On this most auspicious day, we continue the series of Scooby builds. 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.
The Ready to Die YT channel features a video detailing this build if you prefer listening and watching that over reading.
With that, let’s get into the build for Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo!
DAPHNE BLAKE
SOURCE Scooby-Doo
BUILD GOALS
o Daphne is a fashion-loving but danger-prone member of Mystery Inc. and in numerous instances, comes from an affluent background, including have a butler to cater to her whims
o Possibly in response to the number of times she’s been kidnapped, Daphne has picked up martial arts in a number of versions and even participated in martial arts tournaments
o She makes use of her flexibility and quick thinking during fights
o After having been captured several times, she has learned how to use her own make-up accessories to pick locks
o In several instances, she has taken up the job of a reporter after leaving Mystery Incorporated
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Versatile Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition
o General Feat: Toughness
Background: Noble
o Ability Boosts: +Intelligence, +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Society (trained), Heraldry Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Courtly Graces
Class & Subclass: Monk
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Diplomacy (trained), Performance (trained), Stealth (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Class Feat: Ki Rush, Reflective Ripple Stance
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 14, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 12)
As for most of the party, there isn’t much reason to not make them human so Daphne will stick with that ancestry, using her versatile heritage to gain Toughness as she isn’t putting much into Constitution to start out with. Given Daphne’s affluent background, which was established in A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and has been continued in several incarnations since, she’ll use the noble background. Finally, Daphne has had a history of being a damsel-in-distress. However, the first live-action movie saw her become interpreted as somebody who had undergone rigorous martials training to defy that stereotype, leading to the use of the monk class with a focus on Dexterity. From her Natural Ambition ancestry feat, she can take Ki Rush to help her flee from foes and avoid attacks from her adversaries. Being Dex-focused, she’ll take Reflective Ripple Stance to give her a unique Strike with the disarm and trip traits, better fitting a character who tends to capture threats more than eliminating them.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Rogue Dedication
o Skill Feat: Bargain Hunter, Bon Mot
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained), Occultism (trained)
o Gear: mudlily
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), mudlily, cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Flying Kick
o Skill Feat: Cat Fall
o Gear: bracelet of dashing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), quick wig, mudlily
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 19, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 14)
o Ancestry Feat: Keep Up Appearances
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, glasses of sociability, quick wig, mudlily, cloak of feline rest
Partially to help her pick up more skills and also to capitalize on enemies underestimating her, Daphne takes up the Rogue Dedication, letting her get the jump on foes. She’ll take Flying Kick from her monk feats as a generally useful class feat and a move that she’s pulled off a few times before. While she has become more rough and tumble, Daphne remains a fashionista and uses Bargain Hunter to represent that. With her investment in Diplomacy, she can take advantage of Bon Mot while her Acrobatics allows her to take Cat Fall since she does have some cartoon physics. Fleet is gonna help her run from the mysterious monsters she and her friends often encounter and will stack with her incredible movement as a monk. This might honestly make her a little faster than she normally is, reaching speeds that are probably better usually left to Shaggy and Scooby, but it’s hard to avoid with her class. Daphne can be fairly free-spirited but her rearing has left some instances of her with a stiff upper lip, represented by her Keep Up Appearances ancestry feat.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Sneak Attacker
o Skill Feat: Wary Disarmament
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, bracelet of dashing, quick wig, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Breath Control
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (expert)
o Path to Perfection: Reflex (master)
o Gear: vaultbreaker’s harness, +1 explorer’s clothing, merchant’s guile, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, glasses of sociability
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Basic Trickery – Tumble Behind
o Skill Feat: Slippery Prey
o Gear: fearless sash, crown of the companion, vaultbreaker’s harness, +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Know Oneself
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, fearless sash, bravery baldric (restoration), crown of the companion, merchant’s guile, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 16)
o Class Feat: Skill Mastery – Eyes of the City
o Skill Feat: Shameless Request
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert), Diplomacy (master)
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, lover’s gloves, fearless sash, crown of the companion, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
