Do an Artificer's Magic Item Savant feature and a Thief Rogue's Use Magic Device feature let them benefit from a Holy Avenger's 30-foot aura?

Question

The Artificer's Magic Item Savant feature (E:RftLW, p. 58; WGtE, p. 180) states the following:

At 14th level, your skill with magic items deepens more:

• [...]
• You ignore all class, race, spell, and level requirements on attuning to or using a magic item.

The Thief Rogue's Use Magic Device feature (PHB, p. 97) states the following:

By 13th level, you have learned enough about the workings of magic that you can improvise the use of items even when they are not intended for you. You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items.

The description of the Holy Avenger (DMG, p. 174) states the following:

While you hold the drawn sword, it creates an aura in a 10-foot radius around you. You and all creatures friendly to you in the aura have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. If you have 17 or more levels in the paladin class, the radius of the aura increases to 30 feet.

Since these features allow an Artificer or Thief Rogue to ignore "class" requirements when using the Holy Avenger, would they gain the benefit of the 30-foot aura?

Furthermore, since they also ignore "level" requirements when using the Holy Avenger, can they benefit from the 30-foot aura at 14th and 13th level, respectively?

Related questions:

1. What requirements does the Artificer's Magic Item Savant feature ignore?
2. Do an Artificer's Magic Item Savant feature and a multiclassed Thief Rogue's Use Magic Device allow them to benefit from a Rod of the Pact Keeper?

Answer 1

You can use the sword

You can definitely attune the sword. The 'Requires attunement by a Paladin' line is so definitely a class requirement for attunement that no reasonable person will interpret the thief or artificer abilities as not pertaining to that clause.

It is unclear if you can use the bigger aura

This depends on your definition of 'use' for the purpose of mechanical abilities within the game. There's no given definition or guidance for this (q.v. How does the Thief's Fast Hands feature interact with mundane and magical shields?), so you will have to figure out what is best for your group and go with that. Personally, given the paucity of items that would possess a level limitation on their usage if this were construed to not be that, I am strongly inclined to let a thief or artificer use the weapon with the larger aura. Nevertheless, the rules do not provide for or against either interpretation, provided it is consistent with your interpretation of 'use'.

Answer 2

No

The class features in question allow you to ignore Class, Race, and Level requirements to attune or use magic items.

Holy avenger's full description is as follows:

Requires Attunement by a Paladin

You gain a +3 bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls made with this Magic Weapon. When you hit a fiend or an Undead with it, that creature takes an extra 2d10 radiant damage.

While you hold the drawn sword, it creates an aura in a 10-foot radius around you. You and all creatures friendly to you in the aura have advantage on Saving Throws against Spells and other magical Effects. If you have 17 or more levels in the Paladin class, the radius of the aura increases to 30 feet.

"Requires Attunement by a Paladin" is an example of a Class Requirement that prevents you from attuning to an item, and so can be ignored.

The bonus effect of increasing the radius of the aura is not a level requirement preventing you from using or attuning to the Item and so is not ignored.

Answer 3

Yes

You ignore all class, race, and level requirements

As far as the Holy Avenger is concerned you are a 20th level Paladin.

Answer 4

Yes

Let's break down each Holy Avenger component. Remember that Use Magic Device says, "You ignore all class, race, and level requirements on the use of magic items."

Holy Avenger: It's listed in the DMG as a Magic Item. So the Thief gets to "use" it.

Requires Attunement by a Paladin: No problem here. The Thief even gets extra attunement slots.

You gain a +3 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. When you hit a fiend or an undead with it, that creature takes an extra 2d10 radiant damage.: Use magic device doesn't add weapon proficiency, so depending on the type of weapon the thief may have trouble using the sword as an attacking weapon. That isn't the topic at hand, though. So we continue.

While you hold the drawn sword, it creates an aura in a 10-foot radius around you. You and all creatures friendly to you in the aura have advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.: It's a magic item, and all you have to do is hold it to get these benefits. Yes, the Thief creates the aura at 10 feet. If this were a Paladin's "Amulet of Spell Protection" we wouldn't even consider that it wouldn't work, so the sword will work, too.

If you have 17 or more levels in the paladin class, the radius of the aura increases to 30 feet.: Here's where we really apply the Use Magic Device rules. "ignore all class ... and level requirements" So we ignore Paladin and Paladin level requirements.

Conclusion:: A Rogue Thief holding a Holy Avenger generates a 30 foot aura giving advantage on saving spells against spells and magical effects to creatures friendly to the Thief.