Rounding out the collection of cybernetic characters that I've recently stumbled into, I built Alita per a request! As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in an attempt to fit the character. These choices might not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
Let's get into the build for Alita from Alita Battle Angel!
ALITA
CHARACTER Alita
SOURCE Battle Angel Alita
BUILD GOALS
o Alita is a near completely robotic cyborg found by a medic and mechanic as just a head and shoulders in the Scrapyard during the early twenty-sixth century
o She is a highly skilled practitioner of Panzer Kunst, a martial art designed for zero-g combat and emphasizes oneness between the senses
o Arts from it that she employs are the blade-based Elbogen Blatt and the vibratory concussion strikes of Einzug Ruestungen and Hertza Haeon to target the fragile inner components of cyborg foes
o Depending on her cyborg body, Alita was also able to manipulate plasma to empower her strikes, move herself faster, and even form cutting talons
o She favors blades, using a combat knife before adapting to the elbow blades called Damascus Blades that were later forged into a single blade
o As a cyborg, Alita used several different bodies – the combat-focused Berserker Body, the speed-focused Motorball Body, and the nanomachine-based Imaginos Body
o Her mannerisms are sometimes cat-like, including a tail in one of her bodies, and she is a nimble but powerful fighter
o Alita is also a capable hacker and musician
o She is sometimes prone to berserker tendencies and mad battlelust, befitting the name of one of her bodies
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Warrior Android
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Strength, -Charisma
o Ancestry Feat: Nanite Surge
Background: Saved by Clockwork
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Crafting (trained)
Class: Monk
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Performance (trained), Stealth (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Class Feat: Ki Strike
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10)
My familiarity with Alita comes solely from the relatively recent movie, but I went through my usual research to figure out the best means to build the character. Alita’s organic components are highly limited, but they do exist. Given her slighter frame and some of her powers, android felt a closer fit rather than a technological fleshwarp and with her military history, she is definitely of the warrior heritage. Referencing her Imaginos Body, she is going to make use of Nanite Surge and several of its related feats. Without her mechanical body, Alita would merely be some brain matter, meaning her background very much involved her being saved by clockwork. Finally, with her practice of the unarmed combat of Panzer Kunst, which promotes some esoteric oneness between senses, monk felt the most appropriate class for her. With her slighter frame and more agile movements, which do bely her considerable strength, Dexterity felt the best route to take with her. Ki Strike represents Alita’s ability to enhance her strikes with plasma. In Starfinder, plasma is represented by both electricity and fire damage together, but for this build, it will be represented by her force damage.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Monastic Weaponry
o Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler
o Gear: cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Weapon Proficiency – Butterfly Sword
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Butterfly Blade Dedication
o Skill Feat: Cat Fall
o Gear: doubling rings, +1 butterfly sword, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 18, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10)
o Ancestry Feat: Protective Subroutine
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert)
o Gear: +1 striking butterfly sword, doubling rings, bracers of missile deflection, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion
The Elbogen Blatt art of Panzer Kunst is a blade-based fighting style that Alita makes use of and is represented through her Monastic Weaponry. Regrettably, the only monastic swords that have the finesse traits are butterfly swords, which does admittedly nicely represent the dual nature of her Damascus blades. Monastic Weaponry starts her on the road to being able to use them most capably, but she still has to pick up Weapon Proficiency for butterfly swords before she can take the Butterfly Blade Dedication to gain scaling proficiency with the advanced weapon. Titan Wrestler reflects her ability to face off against foes much larger than her, which she does frequently, while Cat Fall is just a general feat that fits nicely with her nimbleness – as well as the cat motif she sometimes carries. Protective Subroutine builds naturally out of Nanite Surge.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Ki Rush
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, +1 striking butterfly sword, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), doubling rings, Jack’s tattered cape, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Path to Perfection: Reflex (master)
o Gear: demolishing weapon rune, +1 explorer’s clothing, boots of elvenkind, +1 striking butterfly sword, doubling rings, bracers of missile deflection
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: One-Inch Punch
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Gear: boots of bounding, demolishing weapon rune, ring of the ram, +1 explorer’s clothing, +1 striking butterfly sword, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Offensive Subroutine
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, cloak of elvenkind, demolishing weapon rune, boots of elvenkind, +1 striking butterfly sword
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12)
o Class Feat: Wind Jump
o Skill Feat: Wall Jump
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, Cordelia’s construct key, boots of bounding, demolishing weapon rune, +1 striking butterfly sword
With Alita’s ability to accelerate herself using plasma, Ki Rush is another solid fit for the character and Wind Jump follows a similar idea, particularly her use of plasma jets to take flight. One-Inch Punch simply gives her something to help represent some of the arts of Panzer Kunst that she is versed in, a strike that hits deep into her victims’ vitals. Quick Jump and Wall Jump might seem a little pointless when she has the ki powers gained in this block, but she may wish to spend her ki in other ways or not have access to ki points. When such instances arise, these skill feats ensure that she still has a means of navigating her environs. With how difficult it is to keep Alita down, evidenced in part by the hosts of bodies that she’s possessed, Diehard it a natural fit. Offensive Subroutine lets her use her nanites to empower her attacks, increasing their range and capability.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)
o Second Path to Perfection: Fortitude (master)
o Gear: +2 striking butterfly sword, armbands of athleticism, greater bracers of missile deflection, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Meditative Focus
