Forgotten Realms Lore - The Bladesinger
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 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!
Elves of Faerun - • Forgotten Realms Lore ...
Evermeet, Island of the Elves - • Island of the Elves | ...
Myth Drannor - • Forgotten Realms Lore ...
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References:
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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
😊😊😏😏😁😁😍😍😊😊😏😏😁😁😍😍😊😊😏😏😁😁😍😍😊😊😁😁😏😏😍😍🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
"They're Jedi!" LOL Well played. This is now my favorite video of yours. Well done!
Jorphdan: They're Jedi!
Me: That's not true! That's impossible!
LOL!
Meanwhile a bladesinger butchering goblin younglings
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. 👍
1:38 a wild Harry Dresden appears!
0:23 a wild Kvothe appears
NPC: "Search your feelings..."
DM: "roll an insight check..." Player rolls 5 minus 3. (Because wizard low WIS?)
"You know it to be 2" 😑
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!
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 ))
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).
Uh okay... stoppit stop it... it's a lightsaber 😂
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
Hey! I once played an Eldritch Knight as a Sith apprentice. Lightning Lure and Shocking Grasp combo was my most powerful weapon.
lol, I loved the references to Star Wars.
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.
It was also a "Kit" in the 2nd edition 'Skills & Powers' book.
The lightsaber freak out and the Jedi freak out were awesome. We need more like this, talking about basically rip offs
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!
Funniest record scratch I've seen in a long time! Haha, kudos.
Thanks!! :)
Great vid! You really took a good swing at this one.
Great vid! I think been jedi in dnd was the point lol. If not wow.
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.
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 😁
Bladesingers are first shown in the 2e Elves handbook
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.
Hahahaha love that when you break narration ^^
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! :)
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.
Why do I remember it being
"Fear leads to Anger
Anger leads to Hate
And Hate leads to Sucking it!"
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.
Bladesingers are Jedi and that's why it's my favorite class
Never has the Bladesinger sounded more fun to play. Lol.
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
Great video!
They’re Jedi and it’s glorious.
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.
"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!
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.
Any equivalent to this if I want to play something similar in Baldur's gate 1/2?
Take 3 lvls of Bladesinger then become a Hexblade, The Jedi that falls to the Dark Side
I like the Darksaber reference. ;)
A video on Bladesinger but no mention of their Moonblades?
Idk if you’re gonna see this but I’m gearing up to run a game in the forgotten realms with one of my players creating a drow blade singer and i was wondering if you had any information about that or if there’s any extra info about what that would be like. I think that it would be possible, they are still elves after all, just wanted to see if you knew anything about them.
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.
I’m pretty sure in AD&D only surface elves could be bladesingers.
The 5e version of bladesingers are kinda …
I wonder how many people play bladesingers. For me it is my alter ego in about every campaign or PC fantasy game.
Bladesinging is from 2e Complete Book of Elves
Would AD&D or BECMI elves be bladesingers or just multiclass wizard & fighter?
BECMI elf was the class, so no. And ad&d maybe?
I always knew Star Wars in D&D was possible
All you need is a sun blade and you are good to go. Protect the realms from those who would twist the weave for their own dark, selfish purposes.
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!
The Gith are a little more like Jedi/Sith in terms of their innate psychic abilities and the cosmic lore surrounding them.
But yeah... Dungeons & Dragons is very Star Wars-y at times. Which is fine; Star Wars is more of a fantasy setting than science fiction, and there's probably a lot of overlap between the fandoms. I hope Wizards releases official 5e rules/campaign setting/published adventure for Spelljammer! Gonna have fun with that... maybe have the Artblade floating in Realmspace, and all these factions are questing for it.
Really good video on a topic that illustrates quite well why FR is not my favorite D&D setting.
Still holding my breath for 5e Greyhawk. 😁
Paladin's Rangers and blade singers are all Jedi clerics are kinda sorta Jedi but no one pays attention to one anymore where all of this was obviously true
In my campaign anyone CAN learn bladesinging but you’d be hard-pressed to find a teacher if you’re not of Elven blood.
Best video ever! So funny 🤣😂
Wait I could be wrong as it’s been a while, the protagonist of the book blade singer was human wasn’t he?
@@marcialhd you are correct! sorry I was thinking of the swordmage novel who is a human. Close but no bladesinger :)
D&D Jedi cool
I like it
What do think would happen if by freak accident a human was chosen by the Artblade?
sounds like the start of a sweet campaign!
