<img alt="The Hidden Truth" src="/thehiddentruthlogo.png" style="width: 400px; height: 100px;" title="The Hidden Truth">

You have learned how to gain your opponents' attention, drawing fire away from your allies and toward yourself. You gain Antagonize as a bonus feat. You do not need to meet its prerequisites. This is not a language-dependent ability for you, but it does not work on mindless targets. If you are at least 6th level, when you successfully use Antagonize on a foe, the duration of the penalty the foe takes is 3 rounds longer than usual (though it still ends after the foe attacks you, forces you to attempt a saving throw, or damages you), and the target takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls (in addition to the normal –2 for being off-target).

Attracting Shield (Su) [LINK]

You can direct energy from attacks near you into your shield. If you take a move action to align a shield against a specific attacker, you can also grant an adjacent willing or unconscious ally a +1 shield bonus to AC until the beginning of your next turn. This bonus ends if the ally ceases to be adjacent to you.

Curative Deconstruction (Su) [LINK]

You manipulate the entropy of microorganisms and toxins within your body, causing them to break down quickly. When you succeed at a saving throw against a disease or poison, you treat it as two consecutive successes for the purposes of curing that disease or poison.

Dampen (Su) [LINK]

You can dampen the entropic release of energy in violent effects. As a reaction when you are in the area of a damaging effect, you can spend 1 Entropy Point to cause it to deal only half damage to all creatures in the area.
At 6th level, if the effect allows a save and you succeed, you can spend 1 additional Entropy Point to allow creatures that successfully save against the effect to take no damage.

Deflective Deterioration (Su) [LINK]

You gain a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws against traps and hazards. Once per hour when you take damage from or fail a saving throw against a trap or hazard, you gain 1 Entropy Point. If you are not in combat, you retain this Entropy Point for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution bonus (minimum 1) or until you spend it, whichever comes first.

Entropy Shield (Su) [LINK]

As part of any move action or full action you take, you can create a field of condensed, compressed entropy that forms in place on one of your limbs to protect you as a basic riot shield or basic tactical shield (you choose which each time you create the shield). The shield has no bulk, but it otherwise functions in all regards as a physical shield of the selected type. You can dismiss the shield as part of any move or full action you take, and it disappears at the end of your turn if you are not holding it.
At 5th level, your compressed entropy functions as a field riot or tactical shield. At 10th level, it functions as an advanced riot or tactical shield. At 15th level, it functions as an elite riot or tactical shield, and at 20th level, it functions as a paragon riot or tactical shield.

Evasion (Ex) [LINK]

If you succeed at a Reflex save against an effect that normally has a partial effect on a successful save, you instead take no effect. You gain this benefit only when unencumbered and wearing light armor or no armor, and you lose the benefit when you are helpless or otherwise unable to move.

Flatten Bullets (Su) [LINK]

When you would be hit by a ranged attack with a weapon that deals kinetic damage, you can spend 1 Entropy Point as a reaction to attempt a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 the CR or level of the attacker) to take half damage. You can use this ability only when wearing heavy armor or powered armor, or carrying a shield, and you can't use it if you are helpless or otherwise unable to move.

Friendly Fire (Su) [LINK]

You have learned to bleed energy from the attacks of your allies when they affect you. You can reduce the damage you take from your allies' attacks and effects by an amount equal to twice your vanguard level, to a minimum of 0.

Interfere (Su) [LINK]

You can cause waves of unstable reactions that make it difficult for a specific foe to land a blow on a nearby ally. As a move action, you can select one foe you are observing and one ally that is adjacent to you. As long as the ally remains adjacent to you, they gain a +2 shield bonus to their AC against attacks from that foe until the end of your next turn.

Intervene (Su) [LINK]

As a reaction when an adjacent ally is damaged by an attack, you can take half the attack's damage, with your ally taking the remaining damage. This doesn't prevent your ally from suffering related effects, nor does it cause such effects to apply to you. If you have the Bodyguard feat and you take a reaction to apply that feat's benefit to an adjacent ally who is then hit by the attack, you can activate intervene for that attack without taking an additional action.

