The Spellsword

Submitted by Alex Dominguez ©2001

See bottom of text for stats and details of the class itself, this is just story data for background information,
the story line is not geared towards being an adventure per se, but may prove useful if incorporated into an
existing adventure if a character becomes or is a spellsword..

History of the Spellsword:

The Founding Father

The spellsword is a powerful combination of the raw fighting prowess of a skilled fighter and the awesome
versitility of a sorceror. The practice was created long ago by a very talented Githyanki named Zaramon.
Zaramon, skilled as a warrior and a wizard, served as a scout in the astral plane almost his entire military
career. As a powerful wizard, he became acutely aware of the inherant magical energy of the astral plane
and was determined to use this to further increase his power. Through extended field research and
practice, he found that these energies which the average githyanki can manipulate to travel lightning fast in
the astral, or planeshift innatley can also be used to allow his magic to enhance his fighting abilities. With
this discovery, and his folowing promotion, the ground work for the mixture of mage and warrior was born
and was once two seperate practices would be harnessed into a versitle one man commando team.

The Githyanki Imperative

Through constant thwarting from surface dwelling creatures on prime material worlds, it becomes a very
impossible thing to sucessfully maintain a Githyanki stronghold for very long in any one place once it
becomes public knowledge. As Githyanki consider all other races enemies, there is never reprieve, and
retaliation is only inevitable once a stronghold is discovered. It was Zaramon who proposed to test the new
expert training in a new and untested form of stronghold. This would be an attempt to lay siege to a corner
of the underdark and spread through it until mass surface conquest on a vast scale could be achieved
without support from a surface based stronghold...it seemed like a good plan, except for one thing...

Enter the Drow

The Githyanki almost immediatly encounter the most detrimental opposition to thier underground assaults,
the Drow of the underdark. Already holding a great many cities in the underdark it was not long before the
githyanki were driven out by overwhelming opposition. With no road to victory in sight Zaramon was
sacrificed to the Lichqueen for his failure. Many Githyanki spellswords under his direct command were
split up into other units and the spellsword training considered a failure until a young Githyanki wizard
named Volmata came up with an alternative....

The Human Factor

Volmata had been conducting her own research, and had discovered that humans are highly compatable
with the energies involved in training a spellsword. She proposed that if humans could be forced to fight
the drow on a fairly large scale, with the new spellsword training, they had a very good chance of standing
up to the dark elf menace, and doing the Githyanki's work for them, both by weeding out the infernal drow,
and by thinning out the human population. Volmatas theory would be put to the test soon enough...
The Feud

Volmata quickly located a kingdom in an ideal spot for a staging area for assaults into the underdark, then
had a few of their best spellswords polymorphed into human form stage a massive magical bombardment
of the ruling nobility in the closest drow city and leave a fairly incriminating threat from the king from the
surface kingdom. This would easily provoke a response, but not the one she would engineer herself.
Following a drow surface raid on a few minor towns around the kingdom, Volmata had her spellsword task
force this time polymorph into drow forms, and ordered them to assasinate everyone in the castle except
the king and his court wizard. The castle was a massacre of fireballs and lightningbolts, the king and court
wizard were quickly subdued in an anti-magic ambush amidst the chaos.

The Deception

Volmata and a high ranking general named Ramenok then took possesion of the bodies of the two captured
humans with some modified magic jars, Ramenok, under orders from the Lichqueen herself, would possess
the king, and Volmata would possess the court wizard. Once the process was complete they would return
shortly after the wake of destruction was over, and vow vengeance on the drow for this horrific assault. A
new head general was appointed since the previous one was killed in the castle. This new head general, a
polymorphed Githyanki spellsword, would then begin a mandatory "Drow Killer" training course for all
troops who would brave what horrors the drow had to offer. Thus the first Human Spellsword is created.

The Mutiny

Zaramon's former spellsword legion, being reduced to trainers for humans could not be any more enraged
by the turn of events. Having suffered disgrace at the loss of thier great leader ad inventor of thier training,
feeling slighted by the control of the non-spellsword witch Volmata, and put through insufferable dishonor
by being forced to train humans, while pretending to be human, could not be tolerated anymore. After
nearly two decades of this disgrace, every member of the original Githyanki spellsword legion vanished
without a trace at midnight on the same day, though no trace could be found, even magically, the only
thing that is known for certain is attempts to scry or divinate them are not failing...just being blocked by
misdirecting and protective magics. Coincidentally, drow patrols soon discover documents exposing the
king and court wizard for what they are and that without them there is no human offensive.

