Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Character Sheets in 12.1.1: Known Issues and the Road to 12.1.4
Short version: the character sheets shipped in 12.1.1 are a work in progress. There are known bugs, and some of them are bad. If you are running Kinetic Vanguard at the table right now, do not lean on the sheets.
12.1.2 is being built specifically to address that, as thoroughly as human and AI collaboration can manage. It is still in development and I am not going to put a date on it.
Until it lands, the HTML cheat sheets and the rest of the static documentation are authoritative as far as the rules are concerned. If a sheet and the cheat sheet disagree, the cheat sheet is correct. The sheets are a delivery format; the documentation is the spec.
Reporting: if you find anything that is out of alignment with SRD 5.2.1, please report it in this thread. Those findings are being collected and will be integrated in 12.2.0, once 12.1.4 has landed. I would rather work through a pile of corrections than have a quiet thread and a wrong ruleset.
Where this is going, in house-building terms:
12.1.0 and 12.1.1 laid and validated the build chain. That is the foundation. Nobody tours a house and compliments the footings, and none of it makes anyone's Fighter more fun on a Tuesday night, but it was absolutely worth the compute. Everything above it depends on that being square.
12.1.2 is load-bearing walls and electrical. Structure and wiring.
12.1.3 is quality-of-life work. Redoing the drywall, basically. The stuff that makes the place livable rather than merely standing.
12.1.4 integrates full Fighter chassis functionality with the character sheets. That is the sunroom off the salon, and it is the part you actually want to sit in.
Thanks for the patience. Keep the reports coming.
Kinetic Vanguard v13.0.0 Released — A Clean Rebuild and Public Repository
Kinetic Vanguard v13.0.0 is now released.
Download the self-contained HTML rules reference:
https://github.com/kmart01123/kinetic-vanguard/releases/download/v13.0.0/KineticVanguard.html
View the v13.0.0 release page:
https://github.com/kmart01123/kinetic-vanguard/releases/tag/v13.0.0
View the public source repository:
https://github.com/kmart01123/kinetic-vanguard
The HTML publication is a single, offline-capable file. Download it, open it in a modern browser, and it requires no installation or internet connection afterward.
Version 13 is a clean rebuild based around a schema-first rules source, automated validation, deterministic builds, browser layout testing, and a permanently tagged release snapshot. The goal is to make the project easier to read, verify, maintain, and contribute to without carrying forward the experimental architecture of earlier versions.
I also owe everyone a mea culpa regarding the 11.x and 12.x proof-of-concept releases.
I tried to recreate far too much of D&D Beyond’s turn and character-management engine. That was a mistake. It expanded the project well beyond what a homebrew rules reference needed to be, created unnecessary complexity, and distracted from the actual job: presenting the class rules clearly and reliably.
That decision was mine, and I own it.
Version 13 deliberately steps back from that approach. It is a rules publication, not a replacement character sheet, encounter engine, or automated turn manager.
That does not mean all table assistance is off the table. Version 14 is planned to include a deliberately limited calculator for repetitive table math.
You will provide values such as your fighter level and psionic ability modifier, and the calculator will perform the lookups and arithmetic already required by the rules.
For example, Manifested Strike may require you to determine the correct die from your level, identify the applicable modifiers, and combine several values before rolling. The calculator would reduce those lookups to a result such as:
d8 + 10
It will not track turns, manage character state, spend resources, make decisions, or attempt to play the character for you. Its purpose will simply be to reduce bookkeeping between reading the rule and rolling the die.
Before work begins on v14, two smaller releases are planned:
v13.0.1 — Editorial normalization
This patch will normalize the use of “+” and “plus” throughout the rules text. It will not change any mechanics.
v13.1.0 — Forked Lightning clarification
This release will close the current rules hole by explicitly defining the failed-save result for Forked Lightning’s non-primary targets.
After those releases, development will pivot to v14 and the table-math assistant.
Thank you to everyone who tested the earlier versions, identified where the design had gone off course, and stuck with the project through the rebuild. Version 13 is a much stronger foundation, and I am looking forward to improving it without repeating the scope mistakes of 11.x and 12.x.
Kinetic Vanguard v13.0.1 is live — now with dark mode
Kinetic Vanguard v13.0.1 is tagged and available to download.
The headline change is the new default dark theme, because everyone likes dark mode—and staring into a bright white rules document at 1 a.m. is a hostile user experience.
