First, let me start out by saying that the last Pathfinding article was a curious hit among new readers. Specifically, people have been finding us rather by accident:
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| This is the last 24 hours worth of search results (top ten) that led people to arrive at Rocks Fall |
Humorously enough, part of our name ("everyone dies") is apparently a big keyword that people search for when trying to learn more about Mass Effect 3. But enough about that; Today, I'm Pathfinding the heroine from the ever-popular Nintendo franchise Metroid - Samus Aran. (continued after the jump)
Samus Aran
When constructing any of the characters for the Pathfinding series, I try and heavily consider what about the subject matter is most iconic. For Ms. Aran, it goes without saying that her exoskeleton is the most memorable part of the Metroid Experience. She has a detailed heads-up display, a gun arm that fires rockets and energy blasts, and can morph into a small rolling ball that can zip along at very fast speeds.
But Samus isn't always a super-soldier. In fact, the latest installment of the ever-popular fighting game Super Smash Brothers (that is to say, Brawl) features both Samus and her unsuited form (known as "Zero Suit" Samus) as playable fighters. So in order to faithfully recreate Samus, she needs to have capability inside and outside of the suit. Furthermore, her suit must be able to serve a variety of eccentric functions, and must be capable of producing a variety of offensive abilities.
So let's take a look at our goals:
- Samus must have a utility suit that prevents her from harm and gives her perception options
- Samus must be able to fire a projectile weapon that can produce a variety of different effects and damage types
- Samus must have the ability to become a small, fast ball (or, at least, small and fast).
- Samus must be able to function outside her power suit, and be able to don and remove the suit at least somewhat quickly
The first thing that sprang to mind when considering these goals was the fact that the Synthesist (A Summoner archetype from Ultimate Magic) is a Summoner that fuses herself with her Eidolon rather than summoning it to her side. Because the flavor of the class is so vague and up to the player, we can easily take a Bipedal Eidolon and fashion it into her suit of armor. Choosing evolutions such as "Low Light Vision" and "Scent" can expand the perceptive abilities, emulating a HUD (as can more expensive ones such as Darkvision and Tremorsense). Evolutions such as "Resistance" and "Improved Natural Armor" also work well, adding to the extra defense a powered exoskeleton would have. Furthermore, her Synthesist "armor" would not slow her down or encumber her at all.
Giving Samus feats to use firearms makes sense. Additionally, it makes her deadly accurate.
Lastly, we mix in a little bit of Myrmidarch (a Magus Archetype that allows for spell-striking via ranged attacks). Utilizing 1st and 2nd level Magus spells, we can create a variety of effects to channel through our gun blasts. We can also cast beneficial spells on ourselves to emulate Samus-esque features, such as "reduce person" (tiny ball, anyone?).
As always, I built this using NPC gold so she is ready to throw directly into a game. Without further ado, I present Samus Aran!
Samus Aran, Varia Suit CR 11
XP 12,800Female human outsider Synthesist 7/Myrmidarch 5
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Darkvision; Perception +20
Defense
AC 28, touch 16, flat-footed 23 (+5 Dex, +10 natural armor, +2 shield, +1 deflection); hp 75 (11d8+22) Suit hp 46 (6d10+12)
Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +14
Immune fire, cold
Defensive Abilities evasion, shielded meld, Magus arcana (arcane redoubt)
Offense
Speed 30 ft. Melee +1 Revolver +15 (1d8+1),
Full Attack +1 Revolver +15/+10 (1d8+1),
Attack Options Shot on the Run, Point Blank Shot
Special Attack ranged spellstrike, spell combat
Evolutions Ability Score Increase (Dex), Ability Score Increase (Dex), Immunity (Fire), Immunity (Cold), Scent, Improved Natural Armor, Claws, Limbs (arms), Limbs (legs)
Summoner Spells Known (CL 7th)
3rd (1/day) – locate creature, rejuvenate eidolon
2nd (3/day) – lesser evolution surge, haste, see invisibility, glitterdust (DC 13)
1st (5/day) – reduce person, ray of sickening, lesser rejuvenate eidolon, expeditious retreat, jump
0 – resistance, mending, message, daze, guidance, detect magic
2nd (3/day) – lesser evolution surge, haste, see invisibility, glitterdust (DC 13)
1st (5/day) – reduce person, ray of sickening, lesser rejuvenate eidolon, expeditious retreat, jump
0 – resistance, mending, message, daze, guidance, detect magic
Magus Spells Prepared (CL 5th)
Base Atk +9; CMB +12; CMD 28
