Defender

From D20advanced

Be it a bodyguard, a tank, or a meat-shield, a defender is a common accomplice to many potent-but-vulnerable enemies heroes might face. Defenders are likely to be among among the most physically durable enemies on a battlefield, and they're the ones who put it to the best use. Unlike other NPC archetypes, the defender is more than capable of leaping to the rescue and taking a hit that might fell another ally. They tend to enhance the durability of another associated NPC by taking blows that would otherwise debilitate them.

Defenders are usually second-line warriors, despite their great toughness, because they need to stay close to more vulnerable (and usually more important) NPCs. They essentially give “softer” targets like artillery, enchanters, and masterminds an extra shield, allowing the “big guns” a measure of safety with which to act. Having someone like a defender around can drastically increase the life-expectancy of other NPCs in a fight, so long as the defender stays close to the NPC he's supposed to be guarding! What's more, while defenders have low Will resistances, having Second Chance (Mind Control) gives them the another opportunity to avoid a compulsion which might compromise his devotion. Thus most defenders have slightly better Will resistances against such things than you might otherwise expect.

In a fight, a defender usually takes advantage of weapons with increased reach or ranged weapons, so that the defender can remain behind the front lines and protect his charge while still contributing to the fight in some way. Against more mobile PCs, the defender will more likely be carrying a melee weapon and will attempt to swat away anyone who gets too close to his charge, relying on his Interpose feat to prevent his charge from being taken out.

A defender's biggest obvious weakness is an otherwise low will Resistance, which puts him at risk from other mind-affecting abilities. Beyond that, realize that a defender is going to be hit many more times than most other NPCs, and will be subject to more damage than others. In spite of a defender's high toughness, he'll simply be struck by attacks so many times that defenders rarely will remain standing for very long in a battle. Their loss won't lead to instant ruin for the NPCs, since defenders contribute little offensively, but it will open the “softer” NPCs to attacks that they'd likely prefer to avoid.

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