Avant Guard

While some kineticists burn their bodies, others have
the power to focus inwards, setting their souls ablaze. By
using psionic techniques to impose limits and restraints
on their powers, some kineticists can shield themselves
from the greatest dangers of their craft. Avant guards
are such kineticists, using their souls and minds as a
receptacle for their power. By temporarily burning
off parts of his inner self, an avant guard can mold his
abilities like a sculptor molds clay. He forms some of his
power as a shield against his own energy, and the rest
into a weapon like no other.

In addition, he gains Wild Talent as a bonus
feat.

This ability alters elemental focus, but does
not cause the avant guard archetype to be
incompatible with other archetypes that
alter the elemental focus class feature. So
long as he still has a simple blast, basic
utility talent, and defense talent to give
up, he may take this archetype (provided
his class features are compatible with
its other abilities).

For each point of burn he accepts, the avant guard
takes 1 point of nonlethal damage per character level. This damage can't be healed by any means
other than getting a full night's rest, which
removes all burn and associated nonlethal
damage. If the avant guard is immune to nonlethal
damage, he instead temporarily reduces his maximum
hit points by an equal amount (this reduction vanishes
after a full night’s rest, as with the nonlethal damage
normally taken). An avant guard who has accepted burn
never benefits from abilities that allow him to ignore or
alter the effects he receives from nonlethal damage. The
amount of burn the avant guard accepts determines the
strength of his magnum opus (see below).

For every 3 points of burn the avant guard accepts
during his meditation, he reduces the burn cost of his
wild talents and other abilities by 1 (to a minimum of 0)
for as long as he retains the burn. This reduction only applies once when he uses a wild talent; if a wild talent allows an additional effect
by accepting more burn, the avant guard considers that
burn to be part of its cost for this reduction. This ability
can even pay the cost of a wild talent that normally
cannot be reduced. For example, if a 17th-level avant
guard used *disintegrating infusion*, he could destroy one
or more force effects or 10-foot cubes with it, depending
on how much the infusion itself cost and how much
burn reduction was “left over” for the additional burn.

An avant guard can only have one instance of a given
wild talent active at a time. If he uses a wild talent
while he already has that wild talent in effect, the older
instance ends. For example, if an avant guard used
the *aether puppet* wild talent, he could only animate a
single object with it; if he used *aether puppet* again on a
different object, the first one would stop being animate.

An avant guard cannot willingly gain burn except with
this ability. Abilities that heal hit point damage, either to
the avant guard or another creature (such as the *kinetic*
*healing* and *void healing* wild talents), cannot have their
burn costs reduced by this ability. If the avant guard
gains access to a defense talent that allows him to take
burn for a greater effect, he gains the benefits of that
talent as if he had accepted burn equal to the amount
of burn reduction he currently has from this ability. He
does not have the ability to further accept burn to fuel a
defense talent.

In addition, the avant guard can use his Constitution
in place of his Intelligence on Craft (sculpture) checks.

This ability alters burn.

### **Kinetic Blast**

At 1st level, an avant guard gains *stand*
*together* as a bonus wild talent, rather than a normal
kineticist of his element’s simple blast. His kinetic blast
otherwise functions as a normal kineticist’s.

### **Elemental Defense (Su)**

At 2nd level, an avant guard
gains *get back* as a bonus wild talent, rather than a
normal kineticist of his element’s defense wild talent.

### **Elemental Overflow (Su)**

Unlike a normal kineticist,
an avant guard does not display physical changes when
he accepts burn. Instead, his magnum opus becomes
more impressive in various ways, decided by the avant
guard. Some possibilities might be that its apparent
craftsmanship improves, that it becomes surrounded
with a small aura of roiling air, or even that it glows
dimly when it appears.

In addition, the avant guard’s magnum opus gains
a bonus on attack rolls equal to the avant guard's elemental overflow bonus, and a bonus on damage rolls
equal to double that bonus. These bonuses are only
added once, even when using the *stand together* simple
blast (so an avant guard will always gain them when he
uses that ability, but will not gain them multiple times on
the same attack). Finally, the magnum opus' attacks now
count as magic for the purposes of overcoming damage
reduction and affecting incorporeal creatures.

This ability alters elemental overflow, which otherwise
functions as normal.

### **Impeccable Craftsmanship (Su)**

At 6th level, when
an avant guard creates a copy of his magnum opus, he
can give it one further additional special ability from any
menu that it currently has an ability from. This stacks
with the Boost Construct feat, and the ability chosen can
be changed each time he makes a new copy.

