The Gods of EN World have spoken and demanded their brethren, the master of lightning and storm: Thor! A lot of folks have requested Thor but I was asked to move him up the Mythological Figures queue so here he is! There is a plethora of mythology on Odinson here—check out Wikipedia or the Ancient History Encyclopedia for more information. The really important bits that get into the stats below are his belt, gloves, and of course his hammer. I really blew it out with Sun Wukong however (he'll post soon!), so today let’s focus on the build because Thor’s extremely well known these days (although as a blonde fellow and not a redhead which is strange).
Design Notes: Thor here is a straight-up power build (inspired by one of my PCs who I’m trying to retire because paladin + eldritch knight is devastating and multiclassing those archetypes is weird). On that note, “eldritch knight” is a great example of one of those game terms that straddle the OGL and the 5ESRD—it’s a term that’s covered by a previous OGL in the context of a prestige class (not a class archetype), but because it’s under that OGL and I’m not explicitly using the wording of the features of that archetype (explicitly being the key word) it’s fit for print. Anyone interested in seeing some more IP treatment of Thor can check out a decidedly more Marvel-bent build over yonder, although if your goal is to make your character a RAW Thor—what’s below is one way to go about it provided you can get the three key items here.
Also of note I was really torn on figuring out what the classic Thor’s alignment is—on the whole he seems to be good, but often enough he’s doing something nefarious or untoward that I landed on neutral, but another ENWorld user pointed out that Lawful Good is more appropriate. For that little bit of divinity factor and a way to shoulder into his hits to really be a powerhouse he's got some feats which I'm sure you can all figure out the official names for.
The CR calculation for brought him in at only 13 but I think given his damage potential (all those smites!) that it should be something more like 15.
What do you folks think? My Norse-fu is weak and I’m keen to see how this can better embody the god of thunder so tell us what you’ve got!
Thor
Medium humanoid (human), lawful good fighter (eldritch knight) 14/barbarian (lightning harbinger) 4/paladin 2
Armor Class 18 (Constitution)
Hit Points 198 (16d8+4d12+100)
Speed 30 ft.
Saving Throws Str +13, Con +11
Skills Animal Handling +6, Athletics +13, Perception +6, Survival +6
Senses passive Perception 16
Languages Old Norse
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
Background Feature: Commoner’s Friend. Thor is always able to rely on the hospitality of commoners to help him hide or rest provided he poses no danger in doing so, going so far as to shield him from being discovered (though not at the cost of their lives).
Action Surge (1/short rest). Once on his turn, Thor can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.
Bonded Weapon: Mjölnir. Thor’s hammer can only be disarmed from him when he is incapacitated. In addition, as long as he is on the same plane of existence as Mjölnir he can use a bonus action to summon it into his hand.
Danger Sense. Thor has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, Thor can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
Disrupting Arcana. When Thor hits a creature with a weapon attack, it has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes to resist a spell before the end of Thor’s next turn.
Divine Sense (2/long rest). As an action, until the end of his next turn Thor knows the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of him that is not behind total cover. He knows the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence he senses, but not its identity. Within the same radius, he also detects the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.
Divine Smite. When Thor hits a creature with a melee weapon attack, he can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 3d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.
Feat: Fortune Points (3/long rest). Thor can spend one fortune point to reroll an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, or to force an attacker to reroll an attack made against him.
Feat: Power Attack. When Thor makes his first melee weapon attack in a turn, he can choose to take a -5 penalty to his melee weapon attack rolls in exchange for a +10 bonus to melee weapon damage. In addition, Thor can use a bonus action to make one melee weapon attack after he uses a melee weapon to reduce a creature to 0 hit points or scores a critical hit with it. Thor can only use this feature on his turn.
Indomitable (2/long rest). Thor can reroll a saving throw that he fails but must use the new roll.
Járngreipr. Thor’s magic iron gloves allow him to wield the hammer Mjölnir as a maul instead of a warhammer and are otherwise treated as gauntlets of ogre power.
Lay on Hands (10 points/long rest). As an action, Thor can touch a creature and restore a number of hit points to it, up to the maximum amount remaining in this pool. Alternatively, he can expend 5 hit points to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it.
