Forgotten Realms Lore - The Bladesinger
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- čas přidán 9. 09. 2024
- Episode 143. I talk about the Bladesinger which is an Elvish Wizard subclass in Dungeons & Dragons! It goes back as far as 2e, and was a prestige class in 3rd edition.
Mixing martial arts, expert sword movement, and magic; it's a fun tradition that is unique to elves and the Forgotten Realms!
More videos on information in this video!
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Evermeet, Island of the Elves - • Island of the Elves | ...
Myth Drannor - • Forgotten Realms Lore ...
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Kid, I've flown from one side of this crystal sphere to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Dungeon Master controlling everything.
Attention Internet, we have a winner! *Slow Clap* lol
Lady of pain or Mathew mercer
If you read the Time of Troubles novels it's pretty clear that Ao boss is a Dungeon Master which is why you don't see them they operate outside of realm space
😊😊😏😏😁😁😍😍😊😊😏😏😁😁😍😍😊😊😏😏😁😁😍😍😊😊😁😁😏😏😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Jorphdan: They're Jedi!
Me: That's not true! That's impossible!
LOL!
Meanwhile a bladesinger butchering goblin younglings
Frick, I'm currently DMing for my friends and one of their characters is a Drow Noble Bladesinger that has just joined the church of Eilistraee, and you have made me realize that he is basically a Sith Lord that's turning to the Light Side. May have to start dropping the occasional reference now.
> When activating Blade Dance
> Say: "It's over. I have the high ground".
@@caodogao4327 ¡Hey thanks! That's a good one. I was thinking something in the line of: When facing off against a Priestess of Lolth "I find your (lack of) faith disturbing".
@@josurecio5945 HAHAHA nice!
Also! Here's a tip if you fancy minmaxing!
If you haven't done your stat distribution yet, go for a High Dex, High Int build, choose a rapier as your Bladesong weapon or any other weapon that has Finesse and when reaching 4th Level, pick the Defensive Duelist feat.
For your level 1 spells, pick Mage Armor and Shield spell.
Cast Mage Armor on yourself first. Then start Bladesong. With both your Dex and Int, you'll have a monster AC. Literally untouchable.
And if you don't fancy math, here's it all chewed up for you.
(+3 Dex) + (+2 Int) + 13 (Mage Armor Armor Class) =18
18 + 2 (Defensive Duelist)= 20 AC.
18 + 5 (Casting Shield as a Reaction) = 23 AC.
That is, if you want to go with the Drow Character. If you go for a High Elf, add +1 to all the math, because your Inteligence Modifier should be +3 if you dump all your stat points in it. But that won't really necessary if you REALLY want to go with the Drow. Never sacrifice the character you want to play for minmaxing. :)
My cousin uses this character i made for her and she's loving it. Though, she don't play so much as a Jedi, but as a magical girl sailormoon type character.
Have fun with this Armor Class combo, my dude! \o
@@caodogao4327 I'm the DM but thanks for the tips anyway, I really love how the same class can be re-flavored for so many different character concepts, I really like the Magical Girl character concept, wonder if I could concoct a way to play a Madoka Magica kind of character with a Warlock.
Though I should say I always DM some Extremely Homebrewed games and I allow Gestalt characters, so normal builds don't really apply.
