I HAVE RETURNED!!!
Gotta say, it's good to be back and doing this! I missed all of you. I have settled into my new house, got it fully furnished aside from a gaming table, and just need to do some unpacking yet.
Now, on to more important matters! This past Wednesday was Ash Wednesday and because I think its funny, this month is going to be Ash(e) Month. This month, all Full Build Fridays will feature a different Ash(e) because for some reason, media just really likes using that name. A change that has come to these builds is that I've decided to start using Pathbuilder for producing the character sheets. I think this makes it look a bit cleaner though slightly less boring, though it is way easier on me to plot stuff out and make sure I don't miss anything. 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.
Now, without any further ado, let's get into the build for Ashe from Overwatch!
ASHE
CHARACTER Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe
SOURCE Overwatch
GOALS
o A ‘hero’ of Overwatch, Ashe is the leader of the Deadlock Gang and a vicious gunslinger
o She was born to wealthy socialites but much of her rearing and care was handled by the robo-butler B.O.B. rather than her parents
o She was a troublemaker at school and practiced her aim with a slingshot, and she was eventually wrongly jailed where she met Jesse McCree, who would become her partner in crime
o The Deadlock Gang specialized in heists and pulled off dozens of them, but her friendship with Jesse ended when he was taken in an Overwatch sting. They met again as enemies
o Ashe is also a fan of hovercycles
o Her primary armament is the Viper, a semi-automatic rifle, which she can aim down the sights of for a more precise shot
o The simply named Dynamite ability allows her to lob a bundle of dynamite that explodes after a short time or when shot, setting foes on fire
o Her Coach Gun ability blasts a foe backwards as well as pushing herself away
o Finally, her ultimate summons her robot sidekick, B.O.B. who knocks foes into the air and then launches suppressing fire from his arm cannons
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Versatile Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Charisma
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition
o General Feat: Ride
Background: Alkenstar Outlaw
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution
o Skills: Thievery (trained), Underworld Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Subtle Theft
Class & Subclass: Way of the Sniper Gunslinger
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skills: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Intimidation (trained), Stealth (trained)
o Class Feat: Hit the Dirt!, Munitions Crafter
o Skill Feat: Alchemical Crafting
o Skill Increase: Crafting (trained)
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 14)
For Ashe’s build, it seemed appropriate to start with gunslinger to emulate her main means of combat, using the way of the sniper to play into her being an outlaw even though her kit doesn’t include anything particularly stealth-focused. Given that the Deadlock Gang seems to be something of a motorcycle gang, the Ride feat felt appropriate though I wish I could have delved into that aspect further. Hit the Dirt and Munitions Crafter both play into emulating her abilities down the line. The latter provides her with bombs that she can throw, ala her Dynamite ability while the former doesn’t really come online until later. Alkenstar outlaw just seemed a perfect fit for her background though I could also understand taking a background more indicative of her more affluent upbringing as well.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Risky Reload
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +1 double-barreled musket, predictable silver piece, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Blast Lock
o Skill Feat: Quick Coercion
o Gear: bracelet of dashing, +1 double-barreled musket, Jack’s tattered cape, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 16)
o Ancestry Feat: Cooperative Nature
o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert)
o Gear: +1 striking double-barreled musket, bracelet of dashing, golden legion epaulet, Jack’s tattered cape, predictable silver piece, ring of discretion
Maybe I overvalue it, but I like Risky Reload and think, if nothing else, it has value when you start your turn with your weapon unleaded. Meanwhile, Blast Lock is mainly my attempt at playing into her criminal nature and doesn’t reflect anything specific. The Intimidation based feats reflect her favored method of settling things when she doesn’t want to waste the bullets though I felt that her Stealth and Crafting skills took precedence. Fleet synergizes with her gunslinger way, using its reload to Hide and then Sneak further thanks to the increase to her speed to a more advantageous position. Finally, her Cooperative Nature is meant to be indicative of her being a part of a gang, allowing her to better work with and alongside them.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Munitions Machinist
o Skill Feat: Specialty Crafting - Alchemy
o Gear: +1 leather armor, +1 striking double-barreled musket, deck of mischief, bracelet of dashing, Jack’s tattered cape, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Gear: hauling weapon rune, +1 leather armor, shadow armor rune, +1 striking double-barreled musket, bracelet of dashing, golden legion epaulet
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Leap and Fire
o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak
o Gear: boots of bounding, hauling weapon rune, ring of the ram, +1 leather armor, +1 striking double-barreled musket, deck of mischief
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Multitalented – Summoner Dedication
o Skill Increase: Arcana (trained), Athletics (expert), Nature (trained)
o Eidolon: Scout Construct Eidolon
o Eidolon Stat Array:Str 16, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 10)
o Eidolon Attacks: clobber (1d8 bludgeoning; shove), jab (1d6 bludgeoning; agile, finesse)
o Gear: +1 resilient leather armor, boots of bounding, necklace of fireballs II, hauling weapon rune, shadow armor rune, +1 striking double-barreled musket
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Basic Synergy – Ranged Combatant
o Skill Feat: Experienced Smuggler
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 12)
o Eidolon Attacks: arm cannons (1d4 piercing; magical, propulsive, range increment 30 feet)
o Gear: greater shadow armor rune, +1 resilient leather armor, greater backfire mantle, boots of bounding, hauling weapon rune, +1 striking double-barreled musket