@@Jorphdan Especially with the in-universe implications.
Jorphdan... do you... play Grandblue Fantasy? Or was that just happenstance you used that art
Happenstance!
Dammit they're Jedi!
LOL that's great. I mean, only one will ever have a the lightsaber, but still.
Although isn't there some magical weapon designation called a brilliant weapon? and didn't some the original eladrin have the ability to produce weapons made of light that were brilliant weapons
Damn it they are jedi
The Cathshee
THEIR JEDI! LOL
...what about Deathsingers?
Lmfao but that ending.
😏
Ain’t that pretty cool
I just love how triggered by the revolution of the subclass being jedi.
Can Drow be blade singers? I want to free my people from lolth by joining with Eilitree.
you forgot 2nd edition
Heavily dislike that 5e made them a wizard subclass. The martial abilities Helps you in the beginning, but it all becomes moot in later levels. Just think they could have been a very interesting elven only Paladin subclass vs a full wizard.
@Jorphdan I'm kinda new to dnd i mean I've collected like all the rule books & supplements from every edition all the way back to 2e my favorite is 3.5 and 4 lol i have all the resources but like no friends so i kinda just dream of what it would be like and write fan fics of adventures i'd like to have but anyways I had a question Why are all the names so unpleasant to speak. Like they are all master level tongue twisters that test the very fabric of reality of how sounds and language works I mean it's like the devs were drinking some Abyss Cola while designing the game and lore there has to be some kind of reason for this madness
The short answer is that they were created by gamers and not writers. Now it's somewhat of a tradition to have elves with apostrophes and hard consonants for dwarves and so on.
Yeah...in the same boat lol. Would love to play some DnD
my DM had one that he then modified even more, this was in 90 so i don't know if it was even a thing yet. he had a 'mind blade',, yes, sprang from a hilt n buzzed n crap.. OMG what a pain in the ass! had to be the leader, boss everyone, allways be right, yadda yadda,, that one npc/pc is why i quit playing
So sith lord bladesinger anyone?
While I'm a star wars fan, I don't see incorporating it into d&d. If I want to play a Jedi I will go to play rifts or another palladium game. But, to each his own.
also there is another class to ACTUALLY play as a Jedi the Psi Warrior.
I am sick to death of seeing elves with curved swords. The Noldor of Tolkien wield straight double edged blades exclusively, with one single exception. Elves are supposed to be about skill and versatility, so why wouldn't they use the most versatile style of sword blade? Elven swords should be leaf shaped, with a wide base, a narrowing in the mid section, and a widening again before plunging to a steep v point. The resulting blade is a brutal thruster, and effective slasher, and also able to deliver chops.
Bladesingers are my favorite! I never want to play as anything else lol
I'm kind of sad this was opened up from the elven exclusive...
Doesn't have to in your game! Run your realms how you want :)
I AM A JEDI
bladesingers are jedi.....so psi knights are sith?
Bladesingers Jedi consular.
Psi Knight, Jedi Guardian.
The D&D equivalent to Jedi, wow, if only a human can become a Bladesinger, that would be interesting
-Double D
funny
😦.....I'm gonna ask my DM if I can be a Half-Red Dragon Half-High Elf Bladesinger next campaign
Do, or do not. There is no try.
Since halflings, in particular the tallfellow. Being so close to elves be considered to becoming a bladesinger??
DM's call ofcourse.
Can we just appreciate the fact that Star Wars does not have to be mingled in with everything. It's kind of an insult to elvish lore. That being said, I enjoyed the video on the bladesinger, which is definitely not a jedi.
Nah Jedis are space wizards.
and Bladesingers ARE Wizards...
@@marcialhd Yes, but most of them are in fact not in space.
@@DerpyLaron Spelljammer says hi ;)
@@marcialhd and it is missed. 2e was the last official speljammer stuff wasn't it
@@DerpyLaron yes as far as i’m aware it was.
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.
Great video!
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...
*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
Too funny! Damn it, the're Jedi! The're Jedi!
"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!
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
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.
I play a Drow Bladsinger obsessed with power. I'm so a sith
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.
LoL! They're Jedi! 😂 I suppose there really isn't anything new under the sun!
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 dont know... a Gith Zerai Psi-Knight + Sunblade is a pretty good jedi too. Especially if the the Gith Yanky are the Sith