At 11th level, the avant guard’s magnum opus improves,
becoming partially formed of elemental power. When
he designs it during his meditation, he can choose one
of the following abilities to grant it from the elements he
has as elemental focuses.

* *Aether*: The magnum opus’ structure strengthens, allowing its hide to turn away even mystical blows. It adds its natural armor bonus to its touch AC.
* *Air*: The magnum opus is held aloft by elemental winds. It can fly at a speed equal to its land speed, with average maneuverability.
* *Earth*: The magnum opus can meld into stone as easily as a fish swims through water. It gains the earth elemental's earth glide ability. Its burrow speed is equal to its base land speed.
* *Fire*: The magnum opus is a terror of superheated ectoplasm. It becomes immune to fire and the heat haze grants it concealment (20% miss chance).
* *Water:* The magnum opus is partially constructed of ice and snow. It becomes immune to cold and surrounds itself with a slurry of slush and ice. Squares adjacent to the magnum opus are treated as if under the effect of a *grease* spell (which may cause creatures to slip and fall if it is created next to them). The save DC for this effect is equal to 10 + 1/2 the avant guard’s class level + the avant guard’s Constitution modifier.
* *Void*: The magnum opus becomes a nexus of gravitational forces. It gains the grab ability with its slam attacks. If it already has the grab ability from a menu choice, then it can grab creatures of up to its size.
* *Wood*: The magnum opus is a fusion of ectoplasm and living wood. Its damage reduction/magic (if any) is improved to damage reduction/slashing and magic.

Starting at 16th level, an avant guard can have an
additional magnum opus created at any given time. This
second magnum opus is identical to the first in abilities,
and both copies of his magnum opus come from the same
pool of constructions. However, each has a separate
hit point total, and the avant guard can choose which
to create when he uses his *stand together* simple blast
(including one that is already created; this dismisses and
recreates it as normal).

This ability replaces internal buffer.

### **Union of Forms (Su)**

At the pinnacle of an avant
guard’s craft lies an inversion of his powers—at 20th
level, an avant guard gains the ability to shunt himself
into a state of unreality as he calls his magnum opus
from his soul. Once per day, as an immediate action, the
avant guard can vanish completely and create a copy of
his magnum opus in his space. In effect, he inhabits the
connection between him and his magnum opus. For the
purposes of his own abilities, the avant guard is treated
as being within the space of the magnum opus created
with this ability, and can perceive his surroundings
through its senses. While in this state, he can use his
gather power, kinetic blast, and wild talents class
features normally, but otherwise is restricted to mental
actions. He cannot be targeted or otherwise affected by
other creatures while in this state.

This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to the
avant guard’s Constitution modifier or until the magnum
opus created with this ability is destroyed, at which
point the avant guard reappears in an unoccupied space
adjacent to one of his magnum opuses (or the nearest
unoccupied space, if no such space exists).

This ability replaces omnikinesis.

## **Avant Guard Wild Talents**

The following wild talents are granted by the avant guard
archetype and are unique to such kineticists; characters
without the avant guard archetype cannot gain them.

### **GET BACK**

**Element** none; **Type** utility (Su); **Level** —; **Burn** 0

A shimmer of ectoplasm and a flurry of fists fills the air,
as your magnum opus briefly manifests to provide an
unyielding shield against your foes. This ability functions
regardless of whether or not you have a copy of your
magnum opus created, or whether or not it is nearby. Each
time you would take damage from an attack or effect, there
is a 5% chance that your magnum opus intervenes and
takes the damage instead.

If you currently have a copy of your magnum opus
created, then it takes the damage (applying its own damage
reduction, resistances, or immunities to the damage, as
appropriate). If the attack or effect would deal additional
effects on a successful hit (such as poison, knocking prone,
or the like), then those effects are applied to your magnum
opus as well. If you do not currently have a copy created, then the damage is dealt to the current hit point total of
your magnum opus (see the *magnum opus* wild talent) and
any additional effects are ignored. If this damage destroys
your magnum opus, any additional damage is lost, and does
not carry over to the next copy you create.

When you gain the ability to create two copies of your
magnum opus at 16th level, you can choose which takes the
damage redirected by ability.

The chance of your magnum opus successfully intervening
increases by 5% for each point of burn you accepted when
you meditated with your sculptor of the soul class feature.
If you do have not accepted burn and designed a magnum
opus for the day, then this wild talent has no effect.

