Topic. Or you know, translated means 'what happens when using a whip with bodyguard?" I tried searching for this, thinking 'this has to be answered' only to find different answers. Yea for confusion!
Anywho, if not clear, whips have specific threaten rules, and bodyguard isn't clear on if this excludes whip builds with it. The DM I'm running this by has also asked if the whips rules for doing damage on armored opponents would affect the feat/aid another.
I'm fairly certain that I can use the whip without a problem, even with the threaten and damage rules for whips. Still, getting a seal of approval would be nice so I can show it to the DM. Thanks for your time!
As I understand, Bodyguard expends the use of an AoO but you don't need to threaten. So, it's fine to use it with a whip. The fact that it does nonlethal damage or no damage is not relevant in this case.
Remember, though, that YOU will provoke an AoO from the Aid Another action, unless you have Whip Mastery.
I think the feat is clear enough. Absolutely no part of the Bodyguard feat indicates you have to be adjacent to the attacker. You only have to be adjacent to the ally.
edit: it should probably say "expend a use of an attack of opportunity" instead of "use an attack of opportunity", but besides that it seems fine.
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Remember, though, that YOU will provoke an AoO from the Aid Another action, unless you have Whip Mastery.
Hmmm that is debatable. Bodyguard feat doesn't require any threatening from the bodyguard. In fact, it's perfectly fine to walk around with just a buckler or unarmed and use this feat... the aid another wording simply mentions that you must be in a position to make a melee attack against the opponent that is engaging your friend... in no way does it say that you are actually trying to hit that opponent or that you must threaten... therefore a whip seems like a perfectly good option for the aid another action.
Furthermore, the bodyguard feat further states that "When an adjacent ally is attacked, you may use an attack of opportunity to attempt the aid another action to improve your ally’s AC." Note the words "adjacent ally" and the dropping of any reference to the aid another's original wording "If you're in position to make a melee attack on an opponent that is engaging a friend in melee combat". I believe the dropping of the latter means bodyguard feat no longer requires you to even be in "a position to make a melee attack" in order to use the aid another action to raise your friend's AC.
(i.e. the intent of the feat is for you to take a bullet for your friend or jump in the path of an incoming arrow therefore raising your friend's AC... it no longer is about threatening someone in melee; in fact the next feat in line "In Harm’s Way" which has Bodyguard as prereq supports this theory, otherwise Bodyguard would only be good in melee and kinda useless)
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@OP: Which weapon you wield, or whether you even have a weapon, does not matter at all for the Bodyguard feat. You need not threaten at all, for any reason. Bodyguard only requires that you be adjacent to the one you wish to protect.
P.s. That assumes your GM chooses the 'reasonable' RAI & semi-RAW interpretation of Bodyguard that actually works. If your GM is in the minority who rules that Bodyguard only works when you are both adjacent to the foe and that you threaten the foe, then don't ever get the Bodyguard feat. That minority interpretation completely neuters the Bodyguard feat and makes it never worth taking.
