Swordmage (Apath)

Unofficial rules compendium

To the swordmage, arcane magic is life. Even more magical than the usual spellsword, the swordmage uses magical powers to defend himself, relying on such powers rather than on mundane armor. The swordmage is a martial artist of the Way of Force.

Class Abilities

This archetype has all normal class abilities, except as noted.

Armor Proficiency

Spellswords are not proficient with armor of any type. They suffer normal the arcane spell failure chance in armor.

Swordmage Force Fields

Swordmages can projects powerful force fields as armor and are experts at using Bracers of armor and similar force magic devices. The armor created by swordmages is clearly visible as a field of light, mist, a light distortion, or in some elemental form. Regardless of its appearance, it is a force effect. It does not stack with other force effects, or with regular armor or shields. The force armor can be turned on or off as a standard action, and the protection stays up as long as the swordmage is conscious. It can be reactivated at will. This replaces lighten armor.

Swordmage Armor (Su): A character with this ability can project a powerful protective aura that functions as armor and becomes an expert at using bracers of armor. This aura is force armor, and protects against incorporeal touch attacks. It can be activated at will as a swift action, and the protection stays up until deactivated or as long as the user is conscious. At class level 4, this armor can be used alongside bracers of armor, with stacking benefits. It does not otherwise stack with armor, either normal or force. It can be affected by armor-enhancing effects like magic vestment, but such enhancements do not stack with braces or armor. This counts as heavy armor to abilities that require or work with armor and suffers a 25% chance of arcane spell failure. It provides an armor bonus of +7.

Swordmage Block (Su): While under swordmage armor, the swordmage adds a +2 shield bonus to armor class. This is force armor, and improves by +1 for every 4 levels (+2 at levels up to 3, +3 at levels 4-7, +4 at levels 8-11 and so on). The swordmage must have one hand free, he cannot carry a shield or two weapons when using this ability, not can he use a weapon in two hands. He may momentarily use the off hand for things like somatic components or drawing and throwing a weapon in the same round. This ability counts as a shield to abilities that require a shield.

Summary of Changed Class Abilities

These abilities of the original class are lost or modified in this archetype:

• Armor Proficiency
• Lighten Armor (all)