I am making a 15th-level wizard just for "kicks" and giggles. I've decided to give him the leadership feat so that he can have a 13th-level bodyguard. What do you think would make the best possible wizard's bodyguard and why? Please be specific.
I am making a 15th-level wizard just for "kicks" and giggles. I've decided to give him the leadership feat so that he can have a 13th-level bodyguard. What do you think would make the best possible wizard's bodyguard and why? Please be specific.
O-o Maybe an Iron Golem Shield Gaurdian created with a Golem Manual?
|
I am making a 15th-level wizard just for "kicks" and giggles. I've decided to give him the leadership feat so that he can have a 13th-level bodyguard. What do you think would make the best possible wizard's bodyguard and why? Please be specific.
I dont have the most time to formulate a thesis or back it up with much more than my opinion right now so I will venture only my 2¢
I think a strong-fisted Barbarian-Monk would work out really well. Idk about race... maybe a full-blood orc? Dumb but strong and crazy as H-E-double hockey sticks. The wizard could give him +4 AC with a flick of the wrist, pump up his size with a enlarge person and you get corresponding stats, and his damage class for unarmed. They are incredibly fast, can jump free of fireballs with EASE, and can generally F's "kicks" up.
Plus the cool factor
In general, I would say that it depends a lot on the type of wizard involved. Generally, however, it's always important to find effect synergies, i.e. stuff that help you and hinder your opponents. Magic resistance is one such, if you can find it. A golem would not get this, since it can't choose to lower its magic resistance. Otherwise, consider what situations you want the bodyguard to protect against. If you have a situation where people might attack the wizard on town, it's probably important to defend against large numbers of weaker opponents, which means another wizard, or certain fighter builds would be best. If it's against certain powerful enemies who might attack, try to match those. A wizard would typically have wizard enemies, and a monk is the perfect mage-killer. Also consider that a bodyguard might fill more of a spy function, i.e. a rogue or bard that detects and solves dangerous issues outside the periphery of his master. However, it needn't be just an issue of characters. Consider things like a ghaele eladrin, a beefed-up illithid, or a dragon able to shapechange into human form.
Edit:
Aaah, oooh.. um..
Weeeell... ...the leadership feat states that you can have a cohort of 'any race and class'..
...so could you have an Iron Golem (CR 13 = roughly equal to(apparently) a 13th level character?
o_O
Ok, I admit it, I have a thing for golems at the moment... v_v
My wizard's bodyguard will look like Kate Beckinsale.
I am making a 15th-level wizard just for "kicks" and giggles. I've decided to give him the leadership feat so that he can have a 13th-level bodyguard. What do you think would make the best possible wizard's bodyguard and why? Please be specific.
I'm thinking a gorgeous brunette with dimensions 36-24-34. Oh, and she probably should have a high Dex, Improved Initiative, and Combat Reflexes.
An Arcane Trickster might be a good choice, especially with Sorcerer levels. That way she can not only stab people who threaten you, but she can also throw up a quick spell. Or maybe a Bard/Rogue/Arcane Trickster, so she can have Cure Light Wounds and all those neat bardic abilities.
My wizard's bodyguard will look like Kate Beckinsale.
A master crafted flesh golem? *-*
Man, you and your golems...A master crafted flesh golem? *-*
I love them and they love me..
...on command! ^_^
I'm thinking a gorgeous brunette with dimensions 36-24-34.
Hah, you were so ninja'd!
Looks like a summoner. Why have just one bodyguard when you can have an Eidolon, a spell caster and lots of summoned monsters.
For a Wizard, perhaps a Cleric of the resident God of Magic or a deity of similar alignment to the Wizard. You get a tolerably decent melee companion who can heal you and provide some nice 'buff' spells while you unload all that wonderful damage, or alternatively the Cleric can unleash some of those lovely Divinely Hurt-y spells while you shape the battlefield to give the enemy nowhere to run away from said effects.
Alternatively, get yourself Lillend Bard 6 or a Erinyes Fighter 5, depending upon your alignment.
