Arcane Swordsage?

[Sommunist]

Looking at the variant, and I have a couple questions.

1. What casting stat is used?  I assume it's wisdom, since all of the Swordsage's other abilities are based on it, including Maneuver DCs.
2. Can you learn Maneuvers and Spells, or just spells?  If it's the latter, how do you handle stances?
3. How do you handle metamagic?  I assume it'd be handled like a Sorcerer, but I'm not sure.
4. Assuming caster level is handled similarly to initiator level, Arcane Swordsage 7/Abjurant Champion 5/Fighter 1/Eldritch Knight 7 would give 18 BAB and 19 CL at level 20.  Holy shit.  (OK, this isn't a question, but still, holy shit.)

[GawainBS]

1. I think you're safe in assuming that it's WIS.
2. You can learn both.
3. Metamagic only applies to spells; these aren't spells. So no metamagic for the Arcane Swordsage. See below.
4. The Arcane Swordsage can't cast spells: he uses spells as manouvres, so he doesn't qualify for spellcasting PrC's.

[Sommunist]

Thanks for the response.  It kind of saddens me that I can't go Swordsage/Abjurant Champion, but I can see where you're coming from.

It does bring up another question, though: If a prestige class required a specific spell (say Mage Armor) instead of X-level spells, would an arcane swordsage qualify?  (RAW I think he does, based on CArc stating that spell-like abilities count as spells for stuff like that).

[GawainBS]

Except that it aren't spell-like abilities, but manouvres. 

[Viletta Vadim]

Ultimately, this is an "ask your DM" situation.  If you have a DM who will allow the arcane Swordsage variant without any qualifications, I have a bridge to sell her.  It's not like unarmed Swordsage.  It's extremely and obviously broken if there aren't any constraints in play, as this conversion is pretty much a houserule.

[JaronK]

Manuevers being Ex unless otherwise specified, that could be a fun thing for Factotums to play with.

JaronK

[jamestguy]

Yeah the arcane swordsage kind of throws the whole balance of maneuvers out the window. that balance being maneuvers are less powerful than spells, but are reusable. IIRC there's no limit to what spell schools you can choose from, right?

[SorO_Lost]

There is, Abjuration, Transmutation, and Envocation. Also you're limited to self buffs and touch spells.

I got around to comparing an ASS (assuming you cast the spells and the are magical in nature is blandly obvious as all fire related maneuvers are Su in nature already) to a sorcerer Here.