Need a build to protect the careless party rogue.

[aviphysics]

The deal is that our Rogue has a propensity for wondering off and getting himself killed.

We also have a couple party members that he has pissed off and are potential threats (a fighter type and warlock.)

I am planning to bring in a new character to see about helping him live a little longer and could use some suggestions for character classes, dips, and skills.

Backstory of the guy I am trying to protect: His current character is an heir to a throne that ran away to go adventuring. He is, as usual for this player, very much a rogue type character.

My Backstory: Shortly after the heir ran off I was sent off to go find him, keep him from getting killed, and hopefully get him back home someday. I have been tracking him for several months now and am just about to catch up to him and the party.
*My Race: For reasons, my character is an Aasimar.
*Level: I will be entering as a ninth level character.
*Stats rolls: We use a 4d6 drop the lowest to generate stats
--My rolls: 16, 16, 16, 16, 14, 14 (I am glad that I rolled that in Roll20 with my GM watching, or I don't think anyone would believe me)

Goals:
* keep track of potentially unwilling teammate with good stealth skills
* keep up with teammate without blowing their cover or directly interfering with what they are doing, unless it is to save them from immediate danger. (I think this means I need some good stealth skills too)
* keep NPC from killing them (maybe the easier part)
* keep them safe from PC party members without the party members just wacking me down as well.

Note:
*I think trying to protect him with strait healing\buffs or by trying to tank the attackers won't just work. I think this would just get us both killed
*I think a lot of my protection stuff probably needs to be more evasion/obfuscation focused, rather then just defeating the attacker.
*No more than two classes would be preferred. I would consider three, but would prefer to keep it simpler.

Thanks for any advice!

[sophontteks]

If he is prone to wandering off and getting himself killed, you may want to provide something that helps him help himself, since wandering off will mean you aren't nearby anyway. At the very least you'd probably want a stealthy character if you actually want to keep up with him. So, I'd suggest a bard or a druid.

A bard can keep up with him, be sneaky, and keep both characters stealthy with enhance ability and inspiration. If you don't get caught, you don't get dead. If you do get caught, the bard can talk his way out of it. If talking don't work, well, bard is the king of CC.

Alternatively you could try druid. Guidance may help with his stealth checks along with walk without trace. You can turn into a spider when he wanders off and follow along just fine. Great CC. Moon druids can tank. Good healing. And you can tank as a moon druid.

Both can heal, of course.

[Treantmonk]

This sounds like a job for a Trickery Cleric. To be a trickery Cleric with those stats...lovely.

Protection Aasimar is the obvious Aasimar choice to get the Wis bonus. Also...PROTECTION Aasimar.

Here's why I think it's a good choice:

* keep track of potentially unwilling teammate with good stealth skills
Seems to me you can either try to keep track of him, or get rid of the "unwilling" part. Sounds like this character might appreciate the company of a character who can give him +10 stealth (pass without trace) and advantage on stealth (Blessing of the trickster).


* keep up with teammate without blowing their cover or directly interfering with what they are doing, unless it is to save them from immediate danger. (I think this means I need some good stealth skills too)
Stealth proficiency is easily gained through a background, and you are going to have a good Dex (you might want to go with light armor or a breastplate). That said, with Pass Without Trace, you are a stealth wizard. Oh yeah, you can turn invisible with your Channel Divinity, and also have Disguise Self. I would worrry more about him blowing your cover than vice versa.

Of course if cover is blown, you also have Charm Person, dominate person and modify memory to patch it up and cover your tracks.


* keep NPC from killing them (maybe the easier part)
The ultimate "get ally out of danger" ability in the game is dimension door. You have that too.
Of course, you are no slouch in combat. You are a Cleric after all, except you can invoke a duplicity to cast Spirit Guardians on and then wade it into the enemies. Maybe while you and the Rogue remain stealthed. Oh, and you have the amazing Polymorph spell as well.

* keep them safe from PC party members without the party members just wacking me down as well.
This will largely come down to roleplaying and the play at your table, though I will mention Modify Memory and Dominate Person again...

Final point, if all the above doesn't work, a Trickery Cleric can cast Raise Dead...

[Ogun]

Id love to play this part in this campaign!
Pact of the chain Warlock,maybe Celestial for the flavor, voice of the master, for an invisible touch spell delivering gardian angel.
You could take levels 4-9 of Bard for Expertise and spells , Inspired Leader, lots of healing and buffs and perhaps a Pious,Entertainer, Folk Hero some other background to get the people on your side.

Then you buff everyone in the party.
Buff the other two for awesome, buff him to save his ass.
Be hard on him, chastise him for show at least.
When you give out your blessings, do it in the name of keeping him safe,as in ”A blessing upon you John,protector of the weak and callow, even fools such as Jamie here"
Now protecting this guy comes with benifits that you provide.

I would play his tutor,leaving the monastery to track down his former pupil.
Will he be able to keep me safe and put them back on the straight and narrow or will he be corrupted himself bye this exciting adventuring life?

