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View Full Version : [3.5] Help make a build for this fluff.



Xyk
2008-08-21, 11:02 PM
Basically I had this idea for a character/cohort. There is an elite school of melee fighters. They are trained to be bodyguards to the utmost perfection. They have nigh-spartan training and selection and are trained only to serve a lord.

trained from the age of 7 to be perfect guardians and killers. The first few years up to level 1 are mostly conditioning. By the time they are level 1 they are usually about 10 years old. They are trained more for 5 years and 4 levels in both combat and emotional control. They are 15 and level 5 by that point. That marks the beginning of their adventuring stage of training. They are assigned to an adventurer, and protect him/her until their next level. Upon reaching the next level, they return to the school and are assigned to another adventurer. They repeat this until reaching level 10, where they are up for hire at the school. Lords and wealthy wizards value them very highly.

How would I stat this build out? I'm thinking warblade. They are all trained to fight with a heavy shield, longsword, and mithril breastplate. Also, every single warrior has exactly the same build, including feats, and skills (not including racial mods. All ages in the spoiler are based off human years, other races are porportional.

NEO|Phyte
2008-08-21, 11:19 PM
Hmm, Warblade sounds about right in my mind, focusing on Diamond Mind and Iron Heart.

playswithfire
2008-08-21, 11:33 PM
Maybe mix in a bit of Crusader. Iron guard's glare seems like a stance a body guard would take; keep the pressure off the person you're protecting. And a wall of Iron Guard Glaring soldiers can basically put all your attacks at a -4 penalty (I'm thinking phalanx here; they are supposed to be spartans.).

Jack_Simth
2008-08-21, 11:33 PM
Even a regular old Fighter would do well for the fluff - although as bodyguards, you want reach weapons, not sword & board. Feats like Improved Trip (PHB, for the +4 on trip attempts), Stand Still (XPH, to end movement), and Combat Reflexes (PHB, so you can stop multiple people who are trying to reach your charge) are the ones you're after - as you're trying to stop opponents from reaching your charge, not be the world's best killing machine. Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Spiked Chain) would also be a good choice - if only for the double-reach nature of the weapon.

Eldariel
2008-08-21, 11:36 PM
Warblades focusing on Diamond Mind (the whole utmost mental discipline goes great with rolling Concentration-checks for everything) and Iron Heart ("mastery of the weapon" is the motto of the school), perhaps with some Stone Dragon in the mix seems right. The feral flavour of Tiger Claw might conflict with the whole "discipline"-part, although if they're trained for combat from birth, it might very well actually be fitting. Some White Raven could make sense (they're a trained pack so if they've trained together, they probably fight well together too and that's what White Raven is all about - also, since they live for combat, they are probably quite good at making others more effective through commands and example - servants elsewhere, but leaders in battle), while Stone Dragon's whole "stone-connection"-stuff is a bit off (and the school sucks to boot).

So focus them on Diamond Mind, Iron Heart along with some White Raven. Tiger Claw is a yes/no school depending on what kinds of combat strategies you want them to employ and I wouldn't bother learning Stone Dragon beyond Mountain Hammer.

Xyk
2008-08-21, 11:39 PM
Maybe mix in a bit of Crusader. Iron guard's glare seems like a stance a body guard would take; keep the pressure off the person you're protecting. And a wall of Iron Guard Glaring soldiers can basically put all your attacks at a -4 penalty (I'm thinking phalanx here; they are supposed to be spartans.).

Religion is viewed as a distraction from the goal, so I don't think crusader works well. Martial study could work to get those. They are not supposed to be spartans, but the training is similar. Very little teamwork is involved.

BobVosh
2008-08-21, 11:49 PM
Don't forget the bodygaurd feat from minihandbook. I don't remember the exact name, but lets you take a hit for a friend that is adjacent.

I would really recommend leadership and have whoever you are protecting be the cohort. Name him Artemis. You can be Butler. Er...moving on.

Any class with full bab and emphasis on armor/ac will do.

Arbitrarity
2008-08-21, 11:52 PM
Crusaders aren't religious (necessarily). They are just DEDICATED. To something. Be it law, protection, etc. Crusaders have purpose, and they follow it.

Xyk
2008-08-22, 12:06 AM
By 10th level when their training is over, they get 5 1st level maneuvers, 1 2nd level maneuver, 1 3rd level maneuver, 1 4th level maneuver, 2 1st level stances,1 5th level stance.

Stances: punishing, clarity, hear the air (to be ready before the attackers make their moves.)

Maneuvers: Rapid counter, Dazing strike, wall of blades, stone vise, white raven tactics (so his charge can escape now, rather than later.), Iron heart surge, overwhelming mountain strike (to immobilize foes, giving charge easier escape), lightning recovery.

Feats: combat reflexes, improved initiative, goad, shieldmate, ???

playswithfire
2008-08-22, 12:12 AM
By 10th level when their training is over, they get 5 1st level maneuvers, 1 2nd level maneuver, 1 3rd level maneuver, 1 4th level maneuver, 2 1st level stances,1 5th level stance.


