Five-Breath Vanguard

Tian elementalists of the School of Five Breaths seek mastery over the five elemental martial arts expressed by the following stances: Ironblood Stance for metal, Mountain Stance for earth, Reflective Ripple Stance for water, Stoked Flame Stance for fire, and Tangled Forest Stance for wood. They're collectively referred to as the elemental stances. Those of the School of Five Breaths who practice martial arts are taught to harness the elemental cycle by learning, mastering, and moving quickly between the elemental stances, creating a versatile and potent martial art form. Monastic training is essentially a requirement for five-breath vanguards, but martial artists from a variety of classes might find ways to master the techniques.

Five-Breath Vanguard Dedication Feat 6

You flow like the elemental cycle, adapting your stance and techniques constantly in response to whatever circumstances you face. You gain the Cycle Elemental Stance action.

Renewing Cycle Feat 10

The first time each round that you Cycle Elemental Stance, you gain temporary Hit Points equal to half your level that last until the start of your next turn. After you've gained temporary Hit Points for entering a specific elemental stance, you can't gain temporary Hit Points from entering that stance again until you've entered every other elemental stance you know or 10 minutes passes, whichever comes first.

Effect: Renewing Cycle

Induce Imbalance Feat 14

Your blows can disrupt the delicate balance of elemental energies that keep a body in good health. Strike the target using the unarmed attack associated with your current elemental stance. On a success, the target must attempt a Fortitude save against your class DC. On a failure, the target is Clumsy 2 until the end of your next turn. On a critical failure, the target is Clumsy 3 for 1 minute. Elementals take a –2 circumstance penalty to their save.

Protective Cycle Feat 16

You react to harm by flowing into an elemental stance with new advantages. You Cycle Elemental Stance and gain a +2 circumstance bonus to AC until the end of your next turn.

Five Breaths, One Death Feat 18

You cycle through the elements in a devastating combination attack. Strike the target using the unarmed attack associated with your current elemental stance, then Cycle Elemental Stance. Then, Strike the target with the unarmed attack associated with your new elemental stance. You can continue to Cycle Elemental Stance and Strike until you've made a Strike using the unarmed attack of every elemental stance you know, applying the multiple attack penalty as usual. If you successfully hit the target with all five elemental Strikes using this ability, it must attempt a Fortitude save against your class DC or die as each elementally associated organ within its body shuts down; this is a death effect.