My players are playing:
- A Drow Eldritch Knight Fighter + Bladesinger Wizard
- A High Elf Arcane Gunner (Archer) Fighter + Scout Rogue
- A Tengu Alchemist Artificer + Redemption Paladin
- A Tabaxi Divine Soul Sorceress + Arcane Trickster Rogue
I'm currently a year and a half deep into running this wonderful people through a remix of 3 campaigns and they have just reached level 6:
Waterdeep Dragon Heist (using the Alexandrian as a base to include the four villains, and including a self made Political Intrigue and Influence system)
+ a Drow (Lolth Worshippers), Gnoll (Yenoghuu Worshippers) and Minotaur (Baphomet Worshippers) invasion coming through Undermountain, all factions of Waterdeep are engaged in this secret war, including Xanathars Guild, hoping to end it before it reaches the streets (Spreading the levels of Dungeon of the Mad Mage under Waterdeep sewers as the underground battleground of this secret war, and using Skullports Eiliastraee Temple and the Harpers Hideouts as secondary bases for the parties allies)
+ Baldurs Gate Descent Into Avernus (changing Baldurs Gate for Waterdeep and introducing the mystery of the theft of the Companion, currently the Drow have it, they stole it in fear of the surface dwellers using it against them, not knowing what it truly is, but someday soon that piñata is gonna crack, and then ¡Sweet, sweet, spicy Devil Candy for everyone!)
If memory serves, Drow Bladesingers are called Deathsingers, at least as far as regular Drow culture is concerned.
"They're Jedi!" LOL Well played. This is now my favorite video of yours. Well done!
*raises hand* Is palpatine a lich mr. Jorphdan?
Possibly! D&D is all just Star Wars now isn't it. XD
@@Jorphdan it always has been, sort of like how Star Wars is just Kurosawa movies.
To Be A lich is To be A undead Spell caster of immense power So Palpy is only a half lich The evil caster magical part . not undead
Historically, bladesinging was introduced in AD&D 2nd edition open to any campaign world with the introduction of The Complete Elves Handbook. The Forgotten Realms campaign setting officially adopted the bladesinger kit as being canon within that setting.
Those blades that were created by elven high magic did not establish ruling families for the elves, they determined which individual was worthy of a specific station such as being the Coronal, the ruler of Cormanthyr. The blades are fully detailed in the 2nd edition source book Cormanthyr: Empire of Elves, the original source material.
They seem the transposed version of Tolkien's Great Three elvish rings, to me...
I was just going to say that. Thank you for correcting the OP. 👍
Too funny! Damn it, the're Jedi! The're Jedi!
Rune blades? How can I forge, create or obtain such treasures? Also, black blade basically a Mandalorian darksaber!
I have plunged my players into Forgotten from another plane of existence (after a cataclismic confrontation with a BBEG), and one of them had an extremely powerful black sword that hampers magic in its vicinity. They are now level 1 characters , need to recover their memory and also their weapons to hope to come back home. Also, now I have found some interesting side stories concerning a black sword, to mingle in the main story...
"They're Jedi!". After the day I had I needed that laugh. Keep up the great work.
Woo
In the SCAG it suggests that bladesingers now do have schools "Most schools of Bladesinging are in Evermeet or Evereska. One was started in Myth Drannor, but the city’s destruction has scattered those students who survived." under the "Bladsinger styles" section. Great video, as always!
1:38 a wild Harry Dresden appears!
0:23 a wild Kvothe appears
Uh okay... stoppit stop it... it's a lightsaber 😂
NPC: "Search your feelings..."
DM: "roll an insight check..." Player rolls 5 minus 3. (Because wizard low WIS?)
"You know it to be 2" 😑
Remembering back to the Baldur's Gate spinoff of Icewind Dale, the first time I heard the name Bladesingers and thought that was the coolest thing.
In the novel Evermeet: Island of elves, the bladesinger is describe as being a warrior who embodies the three loves of the elven people: Swordsmanship, magic and arts (Dancing).
In my group it was the Edgelord who ended up making a Bladesinger. He described them as "The most beautiful elf you've ever seen with silver hair like the moon and glowing blue eyes."
I had to make a Con save to avoid physically cringing.
Doesn't seem that cringy to be honest, they just described thier character's above average appearance
@@rayar3234 It was a lot worse than I'm letting on. Much more detail was shared, and this person was already a cringey individual to begin with. Imagine the edgiest high schooler you know describing to you their ideal anime waifu.