Best bodyguard for a wizard? A self-propelled flexible wall of one-way mirror.
Failing that, the 13th level cleric to heal, breath of life and/or resurrect you first and foremost, as well as being able to provide such handy dandy defensive goodies as anti-life shell, wall of stone and blade barrier.
Would be fun but sadly as your attention would be on her 24/7 you'd get thrown into surprise rounds far too often.
That and she's probably got Slippery Mind so there goes chocolate fondue and whipped cream night.
Summer Glau.
She can kill you with her brain.
|
An Eldritch Knight.
A Dragon Disciple.
A Fighter*
*My own creation, favorite it if you like and know I have all the base classes as cards in my Gallery!
So far, due to your suggestions, I am currently considering either a monk or a cleric (who won't look like bodyguards). Anyone care to sway me towards something else?
...Was the orc barbarian/monk meant to be a joke at my expense? I've been criticized heavily recently for calling an orc barbarian/monk in our games "powerful."
Um.. if your bodyguard doesn't look like a bodyguard, aren't you more likely to get attacked?
Didn't think of that. :/
Wizards need a bodyguard? *L* ;-)
So far, due to your suggestions, I am currently considering either a monk or a cleric (who won't look like bodyguards). Anyone care to sway me towards something else?
...Was the orc barbarian/monk meant to be a joke at my expense? I've been criticized heavily recently for calling an orc barbarian/monk in our games "powerful."
Don't listen to them. Barbarians can be quite powerful... I've seen it, despite folks' opinions on them on these boards.
GULGA CENCH.
I am making a 15th-level wizard just for "kicks" and giggles. I've decided to give him the leadership feat so that he can have a 13th-level bodyguard. What do you think would make the best possible wizard's bodyguard and why? Please be specific.
I use a Fighter/Rogue for my Wizard. Rogue gets you the important stuff like Perception and Sense Motive that a bodyguard needs and Fighter gets you the important hit points, BaB and feats to keep people off of you while you wizard them into a pile of Jell-O.
Stand Still or Shield Slam (or BOTH FTW) are good feats to think about. Keeping enemies away from the wizard is the job.
Um.. if your bodyguard doesn't look like a bodyguard, aren't you more likely to get attacked?Didn't think of that. :/
Well, if you're talking about wandering around in dungeons with a bodyguard, then your liklihood of attacks is pretty much the same regardless of the bodyguard's looks.
But if you're talking about opening a tavern and using your bodyguard as a bouncer, then it really makes a world of difference. Your bodyguard could be deadlier than Jet Li, but if he's a little unassuming guy, people would cause trouble. But if he's 6'-6" tall and weighs 350 pounds with biceps bigger than most peoples' heads, then nobody causes trouble, even if that huge guy is basically harmless.
An Arcane Trickster with Improved Unarmed Attack could be good. She could help you out in the bar fights. With high Dex, Sense Motive, and Improved Initiative she could get sneak attack damage on her first blow.
Then if you can summon a monster to help her flank, she can keep doing sneak attack damage. If she has three levels of Arcane Trickster, she gets Impromptu Sneak Attack, which lets her just say "I'm going to make this a sneak attack."
If she has five levels of Arcane Trickster, she can do Tricky Spells, which lets her cast spells without somatic or verbal components. I think at 13 level though, she'd be one level short of this ability. Still, if she levels up, it could be useful.
You could make her a Bard/Rogue/Arcane Trickster and she'd get better combat abilities, plus proficiency in whips. Give her the Read Magic cantrip, and she can make up for not having spells on her spell list by getting scrolls with these spells.
Make her human so she gets the bonus feat.
Feats: Improved Unarmed Attack, Improved Initiative, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, Combat Reflexes, Stand Still, Weapon Finesse
Spells: Flare, Ghost Sound, Light, Read Magic, Resistance, Cure Light Wounds, Feather Fall, Grease, Silent Image, Cat's Grace, Darkness, Fox's Cunning, Enthrall, Charm Monster, Haste, See Invisibility
Unfortunately, bodyguarding is even more difficult in game than out. There's no rules for taking a bullet for a friend, the bonuses for soft cover aren't going to make much of a difference, and unless they can oneshot someone, DPS isn't much of a perk.
