8Kinetic Vanguard - Homebrew FIghter Subclass

v 5.27.1 is out. 

1. Rider definition (How to Play section) A new paragraph was inserted immediately after the core loop paragraph. It reads: "A rider is any on-hit feature you declare as part of a Manifested Strike package. Passive bonus damage features and triggered passives are not riders unless stated otherwise." This closes the Fire/Cold/Force Supremacy ambiguity since those passives are now explicitly outside the rider definition.

2. Spreading Flames header fix Changed 15th · Passive · Once per Turn → 15th · Passive · Once per Attack Action to match the body text, which already correctly reads "Once per Attack action."

3. Spreading Flames delayed burn clarification Appended one sentence to the T0 body text: "Delayed burn damage from Ember Lance does not trigger Spreading Flames." It sits right at the end of the trigger condition paragraph, so the logic reads continuously.

4. Forced movement rule (Psychokinesis section) Appended one sentence to the Psychokinesis flavor/intro paragraph: "Forced movement from this subclass follows normal 5e rules unless a feature says otherwise." Placed in the discipline intro rather than on any individual feature, so it applies to Shove, Implosion, Force Supremacy's bonus-damage push, and anything added later.

v5.27.2

• Rider defined. Added formal definition to How to Play: a rider is any on-hit feature declared as part of a Manifested Strike package; passive bonus damage and triggered passives are not riders unless stated otherwise. Closes the primary rules-lawyer gap around Fire/Cold/Force Supremacy interactions.
• Spreading Flames header corrected. Tag changed from Once per Turn to Once per Attack Action to match the body text.
• Spreading Flames delayed burn clarified. Added explicit sentence: delayed burn damage from Ember Lance does not trigger Spreading Flames.
• Action Surge clarified. Action Surge grants another Attack action, creating a new per-Attack-action window for Psionic Instinct and other per-Attack-action rider limits.
• Weapon attack / MS mixing clarified. You may mix weapon attacks and Manifested Strikes in any order within the Attack action.
• Damage-before-save order codified. Unless a feature says otherwise, damage from the hit resolves before any saving throw rider tied to that hit.
• Forced movement rule stated. Forced movement from this subclass follows normal 5e rules unless a feature says otherwise. (Added to Psychokinesis section intro.)
• Psychokinesis example corrected. Bonus Action: Vectored Thrust T1 Overload step was missing from the action sequence; added with full Psi, Effect, and Blood Tax breakdown.

v5.27.3 is out.

Essentially this covers a corner case involving Ember Lance and Spreading Flames. Ember Lance's DoT burn ticks do not cause Spreading Flames to proc on kill.

Two fixes in v5.27.4:

• Cryo example hit line corrected (rules bug). The example declared T2 Glacial Spike but described the T1 outcome (speed 0). T2 gives Restrained on a failed Con save — updated to match.
• Pyro example miss line clarified (wording polish). "free (Psionic Instinct)" → "free in Psi via Psionic Instinct" so a skim reader can't mistake it for waiving Blood Tax as well.

v5.28.0 is done. Four changes:

• Concussive Burst → Burst (mirrors Blast)
• Telekinetic Slam T2 — "the target is Stunned (Tier 1) and lifted 15 ft..." — Stun is now explicit rather than inherited silently
• Ember Lance T2 — added: "Delayed burn ticks do not consume this doubling — only a direct hit from a subclass feature qualifies"
• Flare T1 — added: "A successful save negates both the Blind and this damage" — closes the ambiguity on what success actually means at T1

Here's v5.28.2 with the full formula alignment pass. Every Blood Tax expression now uses BT = (T1 × PB) + (T2 × 3 × PB):

Reference formula — rewritten from PB × (0×T0 [free] + 1×T1 + 3×T2) to (T1 × PB) + (T2 × 3 × PB). Legend simplified to define T1 and T2 only.

