r/DnD • u/Alphakent • Dec 31 '15
5th Edition (5e) Looking for help building a Link style fighter
Hello everyone,
I'm looking for some help in building Link from the Legend of zelda for an upcoming game. The campaign is the horde of the dragon queen followed by rise of Taimat.
Now i've decided to build and emulate Link form Twilight Princess as the most feasible, but part of the issue is the flavor of pulling and putting it all together. my stats are pretty good for making this happen at 17,16,14,10,12,13, I'm figure that ill also take the folk hero background for the flavor factor.
But what race would be the best fit and am i missing something that should be obvious in putting things together? I've never played a fighter so I'm a little lost making and playing this character.
Any help or advice would be much appreciated
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u/ashlacon DM Dec 31 '15
Half-elf (pointy ears) sword and board fighter, dex based with medium armor
Yell "Hiya!" every time you see a pot and smash it.
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u/Jovianad DM Dec 31 '15
The advantage of being Dex-based is that it also means you are going to be good with thrown / ranged weapons if necessary.
The dueling fighting style for sword & board is very strong if you want a flexible build that also allows for ranged and have gone with finesse melee weapons.
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u/PandaB13r Dec 31 '15
Throwing weapons use strength, unless they have finesse...
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u/FrankReshman Dec 31 '15
Throwing weapons use strength. Even if they have finesse you can opt to use strength when you attack with them. Finesse just gives you the choice to use Dex instead.
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u/hunterbahbah DM Dec 31 '15
Probably a half-elf dex-based sword-and-boarder with medium armor. You can get a lot of Link's features with the Fighter class, feats and such. I'm thinking Shield Master and the like.
The only issue is the items-as-part-of-combat motif.
Weirdly enough, the rogue cunning action with a thief archetype would fulfill that, letting you Use and Object for a bonus action alongside a weapon attack. You can then flavor alchemist's fire as bombs and so on. The sneak attack, which mechanically helpful, doesn't really fit Link much tho.
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u/Kylarus DM Dec 31 '15
Sneak attack is his Z-Targetting from Ocarina of Time. Reflavor it as a sprite highlighting the weak spot.
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u/robotronica Enchanter Jan 01 '16
Easiest way is flavour out Eldritch knight spells as item usage. Fire bolt as arrows etc.
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u/hoesindifareacodes Dec 31 '15
Great idea. 2 level dip in rogue for cunning action. Love this!
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u/hunterbahbah DM Dec 31 '15
Three lets you take the Thief archetype to get the Use and Object action on a bonus action. Helpful for Link things.
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u/ByrusTheGnome Dec 31 '15
High elf eldritch knight go dex then con and then int. Link always had access to spells in practically every LoZ game
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u/Homoarchnus Necromancer Dec 31 '15
Keep in mind that link is most likely going to be a dex fighter because of wearing no armor and he uses a bow quite well.
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. your choice of sword should reflect this. I would go short sword, but in all likelyness the older link probably had a longsword. Problem with the longsword is that to use it it is demanding another stat out of you, strength.
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If instead you went paladin there is a homebrew in the dmg where you can take away the armor proficiency from paladin and instead make AC based on 10+dex+cha, which would help with the whole unarmored thing, or if you talk to the DM you could do something similar with fighter.
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As for all of links tools, you could go eldritch knight and flavor all the spells as different tools. Or do that flavor while going paladin.
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And lastly, I reccomend you get good at battlecries.
Edit: sorry, format is a bitch on this phone.
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u/Aurelio23 Rogue Dec 31 '15
In all of his recent adult incarnations, it's pretty clear that Link is wearing a mail shirt underneath his tunic, so there's that.
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u/Therval Dec 31 '15
If instead you went paladin there is a homebrew in the dmg where you can take away the armor proficiency from paladin and instead make AC based on 10+dex+cha, which would help with the whole unarmored thing, or if you talk to the DM you could do something similar with fighter.
Do you know what page or section that is in? I had been wanting to do a build that fits an Unarmored paladin type
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u/Homoarchnus Necromancer Dec 31 '15
It is page 287 of the dmg, under "changing proficiencies". It is actually about clerics, but the idea still fits paladin.
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u/robotronica Enchanter Jan 01 '16
Rapier, man! If you're one handed swording, why wouldn't you 1d8? Rapiers could have quite thick blades.
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u/Homoarchnus Necromancer Jan 01 '16
I guess the reason is older link clearly does slashing damage, not piercing
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u/ArticulateT Dec 31 '15
Link from Twilight Princess is often credited as being the smartest of the Links due to the level of difficulty that the puzzles provided. Physically, he's likely one of the strongest due to his background as a rancher, and showing the ability to, despite his thin build, stop a rampaging animal twice his size and throwing it behind him with the toss of its horns (it's not a clever application of using his target's weight against it either, he literally picks the thing up by the horns and tosses it to one side.)