Munitions Machinist is the natural progression of Ashe’s earlier Munitions Crafter, just as Leap and Fire builds out of our other 1st-level feat. However, acquiring Leap and Fire gives us a way of replicating Ashe’s Coach Gun ability, allowing her to bound away from a foe while also firing at them, which is the closest I was able to get with this build. As a human, she can pick up a multiclass archetype without having to spend a class feat on it, which is going to allow her to gain B.O.B! At this point, I want to mention that this probably isn’t the greatest idea mechanically and is something I do solely for the flavor of the character. Her use of B.O.B. mainly involves long-ranged combat, leading me to select a scout construct eidolon to represent him. Fortunately, immediately after gaining B.O.B., her next class feat gives him a ranged attack representing his arm cannons. While speed is always handy, Fleet becomes less necessary once Ashe picks up Swift Sneak as she can move her full speed when she Sneaks instead of half.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Gear: +2 striking double-barreled musket, greater shadow armor rune, lucky draw bandolier, +1 resilient leather armor, boots of bounding, necklace of fireballs II
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Shattering Shot
o Skill Feat: Lasting Coercion
o Gear: +2 resilient leather armor, +2 striking double-barreled musket, winged boots, greater shadow armor rune, flaming weapon rune, greater backfire mantle
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Cooperative Soul
o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)
o Gear: +2 greater striking double-barreled musket, +2 resilient leather armor, greater hauling weapon rune, winged boots, greater shadow armor rune, lucky draw bandolier
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Expert Combat Eidolon
o Skill Feat: Foil Senses
o Gear: greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking double-barreled musket, stampede medallion, +2 resilient leather armor, cloak of the bat, winged boots
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 14, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18)
o General Feat: Express Rider
o Skill Increase: Society (trained), Stealth (legendary)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 21, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 14)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather armor, greater ring of the ram, hellfire boots, +2 greater striking double-barreled musket, greater hauling weapon rune, necklace of fireballs IV
While simply chucking alchemist’s fire helped to mimic the effects of Dynamite initially, taking Shattering Shot more accurately captures the full nature of her ability. Meanwhile, Expert Combat Eidolon makes B.O.B. a little handier in combat though he is still lagging behind Ashe herself. Speaking of B.O.B., since him being on the battlefield provides an extra way of damaging Ashe, I suggest picking up Toughness to mitigate that slightly. Finally, Express Rider is mainly meant to further play into the idea of Ashe being a motorcycle enthusiast.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Advanced Synergy – Ostentatious Arrival
o Skill Feat: Quiet Allies
o Gear: greater stampede medallion, +2 greater resilient leather armor, greater boots of bounding, greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking double-barreled musket, greater lucky draw bandolier
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Group Aid
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +3 greater striking double-barreled musket, greater stampede medallion, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather armor, greater ring of the ram, hellfire boots
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Signature Synergy – Hulking Size
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: anklets of alacrity, +3 greater striking double-barreled musket, speed weapon rune, greater stampede medallion, +2 greater resilient leather armor, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Prescient Planner
o Skill Increase: Thievery (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather armor, anklets of alacrity, major shadow armor rune, +3 greater striking double-barreled musket, greater stampede medallion, greater flaming weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 14, Dex 22, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 18, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Perfect Readiness
o Skill Feat: Wall Jump
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (trained)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 22, Dex 22, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 16)
o Gear: +3 major striking double-barreled musket, +3 greater resilient leather armor, mercurial mantle, major shadow armor rune, major crown of the fire eater, speed weapon rune
Ostentatious Arrival helps achieve the effect of when B.O.B. charges onto the battlefield (and damages without allowing so much as a save!) while Signature Synergy grows him to the size that he appears to be. Ashe’s final class feat is pretty basic but makes her permanently quickened, which is handy when she has to share her actions with B.O.B. Quiet Allies and Group Aid further her ability to function with a group (aka her gang) while Prescient Planner is honestly me running out of ideas for good general feats that work for her.
CONCLUSION
Ashe’s deadly aim and skill with her firearms are achieved through the gunslinger class, with the way of the sniper paying heed to her criminal nature and her preference for two-handed firearms. Since the Deadlock Gang seems to mostly be a motorcycle gang, I picked up the Ride and Express Rider feats for her though I would have also liked picking up something like the Trick Driver Dedication. As its very situational, I ended up not doing so, but players that are in games making use of vehicles might be able to swap out Blast Lock for at least the initial dedication. The investment in Stealth and Thievery, as well as feats like Blast Lock, fit into her role as a criminal. Finally, reflecting her actual abilities in the game of Overwatch are the double-barreled musket serving as Viper, Shattering Shot and the munitions feat line filling in for Dynamite, and her Leap and Fire accomplishing the effects of her Coach Gun for the most part. Finally, B.O.B. is produced through the Summoner Dedication giving her a construct eidolon who has arm cannons with Ranged Combatant and damages foes as he enters the battlefield with Ostentatious Arrival.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build!
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 nerd, 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. I'll be back this Monday with a totally new monster and next Friday will feature a different Ash(e) that isn't quite ready to say goodbye to winter.
Until next time, have a fantastic Friday!
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