The Vanguard Moving at a speed uncanny for someone wearing such heavy armor, a half orc leaps between her ally and the attacking Owlbear, using the weight of her armor to knock it completely off balance. She brings her shield to bear and deflects every attack the creature throws her way, continuing to knock it back and push it away as her allies regroup to focus it down. Seeing the hidden line of archers a split second before her comrads, the Dwarf leaps in front of them as their shield grows to the size of a wall, blocking the hail of arrows directed at her party. She winces at the impacts, but her team mates recover quickly, and take out the offending archers. No matter their school, Vanguards are all proficient in one thing, protection. Whether they throw themselves between their allies and the danger, or simply remove the danger from their allies, the Vanguard focuses on their innate knowledge of their armor to best protect those around them. Class Features As a Vanguard, you gain the following class features Hit Points Hit Dice: 1d10 per Vanguard level

1d10 per Vanguard level Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + your Constitution modifier

10 + your Constitution modifier Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + your Constitution modifier per Vanguard level after 1st Proficiencies Armor: All armor, Shields

All armor, Shields Weapons: Simple weapons

Simple weapons Tools: Smith's tools, One language of your choice Saving Throws: Inteligence, Constitution

Inteligence, Constitution Skills: Choose two from Athletics, Arcana, History, Investigation, Medicine, or Religion, Equipment You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background: Chain mail and a shield

(a) five javelins or (b) any simple melee weapon

(a) a dungeoneer’s pack or (b) an explorer’s pack _ The Vanguard Level Proficiency Bonus Features Armor Points 1st +2 One with the Shield - 2nd +2 The Best Offence, A Good Defense 2 3rd +2 Vanguard Archtypes 3 4th +2 Ability Score Improvement, Defensive Battling 4 5th +3 Limited Extra Attack 5 6th +3 Innate Empowerment, Stoic 6 7th +3 Vanguard Archetype 7 8th +3 Ability Score Improvement 8 9th +4 Tactical Dress 9 10th +4 Rigorous Training 10 11th +4 Vanguard Archetype Feature 11 12th +4 Ability Score Improvement 12 13th +5 Take a Breather 13 14th +5 Disallow 14 15th +5 Vanguard Archetype Feature 15 16th +5 Ability Score Improvement 16 17th +6 Perfect Defense 17 18th +6 Perfect Form 18 19th +6 Ability Score Improvement 19 20th +6 Prepared 20

One with the Shield At 1st level, you learn that a shield is your ally, best friend, and most trusted tool. While you are wielding a shield and no other weapon, it counts as a one handed weapon melee that does 1d8+Str Mod+(The enchantment bonus of your shield) bludgeoning damage. In addition, you gain proficiency in athletics checks. If you are already proficient, add double your proficiency modifier to your athletics checks instead. In addition, whenever you make an Attack of Oportunity, you may attempt to grapple or shove the creature instead. The Best Offence At 2nd level, you learn how to best use your defensive capabilities in battle. You may choose two options detailed in the Tactics section at the end of the class description. You may choose two additional Tactics at level 5, 11, and 17. Whenever you choose a new Tactic, you may exchange a Tactic that you already know to learn a new Tactic A Good Defense Starting at 2nd level, your training allows you to exert your knowledge of your armor and it's protective properties. Your access to this knowledge is represented by a number of Armor Points. Your Vanguard level determines the number of points you have, as shown in the Armor Points colomn of the Vanguard Table. You can spend these points to fuel various Tactics. You start knowing two such Tactics: Cover and Reprimand. You learn more Tactics as you gain levels in this class. When you spend an Armor Point, it is unavailable until you finish a short or long rest, at the end of which you reset your armor's positioning on yourself. You must spend at least 30 minutes of the rest repositioning your armor to regain your Armor Points. Some of your Tactics require your target to make a saving throw to resist it's effects. The saving throw DC is calculated as follows Tactic's Save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intellegence modifier Cover If an enemy within 5 feet of you makes an attack on an adjacent ally, you may spend one Armor point as a reaction to force them to target you instead. If the attack does not hit, the enemy that was targeted using this ability is unable to take reactions this turn. Reprimand When you are hit by a melee attack, you may use your reaction to spend 1 Armor Point. Roll 1d6+Int Mod, and add it to your AC for this attack. If the attack targeting you misses, you may immediately make a Shove or Grapple attack against the target. This improves to 1d8 at level 5, 1d10 at level 11, and 1d12 at level 17. Quick Hands At 2nd level, your shield is almost an extension of your own body, allowing you to focus on multiple things at once. While wielding a shield and nothing else, you may take the Use an Object action as a Bonus action. In addition, if you use your Action to either take or administer a potion, you may make a shove attack as a Bonus Action. Vanguard Archtypes At 3rd level, you choose an archetype that you strive to emulate in your combat styles and techniques. Choose the Phalanx or the Guardian, both detailed at the end of the class description. The archetype you choose grants you features at 3rd level and again at 7th, 10th, and 15th level. Ability Score Improvement When you reach 4th level, and again at 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level, you can increase one ability score of your choice by 2, or you can increase two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can't increase an ability score above 20 using this feature. Limited Extra Attack At 5th level, when you take the Attack Action, you may make either make a Shove attack, or a Grapple check as a part of the Attack Action. In addition, if you are grappling a creature, you may use the second attack to force the creature you are grappling to make a Constitution Saving Throw against your Tactic's DC, or take 1d6+Str modifier bludgeoning damage. This damage increases to 2d6+Str modifier at level 15. Innate Empowerment Starting at 6th level, your shield attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistance and immunity to nonmagical attacks and damage. Stoic At 6th level, you have become more attuned to your armor, learning to use it's weight to your advantage. You have advantage on checks and saves to avoid being grappled or knocked prone. Tactical Dress At 9th level, you have gained innate knowledge of the inner workings of your armor. It takes half the normal time to don and doff Heavy Armor. Also, while wearing Heavy Armor, you do not suffer disadvantage on Stealth Checks. Rigorous Training At 10th level, you have become so used to training with your armor that your body has taken on the armor as almost a second skin. You gain resistance to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from non-magical weapons

