. It's probably going to be taken by most serious martial adepts who go into the class, which frees up a feat for other things.
Maneuverable Song: At 2nd level a singing blade learns to use her maneuvers while performing. A singing blade can initiative maneuvers while using bardic music. If this would cause her to stop concentrating(if, for example, a maneuver required her to make an attack) her bardic music stops until she continues concentrating, although after two rounds without concentration she must start a new song, using another use of bardic music for the day.
At 5th level a singing blade can pick up a song as it still lingers in the air, continuing the same magical song without further effort. As long as the effects of a singing blade's songs lasts, she can choose to start singing it once again
Notes:
Basically, a little something to let a singing blade actually do things in a long combat besides sing, without having to worry about their song not lasting long enough.
At 5th level you don't really need to worry about your songs after the first few rounds, as if they're still needed you can just sing them for a round to extend the duration.
Battle Caster: At 2nd level a singing blade gains Battle Caster as a bonus feat. If he already has the feat, he may choose any feat for which he meets the prerequisites.
Notes:
Not really much to say here. With this you can be a lightly armored dex-monkey or a more heavily armored frontliner without having to pay a feat to do the latter.
Poetic Advance(Ex or Su): At 4th level a singing blade can use either the magic of her song or the right expenditure of will to release a harmonious surge of noise, spurring her allies on to glory. As a swift action, a singing blade can either use one use of bardic music or expend a readied maneuver to allow all allies that can hear her to move half their speed +5 feet. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity and counts towards fulfilling special requirements, such as a scout's skirmish ability. If a singing blade expends a maneuver of 4th or higher level, she and her allies gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls per level of the maneuver higher than 3rd on their next attack.
If a singing blade uses a use of bardic music or a supernatural martial maneuver for this, it is a supernatural ability. Otherwise it is extraordinary.
Notes:
Order Forged from Chaos is a like a bigger version of this, so I made it so that you can either be cheap and go for a smaller benefit, or use a higher-level maneuver and get a little extra for your effort.
Allied Boost(Ex or Su): Starting at 5th level, a singing blade can, as a swift action, expend a readied boost maneuver to give an ally within 40 feet the benefits of that maneuver, starting at the beginning of that ally's next turn. This can be done once per day per five class levels.
At 7th level, a singing blade can give the benefits of a boost to an ally within 60 feet. At 9th level this range increases again, to 80 feet.
If a singing blade uses a supernatural martial maneuver for this ability, it is supernatural. Otherwise it is extraordinary.
Notes:
Guess who can now give specific buff to anyone on the team?
Musical Empowerment(Su): At 6th level a singing blade begins to utilize additional magic energy from his songs to empower himself. A singing blade gains a +10 foot bonus to his base land speed while using bardic music. If a singing blade is not singing but is still under the effects of a song, they also gain this bonus.
At 8th level a singing blade also gains a +4 bonus to Jump, Tumble and Climb checks while using bardic music, as well as a +2 bonus to his initiator level and another 5 foot bonus to his base land speed(making his total bonus +15 feet while using bardic Music).
At 10th level a singing blade rushes along the ground, barely touching it as he surges towards his enemies. If there is any sort of environmental hazard(such as a pit trap) that is triggered by being moved onto, there is a 50% chance that a singing blade does not trigger the hazard(or take damage, in the case of hazards such as acid) as long as he moves out of the hazard by the end of his turn. This also gives him a 25% chance to be able to move on liquid surfaces such as water without sinking, as long as he moves each round. In addition to this benefit, a singing blade strikes with increased momentum, gaining one additional attack at his second-highest attack bonus(this does not stack with other extra attacks, such as from the haste spell, but is instead replaced by them if they use the singing blade's highest attack bonus).
Notes:
This is a large portion of the flavor of the original concept. It was a bit difficult to avoid just giving flat attack/damage bonuses of the like, but I really love the image of a heavily armored guy singing loudly while running in huge circles around a battle.
Shifting Spellcasting: At 7th level a singing blade works his spellcasting into the movements of his stances. In a round that he assumes or changes his stance, a singing blade can cast spells without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Notes:
This comes at a time when, assuming normal entry, you've just gotten 3rd level spells and makes the choice between staying in melee or keeping back to cast spells less of an issue-then again, it's not like you aren't just going to be buffing yourself or the guy next to you most of the time with this, anyways.