Metabolic Stability (Ex) [LINK]

Your control of the chemical processes in your own body gives you significant vigor. You gain Diehard as a bonus feat.

Ruinous Rush (Su) [LINK]

You can break down your body to reap critical energy, boosting your speed. When you take a move action to move your speed, you can take damage equal to your vanguard level to gain a +20 enhancement bonus to your movement speeds (maximum twice that movement’s speed) until the end of your next turn. This damage bypasses any Stamina Points you have and is applied directly to your Hit Points.

Wasting Resilience (Su) [LINK]

Your body is inured to other effects that would cause decay. You gain a +2 bonus to saving throws against necromancy spells and effects, as well as against effects that would cause ability damage, ability drain, or energy drain.

Zero-Gravity Scuffler (Su) [LINK]

You can control how small amounts of momentum are added or removed from you. As a swift action, you can spend 1 Entropy Point to negate the off-kilter or off-target conditions. Additionally, when your movement causes you to run into an enemy in zero gravity, you can forgo your Acrobatics or Athletics check to avoid gaining the off-kilter condition. If you do, that enemy automatically fails its check to avoid becoming off-kilter and gains that condition. In addition, while in zero gravity, you can steady yourself if you are adjacent to any creature.

6th level

You must be at least 6th level to choose these vanguard disciplines.

Blast Through (Ex) [LINK]

When you take a full action to line up a shot to smash an object, your weapon gains the penetrating weapon special property. If your weapon already has that weapon special property, using this discipline instead adds half your vanguard level to your weapon’s item level for the purpose of calculating the amount of hardness that the penetrating special weapon property bypasses. When destroying an object with sudden force (Core Rulebook 409), you gain a bonus to the Strength check equal to your Constitution bonus. You must have Improved Combat Maneuver (sunder) to select this vanguard discipline.

Blaze a Trail (Su) [LINK]

Your entropic aura disintegrates obstacles on contact. When you forgo gaining an Entropy Point for charging when activating the entropic charge discipline, you can spend 1 or 2 additional Entropy Points. If you spend 1 Entropy Point, you dissolve any plant growth, rubble, or other nonmagical obstructions in your path that create difficult terrain, turning any such squares you move through during your charge into normal terrain. If you spend 2 Entropy Points, you also dissolve such obstructions in any squares adjacent to those squares you move through while charging. So long as you spend at least 1 Entropy Point in this way, any creatures that hit you with an attack of opportunity as you charge take 1d6 acid damage for every 2 vanguard levels you have (Reflex negates). You must have the entropic charge discipline to select this discipline.

Blindsense (Su) [LINK]

You can detect even subtle abnormalities in the natural exchange of heat around you. You gain blindsense (heat) with a range of 30 feet.

Draw Fire (Su) [LINK]

As a reaction when you are in the area of an attack or effect that requires an attack roll, you can spend 1 Entropy Point to grant allies in the area cover against the attack or effect.

Energize (Su) [LINK]

You can absorb harmful energies, converting them to potential energy for use in entropic manipulation. As a reaction when you're hit by an attack or effect that deals energy damage, you can gain 1 Entropy Point and attempt a Fortitude save (DC = 10 + 1-1/2 the CR or level of the attacker) to take half damage. Once you use this ability, you can't use it again until you regain Stamina Points during a 10-minute rest.

Entropic Charge (Su) [LINK]

When you charge, you can attempt any combat maneuver for which you have the Improved Combat Maneuver feat in place of the normal melee attack. In addition, you can forgo gaining an Entropy Point for charging to ignore the normal charge penalties to your attack and AC, and to gain the ability to charge through difficult terrain.

Guarded Combatant (Ex) [LINK]

When using the fighting defensively standard or full action, you take a –3 penalty to your attacks instead of a –4 penalty.

Hold on Tight (Ex) [LINK]

You gain Climbing Master as a bonus feat. You gain a bonus to Athletics checks to climb equal to any attack roll bonuses you have that apply specifically to resolving grapple combat maneuvers. You must have Improved Combat Maneuver (grapple) to select this vanguard discipline.

