Stealthy Bodyguard Build

[Alchemyre]

I need help building a cohort who's sole intention is to protect my PC. I've already chosen a race and a template that gives Hide in Plain Sight (anywhere except direct light). I'd like to work something in that can cancel out or even not have to worry about the cohorts extremely squishy nature (It's a Dvati for RP reasons and thus has two bodies, each with half of it's total HD + Con Mod). I'm aware Dvati aren't the best things in the world, but I'm sticking with them because I'm a flavor junky. The build has 11 levels to make, which I know is running it a little thin. The stats are 15 16 17 14 17 10 (distributed as the build needs). As far as items go I have about 100k gold to spend. Basically the intent is a character to stop potential assassins (in general, not the PrC) from harming my PC. Any help guys can give will be much appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: Forgot to mention, all 3.5 books except ToB are feasible and possibly 3.0 books.

[Flickerdart]

You're probably best off with a Cleric or some other spellcaster that can keep your PC buffed with delicious protective spells and counterspell things that the buffs don't cover.

[Alchemyre]

You're probably best off with a Cleric or some other spellcaster that can keep your PC buffed with delicious protective spells and counterspell things that the buffs don't cover.
If I ignore all the horrible flavor things that a cleric would have with my PC it could work, but I'd like to take advantage of my HiPS. The PC can do a decent job buffing himself. It's more of a wanting of a character that can take out a threat as quickly as possible. I considered taking a level of Assassin and them pumping intelligence, but my gut tells me that would be a huge mistake.

[Flickerdart]

Assassin is rubbish, not in the least because you have to sit around and study the target, so your criteria of "quickly" falls apart. Psion or wizard wielding choice SoDs and jacked-up blasting spells will be most effective if you want an efficient killer.

[Averis Vol]

Assassin is rubbish, not in the least because you have to sit around and study the target, so your criteria of "quickly" falls apart. Psion or wizard wielding choice SoDs and jacked-up blasting spells will be most effective if you want an efficient killer.

If you just focus on death attack then yea, assassin blows, but if you take them as a rogue supplement they're a damn solid class. They progress sneak attack, give poison use (great with chaos flasks for giant centipede poison) and some strong spell options. Seriously, if we ignore the fact that rogue types are weak, the only mark on the assassin class is its death attack.

Personally I would go with an unseen seer build and grab the mind sight feat. Not sure how it operates with two bodies, but either way its a great feat.

[Alchemyre]

Assassin is rubbish, not in the least because you have to sit around and study the target, so your criteria of "quickly" falls apart. Psion or wizard wielding choice SoDs and jacked-up blasting spells will be most effective if you want an efficient killer.

I'm unfamiliar with the abbreviation of "SoD". The problem with Psion or Wizard being that Dvati are already ULTRA squishy, even playing Barbarian only gives each of the twins a d6 per level.

[Averis Vol]

I'm unfamiliar with the abbreviation of "SoD". The problem with Psion or Wizard being that Dvati are already ULTRA squishy, even playing Barbarian only gives each of the twins a d6 per level.

SoD is save or die.

[Valwyn]

Maybe try a Dread Commando from Heroes of Battle? They get Sneak Attack (or similar), improve the party's initiative, and can move better in heavy armor.

[Alchemyre]

SoD is save or die.

*facedesk* Wooooooowww....I really dropped the ball on that one. I guess it just slipped my mind.


Maybe try a Dread Commando from Heroes of Battle? They get Sneak Attack (or similar), improve the party's initiative, and can move better in heavy armor.

What class is intended to (or is the best at) going into this. It seems like it could serve a similar purpose to what I require.

[HaikenEdge]

A Psychic Warrior with Nightbringer Initiate (for stealth skills) could be an interesting route.

[Jgosse]

Why not go barbarian with Barbarian with the city Brawler ACF http://www.scribd.com/doc/108559798/Dragon-Magazine-349 and the rage variant that gives you Dex instead of STR in rage. get weapon Finesse and if possible take vow of poverty.

[avr]

Psions/wilders can use the vigor power to be less squishy, or the unconditional power feat to avoid some non-hp disabling powers. They can be good at blowing up or disabling threats quickly. At level 11 psions can get temporal acceleration which is time stop-lite.

Nova'ing and running out of PP may be an issue in general adventuring, but less so if their only job is to stop assassins. It's rare for assassins to try to kill you several times a day.

[Alchemyre]

Psions/wilders can use the vigor power to be less squishy, or the unconditional power feat to avoid some non-hp disabling powers. They can be good at blowing up or disabling threats quickly. At level 11 psions can get temporal acceleration which is time stop-lite.

Nova'ing and running out of PP may be an issue in general adventuring, but less so if their only job is to stop assassins. It's rare for assassins to try to kill you several times a day.

Well the rate of assassins will be entirely up to the other PCs. The campaign is a kingdom running thing where each PC runs a city, so if one of the other PCs wants to be obnoxious they could send a hoard of people, but we are using leadership, so those people won't be very high leveled.

