Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Fithero 06-13-06, 02:39 AM	Im wanting to make a body guard type of character, though im not sure on the specifics yet. Im thinking he will start off as rogue, since i dont want him to be the lumbering, oafish body guard, but the polite/upper class body guard. Ranks in diplomacy, bluff, sense motive, listen/search/spot, the usual deal for social characters, also perhaps several ranks in speak languages (just the common ones, such as dwarf and elven, nothing like draconic) As for the background, im thinking something along the lines of that he did his stint in the navy (not the army, to cliche) as a left tenant (sp?) or some such low ranking officier. Once out, with nothing to do, he chose to use his skills in combat to protect people for a price, a merc of sort (i dont want him just "falling" into the profession, its been done to death). As for race, im leaning towards either halfling or an elf, neither of which would appear to make good body guards, all the better to blend in. Any help with this would be great, does anybody know of any feats that would help with this concept (im already planning on taking the devoted defender out of Sword and Fist) Chiers Later
Araciel 06-13-06, 02:52 PM	left tenant hehehe its lieutenant i would give him levels of aristocrat instead of rogue, and follow the birth=rank, ie the children of nobles were taught and trained to be officers in the navy, with common folk being just sailors and soldiers.
Cifer 06-13-06, 06:07 PM	i would give him levels of aristocrat instead of rogue Who says the class rogue cannot be used to depict an aristocratic character? I'd rather not use NPC classes on PCs.
Araciel 06-13-06, 07:06 PM	i guess that could work...though having pick pocket and disable device as class skills to me says you have some training as a thief, regardless whether or not you put ranks into them.
Reversefigure4 06-13-06, 07:37 PM	Nonsense - if you don't put any ranks into Disable Device, you character knows nothing about disabling devices. Sleight of Hand is the same. Rogue is an excellent class for a social face character.
Cifer 06-13-06, 08:16 PM	While we are at social face: Take a look at bard and beguiler (from PHB II). though having pick pocket and disable device as class skills to me says you have some training as a thief, regardless whether or not you put ranks into them. I'd step away from the possibility and look at what is there. Also, quite a lot of skills are just existant in potentia: A good deal of rangers will never have visited any cave other than a bear's lair and still they get knowledge: Dungeoneering as a class skill.
Fithero 06-13-06, 10:43 PM	left tenant hehehe its lieutenant I know there is the lieutenant, but in the movie "Master and Commander" there is that looser guy (who ends up capping himself) who has only made left tenant in like 10 years. Ill have to go get it again to make sure though. As for the class, maybe scout would be a better idea? I dont want him having the divine spell casting ability, more relying on his skills. But what would a scout of the sea have skill wise? High ranks in swim and sailor obviousily, but what else? His skirmish ability is kinda hard to impliment on a boat (this is why i was leaning towards rogue) Later
pyro_cat 06-15-06, 11:21 AM	I know there is the lieutenant, but in the movie "Master and Commander" there is that looser guy (who ends up capping himself) who has only made left tenant in like 10 years. Ill have to go get it again to make sure though. As for the class, maybe scout would be a better idea? I dont want him having the divine spell casting ability, more relying on his skills. But what would a scout of the sea have skill wise? High ranks in swim and sailor obviousily, but what else? His skirmish ability is kinda hard to impliment on a boat (this is why i was leaning towards rogue) Later Ranger 3/Fighter 2 is a skilled military background set up. Think... Navy Seal or something. Swap out Fighter for Rogue if you're looking for more skills and less combat oomph. As for "lieutenant", the real pronunciation is "left tennant", as you put it. It gets confused because for some reason Americans pronounce it phonetically. It's all the same thing.
Pegasos989 06-15-06, 03:50 PM	As for race, im leaning towards either halfling or an elf, neither of which would appear to make good body guards, all the better to blend in. First of all, halflings can blend in extremely well (I think that in mixed communities, 9% of the people in human cities are halflings). Also, elves are very good in when it comes to nobles and the like, so I think that both of the races would be excellent when it comes to RPing a bodyguard. Even better when it goes to mechanics! Elves: Immunity to sleep effects, +2 bonus against enchantment spells (both very good for a guy who is not supposed to be put under "sleep" when guarding the target), +2 to listen, search and spot (the most important ones for a bodyguard!), low-light vision (they can see in dark corridors). I fail to see how this is not mechanically good bodyguard. Halflings: +1 to all saving throws (poison, spells... this yells for this job!), +2 against fear (they don't cower easily) and +2 to listen. I fail to see how either of these would be non-optimal choice for a bodyguard, both thro roleplaying and mechanics. Would they really let that half-orc to the noble's party?
ashcat_lt 06-16-06, 01:58 AM	I'm thinking Swashbuckler. This is the aristocratic fighting officer if there ever was one. It includes all of the skills you really want, and synergizes well with Rogue.
