Walking the Way: A Swordsage's Handbook [Under Construction]
To blunder twice is not allowed in war.
- Latin proverb
Why Play a Swordsage?
Why Use Tome of Battle?
Spoiler
There are endless cycles of debate about Tome of Battle: why it sucks, why it’s great, why the fluff is awful, whether it’s balanced, etcetera. Naturally, opinions vary widely, but I’ve found that Tome of Battle greatly enriches the playing experience at my table, mainly for two reasons:
- It makes melee fun to play. Some people enjoy endlessly repeating their full attack routine; many want something more. And Tome of Battle provides you with lots more options and tactics, which include the ability to make decisions more meaningful than how much you’ll Power Attack for this turn.
- It levels the playing field. Around here it’s an oft-recited saying that ‘fighters scale linearly, wizards scale quadratically’. Tome of Battle by no means closes that gap, but it unquestionably narrows it.
This handbook will use the following system for ratings:
Red - Awful. Never, ever take these.
Purple - Meh. These can be situationally useful, but aren’t usually worth it.
Black - OK. Not the best, but not the worst, either.
Blue - Good. An excellent option, and worthwhile.
Cyan - Great. Take these. Seriously.
Gold - Fantastic. These are amazing options, defining aspects of a build or even the entire class.
Don't expect this to be finished soon; updates will be infrequent while my warblade handbook is still being built upon. Nonetheless, I'd very much like comments, criticism, and most of all, additions.