Take a Breather At 13th level, as an Action you take a full defensive stance, relying on your armor to defend you for but a moment while you take a well deserved breath. You bring your shield to bear, causing attacks against you to have disadvantage until your next turn, and regain hit points equal to three times your Vanguard level. Once you use this feature, you must take a long rest before using it again. Disallow At 14th level, as an action, you may strike your shield onto the ground. All creatures within 10 feet of you must make a Strength saving throw against your Tactics DC. On a failure, each creature takes 4d8 magic bludgeoning damage, is knocked prone, and is pulled 10 feet towards you. If they succeed, they take half damage, are not knocked prone, and do not get pulled 10 feet towards you. You may spend Armor Points to increase the range of the spell by 10 feet per Armor Point. You may use this ability a number of times per day equal to your Intellegence Modifier. Perfect Defense At 17th Level, your sheer presence is enough to deter enemies. Attacks against friendly creatures within 5 feet of you are made with disadvantage. Perfect Form At 18th level, you have mastered your shield and protecting yourself with it. In combat, you get a special reaction that you can take once on every creature's turn, except your turn. You can use this special reaction only to use your Reprimand ability, and you can't use it on the same turn that you take your normal reaction. Prepared Upon reaching 20th level, whenever you roll initiative and have no Armor Points remaining, you regain 4 Armor Points Vanguard Archtypes Phalanx You are more focused around assisting your allies, grappling enemies and giving your allies advantages in as many ways as you can Commander At 3rd level, whenever you hit an enemy with an attack using a shield, you may spend any number of Armor Points to allow up to that number of allies to use their reaction to move half their movement towards your target, not provoking attacks of oportunity. Create an Opening At 7th level, whenever you take the attack action on your turn, you may sacrafice one of your attacks to allow an ally within 30ft of you to make an attack against your target as a reaction. Staggering Blows At 11th level, you have learned to focus the weight of your shield into your strikes. Whenever you hit a creature with a Shield attack, you may spend 1 Armor Point to force the target to make a Strength saving throw or be knocked off balance. On a failure, the next attack against the creature has advantage. Decisive Finish At 15th level, you may take an Action to perform a Decisive Finish. Make an attack against a target within 5 feet of you. If you hit, you may spend 1 Armor Point per ally within 30 ft. For each Armor Point spent this way, choose an Ally within 30 ft, they may use their reaction to move up to their speed and either make a weapon attack or cast a cantrip against your target. Once you use this ability, you can not use it again until you finish a Long rest. Guardian You are the protector, you keep your allies safe, by any means neccesary Imposition At 3rd level, whenever a creature you can see within 30 ft. of you is hit by an attack, you may use your reaction to spend 2 Armor Points to leap to an unoccupied space within 5 ft of your ally, redirecting it at yourself. If it is a melee attack, you may use Reprimand for an additional 1 AP, following it's effects. Ward At 7th level, you may a reaction to spend 1 Armor Point to grant a target within 5 ft of you resistance to the damage from a single attack. Unbreakable At 11th level, you are able to project your sheer will to protect, projecting a wall from your shield 15 feet wide and 10 feet tall centered on your shield. This barrier can be moved through but counts as difficult terrain to non-allied creatures, but projectiles and magic cannot pass through the front of it. Allies behind the barrier are considered to have full cover. The barrier has resistance to all damage, and uses your AC. When the barrier takes damage, you take an equal ammount as Force damage. Projectiles fired through the shield from behind it deal an additional 1d4 force damage on a hit. While this barrier is active, your movement speed is halved. You may use Imposition while this ability is active. Unbroken At 15th level, your will to protect can overcome even the most powerful attacks. If you use your Imposition ability, and the hit you suffer reduces you to 0 HP, you gain immunity to all damage until the end of the turn and heal a number of Hit Points equal to your Vanguard Level. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest. In addition, your Unbreaking shield has grown to match your enhanced strength of will, growing to be 25 feet wide and 20 feet tall, and projectiles fired through the shield from behind now deal an additional 2d4 force damage on a hit.

