Make an effective guard

[Endril]

I've been scouring the inter-webs for some advice on making an effective guard, to no avail.

I'm looking for an NPC build, assume higher level (maybe 15-20) for a retired adventure that is now the head guard of a large city. I want her to be able to deal with a party of PC's if they get out of line. This is difficult, even if the party is less high in level (10-15), because they have so many ways to escape or kill the guard.

So, the obvious is to give the guard a way to dimensional anchor, see invisibility, fly, etc. But I'm also looking for a build that can tank against a PC group, endure their magic attacks, and deal out enough damage (preferably non-lethal) to take down the PC's before they kill her.

How would you build a character like this?

By the way, I realize you might just say to talk to the players and ask them not to get out of line when in the city, or to let the players do what they want, but I'm just looking for a build. Let's assume in this city, the guards aren't strong enough to stop adventurers, even in numbers, but a couple retired adventurers that run the guard keep them in check when needed.

[iTreeby]

My advice is to not use player classes and base it off a monster like a couatl or something.

[daremetoidareyo]

Harpoons, quickdraw, rapid shot, and ranged pin should eat up a ton of PC actions.

Beartotem barbarian 2/ranger 2/fighter 4

There are some dimensional anchor type weapon enhancements that should help. Favored enemy (lawbreakers) might be able to be swung.

[Maat Mons]

The city shape alternative class feature lets a druid wild shape into a swarm. Using the enhance wild shape spell, the druid can gain all the swarm's traits, like immunity to weapon damage, and immunity to effect that specify a number of targets (almost all spells with a "target" entry).

Every day, he can also cast energy immunity on himself five times to be immune to all the common energy types. And it will be relatively hard for the party to dispel because, in swarm form, he'll be immune to the targeted version of the dispel magic line of spells.

And, like all druids, he'd take natural spell to be able to keep casting while wild shaped.



Another route you could take is a cleric with the initiate of Mystra feat. This guy would lock out all the party's good abilities with an antimagic field, meanwhile being complexity unhindered by the field himself.

[Goaty14]

Er yea, any sort of character that has the ability to say "no, you can't do that" to the PC's magical abilities is pretty much going to be the top dog in keeping them in line. If you're able to also sneak in some grapplemancy/5-8 levels of Justicar (Complete Warrior), then the Hogtie ability is VERY amazing, and then more bonus points if you use Antimagic Shackels (BoED) to do it with.

[MaxiDuRaritry]

How about a The Big Guy Is With Me (http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?471379-The-Big-Guy-is-With-Me-Psicrystal-Build-(Scion_Of_Coldshard)) build, using shaper or telepath instead of psywar or egoist, with access to metamorphosis and a psychoactive skin of proteus? The psion acts as the face, while the psicrystal acts as the muscle. Both types of psion have some face skills, and tons of utility. The psychoactive skin is for normal matters, giving the psicrystal utility, mobility, offensive, and defensive abilities (including important abilities like scent), while having direct access to metamorphosis means hitting MUCH harder at the expense of some daily resources (and also makes dispelling harder). And the psion himself has lots of ways to both affect the psicrystal and to directly affect the world around him. Or you could go seer and shift some of your focus into Detective Mode, what with all the ways you can use psionic powers to gather information. Even then, having a guard-dog psicrystal would be a very hefty and useful benefit. Just make sure to protect against dispels. Supernatural Transformation (Psionics) is fantastic for any number of reasons, from no dispelling to no AoOs.

And when you need to guard someone (friendly persons of interest or prisoners either one), turning your psicrystal into a steel cage that can walk on its own (animated object) would be quite useful.

Shapers have a power for pretty much any situation. Astral constructs as cannon fodder, psionic minor creation for knockout poisons and handcuffs or ropes, blasting, healing (for the psicrystal, and for you if you're a warforged); all sorts of stuff. Telepath can use mind-control to disperse problematic situations and force prisoners to act calmly. Seers, as stated, would act more on the detective side of things. And all have access to vigor, share pain, and, of course, the psicrystal.

A one-level dip in either factotum or the changeling rogue ACF rogue, along with Able Learner, would give you any skills you wanted, and you'd already have a great Int focus for lots of skill points.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

First and foremost, whenever anyone is fighting guards/police/authorities, there's always backup available. Even if you're only fighting one guard right now, more will be showing up shortly. A commander or champion of the guards showing up to stop pesky adventurers should never arrive alone.

I'd make her a Warblade 1/ Duskblade 2/ Warblade 3/ Suel Arcanamach 4/ Jade Phoenix Mage 10, in that order. This gets 1st-5th level Abjuration, Divination, Illusion, and Transmutation spells at a caster level of 16 with Practiced Spellcaster, while only losing a single point of BAB. You have Iron Heart Surge to get rid of any debuffs they use, and access to Dimensional Anchor, Greater Invisibility, Shrink Item, Anticipate Teleportation, etc. Give her a Belt of the Wide Earth (MIC) for access to Teleport. Include a custom Runestaff (MIC p224) to effectively expand her list of spells known. She can use Eternal Wands (MIC) of any arcane spells, even if they're not spells she could learn, such as Web, Sleet Storm, Ray of Dizziness, Hound of Doom (CW), etc. Include all the necessary magic item effects (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?187851-3-5-Lists-of-Necessary-Magic-Items) that she doesn't get from her spells, maneuvers, or class features. Include a Third Eye: Sense (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalItems.htm#sense) and she can keep a constant watch all over her city.

[Endril]

Thanks for the replies, it's giving me some ideas.

I was originally thinking of a build that was Ranger 1/ Paladin 4/ Beastmaster 3/ Cavalier 10 that rode a 16 HD pegasus, pumped with divine might, and did x5 damage on a charge. I was just thinking of a way to catch them and do enough damage to take them down (with a merciful lance) before they could do any harm. I'm seeing some ideas I like more here though.

I had checked out ranged pin. A problem I had with it was it's a low DC to free yourself and the players will have more actions, but 5-6 arrows being shot per turn and having other guards help can make up for that. It's something to think about.

This is the first time I've seen city shape, and it looks pretty cool. I have to be diminutive to be immune to weapon damage, and I can only shift into a tiny swarm, so I don't know how that part will work. Being able to have a shopping cart suddenly attack the party with druid spells is cool, though.

Goaty has the most simple and effective idea IMO. Of course, Maat mentioned initiate of Mystra, but I'm trying to limit myself to the same books I'd limit the players to, so that would be out. Extraordinary spell-aim would do the trick too, but I'd also want that off the table. I'll have to look at builds that can cast anti-magic field and overpower them without magic.

I'll spend more time unpacking those last 2, but I was also thinking of making a gish. Someone that can both handle combat and have the utility to answer all their tricks. I was already looking at iron heart surge and some of the items in MIC.

Edit: That List of Necessary Magic Items must be one of the most visited threads on here. I think I use it every time I make a character.

[Maat Mons]

Well, the regular druid's 12th-level ability says "with the same size restrictions as for animal forms." But the city shape 12th-level ability says "so long as it fits within her standard wild shaping Hit Die limits," but says nothing of size. I kind of figured they took out the part saying that size was restricted because they no longer wanted size to be restricted.

But very well, I suppose interpretation is valid too. Though the only tiny, plant- or vermin-based swarms outside of epic are rat swarm, piranha swarm, and needletooth swarm. So, a notably smaller list than the plant creatures you give up.