In an effort to fulfill a request, I have once again put together a build for a character I don't know from a show I've never seen. Be gentle with me! As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in my best attempt to fit the character. These choice may not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
You can check out the video for the character over here on YouTube.
Let's get into the build for Brook from One Piece!
BROOK
SOURCE One Piece
BUILD GOALS
o The musician of the Straw Hat Pirates who is also a capable swordsman who prefers a sword cane
o While alive, he ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi, a devil fruit that allowed him to return from death as a skeleton. It also allows him to separate his soul from his body in a ghost-like state
o In this state, his soul exudes coldness that can chill his blade or even freeze his surroundings
o He makes use of his undead state during fights, being astonishingly difficult to harm and sometimes playing dead halfway through a fight
o His light body makes him incredibly fast and he can run across water and leap high into the air
o He is an incredibly capable musician whose Nemuriuta Flanc technique can create a soothing tone that causes enemies to fall asleep
o He can also use music to create illusions and change emotions, once hypnotizing opponents to think they were at a festival and their cannons were fireworks
Summary of Goals: Despite serving as the musician of his crew, much of Brook’s powers lie in his spirit-manipulating devil fruit and his swordmanship. He fuses these to imbue his blade with a deathly chill while also using undead state to confound foes. His music does show some capability to mesmerize other creatures and certainly shouldn’t be ignored.
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Fodder Skeleton
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Charisma, +Intelligence, -Intelligence
o Ancestry Feat: Collapse
Background: Sailor
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Charisma
o Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Sailing Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Underwater Marauder
Class & Subclass: Magus with Aloof Firmament Hybrid Study
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Arcana (trained), Diplomacy (trained), Performance (trained)
o Spellbook: Cantrips – phase bolt, ray of frost, warp step; 1st – briny bolt, snowball
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +1, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +1, Wis +0, Cha +3)
To represent Brook in his current state, this build uses the skeleton ancestry specifically coupled with the fodder heritage to demonstrate his incredible speed. Collapse will allow him to pretend to fall in the midst of a fight, demonstrating his more jovial and mischievous nature. Sailor is probably the closest to resemble his background as a pirate though musician may also work. Underwater Marauder is an odd fit since his devil fruit makes him unable to swim in the first place but it’s a background feat – reflective of his past and not his current state. Magus may seem an odd choice, but its intent is to feature both his swordsmanship and more mystical capabilities. He gets to make use of the new aloof firmament hybrid study, allowing him to leap great distances while focusing on his use of a one-handed sword. He reaches back into some pre-master stuff with ray of frost so that he can infuse his cane sword with the cold of his soul. Snowball also does this, but kind of sucks as far as 1st-rank spells go.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Ghostly Grasp
o Skill Feat: Additional Lore – Music Lore
o Skill Increase: Music Lore (trained)
o Spellbook: 1st – fleet step
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert), Music Lore (expert)
o Spellbook: 2nd – elemental zone, rime slick
o Gear: +1 sword cane, psychopomp mask, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Distant Waterbird’s Poise
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: rime crystal, +1 sword cane, quick wig, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +1, Dex +4.5, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +0, Cha +4)
o Ancestry Feat: Well-Armed
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert), Society (trained)
o Spellbook: 3rd – haste
o Gear: +1 striking sword cane, bracelet of dashing, rime crystal, quick wig, psychopomp mask, ring of discretion
Brook’s Yomi Yomi no Mi has allowed him the ability to manipulate his own soul, and he uses explores that with deviant abilities. Ghostly Grasp let him demonstrate some poltergeist-like effects that he has used before – perhaps most commonly to pick up his own pieces. He returns to magus for his Distant Waterbird’s Poise, a reaction that will help to represent some of his speed as well as his ability to walk upon water though this is more just a brief landing. He dives into his ability as a musician initially through Additional Lore for Music Lore and also wants Quick Jump as a more permanent effect in his kit. He buffs his speed further through Fleet and fleet step, this is admittedly where a laughing shadow hybrid study could be better, to match the speed that he is known for. Well-Armed is an ancestry feat that takes advantage of his one-handed weapon and lets him mess around with enemies, but he doesn’t count as having a free hand while doing this, so he’ll want to switch back to get the extra damage from his Arcane Cascade. Spells of note in this block are few, but elemental zone reflects his ability to chill the area around him while empowering his cold effects whereas haste will just make him faster.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Bard Dedication – Maestro Muse