The Undead King

With their new knowledge, a real drow assasination attempt is conducted and both the court wizard and the
king are assasinated. The wizard's body was incinerated in the struggle, while the king's horribly burned
and scarred body was left impailed on three massive pikes infront of the main castle gate. Both Volmata
and Ramenok's spirits being too far from the magic jars at the time of deaths also perished. Once this was
discovered by the Githyanki, all evidence was quickly destroyed including the magic jars still containing
the essences of the actual court wizard and the king, ending thier chances for rescue as well. The
Githyanki still among the humans in disguise quikly fled back to the astral planes, the command structure
completely in ruins at the loss of every Githyanki spellsword, and the loss of both General Ramenok, and
the leader of the whole operation, Volmata. The operation was considered a failure to all. The humans
however were at a new level of hatred for the drow after the display of thier former king, but left without
any qualifying leadership. Thats when it happened. No one truly knows the complete story, however they
all generally flow the same way: The body of the king itself removed itself from its burial tomb, raided the
royal armory injuring many guards but killing none, armed itself with the best available, and proceeded
unapposed at that point, into the underdark. A month later, the king's body was found in the castle
courtyard, still in full armor. Directly behind it were three pikes stuck in the ground, each one holding
aloft a drow head impailed on the end. Though no proof was ever made openly available, it is rumored
they belonged to the three highest ranking priestesses of Lolth in the warring drow city. Without
Githyanki intervention, a uniform decision to continue the spellsword training and vanquish the drow
menace from the lands was reached.
A new king was crowned, and a secret council was formed. This council would be the hidden rulers of the
kingdom. As the head of the council, the king's true identity would also be hidden. Now from a secretive
autocratic government, this new ruling body would create the militant kingdom known today as the home
of the spellswords, and as the self proclaimed last bastion against the drow menace. This secret council is
composed of none other than the highest ranking officers from the missing Githyanki spellsword legion.
By pledging assistance of thier knowledge to the new TRULY human spellsword king, they would be
allowed thier own uncontested stronghold within his kingdom, in which they may make preparations for
thier plans to eventually overthrow the Lichqueen and reinstitute themselves into the githyanki force, in
thier eyes as heroes, and visionary leaders as they viewed thier lost commander Zaramon.

The Good Stuff!

Spellsword class 3rd edition

Why it works:
Spellswords are trained in the direct presence of a gate or large portal to the astral plane or within the astral
plane itself. This combined with the rigorous training and mental disciplining allows them to call upon
their magical energies and cast spells, as well as augment thier combat skills with feats of incredible
'swordplay'.
Once a character is imbued (the 2 year training time) he need not train with an instructor present any longer
to improve in skill or in magic, the magic is learned innatley just as a sorceror, and the fighting style
remains basically the same...just perfected in skill through practical experience and magical attuning with
what he has learned.

Prerequisites:
Str: 15
Dex: 12
Con:15
Int:15
Wis:10
Races allowed: Githyanki or Human only
Conditions to Accuire: 2 years minimum of the characters life to devote to the rigorous training and
exposure to the magical energies to imbue the character with the energy neccesary to become a spellsword,
and the skill enough to harness it. Plus an aditional 3 years mandatory military service fighting against
Drow.

Limitations:
1. Aquire learned hatred for dark elves.

2. Must choose a weapon or 2 weapons to use as "trained weapon types" no other types of weapons will
be taught to any one spellsword to use, or to channel magical energies through. As such spellswords can
only use thier magical abilities with those types of weapons.

3. Spellswords are trained to channel thier magical energies through thier weapons. As such spellcasting
and wielding a weapon (or two) become one and the same. Spellswords must have a weapon that qualifies
as one of the two weapon types they have studied and attuned to in hand in order to cast any spell that
requires a somatic component of any kind. The weapon is used in the casting gestures creating an almost
hypnotic 'weapon kata' effect to casting a spell. This makes spellsword magic highly recognizable to any
spectators who may know what a spellsword is or have witnessed this before.