Your forgetting that they get to trade maneuvers at even levels. At level 10, a warblade has.

2 5th level
2 4th level
2 3rd level
2 2nd level

Dr Bwaa
2008-08-22, 12:12 AM
I am not sure how well it would go with the rest of the build, but Sword and Fist includes a PrC called Devoted Defender. The have d12 HD, full BAB and good Fort and Ref saves, and get some very good "bodyguard" abilities: even if they're not totally optimal, taking a one-level dip would net a boost to saves and an ability which lets them exchange places (immediate action) with the person they're defending if that person comes under attack, and receive the attack instead. I'd hire one =D

Their other class features (iirc):
getting AOOs against anyone who attacks their charge in melee, gaining + to hit and damage on these
"Deflect Attack" or some such, which allows them to roll REF vs DC20 (accruing a bonus for more levels) in order to deflect a melee attack against their charge.
+1 AC/two levels (I think), so long as they have a charge to defend.

ocato
2008-08-22, 12:17 AM
My little mention, first off: a L5 character is roughly the peak of human ability in real life standards. I don't know if you necessarily want to work it out so a 15 year old is an Olympian record holder in 2-4 sports , but it's your Barbecue, cook it how you like it.

As for the build, my initial reflex is usually not towards ToB (my knowledge isn't great), so I went for a mixed tactics fighter. My vision was a fighter with improved unarmed strike, superior unarmed strike, and then a glaive or possibly a mancatcher. You are effectively armed despite having a weapon or not (allowing the body guard to effectively follow his charge to, say, an audience with a king or a summit or negotiation where a weapon wouldn't be allowed) and have the option of stopping any incoming attacker either with a glaive and all those trip feats we all love, or a mancatcher to range-grapple any oncoming trouble. The glaive is probably a sounder idea for mass enemy stopping with all those trippy feats like stand still, combat reflexes, etc etc. Also, I'd consider combat expertise so that once you have all of your charges' enemies busy with you, they don't necessarily swarm you. The unarmed strike feats let you kick/punch/headbutt anyone who comes too close when you are glaiving.

Just my 2c.

Xyk
2008-08-22, 12:27 AM
Devoted defender works fantastic for at least 1 level. That will be the PrC they all go into after 10th level. I will change those maneuvers to 2 of each level. Also I will read the descriptions now and then. :smallbiggrin:

Telonius
2008-08-22, 09:11 AM
I've been reading through this, and it keeps occurring to me that the Knight base class actualy accomplishes quite a bit of what you're trying to do. It gives Shield Ally at level 6, can basically force people to attack him rather than anybody else (including the person he's guarding), aren't hindered by their armor ...

You could re-fluff the Knight's Code if you want.

Ranis
2008-08-22, 09:28 AM
There was a prestige class in 3.0, Stalwart Defender, I think? That let you designate someone as a free action at the start of your turn then basically leap in front of any attacker and take the brunt of the hit for that person, as long as you were within a certain distance.

I think if you shoehorned that into this idea, that it would be beneficial for flavor.

Xyk
2008-08-22, 11:50 AM
The knight has too big a dependency on charisma for me. I think warblade will serve better. The bodyguards tend to be cold and calculating, not shouting across the battlefield very much.

What book is stalwart defender in?

CASTLEMIKE
2008-08-22, 12:08 PM
Basically I had this idea for a character/cohort. There is an elite school of melee fighters. They are trained to be bodyguards to the utmost perfection. They have nigh-spartan training and selection and are trained only to serve a lord.

trained from the age of 7 to be perfect guardians and killers. The first few years up to level 1 are mostly conditioning. By the time they are level 1 they are usually about 10 years old. They are trained more for 5 years and 4 levels in both combat and emotional control. They are 15 and level 5 by that point. That marks the beginning of their adventuring stage of training. They are assigned to an adventurer, and protect him/her until their next level. Upon reaching the next level, they return to the school and are assigned to another adventurer. They repeat this until reaching level 10, where they are up for hire at the school. Lords and wealthy wizards value them very highly.

How would I stat this build out? I'm thinking warblade. They are all trained to fight with a heavy shield, longsword, and mithril breastplate. Also, every single warrior has exactly the same build, including feats, and skills (not including racial mods. All ages in the spoiler are based off human years, other races are porportional.

Based on your OP Warblade or Knight or regular Fighter or even a Samauri (Oriental Knight) based on the fluff any of them work.

Put in a game context even a Samauri -5+ is a pretty amazing fighter to a NPC or PC at L4 or below (Based on DMG demographics over 90% of the NPCs and PCs are L4 or below. Black Bear is a CR2 encounter.

Thurbane
2008-08-22, 08:10 PM
That description screams Bloodguard Monk to me. :smallbiggrin:

Also, Knight from the PHBII could work.

Chronicled
2008-08-22, 08:14 PM
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the CW Kensai yet. Heck, the last part of your description is pretty much their fluff. And if ToB's out, they're not a bad option.

Xyk
2008-08-23, 08:02 PM
ToB is in full use. I think that is the only way anyone would use these bodyguards instead of say, a cleric.