Fighting an effective war and taking out the enemy is necessary if your army is to live to fight another day. But you must first find the enemy, and those sensor results can be a little deceptive at times. Send out the vanguard to track them down.
The vanguard, simply put, is an advance scout who specializes in locating the enemy and relaying its position to his allies. With the stealth and sharp senses required to achieve his goal, he specializes in locating and observing the enemy’s movements, all the while obscuring his presence from them. If the situation arises, he might try to take a few of the enemy down before retreating back to friendly territory, but his primary purpose is to serve as his group’s eyes and ears.
Vanguards are typically attached to military units near the front lines. They operate best in small groups as individuals. In either case, the vanguard excels at sneaking in close to hostile forces, stealing away the knowledge of their location, and watching them fall to the might of his allies.
REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become a vanguard, a character must fulfill the following criteria.- Minimum Level: 7th
- Trained Skills: Perception, Stealth
- Talents: Any two talents from the Camouflage talent tree (Scout base class) or the Commando talent tree (Soldier base class)
GAME RULE INFORMATION
Vanguards have the following game statistics.HIT POINTS
At each level, vanguards gain 1d10 hit points + their Constitution modifier.HERO POINTS
Vanguards gain a number of Hero Points equal to 6 + one-half their character level, rounded down, every time they gain a new level in this class.| LEVEL | BASE ATTACK BONUS | CLASS FEATURES |
| 1st | +1 | Defense bonuses, talent |
| 2nd | +2 | Surprise attack +1 |
| 3rd | +3 | Talent |
| 4th | +4 | Surprise attack +2 |
| 5th | +5 | Talent |
| 6th | +6 | Surprise attack +3 |
| 7th | +7 | Talent |
| 8th | +8 | Surprise attack +4 |
| 9th | +9 | Talent |
| 10th | +10 | Surprise attack +5 |
CLASS FEATURES
The following are features of the vanguard prestige class.DEFENSE BONUSES
At 1st level, you gain a +4 class bonus to your Fortitude Defense and a +2 class bonus to your Reflex Defense.TALENTS
At every odd-numbered level (1st, 3rd, 5th, and so on), you select a talent. The talent can be selected from the Awareness or Survivor talent trees (Scout Base Class), or from the Vanguard talent tree below. You must meet the prerequisites (if any) of the chosen talent. No talent can be selected more than once unless expressly indicated.VANGUARD TALENT TREE
As an expert in the art of scouting enemy formations, you are a valuable asset to any military force. Your ability to see what lies ahead on the battlefield is uncanny.Enhanced Vision: When actively looking for hidden enemies, you can make a Perception check as a swift action instead of a standard action.
Impenetrable Cover: Whenever you have cover against a target, you gain DR equal to your class level against that target until the start of your next turn, provided you still have cover from the target at the time the attack is made.
Prerequisite: Maximize Cover.
Invisible Attacker: If your target is unaware of you, your ranged attacks deal +1 die of damage against that target.
Prerequisite: Maximize Cover.
Mark the Target: Whenever you damage a target with a non-area ranged attack, you may designate one ally within your line of sight as a swift action. Your target is considered flat-footed against that ally’s first attack made before the start of your next turn.
Maximize Cover: When an opponent uses the aim action to negate your cover, you can make a Stealth check opposed by the attacker’s Initiative check. If successful, you retain your cover bonus.
Shellshock: Whenever you damage a target that is unaware of you with an area attack, that target is considered flat-footed until the start of your next turn.
Prerequisite: Soften the Target.
Soften the Target: Whenever you damage a target with a ranged attack, you may designate one ally within your line of sight as a swift action. The ally you designate ignores the target’s damage reduction and SR (if any) until the start of your next turn.
Triangulate: If you and at least one other ally have line of sight to and are aware of a target, you and allies that can hear and understand you can reroll one ranged attack roll against that target, accepting the second result even if it is worse. You and your allies can only gain the benefit of this talent once per encounter.
Prerequisite: Enhanced Vision.