This pdf is 8 pages long, 2/3 page front cover, 1 page editorial/SRD, leaving 6 1/3 page for the Vanguard-gish-class.

Disclaimer: This is another one of these unfair reviews in which I’ll compare this class with what has come after it, i.e. the Magus. I don’t do this out of spite, but rather because I want to take a look at how the class has aged and whether it still has its place in a campaign with e.g. the Magus. I did conclude yes with regards to SGG’s Archon, sooo… how does it stand up in comparison to the Archon or the Magus?

The Vanguard is, as I’ve already mentioned, a class blending arcane and martial prowess and gets ¾ BAB, d8, 4+Int skills per level, good fort- and will-saves and spontaneous Cha-based spellcasting of up to 6th level. The vanguard casts via his arcane bonded weapon, which serves as the eschew materials feat and can be enhanced by the vanguard with special weapon properties as he progresses over the levels. As the vanguard progresses, he also gets the ability to deliver touch spells via his weapons, can use his weapon to dispel/block magic a limited amount of times per day and cast spells as swift actions a limited amount of times per day.

We also get 3 new feats, one to grant the vanguard extra swift spells, a bonus to spell block checks and a feat that enables you to apply metamagic to the spells you channel through your blade. The pdf closes with 2 spells to summon your weapon to your hand, as a vanguard without his weapon will be hard-pressed to cast at all.

Conclusion:
Editing and formatting re top-notch, I didn’t notice any glitches. Layout adheres to the 3-column, full-color standard by SGG. There are no bookmarks, but at this length, that’s still ok. With regards to the class, I fear the Vanguard hasn’t aged as well as the Archon, primarily because anything it does, the Magus does better: Where the Magus and Archon are modular and offer a selection of abilities, Vanguards only have a limited, straight-forward class-progression that lacks the modularity I’ve come to expect of any new base-class I use.

This lack of modularity unfortunately comes with a lack of signature abilities – while spell-block is nice, it’s nowhere near as iconic as the Magus’ arcana or the Archon’s Rivenspell. I really loved the weapon-dependent casting and the general direction in which the Vanguard seems to take the trope, but while reading it, I constantly thought that the execution of the class leaves something to be desired. Add to that the fact that you get no advice on how to integrate them into your world or play them and you get a pdf that feels a) unfortunately like a rushed job and b) has not aged well. With the release of Ultimate Magic’s Magus, this class has unfortunately been made rather superfluous and in contrast to the Archon, I’m not sure whether we still have any need at all for this. My final verdict will thus be 1.5 stars, rounded down to 1 – this might have been a 2.5 stars rounded up to 3-file once, but with the Magus and the superior Archon, there’s unfortunately no true reason to own this anymore.

Endzeitgeist out.

Edit: While I stand by my review, I urge you to check out Rite Publishing's 101 Renegade Class Feats. The feats therein make the Vanguard infinitely more compelling and versatile, adding e.g. potential for bloodline-powers and signature fighting style feats.

If you happen to own said file, consider this review 3.5 stars instead - while the class is still too linear for my tastes, the feats make it feel much more enticing, to the point that I'm willing to include them in my char-roster again.

If we can get an additional pdf with more vanguard-options of this quality, the class might yet become truly awesome.

My new final verdict will thus average between the two verdicts, scoring a 2.5 stars.

PDF STATS

This pdf is 8 pages long. The first page includes the cover and a brief introduction to the class. Page 2 includes the description of the class, its role, and the table. Page 3 concludes the role of the class, introduces the class skills and class features, and has a sidebar referencing Super Genius Games’ other magical warrior class, the Archon. Page 4 continues with the class features and possesses the Spells Known table. Pages 5 and 6 conclude the class features and introduce new feats useable with the class. Page 7 includes new feats and spells for use with the class. Page 8 includes the credits and the OGL.

LAYOUT

Similar to all other genius guides. It is in landscape alignment with three columns of text. The table appears before any class features are presented, and takes up an odd amount of space on the page. The Archon sidebar feels appropriate, though I feel its placement and the placement of the table should have been switched. The art is well-spaced in the document. The feats section comes in right at the end of the class features, and I feel it could have been pushed to the next page for a better flow. Otherwise, if you enjoy the standard Genius Guide layout, then this one is the same.

