SangoProduction
2023-04-06, 02:36 AM
We all know One Piece (at least in passing. I doubt many have actually seen the over a thousand episodes, let alone the decades upon decades of ... jesus I feel old)
Anyway, I failed all 3 sleep checks, and so I'm here hoping to exhaust myself. And it makes sense, as it really does just very much feel like watching a game of D&D. Even with the party breakups easily just being "the player simply didn't want to show up today, so he's on the ship... or lost. Because Zoro needs a gimmick."
Oh, also I only watched to like episode 300 ish. So like. Not even pretending I know the entire history of the characters.
So, let's start off with Gum Gum himself. Luffy is about as straightforward of a build as he is a character.
In fact, he basically only uses one sphere - Destruction. With only the basic blast type (bludgeoning). I mean, he occasionally tosses people around or knocks them down, so he might be using a few others, but his attacks are about as archetypal of the basic blast as it gets.
I would argue that he does have a few Blast Shape talents though. The first one that appears different from his basic Gum-Gum-Pistol is his Gatling. Which functionally could just be a refluffed Pistol, and make no difference... and that's precisely how it works in the show, but regardless. Blast Salvo lets you divide the blast damage into multiple "surges" which each have a chance to hit.
Energy Leap would be for literally every single time he uses himself as a sling shot.
Energy Satellite for same reason as Blast Salvo, but better.
Energetic Tether for whenever he goes for the "grappling" angle. Which is universally negated about as easily as this talent suggests, so a great pick really.
His "Gum Gum Balloon," I argue tends to be used as a Rebuff blast, which increases his AC / Reflex bonus in response to an attack. Could also take Lighten from Enhance sphere for the fall damage reduction if desired.
And I would also take Shaped Blast, since he doesn't tend to use blast types, letting him treat 1s and 2s as 3s for his rolls. (3,3,3,4,5,6 is a fine distribution)
Now, he's obviously no dedicated mage. So I'd say he's actually a MageKnight.
He'd have taken Break Resistance (successful attacks - including spell attacks - reduce spell resistance)
He'd also have definitely taken Spell Shield (immediate action spell resistance - Gum Gum Balloon), and Unbreakable (DR) plus Swift Combatant (free action movement, in case Energy Leap wasn't always called for?)
Reasonable archetypes would be: Doomblade + Martial Mageknight, (To make the destructive blast function as a weapon for mechanics. I fundamentally disagree, because that's fluff. But maybe he's min-maxing for damage. Who knows.)
Resizer (doesn't actually tend to be a thing. And he actually never really shrinks. But he does often just grow an burst buildings and other constraining objects with great strength.)
I actually say he doesn't need one at all, because he... just is.
Now for Zoro, the lost swordsman who always shows up late to the session.
Perhaps the most redundant of the characters, whose only motivation is summed up as "be strong," and every time he proves to have grown stronger... it's forgotten by the next arc. So he somehow becomes more of the gag character than Usop as things go on. Strange.
But he's basically the backup Luffy for when the party is split.
Just copy/paste Luffy's build, swapping Bludgeoning with Slashing.
Also probably take a sphere drawback to only make melee touch attacks. But then he unlocks wind shots. So. Eh. I guess he never uses it at any rate.
Usop, the long-nose long-shot
Start off by stating he's definitely a Technician. And despite the joke that he is a compulsive liar, his lies never actually work. And when they do, the scene goes out of its way to disprove the lie. So at most 1 rank in Bluff.
His Independent Inventions, without a doubt, are his slingshot, and the boat.
Insights are: Chemical (explosives), and Steampower (almost exclusively for the Grapple Gun which does see quite some use), and Professional Insight (bonus to craft checks). Could argue Gunpowder, but he really doesn't, despite his professed love of fireworks.
Improvements: Explosive Round, Powerful Load. Super Punch (from impact dials). Could argue a refluffed Pressurized Shot with him just pulling back the shot for a move action then firing it with added damage. Really Usop doesn't get many abilities up to episode 300.
Spheres: Sniper and Barrage spheres tend to work quite well. As does Scout. He doesn't tend to be in combat, and when he is, it tends to be "haha, that doesn't work." But he hypothetically displays those skills.
Alchemy sphere also works very well. And technician's gadget, Launcher, is basically a Slingshot.
Feat: Basic Magic Training (Creation sphere), taking a drawback so he can only generate gasses from his dials.
Chopper, the doctor (I would never let a doctor named Chopper work on me. That seems like a bad idea.)
