Knightspirations: 5e Spells as Knights

I've been playing an open table Mythic Bastionland game with some friends in my area, at the expense of my long running 5e game. With a jam starting up, maybe we can get some use out of my neglected 5e player's handbook to create some new knights.

(To skip to the content: The Loath Knight, The Dance Knight, The Jester Knight and three Seers.)

A knight in Mythic Bastionland has a poem, some property, a unique ability, a passion, a very cool piece of art and a random table relating to their ability or property. In some cases, these unique abilities can be spell-like, but the implied setting is one where magic is suffused in the natural world, so the feel is very different. Take for example The Gallows Knight, who can speak with and summon scavenger creatures that are only helpful when provided with food. Elements of Speak with Animals or Conjure Animals are present here, but with natural language and limitations that push the feel of this away from a magic spell and towards a talent or skill learned in a mythic world.

Spells in 5e D&D are special abilities with a load of information in their descriptions. That's ample material to bounce off for some knights. I'll work down the Bard spell list in this example, since its at the start of the spells chapter and I have a bit more familiarity with the 5e Bard. Work it back the other way and you have a bard obsessed with knightly myths and a story/character associated with each of their spells, which is also fun (and similar to divine magic in Dolmenwood?).

Blade Ward

From the book:

Abjuration cantrip; Casting Time: 1 action; Range: Self; Components: V, S; Duration: 1 round

You extend your hand and trace a sigil of warding in the air. Until the end of your next turn, you have resistance against bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage dealt by weapon attacks.

This is a pretty clear, evocative ability to start with. It doesn't give us a great deal to build out the rest of the knight though.

Ability: Blade Breaker

You are warded with sigils and charms resisting swords. If you are Wounded by a bladed weapon, you may choose to instead take a Mortal Wound so that the weapon shatters.

Or: When you Deny a bladed weapon, you may remove two dice instead of one. Or you may additionally XYZ.

What kind of knight is this? We have an ability, now we need poetry, property and passion. It seems quite unusual to be a knight who hates swords. It does call to mind a short story from Sword Stone Table, a book of Arthurian retellings I read in January when I was setting up a different Mythic Bastionland campaign. The story is called The Bladesmith Queen by Sarah MacLean, and concerns a master blacksmith who has made weapons for cruel warlords in exchange for leaving her village alone. She makes a new sword for a knight with the promise that he deposes these tyrants. Mythic Bastionland already has the Iron Knight and Forge Knight, the latter particularly offering a take on the Bladesmith. What if we go for more of a sheriff who's put down their gun.

The Loath Knight

With buried sword and sorry eyes

A promise breaks midst heavy sighs

Goya, public domain

Property

• Wizened scabbard (A1, d4, any sword placed within can only be drawn by you)
• Gambeson (A1) and Charmed Ringmail (A1, see below)
• Restless steed (VIG 13, CLA 5, SPI 8, 2GD)

Ability - Blade Breaker If you are Wounded by a bladed weapon, you may choose to instead take a Mortal Wound so that the weapon shatters.

Passion - Refusal Restore SPI when you refuse a call to help a petitioner.

Dancing Lights

From the book:

Casting Time: 1 action; Range: 120 feet; Components: V, S, M (a bit of phosphorus or wychwood, or a glowworm); Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You create up to four torch-sized lights within range, making them appear as torches, lanterns, or glowing orbs that hover in the air for the duration. You can also combine the four lights into one glowing vaguely humanoid form of Medium size. Whichever form you choose, each light sheds dim light in a 10-foot radius.

As a bonus action on your turn, you can move the lights up to 60 feet to a new spot within range. A light must be within 20 feet of another light created by this spell, and a light winks out if it exceeds the spell’s range.

Floating magical lights are a bit boring, but the components are very fun.

The Dance Knight

To jig, to move, to touch and throw

'Til looking down see dust for toe

Unknown, public domain

Property

• Fastspear (d8 hefty, Wounded targets cannot move next turn)
• Demanding yet formidable pouchworm (see below; if it dies, charm a new worm next Season)
• Elegant steed (VIG 10, CLA 13, SPI 5, 3GD)

Ability - Blinding Lights Once per phase, after dancing for a few moments, you may begin to glow brightly. Creatures that see you are blinded except for seeing you and anyone you are dancing with. If you stop dancing this ends.

Passion - Conviviality Restore SPI when you sing or dance with someone new.

Vicious Mockery

Let's skip forward a bit to a bard-exclusive cantrip.

Enchantment cantrip; Casting Time: 1 action; Range: 60 feet; Components: V; Duration: Instantaneous

You unleash a string of insults laced with subtle enchantments at a creature you can see within range. If the target can hear you (though it need not understand you), it must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw or take 1d4 psychic damage and have disadvantage on the next attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.

A different kind of barbed knight, or mock knight.

The Jester Knight

Knock, knock! Who's there?

The Jester Knight. Ahahahahaha...

Chase, public domain

Property

• Barbed armour (A1, d4) and Foolscap (A1, noisy bells), Greathammer (d10 long)
• Collection of witty verses (see below for a random table)
• Frosty steed (VIG 11, CLA 7, SPI 7, 3 GD, never acknowledges you)

Ability - Taunt Each time you take no damage from an attack, gain +d6 against the attacker if you target them on your next turn.

Passion - Unkindness Restore SPI when you make someone feel insecure.

Seerspiration

Let's make some Seers. If knights are, so far, cantrips, Seers could be 9th level spells. A Seer has cool art, stats and three bullet points, typically a physical description, a limitation or variation on their sight, and a want. 9th level bard spells are so boring (two power words, foresight and true polymorph). Cleric, sorcerer, warlock and wizard have some more interesting options. Let's go for sorcerer: gate, meteor swarm, power word kill, time stop and wish. Cutting out power word kill and wish gives us three Seers to go with each of our Knights.

The Fracture Seer (Gate)

Marcoussis, public domain

VIG 10, CLA 3, SPI 3, 1 GD

A2 (crystal form)

• Statue-like mass of crystalline bodyparts at impossible angles around a gaping maw
• Those who enter the maw fall through a series of visions
• Wants Knights to take the longest route to victory

The Cratered Seer (Meteor Swarm)

Boudewyns, public domain

VIG 5, CLA 12, SPI 7, 1 GD

• Bent around a mighty sky-iron stone embedded in his head, a withered young man
• Sees through all that burns
• Wants to hasten things towards their endings

The Darting Seer (Time Stop)

Flaxman, public domain

VIG 10, CLA 12, SPI 8, 4 GD

• Elderly woman in sweeping robes, moving absurdly quickly while acolytes struggle to stay atop her requests
• Sees the present in perfect detail, but nothing of the past or future
• Wants to control everything without anyone noticing