4. Spellsword fighting styles use a very unique technique which is highly distinct and is also recongizable
to spectators who may know what a spellsword is or have witnessed this before.
5. Spellswords though bred for combat, gain no special bonuses to assist in wearing armor. While a
spellsword may choose to wear armor of any type, standard spell failure rolls apply. The only exception is
armor forged specifically in the astral plane, then enchanted (ie made +1 or better) also in the astral plane
with the spellswords intent of casting while wearing it in mind at the time of enchantment, and only armor
equal or up to chainmail can be made as such. Very rare for non Githyanki spellswords obviously.

6. Spellswords must forever forsake the use of shields, this is a sworn oath, signifying thier strictly
offensive role in the military, and having no place in thier fighting style as well, treat any spellsword using
one as if he did not have the use shield feat even if the character has or takes this feat, unless he chooses
not to include his base attack bonus gained while a spellsword and use none of the spellsword abilities,
including casting somatic component spells until he puts the shield away. Its completely alien to thier
training.

Advantages/abilities:
1. Gains extra feats as a fighter does

2. Base attack as per fighter.

3. Fort and will saves are the primary saves for bonus purposes.

4. hit dice are D8's.

5. skills are calculated same as a fighter for base, class skills and per level. Allow Concentration and
Spellcraft as class skills.

6. Character casts and gains spells identical to a sorceror of equal level, and can innatley sense magic.

7. Fights with a unique and magically imbued fighting style, as such can fight in very close quarters or
confined spaces with weapons larger than what should be realistic without magical assistance. Spellswords
are also able to affect creatures as if wielding a magical +2 weapon even when wielding nonmagical
weapons. as long as they are of the chosen 2 types of weapons. Spellswords also recieve a one time bonus
of +2 to hit and damage due to the magical enhancement of their attacks, treat this damage as magical.
These are supernatural abilities.

8. At 5th level the spellsword can channel non ranged touch spells through his weapon(s) instead of
making a touch attack to deliver the touch spell, he can choose to deliver them as a normal attack. The
spellsword makes an attack with his weapon with all normal applicable bonuses as per a regular weapon
attack, (opponent gets his normal typical ac which includes armor if any, dex if any and magical
protections if any that apply) if the attack hits normal weapon attack damage is applied in addition to the
touch spell's effects.

9. At 7th level verbal spells can also be channeled through a weapon as somatic spells are, essentially
making spellcasting a simple matter of key 'sword strokes' and concentration of will. This form of casting
is not mandatory and the spellsword can always choose to vocalize a spell if neccesary, or unarmed and the
spell has no neccesary gestures.

10. At 9th level the spellsword can use a partial action to 'parry' a spell. The spellsword must declare this
intent at the beginning of the round and must be aware of any spell casters or spells cast by them in order to
parry it, spells with no "visible" trajectory can still be parried as the spells are being actively sensed for
rather than seen with the naked eye. The spell must be directed at the spellsword or pass within his threat
area for him to be able to parry it, area effect spells cannot be parried unless the spellsword was directly
targeted as the 'center' of the effect. The spellsword must make a successful to hit roll using all applical
bonuses and his best base attack plus strength and magic, etc. against a DC equal to the DC of that spell's
save. If successful the spell is deflected away from the spellsword in a direction somewhere towards the
caster's general location. Non ranged touch attack spells cannot be parried in this fashion, whether dealt
through touch or by melee weapon.

11. If the spellsword chooses he can parry spells directed at others so long as the spell crosses his threat
area, except for area effect spells, which he can't parry unless the spellsword is the direct target (so it does
his friend no good) In this situation add 4 to the DC the spellsword must hit, failure means he did not
parry, critical failure means it was only partially deflected but into the spellsword, apply damage and/or
effects to both original target AND spellsword as if the spell could affect both targets.

12. Spells can be reflected to casters instead of just being deflected, to do so add 4 to the DC the
spellsword must hit. If parrying for someone else, both penalties of +4 are added for a total penalty of +8
added to the DC the spellsword must hit. In either case as deflecting and , reflecting a spell must be stated
at the beginning of a round. Note that deflecting/reflecting for a friend doesn't 'specifically' have to be
stated. So long as the character has already announced his intent to deflect or reflect, it does not matter if
he does this for himself or a friend within reach. Note you can only deflect/reflect 1 spell per round,
period, regardless of any left over actions or even left over full actions you have left in the round.

13. Since parrying a spell only takes a partial action, move or attack your choice, it does not in any way
hamper any other partial action you perform during the rest of the round except one: you may never parry a
spell and cast a spell in the same round, attempting to do so will harmlessly absorb your spell, thereby
negating it completely, tsk tsk, you should know better.