Fithero 06-16-06, 02:12 AM	As for "lieutenant", the real pronunciation is "left tennant", as you put it. It gets confused because for some reason Americans pronounce it phonetically. It's all the same thing. Thanks for clearing that up pyro_cat, so its still spelt "lieutenant", thats cool. Ranger 3/Fighter 2 is a skilled military background set up. Think... Navy Seal or something. Swap out Fighter for Rogue if you're looking for more skills and less combat oomph. I was thinking of rogue/fighting... at later levels i might start taking ranger aswell, and take fav. enemy for the most common "threat" in the area. As for the race, i was going to go human (just for the bonus skills and feat) but i gotta say ill go elf now.. needing only 2 hours sleep a day means more guarding time... more money.. plus they are alot more aware. As for the roleplaying side, i was thinking of making him very professional, not wanting to get too close to his client (emotionally) instead wanting to keep everything bussiness. He is very loyal (never sell out a client, fight to the death) and is very calm (can put up with alot of ****). As for his alignment, im gonna lean towards true neutral, he doesnt mind having to beat the crap out of somebody, but he draws the line at killing them willy nilly. He's got a pretty loose set of morals which allow for alot of questionable to happen, but when something does happen that offends him, he doesnt budge and will try and stop it (even against orders) Any idea on what sub-race of elves? It will be set in Fr..... what about an Aquatic elf? dont see many of them. Later
pyro_cat 06-16-06, 10:30 AM	Aquatic elf is kinda cool, but I don't know anything about their in-game statistics. Will being on land be a disadvantage? You don't want that. In terms of enough feats, there are "Flaws", found in Unearthed Arcana and some Dragon magazines that are a flavorful way to gain extra feats - I love 'em. From a roleplaying perspective, it works well with the navy concept; you could say he was accepted into a human navy as a local specialist, much as the British did with the Gurkhas in India. Gives him a touch of the exotic as well as familiarity with the human way of doing things. Maybe he started off in an all-elf underwater covert unit - scuttling ships, etc, but was eventually promoted to serve on the security team of an admiral venturing underwater as an envoy to a Aquatic Elf ruler. After your character successfully saves the admiral from an attack by his own people (the elves), he becomes disenchanted with the navy and the cause he associated himself with (insert sordid details here), and left to wander the world. Eventually, he had to put food on the table, so he did what he knew best: security. Don't call him a bodyguard, its not classy enough. He should call himself a chief of security or something like that. If you want him to be noble-born, that's easy too. Nobility and the armed forces have a long history together, especially in Imperial powers such as 18th century Britian. This is a VERY rough outline of a story, but it would be a workable wireframe to build a proper background on.
Fithero 06-16-06, 11:13 AM	From a roleplaying perspective, it works well with the navy concept; you could say he was accepted into a human navy as a local specialist, much as the British did with the Gurkhas in India. Gives him a touch of the exotic as well as familiarity with the human way of doing things. I like the idea of being from another race, working for the humans in the navy (that tribal guy from Moby Dick comes to mind... Que-quay???). I looked over the aquatic elf and it looks pretty shoody, you can only survive on land for a short amount of time... ... a problem that the water genasi doesnt have :P So im thinking of going one of them. He was noble born in his home land, and his parents sent him into the navy, whom then transfered him to their human allies as a rep. of sorts. Chiers guys, good work. Later
pyro_cat 06-16-06, 11:35 AM	If you look at Unearthed Arcana (my all time favourite book), there is a variant Aquatic Elf that doesn't have gills, so they're ok on land. Now, I don't know how they cope IN the water; maybe the Aquatic subtype allows you to breathe underwater on its own. Look that up. Also, Stormwrack is a great official source for anything sea-related. Be sure to get your hands on that, if you can.