Role: Since the Guardian cannot leave the side of his charge, he must be assigned to protect some member of the PC party. He will accompany his charge anywhere that propriety allows (i.e. he won’t follow his charge into the privy), watching for possible trouble and ambushes.
Requirements: Guardians may be of any race. They are not necessarily the strongest or the fastest of warriors, but they are among the wisest. Guardians must have a Wisdom of 13.
Secondary Skills: Armorer.
Armor/Equipment: Guardians must have shields of some sort, to protect their charges; the larger, the better. Other than this, there are no armor or equipment limits.
Weapon Proficiencies: Bonus: Sword and shield style. Required: Shields. Recommended: Trouble sense, Iron will, Ambidexterity.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Bonus: Alertness. Required: Healing. Recommended: Survival, Blind-fighting, Endurance, Armorer.
Special Benefits:
Magic resistance: Guardians receive a +3 saving throw to any magical spell that would affect their duty to their charges, such as the wizard spells charm person, friends, hypnotism, sleep, irritation, ray of enfeeblement, scare, and geas, and the clerical spells command, charm person or mammal, enthrall, cloak of bravery, and symbol. For ease of play, this +3 bonus is usually placed in the categories of magical spells and rod/staff/wand.
Will to Duty: Such men take their duty very seriously. So long as a Guardian believes his charge to be alive, he may use his shield, even when his hit points drop below zero. Guardians may use any attack or block using their shields, until the damage they have sustained is greater than their negative Wisdom. Thus, a Guardian with a Wisdom of 14, could continue using his shield to the point where his Hit Points are -14; if he sustained a point more of damage, he would die. After the immediate threats to his charge are removed, a Guardian whose Hit Points are in the negative range will immediately pass out.
Guardians have a permanent +2 bonus to hit with their shields.
He takes the ‘healing’ non-weapon proficiency as though he were a priest.
Special Hindrances:
Combat Limits: Guardians cannot leave the sides of their charges, no matter how great the need. If a comrade or fellow Guardian has fallen in battle, he cannot attempt to aid the fellow, because he cannot leave the side of his charge. A charge can, of course, enter combat of her own volition, but this places great strain on the Guardian who must protect her. A Guardian is not a person’s keeper; he cannot answer for her actions -- he can only defend them.
Chargeless: If a charge dies, then a Guardian has failed in his duties; due to self-loathing, he will be at -3 to hit, for a period of 2d6 months after the death of his charge. Immediately after the period of mourning, a Guardian must acquire a new charge, or risk failing his kit. Ressurection and raise dead cast upon the fallen charge obviously negate this.