Swashbucklers and Two-Weapon Fighting
The Swashbuckler relies on a good understanding of the
D&D rules to realize its potential, specifically when it
comes to fighting with two weapons. Other characters
must use an action to Disengage if they want to escape a
melee, but the Fancy Footwork feature of the Swashbuck-
ler bundles a more limited version of Disengage within
your attack. This allows you to use your bonus action to
fight with two weapons, and then safely evade each foe
you attacked.RAKISH AUDACITY
Starting at 3rd level, your unmistakable confidence pro-
pels you into battle. You can add your Charisma modi-
fier to your initiative rolls.
In addition, you don't need advantage on your attack
roll to use your Sneak Attack if no creature other than
your target is within 5 feet of you. All the other rules for
the Sneak Attack class feature still apply to you.PANACHE
At 9th level, your charm becomes extraordinarily beguil-
ing. As an action, you can make a Charisma (Persua-
sion) check contested by a creature's Wisdom (Insight)
check. The creature must be able to hear you, and the
two of you must share a language.
If you succeed on the check and the creature is hostile
to you, it has disadvantage on attack rolls against tar-
gets other than you and can't make opportunity attacks
against targets other than you. This effect lasts for 1
minute, until one of your companions attacks the target
or affects it with a spell, or until you and the target are
more than 60 feet apart.
If you succeed on the check and the creature isn't
hostile to you, it is charmed by you for 1 minute. While
charmed, it regards you as a friendly acquaintance. This
effect ends immediately if you or your companions do
anything harmful to it.ELEGANT MANEUVER
Starting at 13th level, you can use a bonus action on
your turn to gain advantage on the next Dexterity (Ac-
robatics) or Strength (Athletics) check you make during
the same turn.
MASTER DUELIST
Beginning at 17th level, your mastery of the blade lets
you turn failure into success in combat. If you miss with
an attack roll, you can roll it again with advantage. Once
you do so, you can't use this feature again until you fin-
ish a short or long rest.
Sorcerers
The Weave of magic infuses every part of the Realms,
and some people have the natural ability to perceive,
touch, and shape the Weave. Some inherit this ability
from a magical ancestor such as a dragon or an angel,
others gain it by accident from exposure to wild magical
power, and others manifest this power by chance or the
hand of fate, perhaps portended by events at their con-
ception or birth.
CHAPTER 4 I CLASSES
Due to their varied origins and delayed manifestation
of powers, sorcerers can be found almost anywhere
and among almost any people. Larger cities on the
Sword Coast-including Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter,
and Waterdeep-all have a few sorcerers, since people
with magic gravitate to places where their abilities are
valued. Sorcerers are slightly more common among
cultures steeped in magic, such as among the elves of
Evermeet and the humans of Halruua. The witches of
Rashemen are sorcerers who lead that country's society,
but their Thayan neighbors often persecute the sorcer-
ers who appear in Thay, seeing sorcery as a threat to the
nation's power structure, which is based on the study of
wizardry. Magic-hating cultures, such as the Northland-
ers and Uthgardt, exile or kill the sorcerers who mani-
fest among them.WILD MAGIC
The Forgotten Realms has a long history of magical
disasters and uncontrolled surges of power that alter
creatures or the land itself. Whether caused by a Neth-
erese wizard trying to become god of magic, deities
being forced to walk the earth during the Time of
Troubles, or the chaos of the Spell plague, the magical
chaos unleashed by such events has created a legacy of
wild magic sorcerers. This legacy often lies dormant for
generations, then suddenly manifests under the right
(or wrong) circumstances. These wild mages are more
common recently in lands directly affected by the Spell-
plague, including Halruaa, Mulhorand, and pockets of
Cormyr and the Sword Coast.DRACONIC MAGIC
Dragons are known to take humanoid form and live
among lesser creatures for decades. Some of these
dragons have liaisons with humanoids, or invest their
allies or minions with dragon magic. These invested
creatures might become draconic bloodline sorcerers,
or pass their abilities on to their descendants. Draconic
bloodline sorcerers have appeared in most parts of the
world due to the actions of individual dragons or exper-
imentation by dragon cults, but they are significantly
more common around Chessenta, which was once ruled
by a dragon, and the land of Murghom near Thay, where
dragon princes have ruled for the last eighty years.MAGIC OF THE STORM
During the Sundering, a constant storm called the
Great Rain covered the Sea of Fallen Stars, darkening
the skies and causing massive floods. Thousands of
people died from drowning, lightning strikes, or bursts
of wind that hit like fists and capsized ships. A few survi-
vors of these events found themselves blessed or cursed
with innate magic-storm sorcerers able to bend light-
ning, thunder, and wind to their will. Most of these new
mages appeared near the Inner Sea, but clouds from the
Great Rain sometimes traveled much farther away. Al-
though not all storm sorcerers gained their powers from
the Great Rain, most common folk associate them with
its destructive weather and treat them with caution.