[MaxWilson]

Id love to play this part in this campaign!
Pact of the chain Warlock,maybe Celestial for the flavor, voice of the master, for an invisible touch spell delivering gardian angel.

Don't forget Diviner. Portent works on any target you can see, regardless of whether or not you are present.

[mormon_soldier]

Paladin of the crown. Your auras let you buff subtly and lay on hands gives decent healing. You'd want to go dex to still stealth with him, but you'd still be able to tank or book it when things get tough.

[aviphysics]

Id love to play this part in this campaign!
Pact of the chain Warlock,maybe Celestial for the flavor, voice of the master, for an invisible touch spell delivering gardian angel.
You could take levels 4-9 of Bard for Expertise and spells , Inspired Leader, lots of healing and buffs and perhaps a Pious,Entertainer, Folk Hero some other background to get the people on your side.

Then you buff everyone in the party.
Buff the other two for awesome, buff him to save his ass.
Be hard on him, chastise him for show at least.
When you give out your blessings, do it in the name of keeping him safe,as in ”A blessing upon you John,protector of the weak and callow, even fools such as Jamie here"
Now protecting this guy comes with benifits that you provide.

I would play his tutor,leaving the monastery to track down his former pupil.
Will he be able to keep me safe and put them back on the straight and narrow or will he be corrupted himself bye this exciting adventuring life?

Dipping into Rogue for expertise definitely occurred to me. Bard might be the better choice.

I had also been thinking about sorcerer. The reason I didn't jump on that is because I just finished playing a sorcerer that met a pretty grizzly end. Diffusing situations by transmuting people into small helpless animals or sending them to an alternate dimension was pretty great. Being able to teleport away was also useful.

Warlocks are cool, but seem more damage focused than sorcerers.

The problem I expect from a Paladin is that they can deal damage and tank, but can't really evade situations. They can't really run away or temporarily disable an opponent very easily.

[LordEntrails]

My initial response was why? Why protect a character that obviously brings trouble onto him/herself? Why protect a character that makes problems with the other characters?

But then, the answer is hopefully something like; Because all the players are having fun with the character and want him/her to live.

[CTurbo]

Obnoxiously Lawful Good Oath of the Crown Paladin that acts like a nagging babysitter

[Citan]

The deal is that our Rogue has a propensity for wondering off and getting himself killed.

We also have a couple party members that he has pissed off and are potential threats (a fighter type and warlock.)

I am planning to bring in a new character to see about helping him live a little longer and could use some suggestions for character classes, dips, and skills.

Backstory of the guy I am trying to protect: His current character is an heir to a throne that ran away to go adventuring. He is, as usual for this player, very much a rogue type character.

My Backstory: Shortly after the heir ran off I was sent off to go find him, keep him from getting killed, and hopefully get him back home someday. I have been tracking him for several months now and am just about to catch up to him and the party.
*My Race: For reasons, my character is an Aasimar.
*Level: I will be entering as a ninth level character.
*Stats rolls: We use a 4d6 drop the lowest to generate stats
--My rolls: 16, 16, 16, 16, 14, 14 (I am glad that I rolled that in Roll20 with my GM watching, or I don't think anyone would believe me)

Goals:
* keep track of potentially unwilling teammate with good stealth skills
* keep up with teammate without blowing their cover or directly interfering with what they are doing, unless it is to save them from immediate danger. (I think this means I need some good stealth skills too)
* keep NPC from killing them (maybe the easier part)
* keep them safe from PC party members without the party members just wacking me down as well.

Note:
*I think trying to protect him with strait healing\buffs or by trying to tank the attackers won't just work. I think this would just get us both killed
*I think a lot of my protection stuff probably needs to be more evasion/obfuscation focused, rather then just defeating the attacker.
*No more than two classes would be preferred. I would consider three, but would prefer to keep it simpler.

Thanks for any advice!
Hi!

Well, this may be a bit harder of a challenge than you think. It's hard to help someone against his/her will.

With that said, I think the easiest way would be a multiclass Divine Soul Sorcerer with two levels of Rogue for Stealth Expertise and Cunning Action.
Reason for that: access to Cleric spells and Extend+Twin metamagic.
The only gripe with this is the few number of spell known.
AND you have GODLY STATS for multiclassing.
So I'll suggest a heavy multiclass way a bit later.