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained), Occultism (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – haunting hymn, musical accompaniment
o Gear: +1 leather, +1 striking sword cane, lifting belt, rime crystal, quick wig, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master), Music Lore (master)
o Spellbook: 4th – mercurial stride
o Gear: phantasmal doorknob, +1 leather, bravery baldric (fleet), +1 striking sword cane, bracelet of dashing, rime crystal
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Runic Impression
o Skill Feat: Water Sprint
o Gear: boots of bounding, endless grimoire, phantasmal doorknob, +1 leather, +1 striking sword cane, lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Rejuvenation Token
o Skill Increase: Occultism (expert)
o Spellbook: 5th – mantle of the frozen heart
o Gear: +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, ethersight ring, phantasmal doorknob, bravery baldric (fleet), +1 striking sword cane
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +2, Dex +5, Con +1, Int +3, Wis +0, Cha +4.5)
o Class Feat: Distant Wandering
o Skill Feat: Wall Jump
o Skill Increase: Stealth (trained)
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient leather, greater rime crystal, boots of bounding, endless grimoire, +1 striking sword cane
A dip into the Bard Dedication further demonstrates our marauder’s musical mania, but he isn’t really looking for the supportive effects that bards are known for. Haunting hymn and musical accompaniment are a pair of fun musical-themed cantrips that he can use and this archetype and its spells are actually why this build has been boosting his Charisma since that is why they scale off of. At eighth level, the initial inclination was Runic Impression so that he could imbue his blade with frost, but it may actually be better to take Basic Bard Spellcasting and get those spells early. If that’s the route you go, that feat and its spells are discussed in the next block. Distant Wandering rounds out his class feats, another deviant feat, that will allow him to fully project his soul and is a great way to represent his control over it. His skills have a focus on mobility with Water Sprint being the most important as it will allow him to race across the water as he has in the series, bypassing the normal weakness that devil fruit users have to water. Brook is noted to be very light, which is why he uses Feather Step as his general feat before taking up Rejuvenation Token, reflecting the ease with which he returns to his body although he still needs the help of others to actually come back.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: A Home in Every Port
o Skill Increase: Occultism (master)
o Spellbook: 6th – phantom orchestra
o Gear: +2 striking sword cane, armbands of athleticism, cape of grand entrances, +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, ethersight ring
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Basic Bard Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Fascinating Performance
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – sleep*, 2nd – calm, 3rd – hypnotize
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking sword cane, greater phantasmal doorknob, armbands of athleticism, greater rime crystal, frost weapon rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Skeletal Resistance
o Skill Increase: Performance (expert)
o Spellbook: 7th – frigid flurry
o Gear: +2 greater striking sword cane, +2 resilient leather, master magus ring, greater phantasmal doorknob, armbands of athleticism, cape of grand entrances
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Hasted Assault
o Skill Feat: Distracting Performance
o Gear: major rime crystal, +2 greater striking sword cane, ghostcaller’s planchette, +2 resilient leather, greater endless grimoire, charlatan’s cape
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +2, Dex +5.5, Con +2, Int +4, Wis +0, Cha +5)
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary), Intimidation (trained), Music Lore (legendary)
o Spellbook: 8th – polar ray
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, keen weapon rune, major rime crystal, +2 greater striking sword cane, greater brooch of inspiration, master magus ring
Getting Basic Bard Spellcasting is pretty huge in representing the musical aspects of Brook’s abilities. Sleep, which is a must when it comes to signaturing, will serve as his Nemuriuta Flanc, calm can reflect his ability to manipulate emotions, and hypnotize is another step towards that as well. If you took this earlier, it would be better to take Greater Awakened Power to add the flight awakened power to his Distant Wandering. After a brief break, he’s back to magus with Hasted Assault since he is described as the fastest of the Straw Hat Pirates due to just how light his body is. To go along with the musical theme from bard, both of his skill feats are Performance based with Fascinating and Distracting Performance. Brook has noted how he is much harder to kill because of his skeletal nature, which this build shows off with his Skeletal Resistance ancestry feat. His general feats net him A Home in Every Port, a perfect fit for a pirate that calls to mind both the good will that the Straw Hat Pirates have earned as well as Brook’s own celebrity status that he earned during the party’s separation. He also has Incredible Initiative because of how quick he is on the draw while also helping him lay out those debuffs before the fight starts.
