D&D 5E Meet Achilles, Greatest Warrior of the Trojan War!

Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters, coming soon to Kickstarter, compiles Mike Myler's fantastic column here on EN World, with brand new art in a gorgeous full-colour book. Here's a quick look at a preliminary version of Achilles' entry.

Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters

Achilles. Lancelot. Robin Hood. Thor. Heroes, all.

The world is full of myths and legends which inspired those in our modern fiction and games. Iconic warriors and wizards, vampires and things from the deep, these legends are universally known.

Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters delves into these paragons of literature, fable, and folklore. From Ancient Greece to the Outer Realms, deepest Transylvania to the High Seas, you’ll meet champions and thieves, pirates and knights, demigods and fey queens, ancient evils and urban legends. Archetypal heroes meet exemplars of villainy like Blackbeard, Rasputin, Dracula, and Baba Yaga.

From Mike Myler’s popular column, this epic compilation of over 100 legendary heroes, villains, and monsters brings these characters to life for the 5th Edition of the world’s oldest roleplaying game.

 

[dave2008]

Ok, sure, but my point is that if they are great heroes... why do they have the stats of minions?

Any average PC Fighter will start the game with equal or higher stats than Achilles. By level 8 or 10, most will have a 20 in their primary attribute, while Achilles is still stuck at 16. So even if you're just saying Achilles was an average PC character, you're still not quite there yet; your version of Achilles's stats are sub-par even by the standard of the average PC, to say nothing of the average mook/minion. That kind of takes away from the glory of the greatest hero of the greatest epic cycle of the ancient world, no?

Nevermind, its not worth it.

 

[Mike Myler]

 

[Seramus]

I like this version much better.

 

[Xenonnonex]

I don't; DnD does.

Str is the ability score that governs both your accuracy (to hit) and damage. It is by far the single most important determinant of melee combat ability until very high levels. Leaving a legendary Greek hero at local-mall cop level strength is mystifying in such a system. The problem is then only compounded when Achilles is given ordinary-human levels of Dexterity and Constitution to boot.

A much better approach would be one like Rolemaster's Mythic Greece supplement (and I daresay DnD's Deities and Demigods) took. It recognized that the heroes of Greek epics went beyond ordinary stats: they were heroes. They had to have stats far beyond the ordinary, because (if you read the epics) they actually literally outfight and outwit the gods themselves.

This Achilles wouldn't even be able to finish basic training for the Marines.

Actually, HD and CR all factor into the equation of "strongest". It is not just singularly determined by Str.

 

[Quartz]

This version of Achilles have bug in DEX bonus - 17 +2

It's +3 on my screen. I think Achilles has been given the Duellist fighting style as his second style which is the source of the +2 extra damage.

I too would make him a Dex build with the Polearm Master, Sentinel, and Shield Master feats. Particularly if you're going for the Hollywood Achilles; high Dex being more appropriate than the Mobile feat. Lucky is certainly appropriate from his divine heritage, but he already has Indomitable. And I'd certainly bump him to 20th level for the extra ASI and attack, possibly with a few feats as Epic Boons

 

[Mercurius]

I know the design is based on the idea of a player character, but Achilles is a demigod, and I think it depends on whether you want to be faithful to PC rules or to Greek mythology. If the latter, I would think that an alternate rule for demigods would be something like +2 to all ability scores, with a higher maximum of 22, along with some other power(s) specific to the figure. For Achilles it would be Damage Resistance...I mean, he was supposed to be invulnerable to all attacks, except his heel.

Or imagine some kind of "Legendary" optional rule that allows for demigods and similar PCs being created. +2 to all ability scores (or possibly +10 to be allocated as desired, up to a maximum of 22), plus a Divine Feature of some kind (in this case, invulernability).

That said, I'd probably give him a 19 STR. If 20 is the strongest a mortal could possibly be, and Ajax was the strongest hero in the war and possibly the world, he'd be at 20, so Achilles a bit below that, meaning 18-19, with a higher DEX.

All that said, a nice build. I just think you need to stretch/alter the rules a bit to be faithful to Greek mythology.

 

[Mercurius]

A bit more. It is hard to give a clear ranking of the heroes of the Trojan war in terms of combat prowess, except that Achilles stood above everyone else. The runners-up include Diomedes, Ajax the Great, Hector, Odysseus, and Memnon, with a third tier including Sarpedon, Penthesilea, Ajax the Lesser, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Aeneas, and Patroclus.

If I had to pick #2, I'd go with Diomedes, who was an absolute terror and considering Achilles' Divine Pout, was probably the most death-dealing Greek hero of the war. After him, Ajax the Great was probably the most physically powerful, but Hector had heart, Odysseus had wits, and Memnon was very skilled.

 

[Garthanos]

I know the design is based on the idea of a player character, but Achilles is a demigod, and I think it depends on whether you want to be faithful to PC rules or to Greek mythology.

One might do a campaign that is something based on greek heros.

How about add 1 to each attribute per 5 levels then add your proficiency to two attributes which are your aspects. This would give demigod attribute levels up to 30 on your 1 attributes and probably 26 on the other or 2, 28s

The above corresponds to the stat values and common design paradigm of 4e, the assumption was as you advance you either progressed into or discovered demigod status or your talent and skills advanced so that effect is broadly like your stats advance that much. @Mercurius

Perhaps for nice flavor as a demigod you overshadow magic items that you use, so that they rarely grant you the kind of to hit and damage boosts they give mortals you might even break lesser ones accidentally or some other flavorful nerf. The value of a powerful item it doesn't break lol.

 

[Garthanos]

I probably would have made him a Dex fighter. 14/16/16 would have been a great spread for him, especially since his stamina was legendary. He literally ran for days without rest.

Ah just like in the Gilgamesh story!

 

[Mike Myler]

Some thoughts on playing demigods in 5e --> D&D 5E in Ancient Greece: The New Argonauts 5E Conversion