What is the closest 5e class to the 3.5 Swordsage?

[Mr Adventurer]

I'd like something that is a melee combatant, has some skills (especially physical), and can use special moves as well as invoke pseudo-magical attacks and powers like invisibility or air walking, or conjuring fire. What are my options for something like this, either as a class, multiclass, or (for DMs) monster?

[Grod_The_Giant]

Hahahahahaha you think non spellcaster classes get interesting attack options? Oh, you're funny.

Battlemaster Fighter is the closest thing to having special combat techniques, though none of them are magical. Four Elements Monk has magical, elemental combat techniques, but they're not very good. Honestly, your best bet is just to play a spellcaster. Blade-Pact Warlock might be the best fit, getting some combat junk like Extra Attack as well as a range of magic, but because of the way proficiencies work just about any spellcaster will do as long as you can solve the HP issue (a high Con and Tough should go a long ways).

[Gwendol]

I'd like something that is a melee combatant, has some skills (especially physical), and can use special moves as well as invoke pseudo-magical attacks and powers like invisibility or air walking, or conjuring fire. What are my options for something like this, either as a class, multiclass, or (for DMs) monster?

Monk would be the best fit, and a great one at that. The subclasses have their differences depending on what "powers" you want to emphasise.

[Lord Il Palazzo]

Battlemaster Fighter gets combat maneuvers and a pool of extra dice they can spend to activate them. Some maneuvers will add damage and an extra effect to an attack, some have entirely other effects like giving you a counterattack in place of your opportunity attack or allowing an ally to make an attack with bonus damage.

Way of Shadows Monk is probably the closest to a Shadow Hand-heavy Swordsage. You get a pool of Ki points (basically equal to your level, replenished on a short rest) that can be spent on monk abilities (flurry of blows, extra mobility, etc.) or on ninja-magic-ish effects like casting silence or darkness and can teleport between areas of dim light.

There's also Way of the Four Elements Monk which has the same pool of Ki points and monk abilities as the Way of Shadows Monk, but instead of the stealthy ninja powers, they get elemental powers and spells they can spend their Ki points on. Fair warning: Way of the Elements is gererally considered to be underpowered; you don't get very many elemental powers and most of them are overcosted. There are plenty of homebrews out there to fix this (I think a lot of them double the number of elemental powers you pick and shave a point off most of the powers' costs, for starters) so you have some options, but playing it right out of the PHB might be a tad... rough.

[NewDM]

You could multiclass fighter and/or monk and choose the Battle Master Archetype then go half and half with a Wizard or other arcane caster and get with the DM to refluff spells as coming from your weapon. Be sure and pick up the War Caster feat so you can cast spells while wielding a weapon and shield or just a two-handed weapon.

If you do the above, the Green-Flame Blade, Booming Blade, Lightning Lure, and Sword Burst cantrips from Sword Coast Adventurers Guide are a solid bet. There are a few more cantrips but I think they are not on the arcane list, and you'd have to spend feats to get them.

Good spell choices are: Burning Hands, Color Spray, False Life, Mage Armor, Shield, Thunder Wave, and Witch Bolt at level 1. You can refluff these spells as coming from your weapon.

Alternatively you could give the Eldritch Knight Fighter Archetype or Blade Singer (Sword Coast Adventurers Guide) Wizard School a try.

[Gwendol]

Considering that the most common advice to 3.5 monk-advice threads is to "play a swordsage", the monk-class of 5e does a fine job. As Palazzo notes, Way of Shadows is the most straight-forward choice.

[Mr Adventurer]

Yeah, I can see that. Thanks guys!

Any suggestions for a Swordsage-like monster? I'm finding that when I start designing encounters, my 3.5 habits kick in and I start thinking mostly about classes...

[RickAllison]

Yeah, I can see that. Thanks guys!

Any suggestions for a Swordsage-like monster? I'm finding that when I start designing encounters, my 3.5 habits kick in and I start thinking mostly about classes...

Well, one solution would be a re-fluffed glabrezu. His multiattack lets him attack twice and use a spell, so you could give him a few utility spells to combine with his attacks that would let you re-create that feel with a minimum amount of homebrewing.

If you would like a more in-depth character, give him Bladesinger levels, he combos excellently with that (a little too well; despite being CR 9, I was able to take one up to CR 30).

[Submortimer]

I'd like something that is a melee combatant, has some skills (especially physical), and can use special moves as well as invoke pseudo-magical attacks and powers like invisibility or air walking, or conjuring fire. What are my options for something like this, either as a class, multiclass, or (for DMs) monster?

Don't listen to the haters, melee classes in 5e are absolutely fun and interesting.

Now, I freaking loved the book of 9 swords: look in my sig and you'll find my Kensai fighter subclass, which directly apes a bunch of Iron Heart and Diamond Mind maneuvers. 5e as it stands is a little less flexible in that regard, but that doesn't mean you can't build something that feels like what you want.

Since you want Swordsage, i'm assuming you want to replicate either Setting Sun, Desert Wind, Shadow Hand, Diamond Mind, Stone Dragon, or Tiger Claw abilities. Thankfully, some of those are pretty easy to manage

Setting Sun = Open Hand monk, more or less. Take the Grappler and Barroom brawler feats: the second one may seem redundant, but grappling as a bonus action is not to be overlooked.

Desert Wind = 4 elements monk. It's not the best mechanically, but its the only way you're gonna get a monk that can throw actual fireballs. Take the Magic Initiate feat and grab Greenflame Blade and Firebolt, and go nuts.

Shadow Hand = Shadow Hand monk. Built right in there. Multiclass with a level or 4 of rogue, and shadow jump to your hearts content. Bonus level of awesome: multiclass for a couple levels of warlock to get devils sight, and have permanent super-darkvision.

Tiger Claw = TWF Battlemaster fighter/Open hand monk, in almost any mix you please.

Diamond Mind = Combine any version of monk with at least 2 levels of fighter. Action Surge IS time stands still, but useable from level 2.

Stone Dragon = Eldritch knight with all his defensive spells reflavored to be earth based. This one is probably the hardest to emulate, because no class has a specifically earth-based subclass, and nothing but nothing matches the absolute destruction caused by Mountain Tombstone Strike.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Desert Wind = 4 elements monk. It's not the best mechanically, but its the only way you're gonna get a monk that can throw actual fireballs. Take the Magic Initiate feat and grab Greenflame Blade and Firebolt, and go nuts.
Honestly, I'd avoid it. The Magic Initiate choice you mentioned-- with the probably addition of Burning Hands-- would make a pretty good Desert Wind substitute all by itself.

Actually... I'd say Shadow Hand Monk primary, with a level of Sorcerer for Desert Wind (GFB, Firebolt, and Burning Hands for sure; Booming Blade, Lightning Lure, and Sword Burst are other good sword-magic cantrips, and I'd also consider taking Shield or maybe Expeditious Retreat) and three levels of Battlemaster Fighter for Setting Sun/general maneuvers (Trip Attack, Parry, and maybe Pushing Attack).

[vincegetorix]

Well, if you dont mind homebrew stuff, Middle Finger of Vecna made a Swordsage as a Monk archetype. I'm sure you can find it easily on google.

[Submortimer]

Well, if you dont mind homebrew stuff, Middle Finger of Vecna made a Swordsage as a Monk archetype. I'm sure you can find it easily on google.

Or you can follow the link in my sig! :-)

[Inevitability]

What kind of swordsage do you want to play? There are a lot of ways to build one.