Megingjörð. Thor’s magic belt increases his Strength to 21 (as a belt of hill giant strength; without it his Strength score is 15). While wielding Mjölnir, wearing this belt, and the gloves Járngreipr Thor’s Strength increases to 25.
Rage (2/long rest). On his turn, Thor can enter a rage as a bonus action. He is unable to cast or concentrate on spells while raging (although he can still use Divine Smite). His rage lasts for 1 minute, ending early if he is knocked unconscious or if his turn ends and he hasn’t either attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. Thor can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits.
Reckless Attack. When Thor makes his first attack on his turn, he can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives him advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until Thor’s next turn.
Second Wind (1/short rest). On his turn, Thor can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+14 hit points.
Spellcasting. Thor is an 8th-level spellcaster that uses Intelligence as his spellcasting ability (spell save DC 15; +7 to hit with spell attacks). Thor has the following spells prepared from the wizard’s spell list. In addition, he can cast paladin spells[D] as a divine spellcaster (using Charisma; spell save DC 15; +7 to hit with spell attacks).
Cantrips: light, prestidigitation, shocking grasp
War-Magician. Thor can use a bonus action to make one weapon attack after casting a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.
ACTIONS
Extra Attack (2). Thor attacks three times.
Mjölnir (Hammer of Thunderbolts with 5 charges). Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6+8) magical bludgeoning damage. When Thor rolls a 1 or 2 on either of the damage dice, he can reroll the die and must use the new roll. On a critical hit against a giant, the giant must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or die.
Thrown Mjölnir (1 charge). Ranged Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6+8) magical bludgeoning damage and all creatures within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of Thor’s next turn.
Design Notes: Thor here is a straight-up power build (inspired by one of my PCs who I’m trying to retire because paladin + eldritch knight is devastating and multiclassing those archetypes is weird). On that note, “eldritch knight” is a great example of one of those game terms that straddle the OGL and the 5ESRD—it’s a term that’s covered by a previous OGL in the context of a prestige class (not a class archetype), but because it’s under that OGL and I’m not explicitly using the wording of the features of that archetype (explicitly being the key word) it’s fit for print. Anyone interested in seeing some more IP treatment of Thor can check out a decidedly more Marvel-bent build over yonder, although if your goal is to make your character a RAW Thor—what’s below is one way to go about it provided you can get the three key items here.
Also of note I was really torn on figuring out what the classic Thor’s alignment is—on the whole he seems to be good, but often enough he’s doing something nefarious or untoward that I landed on neutral, but another ENWorld user pointed out that Lawful Good is more appropriate. For that little bit of divinity factor and a way to shoulder into his hits to really be a powerhouse he's got some feats which I'm sure you can all figure out the official names for.
The CR calculation for brought him in at only 13 but I think given his damage potential (all those smites!) that it should be something more like 15.What do you folks think? My Norse-fu is weak and I’m keen to see how this can better embody the god of thunder so tell us what you’ve got!
Thor
Medium humanoid (human), lawful good fighter (eldritch knight) 14/barbarian (lightning harbinger) 4/paladin 2
Armor Class 18 (Constitution)
Hit Points 198 (16d8+4d12+100)
Speed 30 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
25 (+7) | 16 (+3) | 20 (+5) | 13 (+1) | 10 (+0) | 12 (+1) |
Saving Throws Str +13, Con +11
Skills Animal Handling +6, Athletics +13, Perception +6, Survival +6
Senses passive Perception 16
Languages Old Norse
Challenge 15 (13,000 XP)
Background Feature: Commoner’s Friend. Thor is always able to rely on the hospitality of commoners to help him hide or rest provided he poses no danger in doing so, going so far as to shield him from being discovered (though not at the cost of their lives).
Action Surge (1/short rest). Once on his turn, Thor can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.
Bonded Weapon: Mjölnir. Thor’s hammer can only be disarmed from him when he is incapacitated. In addition, as long as he is on the same plane of existence as Mjölnir he can use a bonus action to summon it into his hand.
Danger Sense. Thor has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, Thor can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
Disrupting Arcana. When Thor hits a creature with a weapon attack, it has disadvantage on the next saving throw it makes to resist a spell before the end of Thor’s next turn.