Push Off (Ex) [LINK]

When you use Athletics to jump, you are always treated as having a 10-foot running start. You gain a bonus to Athletics checks to jump equal to any attack roll bonuses you have that specifically apply to resolving bull rush combat maneuvers. You must have Improved Combat Maneuver (bull rush) to select this vanguard discipline.

Shimmer Guard (Su) [LINK]

As part of any move action, you can cause the air around you to shimmer with heat. Squares adjacent to your space provide soft cover to allies for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution modifier. This ability ends if an opponent damages you or forces you to make a saving throw.

Swift Antagonize (Ex) [LINK]

You have mastered the art of quickly gaining the attention of opponents. You can use Antagonize once as a move action— you can do this even if you have already used Antagonize on the same foe in the past 24 hours, and using it as a move action does not prevent you from using Antagonize on the same foe as a standard action. This is not a language-dependent ability for you, but it does not work on mindless targets.
Once you have used Antagonize as a move action, you cannot do so again until you spend 1 Resolve Point to regain Stamina Points after a 10-minute rest.
You must have the Antagonize feat to select this discipline.

10th level

You must be at least 10th level to choose these vanguard disciplines.

Accelerate (Su) [LINK]

You can boost the entropic release of energy in violent effects. As a reaction when you are in the area of a damaging effect, you can spend 1 Entropy Point to add a +2 bonus per die to the damage dealt to every other creature in the area, or you can spend 2 Entropy Points to add +3 bonus per die.

Blindsight (Su) [LINK]

Your ability to detect anomalous atomic vibration improves. You gain blindsight (heat) with a range of 20 feet. You must have selected the blindsense discipline or have blindsense (heat) from another source before you select this discipline.

Break Fall (Ex) [LINK]

As a reaction when you fall onto a solid surface while conscious, you can reduce the damage taken from the fall by 50% and avoid landing prone.

Clothesline (Ex) [LINK]

When a foe provokes an attack of opportunity from you, rather than make a normal melee attack, you can attempt a trip combat maneuver. If you succeed, the enemy ends all its movement for the round and is knocked prone.

Dastard’s Distraction (Ex) [LINK]

You gain Diversion as a bonus feat. If you already have this feat, you gain a different feat that lacks prerequisites. When you use the Diversion feat to allow multiple allies to hide, you take a –3 penalty to your Bluff check for every ally after the first, and on a failed check. You gain a bonus to Bluff checks to create a distraction equal to any attack roll bonuses you have that specifically apply to resolving dirty trick combat maneuvers. You must have Improved Combat Maneuver (dirty trick) to select this vanguard discipline.

Exclusion Zone (Su) [LINK]

As a reaction, you can spend 1 Entropy Point to exclude one or two allies from an area of effect you create with a weapon, spell, feat, or class feature. At 15th level, you can exclude up to three allies. At 20th level, you can exclude up to four allies.

Improved Evasion (Ex) [LINK]

When you fail a Reflex save against an effect that has a partial effect on a successful save, you take the partial effect instead of the full effect. You must have evasion to select this discipline.

Intuitive Deconstruction (Ex) [LINK]

When you use Engineering or Mysticism to disable a device, you can do so in half the normal amount of time (with 1 round becoming 1 standard action). You gain a bonus to Engineering and Mysticism checks to disable a device equal to any attack roll bonuses you have that specifically apply to resolving disarm combat maneuvers. You must have Improved Combat Maneuver (disarm) to select this vanguard discipline.

Reactor’s Recollection (Ex) [LINK]

Your mind is quick to respond to flaws in a system. As a reaction when you fail a skill check to recall knowledge or to identify a creature, you can expend one use of your reactive class feature to reroll that skill check. You must have the reactive class feature to select this vanguard discipline.