I mean I played 2 bladesinger so far one was a Half-elf and the other a Snow Genasi( yeah sorry it's winter here in Canada..so yeah...snow everywhere, She had that cool thing that she could not do fire damage but freeze burn damage.. :D ))
Loved the Harry Dresden fanpic added in 😂
Great inspiration for a bladesinger I am working on. I am thinking of having my new 13th level character get a Sun Blade as a starting magic item. It sounds a lot like a lightsaber!
The Sun Blade in 5e
melee weapon (sword, martial)
Damage: 1d8
Damage Type: Radiant
Item Rarity: Rare
Modifiers: Melee Attacks +2, Melee Damage +2
Properties: Finesse, Versatile
Secondary Damage: 1d10
Weight: 3
This item appears to be a Longsword hilt. While grasping the hilt, you can use a Bonus Action to cause a blade of pure radiance to spring into existence, or make the blade disappear. While the blade exists, this magic Longsword has the Finesse property. If you are proficient with shortswords or longswords, you are proficient with the sun blade.
You gain a +2 bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls made with this weapon, which deals radiant damage instead of slashing damage. When you hit an Undead with it, that target takes an extra 1d8 radiant damage.
The sword’s luminous blade emits bright light in a 15-foot radius and dim light for an additional 15 feet. The light is sunlight. While the blade persists, you can use an action to expand or reduce its radius of bright and dim light by 5 feet each, to a maximum of 30 feet each or a minimum of 10 feet each.
I came here for new information about my last character, it is a bladesinger in cloack and dagger style. And apparently now I have to hall it Himo Kenobi.
Been watching your videos for a year or so now. This is definitely a new favorite solely on the delivery. The content is great too. Thanks for creating this content and help those of us who are just getting started in this world understand it more.
Super awesome. Glad you enjoyed the video!
Having played a bladesinger in an old campaign, and used them frequently within my homebrewed campaigns the biggest drawback from the bladesinger is also its main feature, being in melee combat.
It's potentially the greatest glasscannon wizard you can make since it tempts, players to go into melee. The highlight for me is level 7 when you get greater invisibility, and I would consider the optimal levels for the bladesinger to be between level 7 to 13.
Other then that it feels incredibly badass to dance around an ogre or a pit fiend, until they finaly manage to hit you once, and you "realise" that you are techincally a wizard.
It can also be a weird thing to bring a bladesinger to a party that allready has a lot of melee reliant characters.
My bladesigner has be a lot of fun to play, and you’re right, it’s getting hit that’s the biggest issue. I’ve got a cloak of displacement, which has made encounters much more survivable...when bladesinging is up. When it isn’t...well I’m just really glad I got a staff of fire once because our DM misplayed an NPC, and that I keep some ranged spells prepared. Still gotta know how to be a wizard-wizard.
Nice lore. Nice video.
Though the Bladesinger name goes back to a kit in 2e and that was made to restore the original traditional game play of elves that goes back to the dawn of 1e and into the D&D cyclopedia.
lol, I loved the references to Star Wars.
Bladesingers are my jam, and oh hell yes you gave my boy Josidiah a shout out!
I made a Bladesinger human for the campaign I’m playing in now, and we’ve been going well over a year. I *just* realized I’m a flippin’ Jedi because of this video. XD
I play a Drow Bladsinger obsessed with power. I'm so a sith
Josidiah is the one who first had Guenhwyvar as a companion. It was given to him by an Old wizard named Anders. =D
The lightsaber freak out and the Jedi freak out were awesome. We need more like this, talking about basically rip offs
It was also a "Kit" in the 2nd edition 'Skills & Powers' book.
Nah my friend, my old ass wizard dragonborn gonna be floating across the battlefield with this
To the commentator, great video I had made a similar comment regarding the Arcane Archers which are also talked about extensively in the book series by Richard Baker "Forsaken House," which I highly recommend if your elf connoisseur like myself. Would you say that in the 5th edition all aspects of that class have changed so that anyone can learn how to do it because in the previous books only elves could learn this art form?