Yeah. Just a Scholar. Specifically a Doctor. (Imagine my shock!) Probably min-maxed everything to maximize his Heal skill.
Oh, right. He does also transform on occasion. So splash in some Shifter, with the Lycanthropic drawback so he can only target himself, and spend feats (that aren't used on maxing out Heal) on grabbing additional Alteration talents.
Sanji, the Chef
Very important role for the ship. Not super important to the combat functions of the party. Just make him a monk, and call it a day. Thankfully characters are more than combat stats. Not that Zoro's player ever learned that. But at least Zoro did keep coming up with new gimmicks to try each time he came to the table.
Nami
Again, "navigator" is a crucial role for the ship, but not to combat. Just a rogue, with Basic Magical Training (Weather). Yes, believe it or not, but she has a toy pipe that can randomly whip up storms that can just outright kill enemies on their own. And it's so rarely used. (But still used more often than Zoro's ability to "cut steel," with enemies coming up later with only "bodies like iron", who can again deflect his swords. It's got to be an intentional gag.)
Probably better represented as a magic item, specifically a wand, rather than a build choice, but not much else to talk about.
Oh. We need to throw in some illusion sphere as well.
Niko Robin
Not to do her dirty or anything, but I actually say that Symbiat is by far the most appropriate class. (Well, ignoring Incanter, which is just "go build your own class"). Save for the Mind Link, each of the abilities mostly match her displayed capabilities. (Even Battlefield Relay was used as she instructed the crew on how to tackle the opponents.)
Her spheres are Telekinesis (with visual display of being hands) and Mind (mostly cognition talents). Also, we'll just be making the generous assumption that they are using 5e's telekinesis.
Telekinesis talents: Finesse (fine control), Flight, Parry, Powerful Telekinesis, Telekinetic Crush (damage with telekinesis), Telekinetic Manuever (though I'd say it's just a fluffed effective "levitate" rather than grapple)
(Also going to need a divination talent, or to find that feat which lets you "see" within your telekinesis range. I can't seem to find it.)
For Mind sphere: Arcane Calculator, Intuit Knowledge, Mental Archive (presumably - could just be really good skill checks), Polyglot (literally her near-singular plot point), and Rapid Processing. Also Read Thoughts is very easily argued, as well as Inspiration.
Anyway, I failed all 3 sleep checks, and so I'm here hoping to exhaust myself. And it makes sense, as it really does just very much feel like watching a game of D&D. Even with the party breakups easily just being "the player simply didn't want to show up today, so he's on the ship... or lost. Because Zoro needs a gimmick."
Oh, also I only watched to like episode 300 ish. So like. Not even pretending I know the entire history of the characters.
So, let's start off with Gum Gum himself. Luffy is about as straightforward of a build as he is a character.
In fact, he basically only uses one sphere - Destruction. With only the basic blast type (bludgeoning). I mean, he occasionally tosses people around or knocks them down, so he might be using a few others, but his attacks are about as archetypal of the basic blast as it gets.
I would argue that he does have a few Blast Shape talents though. The first one that appears different from his basic Gum-Gum-Pistol is his Gatling. Which functionally could just be a refluffed Pistol, and make no difference... and that's precisely how it works in the show, but regardless. Blast Salvo lets you divide the blast damage into multiple "surges" which each have a chance to hit.
Energy Leap would be for literally every single time he uses himself as a sling shot.
Energy Satellite for same reason as Blast Salvo, but better.
Energetic Tether for whenever he goes for the "grappling" angle. Which is universally negated about as easily as this talent suggests, so a great pick really.
His "Gum Gum Balloon," I argue tends to be used as a Rebuff blast, which increases his AC / Reflex bonus in response to an attack. Could also take Lighten from Enhance sphere for the fall damage reduction if desired.
And I would also take Shaped Blast, since he doesn't tend to use blast types, letting him treat 1s and 2s as 3s for his rolls. (3,3,3,4,5,6 is a fine distribution)
Now, he's obviously no dedicated mage. So I'd say he's actually a MageKnight.
He'd have taken Break Resistance (successful attacks - including spell attacks - reduce spell resistance)
He'd also have definitely taken Spell Shield (immediate action spell resistance - Gum Gum Balloon), and Unbreakable (DR) plus Swift Combatant (free action movement, in case Energy Leap wasn't always called for?)
