I'm trying to build a bodyguard NPC (9th level max), which could defend a (mostly) evil woman Sorcerer (8th level) against basically... anything (the good and the bad aligned).
I recently stumbled upon the Paladin (Sacred Shield) archetype, with his Bastion of Good ability. This looks nice, but there's now way a Paladin would accept to protect my Sorcerer NPC.
The bodyguard needs not be evil, he needs not be good, he could have any class or combination thereof as long as he's up to the job.
It would be utter cool if some of his abilities would combine with the Sorcerer abilities (this Sorcerer's bloodline is Infernal... or maybe Celestial. Yeah, she's a strange one x-)
Any thoughts and advice will be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance !
You could use a Dragon Cavalier with the Bodyguard and Combat Reflexes feats. Dragon Cavaliers gain a bonus when using aid another at levels 3 and 8, so with the Bodyguard feat, whenever your NPC is adjacent to to the Sorcerer and she is attacked he may take an AoO to grant her +4 AC. If you give him Swift Aid he can also use a swift action every round to give her another +1 AC, and if he felt like burning his standard action as well (he'd probably want to attack instead, but hey, there is the possibility) he could add another +4, for +9 AC total against the first attack she takes every round.
You could also give him an item that allows him to use shield other X times per day on the Sorcerer. It would be another +1 AC and half damage to the Sorcerer.
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I made a bodyguard build for PbP recently. Cavalier with the Honour Guard archetype (as well as Strategist), go Order of the Dragon (these synergise together nicely) and take Bodyguard and In Harm's Way. It works from level 2 or 3 so I imagine it could get even better at those levels.
Use strategist to grant the teamwork feats for a decent amount of time, including the saving throw bonus and Duck and Cover. For added oomph, give the bodyguard a polearm, combat reflexes and improved trip- make it damn hard for anyone to melee her and if she DOES take a hit- Bodyguard and Improved Harm's Way can cover it.
Edit: Ninja'd but feel my advice expands on Ringtail's- honour guard synergises even better than normal as a Bodyguard build (as does Strategist, IMO).
Thanks for these excellent suggestions !
If not paladin, I often suggest monks for bodyguards because they have good saves and can be built with good AC's.
You don't want your bodyguard to be dominated and pound you into the floor. You also don't want him chopped up too fast for you to get away.
Are there druid versions that sway towards the Infernal or Celestial? Druid+Animal Companion seem like an interesting choice with more bang for your buck if you just want melee meat shields, and Planar Wild Shape may give a neutral druid the option to go celestial or infernal as the situation demands. And of course there are those spells. If the druid takes natural spell and disguises itself as the sorceress's familiar, then the sorceress could really appear intimidating by seeming to have twice the spell-casting capacity. That in itself would deter attackers, and justify the druid being around at all times, eyes open, and ready to take a hit if need be. Effective? I have no idea, but definitely flavorful.
The Pack Lord archetype could be a fun thing to add. You don't get the domain, but you divide one animal companion into less powerful smaller ones. Not saying this would be effective, but having a bunch of wolves follow the sorceress, or having her being accompanied by a bunch of bats seems neat. The bats would make excellent spies, and an ambush avoided is better than an ambush survived.
If you don't fear anti-magic fields, then another sorcerer seems like an obvious choice, since a good body guard isn't a hero, just someone who gets his charge out of danger. A specialized sorcerer may not be great on his own, and may even have an inferiority complex, but at least he'll be useful to the one he's sworn to protect.
I recently stumbled upon the Paladin (Sacred Shield) archetype, with his Bastion of Good ability. This looks nice, but there's no way a Paladin would accept to protect my Sorcerer NPC
Why not? Today, many argue that 'civilization' is the greatest achievement and boon to mankind, while others argue that disruptive technologies are (i.e. a culture's ability to grow and not stagnate). If your sorceress is important to any of these things, then a Paladin might protect her. Others argue that the previous two things are abstract and not personal, and that the greatest boon to mankind are interpersonal relationships--If two people cannot be loyal to each other, then what hope is there for a larger system of strangers? A Paladin may then protect the sorceress out of personal commitments, or as the first building block to building a larger society of good. I think there's all sorts of cool Role Play space to explore if you want a good aligned Paladin, and the diverse pantheon of deities allow for this.
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Halfling Monk/Lorewarden Fighter with the Helpful trait Combat Reflexes, Bodyguard, Crane Style,Cautious Fighter, Blundering Defense and Osyleth's Guile.
Throw in a reach weapon(exotic eastern weapons) Imp Trip, Fury's fall for good measure. I wouldn't want to fight past a bodyguard that buffs the sorceress AC double digits while tripping whoever comes in range first and having an AC of 30+.
As for this NPC, given that you already have a PC-classed enemy in this fight, I'd build him off of the "warrior" NPC class. That's what it's there for and you can still load him up with feats that will help your sorceress given the high level, while keeping him simple and preventing him from upstaging her. Do you really want just one bodyguard? With the warrior class you could easily have two or three and not worry too much about outclassing your PCs. If this is the case I'd probably run them at 7th level instead.
Building from the basic array: 13+2 racial, 12, 11, 9, 8, 10 with level increases bringing his STR to 16 and his con to 12. At 9th level his HP will be a mere 54, or 63 with toughness, and he should fall under any focused assault. However, he should do a good job defending his charge, which is his entire purpose. For feats, take Power Attack, Improved Sunder or Bullrush, Combat Reflexes, Bodyguard and one more feat if he's 9th level (I'd go for Intimidating Prowess or if they're human, Weapon Focus for Dazzling Display for that AoE intimidate). He (or they) move forward, forcing anyone who wants to make a melee attack on the sorceress to provoke an AoO. They use their sunder or bullrush (depending on how your PCs feel about you breaking their weapons) to keep the sorceress out of harms way, intimidate to lower the saving throws of their opponents and their bodyguard feat to shore up her AC. Deck them out in +1 armour and (maybe) shields. Their power attack should still be a significant threat against low-AC opponents, and they still have full BAB! If you run a high magic game, given them some potions as well. Enlarge person, false life and/or bears endurance would be great picks.
People should really use the NPC classes more, in my opinion. They make for perfect mooks like these and the perfect tools for levelling up monster races. In a game with low-powered (read: low point buy) PCs, they're a significant presense on the battlefield while being piss-easy to run. This thread is full of great NPC builds, most of them using these classes. Check it out!
And as always, I hope my advice has been of some help. Have a great game!
Edit: Alternatively, spend some of her NPC gold on scrolls of summon monster V or lesser planar binding and give her bearded devils, babau or xill as much scarier bodygards, with a much more impressive intimidate score.
The druid disguised as a familiar is certainly a colorful option :-) !
The npc warrior is also a good idea.
Thanks to all !
just stumbled across the Beast of Society trait from the current thread on traits. It doubles wildshape duration when wild shape is in the form of a small or medium creature. This could be relevant to a body guard disguised as a familiar.
Thanks Lisp for the topic. Now I also have a few PC concepts to try out.