One of my players took a bladesinger. In our first session during our first encounter, he rolled a 1 and dropped his sword. The goblins they were fighting nearly killed him! He managed to get healed up and a few days later, they were again ambushed by goblins. The bladeslinger stepped into the fray and rolled a 1, this time breaking his sword! He managed to escape and then, after procuring a new sword from a merchant he attacked a goblin in our 3rd encounter and rolled minimum damage. He stepped and swirled, flourished to distract his foe and then struck again, rolling MINIMUM DAMAGE!!! Somehow he survived again. In the 4th encounter he did some damage before again rolling a 1 and breaking his sword!
This elf is now considering becoming a rogue!
Great vid! I think been jedi in dnd was the point lol. If not wow.
I dont know... a Gith Zerai Psi-Knight + Sunblade is a pretty good jedi too. Especially if the the Gith Yanky are the Sith
This was the best vid on Bladesingers so far.
'Dammit, they're Jedi!' 🤣
I would love more Bladsinger lore/content, keep up the great work!
I’m watching through all of your videos right now and this has been my favorite. Thank you for all the content.
I love these videos.
He takes the info seriously. But doesn't shy away from being a little silly.
It also seems like you either hit more topics. Or just topics not usually discussed.
I'm addicted.
Thanks! Welcome and glad you enjoy the videos!
Love your new style man! great work!
Hahahaha love that when you break narration ^^
Lol loved the commentary 🤣 Bladesingers we’re originally from 2ed D&D from the Complete Elves Handbook.
Funniest record scratch I've seen in a long time! Haha, kudos.
Thanks!! :)
My backup is a Goblin raised by a barren elf woman who taught him how to Bladesing. I haven't gotten to play him yet, but I can't wait to pick him out of the box for something 😁
OK, the Star Wars references really made me laugh!
I've been watching and as a DM you are awesome jorphan. Your videos are SSOOO COOL. it really helps put the pieces together with all of the lore. Thank you!
Awesome! Thank you!
Elves would be so mad if the Artblade appeared to a random human farmer. It can't tough. White fire in Forgotten Realms means "Spell Fire" witch means "Fire that burns the very essence of things to nothing". It's an artifact uncreator. A god-slayer. It's the platonic ideal fire. A concept made manifest. That blade is GONE gone.
I've played for a couple sessions with an female eladrin bladesinger, who was protecting a portal that has been destroyed in the begining of the adventure.
It was one of my favourite characters. Sadly the session breakup.
Very good video, I didn't knew the old history of the bladesingers. Now, it's certain that I'll play with them again, or at least put one in my table someday.
“DAMMIT THEYRE JEDI”
Brilliant!
Bladesingers are first shown in the 2e Elves handbook
My fav. video so far and I love your channel. Funny as...
Great vid! You really took a good swing at this one.
You mentioned Half-Elves as potentionally becoming bladesingers, what about other elven adjacent races, like Drow or Eladrin?
Eladrin yes I believe. Drow it would depend if they left the underdark to train at Cormanthyr. The Drow don't have bladesingers, but I don't think a good Drow would be unallowed to learn the ways. They are elves afterall.
drows and eladrins ARE elves. they are subraces of the elven race, like moon and sun elves. probably no one would ever accept to teach bladesinging to a drow pupil unless said pupil had proven himself to be worthy well beyond what would be required of a normal elf, but eladrins would pose no problems.
@@Jorphdan What about polymorphism? Could I turn myself into a elf, tricking a master into being trained? Tricky gnomes and what not.
@@Spllyn considering lower forms of polymorph only apply to beast in 5th edition, you would probably have to get a true polymorph done, an object enchanted at that, considering the spell only last 1 hour. Even changelings would eventually be found out as they need to sleep for 8 hours, as opposed to the 4 hour trance of elves. I suppose if your DM allowed mystics, a psionist based class, you could take 1 level in mystic as a changeling, and pick up the adaptive body discipline. Its psychic focus allows you to forgo sleeping, eating, and even breathing. Now all you have to do is get around needing to see in the dark all the time, or tactics like casting magical sleep in a group of monsters, only to possibly be affected yourself. Assuming the identity of another race is a very tricky business.
