Weapon Craft
Blademaster
Flow through the forms — devastating attack or ironclad defense, as the moment demands.
The Blademaster's fighting style is to flow through the forms, building an effective defense or a devastating attack as the situation dictates. Each form is either offensive or defensive, allowing you to spend stacks to improve your Attack or Defense, respectively. Selecting whether to play offensively or defensively may make or break your effectiveness in battle.
Blademaster is the most flexible craft in the game, and one of the most difficult to play well. By choosing defense or offense, you can become one of the toughest to kill, or one of the highest-damage fighters. The trick is putting yourself in a position to meet the prerequisites of the most tactically useful abilities. Focus on building Momentum or Deflection stacks quickly so you can amplify whatever role you are playing.
Against Knifecraft use Cat Dances on the Wall, Boar Rushes down the Mountain, and Folding the Air — Knifecraft suffers when it has an attack debuff. Against Spearcraft use Lightning of the Three Prongs and Ribbon of Air. Against Bowcraft close the distance and use Cat Dances on the Wall or Grapevine Twines (depending on offense or defense). Run down their defense and make it difficult to gain distance on you.
Stacking Ability
Declare Offensive or Defensive at the start of your turn. That choice lasts until your next turn.
Momentum & Deflection
Momentum and Deflection are cosmetic names. Like every other weaponcraft, these stacks are fungible: class stacks, weaponcraft stacks — you do not track how a stack was earned, and any of them can pay a Blademaster stack burn. Each physicality point you spend on a Blademaster ability grants two stacks.
What is unique is the mode lock. At the start of each of your turns you must declare Offensive or Defensive. That choice lasts until your next turn. Until then you may only use matching abilities, and you may only spend stacks on the matching 1-stack burn: Attack & Damage while Offensive, absorb while Defensive. Read the field and decide, for this round, how you will affect the battle.
Stack Burn
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1 Stack
Offensive: +1 Attack & Damage until end of turn.
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1 Stack
Defensive: Absorb [Your Maximum Physicality] Damage until end of turn.
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3 Stacks
At any time: Gain 1 Physicality.
At Maximum Stacks
If you are currently at your maximum stacks, you gain the following passive ability. As soon as you spend any stacks, you immediately lose the passive ability.
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Passive
Duelist's Poise [0 PHYS] — When you have maximum stacks at the end of your turn, absorb 2× [Talent Points spent in Blademaster] Damage until next turn, or gain an additional Physicality Counter if you already have 1.
Abilities
Each ability is Offensive, Defensive, or either. Search every tier at once.
Basic Abilities
May be purchased using talent points in any order.
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Apple Blossoms on the Wind
Make [APM] Standard Attacks. Forces enemy back 10 feet regardless of successful hits.
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Parting the Silk
Move up to 10 feet and make a Standard Attack after a killing blow. This free attack automatically crits if it lands; damage is rolled normally.
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Viper Flicks its Tongue
Must be flanking. Make [APM] Standard Attacks. For each successful attack, roll weapon damage again at the start of that enemy's next turn.
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Sheathing the Sword
You choose to have 0 defense. The next time an enemy attacks you, it crits, dealing full dice damage. You automatically deal 5× Crit, full dice damage in return. This happens simultaneously.
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Cat Dances on the Wall
Until your next turn, you may add X to Defense. If attacked, you may counterattack with a Standard Attack at the end of that enemy's turn. If you are successful, that enemy makes his next attack with +1 Disadvantage.
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Ribbon of Air
You throw your sword at an approaching enemy who would move into your area of influence. Automatically crits if the attack is successful, and if the enemy attacks you, they do so with +1 Disadvantage. Your sword lands 10 feet from you in the direction the target came from.
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River Undercuts the Bank
Until your next turn, as long as you have not moved, you attack at +X Advantage, are attacked at +X Disadvantage, and get +X AoO, where X is the number of enemies within your AoI.
Intermediate Abilities
You must have spent at least 2 points in the weaponcraft tree.
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Heron Spreads its Wings
You make 2 Standard Attacks against each enemy in your AoI.
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Boar Rushes down the Mountain
You must be outside the enemy AoI. You move up to 15 feet to close the distance with that enemy before you perform a Full Attack Action. They do not get an AoO. Full dice damage, crit possible. You may force the enemy back 10 feet.
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Grapevine Twines
You must have attacked target enemy last turn. Make [Max Phys] Standard Attacks, with +[Max Phys] Advantage.
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Striking the Spark
Sword must be sheathed, and this must be your first attack / AoO this encounter. Add your level to Attack, Damage, and CTR. Attack with +1 Advantage.
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Lion on the Hill
X is the number of enemies within 15 feet of you at the start of your turn. Until your next turn, you gain X to Attack and Damage, are immune from AoO, your AoI becomes 15 feet, you may move up to 15 feet to perform an AoO, and you have unlimited AoO.
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Folding the Air
You must have been successfully attacked and taken damage last turn. Until your next turn, you gain X to Defense, Attack, and CTR, and attacks made against you are at +X Disadvantage.
Advanced Abilities
You must have spent at least 4 points in the weaponcraft tree.
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Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose
Must target an enemy 5 feet away that you have used Offensive Abilities on for the last two consecutive turns. Move 5 feet and make a Standard Attack with +1 Advantage, which pushes the enemy back 5 feet. Do this X times total.
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Lightning of the 3 Prongs
Sometimes offense is the best defense. Until your next turn, any time you are attacked, after each attack roll you may respond instantly with three Standard Attacks. Ability is not effective against ranged attacks.
Wheel of Time RPG · Blademaster weapon craft Rules manual