First, what about Sorcerer 7 / Rogue 2 (provided you can get high level I'd suggest aiming straight for Arcane Trickster 9, unless you really need Raise Dead first ?
Advantages:
1. Constitution proficiency (-> good concentration).
2. 4 cantrips for utility and offense (Shocking Grasp or Booming Blade, Mold Earth, Minor Illusion, Message).
3. Easy to build mechanically and fluff-wise.
4. Good stealth (Mage Armor or light armor + Expertise + free Dash/Hide as bonus action).
5. Access to many great spells.
- Extended upcast Aid: "free" 20 HP for the next day when you have a calm day before.
- Extended upcast Invisibility III: both of you have now great stealth for two hours instead of one. Means easier to take time and study guard movement or detect traps for safer infiltration.
- Extended Darkness: depending on enemies, may be a bad idea or not (some will definitely consider a moving cloud of dark smoke to be very fishy) but can be used for infiltration or defense (together with Message if needed).
- Twin Haste: can be used as another way of infiltrating (free Dash on doubled movement means it's easier to get from one hiding cover to another without anyone noticing) or as a great way to bail from immediate life-threatening danger.
- Twin/Extended Polymorph: another spell that can be used in the same ways as the previous ones.
- Extended Warding Bond: much better resource economy when going into a dungeon. Can be paired with Twin Haste/Polymorph. Beware about the drawbacks though (yourself will have HP eaten much faster, especially since you have to keep 60 feet away max).
- Twin/Extended Enhance Ability: helping both of you succeed on WIS checks (Perception), INT ones (Investigation) or DEX (Stealth, Acrobatics) will be very nice when spying.
- Twin Fly: obvious.
BIG drawback: you can't get everything, not with few number of spell known. You'd have to make tough choices.

Now, THIS is for a support build that plays nice.
With the same basic build you could instead play dictatorial and force him to abide by your command.
Too bad you don't actually get the Command spell... Oh wait, as a Divine Soul, you do!
And Rogue probably has low Wis too, so spells like this one, or Slow, or Hold Person ought to work pretty well.
Otherwise, of if you want to use spells targeting CON or DEX (like Web) this would obviously also require Heightened.

It really depends on both relationships in-character and how the player knows how to distinguish in-game and out-of-game.
So I wouldn't actually recommend such a passive-agressive character unless *both players* can enjoy the dynamic born of it.

Now, considering you have such great stats, another way to go could be to mix any of those ideas (except the 4th level spells of course) with...

A/ Druid greatness:
- Pass Without Trace (spy),
- Water Breathing (same),
- Entangle ("stop being a suicidal ***"),
- Plant Growth ("wait for us, will ya?" -also great for actually teamworking against large crowds tbf-),
- Earth Tremor/Erupting Earth ("don't be childish just because you're in the AOE, we both know you are too agile to be affected in the first place -since DEX, proficiency and Evasion-)
- Healing Spirit ("hold on, everything will be fine after victory")
- Conjure Animals ("the spell that is a class in itself").
- Protection against Energy: situationnally great.
- Jump, Longstrider: always helpful.
And you still get Healing Words, Enhance Ability, etc...
Plus additional spells if going Land, or nice Aura as bonus action if going Shepherd. Land can get great spells (Haste, Slow, Lightning Bolt, Stinking Cloud) Shepherd's Aura is versatile and can especially help you either "locate enemies with Rogue pal" or "locate f**** suicidal Rogue pal". XD

So, one way to go could be...
Sorcerer 4 / Grassland Druid 5 (for Haste mainly)
Or Sorcerer 3 / Grassland Druid 5 / Rogue 1 (for Expertise).
In your place, I'd probably pick either one, with small preference for the one with Expertise. You'll have enough versatility to cover for a lot of things, you can get most of every example I've given above (since lots of spells can be prepared as Druid instead of learnt as Sorcerer).

Or you could even push the multiclass logic to the utmost and renounce 3rd level spell for even greater versatility by mixing some Cleric inside.
Knowledge Cleric 3 / Shepherd Druid 3 / Shadow Sorcerer 3
(Shadow mainly for "free Darkness you can see into")
Big drawback of this is you won't be able to follow the Rogue without spells if he wants to outrun you.
On the plus side...
- You can still easily catch up with him (Longstrider + Expeditious Retreat)
- You have mostly every utility spell you could hope for.
- Anything Rogue isn't good at, you cover (Channel Divinity from Knowledge).
- You have an incredible number of spells available to you (included all 1st and 2nd level quoted above, but also Heat Metal, Silence, Faerie Fire, etc), and ~15 spells available at any time.
IF you'd prefer versatility above anything else, this is the one good way to go. OR if you know you will level up it soon enough (to grab an ASI ASAP and 3rd level spells in either class just after).
In other cases, you risk missing 3rd level spells in some situations.

B/ Monk greatness:
Specifically for your needs here, Shadow Monk: ability to get Darkness, Silence and Pass Without Trace for a short-rest cost is great.
If you didn't want to get 3rd level Druid spells nore offensive of level 1/2 anyways, this is a good enough alternative to the Sorcerer 5 / Druid 5.
- Decent boost speed
- Ki can be used on Dodge to reduce threat to you (great if going Warding Bond on Rogue and frontline as a duo).
- Decent Unarmored (better stealth).
- Pretty good sustained damage.

To be honest I'd still go with one of the previous builds myself, but wanted to point out the possibility, which may be better if you plan on going up to level 15 at least with this character and want to make a gish.

[aviphysics]

....

Thanks for the thoughtful post.