I think I remember reading somewhere that Drow have their own bladesinging style and their own bladesingers.
I'd rather be Popeye the sailorman than a Jedi TBH. At least he didn't die.
Popeye is a warlock and his patron is spinach.
@@rachelevil Popeye is a barbarian and spinach triggers his rage.
OOF
Not gonna mention how broken this can be in 5e? Its bladesong ability means you can have 3 stats added to armor class!
No, just 2. Mage Armor isn't even a stat, just changes your AC to 13, and Bladesong lasts for only a minute (10 rounds) It's good, but not gamebreaking if your GM knows how to make your life hell.
They were also a kit class in the 2nd edition elven handbook. They had lots of descriptive flavor, but the class was left vague mechanically. Things like THACO chart, hit die, saves, and spell progression was mentioned nowhere lol.
Blade singer- jedi counselor/dark side sorcerer
Paladin- jedi sential / Inquisitor
Eldritch kinght/hexblade- jedi knight/ sith warrior
On point.
Why do I remember it being
"Fear leads to Anger
Anger leads to Hate
And Hate leads to Sucking it!"
That was f*cking awesome. I agree, they must be Jedi.😁👍🏾
Never has the Bladesinger sounded more fun to play. Lol.
Bladesingers are Jedi and that's why it's my favorite class
What would be an optimal bladesinger build in 5e? I feel like Hexblade could be cool, maybe an anicent Bladesinger imprisoned within a sword, teaching the ways to a half-elf who is hunted by bigoted Elves, determined to see their art kept pure..
Bladesinger Wizard, but take a few levels (2-3) in fighter for HP and Second Wind, seems to be the current meta. I think most choose Eltridge Knight, but the new Rune Knight in Tasha's might be good
And it's also no longer super important to take High Elf for an Intelligence bonus, because Tasha's lets you change your increases.
Most definitely Jedi. I thought that at the beginning when you said it they looked casual in batte. Great video, great lore as well.
Hey Jorphdan! I'm running a game set in the Dalelands, and I found your Daleland video, well, short. Lol. I thought, due to the diversity of each h Dale, that a short video for each would be really informative! I'm a recent subscriber and have (so far lol) watched every one of your vids! Thanks in advance for the request and keep up the great content!
I'll rewatch it and see what else I can dig up! thanks for watching :D
@@Jorphdan Thanks, man! I just know Shadowdale, Battledale, Archendale, etc, etc, etc, are each very individual and complex regions of their own! Thanks for the response! :)
LoL! They're Jedi! 😂 I suppose there really isn't anything new under the sun!
Great video!
My favorite class in 2nd E..
There is actually a human that was thought this style and they wrote three books on him the first is called Swordmage.
No swordmages were added in 4th edition and lorewise they come from Abeir, Toril’s sister world, also while they where described as a style that became popular with elves it is outright stated that is a newer thing for most people on Toril.
Me. A human wizard: "Bladesinging...? Is it possible to learn this power? "
@@marcialhd I mean it kinda felt pointless to life it because most DMs would allow it and those that wouldn't probably still wont
May the weave be with you
I play mine a bit differently. I use shadow blade and blade song together only. Other than that I use the bonus to AC to simply not get hit
Yeah, they are kind if Elven Jedi, LOL.
2nd Ed. had another take on the Bladesingers - their lore making them seem more a part of Elf society and less roaming adventurer. They were used, as I recall from the book, as diplomats or one-elf armies.
So...Elf Jedi in a nutshell. :D
"They're Jedi!" That's what I've be saying! Every time I play as one, they and any organisation they come from just become... Jedi! Exactly!
It’s neat that the art blade looks like how the war blade should would like
Haha love this one!
They’re Jedi and it’s glorious.