o Skill Feat: Steady Balance
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, +2 striking butterfly sword, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, Cordelia’s construct key, shocking weapon rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Consistent Surge
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Gear: +2 greater striking butterfly sword, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater doubling rings, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, greater bracers of missile deflection
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Timeless Body
o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak
o Gear: greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking butterfly sword, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, daredevil boots, impactful weapon rune
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 20, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 12)
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 greater striking butterfly sword, greater boots of elvenkind, greater doubling rings
With her assortment of ki powers and some of the aspects of the philosophies of Panzer Kunst, Meditative Focus is both useful and reflective of some of her nature. It may have gone unmentioned in the build goals, but Alita has been alive for hundreds of years thanks to her cybernetic body, which makes Timeless Body another solid fit for her. Consistent Surge allows her to use her nanites more regularly, meaning her body is closer to her Imaginos Body. Toughness makes her hardier while Feather Step is a nice feat to represent her agility as well as the cluttered nature of the environments she often inhabits.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Quivering Palm
o Skill Feat: Water Sprint
o Gear: shocking weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major ring of electricity resistance, boots of speed, +2 greater striking butterfly sword, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking)
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Revivification Protocol
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking butterfly sword, flaming weapon rune, shocking weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of speed, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking)
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Shattering Strike
o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump
o Gear: anklets of alacrity, +3 greater striking butterfly sword, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), shocking weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Cleansing Subroutine
o Skill Increase: Thievery (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, anklets of alacrity, greater armbands of athleticism, +3 greater striking butterfly sword, flaming weapon rune, shocking weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 22, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 14)
o Class Feat: Golden Body
o Skill Feat: Quick Unlock
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (trained)
o Gear: +3 major striking butterfly sword, +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, mercurial mantle, greater armbands of athleticism, speed weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking)
Some arts of the Panzer Kunst martial arts, particularly the Einzug Ruestungen and Hertza Haeon arts, use concussive, vibratory force to inflict deadly blows to the interiors of the practitioner’s target. While Ki Strike covers her use of plasma, for these vibratory strikes, Alita makes use of Quivering Palm. However, this feat did alter the original build I had prepared as to use it, she actually needs a decent spell DC, which means I had to go back and invest more ability boosts in her Wisdom. Using it to its full effect is still gonna be difficult since she only has master proficiency, 18 Wisdom, and the incapacitation trait, but it fits the character too well to skip it. With the number of cyborg foes that Alita faces and the armor that is naturally incorporated into their form, Shattering Strike allows her to penetrate any resistances or Hardness they might have. Finally, Golden Body makes all of Alita’s Strikes deadlier while increasing her survivability, diving further into the concept of the Imaginos Body and its nanite construction.
Her final ancestry and general feats further play into this concept with Cleansing Subroutine and Revivification Protocol, the latter a good reflection for return in various bodies. Rounding out Alita’s skill investment with some Thievery options is meant to replicate her hacking abilities as I have done in the past for characters with similar skillsets
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Given some of Alita’s bloodlust and fury when it comes to battle, I’d love to suggest the Barbarian Dedication for her, but her use of agile weapons makes it very ineffective. Since she already makes use of the Butterfly Blade Dedication, she can benefit from some of its options, particularly Quick Draw, Deadly Butterfly, and perhaps a bit of Butterfly’s Sting. Once that is completed, I suggest going into Dual-Weapon Warrior Dedication. She can Flurry of Blows with her butterfly swords, but this gives her a couple of different options – she can Double Strike in situations that she can make better use of it or switch to Flurry of Blows when she needs actions for other abilities. Given the parry trait of the butterfly swords, she can even make use of the Twin Parry and Twinned Defense feats, making her even more difficult to land a blow upon.
BUILD CONCLUSION
As a slighter, more human-looking cyborg (at least in silhouette) compared to previous sorts I’ve done, Alita is represented as a warrior android per her background as a soldier who was saved by clockwork – since she was originally little more than brain matter carved off of another person. As a master of Panzer Kunst, she is best represented as a monk who uses Monastic Weaponry and the Butterfly Blade Dedication to dual-wield her Damascus blades using the style’s Elbogen Blatt art. Later down the line, she makes use of Quivering Palm to achieve some of the vibratory arts of the style, such as Einzug Ruestungen and Hertza Haeon. Alita replicates some of her plasma-manipulating abilities with ki spells, such as Ki Strike, Ki Rush, and Wind Jump. This particular build best represents her Imaginos Body given the heavy focus of her ancestry feats to harness her nanites. As a translation to a more fantastical setting, she supplants her ability as a hacker for a slight focus on Thievery instead. She also is at least trained in Perform for her skill as a musician.
Lemme know what you think and if there's any other particular builds you'd like to see.
If you want to join in on the discussion of these builds and the ones I do for monsters or just hang out with a bunch of fellow TTRPG nerds, check out the Discord server. We also have a Twitter where we try to post teasers for the blog and are trying to get some milestones made up for. Next week, I'm going back to a classic source of character builds that I haven't tapped in a while.
Have a fantastic Friday!
Comments