There’s two very solid spells in this block, starting with frigid flurry. This lets him launch his soul through foes, freezing and slicing at them before reforming on the other side of them. Regrettably, Brook can’t Spellstrike with it but he can do so with polar ray, leaving foes drained on top of dishing out all that cold damage!
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Expert Bard Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Impressive Performance
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – dirge of remembrance, 5th – hallucination*, 6th – spirit blast
o Gear: greater frost weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather, greater boots of bounding, major rime crystal, +2 greater striking sword cane, ghostcaller’s planchette
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Play Dead
o Skill Increase: Occultism (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking sword cane, greater frost weapon rune, major phantasmal doorknob, +2 greater resilient leather, keen weapon rune, major rime crystal
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Master Bard Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – calm*
o Gear: cloak of swiftness, +3 greater striking sword cane, quickstrike weapon rune, greater frost weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Performance (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, cloak of swiftness, phantom shroud, +3 greater striking sword cane, major phantasmal doorknob, greater frost weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +3, Dex +6, Con +3, Int +4, Wis +1, Cha +5)
o Class Feat: Supreme Spellstrike
o Skill Feat: Legendary Professional
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – spirit song
o Gear: +3 major striking sword cane, +3 greater resilient leather, mercurial mantle, phantom shroud, major alluring scarf, amplifying aeon stone
Brook expands on his bard casting abilities with Expert Bard Spellcasting, but a point of order here is that his spells will scale as one. His proficiency for magus spells will be the same as his proficiency for bard spells because that all got combined in the remaster. Of note from this particular feat is hallucination¸ which Brook will want to signature to represent his ability to trap foes in illusions, as he did with the New Fish-Men Pirates. Getting Master Bard Spellcasting will grant him those higher ranks to heighten it to as well as finally picking up a heightened calm. Being all about speed, he obviously grabs Supreme Spellstrike, which might make his Hasted Assault redundant. If you think it is, I’d consider swapping in Greater Awakened Power for Distant Wandering’s flight or another focus spell just to give him more Focus Points. Impressive Performance and Legendary Professional are both based off of his musical skill with the latter in particular reflecting the rock star that he became during his absence from the Straw Hat Pirates. Cloud Jump is also important to the character given the distances and heights that he can cover with his jumps. Play Dead is obviously based on the way that he will sometimes pretend to be felled by an enemy’s blow whereas Diehard seems obvious for a skeleton that has refused to shuffle off into the afterlife just yet.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: The first and most obvious pick for Brook in a free archetype game is the Bard Dedication, which he can pick up earlier and quicker while possibly slipping in something like Occult Breadth. The Duelist Dedication and just about any of its feats are likely the best option after that and it would be remiss of me not to mention a Pirate Dedication for this bony buccaneer.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Brook is a fodder skeleton magus who uses the aloof firmament hybrid study and has the sailor background to reflect his life as a pirate. He invests in Performance and has a maestro muse to cover his role as a musician while his humble sword cane stands in nicely for Brook's weapon, Soul Solid. The power of his Yomi Yomi no Mi to control and manipulate his own soul can be seen with some deviant feats such as Ghostly Grasp and Distant Wanderings - and a Greater Awakened Power if you can squeeze that in. This fruit also allowed him to return to life but only after his flesh had rotted away, leaving him as his skeleton ancestry. The deathly chill and cold of his soul that he can extend to his blade comes from his spells as a magus, such as ray of frost, snowball, or the later polar ray. He can also just exude this chill around himself with elemental zone or send his soul flying through and freezing foes with frigid flurry. His skeletal ancestry lets him avoid what would normally be lethal attacks with Skeletal Resistance while those blows that would normally kill, he can evade with Collapse and then Play Dead to confound his enemies. His heritage enhances his speed along with his Fleet feat and Water Sprint makes him fast enough to run across water while his hybrid study’s Distant Waterbird’s Poise allows him to briefly land on it. This study also lets him leap incredible distances, with effects further bolstered by the likes of Cloud Jump. He turns to a Bard Dedication and its spells to gain sleep for his Nemuriuta Flanc and his other more musical magic. Calm grants him the ability to manipulate the emotions of his victims and he can use hallucination to trap others in a grand illusion, just as he did with the New Fish-Men Pirates.
In short, this superb singer strikes and slashes at sinister sailors even while simply a skeleton, sending his spirit to suspend suspects in a sudden snow.
Let me know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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