Exalted Blade

Fighter Archetype

Through some means, you have obtained a legendary weapon composed of an evanescent, magical energy. Be it an heirloom, bestowed upon you by a deity, or simply forged in the fire of your own essence, your weapon is a marvel to behold.

Exalted Blade

At 3rd level, your weapon manifests itself as an Exalted weapon. This effect may be applied to a weapon you already have or the weapon may originally appear at this stage. They could adopt a wondrous glow, or become entirely made of a plasma-like material. Regardless of their design, they adopt the following traits:

Your weapon is magically bound to you, and can disappear or reappear in your possession at your command. This consumes a bonus action, but it is a free action on the first turn of combat to summon it.

Exalted weapons are sentient, containing a spirit that’s unique to each weapon.

When an Exalted weapon is not present in weapon form, it can choose to appear as a ghostly apparition.

You may only have one Exalted weapon at any given time. To gain a new one, you must perform an hour-long ritual during a rest, destroying the first weapon and spirit to create a new weapon and spirit.

Inversely, you can perform a similar ritual to place a magical effect and bonus from other weaponry into your Exalt. You may only have one such foreign effect and one such bonus added to your weapon, and you must forgo the first foreign effect or bonus to gain a new one. Should such an effect belong to a melee weapon, it won't apply to a ranged Exalt, and vice versa.

For example, if you were to infuse the effect of a Dragon Slayer into your Exalt, you would gain the additional damage against dragons that it grants. You could have the magic bonus from a Defender within it as well, giving you the bonus damage against dragons alongside a +3 magic bonus, thus making your Exalt a unique tool.

Work with your DM to determine whether or not you control the actions and traits of the weapon's spirit. The weapon can telepathically communicate with creatures within 60 feet, and is like a character of its own in terms of roleplay.

Transient Manifestation

At 3rd level, your weapon's spirit can lurch out briefly to distract an enemy. You can use a bonus action when you attack to gain advantage in this way, or a reaction to impose disadvantage on an attacker in this way. You can perform this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus, resetting on short rest.

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Evolve and Overcome

At 7th level, your weapon begins to master its own form. As a bonus action, you can transform the weapon into any other simple or martial weapon, as well as several tools such as a crowbar or grappling hook. You don't need to be holding the weapon to do this. You can do this while summoning the weapon to your hand as a part of the same bonus action. Additionally, your weapon counts as magical for the purposes of overcoming damage resistance.

Focus and Liberate

At 10th level, your weapon is tightly entwined with your mind. If you are holding your weapon and are capable of using your action, you can expend an action to dispel a Frighten or Charm effect, as your weapon helps you snap out of it.

In games that incorporate Madness effects, this feature can either assist with shortening the madness, rid it entirely, or do nothing at the Dungeon Master’s discretion. While making this decision, it is important to incorporate the personality of the weapon: are they fiercely loyal, or would they not even want to help their master?

Absolve and Unleash

At 15th level, your Exalt can tap into their true potential. As an action, you can absolve the restrictions of your Exalt and unleash the power in the weapon to grant it benefits for up to one minute. In addition to any magical effects already on the weapon, it gains an additional 5 feet of Reach if it is melee, or an additional 1000 on both Ranges if it is a ranged weapon. Attacks dealt with an Unleashed Exalt deal an additional 2d6 radiant damage for the duration.

While unleashed, the weapon may change in appearance, typically giving off a field of magic or plasma like energy to indicate its increased range and power. This can be performed once per long rest, and is very taxing on the weapon's spirit, leaving them feeling tired after their rampage concludes.