Allied Stance(Ex or Su): At 10th level, a singing blade can impart the correct techniques and mindset for one of his stances upon an ally, giving them a flash of insight and allowing them to perform acts formerly impossible for them. Once per day as a swift action, a singing blade can allow an ally to gain the benefits of one of his known stances. This benefit lasts for one encounter, during which the singing blade cannot use another stance unless he can take two stances at once.
Notes:
Another good support thing. This isn't as useful if you focus on White Raven stances, since they just buff everyone most of the time, but if you're on the edge of a fight and want someone in the middle to be the center of a buff you can do that, too.
Swordsage Singing Blades: Swordsage singing blades have good Reflex saves, but bad Fortitude saves.
End Notes:
This is my first experience with making a ToB prestige class. I was originally getting better acquainted with the system to make a warlock/martial adept PrC, but due to the awesome mental imagery I was getting(due to listening to Brilliant Road (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa4_GWlIUOY) at the time) I've been compelled to make a Bard/ToB PrC. As such, I'm not quite sure about the stance/maneuver progression.
Once again, the BAB and saves were a minor issue, as there's a mix of BAB and save types in the three ToB base classes. I eventually decided on 3/4 BAB and good Fort/Will saves, because only the Swordsage has good Reflex saves, and added a quasi-variant for them.
New Feats
Allied Maneuver
With a single shout, you bring a surge of martial insight to the mind of an ally.
Prerequisite: Allied Boost class feature
Benefit: You can use the Allied Boost class feature to allow an ally to use a counter, strike or general maneuver by expending that maneuver and using a swift action. You gain one additional use of Allied Boost per day.
Extra Boosts
You teach your allies the basics of many of your techniques, allowing you to empower them with them more often.
Prerequisite: Allied Boost class feature
Benefit: You may use Allied Boost two more times per day, and its range increases by 10 feet.
Special: You may take this feat up to three times. Its effects stack.
Initiator Training
You work your training in the Sublime Way into that of your other pursuits.
Prerequisite: Must know at least one martial maneuver
Benefit: Select one class you have levels in. This class gives a bonus to your initiator level equal to 1/2 the levels you have in it +4. You cannot gain a bonus to initiator level higher than your level in that class. This bonus replaces the one normally gained by that class.
Special: You make take this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take this feat, you may select a new class to gain the initiator level bonus from.
Additionally, fighters can take this as one of their class-granted bonus feats.
Fluff
You'd be surprised how much of a difference it makes. So let me ask you again:
Is singing allowed in this contest?
Singing blades can be anything, as the only thing that defines them is their blending of martial techniques with power gained by supernatural performances. Generally, however, they seek to combine the teachings of the Sublime Way with that of music in all of its forms. In pursuit of this goal-finding the perfect blend of musical and martial power-many take to the roads, wandering across nations and less well-defined regions, honing their skills and sometimes searching for others to 'bring into the fold'.
BECOMING A SINGING BLADE
As there is no single organization that claims the allegiance of all singing blades, it's difficult to sum up a "typical" recruitment. However, many of the current singing blade apprentices are attached to wandering members of the class, who seek the perfect expression of music or martial skill by blending it with the other. Despite the fact that many singing blades are brought into the class by the teachings of a wandering member of it, there are a rising number that come from organized schools. These schools, often fortresses built into difficult to reach places such as mountains, swamps or even underground caverns, teach large numbers of students the ways to fuse their magical, musical and martial abilities into a single, powerful technique.
PLAYING A SINGING BLADE
As a singing blade, you don't have quite the selection of maneuvers or stances as you would probably have otherwise and lose out on spellcasting and, to an extent, musical ability that you would have as a bard. However, unlike either of these two you have the ability to make your abilities those of your allies and can use combinations of songs and maneuvers to give your side a nearly unhindered capacity to move about the battlefield.
Combat: At first, you don't have much to do that a bard or martial adept couldn't. You can skirmish with enemies a bit or focus on buffing your allies. Later you can combine maneuvers and songs to great effect, giving you the ability to rush across the battlefield and be wherever you are needed in an instant, whether it's to apply healing or support spells or to help bring down an advancing enemy.
Advancement: After you've taken all of the levels of the class, you will probably find it necessary to specialize in either more bardic abilities of those of the martial adept classes. However, even if you simply stick to one class for the rest of your career you can use the abilities of the singing blade class to tie together the abilities granted by either.
Resources: While most singing blades don't expect any sort of support from others of their class, a growing number are affiliated with specific schools and can find support from other members of these groups if they are nearby. Usually this support is limited to room and board to a singing blade on the move, but those who have been given missions by the leaders of their school can expect more assistance from other members of their organization.