This patch also includes several interface and consistency fixes:
Selecting a rule from the Name menu now opens it immediately. The redundant Open button is gone.
Features in the Name menu are now ordered by level, then alphabetically.
Deflection Screen and Phase Step have cleaner display names while retaining their existing rules and links.
Mathematical addition notation in tables has been standardized.
Additional regression tests protect navigation, ordering, rendering, and release output.
There are no intentional mechanical balance changes in this release. It is focused on making the rules reference cleaner, easier to navigate, and much more pleasant to read.
The release remains a single self-contained HTML file that can be downloaded and used offline.
View the Kinetic Vanguard v13.0.1 release
Download KineticVanguard.html directly
Rules-adjacent wording work, including the planned Overload cleanup and Forked Lightning clarification, is being held for v13.1.0 rather than squeezed into this patch.
Kinetic Vanguard v13.1.0 is now available.
This release focuses on rules clarity, newcomer readability, and reference usability rather than a broad balance overhaul.
The main rules updates are:
• Your Kinetic Discipline choice at Fighter level 3 is now explicitly permanent and separate from your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma Psionic Ability choice.
• Blood Tax paid when activating an Overloaded concentration feature does not trigger a concentration saving throw for that activation. Later damage, including later Blood Tax, does so normally.
• Tier 2 Blood Tax is twice your Proficiency Bonus total, not Tier 1 plus twice your Proficiency Bonus.
• Forked Lightning targets now resolve their own Charisma saving throws and damage independently. Tier 2 disruption applies only to targets that fail, and Speed 0 applies only to the primary target.
• Ball Lightning can trigger when a creature enters its area on any turn, including through forced movement. Moving the orb onto a stationary creature does not trigger it immediately.
• Mass Levitation must target either Medium-or-smaller creatures or Large creatures during an activation. The two groups cannot be mixed.
• Maximum concentration durations are now explicit for Vectored Thrust, Frozen Ground, Mass Levitation, Ball Lightning, and Gravitic Press.
All 44 published rules entries received a language audit. The core procedures for Manifested Strike, riders, Psi, Kinetic Mastery, and Overload were reorganized to put the normal case before edge cases. The four example turns were also rewritten for easier phase-by-phase reading.
The Subclass Feature Reference now includes an Ongoing Duration column and filters for Common features, each Discipline, Advanced Training, and level.
Mobile navigation, semantic headings, player-facing activation labels, desktop table layout, print layout, and general accessibility were also improved.
No broad damage, Psi-cost, action-economy, or progression rebalance was made.
Download Kinetic Vanguard v13.1.0:
https://github.com/kmart01123/kinetic-vanguard/releases/tag/v13.1.0
Feedback on the clarified interactions and revised first-read rules would be especially useful.
Kinetic Vanguard v13.2.0 is now available.
This release focuses on helping new players understand the subclass while keeping the complete rules reference available for experienced players.
The main addition is a new Start Here page. Opening the publication normally now gives a concise introduction to Manifested Strike, riders, Psi, Overload, Blood Tax, and character setup before presenting the full reference interface.
The Start Here page includes:
• Three paths for building a character, learning a normal turn, or opening the complete rules reference.
• Short cards introducing Pyrokinesis, Cryokinesis, Psychokinesis, and Electrokinesis.
• A four-step explanation of a normal Manifested Strike turn.
• A character-building checklist.
• Brief definitions of the subclass’s key terms.
• Direct links into the complete canonical rules.
Existing links to individual rules, categories, topics, and filtered results continue to open the full Rules Reference directly.
Mass Levitation also received two mechanical revisions:
• The feature now provides five target slots. A Medium or smaller creature costs one slot, and a Large creature costs two slots. Any combination costing no more than five slots is legal.
• A creature that succeeds on a repeat saving throw now falls normally from its current position instead of descending safely. A successful initial saving throw still leaves the creature unaffected.
Examples of legal target combinations include five Medium-or-smaller creatures, two Large creatures, one Large creature plus three Medium-or-smaller creatures, or two Large creatures plus one Medium-or-smaller creature.
No broad damage, Psi-cost, action-economy, or progression rebalance was made.
This release also establishes clear project licensing: the software is available under the BSD 3-Clause License, original Kinetic Vanguard content is available under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, and SRD 5.2.1-derived material remains under CC BY 4.0.
Download Kinetic Vanguard v13.2.0:
https://github.com/kmart01123/kinetic-vanguard/releases/tag/v13.2.0
Feedback on the new first-time-player experience and the revised Mass Levitation rule would be especially useful.