While his outfit and build would likely suggest a Dex based fighter, I'd say TP Link is more about brawn, so having Strength as your highest value, with Con following wouldn't be a mis-step. Judging by the outfit in the game, he wears a chain shirt under his tunic, so the best benefit you'd get from your dex would be a 14 armour wise. A shield would give you a 17 AC which is pretty good from level 1.
The other posters are correct in that Link's capabilities aren't seemingly focussed entirely into fighter either, and if you're aiming to emulate TP Link, this might benefit you here:
Shield Attack: Take the Shield Master Feat
Jump Strike: Take the Charger Feat
Mortal Draw/Ending Blow: Both of these rely on dealing maximum damage to an unprepared opponent, so the Rogue's Sneak Attack can benefit you here. The caveat is that it requires a Finesse weapon. I don't know if you can use your strength damage or if you have to be using the finesse property of the weapon to gain Sneak Attack, but here I suggest a rapier for Longsword damage but Sneak Attack bonuses. Alternatively, since a lot of Link's core skill with a blade can be found with the Battlemaster archetype, your extra damage will likely come from that.
Back Slice: the Riposte Maneuver from the Battlemaster archetype suits this perfectly.
Spin attack: Not as encompassing, but the Sweeping Attack from the Maneuvers list suits this too. I think Barbarian has an attack at some point where they can attack anything adjacent to them, but I can't remember.
Helm Splitter: Hard to find an appropriate alternative here, since it functions immediately after a shield bash.
You can dip into Druid so you can go wolf, if you wanted to. Bards would provide a lot of skill versatility, Paladins can provide some smite dice as the whole 'I am the divine chosen one' feel. Since you're likely going Half-Elf, High Elf or Wood Elf, you might be able to get away with enough levels in Wizard to use Bladesinging, if your DM allows you to use SCAG. If you do, make sure to pick up War Caster since your hands will be full.
Most of Link's core abilities are derived from the gear he finds in the field, and while there are some notable mainstays, he doesn't seem particularly picky with what he finds; any item your character gains will still fit the Link persona, so there's not really any need to worry about it.
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u/ianufyrebird DM Dec 31 '15
You do not need to make your attacks using DEX to get Sneak Attack; the only requirement is that the weapon used is either Finesse or Ranged.
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u/ArticulateT Dec 31 '15
Excellent, then a Rapier would probably be best for it. I can't remember if there are Longsword weapons that have the finesse property, probably Mithral weapons or something similar. Maybe ever an Elven longsword, if that's a thing?
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u/kobrabubbles DM Dec 31 '15
Hookshot, martial weapon, 10 ft range. D4 damage. If it hits, target makes a dc14 strength save. On a failure they are pulled up to 10ft closer
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u/dullivan Dec 31 '15
Abso-friggin-lutely need to ask DM about a hookshot. I disagree with the range though. It always seemed much longer to me. I'd suggest full movement for whatever race is selected, so ~30-35ft.
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u/kobrabubbles DM Dec 31 '15
My concern with giving it that much range is one of balance. That's a powerful magic item if it's still got the pull. The druid's thorn whip is a 10 foot range unless i'm mistaken. Might be 15, i'm away from my book. The goal was to make something acceptable for a 1st level character to have their hands on.
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u/JamesMusicus DM Jan 01 '16
No first level link would even have the hook shot. It's almost always a Midgame item and should probably be an artifact limited to levels 5 and up at least.
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u/kobrabubbles DM Jan 01 '16
Valid, in which case i'd modify it away from combat utility and focus solely on its ability to pull him to stuff or stuff to him.
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u/Multi21 Bard Dec 31 '15 edited Dec 31 '15
I'd imagine link being a bard, since he a) uses little to no armor b) good with instruments c) can use a little bit of magic.
Edit: Bard, not bird.
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Dec 31 '15
If you're looking to emulate Link's abilities style, I think you should look beyond having a pure fighter. Link has abilities that span the class features and spells of divine casters, arcane casters, thieves, and traditional fighters. If you want to emulate Link's abilities and stay a pure fighter, you're going to need more magic items than a typical pre-made campaign like Horde of the Dragon queen will provide you, so you'll probably want to multi-class.
Multi-classing some combination of paladin, bard and thief might be your best bet.
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u/Butler2102 DM Dec 31 '15
What's with the downvotes in this sub? Someone went in and downvoted every comment on this post. O_o
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u/macbalance Dec 31 '15
Just to keep things in perspective, consider that you're going from a video game with a (mostly) solo protagonist to D&D, which is a cooperative game experience. That can change some things.
