Jaded and tough, these warriors act as if they have seen it all. Obviously they are not all seasoned warriors, but the training of a Veteran involves a great deal of time in battle, so even a first rank Veteran has seen more action than other first rank warriors. The strategy of the Veteran is to be an immovable wall, and hold the line. Veterans rely on defense in battle, always working to better ensure their protection, which is why they survive to be veterans. If you are a Veteran be jaded, unimpressed, hard, and pessimistic.
Rank 1
Lose all temporary HP and gain 1d6 temporary HP as long as you remain stationary.
You and the target gain Limited Instant Awaken and Limited Reactive Awaken (only usable on each other). You may only have this active on one creature at a time.
Target is awakened.
During a short rest, you may scavenge materials and make 1 piece of armor or a shield. It is improvised. Any armor you make in this way counts as a number of items equal to the armor's AV for the purpose of this ability. Only common mundane items can typically be made in this way, but the GM may specify if other options are available to you.
An improvised item is one made out scrap or temporary pieces. It functions like any other item, but only exists for 8 hours before falling apart and becoming destroyed. It is easy to tell whether an item is improvised. Interacting with an item is enough to determine if it is improvised or not.
Rank 2
You take only half the triggering damage.
Armor you wear is unbreachable.
You may spend a short rest building defensive fortifications around the area you are resting in. The area must not be greater than 30 feet wide in any direction. You and your allies that are in this are when combat begins gain 1d10 temporary HP for the duration of that combat. This area counts as having been "fortified".
Rank 3
Combat Abilities
If the effect causing the unconsciousness or death was a cost, then Intercept fizzles. Intercept's cost can be paid with temporary HP.
When you use Brace, you gain temporary HP in multiples of 1d10 instead of 1d6. All the same rules regarding the temporary HP from Brace still apply. In addition, using Brace causes you to deboost all damage you take as long as you remain stationary.
Support Abilities
You gain Master Armor Smith and Runic Armor.
You are an expert blacksmith. In addition, you gain the ability to create master crafted armor.
When in an area that's been "fortified" with Fortify Area, you resist being surprised, becoming frightened, and all mediator tradecrafts. You also gain these benefits when you use Brace as long as you remain stationary and while performing "guard duty". Whether or not something counts as "guard duty" is up to the discretion of the GM. Being on the front lines in a normal combat encounter would not typically count, but some cases that might are as follows.