@Haiken: Nightbringer Initiate adds Hide and Move Silently to your DRUID class skills, meaning it wouldn't work for Psychic Warrior without a useless Druid dip.

[HaikenEdge]

@Haiken: Nightbringer Initiate adds Hide and Move Silently to your DRUID class skills, meaning it wouldn't work for Psychic Warrior without a useless Druid dip.

My bad; I really need to stop just using handbooks and lists, and start looking at the actual feats.

[Alchemyre]

A Psychic Warrior with Nightbringer Initiate (for stealth skills) could be an interesting route.


My bad; I really need to stop just using handbooks and lists, and start looking at the actual feats.

Well I usually go and look up everything people post. I really thank you for your effort!

I may try to max out Sneak Attack damage with a combination of Swashbuckler, Fighter (SA variant) and Rogue.

[Valwyn]

What class is intended to (or is the best at) going into this. It seems like it could serve a similar purpose to what I require.

They have a very Ranger-y fluff, so you could take two or three levels for the skills (Hide+Move Silently 6) and then a few levels of Sneak Attack Fighter (Unearthed Arcana, trade bonus feats for SA as a Rogue). Just remember, if you're going Ranger, you might want to trade your TWF/Ranged bonus feats for an ACF since you can only use them with light or no armor.

[Alchemyre]

They have a very Ranger-y fluff, so you could take two or three levels for the skills (Hide+Move Silently 6) and then a few levels of Sneak Attack Fighter (Unearthed Arcana, trade bonus feats for SA as a Rogue). Just remember, if you're going Ranger, you might want to trade your TWF/Ranged bonus feats for an ACF since you can only use them with light or no armor.

The only problem I'm having with the Sneak Attack Fighter is that the levels don't count for the purposes of Daring Outlaw (Swashbuckler and Rogue stack for Sneak Attack and Grace). So the way it seems, 7d6 is the highest I can get from any combination I've found at level 11.

[Valwyn]

Just remember that most of the Swashbuckler's abilities don't work in medium or heavy armor.

You could try dipping classes that boost sneak attack at first level. The most I managed to get was +14d6.

Here's a few classes that could come in handy as a one level dip (or more, if you like the class):
Rogue
Sneak Attack Fighter
Spellthief
Assassin [Evil, Disguise 4, Hide 8, Move Silently 8]
Invisible Blade [Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (Dagger, Kukri, Punching Dagger)] => The class' designer changed the feats you need because Invisible Blade and Master Thrower were originally one. Your DM might make you use the official ones, though.
Ronin CW [BAB +6, Nonlawful, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bastard sword)]
Nightsong Enforcer [BAB +5, Hide 10, Move Silently 10, Improved Initiative, Evasion]
Unseen Seer [2 divinations, Hide 8, Search 8, Sense Motive 4, Spellcraft 4, Spot 8]
Justiciar of Taiia [Patron Deity: Taiia, Nongood, BAB +4, Knowledge (religion) 6]
Shadow Thief of Amn [Bluff 3, Gather Information 3, Hide 8, Intimidate 3, Move Silently 3, Persuasive]

[Red Fel]

Consider a Cleric/Crusader/RKV?

Cleric spellcasting gets you helpful buffs and healing in case a nasty gets to you.

Crusader gets you arguably the closest thing to "tanking" D&D can produce.

RKV advances Cleric casting and Crusader IL, and this is one area where the otherwise useless Armored Stealth feature will actually serve a function. And if you haven't already heard, RKV is a great class in and of itself (the term "Windicator" is rightly used); it also has good use of Shadow Hand maneuvers for stealthy naughtiness.

As a side note, ToB has often been promoted as a great option for Dvati, since their inability to cast spells at the same time doesn't prevent them from using maneuvers at the same time. Dvati Crusaders are further benefited by the fact that Crusaders automatically recover maneuvers, no action required; while Dvati may use up maneuvers twice as fast, they'll recover them quickly. Additionally, Devoted Spirit maneuvers can provide the otherwise-squishy Dvati (and you!) with excellent spot-healing, and Crusader's delayed damage pool can really help prevent hurt from getting out of hand.

[Alchemyre]

Consider a Cleric/Crusader/RKV?

Cleric spellcasting gets you helpful buffs and healing in case a nasty gets to you.

Crusader gets you arguably the closest thing to "tanking" D&D can produce.

RKV advances Cleric casting and Crusader IL, and this is one area where the otherwise useless Armored Stealth feature will actually serve a function. And if you haven't already heard, RKV is a great class in and of itself (the term "Windicator" is rightly used); it also has good use of Shadow Hand maneuvers for stealthy naughtiness.

As a side note, ToB has often been promoted as a great option for Dvati, since their inability to cast spells at the same time doesn't prevent them from using maneuvers at the same time. Dvati Crusaders are further benefited by the fact that Crusaders automatically recover maneuvers, no action required; while Dvati may use up maneuvers twice as fast, they'll recover them quickly. Additionally, Devoted Spirit maneuvers can provide the otherwise-squishy Dvati (and you!) with excellent spot-healing, and Crusader's delayed damage pool can really help prevent hurt from getting out of hand.

