Guard

A guard fighting on the party's side is the city watch officer who agreed to escort the prisoner, the hired bodyguard from the merchant guild, or the loyal household guard the duke loaned for the journey. CR 1/8 means the guard contributes one body and one spear, not damage. The play value is narrative: someone the party doesn't have to roleplay through, who can carry a torch and corroborate the party's story to the next checkpoint.

In combat, the guard is an absorber, not a contributor. AC 16 and 11 HP let them tank a single hit from anything CR-2-or-under, then drop. Position the guard between the party and whatever is incoming, accept that they will be unconscious by round two, and use the death or unconsciousness as a beat. The cleric who burns a spell slot to save the guard has just made the guard a recurring NPC, which is the actual goal.

Outside combat the guard's value is trust. They wear the city's livery, they know the password at the gate, and they can vouch for the party in a way no rogue's disguise kit reproduces. Use them as a key, not a weapon. The guard who marches the party past the customs inspector saves the session three skill checks.

Give the guard a name and one personal complaint. Players treat named guards differently from numbered ones, and the named guard's eventual death lands harder.

A guard is the city's response to whatever stupid thing the party just did. CR 1/8, AC 16 from chain shirt and shield, 11 HP, Spear at +3 for about 4 piercing. As a single combatant the guard exists to be knocked down; as a unit, four to eight of them are the local authority and the party's actual problem. Run guards in groups, run them with rules of engagement, and remember the spear has a 20/60 ft. range when thrown.

The opening turn for a guard squad is shouted demands, not attacks. Guards work for a captain, a baron, or a magistrate who wants the troublemakers detained, not killed. If the party surrenders, the encounter ends. If the party fights, the guards form a line, brace spears, and try to drop the most armored-looking PC first by gang-tackling. Two guards per PC is the practical breakpoint where a level-3 party loses initiative-by-action-economy, even though each individual guard is trivial. They will also throw spears at fleeing characters, which surprises players who assume melee mooks have no ranged option.

Damage priority is whoever is yelling threats or visibly casting. Guards have Common, so they understand "I'll burn this whole barracks down" and they take it personally. Passive Perception 12 means they spot the rogue's first sneak attempt about half the time.

The morale break comes fast. Half the squad down or the captain killed and the rest drop weapons, run for reinforcements, or back off to a defensive line. Guards do not fight to the death over a tavern brawl. They do fight to the death if the party is sacking the keep, and that distinction is the encounter.