Best 5th level bodyguards.

[Mathius]

So an up coming fight is a boss fight.

The boss can provide lots of damage and has pretty good saves so SoDs will be hard to stick.

This bodyguard is quite a bit lower in level but I figure a halfling with the helpful and friend of fools trait can do a lot for AC.

Feats I have so far
Body guard
In harms way
combat reflexes
extra trait.

I need a bonus feat from somewhere to pull that off.

How would you build these guys?
Fighter 5 with reach weapons and standstill?
Fighter 1/cleric 4 for some healing and buffs?

Even before classes are taken these guys can add 5 to the bosses AC each. That is enough I need to make them effective in some other way.

[Renegadeshepherd]

Paladin is strictly speaking a better bodyguard than cleric as its swift self heals in combo with harms way are AWESOME. A cleric at level 5 can heal as a move action but you will only get two or three channels so its less efficient.

With either paladin or cleric I would highly recommend an unbreakable fighter dip because of the free endurance and diehard feat combo. That may not seem like much but keeping yourself up after 0HP is good since you can get urself above positive fairly easy.

[pipedreamsam]

I would go with pushing assault over stand still.

Another option is to make a cohort caster who focuses on splitting up the party with spells like web and silent image to make the burden a little less on the big bad.

Seriously, adventuring groups are notoriously horrible at recognizing illusions.

[SmiloDan]

I made some low-level NPC hobgoblin fighters with Power Attack, Pushing Assault, Combat Reflexes, and Stand Still, and it was very, very effective. 3rd level, so CR 2, against a party of 4th level PCs, I think.

Anyways, they used Pushing Assault to push the PCs back, then a 5 foot step back, and then the PCs could not 5 foot step forward, so they provoked AoOs, got pushed back, and then had to stop their movement there. It locked them down until the PC archer and gunslingers got involved....

[Duncan888]

Elf divination wizard lvl 5

Str 8
Dex 16
Con 10
Cha 10
Int 20
Wis 14

Reactionary +2 init
Eyes and ears of the city +1 perception

Feats
1 spell focus enchantment
3 greater spell focus enchantment
5 improved initiative
5 metamagic heighten spell

Familiar with +4 init

That's +11 init ability to act in surprise round
+11 perception

Add on hold person, touch of laughter, invisibility (for them)

[Renegadeshepherd]

A mirror image master could also be very effective. I'm curious as to the rules of what would happen with a theologian cleric who used metamagic like empower on the spell. Hmm... Ill look into that for a build.

[Ian Bell]

Don't forget to use shield other. That's really annoying in combination with channeled heals (although I guess your bad guys are probably evil.)

[lemeres]

If the level increases to 6, then you can do a lot of crap with lunge and reach weapons.

With lunge, you can attack an enemy just outside of your threatened range (instead of directly inside of it), which leaves them there on their next turn. That means the enemy has to move across your threatened area to get to you (instead of putting where they just need a 5' step). So nice for setting up AoOs.

And if you put in Pushing Assault with that...you can play a very mean game of keep away. Enemies end up 20' away from you at the end of your turn. I can just see how a fight can go when you also use this for AoOs- He attacks the PC, and pushes him away to 20'. The PC charges and gets hit with an AoO that pushes him to 15'. Wash, rince, repeat.

Overall, good for keeping pesky do gooders away from the evil wizards who funds your trips to the tavern and the 'gentlemen's club'.

Oh, and have you considered dropping in a fortuitous weapon? That +1 weapon property gives your AoO an iterative 1/round. So it is basically throwing a full attack when for an AoO. Mean, but hey, the party can loot that nice weapon to pull off their own shenanigans. If the low level mook is level 5, I assume that the party is high enough level where a weapon worth a +2 is appropriate.

[Errant Mercenary]

Sacred Paladin bodyguards are tough.
Monks too, perhaps flowing monk or maneuvre master.

[wraithstrike]

If you can do so drop the BBEG by one level,and add in another cohort. Dropping him one level should not affect his damage output too much.

[Mathius]

Thanks for all the input.

I will at some point use pushing assault but that will not work with halfling bodyguards.

I like the wizard and it will be used since I had a wiz in the encounter anyway. Just need to add 2 more levels to it.

I am considering the paladins. The would be in the weird position of protecting a CN pirate lord but the PCs are horrifically evil. The paladins would not kill them once they go down do it helps against TPK.

Monk would be cool but the PCs are higher level so they would never hit.

If I go fighter I was thinking of adding combat expertise and improved trip. That ends movement pretty darn fast as well.

[Kletus Bob]

Why not using a lvl 3 halfling cavalier?

- Honor guard archetype, gets an improved bodyguard feat.
- Dragon order for aid allies

Just need helpful trait and the feat combat reflexes. Depending how you interpret the different abilities stacking, this provide either +6 or +10 AC to your BBEG. I lean heavily toward the 10 AC but that is another discussion.

In all cases, at that level, should make it very hard to ignore the bodyguard. Especially considering that aid allies gives that bodyguard the ability to also boost the saving throws of the BBEG, which he should spent his standard action on instead of attacking the pcs if there is spells flying around.

[Gwen Smith]

Kletus Bob wrote:

Why not using a lvl 3 halfling cavalier?

- Honor guard archetype, gets an improved bodyguard feat.
- Dragon order for aid allies

Just need helpful trait and the feat combat reflexes. Depending how you interpret the different abilities stacking, this provide either +6 or +10 AC to your BBEG. I lean heavily toward the 10 AC but that is another discussion.

In all cases, at that level, should make it very hard to ignore the bodyguard. Especially considering that aid allies gives that bodyguard the ability to also boost the saving throws of the BBEG, which he should spent his standard action on instead of attacking the pcs if there is spells flying around.

A wolf mount also gets free trip attempts each time it lands an attack.

Friendly Switch is a nice little feat for henchmen, too: basically, they use their movement to move their boss out of the way. (Though if they're mounted, the mount probably has to have it.)

Have one of the Halfling bodyguards pick up Cautious Fighter and Blundering Defense: fight defensively and any adjacent allies get a luck bonus to AC.

My halfling cavalier defender who took Unarmed Fighter 1/Cavalier Honor Guard 3. By level 4, he had Improved Unarmed Strike (free), Crane Style (bonus feat), Cautious Fighter, Blundering Defense, and 3 ranks in Acrobatics. Fighting defensively, he gives all adjacent allies +3 AC, and +4 if he does Total Defense. Plant him behind the bad guy and the bodyguard, and have him use his reach weapon to use Aid Another defensively.

There's also In Harm's Way, Covering Shield, Call for Help...

[Mathius]

I am leaning towards a couple of paladins.
Sacred shield will add 3 AC to the boss.
Bastion of good helps with the bodyguards AC and the half damage ability is great.
Also going to use the warrior of light archtype for 1 more AC and critically +1 to saves.
With +4 AC always going simply adding 2 with body guard is enough.
The takes my BBEG to a potential 40 and even buffed out my 7th level party will have hard time with that one.

Is there something like bodyguard or sacred shield for saves. I got one from warrior of light but a few more would be great.

[Mathius]

The cav builds are nice as well, that is going to happen with my next bodyguards.

[SmiloDan]

I think there is a Teamwork feat for saves.