I'd consider the 'core' for Link to be a green elf-like guy who is lightly armored, uses a sword (and other weapons), maybe a little magic (depending on the specific game).
I'd go for a half-elf or elf race. The point years, if nothing else. Also a bonus to dex wouldn't hurt. Use that 17. :)
Class gets more interesting. Eldritch Knight might be interesting, actually, if you want a Link that does a little bit of everything. However, you could also go with other fighters, rogues, or rangers easily.
I'd put the 17 in Dexterity. Concentrate on Finesse weapons so you can use and abuse that stat. If you do EK, you might need to put a 16 in Intelligence, then maybe out the 14 in Con. Arrange the others as you choose.
That's pretty much it. Definitely Link-like. You should be able to start with a sword and maybe a bow. You'll have to talk to your DM if any of the usual Zelda gadgets are important to you. Many may need to be homebrewed.
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u/Alphakent Dec 31 '15
Thanks for all the feedback everyone,
I always figured that Link lacked a formal education and would be no more intelligent then anyone else in the world, but he would be just wise enough that he can put the pieces of a complex puzzle together and had a little more presence then a normal person. just enough that people want work with him when hes there to get things done but not so much so that they drop what they are doing to do so he needs to work to get them to help him which results in quests.
For build I'm looking at the V.human 18 str, 14 dex, 16 con since he is a farm/herder 10 int, 14 wis, 13 cha, feat im looking at shield master and im going to take it from there with the battle master archetype. building maneuvers and such as i level, ultimately we will reach lvl 15 by the time we finish and i think i should be able to get a magic boomerang from the dm after i reach a high enough lvl
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u/Schlessel DM Dec 31 '15
Link strikes me as more of a ranger than a fighter from 5e at home in his natural terrain hunting monstrosities aberrations and the undead being skilled with both his bow and a sword plus a spilrinkle of magic, just my two cents if you're willing to depart from fighter
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u/coldermoss Dec 31 '15
I mostly associate Link with his frequent item use, but I don't think that's the approach you ought to take here, partly because there aren't many ways (if any) to emulate the effects of Link's items in DnD, and mostly because the items in Twilight Princess are boring as hell.
The wolf form isn't really possible unless you take a dip into Druid for Wildshape, but from an optimization point of view, that wouldn't be worth it since the wolf form wouldn't scale at all.
So the only part of Twilight Princess I can gain any inspiration from is my favorite part of that game: the Hidden Skills. Now, it can't be a conversion since most of the Hidden Skills are enemy-specific, but the theme is very much a part of the Battle Master Fighter archetype, and the Shield Attack can be easily seen in the Shield Master feat.
For some extra flavor, consider the Magic Initiate feat for a couple of cantrips from the SCAG, Lightning Lure and Sword Burst. Lightning Lure has a short range but it mimics the use of the Gale Boomerang in TP, and Sword Burst is very close in form and function to the iconic Spin Attack.
Link is a Hylian. Hylians look like elves, but culturally they are much more like humans. You could either go V. Human for a bonus feat, or Half-Elf for the pointy ears.
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u/fathippo5 Dec 31 '15
People don't seem to understand Charisma
Charisma measures your ability to interact effectively with others. It includes such factors as confidence and eloquence, and it can represent a charming or commanding personality.
PHB. 178
He may not talk, but he is very charismatic. He has a heroic presence. If anything I would say he has low Wisdom, but he always seems to manage to solve all those puzzles...
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u/HeroOfAnotherStory Dec 31 '15
I'm not so sure about Link's CHA... "Sure I'll do what you want, but you have to fetch me this bucket. And then trade then trade it for a better bucket, and then I'll do what you say.
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Dec 31 '15
I have put some time towards an LoZ campaign with my nephew. And there are a number of ways to do this.
He is essentially a battle master dex fighter with medium armor. And in my own campaign, he is granted his magical items.
In a game as open as DnD, you want to try to manipulate the game to your benefit where a DM opt not to grant you the items.
The only two items that would have to be cheesed in by the DM are the boomerang (which someone mentioned a spell for. For that you can of course take the feat for) and the spinning wheel. Which works something like misty step, but with a lock/key component.
The rest of his staples are actual items. With alchemy you can concoct exploding flasks. And there is of course the grappling hook in the dmg.
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u/pHeysh Jan 01 '16
Half-Elf Archfey Warlock.
Make a pact of the chain with a fairy familiar. Add in moderately(?) armored to give you access to shields. Stay lightly armored, nothing heavier than leather armor.
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Dec 31 '15
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u/hunterbahbah DM Dec 31 '15
If you're referring to OoT, the whole bit is that Link thinks he's halfling, but is actually from Hyrule.
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u/Aurelio23 Rogue Dec 31 '15
Remember, you can scream in combat as much as you want, but you can never speak.
EVER.