Per-attack BT lines — all ten Blood Tax lines in the three examples now show the formula expansion:

• 1 × 3 × PB = 12 (single T2)
• (1 × PB) + (1 × 3 × PB) = 4 + 12 = 16 (T1 + T2)
• (1 × PB) + (1 × PB) = 4 + 4 = 8 (two T1s)
• 1 × PB = 4 (single T1)
• 0 lines unchanged

Turn totals — all three rewritten:

• Pyro: (3 × 4) + (2 × 12) = 12 + 24 = 36
• Psycho: (2 × 4) + 0 = 8
• Cryo: (1 × 4) + 0 = 4

5.29.1 — Level 11 cheatsheets spliced in. Section 07 now has two tiers:

LEVEL 11 — FIRST T2 POWER SPIKE includes a Quick Stats & Overload Reference box (MS die, T1/T2 damage and BT, universal tools, Psionic Instinct reminder), then per-discipline blocks with colored headers showing "Cold · Level 11 · PB 4 · 10 Psi · 3 Attacks" etc. Each has Available Riders, a 5-step Sample Turn, and a Budget Tip with full BT formula math. Closes with a Level 11 Playstyle Note in a blue reference box.

LEVEL 20 — FULL BUILD header now sits above the existing v5.29.0 cheatsheet content (unchanged).

I created a stripped down version of my class back in 3.0. Today I have dusted that branch off and uplifted the rules in it to compliance with 5,29,1. Essentially this breaks the class out into the three separate discipline tracks. I will still keep the unified 5.x going as it is easier to backport from that than the reverse.

Here are the respective subclass sheets:"
Cryokinesis 3.1.0
Pyrokinesis 3.1.0
Psychokinesis v3.1.0

Full delivery — v5.30.0 master doc plus all three v3.2 character sheets, Cryo, Pyro, and Psycho. All validation clean.

v5.30.0 changes (792 → 623 paragraphs — 169 dropped from changelog alone):

1. Ember Lance T2 — doubling now covers the entire next-hit damage package (MS + rider combined)
2. Flare T1 — parenthetical added: "use the Overloaded die if MS is Overloaded on this hit"
3. Cold Supremacy: Creeping Cold — each Glacial Spike hit = cumulative −1 to target's Con saves vs your subclass features (cap −3, until end of your next turn)
4. Empathic Sense — passive Perception rider added (+ Psionic Ability mod vs hostile creatures with readable emotions within 60 ft)
5. Changelog — trimmed from 30+ entries to 3

v3.2 sheets all reflect the v5.30.0 rules. Cryo gets Creeping Cold, Pyro gets the Ember Lance/Flare rewrites, all three get the Empathic Sense update.

v5.32.0 — Current - v3.4.0 Cryo, Pyro, Psycho

• Dazzle replaces Concussive Surge in AT III/IV pool. 3 Psi, Action (not on-hit), no damage. Wis save or Charmed → Blinded → Incapacitated. Works in social situations.
• Mind Crush save changed from Wisdom to Intelligence.
• AT III/IV pool now targets three distinct saves: Mind Crush (Int), Dazzle (Wis), Burst (Dex).
• T2 damage die at 19–20 simplified: 2d20kh replaced with 1d20 + 1d12. Crit adds 1d12 (not 1d20). Savage Attacker rolls package twice, keeps higher. Entire fiddly crit math paragraph eliminated.
• Pyro nova example recalculated: Attack 2 avg 44 (MS doubled only, rider at face value), turn total ~103.
• Psychokinesis cheatsheet updated: Sample L20 turn uses Mind Crush for Stun; Dazzle noted as Action alternative.

v5.33.0 (6 changes):

• Creeping Cold cap nerfed from −3 to −2
• Empathic Sense explicit exclusion parenthetical (undead, constructs)
• Dazzle flavor line added ("A psionic flashbang that overloads the target's senses")
• Dazzle Charmed-immune clarification on T2 (whole feature fizzles)
• Pyro example "burning" → "Burning" (Attack 3 + turn total)
• Spreading Flames header simplified to "Passive" (body handles the limit)

v3.5 sheets all reflect v5.33.0. Changelog holds 3 entries: v5.33.0, v5.32.0, v5.31.0. Cryo, Pyro, Psycho

v5.34.0 — Telekinetic Slam rewritten:

• T0: 8d10 force (save for half) + 10 ft horizontal push on fail
• T1: 10d10 (save for half) + Prone on fail
• T2: 13d10 (save for half) + Stunned on fail instead of Prone. Prone guaranteed even on successful save.
• Flavor: "You seize a foe with overwhelming telekinetic force and slam it violently into the ground with crushing power.

v3.6 Psycho sheet reflects the new Slam. Cryo and Pyro are version-bumped, content unchanged from v3.5.

 v5.35.0 is out. Master, Cryo, Pyro, and Psycho sheets now all follow the same numbering so 3.x is officially closed.

