Longbow's Silence: Stopping Bladesong's Whisper

Bladesong is a secret elven magic that grants supernatural speed, agility, and focus to its user. Bladesingers are elf wizards who master a school of sword fighting grounded in a tradition of arcane magic. Bladesong ends if the user wears medium or heavy armour, uses a shield, is incapacitated, or uses two hands to make an attack with a weapon.

While Bladesong is typically used with swords, some players have wondered if it can be used with archery. Rules as written say using a weapon with two hands ends Bladesong, which does count a bow as two-handed. However, Bladesong does not require a weapon in hand to be used. So, while a longbow would not work with Bladesong, a sling or hand crossbow would.

Bladesong ends if you use two hands to make an attack with a weapon

Bladesong is a secret elven magic that grants the caster supernatural speed, agility and focus. Bladesong ends early if the caster is incapacitated, dons medium or heavy armour, uses a shield, or uses two hands to make an attack with a weapon.

The Bladesong ability is available to Bladesingers, a type of Elf wizard. Bladesingers are proficient with longswords, and the Bladesong ability is intended to be used with swords, axes, hammers, flails, whips and other melee weapons. Bladesingers are not proficient with longbows, and using a longbow would require two hands to make an attack, thus ending the Bladesong early.

However, Bladesingers can use a hand crossbow or a sling without ending the Bladesong early, as these weapons only require one hand to attack.

Bladesong doesn't require a weapon in hand

Bladesong is a secret elven magic that can be invoked by Bladesingers, a type of wizard who masters a tradition of wizardry that incorporates swordplay and dance. Bladesong grants its user supernatural speed, agility, and focus.

Bladesong does not require a weapon in hand. Its description would say if it did. However, there are limitations to invoking Bladesong. To invoke Bladesong, you cannot be wearing medium or heavy armour, using a shield, or incapacitated. Bladesong also ends early if you don medium or heavy armour or a shield, or if you use two hands to make an attack with a weapon.

Bladesingers are not meant to actually fight with a sword. They are dancing wizards that are hard to hit. Bladesong is more so a magical performance, which makes sounds with the blade when it's wielded but still works when it isn't. It is not a spell, so it cannot be counterspelled, but it is considered magical in nature.

Bladesingers gain proficiency with light armour and one type of one-handed melee weapon of their choice. They also gain proficiency in the Performance skill.

Bladesong is not compatible with reloading

Bladesong is a secret elven magic that can be invoked by a Bladesinger, a type of wizard. Bladesong grants the Bladesinger supernatural speed, agility and focus. However, Bladesong ends early if the Bladesinger is incapacitated or dons medium or heavy armour, a shield, or if they use two hands to make an attack with a weapon.

While the Bladesinger class is not limited to melee weapons, Bladesong is incompatible with reloading a weapon, as this requires the use of two hands. Therefore, a Bladesinger cannot reload a weapon without ending Bladesong early.

A Bladesinger could use a one-handed weapon, such as a hand crossbow, without ending Bladesong early. However, this would not be a valid weapon choice as per the Bladesinger Styles descriptor, which only includes melee weapons.

Additionally, the Bladesinger Arcane Tradition and Wizard class do not grant proficiency with the hand crossbow. The Training in War and Song feature grants proficiency with one type of one-handed melee weapon, but not with hand crossbows.

The Bladesinger's Song of Victory feature, which adds the Bladesinger's Intelligence modifier to the damage of their melee weapon attacks while Bladesong is active, would also be useless if they used a hand crossbow.

Bladesong is not compatible with a longbow but is with a sling or hand crossbow

Bladesong is a secret elven magic that grants the user supernatural speed, agility and focus. Bladesong ends early if the user wears medium or heavy armour, uses a shield, or uses two hands to make an attack with a weapon.

A longbow requires two hands to attack, so it is not compatible with Bladesong. However, a sling or hand crossbow only requires one hand to attack, so Bladesong can be used with these weapons.

A Bladesinger Wizard who uses a hand crossbow will not benefit from the Extra Attack feature due to the weapon's Loading trait, unless they take the Crossbow Expert feat. Additionally, the Song of Victory feature is only applicable to melee weapons, so it cannot be used with a hand crossbow.

While a sling or hand crossbow is compatible with Bladesong, a Bladesinger Wizard will not be able to make full use of their class features with these weapons.

Bladesong is not required for a bladesinger

Bladesingers are a subclass of wizards who have mastered a tradition of wizardry that incorporates swordplay and dance. They are highly mobile, agile, and can use bladesong, an elven magic that grants them supernatural speed, agility, and focus.

While bladesingers are often depicted as wielding swords, bladesong does not require a blade to function. Bladesong can be invoked without a weapon, as long as the bladesinger is not wearing medium or heavy armour, using a shield, or attacking with a weapon using two hands.

• A bonus to AC equal to the bladesinger's Intelligence modifier
• Increased walking speed
• Advantage on Dexterity (Acrobatics) checks
• A bonus to any Constitution saving throw made to maintain concentration on a spell

Bladesingers who do not use bladesong will miss out on these benefits, but they can still make use of their other subclass features, such as extra attack and the ability to add their Intelligence modifier to the damage of their melee weapon attacks.

Additionally, bladesingers have access to several cantrips and spells that are particularly useful for melee combat, such as booming blade, green-flame blade, and shadow blade. However, these cantrips and spells are not required for a bladesinger build, and bladesingers can still be effective without them.

In conclusion, while bladesong is a powerful ability for bladesingers, it is not required for the subclass. Bladesingers who choose not to use bladesong can still be effective in combat, but they will miss out on the benefits that bladesong provides.

Frequently asked questions