ART

The cover-piece is fantastic, evoking exactly what I expect from a class called the Vanguard. A man stands on a cliff, facing down a monstrous sea-beast, his magic sword in-hand, shining against the darkness of the storm. The rest of the art, however…feels very forced. I get the idea that they didn’t have access to pictures that showed both martial prowess and magic in the same character, so they went with what they had. The other three characters pictured remind me more of a samurai, a barbarian and a rogue than a vanguard. I will lend credit, though, in that they keep a consistent water-color-esque style.

CLASS

D8 hit dice, medium BAB, high Fort and Will saves, 4 skill points per level, 6th-level spontaneous casting (in the same vein as a bard or summoner). No dead levels.

The vanguard is presented as a class whose merger of martial prowess and arcane might represents incredible versatility, if not incredible strength from either end of the spectrum. It is promoted as being a fusion of two worlds, a synergist who is able to meld the strengths of the martial and the magical into one awesome being. And, atop this, they are also master tacticians whose knowledge of battle allows them great insight into how they should fight in combat.

Well, let’s put that to the test, shall we?

Skills: Class skills feel like those of a particularly eclectic fighter, including appraise, additional knowledge skills, linguistics, perception, stealth and spellcraft. This seems appropriate, as they do gain 4 skill points per level.

Proficiencies: Proficiencies are pretty standard: simple and martial weapons, light armor, and the ability to cast in such armor.

Spells: The spells are where I start to have problems with this class. It selects from the wizard/sorcerer class list, but uses charisma as its casting score, when it was touted earlier as having high intelligence. In addition, it is a class that is supposed to be tactical in its spell use, but it utilizes spontaneous spellcasting, a decidedly less tactical spellcasting method. Using a prepared spellcasting system and a spellbook would have increased the versatility the vanguard is supposed to possess. Overall, this is one area where I was not impressed.

Arcane Bond: At first, this feels just like a copy-paste from the wizard’s arcane bond, with the caveat that it must be a weapon. However, its originality shines through in the third paragraph. Not only is he treated as possessing eschew materials while wielding it, but he can cast spells with his hands full, so long as he is wielding the weapon. There’s more to the weapon, but without giving too much away, just be aware that this is NOT just the wizard’s arcane bond with a costume.

Arcane Strike: The feat. ‘Nuff said.

Combat Casting: Again. The feat. I feel like only one of these should have been utilized, as otherwise it just feels a bit like filler.

Iron Grip: This grants a bonus against disarm and sunder attempts with his bonded weapon. Overall, I like this. It really gives the bonded weapon some nice flavor.

Weapon Channel: This begins feeling like a better version of the magus’ spellstrike, as it doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity. However, it reveals its true intentions at later levels, granting the ability to avoid losing the spell on a missed attack as well as the ability to utilize the spell against every target in a full-attack. Very nice.

Bonus Feats: feats at 3 different levels, either a metamagic feat, spell focus or a combat feat. No opinion here. Lots of classes get bonus feats.

Vanguard’s Spell Penetration: Adding my bonded weapon’s enhancement bonuses to spell penetration? Yes please. Especially when it increases as I level.

Swift Spell: Cast a spell as a swift action once per day. Increases to 5/day at high levels. It feels like a callback to the duskblade, which is fine. I liked the duskblade, and this ability, especially 5/day, is really, REALLY good.

Spell Block: Essentially, the vanguard can block a spell as if countering with dispel magic 3 + charisma modifier times per day. The only thing I find wrong here is that it’s stated that the ability is a “reaction”, which is not a
Pathfinder term. It means “immediate action”, but it’s just something someone missed.

Arcane Smite: Sacrifice a spell to add damage for one attack. Overall, this ability feels pretty weak. I would have made it similar to other smite abilities, and had it last for a while.

Enhance Bond Weapon: Adding weapon effects to the bonded weapon for a number of rounds equal to the vanguard’s level. Pretty basic, and feels inspired by the inquisitor’s “bane” ability.

Spell Sunder: Essentially, he can spend a use of his spell-block ability to dispel a magical effect on a creature with an attack. I would have preferred if he could dispel any effect, like a prismatic wall, but this is nice on its own.

Spell Grapple: Interesting name for an interesting ability. Essentially, the vanguard can store a blocked spell in his bonded weapon, and can release it later. Nifty.

Bond Weapon Mastery: Auto-confirming crits with the bond weapon is nice, but the fact that it can’t be targeted by disarm or sunder makes it even better.

