Sorry for the late post, I held a late start to my day this morning. I know he's not a popular choice, but Cyclops used to be one of my favorite X-Men. As an older brother, I always felt a kinship with characters that took responsibility for others like Cyclops, Leonardo from TMNT, and similar. Nowadays, he's undergone some character assassination, but I still remember days when I really liked his character. With those memories in mind, I wanted to try out a build for him, but this one is very different from the source material, so please stick with me on it! As always, this build is conceptualized 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 Cyclops from Marvel's X-Men!
CYCLOPS
CHARACTER Scott Summers
SOURCE X-Men
GOALS
o Scott Summers is a mutant and the first X-Men to be recruited by Professor Charles Xavier
o The son of a US Air Force pilot, Scott was forced to leap from the family’s plane following an accident and was injured in his landing
o This injury came back to haunt Scott when his mutant power emerged during his youth and resulted in him blasting the roof off of the hospital he was in
o He was taken in by another mutant called Jack O’Diamonds who forced Scott to help him in his crimes before Professor Xavier put a stop to him and rescued Scott
o Scott’s most prominent power are his optic blasts, beams of concussive force released from his eyes, which he is unable to control due to the injury in his youth and is usually controlled by his optic visor
o However, Scott also has a smattering of lesser-known powers including spatial awareness, which gives him an uncanny sense of trigonometry and how to use the environment around him
o Aside from his mutant powers, Scott is a master strategist and tactician that has spent most of his life as a leader of the X-Men, is an expert martial artist, and a skilled pilot
o Between his fighting skills and spatial awareness power, Cyclops has proven very capable of fighting blinded, such as when he’s deprived of his visor and doesn’t want to demolish everything
o Finally, years of relationships with multiple different telepaths have allowed Cyclops to hone his mind to resist telepathic intrusions
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Sharpshooter Automaton
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Intelligence
o Ancestry Feat: Energy Beam
Background: Martial Disciple
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence
o Skills: Athletics (trained), Warfare Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Quick Jump
Class & Subclass: Empiricism Investigator
o Class Ability Boost: +Intelligence
o Skills: Acrobatics (trained), Arcana (trained), Deception (trained) Intimidation (trained), Piloting Lore (trained), Nature (trained), Occultism (trained), Religion (trained), Society (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Class Feat: Known Weaknesses, That’s Odd
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 12, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 10)
I want to establish two things – obviously, Cyclops isn’t a robot even if he’s been compared to one in terms of personality and his beams are concussive force. However, it seems members in the industries can’t keep that latter tidbit straight, so excuse me for using the automaton’s Energy Beam to replicate his eye beam. Meanwhile, his strange spatial awareness power is covered through the investigator’s Devise a Stratagem, using his awareness to strike at the perfect trajectory. I settled on the empiricism methodology because none of the others fit the character while martial disciple is meant to represent his early life as a member of the X-Men who were trained to face threats to mutants and humans even in their youth. Known Weaknesses is a step towards capturing Cyclops’s skill as a tactician.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Shared Stratagem
o Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler
o Skill Increase: Society (expert)
o Gear: everburning torch
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skillful Lesson: Streetwise
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), everburning torch, predictable silver piece
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Strategic Assessment
o Skill Feat: Combat Climber
o Skill Increase: Deception (expert)
o Gear: golden legion epaulet, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), brooch of shielding, everburning torch
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 14, Cha 12)
o Ancestry Feat: Arcane Eye
o Skillful Lesson: Discreet Inquiry
o Skill Increase: Arcana (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), golden legion epaulet, bracers of missile deflection, brooch of shielding, everburning torch, predictable silver piece
As one of the most famous leaders of the X-Men, Shared Stratagem allows him to effectively lead his teammates in battle while using Strategic Assessment to figure out their weaknesses so that his allies can take advantage of them. I opted for Streetwise given Cyclops’s time being forced to work alongside Jack O’ Diamonds and picked increases to skills to make him a well-rounded individual who is good at identifying threats. I can’t remember if it has ever been addressed, but I imagine that Cyclops’s visor, as high-tech as it is, has to have some sort of nightvision, which inspired the Arcane Eye choice.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Athletic Strategist
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o Skill Increase: Occultism (expert)
o Gear: +1 leather armor, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bag of holding (type I), golden legion epaulet, brooch of shielding, hand of the mage
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skillful Lesson: Courtly Graces
o Skill Increase: Society (master)
o Gear: ring of the ram, +1 leather armor, spectacles of understanding, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), golden legion epaulet, bracers of missile deflection
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Blind-Fight
o Skill Feat: Slippery Secrets
o Skill Increase: Deception (master)