Kinetic Vanguard v14.0.0 Released
Deterministic Calculator, clearer rules, and a major publication update
Kinetic Vanguard v14.0.0 is now available.
This major release introduces a new offline calculator, improves the presentation of complex rules and examples, and includes several important rules updates.
The entire subclass remains available as a single self-contained HTML file. No installation, account, or internet connection is required after downloading it.
Download Kinetic Vanguard v14.0.0
New: Deterministic Calculator
Version 14 adds a new Calculator section alongside Start Here and the Rules Reference.
Choose three values from dropdown menus:
Skill / Feature
Fighter Level
Psionic Ability Modifier
Changing any selection immediately updates the results. There is no separate Calculate button.
The Psionic Ability Modifier selector supports values up to +5, corresponding to an ability score of 20.
For Manifested Strike, the calculator displays:
The complete attack-roll calculation
Proficiency Bonus
Psionic Focus
The level-appropriate Manifested Strike die
The complete damage calculation
Psionic Save DC
Exact expected average damage, with no display rounding
For example, a level 11 character with a +5 Psionic Ability modifier receives:
The calculator derives all level-based values automatically. Players do not need to enter Proficiency Bonus, Psionic Focus, Manifested Strike die size, total Psi Points, or Blood Tax manually.
On-Hit Riders and Combined Damage
Supported on-hit riders show both the triggering Manifested Strike and the rider’s additional effect.
Each result clearly separates:
Manifested Strike attack roll
Manifested Strike damage
Rider-only damage
Combined damage to the struck target
Exact expected average damage
Psi cost
Blood Tax
Saving throw and DC, when applicable
All authored tiers are shown at the same time, making it easy to compare Tier 0, Tier 1, and Tier 2.
Features that use Manifested Strike dice automatically substitute the correct die for the selected Fighter level.
For example, Cinder Lance at level 11 uses d10s:
This also applies to features such as Branching Bolt. The calculator correctly distinguishes the struck target from secondary targets, so the Psionic Ability modifier is added to the triggering Manifested Strike rather than incorrectly added to every branch.
On-hit riders also repeat the relevant Manifested Strike attack calculation and display the Psionic Save DC when the rider requires a saving throw.
Exact Expected Average Damage
Expected damage values are shown without display rounding.
Examples include:
1d10 + 5: 10.5 average damage
3d10 + 5: 21.5 average damage
4d10 + 5: 27 average damage
5d10 + 5: 32.5 average damage
This is the arithmetic average of the displayed damage roll. It does not attempt to estimate hit probability, saving throw success, critical-hit frequency, resistance, or vulnerability.
For saving throw features, the calculator instead presents the relevant failed-save and successful-save outcomes separately.
Psi and Blood Tax Reference
Calculator results also include:
The character’s total Psi Points at the selected Fighter level
The feature’s normal Psi cost
Tier 0, Tier 1, and Tier 2 Blood Tax
A clear reminder that Blood Tax is self-damage
At level 11:
Tier 0 Blood Tax: 0
Tier 1 Blood Tax: 4
Tier 2 Blood Tax: 8
Blood Tax remains separate from outgoing damage, allowing players to see both the feature’s effect and its personal cost without untangling a combined total.
Rules Changes
Barrier
Barrier now requires Concentration for up to 1 minute at Tier 0 and Tier 1.
Tier 2 continues to increase its duration to 10 minutes.
Because this can change which effects a character can maintain simultaneously, it is a playable rules change and one of the reasons for the major-version increase.
Explosion/Implosion
Tier 1 now consistently uses:
A 30-foot-radius Sphere
30 feet of push or pull movement
The radius and movement distance are now aligned throughout the feature text and reference material.
Clearer Rules and Examples
Version 14 includes a broad readability pass across the publication.
Dense mechanical passages have been reorganized into proper ordered and bulleted lists, including material involving:
Manifested Strike
Explosion/Implosion
Mass Levitation
Forked Lightning
Gravitic Press
Barrier
Worked combat examples
The worked examples now use clearer phase-by-phase structures for setup, activation, attacks, saving throws, damage, effects, and final results.
This is primarily a presentation improvement. Rules outcomes were preserved except where a change is specifically identified in the changelog.
Publication and Technical Improvements
The canonical rules schema has advanced to version 2.0.0, allowing rules passages and examples to use proper semantic structure instead of dense inline text.