I think the best bet is healer-bot cleric, resurrect and heal in a bottle. Healing may be suboptimal in a combat, since ending the opponents is the best defense, but if you're talking bodyguard then you're already assuming a worst-case scenario has occured. Give him Trickery, and let him use natural disguise checks to mimic you. Throw in a bs monk level or 2 and they can be effective while further matching your state of armor.
Otherwise, someone you can regularly keep at Large-Huge with a reach weapon, combat reflexes, and stand still. Visible for intimidation, or make him the invisible one, and make yourself a target for inciting unexpected AoO's in your opponents.
Failing that, screw the defense and go full offense, get yourself an apprentice wizard that can do everything that you can't, and double up on all the stuff that's worth it.
If you have a higher initiative, you can ready an action to step between an attacker and the person she intends to attack. You don't even need any special feats or abilities for this, as long as you have the higher initiative score.
|
|
So far, due to your suggestions, I am currently considering either a monk or a cleric (who won't look like bodyguards). Anyone care to sway me towards something else?
...Was the orc barbarian/monk meant to be a joke at my expense? I've been criticized heavily recently for calling an orc barbarian/monk in our games "powerful."
No not at all, I love barb/monk! Something is just so... primal about a big incredibly buff dude ripping his shirt off, flying into a "make the locals defecate" rage, and pummeling his enemies to death just strikes me as awesome. Think golden ages Arnold S. in full monk regalia. That coupled with the fact that between monk and barbarian you pretty much can't run away from him.
Don't know if this has been said, but it should look exactly like him with a high level illusion :).
The best bodyguard for a wizard is...another wizard. Diviner specialisation. Crank up his initiative, and take a lot of divination's so you are never surprised, and if they somehow manage to do so anyway, he goes first despite it. Also, you can scribe and trade spells with each other, which will greatly help your spell casting.
Make him an apprentice and treat him badly, its the wizardly thing to do.
Okay, new suggestion. A bodyguard is someone who makes sure you don't get killed. So, who better than a Shadowdancer with huge bonuses to Perception and a massive initiative modifier?
Didn't check if they can shadowstep with others, but if not, same goes but for a wizard specialized in teleport and "cheapened" metamagic through feats, preferably quickened teleport/dimension door or the like.
|
|
Take the "Lookout" teamwork feat (or whichever one that was) that lets you get an action in a surprise round if your adjacent ally does, then take a diviner wizard with high dex.
That diviner always goes in the surprise round and thus has a chance to teleport you out before anything can happen. And if the enemy somehow does go first and lock you down to prevent the teleport, that same mage can just cast dispel then YOU cast teleport*. Same effect.
*With lookout you always goes second, since your maximum initiative result is 1 less than the diviner's by the feat's limitation. You could have the diviner wait a tiny bit to let you cast dispel if you're worried about that extra 2 CL being needed to succeed.
Take the "Lookout" teamwork feat (or whichever one that was) that lets you get an action in a surprise round if your adjacent ally does, then take a diviner wizard with high dex.
That diviner always goes in the surprise round and thus has a chance to teleport you out before anything can happen. And if the enemy somehow does go first and lock you down to prevent the teleport, that same mage can just cast dispel then YOU cast teleport*. Same effect.*With lookout you always goes second, since your maximum initiative result is 1 less than the diviner's by the feat's limitation. You could have the diviner wait a tiny bit to let you cast dispel if you're worried about that extra 2 CL being needed to succeed.
One other thing about that lookout feat, if you could normally act in the surprise round you can instead take a full round. So have a fighter with that feat (or a dual wielding rogue) and Dim Door you and your bodyguard up to the opponents on the surprise round so the rogue (with 1 level of diviner, natch) can get a full round of real Stabbitydoom! Ouch!
|
15th level wizard's bodyguard?
