Vanguard

Explore the Vanguard archetype in "Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader", detailing its tier I archetypes, characteristics, skills, and unique abilities like Unyielding Beacon.

Archetype Details:

• Tier I Archetypes: Warrior, Officer
• Characteristics: Weapon Skill, Strength, Toughness, Willpower, Fellowship
• Skills: Athletics, Carouse, Lore (Imperium), Coercion, Commerce, Persuasion.

Keystone Features (Vanguard):

Unyielding Beacon

Each attack against you grants +1 stack of unyielding beacon. Each stack increases your resolve by +1 up to a maximum of +15. Allies within a 2-cell radius around you gain 1/5 of this bonus. Temporary wounds that you gain stack until the start of your turn; at this point temporary wounds are reduced to the largest amount granted by one of the applied effects. If the number of temporary wounds is less than the number of stacks of unyielding beacon, you gain temporary wounds equal to the number of stacks.

Abilities (Vanguard):

Bulwark

• Cost: 1 AP
• Area of effect: Personal
• Cooldown: 1 round
• Until the start of your next turn, you become immune to push and forced movement effects and gain deflection against ranged attacks equal to your number of stacks of unyielding beacon.

Defensive Stance

• Cost: 1 AP
• Area of effect: Personal
• Cooldown: 1 round
• Until the start of your next turn, you gain +(10 + 2 x unyielding beacon stacks)% parry. When parrying an enemy's attack, you automatically make an attack of opportunity with a -20 penalty to Weapon Skill.

Follow My Lead!

• Cost: 1 AP
• Area of effect: All allies within a 2-cell radius
• Cooldown: 1 round
• Until the start of their next turn, you and allies within a 2-cell radius gain +(10 + FEL bonus x 2)% bonuses to damage and armour penetration. In addition, allies within a 2-cell radius gain the _Following!_ ability until the start of your next turn. This ability costs 0 AP and 2 MP and allows the character to move to any cell adjacent to you without provoking attacks of opportunity.

Forced Distraction

• Cost: 1 AP
• Area of effect: All enemies within a 3-cell radius of any ally within a 10-cell radius
• Cooldown: 1 round
• All enemies within 3 cells of a chosen ally must make a Willpower resistance test with a -(5 x your FEL bonus) penalty. On a failed test, you become their priority target. Regardless of whether enemies fail the test, the chosen ally ignores attacks of opportunity from them and can shoot enemies in melee range.

Provocation

• Cost: 1 AP
• Area of effect: A single enemy within a 1-cell radius
• Cooldown: 1 round
• The chosen enemy is forced to immediately attack you. All of your allies who are wielding melee weapons and adjacent to the chosen enemy make attacks of opportunity against that enemy. The enemy takes +(your FEL bonus) more damage from these attacks and has -(10 + 2 x your FEL bonus) penalties to dodge and parry.

Wall of Rockcrete

• Cost: 1 AP
• Area of effect: All allies within a 3-cell radius
• Cooldown: 1 round
• Until the start of their next turn, you and allies within a 3-cell radius gain +(3 + unyielding bonus stacks) temporary wounds and take -50% damage from the next attack.

Unyielding Guard (Heroic Act / Desperate Measures)

• Cost: N/A
• Area of effect: Personal
• Cooldown: Once per combat
• Until your next turn, you attack each enemy which attacks your allies in a 3-cell radius around you and you also retaliate when you are attacked attacked.
  When used as a Desperate Measure, you receive +30% damage from all sources until the end of combat.
  At 27th and 35th levels, you can choose one of the following upgrades:
  1. Until the end of your next turn, you cannot die. Until the start of your next turn, all damage suffered by you is reduced by -(TGH bonus).
  2. Until the start of your next turn, each attack made by you makes you a priority target for the enemy hit by the attack
  3. Until the end of combat, all allies in a 3-cell radius around you suffer -(your TGH bonus / 2) damage
  4. Until the end of combat, you gain +(FEL bonus) momentum for each attack which hits you.

Talents (Vanguard):

When selecting talents from the full talent list, you may additionally choose from talents unique to the Vanguard archetype.