Juggernaut You are the immovable object, the unstopable force. Unstopable Force At 3rd level, If you move at least 10 feet and make an attack using your shield, your target must make a Str Saving throw or be pushed backwards

Tactics Anchoring Shout 2 Armor Points, 1 Action You let out a mighty shout, taunting all creatures within 10 feet of you. Each creature within range that can hear you must make a Wisdom Saving throw or have their focus held on you. If the creature fails, they have disadvantage on all attacks that target a creature other than you, and in addition, if a creature that is within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other than you, you may make a special Shove or Grapple attack as your reaction. Creatures who can not hear, or are immune to Fear are unnafected by this ability. Bull Rush 1 Armor Point, 1 Action When you move at least 10 feet in a straight line and make an attack, you may spend 1 Armor Point as a Bonus action to force your target to make a Strength saving throw. if they fail, they are carried with you in a straight line up to your full movement. If the creature ends it's movement with a solid wall 5ft behind it, it takes 2 x your Vanguard level as bludgeoning damage and falls prone. Crushing Stomp 1 Armor Point, 1 Attack You use the heft of your armor to crush those who have fallen before you. Whenever you make an attack against a prone creature, you may spend an Armor Point to forgo the advantage on the attack. If the attack hits, it deals an additional 2d6 bludgeoning damage as you use the weight of your armor to deal a mighty blow. Defender's Gambit 4 Armor Points, 1 Action You focus your attention on a single target, and goad them, taunting them to fight you. Choose a target within 30 feet that can see and hear you, that creature must make a Wisdom Saving throw against your Tactics DC. On a failure, the target becomes goaded by your words. All attack it makes against you have advantage, all attacks it makes against a target other than you have disadvantage, and attacks made against it by allied creatures have advantage Pinning Strike 1 Armor Point, 1 Attack You place extra weight into the swing of your shield, wearing down your opponent's Stamina. Whenever you hit an enemy with a Shield attack, you may spend an Armor Point to cause the target to make a constitution saving throw against your Tactic's DC, or have their movment speed halved until the beginning of your next turn. Deep Breath 1+ Armor Point, 1 Action You take a moment, calling on your training to center youself in battle. As an action, you gain 1d8 mod Temporary Hit Points. You may spend Armor Points up to your Constitution Modifier to increase this by 1d8 per Armor Point spent. Mighty Launch 1 Armor Point, 1 Attack When you make a Shove attack against a creature, you may spend an Armor Point to increase the shove distance by 10 ft. Reposition 1 Armor Point, 1 Bonus Action As a Bonus Action, you may make a shove attack against an Friendly creature, moving them 10 ft in any direction. They may choose to fail the saving throw.