SINGING BLADES IN THE WORLD
And then, when I said yes, he whistled some sort of tune and shot off like a cannon. He went so fast that there was a wall of fire left behind him.
Most singing blades aren't really treated as more than oddities by the people they encounter. After all, they are usually seen as either warriors who can sing or as performers who wear armor and wield weapons. Those who witness their unique set of abilities realize that they have powers completely different from those of bards or martial adepts.
Daily Life: A typical day for a student in one of the singing blade schools starts and ends within the massive fortress that they live in. They tend to wake up early and spend up to ten hours in their classes, learning theory for most of this time and then being released to train and put what they've learned that day into practice. While the magical powers of a bard are generally not learned, these schools teach how this magical energy can be combined with the disciplined movements and mystical training of the Sublime Way.
Notables: Two of the best-known singing blades are the founders of the Kardren and Urlonn schools.
The Kardren school was founded by Karnis Serna, who journeyed across kingdoms fighting the forces of a powerful demon lord for decades, becoming a powerful blend of warrior and performer during that time. After he finally drove back the forces of his enemy he founded a school dedicated to teaching the arts he had learned and mastered during his travels.
The Urlonn school was founded by Suressin Nieren, a member of a desert race that lived far from the areas normally seen as civilized. After discovering her abilities during an important hunt, she decided to travel the desert alone to discover the meaning of her powers and how they had developed. After nearly half a century she returned and assumed leadership of her tribe, constructing a massive fortress on one of the plateaus of the desert. Here she remained for the rest of her life, teaching hundreds of students the importance of reaching their potential and learning why they could mix disciplines that many thought were completely separate.
NPC Reactions
Due to their martial bent, most people who see a singing blade immediately assume that they are a simple warrior. Although many will be able to tell that the singing blade is a follower of the Sublime Way-and often, even tell which disciplines they use-it is fairly rare that someone is either knowledgeable or simply perceptive enough to realize that the unusual skill for performing that a singing blade has is an integral part of their combat style.
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs29/i/2008/162/e/c/081___Battle_Mage_by_Arcandio.jpg
A Desert Wind focused Singing Blade, after a successful performance.
Image by Arcandio (http://arcandio.deviantart.com/).
Entry Requirements:
Spellcasting: Able to spontaneously cast 1st level arcane spells
Martial Maneuvers: Must know at least one second level White Raven maneuver and one first level Desert Wind maneuver or one second level Desert Wind maneuver and one first level White Raven maneuver.
Martial Stances: Must know at least one White Raven or Desert Wind stance
Skills: Perform 7 ranks
Special: Must have the Bardic Music class feature
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d10
Notes:
I really dislike the alignment restriction on bards, so I won't bother to apply it to this class-after all, anyone using the restriction can't be lawful and be able to meet the pre-reqs.
The hit die I wasn't sure of, as a member of the PrC could be coming from Swordsage, Crusader or Warblade-I eventually decided to average the possibilities and got a d10.
Class Skills: Balance, Climb, Concentration, Craft, Diplomacy, Hide, Jump, Knowledge(all skills, taken individually), Listen, Martial Lore, Perform, Profession, Ride, Sense Motive, Tumble
Skill Points at Each Level: 6 + Int modifier
Level
Base Attack Bonus
Fort Save
Ref Save
Will Save
Special
Maneuvers Known
Maneuvers Readied
Stances Known
Spells
1st
+0
+2
+0
+2
Bardic Music, Initiator Training, Bardic Knowledge
1
0
0
2nd
+1
+3
+0
+3
Maneuverable Song, Battle Caster
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
3rd
+2
+3
+1
+3
Song of Fiery Defense
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
4th
+3
+4
+1
+4
Poetic Advance
1
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
5th
+3
+4
+1
+4
Allied Boost
0
1
0
6th
+4
+5
+2
+5
Musical Empowerment(fast movement)
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
7th
+5
+5
+2
+5
Shifting Spellcasting
1
0
1
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
8th
+6
+6
+2
+6
Musical Empowerment(bonus to skills)
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
9th
+6
+6
+3
+6
Song of Unwavering Advance
0
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
10th
+7
+7
+3
+7
Allied Stance, Musical Empowerment(extra attack)
1
0
0
+1 level of existing spellcasting class
Weapon and Armor Proficiencies: A singing blade gains no proficiencies with weapons or armor.
