Class Feature Friday: Inversion Aspect (Vanguard Aspect)
(art by Dimitriy Longukov on Artstation)
They say that entropy is inevitable, a fact of reality that wears down everything into dissolution and cannot be reversed… or can it?
Probably not, but for certain vanguards, who hold power over entropy, it is possible to specialize in undoing its effects on a personal scale.
You might be surprised to learn that this aspect of the class exists, but don’t be. Vanguards manipulate entropy, but they don’t necessarily serve it. Aspects like boundary do their best to arrest entropy, so why shouldn’t there also be an aspect that can reverse its flow in small ways?
What actually makes this tricky is that entropy normally takes the form of things like energy loss in a system, such as the amount of energy in a machine that is lost as heat or nanoscopic layers of matter shaved off from friction, as well as energy being radiated into deep space, unclaimed by gravity. In both cases, the lost heat and matter spreads out everywhere, and there’s no magic net to scoop it all up and put it back into the system.
These vanguards, however, do have a small ability to pull that which was lost back to themselves, so let’s take a look!
With their focus on reverting bodily harm, these vanguards study medicine, and in combat they prefer to reposition foes, turning their momentum against them.
They also gain entropy from healing or recovering stamina, drawing upon the introduction of order to their destabilized system.
Their catalyst unleashes a pulse that recovers the stamina of those around them. However, it’s improved version actually heals the target as well, any overflow going to stamina.
Finally, those that draw upon this aspect first find themselves able to expend entropy to try and slow or negate effects that target their fortitude, reflex, or will. The more they expend, the more likely they are to succeed in resisting or blunting such effects.
This aspect is very tempting for a lot of vanguard builds because the class’s whole schtick is taking damage to gain energy to either not take more damage or turn that harm against your foes later. Either way, you’ll be taking damage, so might as well have a way to reward yourself when you recover hp and heal others. If you do decide to go with it, it pairs well with boundary for a more tanky build, but also with pretty much any other aspect. If you have a dedicated healer it’s not quite as necessary, but worth considering.
There are many ways and philosophies that one can bring to the table while being a vanguard. Some may wish to be an unbreakable bulwark against their foes, while others may revel in destruction. Others still may view entropy more clinically, directing its course for their own purposes. One has to wonder though if inversion vanguards are seen as corruptors of purpose to those that are a bit more enthusiastic about entropy.
Ever since she arose, Doctor Gelwan has been searching for a way to reverse her undead nature. However, becoming a borai is not so easily undone. That being said, she has made some progress towards manipulating and inverting entropy, so the former elf hasn’t come up entirely empty-handed.
The party signs on with an expedition to a colossus-ravaged world with a group dedicated to studying and harnessing entropy. However, when a toad-like ghigorda attack separates the group, the party finds themselves alone with one of their volunteers, a vanguard who privately tells them that the group’s intentions are far from innocent.
With a strange device, the villain the party is facing channels their entropic abilities and unleashes them on a wide scale. However, far from destructive, the power restores an entire ruin to pristine condition, including those that lived within. However, this is short-lived, as everything begins to break down again, and the soulless husks decay into unspeakable horrors.