Reasonable archetypes would be: Doomblade + Martial Mageknight, (To make the destructive blast function as a weapon for mechanics. I fundamentally disagree, because that's fluff. But maybe he's min-maxing for damage. Who knows.)
Resizer (doesn't actually tend to be a thing. And he actually never really shrinks. But he does often just grow an burst buildings and other constraining objects with great strength.)
I actually say he doesn't need one at all, because he... just is.
Now for Zoro, the lost swordsman who always shows up late to the session.
Perhaps the most redundant of the characters, whose only motivation is summed up as "be strong," and every time he proves to have grown stronger... it's forgotten by the next arc. So he somehow becomes more of the gag character than Usop as things go on. Strange.
But he's basically the backup Luffy for when the party is split.
Just copy/paste Luffy's build, swapping Bludgeoning with Slashing.
Also probably take a sphere drawback to only make melee touch attacks. But then he unlocks wind shots. So. Eh. I guess he never uses it at any rate.
Usop, the long-nose long-shot
Start off by stating he's definitely a Technician. And despite the joke that he is a compulsive liar, his lies never actually work. And when they do, the scene goes out of its way to disprove the lie. So at most 1 rank in Bluff.
His Independent Inventions, without a doubt, are his slingshot, and the boat.
Insights are: Chemical (explosives), and Steampower (almost exclusively for the Grapple Gun which does see quite some use), and Professional Insight (bonus to craft checks). Could argue Gunpowder, but he really doesn't, despite his professed love of fireworks.
Improvements: Explosive Round, Powerful Load. Super Punch (from impact dials). Could argue a refluffed Pressurized Shot with him just pulling back the shot for a move action then firing it with added damage. Really Usop doesn't get many abilities up to episode 300.
Spheres: Sniper and Barrage spheres tend to work quite well. As does Scout. He doesn't tend to be in combat, and when he is, it tends to be "haha, that doesn't work." But he hypothetically displays those skills.
Alchemy sphere also works very well. And technician's gadget, Launcher, is basically a Slingshot.
Feat: Basic Magic Training (Creation sphere), taking a drawback so he can only generate gasses from his dials.
Chopper, the doctor (I would never let a doctor named Chopper work on me. That seems like a bad idea.)
Yeah. Just a Scholar. Specifically a Doctor. (Imagine my shock!) Probably min-maxed everything to maximize his Heal skill.
Oh, right. He does also transform on occasion. So splash in some Shifter, with the Lycanthropic drawback so he can only target himself, and spend feats (that aren't used on maxing out Heal) on grabbing additional Alteration talents.
Sanji, the Chef
Very important role for the ship. Not super important to the combat functions of the party. Just make him a monk, and call it a day. Thankfully characters are more than combat stats. Not that Zoro's player ever learned that. But at least Zoro did keep coming up with new gimmicks to try each time he came to the table.
Nami
Again, "navigator" is a crucial role for the ship, but not to combat. Just a rogue, with Basic Magical Training (Weather). Yes, believe it or not, but she has a toy pipe that can randomly whip up storms that can just outright kill enemies on their own. And it's so rarely used. (But still used more often than Zoro's ability to "cut steel," with enemies coming up later with only "bodies like iron", who can again deflect his swords. It's got to be an intentional gag.)
Probably better represented as a magic item, specifically a wand, rather than a build choice, but not much else to talk about.
Oh. We need to throw in some illusion sphere as well.
Niko Robin
Not to do her dirty or anything, but I actually say that Symbiat is by far the most appropriate class. (Well, ignoring Incanter, which is just "go build your own class"). Save for the Mind Link, each of the abilities mostly match her displayed capabilities. (Even Battlefield Relay was used as she instructed the crew on how to tackle the opponents.)
Her spheres are Telekinesis (with visual display of being hands) and Mind (mostly cognition talents). Also, we'll just be making the generous assumption that they are using 5e's telekinesis.
Telekinesis talents: Finesse (fine control), Flight, Parry, Powerful Telekinesis, Telekinetic Crush (damage with telekinesis), Telekinetic Manuever (though I'd say it's just a fluffed effective "levitate" rather than grapple)
(Also going to need a divination talent, or to find that feat which lets you "see" within your telekinesis range. I can't seem to find it.)
For Mind sphere: Arcane Calculator, Intuit Knowledge, Mental Archive (presumably - could just be really good skill checks), Polyglot (literally her near-singular plot point), and Rapid Processing. Also Read Thoughts is very easily argued, as well as Inspiration.