Dazzle now degrades gracefully:

• T0 vs Charmed-immune: No effect (Charmed doesn't apply)
• T1 vs Charmed-immune: Blinded still lands on failed Wis save
• T2 vs Charmed-immune: Incapacitated still lands on failed Wis save

Means Dazzle is never a dead pick against undead, constructs, or fiends — you just need to Overload it to get value

v5.37.0 is out. Here re the links as always:
Master DM
Cryo Player
Pyro Player
Psycho Player

I am really proud that I recently broke over 1k views on this thread. Thank you all for your interest and support, it means a lot.

Completed edits:

1. Discipline Mastery — deleted stale label from 18th-level table row
2. VT cheatsheet tier mismatch — removed "+ no OA" from T1 descriptions at both L11 and L20 (T2 effect, not T1)
3. "Burst/Surge" — cleaned to just "Burst"
4. Overload Mastery — added "for that Overload. If the same attack package includes a second Overload, the other Blood Tax still applies."
5. Dazzle header — changed to "3 Psi · Special"
6. Available Riders → Available Features — all three cheatsheet headers renamed
7. Vectored Thrust moved to 11th — feature header, table row (now with Steeled Mind), and changelog all updated
8. Piercing Cold/Flame/Force — extracted from inside Frozen Ground/Fiery Blast/Implosion into standalone "7th · Passive" features
9. Frozen Ground T2 — "start of your next turn" → "end of your next turn"
10. Glacial Spike T0 floor — reworded for clarity
11. Crit line — added to Manifested Strike definition
12. AT rider clarification — explicit line in How to Play rider definition
13. Blood Tax formula — rephrased from algebraic notation to plain English
14. Table rows — 7th and 10th now say "Feature(s)"
15. Changelog — v5.36.1 added, v5.34.0 dropped, 3-entry window maintained
16. Dazzle changelog — updated to reflect "Special" header

5.37.1 is out.

DM
Cryo
Pyro
Psycho

• 11th table row — back to just "Steeled Mind" (VT is Psychokinesis-only)
• Section 04 intro — "Psychokinesis gains one additional feature at 11th (Vectored Thrust)"
• Mass Levitation — "This bonus is automatic and does not count as a rider"
• "Feature(s)" → "Features" — 7th and 10th table rows
• 7th Level sub-headers — discipline-colored dividers (Cryo blue, Pyro red, Psycho purple) before each Piercing passive
• Dazzle flavor — increased spacing between header and "A psionic flashbang…"
• Blood Tax table — stripped all parenthetical PB examples (PB (2), +2×PB (8) = 3×PB (12), etc.)

v6.0.0 shipped. Four documents, all validated, all in sync. Here's the final tally:

10 features cut: Piercing Cold/Flame/Force, Cold/Fire/Force Supremacy, Mass Levitation, Spreading Flames, plus all their Overload tiers, ribbons, and sub-mechanics.

9 features moved: Psychic Resistance (20th→3rd), Steeled Mind (11th→10th), Snow Chains (15th→10th), VT (11th→10th), Arctic Tempest (18th→15th), Firestorm (18th→15th), TK Slam (18th→15th), OL Mastery + Mental Fortitude (20th→18th), AT IV (20th→18th).

4 mechanical changes: Riders unlimited (Psi-gated), Telepathy two-way with shared language, DS 3d8/4d8 soak buff, Firestorm reworked to concentration zone (20-ft, 5d8/round, difficult terrain).

Document went from 628 paragraphs → 447. The subclass is structurally cleaner — four discipline features per path in a clear progression (3rd: rider → 7th: AoE → 10th: signature → 15th: nova), and every level from 3rd through 18th is fully specified.

DM
Cryo
Pyro
Psycho