Road Hazard (Su) [LINK]

If a vehicle uses the ram action against you, you can forgo your Reflex save as a reaction to take half the vehicle's collision damage. If you do so, the vehicle takes double its collision damage. Additionally, if a foe charges you, you can spend 1 Entropy Point as a reaction to take half damage from the attack and cause the attacker to take the remaining damage.

Unknown Knowns (Ex) [LINK]

Anything is possible when broken into its simplest components, even complex actions. You can attempt any skill check untrained, and you can always take 10 to recall knowledge or identify a creature. When attempting a skill check untrained, you gain an insight bonus to that check equal to your Constitution bonus plus the number of Entropy Points in your entropic pool.

14th level

You must be at least 14th level to choose these vanguard disciplines.

Arrest (Su) [LINK]

As a full action, you can spend Entropy Points to force each enemy within 20 feet to succeed at a Fortitude saving throw or gain the entangled condition. This condition lasts for a number of rounds equal to the number of Entropy Points spent.
At 18th level, creatures that fail their saving throws are entangled as though tethered by an opposing force (and are therefore unable to move).

Distortion Dreamer (Su) [LINK]

You exude entropy even as you dream. At the beginning of your turn, you can enter a dreamlike state until the beginning of your next turn. While in this state, you have the flat-footed and off-target conditions, and you gain Entropy Points from your entropic pool class feature at an accelerated rate in the following ways. First, each time you take damage equal to or greater than three times your character level from a single attack or effect (after applying any abilities that reduce that damage), you gain 2 Entropy Points from your entropic pool class feature instead of 1. Second, if you take damage from a critical hit, you gain 2 Entropy Points instead of 1, in addition to any you gain from the attack’s normal damage. Finally, if you have no Entropy Points when the dreamlike state ends, you can spend 1 Resolve Point to gain 3 Entropy Points.

Poison-Inured (Su) [LINK]

You are immune to poison and low-level radiation. Additionally, you treat each other category of radiation as one step lower (for example, you treat high radiation as medium radiation).

Quick Boost (Ex) [LINK]

You've scraped by through enough close calls that you've learned to use serums and injectable items quickly. You can retrieve and drink a serum, or retrieve and inject yourself with a medicinal or other item in an injection weapon, as a single standard action. If you already have a serum or injection weapon in hand, you can use it on yourself as a move action.

Weather-Inured (Ex) [LINK]

You endure cataclysms yet only emerge stronger. You gain Environmental Adaptation as a bonus feat, but you automatically gain all environmental and weather categories listed in that feat. In addition, when you attempt a saving throw against environmental conditions and weather conditions not listed in that feat (including magically altered conditions), and the result of your saving throw would cause you to suffer a partial effect, you instead suffer no effect.

18th level

You must be at least 18th level to choose these vanguard disciplines.

Absolute Zero (Su) [LINK]

One per day as a standard action, you can spend Entropy Points to become immobile for a number of rounds up to the number of Entropy Points spent. For the duration, you can't be moved by any nonmagical effect and are immune to cold damage. In addition, during this time, any creature that touches you, hits you with a melee attack with a natural weapon, or starts their turn within 20 feet of you takes 3d6 cold damage per Entropy Point spent. Any creature that takes this damage is affected as though by slow (no save) until the damage is healed. You can dismiss this effect at the end of your turn without taking an action.
Activating absolute zero automatically ends any living effigy discipline you have active.

Chronal Pause (Su) [LINK]

Once per day you can spend 2 Entropy Points as a full action to take a 10-minute rest to recover Stamina Points, gaining all the normal benefits and following the normal restrictions for such a rest (including the ability to spend 1 Resolve Point to recover Stamina Points) except for the time expended. This rest does not decrease the duration of ongoing effects. For each additional 2 Entropy Points you spend when activating this ability, you can grant its effects to one additional willing creature within 15 feet of you.

Internal Reservoir (Ex) [LINK]

When you take a 10-minute rest, even if you do not recover Stamina Points, you gain 1 Entropy Point which lasts until it is spent or you take another 10-minute rest. Additionally, your maximum number of Entropy Points increases by 2.

Living Effigy (Su) [LINK]