NOTE The Grey Guardian, and it’s companion stance Cinereal Bastion, make references to a specific ruleset for parrying. These rules can be found
here. At the bottom of the description of Grey Guardian and Cinereal Bastion are alternate rules for those features if you do not wish to use these parrying rules.
Favored Stance: Cinereal Bastion
Bonus Skills: Concentration
{table=head]Level|Power
1|Improved Blocking
2|
3|Guardian’s Companion (Shield Other)
4|Warrior's Calm
5|Deadly Calm (Evade)
6|Guardian’s Parry (+1)
7|
8|Guardian’s Compaion (By Your Side), Deadly Calm (Counterstrike)
9|
10|Silver Restistance (20%), Mastery of the Calm
11|Deadly Calm (Power)
12|Guardian’s Parry (+2), Silver Resistance (40%)
13|
14|Silver Resistance (60%), Deadly Calm (Focus)
15|Guradian’s Companion (Avenging Strike)
16|Silver Resistance (80%)
17|Deadly Calm (Dead in Their Tracks)
18|Guardian’s Parry (+3), Silver Resistance (100%)
19|
20|Perfect Guardian, Perfect Calm[/table]
Improved Blocking: A Grey Guardian is practiced in the art of defence. They gain the feat Improved Blocking as a bonus feat, if they have this feat already, they may instead select a single feat that has Improved Blocking as a prerequisite. If they do not meet the prerequisites for any of those feats, they may instead select a single [Fighter] feat that they meet the prerequisites for.
Guardian’s Companion (su): A Grey Guardian becomes the epitome, not only of their own defense, but of the defense of others as well. At third level, the Grey Guardian may select one ally as a Swift action within a range of Close (25 ft + 5 ft/2 levels) to be their Grey Companion. So long as the ally stays within range, they are treated as if under the effects of a
Shield Other spell, as if it were cast by the Grey Guardian. This ability improves as the Grey Guardian gains in power.The Deflection and Resistance bonus improves by 1 for every 3 class levels beyond 3, in addition to gaining the abilities listed below at the appropriate levels. The Grey Guardian must focus on their companion to protect them, requiring a Concentration check each round at a DC of 10 + ECL of the companion + 1 per consecutive round that this ability is active. If the Grey Guardian fails this check, they may not use this ability for 1d4 rounds. The check is a free action. The Grey Guardian may end this ability voluntarily on their turn, but they must choose to do this before attempting the Concentration check and may not activate it again until the next round. If the Grey Companion moves out of range, this effect ends as if the Grey Guardian had ended it voluntarily.
By Your Side
Once per day per 5 class levels, when the Grey Guardian’s Companion would hit point damage due to an attack, whether ranged or melee. The Grey Guardian may
Dimension Door to their side as an Immediate action with a Caster Level equal to half their Everready level. They arrive just before the blow lands, and can make a Parry attempt if they have any attempts left in the round and can parry the attack.
Avenging Strike
The Grey Guardian of fifteenth level will go to great lengths to protect their Companion. Any attack the Grey Guardian makes against a creature that attacked their Grey Companion in the last round deals double damage, and any criticals that are threatened are automatically confirmed.
Warrior’s Calm: A Grey Guardian becomes an absolute master at focusing their mind. At fourth level, they gain a +1 bonus to Concentration checks, this bonus increases by 1 for every 4 levels after fourth.
Deadly Calm (ex): A Grey Guardian can become so focused that they become incredibly more difficult to kill. The Grey Guardian may make a Concentration check once per round as a free action. They may use this in several ways, depending on their level. A Grey Guardian may not use Deadly Calm and Guardian’s Companion in the same round. For each consecutive round the Grey Guardian uses this ability, subtract 1 from their Concentration check, before calculating the bonuses granted by this ability. The Grey Guardian’s check gains one all of the following benefits:
Evade
The Grey Guardian makes a Concentration check against a DC of 18. If successful the Grey Guardian gains a +1 Insight bonus to their Parry attempts for the round. For every 5 points above 18, this bonus increases by 1, to a maximum of 1 per 5 class levels.