Spellcasting: At all levels except 1st and 5th, a singing blade gains additional spells per day(and spells known) as if she had also gained levels in her previous arcane spellcasting class. If she had multiple arcane spellcasting classes, she chooses one to advance. The singing blade gains no other benefits, such as bonus feats, of gaining levels in her previous arcane spellcasting class.
Maneuvers: At levels 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 you gain one maneuver known from the Desert Wind or White Raven disciplines. You must meet a maneuver's prerequisites to learn it. You add your singing blade level to your initiator level to determine the highest level of maneuvers that you can learn. At level 5 you gain an additional readied maneuver.
Stances Known: At level 7 you learn a new stance from the Desert Wind or White Raven disciplines. You must meet a stance's prerequisites to learn it.
Bardic Knowledge: A singing blade's singing blade levels stack with her bard levels to determine her bonus to bardic knowledge. She also gains half of her bardic knowledge bonus as a synergy bonus to Martial Lore checks.
Notes:
This is mainly a flavor thing-after all, the singing blade spends a lot of time dealing with martial maneuvers and the like, so why not collect stories about them, too?
Bardic Music: A singing blade's singing blade levels stack with his bard levels to determine the types of bardic music he has access to, as well as the bonus he gives with them. A singing blade also gains access to new bardic music types, which function just as those described in the Player's Handbook.
Song of Fiery Defense(Su): At 3rd level a singing blade with 10 or more ranks in Perform can play a song that causes waves of heat to roll off of herself and her allies. This gives herself and all allies that can hear the song a +1 bonus to AC per three class levels. The effects of this song last for as long as the singing blade sings and three rounds thereafter.
Notes:
This fits in well with the Desert Wind maneuvers that singing blades have access to-as well as the White Raven ones, since they have a lot of buffing abilities, too.
Song of Unwavering Advance(Su): At 9th level a singing blade with 16 or more ranks in Perform can inspire her allies with a confidence in their victory that allows them to move more quickly and without worry of reprisal. While playing and for 5 rounds thereafter, a singing blade and all of her allies that can hear her gain a 5 foot bonus to their base land speed and a +3 bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity incurred due to movement.
Notes:
Once again, this fits in with the flavor of both disciplines the singing blade gets-Desert Wind is all about movement and White Raven has quite a bit of "help allies move all over the place" stuff.
Initiator Training: At 1st level a singing blade gains Initiator Training* as a bonus feat. If he already has this feat, he may take any feat for which he qualifies.
*New feat. See below.
Notes:
I was surprised that this wasn't in the book. It's basically a Practiced Spellcaster for initiators. It's probably going to be taken by most serious martial adepts who go into the class, which frees up a feat for other things.
Maneuverable Song: At 2nd level a singing blade learns to use her maneuvers while performing. A singing blade can initiative maneuvers while using bardic music. If this would cause her to stop concentrating(if, for example, a maneuver required her to make an attack) her bardic music stops until she continues concentrating, although after two rounds without concentration she must start a new song, using another use of bardic music for the day.
At 5th level a singing blade can pick up a song as it still lingers in the air, continuing the same magical song without further effort. As long as the effects of a singing blade's songs lasts, she can choose to start singing it once again
Notes:
Basically, a little something to let a singing blade actually do things in a long combat besides sing, without having to worry about their song not lasting long enough.
At 5th level you don't really need to worry about your songs after the first few rounds, as if they're still needed you can just sing them for a round to extend the duration.
Battle Caster: At 2nd level a singing blade gains Battle Caster as a bonus feat. If he already has the feat, he may choose any feat for which he meets the prerequisites.
Notes:
Not really much to say here. With this you can be a lightly armored dex-monkey or a more heavily armored frontliner without having to pay a feat to do the latter.
Poetic Advance(Ex or Su): At 4th level a singing blade can use either the magic of her song or the right expenditure of will to release a harmonious surge of noise, spurring her allies on to glory. As a swift action, a singing blade can either use one use of bardic music or expend a readied maneuver to allow all allies that can hear her to move half their speed +5 feet. This movement does not provoke attacks of opportunity and counts towards fulfilling special requirements, such as a scout's skirmish ability. If a singing blade expends a maneuver of 4th or higher level, she and her allies gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls per level of the maneuver higher than 3rd on their next attack.
If a singing blade uses a use of bardic music or a supernatural martial maneuver for this, it is a supernatural ability. Otherwise it is extraordinary.
Notes:
Order Forged from Chaos is a like a bigger version of this, so I made it so that you can either be cheap and go for a smaller benefit, or use a higher-level maneuver and get a little extra for your effort.