The publication now also uses the canonical rules version as its sole product version. The former separate application-version identity has been removed.
KineticVanguard.yaml remains the sole canonical source for:
Rules text
Feature data
Calculator data
Progression
Examples
Navigation
Publication output
The calculator does not scrape or guess from displayed prose. Its results are derived from structured and validated canonical authority.
Offline and Accessible
Kinetic Vanguard remains:
A single self-contained HTML file
Fully functional offline
Free of runtime network requests
Usable on desktop and mobile
Keyboard accessible
Compatible with browser back and forward navigation
Readable in Chromium and Firefox
Suitable for printing
Version 14 passed:
66 automated tests
11 Chromium and Firefox layout tests
Deterministic-build verification
Schema and semantic validation
Authorized release-build checks
Download
The complete release, including the offline publication and supporting integrity files, is available here:
Kinetic Vanguard v14.0.0 GitHub Release
Download KineticVanguard.html and open it in a browser.
Feedback, rules questions, calculator edge cases, and layout reports are welcome.
Kinetic Vanguard v14.1.0 — Benchmarking, Transparency, and Calculator Cleanup
Kinetic Vanguard v14.1.0 is now released.
This is mostly an infrastructure and usability release. There are no broad subclass-rule changes here; instead, 14.1 gives me much better tools for understanding where the class actually stands before I start making those changes.
Damage and Control Benchmarking
The old balance harnesses have been rebuilt as maintained, YAML-driven tooling tied directly to the canonical Kinetic Vanguard rules.
The new system includes:
damage and control benchmarking at levels 7, 11, 15, and 20;
a pinned SRD 5.2.1 target roster;
Battle Master and Eldritch Knight as the primary comparison points;
exact analytical evaluation rather than Monte Carlo estimation;
detailed CSV, Markdown, and standalone HTML reports;
provenance and validation so the numbers can be reproduced and audited.
The public README now includes compact Single-Target Damage and Control Reliability matrices so you can see the broad results without digging through the complete reports.
One important change during review: Battle Master and Eldritch Knight are now treated as a dynamic comparison envelope rather than assuming one must always outperform the other. If KV falls between them, it is IDEAL; below both is COLD; above both is HOT.
And, importantly, HOT does not automatically mean overpowered and COLD does not automatically mean underpowered. These are diagnostic signals, not automated game-design verdicts.
That distinction matters especially for control. The current Control Reliability benchmark tells us how reliably a package takes effect, but it does not yet fully value how strong that control actually is. That will be one of the major targets for v14.2.
Calculator Improvements
The Calculator also got a small but useful navigation pass.
There is now a Feature Group selector for:
All
Cryokinesis
Pyrokinesis
Psychokinesis
Electrokinesis
Advanced Training
This filters the Skill / Feature list without changing any calculations.
Manifested Strike is now the Calculator's dedicated landing state rather than another selectable entry repeated alongside discipline features. Changing disciplines also correctly clears an incompatible feature while preserving your Fighter Level and Psionic Ability Modifier.
Licensing and Attribution
14.1 also includes a repository-wide licensing and attribution cleanup.
Project code, original Kinetic Vanguard content, SRD-derived material, and third-party comparator assumptions now have explicit component boundaries, and generated publications and benchmark reports carry the appropriate notices.
Battle Master and Eldritch Knight remain unofficial comparative benchmarks only; Kinetic Vanguard is not affiliated with or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.
What Comes Next
The big reason for doing all of this is v14.2.
Now that the analytical plumbing is substantially better, I can stop guessing and start doing a more disciplined subclass balance pass.
The current plan is to:
improve the control benchmark so it measures Control Value, not merely reliability;
take another focused look at damage;
investigate the meaningful HOT/COLD outliers;
make surgical subclass-rule adjustments where the evidence actually supports them;
and substantially reduce how often the full benchmark suite runs during ordinary development, because there are only so many anime episodes I can sacrifice to repeatedly calculating the same numbers.
I also want to add a short clarification to the How to Play page that the Calculator is intentionally a computational play aid, not a complete index of every Kinetic Vanguard feature or rule.
For now, though, v14.1.0 is frozen and published.
This release gives Kinetic Vanguard a much stronger analytical foundation, better public visibility into that analysis, and a cleaner Calculator without changing the core subclass out from under anyone.
As always, feedback from actual play is worth more than a pretty benchmark table.