o Gear: ethersight ring, crown of the companion, ring of the ram, +1 leather armor, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bag of holding (type I)
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Lesser Augmentation (Energy Beam)
o Skillful Lesson: Biographical Eye
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient leather armor, boots of bounding, ethersight ring, ring of the ram, spectacles of understanding, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 16, Cha 14)
o Class Feat: Suspect of Opportunity
o Skill Feat: Arcane Sense
o Skill Increase: Arcana (master), Stealth (trained)
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient leather armor, mask of the cursed eye, ethersight ring, ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
The main class feat in this block is Blind-Fight, representing Cyclops’s ability to fight when deprived of his glasses or visor and is forced to close his eyes to avoid devastating everything. Suspect of Opportunity is useful as a reaction, while Athletic Strategist will help him control the battlefield. Out of his skill feats from this block, the centerpiece is Slippery Secrets to make Cyclops better at evading telepathic intrusions after all the time he’s spent with them, often intimately.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Prescient Planner
o Skillful Lesson: Connections
o Skill Increase: Occultism (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, grievous weapon rune, +1 resilient leather armor, boots of bounding, ethersight ring
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Foresee Danger
o Skill Feat: Eye of the Arclords
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert)
o Gear: +2 resilient leather armor, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), impactful weapon rune, armbands of athleticism, mask of the cursed eye, thundering weapon rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Core Rejuvenation
o Skillful Lesson: Assured Identification
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient leather armor, bag of holding (type III), impactful weapon rune, armbands of athleticism, grievous weapon rune
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Plot the Future
o Skill Feat: Wary Disarmament
o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)
o Gear: greater ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater quick runner’s shirt, +2 resilient leather armor, impactful weapon rune, ring of lies
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 14, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 21, Wis 18, Cha 14)
o General Feat: Prescient Consumable
o Skillful Lesson: Kreighton’s Cognitive Crossover (Arcana, Society)
o Skill Increase: Society (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather armor, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), bag of holding (type III), axiomatic weapon rune
Prescient Planner, Prescient Consumable, and Plot the Future play into Cyclops’s ability to plan countless contingencies. While Cyclops isn’t as guilty of treating death as cheaply as other X-Men, Core Rejuvenation captures that concept.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Didactic Strike
o Skill Feat: Quick Unlock
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather armor, greater midday lantern, greater ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater quick runner’s shirt
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Greater Augmentation (Core Rejuvenation)
o Skillful Lesson: Quick Contacts
o Skill Increase: Deception (legendary)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thundering weapon rune, dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient leather armor, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Trickster’s Ace
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Gear: diadem of intellect, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), speed weapon rune, greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather armor, greater midday lantern
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: True Perception
o Skillful Lesson: Doublespeak
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather armor, diadem of intellect, greater impactful weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thundering weapon rune, dragonscale amulet
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str 16, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 22, Wis 18, Cha 14)
o Class Feat: Everyone’s a Suspect
o Skill Feat: Criminal Connections
o Skill Increase: Occultism (legendary)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient leather armor, archivist’s gaze, greater impactful weapon rune, speed weapon rune, greater talisman cord
Didactic Strike rounds out Cyclops's ability as a leader, greatly enhancing his ability to improve the capability of his team. His preparedness for any situation and the contingency plans that he always sets in place, which were previously covered by Prescient Planner and Consumable, is also covered thanks to Trickster's Ace. In more recent years, Cyclops has become a much more morally grey character, and I think Criminal Connections helps sell that.
CONCLUSION
Our Cyclops might be a human soul trapped within a machine and shoot laser beams instead of force beams, but it's as close as I could get, dammit! His strange spatial awareness powers are covered with the investigator class and its Devise a Stratagem ability while his considerable skill as a strategist is achieved through Shared Stratagem and its successor, Didactic Stratagem. I considered taking an archetype in monk or martial artist to fit his training in such, but veered closer to his status as a tactician with many of the investigator feats. He's even able to fight while blinded thanks to Blind-Fight. Meanwhile, Cyclops's familiarity with telepaths and his resistance to them is reflected by Slippery Secrets and his high Will save.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build and the new format!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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