Archblade (3.5e Prestige Class)

Archblade
"Your weapon is a part of you, master yourself and you will master your weapon."

The archblade is the master of his weapons, in the same sense that the archmage is the pinnacle of wizardry. They have a long and rich history, those who have discovered a primal link between themselves and their weapon enabling them to surpass the art of normal fighters. Those who discover the link are usually trained by another archblade, but every so often a person discovers the power on their own.

Becoming an Archblade
Archblades discover the subtle instinctual connection they have with their weapon of choice. By undergoing a ritual they awaken their powers. Archblades often organize as masters of schools of the art of warfare and weapons, and seek to find others who have the talent to awaken themselves.

Class Features
All of the following are class features of the archblade.

To achieve this an archblade must take the weapon or weapons for which they possess the weapon focus feat, and meditate upon it for a period of 8 hours. At the end of the meditation they have latched onto their inner self. They spend 200 xp during this process, but now may level in archblade. Several abilities refer to the "chosen weapon" of the archblade, which is any weapon the archblade has weapon focus in.

They may select any of the following abilities below. Unless otherwise noted each ability may only be taken once.

 (Ex): The archblade expands their sense of self not only to their weapons, but also to the armor and shields they wear, to the point where it no longer hampers them at all. Be it leather or full plate, an archblade no longer has a maximum dex bonus to their armor or shield, and no armor check penalty. They also are not hampered in speed by heavy armor, and are considered wearing light armor regardless what type of armor they possess. If the archblade is a dwarf (who already is not hampered by armor speeds) they also gain +2 to their armor bonus.

 (Su): By focusing your spirit you can swing your melee weapon and channel the force of the blow over a distance. With your chosen weapon you may now strike out at targets up to 30 ft. away as an attack action, just as if they were in melee. Your reach does not extend, so you cannot make attacks of opportunity at range. Attacks send ghostly ripples of energy through the air as you swing.

You may take this ability more than once.

 (Ex): Your mastery of your inner spirit allows you to excel at disrupting the spiritual flows of others. For opponents with spell-like abilities or spellcasting, you deal additional damage equal to 2x your archblade class level (+10 damage at 5th level) when attacking with your chosen weapon.

 (Su): Your mastery of your inner spirit gives you a supernatural edge, allowing you to affect magic even if you lack spellcasting ability. An archblade may now affect force effects such as a Wall of Force with his chosen weapon, destroying them as if Disintegrate had been cast upon them with a standard action. You also can parry magical beams as if they were physical objects. You gain a dodge bonus equal to your class level + your weapon's enhancement bonus against any magical ray or ranged touch attack.

 (Ex): You have surpassed failure and achieved excellence. When wielding your chosen weapon, you can no longer fumble (though you may still miss if rolling a 1 is insufficient) and all critical hits are automatically confirmed.

 (Ex): You possess quick reactions and skill with your chosen weapon, gaining a flurry effect, which stacks with other flurry effects. You gain an extra attack at your full base attack bonus, but all attacks in that round take a -2 penalty.

 (Ex): Your blows do not lose their momentum as you lash out. When wielding your chosen weapon your additional attacks from a high base attack bonus only have a -2 penalty instead of a -5 penalty.

 (Ex): Your attacks with your chosen weapon strike with great force, and deal grievous damage when striking at vital areas. Your critical multiplier for your chosen weapon is increased by 1. For example, a rapier now possesses 18-20/x3 multiplier and a scythe becomes 20/x5. This ability does not stack with similar abilities which increase your critical multiplier.

 (Ex): Your blows hammer down with such speed and force they seem to meld into one. Your attacks for the round are considered a single attack for the purposes of anything related to the amount of damage (damage reduction, concentration checks, etc.).

Playing an Archblade
Combat: An archblade is a master of physical combat. They are extensions of fighters, barbarians, rangers, paladins, and similar classes.

Advancement: Archblades take up prestige classes which augment their particular style of physical combat, be it melee attacks or death from afar with a bow and arrow.

Resources: The archblades have collected into a small group called the Weapon Within, who go around seeking out and awakening other archblades in the world. They scatter their agents around gladiator rings, soldier training camps, and other places where fighters visit looking for talent.

Archblades in the World
"I have found my inner axe!"

NPC Reactions: Archblades are often masters of armies, expert swordsmen of legend, and kings of the gladiator ring. Such shows of bravado, when seen, often attract attention and fame, positive or negative.

Archblade Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge History can research archblades to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Archblades in the Game
Sample Encounter: The master of House Dammerung is a powerful swordsman named Lord Hampshire. By some trickery he has become convinced the PCs are some sort of villains, and he now hunts down the PCs to take them down in battle.

EL 15: Pending