This one comes from the Stephen R. Donaldson 'The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant' (aka the "White Gold Wielder"). It's been a while since I've read, so there may be some better ways to do things, but they seem like a very special class of people... (ie. supernatural secret service agents who neither sleep nor die) Here's a link to like a book review on Amazon.com

The Bloodguard have but one reason to exist - to safeguard the life of those they protect. Their favorite such characters are those that live off the land (LOL), players of honor and virtue, and those who wear an artifact ring. Should they enter a coop game with a suitable character, they may (knowingly or in silence) take them as their charge and protect them with their lives. No gift or remuneration of any kind may ever be taken for this service (exception: a book or item of teleport, stone curse, or wizardry which would greatly increase his ability to save life). Here are some points on their play:

-- BG do not offend or insult their charge by stone cursing every single creature Likewise killing everything would only encourage foolhardiness next time, so their level or 'help' must be gauged very carefully

-- If their charge should die, the Bloodguard will do its best to clear the immediate death site, then will seek purification by casting a firewall and dying in it.

-- The Guardian spell is essential to the Bloodguard, and a Golem may also be helpful. Chain Lightning is never used, for it may hurt their charge, and Fireball and Flash must never be allowed to harm their charge.

-- If the Bloodguard ever flees battle and lets the charge die, or if he MK's the charge, he has failed miserably and must leave the game in shame. If this happens three times, the Bloodguard snaps, and loses his identity and power (ie, delete, or make a completely new variant, dropping BG designation)

-- The Bloodguard revels in helping a character kill Diablo for his/her first time at that difficulty, and his title is simply "Bloodguard of the nnth circle", where nn is the number of dots he has helped other characters gain.

-- BG loyalty is to a character, and not the party - their life is of no concern to him (for that game), except in how their actions affect the charge.

-- BG may use any weapon and armor, although Staffs are most commonly used, especially Bountifull Guardian, Apocolype, and Stone Curse. (not Nova) However, they do NOT use bows, for that is too likely to harm their charge. Teleport is a vital spell, making Naj's Puzzler (as well as Mindcry) outstanding items. The Bloodguard are well known for being lethal with just their hands (and feet).

-- It is not uncommon for a BG to learn golem early and practice his skills by escorting his golem through the dungeon.

-- It is common for the BG to choose to wear NO resistances and use a shield, so as to be able to block incoming fireballs and bloodstars from hitting their charge.

Suggestion for Coop play - Ironman game. Mage as their charge. In Ironman, there is no interaction with the townsfolk (ie. live off the land). Goal: for the mage to escape without death from the stairs leading from the Catacombs up to town. Alternate: a ring of white or gold must be found and warn by the Mage before he can leave the dungeon. Another combo that would work well in Ironman- a Sorcerer (regular, APM, Elemental Wiz...), a Bloodguard Warrior, a Valkyrie rogue, and another Warrior (BAR, Immortal, Cavalier, Ogre/Gnoll...).

Note: to be most effective, the Bloodguard will strongly prefer to host the game, so that if a monster is adjacent to both he and their charge, the Bloodguard will be the target chosen by the monster. The Bloodguard variant is dedicated to Cyrene(AMZ)/GrayMare for her outstanding sense of 'destiny', and to Steven R. Donaldson.