You can dismiss or restore this effect as an immediate
action.

### **MAGNUM OPUS**

**Element** none; **Type** utility (Ps); **Level** 1; **Burn** 0 (see text)

When you meditate with your sculptor of the soul class
feature, you design a powerful mental creation—an astral construct of a level equal to the amount of burn you
accepted during your meditation. You make all relevant
choices about your magnum opus (such as menu choices)
while you meditate, after which they cannot be changed
until you meditate to accept burn again. You can create
a copy of your magnum opus as a standard action that
does not provoke attacks of opportunity, forming it in an unoccupied space adjacent to you. Alternatively, you can
create one using your *stand together* simple blast (see the
next page). Unless otherwise noted, you can only have one
copy of your magnum opus at a time; if an ability would
create a copy of your magnum opus while you already have
one, the older one is dismissed, dissipating into nothingness
as the new version comes into being. You can only create
your magnum opus while you retain the burn you accepted.

Your ability to create a magnum opus is limited; you can
construct a number of copies at full hit points per day equal
to the number of burn accepted during your meditation +
your Constitution modifier (minimum 1). Whenever you
create your magnum opus, you can choose to have it arrive
as a new copy, with full hit points. Otherwise, it retains the hit point total it had the last time you dismissed it (which can be done as a free action).

A copy of your magnum opus remains created until you
create a new one, dismiss it, or it is destroyed. If a copy of
your magnum opus is destroyed or dispelled, you must
create the next one with full hit points.

Even though the astral constructs you create are merely
copies of the true form of your magnum opus, the copies
you summon only gain one set of actions in a given round.
For example, if your magnum opus has already used all of its
actions for its turn and you used your stand together blast
to create a new copy, you would deal damage as normal,
but the newly-created copy would not gain another set of
actions. Your magnum opus always acts on your initiative
count.

You can apply abilities such as the Boost Construct feat to
your magnum opus. When you do, you add any additional
menu choices when you create a copy of your magnum
opus, rather than when you meditate (this means that
your additional menu choices can be changed each time
you use your *stand together* simple blast). You are treated
as being able to manifest the astral construct power with a manifester level equal to your class level for the purposes of
meeting prerequisites or requirements.

### **STAND TOGETHER**

**Element** none; **Type** simple blast (Sp); **Level** —; **Burn** 0

**Blast Type** see text; **Damage** see text

You guide your creation’s movements, delivering a swift and
deadly blow via a solid, ectoplasmic fit. This blast is neither
energy nor physical. It is not affected by spell resistance, and
has one of the following two effects (Assault or Battery),
rather than being resolved as a normal blast.

You cannot use form infusions with this blast that would
cause it to affect an area or target more than one creature. It
is considered to be associated with every substance infusion.
If you use a substance infusion with this blast, its effects are
applied to all damage dealt by the ability, including that
of your magnum opus' single attack if you use the Battery
option.

Damage dealt with this blast counts as magic for the
purposes of overcoming damage reduction and affecting
incorporeal creatures, even if the avant guard uses the
Battery option.

**Assault:** The blast requires a ranged touch attack to hit
a target, dealing damage and applying effects as if your
magnum opus had hit the target with one of its natural
weapons of your choice, plus any additional damage you
would normally deal with your attack (such as from the
elemental overflow class feature, but not from the kinetic
blast’s normal base damage). Then, you create a copy of
your magnum opus in an unoccupied space adjacent to
the target. If no such space exists, then the magnum opus
appears in the nearest unoccupied space within the range of
your kinetic blast. Provided it has not already acted in this
round, your magnum opus can take its actions immediately, although it is treated as though it had just attacked with
the natural weapon you chose (it has more attacks, it can
continue into a full-attack action, or continue its turn as
if it had taken the attack action). You can use this effect
even if all the copies of your magnum opus for the day are
destroyed; if you do, the blast deals damage, but does not
create a new magnum opus.

If you currently have a magnum opus created, you can
choose to teleport it across the battlefield, instead of
creating a new version.

**Battery:** If you currently have a magnum opus created and
the target is within its melee reach, then instead of a normal
blast, you may have your magnum opus immediately make
a melee attack against them as a free action, with a bonus
on the attack roll equal to your current burn total. If you
used a substance infusion with this blast, its effect is applied
to the magnum opus’ attack, rather than the blast. You do
not make an attack roll to use this blast; only your magnum
opus does.