You *wouldn't* see him. Not until he wanted you to. Having played a wizard's bodyguard at high levels I can say from experience you get buffed. A lot. Invisibility, Contingency, Dimension Door, etc. All of these get used to make you pop out of nowhere to slice and dice, or bash and crash.
For flavor, go with a Ranger/Rogue, or an old school Shield Guardian, etc.
A succubus and her 6 advanced imp familiar's
;)
A good wizard should have no shortage of bodyguards, really.
For one they should have the rest of the party. I know I know too obvious. Alright then.
1)Cohort. Leadership is a fun feat. Even for wizards!
2)Dominated creature or 20. This can go sour fast, so pick something big and dumb like a troll or hill giant.
3)Bound outsiders. Greater Planar Ally ftw. Hey succubus! If you be my gal pal for a year and a day, I'll set you loose to do what you will with the local gentry.
4)Some mindless undead. Or even some sentient undead if you can trust them.
5)Constructs. Golems are iffy and tend to go berserk, but any other kind of construct is great.
|
|
Of course, the absolute best bodyguard is not being on a directly accessible plane of existence, but this is a little harder to pull off. I believe that Magnificent Mansion creates a temporary form of this. It's worth noting that although they can scry into it (IIRC), the spell itself specifically prevents anyone you disallow from entering.
If you could convince your DM to allow a permanent magnificent mansion, then carefully plot a maze-like structure outside (use teleportation to bypass for yourself). Make sure that many parts of the maze look like other places in the world, including the entrance, so that other mage's teleportation attempts can backfire easily. Then fill the maze itself with all sorts of magic-immune constructs, mindless undead, traps, et al. To make it worse, make the area so massive it takes several days to walk through and enchant it to prevent proper rest (leading to fatigue and lack of natural healing).
Of course, this protection only works when you're home, though you can send cohorts/minions to buy your groceries if you don't care about personal interaction.
Anything powerful enough to bypass the above.. well it probably deserved to at least get to fight you.
Of course, the absolute best bodyguard is not being on a directly accessible plane of existence, but this is a little harder to pull off. I believe that Magnificent Mansion creates a temporary form of this. It's worth noting that although they can scry into it (IIRC), the spell itself specifically prevents anyone you disallow from entering.
If you could convince your DM to allow a permanent magnificent mansion, then carefully plot a maze-like structure outside (use teleportation to bypass for yourself). Make sure that many parts of the maze look like other places in the world, including the entrance, so that other mage's teleportation attempts can backfire easily. Then fill the maze itself with all sorts of magic-immune constructs, mindless undead, traps, et al. To make it worse, make the area so massive it takes several days to walk through and enchant it to prevent proper rest (leading to fatigue and lack of natural healing).
Of course, this protection only works when you're home, though you can send cohorts/minions to buy your groceries if you don't care about personal interaction.
Anything powerful enough to bypass the above.. well it probably deserved to at least get to fight you.
There is such a thing as being _too_ safe.
|
|
Well, I just tossed together a cohort bodyguard for my 8th level wizard. Here's the basics:
N Hmn(Shoanti) Ftr 6
St 21
Dx 14
Cn 14
In 10
Ws 14
Ch 8
Feats: Alertness(h), Pow Att, Comb Refl, Wpn Foc Greatsword, Lookout(f), Wpn Spec Greatsword(f), Imp Init(f), Lunge(f)
Weapon Training: Hvy Blades
Max ranks Perception
+1 Adamantine Greatsword, +2 Breastplate with armour kilt, Belt of Giant Str, Eyes of the Eagle, Amulet Nat Arm +1, other gear and weapons
The PC also has the lookout feat and a decent initiative.
The way I figure it, if the bodyguard gets to go first, he can ready an action to power attack/lunge the first person stupid enough to get close to his boss. Combat Reflexes lets him do it again on the next poor soul.
Not a totally perfect build, but I think it should be effective as long as they're in base contact.
I edited the feat choices of feats for BAB and changed the tactics. One could, at 7th level, add Vital Strike to the defence combo.
|
|
There is such a thing as being _too_ safe.