Feats Amateur Gunslinger, Point Blank Shot, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms), Precise Shot, Dodge, Mobility, Shot on the Run, Wind Stance
Skills Climb +14, Spellcraft +18, Swim +14, Acrobatics +19, Perception +20, Intimidate +16
SQ fused eidolon
Languages Common, three languages of your choice
Combat Gear +1 Revolver, Belt of incredible dexterity +2, +1 Chain shirt (not equipped), +1 buckler, Ring of protection +1, Amulet of natural armor +1, Cloak of resistance +2, Grappling Hook, and 300 gold worth of additional equipment or gold
Female human Synthesist 7/Myrmidarch 5
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Perception +12
hp 64 (11d8+11)
Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +12Defensive Abilities Magus arcana (arcane redoubt)
Melee +1 Revolver +14 (1d8+1),
Full Attack +1 Revolver +14/+9 (1d8+1),
Attack Options Shot on the Run, Point Blank Shot
Special Attack ranged spellstrike, spell combat, fused eidolon
Summoner Spells Known (CL 7th)
Base Atk +8; CMB +7; CMD 22
Feats Ability Score Increase (Dex), Ability Score Increase (Dex), Immunity (Fire), Immunity (Cold), Skilled (Perception), Improved Natural Armor, Claws, Limbs (arms), Limbs (legs)
Skills Climb +14, Spellcraft +18, Swim +14, Acrobatics +19, Perception +12, Intimidate +16
SQ fused eidolon
Languages Common, three languages of your choice
Combat Gear +1 Revolver, Belt of incredible dexterity +2, +1 studded leather, +1 Buckler, Ring of protection +1, Amulet of natural armor +1, Cloak of resistance +2, Grappling Hook, 300 gold worth of additional equipment or gold
2nd – scorching ray, reloading hands
1st – shocking grasp (x3), ray of enfeeblement
0(at will) – mage hand, flare, light, ray of frost
1st – shocking grasp (x3), ray of enfeeblement
0(at will) – mage hand, flare, light, ray of frost
Statistics
Str 16, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 13Base Atk +9; CMB +12; CMD 28
Feats Amateur Gunslinger, Point Blank Shot, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms), Precise Shot, Dodge, Mobility, Shot on the Run, Wind Stance
Skills Climb +14, Spellcraft +18, Swim +14, Acrobatics +19, Perception +20, Intimidate +16
SQ fused eidolon
Languages Common, three languages of your choice
Combat Gear +1 Revolver, Belt of incredible dexterity +2, +1 Chain shirt (not equipped), +1 buckler, Ring of protection +1, Amulet of natural armor +1, Cloak of resistance +2, Grappling Hook, and 300 gold worth of additional equipment or gold
Samus Aran, Zero Suit CR 11
XP 12,800 Female human Synthesist 7/Myrmidarch 5
LG Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Perception +12
Defense
AC 23, touch 16, flat-footed 18 (+5 Dex, +4 armor, +2 shield, +1 deflection, +1 natural); hp 64 (11d8+11)
Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +12Defensive Abilities Magus arcana (arcane redoubt)
Offense
Speed 30 ft. Melee +1 Revolver +14 (1d8+1),
Full Attack +1 Revolver +14/+9 (1d8+1),
Attack Options Shot on the Run, Point Blank Shot
Special Attack ranged spellstrike, spell combat, fused eidolon
Summoner Spells Known (CL 7th)
3rd (1/day) – locate creature, rejuvenate eidolon
2nd (3/day) – lesser evolution surge, haste, see invisibility, glitterdust (DC 13)
1st (5/day) – reduce person, ray of sickening, lesser rejuvenate eidolon, expeditious retreat, jump
0 – resistance, mending, message, daze, guidance, detect magic
Magus Spells Prepared (CL 5th)
2nd (3/day) – lesser evolution surge, haste, see invisibility, glitterdust (DC 13)
1st (5/day) – reduce person, ray of sickening, lesser rejuvenate eidolon, expeditious retreat, jump
0 – resistance, mending, message, daze, guidance, detect magic
2nd – scorching ray, reloading hands
1st – shocking grasp (x3), ray of enfeeblement
0(at will) – mage hand, flare, light, ray of frost
1st – shocking grasp (x3), ray of enfeeblement
0(at will) – mage hand, flare, light, ray of frost
Statistics
Str 8, Dex 20, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 13 Base Atk +8; CMB +7; CMD 22
Feats Ability Score Increase (Dex), Ability Score Increase (Dex), Immunity (Fire), Immunity (Cold), Skilled (Perception), Improved Natural Armor, Claws, Limbs (arms), Limbs (legs)
Skills Climb +14, Spellcraft +18, Swim +14, Acrobatics +19, Perception +12, Intimidate +16
SQ fused eidolon
Languages Common, three languages of your choice
Combat Gear +1 Revolver, Belt of incredible dexterity +2, +1 studded leather, +1 Buckler, Ring of protection +1, Amulet of natural armor +1, Cloak of resistance +2, Grappling Hook, 300 gold worth of additional equipment or gold
This entry was posted
on March 15, 2012
at Thursday, March 15, 2012
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Pathfinder,
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