College of the Infinite Edge | MCDM | Page 1

oak oxide Oct 4, 2025, 9:34 PM

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Hello everyone, I have made something half as a proof of concept to say "I can do this" and half because I think the fantasy is cool. Behold, the College of the Infinite Edge! This is my take on a swordmaster archetype, which leverages supernatural perception and observation skills in order to replicate enemy techniques, gain Insight into the enemy, and eventually Predict The Future! I have also included a handful of media influences and references in the document to help visualize this.

Note: The Lone Blade is a sister subclass to the Shadow. It changes some of the base rules and features of the Shadow in order to leverage its unique advantages. In this way, it is not an average subclass, but fundamentally changes the role a Shadow fulfills on the battlefield.```

Any critique, feedback, or comments are greatly appreciated! Again, this is half a proof of concept and half an execution of a fantasy I like so this *has not been tested* and was not *designed with the intent to be a marketable product*. With that in mind, enjoy!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vntokehq9ISyYJLZQ2xPGsCA7p1Iq0hyIoPL3ofBe6k/edit?usp=sharing

Google Docs

College of the Infinite Edge

College of the Infinite Edge“You consider yourself a master? Let me demonstrate to you just how great the gap between your skill and mine is.” The College of the Infinite Edge teaches its students that all manner of martial schools and techniques are but one part of the whole. Only by understand...

hasty glen Oct 5, 2025, 7:51 AM

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Really like this,, I think enlightened eye is basically perfect?

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Really simple rule but it captures that prophetic vibe

oak oxide Oct 5, 2025, 2:50 PM

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hasty glen Really like this,, I think enlightened eye is basically perfect?

thank you so much!

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really glad to see the positive reception this has gotten

hasty glen Oct 5, 2025, 4:20 PM

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I'm a sucker for anything dune-adjacent

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What inspired sword breaking stuff? Haven't encountered that before

oak oxide Oct 5, 2025, 4:23 PM

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hasty glen What inspired sword breaking stuff? Haven't encountered that before

"shattering weapons" is a metaphor/turn of phrase for defeating enemy martial styles.

hasty glen Oct 5, 2025, 4:26 PM

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Oh thats pretty sick

oak oxide Oct 5, 2025, 6:06 PM

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hasty glen What inspired sword breaking stuff? Haven't encountered that before

hmmm thinking now. is the wording on that alright?

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does that muddy the vibe too much?

hasty glen Oct 5, 2025, 6:54 PM

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When I read the title and the sword shattering bit I got the impression that part of the subclass is about having a dope ass sword

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So maybe it needs a touch? But it didn’t rlly muddy anything

oak oxide Oct 5, 2025, 6:57 PM

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perhaps it might be punchier if i said
“You consider yourself a master? Let me demonstrate to you just how great the gap between your skill and mine is."
then the flavor text for [Transcendent Art - Heaven] would read
Breaking wills is all too simple in the hands of a true master.

hasty glen Oct 5, 2025, 6:59 PM

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Astronomical levels of punch

oak oxide Oct 5, 2025, 6:59 PM

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thanks for the feedback!

hasty glen Oct 5, 2025, 6:59 PM

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Anytime boss

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:37 AM

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Sever All That Stands is pretty weak, since it's a 9 cost maneuver that does basically nothing until your next turn.

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could easily be start and end of turn, and it's probably still weak? Not sure how useful it is to have a bunch of people marked.

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Transcend Art Heaven also feels quite weak, 11 cost to add a frighten effect is not worth it.

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Overall I'm liking the vibes though, good work!

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It's telling that I only got to crituques when I hit the higher cost abilities.

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:45 AM

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i really struggled with the higher cost stuff lol

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im welcome to any suggestions

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:51 AM

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I think that Transcend Art Heaven could have something as basic as just a permenant damage immunity 5 included

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actually

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"Until the end of combat or you become dying, you deal double damage"

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not sure which one that is, but I think it fits

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:52 AM

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thats for the suggestion!

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:52 AM

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(maybe just until end of next turn? So you only get two turns out of it)

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:52 AM

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ill put it under consideration

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:53 AM

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power per HR cost isn't a linear scale

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it's a bit exponential

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If the question is between just using Shadowstrike twice over two turns, or using a signature and than an 11 cost on the second turn, that should be a dillemna for the player.

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So it needs to account for the opportunity cost of not using any HR last turn.

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:55 AM

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honestly one of my biggest struggles was making it feel "3rd echelon" enough

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:55 AM

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I don't have a very firm grip on 11 cost HR power either, but as a general rule it's 2-3x stronger than my intuition thinks it should be based on E1 play.

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:57 AM

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the balance was kinda an afterthought for me haha

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:58 AM

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like a strong 5 cost action Shadowstrike is basically +1 signature for 5 cost. Spend 5 and an action, get 2 signatures. But the 11 cost Speed of Shadows is +3 signatures, and it comes with a bunch of alt use cases and some bonus movement. Based off the Shadowstrike budget, that should be around 17 HR

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:58 AM

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just trying to focus on the "rigor" thematically speaking, as matt put it

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:58 AM

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oak oxide the balance was kinda an afterthought for me haha

Yeah, balance is ultimately the last thing to solve. It's easy to tweak numbers.

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:58 AM

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that was something i thought about a lot

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"how can they do this"

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or rather "how does good senses/swinging a sword accomplish this?"

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:59 AM

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I do think those two abilities are weak enough that just number tweaking isn't enough though. They need a bit of a fundamental overhaul to increase the power at hand.

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:59 AM

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hmm yeah

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:59 AM

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Where as if Transcend Art: Void is a bit weak, well just buff the damage.

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 3:59 AM

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ill give em a second look

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wasnt super planning on testing this or making it into an Actual Thing, like i said

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ill still take ur comments into consideration

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appreciate it, as always

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 4:01 AM

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Yup, ultimately the class needs to make you happy

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Oh, one other suggestion, maybe College of the Lonely Blade? A bit more poetic imo.

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 4:02 AM

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ive been ruminating on the name for a long time

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lone blade was what it originally was when i couldnt decide

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i want something different and i have my own tastes when it came to naming so i wasnt sure where to land

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a few canidates i had but never commited to:

Ephemeral Eye
Divine Blade
Infinite Edge

hasty glen Oct 7, 2025, 5:47 AM

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I like Infinite Edge

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Covers both the endless skill and prophetic elements

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 5:50 AM

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testing out how this feels in writing

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The College of the Infinite Edge teaches its students that all manner of martial schools and techniques are but one part of the whole. Only by understanding the fundamentals of martial arts can one begin to grasp the essence of their opponent's fighting style. Understand that, and it becomes simple to see more clearly. To predict what an enemy would do before they would do it.

hasty glen Oct 7, 2025, 9:43 AM

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Hm the wholistic approach makes the college seem monastic

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In that case divine blade is maybe the better choice?

hushed spear Oct 7, 2025, 3:02 PM

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I like infinite edge. Captures the dichotomy between everything and the one.

oak oxide Oct 7, 2025, 4:36 PM

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hasty glen Hm the wholistic approach makes the college seem monastic

if i wanted to give the college a monastic vibe i would want it to be more intentional

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as it stands, i like poetic nature of infinite edge

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as in, a weapon that stretches out to infinity

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College of the Infinite Edge

#College of the Infinite Edge