Bardic Spellreavers

Bardic Spellreavers
by Aneirin Menelaos
Lorewarden of Vorin


Introduction

While the arcane world offers many advanced disciplines for magical study, few are
truly well-suited to the bardic path, something I may expand on in future
writings. Our spell repertoire, though versatile, is limited both in breadth and
depth, and capped at the sixth circle. Many potent arcane techniques simply lie
beyond our reach.

However, among the few Advanced Magic Specializations that can complement the bardic
tradition, is the newest discipline. Spellreaving stands, in my opinion, as one
of the most promising.

What Is a Spellreaver?

Spellreaving is a battle-born practice, first refined among the warmages of the old
Kurathene Empire. It gained particular prominence among the Knights of the
Sapphire Flame, a martial sect within the esteemed Blue Order of the Sky. Following
the reorganization of the Trust and the dissolution of the Blue Order, the
knights reformed as the House of the Sapphire Flame, where the discipline continues
to evolve and flourish.

At its heart, Spellreaving is an abjuration-aligned specialization. Practitioners
learn to enhance specific protective spells—extending their effects to nearby
allies or strengthening their defenses—and, more dramatically, to strip magical
protections from their foes. This “reaving” process is not mere dispelling. A
Spellreaver does not simply unravel a spell; they commandeer it, and redirect the
arcane energies toward themselves.

Where a conventional Dispel Magic ends a spell’s function, a Spellreaver’s version reassigns it.

A Bard’s Limitations and Opportunities

It must be acknowledged: Spellreaving is not tailored specifically for bards. Of the
four protective spells that a Spellreaver can enhance—Stoneskin, Lesser Spell
Mantle, Ilyykur's Mantle, and Energy Buffer—only the latter is accessible to us.
The others lie outside the bardic spellbook, and even casting them from scrolls
will not trigger the specialization’s enhancements, as the spells must be natively cast.

Additionally, we lack access to Mordenkainen’s Disjunction, the most devastating
abjuration spell. This may seem to limit our effectiveness within the specialization.

Yet in truth, the core of Spellreaving remains open to us. We retain full access to
the lesser dispelling magics—Lesser Dispel, Dispel Magic, Greater Dispel Magic,
Wall of Greater Dispel Magic—all of which are fully sufficient to activate the
reaving effect.

Reaving in Practice

By wielding these spells, a bard Spellreaver can snatch protective enchantments
directly from enemy casters and redirect them onto themselves. Early on, this may
allow for the reaving of two or three effects—temporary wards, resistances, or
magical buffs. With greater mastery, I am told, a highly skilled Spellreaver can
absorb up to nine magical effects from a single casting.

In this, the bard finds a unique niche. While we may not reshape the battlefield with
raw power or summon mighty elementals, as Spellreavers we can subvert the
preparations of enemy casters, turning their own efforts into our defense.
This tactic is especially valuable in group engagements, where enemies
often enter combat heavily warded by their allies.

A clever bard can dismantle an enemy’s tactical edge—and wear it like a cloak.

The Path to Mastery

Spellreaver also sets itself apart from most other Advanced Mage Specializations in a
significant way. Typically, the most powerful abilities of such paths—unlocked
at the third and final rank—rely on access to 7th, 8th, or 9th circle
spells. For bards, this one imagines, results in either:

(a) Being unable to qualify for the final rank, or

(b) Reaching it, but being unable to take full advantage of its benefits.

Spellreaver, however, is not structured in this manner. To my knowledge, no part of
the path explicitly requires mastery of higher-circle spells, nor is there any
indication that 7th-circle access is a gating mechanism for Rank III. While
definitive confirmation remains pending, I see no reason a bard could not
attain—and make full use of—the third and highest rank of the Spellreaver
specialization.

Conclusion

Spellreaving may not offer the raw force or universal compatibility of other arcane
paths. But for bards—those who thrive on improvisation, timing, and clever
turns of fate—it offers something uniquely potent: the ability to make
another's strength your own.