Allied Boost(Ex or Su): Starting at 5th level, a singing blade can, as a swift action, expend a readied boost maneuver to give an ally within 40 feet the benefits of that maneuver, starting at the beginning of that ally's next turn. This can be done once per day per five class levels.
At 7th level, a singing blade can give the benefits of a boost to an ally within 60 feet. At 9th level this range increases again, to 80 feet.
If a singing blade uses a supernatural martial maneuver for this ability, it is supernatural. Otherwise it is extraordinary.
Notes:
Guess who can now give specific buff to anyone on the team?
Musical Empowerment(Su): At 6th level a singing blade begins to utilize additional magic energy from his songs to empower himself. A singing blade gains a +10 foot bonus to his base land speed while using bardic music. If a singing blade is not singing but is still under the effects of a song, they also gain this bonus.
At 8th level a singing blade also gains a +4 bonus to Jump, Tumble and Climb checks while using bardic music, as well as a +2 bonus to his initiator level and another 5 foot bonus to his base land speed(making his total bonus +15 feet while using bardic Music).
At 10th level a singing blade rushes along the ground, barely touching it as he surges towards his enemies. If there is any sort of environmental hazard(such as a pit trap) that is triggered by being moved onto, there is a 50% chance that a singing blade does not trigger the hazard(or take damage, in the case of hazards such as acid) as long as he moves out of the hazard by the end of his turn. This also gives him a 25% chance to be able to move on liquid surfaces such as water without sinking, as long as he moves each round. In addition to this benefit, a singing blade strikes with increased momentum, gaining one additional attack at his second-highest attack bonus(this does not stack with other extra attacks, such as from the haste spell, but is instead replaced by them if they use the singing blade's highest attack bonus).
Notes:
This is a large portion of the flavor of the original concept. It was a bit difficult to avoid just giving flat attack/damage bonuses of the like, but I really love the image of a heavily armored guy singing loudly while running in huge circles around a battle.
Shifting Spellcasting: At 7th level a singing blade works his spellcasting into the movements of his stances. In a round that he assumes or changes his stance, a singing blade can cast spells without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Notes:
This comes at a time when, assuming normal entry, you've just gotten 3rd level spells and makes the choice between staying in melee or keeping back to cast spells less of an issue-then again, it's not like you aren't just going to be buffing yourself or the guy next to you most of the time with this, anyways.
Allied Stance(Ex or Su): At 10th level, a singing blade can impart the correct techniques and mindset for one of his stances upon an ally, giving them a flash of insight and allowing them to perform acts formerly impossible for them. Once per day as a swift action, a singing blade can allow an ally to gain the benefits of one of his known stances. This benefit lasts for one encounter, during which the singing blade cannot use another stance unless he can take two stances at once.
Notes:
Another good support thing. This isn't as useful if you focus on White Raven stances, since they just buff everyone most of the time, but if you're on the edge of a fight and want someone in the middle to be the center of a buff you can do that, too.
Swordsage Singing Blades: Swordsage singing blades have good Reflex saves, but bad Fortitude saves.
End Notes:
This is my first experience with making a ToB prestige class. I was originally getting better acquainted with the system to make a warlock/martial adept PrC, but due to the awesome mental imagery I was getting(due to listening to Brilliant Road (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa4_GWlIUOY) at the time) I've been compelled to make a Bard/ToB PrC. As such, I'm not quite sure about the stance/maneuver progression.
Once again, the BAB and saves were a minor issue, as there's a mix of BAB and save types in the three ToB base classes. I eventually decided on 3/4 BAB and good Fort/Will saves, because only the Swordsage has good Reflex saves, and added a quasi-variant for them.
New Feats
Allied Maneuver
With a single shout, you bring a surge of martial insight to the mind of an ally.
Prerequisite: Allied Boost class feature
Benefit: You can use the Allied Boost class feature to allow an ally to use a counter, strike or general maneuver by expending that maneuver and using a swift action. You gain one additional use of Allied Boost per day.
Extra Boosts
You teach your allies the basics of many of your techniques, allowing you to empower them with them more often.
Prerequisite: Allied Boost class feature
Benefit: You may use Allied Boost two more times per day, and its range increases by 10 feet.
Special: You may take this feat up to three times. Its effects stack.
Initiator Training
You work your training in the Sublime Way into that of your other pursuits.
Prerequisite: Must know at least one martial maneuver
Benefit: Select one class you have levels in. This class gives a bonus to your initiator level equal to 1/2 the levels you have in it +4. You cannot gain a bonus to initiator level higher than your level in that class. This bonus replaces the one normally gained by that class.