Picking up the Sneak Attacker class feat is largely for mechanical purposes – Daphne mostly uses Dexterity, which can mean her melee damage is a little lacking and this provides a potential supplement to that damage. Basic Trickery leading into Tumble Behind gives her a solid way of setting up off-guard while making use of her Acrobatics. Finally, Skill Mastery helps her improve her skills and take up the Eyes of the City so that she can use her investigative skills as a sleuth and a reporter to track down leads and suspects. Given her familiarity with traps from interactions with Fred and her skill in Thievery, she can make use of Wary Disarmament. She can also grab Slippery Prey to make her better at escaping binds and grapples alike after her growing used to being snatched up. Finally, she has Shameless Request for her being possibly the most diplomatic of member of Mystery Inc. Know Oneself with how true Daphne tends to stay towards herself.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Prescient Planner
o Skill Increase: Thievery (master)
o Path to Perfection: Will (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, messenger’s ring, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, fearless sash, bravery baldric (restoration)
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Whirling Throw
o Skill Feat: Quick Unlock
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), daredevil boots, armbands of athleticism, lover’s gloves, empathic cords
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Advanced General Training – Prescient Consumable
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater skeleton key, daredevil boots, armbands of athleticism, messenger’s ring
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Dodging Roll
o Skill Feat: Tumbling Theft
o Gear: moderate clarity goggles, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), spectacles of inquiry, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, daredevil boots, cape of the mountebank
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 18, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16)
o General Feat: A Home in Every Port
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (legendary)
o Path to Perfection:Reflexes (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, moderate clarity goggles, bag of holding (type IV), handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater boots of elvenkind, greater skeleton key
Again with the Whirling Throw, it’s less meant to specifically represent something and more be generally useful while playing with her ability to throw enemies into Fred’s traps. Daphne has master in Reflex, but she can also take Dodging Roll to be better protected against surprises and the like. She can make use of Tumbling Theft so that when she slips by a monster, she can try to steal a clue from them. Prescient Planner is meant less to resemble Daphne’s preparedness and more her excess of wealth allowing her to always have the resources she needs. A Home in Every Port follows a similar idea and concept with Daphne’s family having vacation homes around the world.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Advanced Trickery – Sidestep
o Skill Feat: Rolling Landing
o Gear: portable hole, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding, moderate clarity goggles, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), spectacles of inquiry
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Heroic Presence
o Skill Increase: Thievery (legendary)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thunderblast slippers, portable hole, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, moderate clarity goggles, bag of holding (type IV)
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Swift River
o Skill Feat: No Cause for Alarm
o Gear: anklets of alacrity, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), headbands of translocation, portable hole, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, anklets of alacrity, greater armbands of athleticism, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thunderblast slippers, portable hole
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 22, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Enduring Quickness
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, mercurial mantle, greater armbands of athleticism, headbands of translocation, major alluring scarf
Through Advanced Trickery, Daphne can gain Sidestep which is a fun feat that allows her to redirect enemy’s blows in a very cartoonish manner. A nice aspect of this is that it allows Daphne to take down foes without having to inflict blows herself. Given how many restraints Daphne has escaped, Swift River makes a certain amount of sense. Finally, Enduring Quickness allows Daphne to be permanently quickened for Stride, Leap, or Jump actions, which she can use to escape from monsters chasing her and her friends. This feat could certainly be taken earlier, but No Cause for Alarm is a fantastic fit for Daphne to calm down Shaggy and Scooby when they start freaking out.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Rogue Dedication is an obvious choice for a free archetype game and with the freed-up feats, she can look into options such as Flurry of Maneuvers, Rippling Spin, along with the Knockback Strike line of feats. Wave Spiral also wouldn’t be a bad option for her. From her rogue archetype, she may benefit from more instances of Skill Mastery, Uncanny Dodge, and rogue feats such as Nimble Roll, Skirmish Strike, and Gang Up. Given her role as the richest member of the gang, Daphne could also make use of the Dandy Dedication, which also helps her increase more skills.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Daphne Blake is a versatile human monk with the noble background. After a lifetime of being the damsel-in-distress, she uses Slippery Prey, Quick Unlock and martial prowess to escape that history. Her love of fashion and shopping finds some representation in Bargain Hunter while Prescient Planner and A Home in Every Port are a nod to the vast resources of her family. Being a Dex-focused martial artist with several Acrobatic and Athletics skill feats, Daphne also makes use of options such as Sidestep, Tumble Behind, and Tumbling Theft to outwit enemies. Her investment in Thievery and its related skill feats covers her use of her own make-up accessories to pick locks.
This madam of martial might matches monsters with manic mirth while maintaining a margin of materialism.
Lemme 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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