Divine Sense (2/long rest). As an action, until the end of his next turn Thor knows the location of any celestial, fiend, or undead within 60 feet of him that is not behind total cover. He knows the type (celestial, fiend, or undead) of any being whose presence he senses, but not its identity. Within the same radius, he also detects the presence of any place or object that has been consecrated or desecrated, as with the hallow spell.
Divine Smite. When Thor hits a creature with a melee weapon attack, he can expend one spell slot to deal radiant damage to the target, in addition to the weapon’s damage. The extra damage is 2d8 for a 1st-level spell slot, plus 1d8 for each spell level higher than 1st, to a maximum of 3d8. The damage increases by 1d8 if the target is an undead or a fiend.
Feat: Fortune Points (3/long rest). Thor can spend one fortune point to reroll an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw, or to force an attacker to reroll an attack made against him.
Feat: Power Attack. When Thor makes his first melee weapon attack in a turn, he can choose to take a -5 penalty to his melee weapon attack rolls in exchange for a +10 bonus to melee weapon damage. In addition, Thor can use a bonus action to make one melee weapon attack after he uses a melee weapon to reduce a creature to 0 hit points or scores a critical hit with it. Thor can only use this feature on his turn.
Indomitable (2/long rest). Thor can reroll a saving throw that he fails but must use the new roll.
Járngreipr. Thor’s magic iron gloves allow him to wield the hammer Mjölnir as a maul instead of a warhammer and are otherwise treated as gauntlets of ogre power.
Lay on Hands (10 points/long rest). As an action, Thor can touch a creature and restore a number of hit points to it, up to the maximum amount remaining in this pool. Alternatively, he can expend 5 hit points to cure the target of one disease or neutralize one poison affecting it.
Megingjörð. Thor’s magic belt increases his Strength to 21 (as a belt of hill giant strength; without it his Strength score is 15). While wielding Mjölnir, wearing this belt, and the gloves Járngreipr Thor’s Strength increases to 25.
Rage (2/long rest). On his turn, Thor can enter a rage as a bonus action. He is unable to cast or concentrate on spells while raging (although he can still use Divine Smite). His rage lasts for 1 minute, ending early if he is knocked unconscious or if his turn ends and he hasn’t either attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. Thor can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits.
- Thor has advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
- When Thor makes a melee weapon attack using Strength, he deals 2 extra damage.
- Thor has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
- Lightning Aura. Thor can use a bonus action while raging to make lightning jump out from in him a 10-foot radius. Total cover blocks this lightning. He chooses a creature in the area when he activates this feature, forcing it to make a DC 19 Dexterity saving throw or take 3 (1d6) lightning damage (success halves).
Reckless Attack. When Thor makes his first attack on his turn, he can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives him advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until Thor’s next turn.
Second Wind (1/short rest). On his turn, Thor can use a bonus action to regain 1d10+14 hit points.
Spellcasting. Thor is an 8th-level spellcaster that uses Intelligence as his spellcasting ability (spell save DC 15; +7 to hit with spell attacks). Thor has the following spells prepared from the wizard’s spell list. In addition, he can cast paladin spells[D] as a divine spellcaster (using Charisma; spell save DC 15; +7 to hit with spell attacks).
Cantrips: light, prestidigitation, shocking grasp
1st-level (4 slots): bless[D], charm person, detect magic, fog cloud, shield of faith[D], thunderwave
2nd-level (3 slots): misty step, shatter, suggestion
3rd-level (3 slots): lightning bolt, fly, haste
4th-level (2 slots): none
2nd-level (3 slots): misty step, shatter, suggestion
3rd-level (3 slots): lightning bolt, fly, haste
4th-level (2 slots): none
War-Magician. Thor can use a bonus action to make one weapon attack after casting a cantrip with a casting time of 1 action.
ACTIONS
Extra Attack (2). Thor attacks three times.
Mjölnir (Hammer of Thunderbolts with 5 charges). Melee Weapon Attack: +14 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6+8) magical bludgeoning damage. When Thor rolls a 1 or 2 on either of the damage dice, he can reroll the die and must use the new roll. On a critical hit against a giant, the giant must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or die.
Thrown Mjölnir (1 charge). Ranged Weapon Attack: +16 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d6+8) magical bludgeoning damage and all creatures within 30 feet must succeed on a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of Thor’s next turn.
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