If you check my original post, Tome of Battle is the one book that specifically ISN'T allowed, sadly.

[Averis Vol]

I guess the question that needs asking is how do you want your PC protected by a pair of warriors of such fierce renown you would literally have to be insane to square up against them? Do you want a pair of unseen stalkers who know about attempted assailants before they make themselves know? or do you want a pair who make you untouchable by your enemies, meaning that even if they get their attack off the blade fails to even come near you?

[Alchemyre]

I guess the question that needs asking is how do you want your PC protected by a pair of warriors of such fierce renown you would literally have to be insane to square up against them? Do you want a pair of unseen stalkers who know about attempted assailants before they make themselves know? or do you want a pair who make you untouchable by your enemies, meaning that even if they get their attack off the blade fails to even come near you?

Well the plan was to have one twin always with the PC, while the other stands in the shadows, waiting to intercept anyone that has intention to harm. Basically, the other PCs won't know there are two of them until I want them to. So most of the damage they will do is via the element of surprise and chaos they cause once the other one leaves the shadows. I guess that would make that option 2, though option 3 sounds tasty.

[Averis Vol]

Well, if you're dead set on Dvati, just know that along that path you will be incredibly squishy. If you're okay with that, then something like just factotum 11 will give you minor spellcasting, a ridiculously high amount of burst with cunning strike, extra standard actions int to AC and a whole slew of other abilities. It also has a d8 HD so it's moderately better off than most typical sneaky classes.

[Alchemyre]

Well, if you're dead set on Dvati, just know that along that path you will be incredibly squishy. If you're okay with that, then something like just factotum 11 will give you minor spellcasting, a ridiculously high amount of burst with cunning strike, extra standard actions int to AC and a whole slew of other abilities. It also has a d8 HD so it's moderately better off than most typical sneaky classes.

I DOOOOO love me some Factotum. It's probably my favorite base class. (I'm playing a Changeling Factotum in another game) It is certainly a diverse class, but other than raw power (achieved through pumping all resources into Intelligence) he doesn't have a very stretegic version of damage output. And I don't think "jack of all trades" is a good choice for a bodyguard, heh. My original thought was Scout, but after that, I wouldn't know what to do with him. I think the problem is there are TOO MANY choices.

[Averis Vol]

Okay, how about a team of distracting shot marksman. Ranger 4/rogue 3/assassin 3/ fighter 1.

Variants are:
distracting shot (Ranger 4, PHB II)
Hit and run fighter, targeteer (fighter 1, DoTU, Dragon mag #310)

Feats would be something like:

1 Point blank shot
3 Precise shot
6 Craven
9 Two weapon fighting

You trade your fighter feat for vital aim granting you dex to damage.

Then you just keep one near you, when the enemy is engaged they trade off back and forth. The one in the shadows will use a bow, and if there's multiple targets, he will spread out his attacks, making them all count as flanked. The one in melee can also spread out his attacks to make sure he gets the most out of his chance to sneak attack. Just rinse and repeat til it's over. you yourself are presumably going to be able to aid as well, so this should be more than enough to take care of basically any problem short of the other PC's and their cohorts attacking you outright.

EDIT: Melee damage projections are something like: 4d6+11 before weapon and strength (Or dex or what have you), Ranged is 1d8+4d6+2xDex mod+12 within 30 feet

[Maginomicon]

There is, in fact, a Bodyguard class (Dragon Magazine #310 page 33). It's a fighter variant that gets rogue-like special abilities as options for fighter bonus feats which enhance its ability to protect its charge (that being, you).

Cover: The bodyguard can give an adjacent creature the benefit of her shield bonus to Armor Class or the dodge bonus provided by the use of the Combat Expertise feat, or both, as a free action. If the bodyguard wishes, she may give her shield bonus to one adjacent creature and her dodge bonus due to Combat Expertise to a different adjacent creature as a free action. When the bodyguard does this, she does not gain these benefits to her AC. If an adjacent creature gaining protection moves more than 5 feet from the bodyguard, it immediately loses the defensive bonus. The dodge bonus or shield bonus provided by the bodyguard stack with such bonuses the protected character already has.

Clear the Path: The bodyguard gains the Cleave feat and Great Cleave feats, but they only apply when the bodyguard fights defensively, uses the Combat Expertise feat, or gives her shield bonus to another creature by using the cover special ability.
That's pretty awesome actually since they stack, and these special abilities have no prerequisites so you can pick them up at the first and second level of bodyguard.

[Alchemyre]

Okay, how about a team of distracting shot marksman. Ranger 4/rogue 3/assassin 3/ fighter 1.

Variants are:
distracting shot (Ranger 4, PHB II)
Hit and run fighter, targeteer (fighter 1, DoTU, Dragon mag #310)

Feats would be something like:

1 Point blank shot
3 Precise shot
6 Craven
9 Two weapon fighting

You trade your fighter feat for vital aim granting you dex to damage.

-snip-



How would you allocate Stats for this build? (see original post)