Special: You make take this feat multiple times. Its effects do not stack. Each time you take this feat, you may select a new class to gain the initiator level bonus from.
Additionally, fighters can take this as one of their class-granted bonus feats.
Fluff
You'd be surprised how much of a difference it makes. So let me ask you again:
Is singing allowed in this contest?
Singing blades can be anything, as the only thing that defines them is their blending of martial techniques with power gained by supernatural performances. Generally, however, they seek to combine the teachings of the Sublime Way with that of music in all of its forms. In pursuit of this goal-finding the perfect blend of musical and martial power-many take to the roads, wandering across nations and less well-defined regions, honing their skills and sometimes searching for others to 'bring into the fold'.
BECOMING A SINGING BLADE
As there is no single organization that claims the allegiance of all singing blades, it's difficult to sum up a "typical" recruitment. However, many of the current singing blade apprentices are attached to wandering members of the class, who seek the perfect expression of music or martial skill by blending it with the other. Despite the fact that many singing blades are brought into the class by the teachings of a wandering member of it, there are a rising number that come from organized schools. These schools, often fortresses built into difficult to reach places such as mountains, swamps or even underground caverns, teach large numbers of students the ways to fuse their magical, musical and martial abilities into a single, powerful technique.
PLAYING A SINGING BLADE
As a singing blade, you don't have quite the selection of maneuvers or stances as you would probably have otherwise and lose out on spellcasting and, to an extent, musical ability that you would have as a bard. However, unlike either of these two you have the ability to make your abilities those of your allies and can use combinations of songs and maneuvers to give your side a nearly unhindered capacity to move about the battlefield.
Combat: At first, you don't have much to do that a bard or martial adept couldn't. You can skirmish with enemies a bit or focus on buffing your allies. Later you can combine maneuvers and songs to great effect, giving you the ability to rush across the battlefield and be wherever you are needed in an instant, whether it's to apply healing or support spells or to help bring down an advancing enemy.
Advancement: After you've taken all of the levels of the class, you will probably find it necessary to specialize in either more bardic abilities of those of the martial adept classes. However, even if you simply stick to one class for the rest of your career you can use the abilities of the singing blade class to tie together the abilities granted by either.
Resources: While most singing blades don't expect any sort of support from others of their class, a growing number are affiliated with specific schools and can find support from other members of these groups if they are nearby. Usually this support is limited to room and board to a singing blade on the move, but those who have been given missions by the leaders of their school can expect more assistance from other members of their organization.
SINGING BLADES IN THE WORLD
And then, when I said yes, he whistled some sort of tune and shot off like a cannon. He went so fast that there was a wall of fire left behind him.
Most singing blades aren't really treated as more than oddities by the people they encounter. After all, they are usually seen as either warriors who can sing or as performers who wear armor and wield weapons. Those who witness their unique set of abilities realize that they have powers completely different from those of bards or martial adepts.
Daily Life: A typical day for a student in one of the singing blade schools starts and ends within the massive fortress that they live in. They tend to wake up early and spend up to ten hours in their classes, learning theory for most of this time and then being released to train and put what they've learned that day into practice. While the magical powers of a bard are generally not learned, these schools teach how this magical energy can be combined with the disciplined movements and mystical training of the Sublime Way.
Notables: Two of the best-known singing blades are the founders of the Kardren and Urlonn schools.
The Kardren school was founded by Karnis Serna, who journeyed across kingdoms fighting the forces of a powerful demon lord for decades, becoming a powerful blend of warrior and performer during that time. After he finally drove back the forces of his enemy he founded a school dedicated to teaching the arts he had learned and mastered during his travels.
The Urlonn school was founded by Suressin Nieren, a member of a desert race that lived far from the areas normally seen as civilized. After discovering her abilities during an important hunt, she decided to travel the desert alone to discover the meaning of her powers and how they had developed. After nearly half a century she returned and assumed leadership of her tribe, constructing a massive fortress on one of the plateaus of the desert. Here she remained for the rest of her life, teaching hundreds of students the importance of reaching their potential and learning why they could mix disciplines that many thought were completely separate.
NPC Reactions
Due to their martial bent, most people who see a singing blade immediately assume that they are a simple warrior. Although many will be able to tell that the singing blade is a follower of the Sublime Way-and often, even tell which disciplines they use-it is fairly rare that someone is either knowledgeable or simply perceptive enough to realize that the unusual skill for performing that a singing blade has is an integral part of their combat style.