Multiple guards

[Optimae]

Is it possible for someone to have multiple guards? Is there a limit before it's no longer effective? If multiple guards are possible -- would the assailant have to defeat each guard simultaneously (assuming they can't bypass the defenses)?

[Bushranger]

As far as I know there is no limit to the number of people who can guard one person/thing.

As for the rest of your question I don't know exactly what you mean. Do you know how the guard skill works?

Let's say you're Merchant Amos from House Valika. You've just bought an ivory carving some grebber dug up from the ruins of Steinal and you want to keep it safe on your journey back to Allanak so you have hired eight ( people to guard you. When Bandit Malik attacks you each of those guards will have one opportunity to step in front of Malik and end up with him attacking them instead. If all eight fail then Bandit Malik will be fighting Merchant Amos. Even if all eight guards fail their guard skill check and Malik has managed to engage Amos in combat there are still eight people who will be fighting Malik and trying to use their rescue skill on Amos.

You can use both guard and rescue without actually having the skill. Skill level, obviously, increases the chances of performing those skills successfully.

If you mean NPC bodyguards they function exactly as PC's.

If Malik can kill Merchant Amos and get away before those eight guards kill him then no, he doesn't have to defeat them simultaneously.

Guard is nothing like a firewall where if you manage to get past it you'll have free access to what's behind it which is what your question sounds like you're asking.

EDIT: Also combat in Armageddon is not like a Bruce Lee movie where those eight guards would fight Bruce Lee one at a time. They would all be attacking him at the same time.

[Kronibas]

Yeah, it's possible to have multiple guards, and you won't probably get a hard-coded answer about numbers in relation to effectiveness.

If the guards are NPCs of the same clan, then others aside from the main blocker will likely automatically jump in, but if multiple PCs are guarding, the first one who succeeds in blocking will be the only one to automatically enter combat; other PCs guards will have to manually "assist," but any clan-coded comrades will likely automatically assist.

[Ourla]

Kronibaaaaaaas! 

[Kronibas]

Kronibaaaaaaas! 

Howdy 

[Optimae]

Perfect, thanks for the thorough answers!