Bladesinger has to be my favorite subclass, if I play a wizard i always choose to be a bladesinger.
is it any good or is worse than the other archtypes
Take 3 lvls of Bladesinger then become a Hexblade, The Jedi that falls to the Dark Side
If it was a mystic bladesinger...then JEDI
I know why Bladesingers were wizards in 2E (basically it was the only way to be an arcane caster and elves were often fighter/wizards), but I really think the idiom would have fit much better in 5E with a bard.
go back to this format
As a fan of the Aldori duelists of Pathfinder, just because the elvish government doesn't allow other races to be trained as bladesingers doesn't mean individual elves haven't been doing so. And, you could get a lot of drama and story ideas out of an outlawed bladesinger.
I like the Darksaber reference. ;)
Any equivalent to this if I want to play something similar in Baldur's gate 1/2?
The Githzerai seem like they would be compatible with the bladesingers and if these two were to truly team up and merg teachings they would truly be Jedi. That is assuming that you can get the Githzerai to leave Limbo.
Hear me out- A goliath sword singer, whose adoptive elf village never told him he was different. They let him learn the art because for some reason he was great at it. His name is buddy, his Foster father is Bob Newhart. When he grows up he goes on an adventure to a strange city of great iron buildings and angry people in big, yellow horses that move very fast.
Bwahahaha! “Damn it they are Jedi!”
freaking Jedi elves.... :p
Hey Jorphdan! Was wondering if you'd consider doing a lore video on the hordelands? Always been interested in the setting!
I'll add it to the list!
Back in 2e, we just considered them to be the Elven Hero like Paladin was for Human.
Awesome
I have a Half elf Celestial Warlock (to Corellon and the celestial eladrin), and I'm considering dipping into Bladesinger. He has a decent INT stat, and his family sword is his Pact Weapon. And he sorely needs the extra AC. Haha
Doesn't sound bad. Just be careful not to two hand your weapon while blade singing since that turns it off. The rules are easy to remember but specific.
I'm still confused. Please put a Y or N with the numbers
1. On my turn I can cast booming blade and attack with a rapier
2. Cast Shadow Blade wait for next round then attack
3. I can cast Shadow Blade and cast booming blade for attack
4. Level 6 cast Shadow Blade and cast booming blade x 2
5. Level 6 cast Shadow Blade and cast booming blade then 2nd attack shadow blade
6. Level 6 cast Shadow blade and attack x2
7. Level 6 cast Shadow blade and cast booming blade on attack
I laughed way harder at that then I should have
So we have like...3 different types of jedi in DnD?
More if you count the UA. XD
@@marcialhd there's the Bladesinging Wizard, I think a case could be made for Arcana Domain Cleric (Order could possibly work as well), Oath of Redemption Paladin (Devotion and Crown could also work, but the tenants of the Redemption Paladin feel so damn Jedi to me), and I guess one could say Eldritch Knight Fighter...that's about all the classes I can think of minus Tashas Cauldron of Everything and Unearthed Arcana.
If elves don't dream, but relive the memories of their previous lives, could a young novice bladesinger learn from their former masterful self through dreams?
They can’t remember when they turn 100
Ah the Bladesinger!
the most overpowerd class in the history of DnD, and the most in demand as who didn't want to play a psychotic elf who can his spells with one hand!
I remember ADnD 2nd edition...it was a good time...
Thank you- Jedi and one lightsaber... I seem to recall that there was a lightsaber like magic sword in 1st AD&D. I don’t think it was in the barrier peaks, or the module with the dark purple robed clerics, and yet it could have one of those two. Oh well... it’s been awhile.
The wand of force! A magic wand that could be used to make either a wall of force (1 or 2 charges) or a +5 force sword (1 charge).
They are Force users if every way having magical swords like the old Jedi and Sith used and they can only be taught by a Master Apprentice relationship.
Well if they're Jedi then I'm definitely making a Bladesinger.
I’m pretty sure in AD&D only surface elves could be bladesingers.
The 5e version of bladesingers are kinda …