Counterstrike
The Grey Guardian chooses a single enemy to focus this ability on, and then makes a Concentration check with a DC of 15 + the target's CR. If the check is successful, after an attack is made against the eighth level Grey Guardian that misses, either due to being Parried, a failed miss chance roll, or the blow failing to beat the Grey Guardian’s AC, the Grey Guardian may make an Attack of Opportunity against the creature that attacked the Grey Guardian, if the creature is within range of an Attack of Opportunity. If the Grey Guardian has the feat Riposte, they only gain 1 Attack of Opportunity for successfully parrying while under this effect, though they gain a +2 bonus to the attack and damage roll.
Power
A Grey Guardain of eleventh level may ignore an enemies resistance to damage. The Grey Guardian makes a Concentration check with a DC of 15 + the CR of the target, which if successful allows the Grey Guardian to ignore 5 points of Damage Reduction or bypass 5 points of Regeneration the target may have. For every 5 points above the DC, the Grey Guardian may ignore 1 additional point of Damage Reduction, or bypass 1 additional point of Regeneration.
Focus
A Grey Guardian of fourteenth level may focus themselves so much that magic washes over them. They gain Spell Resistance equal to their Concentration check – 20, though this may not give them more SR than their class level + 16.
Dead in Their Tracks
The Grey Guardian of seventeenth level stops targets in their tracks when they focus. Any who come within reach of the Grey Guardian are considered to be Checked, though this does not cause a Flying creature to move back. A successful Escape Artist check against the Grey Guardian’s Concentration check will allow the creature to move their speed as a full-round action, or take a 5 ft. step as a move action.
Guardian’s Parry (ex): At sixth level, a Grey Guardian gets even closer with their shield than most. If the Grey Guardian is using a Light Shield, Buckler, or Parrying weapon to parry with, they gain a +1 bonus to parry attempts. If the Grey Guardian is using a Heavy or Tower Shield, they instead gain 1 additional Parry per round.
At twelfth level, the Grey Guardain gains a further +1 bonus to parry attempts with a Light Shield, Buckler, or Parrying Weapon, for a total of +2; the Grey Guardian gains a +1 bonus to Parry attempts with a Heavy Shield; and the Grey Guardian gains 1 additional Parry attempt with a Tower shield.
At eighteenth level, the Grey Guardain gains a further +1 bonus to parry attempts with a Light Shield, Buckler, or Parrying Weapon. The Grey Guardian gains an additional +1 bonus to Parry attempts with a Heavy Shield; and the Grey Guardian gains 1 additional Parry attempt with a Tower shield, for a total of 3 additional Parry attempts.
Silver Resistance (ex): The Grey Guadian is able to shrug off blows that would drop most others. They gain 20% Fortification, which increases by 20% every 2 levels, to a maximum of 100% at eighteenth level.
Perfect Guardian, Perfect Calm A twentieth level Grey Guardian is a stalwart bastion of defence. They gain particular bonuses when they are using Guardian’s Companion or Deadly Calm. In addition, the Grey Guardian may use both Guardian’s Companion and Deadly Calm at the same time, although they require separate Concentration checks.
Guardian’s Companion
The Grey Guardian may choose to use the abilitiy
By Your Side an unlimited number of times per day, though it is still an immediate action. In addition, any parry attempt made while using
By Your Side gain a +2 bonus. Further, the Grey Guardian gains the Deflection and Resistance bonuses granted by their
Shield Other spell while they have a Grey Companion.
Deadly Calm
The Grey Guardian may take 15 on Concentration checks for this ability.
Alternate Features for Standard Rules:
Spoiler
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Improved Parry: A Grey Guardian is trained in the use of a shield. They gain the feat Shield Specialization (PHB 2) as a bonus feat, even if they do not meet the prerequisites. If they have this feat, they instead select a single [Fighter] bonus feat that they meet the prerequisites for.
Guardian’s Companion By Your Side Once per day, when the Grey Guardian’s Companion would take hit point damage due to an attack, whether ranged or melee. The Grey Guardian may Dimension Door to their side as an Immediate action, they arrive just before the blow lands, providing cover to their Grey Companion (+4 AC, if this AC bonus causes the attack to miss, the target changes to the Grey Guardian.)
Deadly Calm Evade
The Grey Guardian may make a Concentration check with a DC of 15 + target's CR. If successful, the Grey Guardian gains a +1 Insight bonus to their AC for the round against that target. For every 5 points the Grey Guardian beats the DC the Insight bonus increases by 1, to a maximum of 1 per 5 class levels.
Guardian’s Parry: At sixth level, the Grey Guardian gains an additional +1 to their Shield AC bonus, this increases by 1 for every six class levels.