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Jan 19, 2013 -- 5:39AM, LordOfWeasels wrote:

Jan 18, 2013 -- 10:15PM, TheSalmonOfDoubt wrote:

I have a question about how the "Student of the Sword" feat interacts with the Blackstaff Apprentice Theme. I've looked, and while many people seem to assume this works the way I think it does, I can't nail a down a solid answer.

Student of the Sword grants you a spellbook. That's pretty clear.

You have a spellbook in which you record your swordmage spells.

"A spellbook" is a physical object.

Jan 18, 2013 -- 10:15PM, TheSalmonOfDoubt wrote:

The confusion comes with how this interacts with Blackstaff Apprentice's prerequisites:

Class Prerequisite: Wizard. You must be able to prepare spells from a spellbook (such as with the Arcanist’s Spellbook, Bladesinger’s Spellbook, or Mage’s Spellbook class feature).

No confusion: You require a Spellbook Class Feature that allows you to choose prepared spells from a spellbook. Simply owning a spellbook, which any Fighter can do for some cash and that MC Swordmages get for free, is not enough.

Jan 18, 2013 -- 10:15PM, TheSalmonOfDoubt wrote:

Now I would think that if you had a swordmage character that either MCed or hybrided wizard and took Student of the Sword you could choose this theme. Since you can prepare spells from a spellbook, and you count as a wizard. Is that right?

Nope. You have a spellbook (physical object). You do not have the ability to choose which spells to prepare from a spellbook (class feature). Blackstaff Apprentice requires that second one.

Yes.  Actually, you do.  If you have the Student of Sword Magic feat, you have a spellbook which lets you choose two Swordmage daily powers whenever you gain a new Swordmage daily power.  You then choose which of those spells you want to be able to cast that day, just like a Wizard with their spellbook class feature.

Note that Blackstaff Apprentice does not specify "Wizard spells", just spells.  So, if you can prepare any spells from a spellbook and are a Wizard, you qualify for the theme.

I think it works.

Jan 19, 2013 -- 10:00AM, TheSalmonOfDoubt wrote:

Jan 19, 2013 -- 8:56AM, Undrhil wrote:

Yes.  Actually, you do.  If you have the Student of Sword Magic feat, you have a spellbook which lets you choose two Swordmage daily powers whenever you gain a new Swordmage daily power.  You then choose which of those spells you want to be able to cast that day, just like a Wizard with their spellbook class feature.

Note that Blackstaff Apprentice does not specify "Wizard spells", just spells.  So, if you can prepare any spells from a spellbook and are a Wizard, you qualify for the theme.

I think it works.

That's exactly what I was thinking. But is this an out-there thing that the designers never saw coming? I have no DDI, but would someone who does mind checking how the CB reacts?

The CB is not a rules source, so .. at most, that would just show how the designers of the CB interpreted the rules.

Personally, to fix the issue, they could have put for the prerequisite:  "Base class Wizard, ability to prepare spells from a spellbook."  That would eliminate the possibility of using the Wizard MC to get to it.  I don't know how they would handle hybrids, but I guess at that point, it wouldn't matter.  A hybrid Swordmage|Wizard *is* a Wizard, just without a spellbook.

RAW if you are playing a human swordmage with both your feats dedicated to reaching this Theme, then you have met the prerequisites, so yes it works. You are a wizard, and you do have a spellbook that you cast spells from. Having met the prereqs you can take the theme.

True, I wasn't thinking about retraining...

All in all, the result is that by RAW yes it is possible.