LIES! SLANDER! Well, at least in the games I've been a player...
I had a character once who slept in a rope trick, had scent, could see magical auras constantly (permanent arcane sight), something like +20 to perception, had a magic item with toggle-able silence active, was invisible and scentless (pass without trace) AND was stealthing with something around +25 bonus (before invisibility). He got gorked as soon as his feet touched the ground one morning by modified invisible stalkers (naturally invisible doesn't show up under arcane sight) that had blindsense, sneak attack dice and a pass without trace SLA. They had evidently been waiting for me all night under the rope trick. I had one of the two negative levels from raise dead with me for around the next 4 sessions because of lack of funds.Made me wonder if I had accidentally eaten the DM's cat or something.
PS: I went and got "see invisibility" made permanent after that fiasco. Oddly my character was the only one to survive that campaign. Go figure.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that he also had an amulet of nondetection.
One time my Wizard friend cast Fly, Greater Invisibility, and Polymorphed me into a giant whale, so that I would fly 10 feet above an enemy and drop as a free action to deal max falling damage every round. If you set your wizard up to work with a bodyguard you can do just about anything.
The same wizard also got a 4th level fighter loyal to him from the Deck of Many Things and he used Create Greater Undead to turn him into a Wraith. Keep in mind you could always use Create Greater Undead to turn your bodyguard into undead if he ever dies, or just get a bunch of low level followers loyal enough to die for you and make your own undead army.
EDIT: When you have a level 13 cohort following you you can have up to a total of 48 low-level followers as well. You could turn one of them into a shadow and have that one attack all the others one by one and turn them all into shadows, or wait until you're level 16 to make them into fairly stronger wraiths. (Shadows are only CR 3, but 48 of them makes CR~14)
There is such a thing as being _too_ safe.LIES! SLANDER! Well, at least in the games I've been a player...
I had a character once who slept in a rope trick, had scent, could see magical auras constantly (permanent arcane sight), something like +20 to perception, had a magic item with toggle-able silence active, was invisible and scentless (pass without trace) AND was stealthing with something around +25 bonus (before invisibility). He got gorked as soon as his feet touched the ground one morning by modified invisible stalkers (naturally invisible doesn't show up under arcane sight) that had blindsense, sneak attack dice and a pass without trace SLA. They had evidently been waiting for me all night under the rope trick. I had one of the two negative levels from raise dead with me for around the next 4 sessions because of lack of funds.
Made me wonder if I had accidentally eaten the DM's cat or something.PS: I went and got "see invisibility" made permanent after that fiasco. Oddly my character was the only one to survive that campaign. Go figure.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that he also had an amulet of nondetection.
I would really like to see that build.
There is such a thing as being _too_ safe.LIES! SLANDER! Well, at least in the games I've been a player...
I had a character once who slept in a rope trick, had scent, could see magical auras constantly (permanent arcane sight), something like +20 to perception, had a magic item with toggle-able silence active, was invisible and scentless (pass without trace) AND was stealthing with something around +25 bonus (before invisibility). He got gorked as soon as his feet touched the ground one morning by modified invisible stalkers (naturally invisible doesn't show up under arcane sight) that had blindsense, sneak attack dice and a pass without trace SLA. They had evidently been waiting for me all night under the rope trick. I had one of the two negative levels from raise dead with me for around the next 4 sessions because of lack of funds.
Made me wonder if I had accidentally eaten the DM's cat or something.PS: I went and got "see invisibility" made permanent after that fiasco. Oddly my character was the only one to survive that campaign. Go figure.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that he also had an amulet of nondetection.
See, that's exactly what I mean. You lock yourself up in an airtight box like that and you practically beg the GM to send in the airtight box safecrackers. But if you just take normal, reasonable precautions, you'll usually be safe.
I was running a game in which one PC just built himself a castle and refused to leave. So I dropped a couple thermonuclear bombs on it.
Adventurers can not go adventuring while still holding onto their security blanket.