The sword-mage guild is one of my favorites, but it's always seemed like an afterthought. With few spells that make it unique, and most of those being lockable weapon spells, I feel the sword-mage needs a bit of a redefinition.

The first route I'd like to explore is removing conjuration from their trainable skills, and replacing the eight (8) or so lost spells with extra illusionism spells - for instance, "magic missile" would be switched out with "combat caltrops", exchanging a classic arch-mage direct damage spell with a damage-shield/over time effect. Currently the illusionism spell list is neither extensive nor unique, so I'd like to retool some of these to be more sword-mage-centric:

 Code:
Illusionism    level  Concept Replacement
-----------    -----  -------------------
light            1    illuminate blade
invisibility     13   veil of mirrored steel

Conjuration    level  Concept Replacement
-----------    -----  -------------------
magic missile    1    combat caltrops
flame bolt       3    heat weapon
ice dagger       4    snowbind
killing cloud    7    shimmering cloud
flame wave       10   wall of swords
arc lightning    10   flinch
blizzard         14   steely eyed resolve
meteor storm     22   blade baffle

Short descriptions
==================
illuminate blade: This spell causes a weapon in the caster's possession to illuminate as per the "light" spell. This effect can be extinguished via the "extinguish" command.

veil of mirrored steel: This spell is cast upon a weapon that is wielded by the caster. As long as that weapon remains wielded, and the spell's duration has not expired, the caster is invisible to the outside world. This invisibility can even last through short bursts of combat, but never extended fights. Occasionally the hum of the caster's weapon parting the light as it moves will be audible to anyone in the room with them, which can be a dead giveaway that a sword-mage behind a veil of mirrored steel is present, though it will not break the illusion.

combat caltrops: This spell allows the sword-mage to cast an illusion on their weapon, causing the opponent to see the weapon quickly deteriorate during combat. The weapon's destruction seems to leave shards on the battlefield that only hurt those fighting the sword-mage.

heat weapon: This short-duration illusion spell is cast against an opponent's weapon. Metal weapons will seem to grow uncomfortably hot to the touch, while wood and leather weapons may appear to burst into flame or worse. This spell can potentially (in order of likelihood) cause damage to the weapon wielder, cause the weapon to not perform as well in combat, or cause the user to unwield that weapon for a very short period.

snowbind: This illusion causes its target to think the weapon they are wielding has become brittle with a bitter frost. The target will swing less furiously, and deal less damage with the weapon for a short period.

shimmering cloud: This illusion consumes a weapon of any kind in its casting, and causes any who would be foolish enough to engage in combat in its wake to have their defensive skills lowered to some degree. The weapon is turned into a fine dust that blurs vision, making it nearly impossible to anticipate incoming attacks. Note that those who can see invisible will have their defensive skills lowered significantly less than others.

wall of swords: This illusory wall is cast over an exit to a room, and must be cast at a weapon with some sort of point or blade. Anyone other than the caster, the caster's pets and party members, and those who can see invisible who pass through the exit are dealt damage. Each caster's wall is a reflection of the weapon they are wielding at the time, and given a signature that can be seen by any with a sufficient level of the skill "detect magic". The number of walls allowed to be active in room at once is dictated by power level, and a maximum of three walls can be placed over a single exit. Note that this spell can not be cast on the world map.

flinch: This illusion makes the target fearful of the caster's weapon, causing them to flinch whenever the caster swings it at them. This can have one of a few effects:
1) No effect
2) Target falls down trying to evade the blow
3) Target fatigues themselves in failing to get away

steely eyed resolve: This spell causes the caster to have a chance based on the power of the spell cast to see the invisible and resist stunning. It also causes the caster to feel less effects from the shimmering cloud spell.

blade baffle: This powerful illusion clones the weapons wielded by the target its cast at, which then harass and assail the target. In all, hits scored by the target on the caster cause a hit to be scored by the same weapon's illusory counterpart on the target.




As always, comments are welcome.
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