New Feats: The included feats are “Extra Swift Spell,” self-explanatory, “Improved Spell Block” which adds 4 to your dispel check, and “Improved Weapon Channel,” which allows you to add a metamagic feat to any channeled spell without increasing the casting time. Nice.

New Spells: There are also 2 new spells based around summoning the arcane bond weapon to you. They’re all right, but nothing to write home about.

And that’s it!

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS

The vanguard is a well-built class. However, it’s not without its faults. While the class is promoted as being a versatile tactician, its utilization of charisma over intelligence and its spontaneous casting method lead me to believe it was instead intended to be a “hero”-styled class, rushing into battle and inspiring people with his strength and mystical abilities. In addition, while it claims to be versatile, I see little variation between vanguards unless someone chooses a ranged weapon as opposed to a melee weapon for their arcane bond. And even then, all vanguards gain the same abilities at each level. One of the hallmarks of most pathfinder classes is the ability to customize through selectable abilities, and this class lacks that customization factor.

All that being said, however, I do really enjoy the vanguard. It’s got a lot of balance and some fun abilities like Weapon Channel, Vanguard’s Spell Penetration and Spell Block. In addition, the hero aesthetic that its abilities seem to promote is welcome in a game where many of the classes feel rather gritty. This feels like a class where one can have fun, and it’s welcome in any campaign I run.

The Genius Guide to: The Vanguard by Otherworld Creation

This product is 8 pages long. Opening page is cover and intro to the class.

Next it gets into the class description and table. (4 pages)
D8, 4 skills, medium BaB, 2 good saves, simple and martial weapons, light armor and shields. Level 1 spell casting ability that maxes out and 6th level spells. Cast spells like a Sorcerer, with the same progression. Though can cast fewer spells per day of each level.
Class Features
Arcane Bond – with there weapon, allowing them to cast with the weapon in hand. In fact it is hard for them to cast with out their bonded weapon. If it is lost it can be replaced by the same type of weapon.
Feats gain – Arcane Strike, Combat casting.
Bonus Feats at – 4th, 10th and 16th
Iron Grip – makes it hard to disarm the Vanguard
Weapon Channel – Cast touch based spells threw weapon, causing weapon damage and spell damage on a hit.
Vanguard Spell Penetration – add any to hit enhancements to the spell to overcome SR.
Swift Spell – Can cast a single spell as a swift action. Once per day, eventually getting 5 uses a day.
Spell Block – May attempt to block a spell cast at them like dispel magic. 3 + chr mod per day.
Arcane Smite – may expand a spell into their sword, causing there next attack to do 1d6 per level of spell used in extra magical damage.
Enhance Weapon Bond – Can enchant their weapon with magic effects. Defending, Flaming, Frost, Ghost Touch, Shock, or Thundering. May change it as a move action. Last a number or rounds per day equal to class level.
Spell Sunder – On a attack and hit, the vanguard may try and dispel any magic on the target just as if she had cast dispel magic.
Spell Grapple – On a successful spell block, instead of dispelling it, she stores it in her weapon and can then choose to cast the spell herself.
Bond Weapon Mastery – Automatically confirms crits with bonded weapon.

The next page has new feats and spells on it.
Feats
Extra Swift Spell
Improved Spell Block
Improved Weapon Channel

Spells
Summon Arcane Bonded Object
Summon Arcane Bonded Object, Greater

Final page is a OGL.

Closing Thoughts: The artwork is pretty good but a bit different. Reminds me a bit of water color art, not sure how else to describe it. I didn't notice any errors and the class seems well done. They also have a side bar talking about is the class needed with the Archon already existing. While both classes are magic/melee classes they are pretty different as well. I like this one better personally. My biggest nitpick is Enhance Weapon Bond at the level it is gained I think it could have been permanent and just only allowed them to switch the powers only so many times a day. They can bonded a magic weapon to them as well. This is one of the better magic/melee classes I have seen. Sort fills a similar roll as the Paladin only with arcane magic. Though I wouldn't have objected to them getting some bonuses to hit with their bonded weapon. Say a +1 every 5 levels so at level 20 they have a full BaB with their bonded weapon only. Going to give this a 4.5 star. Mostly because it is shorter than most of their products and it was missing the section on how to fit them into your campaign world etc.