As we reach the end of the month of spooks and scares, I deliver to you the last of the builds that were voted on and the one that received the greatest amount of support. I absolutely took some liberties building Ripley as a summoner with a pet xenomorph, but this was the most fun idea to me. Maybe I’ll revisit an Ellen Ripley build as a different class someday, most likely inventor, but for now, I’m actually really happy with this build. I had fun figuring it out even if it might not be the most optimal. Speaking of which, as always, I do these builds in a vacuum as to what I think would be the best fit for the character. If you ever use this build, the constraints or events of your own game might encourage different choices, so you should feel free to make those.
As the Halloween season draws to a close, I want to offer my gratitude for sticking with me through it and, for those of you from the Discord, casting votes for the builds to do. This was a fun one and might be something I look at doing more in the future.
Now, let’s get into the build for Ellen Ripley from the Alien franchise!
RIPLEY
CHARACTER Ellen Ripley
SOURCE Alien
GOALS
o Ellen Ripley was a warrant officer aboard the Nostromo when it encountered a xenomorph that they unintentionally picked up from a planetoid
o She earned a Masters in engineering before serving in the US Merchant Navy, which eventually led to her encounter with the xenomorph
o When facing the xenomorph, Ellen proved methodical and effective though was unable to prevent the death of her crewmates and was ultimately forced to detonate the Nostromo while she escaped aboard the shuttle Narcissus
o Ellen wielded a variety of weapons in her fight against the xenomorph, but one of her most famous armaments is the Power Loader, a mechanized exoskeleton for lifting heavy objects and materials
o This build includes the xenomorph, a savage alien with pharyngeal jaws, a bladed tail, and claws
o Their blood is acidic while their body is covered in a sturdy, black carapace
o Xenomorphs adopt features of hosts they emerge from and can occur in several different castes, with the largest and most powerful being the Queen
o Queens can spit acid from their mouths, like several specialized members of their breed
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Skilled Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Intelligence, +Charisma
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition
o Skill Increase: Stealth (trained)
Background: Mechanic
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Charisma
o Skills: Crafting (trained), Engineering Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Quick Repair
Class & Subclass: Summoner
o Class Ability Boost: +Charisma
o Skills: Acrobatics (trained), Arcana (trained), Athletics (trained), Intimidation (trained), Medicine (trained), Society (trained), Piloting Lore (trained)
o Class Feat: Energy Heart – Acid, Expanded Senses or Extend Boost
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – detect magic, electric arc, light, protect companion, read aura; 1st – alarm, magic missile
Eidolon: Cunning Dragon (Str 12, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 12)
o Attacks: tail 1d6 acid (deadly d8, finesse), claw 1d6 slashing (agile, finesse)
o Breath Weapon: 60-foot Line of Acid
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 14, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 18)
Taking the skilled heritage helps Ripley pick up an extra skill that will at least advance to expert proficiency on its own, an option I favored for the build because her skills need to both represent what she can and her eidolon can do. Mechanic as a background made the most sense considering her degree and general background, but as in many case, is mostly flavor. For her class, I probably could have picked inventor and made a good representation, but given that this is the annual horror month, I wanted to play into that by including the titular antagonists of her films, the xenomorph. I was originally looking at beast eidolon, but strangely enough, dragon proved to be a better fit with its ability to spit acid being prevalent among xenomorph queens and certain other specialized members of their race. I know it is only the xenomorph’s blood that is acidic, but I couldn’t think of a better way to represent it than through Energy Heart giving it an acidic attack. I originally liked Expanded Senses to represent the extraordinary senses that xenomorphs possess, since they lack regular vision, but I could also see Extend Boost to hopefully free up some of Ripley’s own actions that she has to share with her pet xenomorph.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Inventor Dedication – Armor Innovation (Power Suit)
o Skill Feat: Hefty Hauler, Inventor
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – 1 alarm, endure, magic missile
o Gear: dull grey aeon stone
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Arcana (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – 1 alarm, endure, magic missile; 2nd – rapid adaptation
o Gear: +1 air repeater, dull grey aeon stone, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Brilliant Crafter
o Skill Feat: Improvise Tool
o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – 1 alarm, endure, magic missile; 2nd – ignite fireworks, rapid adaptation
o Gear: flaming star, +1 air repeater, necklace of knives, dull grey aeon stone
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 19)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 14, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 14)
o Ancestry Feat: Cooperative Nature
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert), Stealth (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 2nd – ignite fireworks, rapid adaptation; 3rd – fireball, magic missile
o Gear: +1 striking air repeater, flaming star, staff of fire, necklace of knives, dull grey aeon stone, ring of discretion
One of the things I want to do with this build, and a reason I talked about inventor earlier, is that I kind of want to represent the power loader. While it doesn’t come into play until after the first movie, it is a very iconic scene that has been replicated in various other media, and I want to do likewise here. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to really get into it for a while because the way we’re going to achieve it is by taking the Inventor Dedication and gaining a power suit armor innovation. The Hefty Hauler feat further reflects this concept while Improvised Tools is intended to play into the dire straits with limited resources that she often finds herself in. From her archetype, Brilliant Crafter gives her a skill that she doesn’t have to worry about applying skill increases to, freeing her up to increase a skill that her xenomorph might benefit from. From the human ancestry feats, I liked Cooperative Nature for Ripley having to rely on others to survive or her desire to save others as much as she can from the alien horrors that she has come in contact with.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Bloodletting Claws
o Skill Feat: Magical Crafting
o Spell Repertoire: 2nd – ignite fireworks, rapid adaptation; 3rd – fireball, haste, magic missile
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, +1 striking air repeater, belt of good health, flaming star, hand of the mage, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Arcana (master), Crafting (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 3rd – fireball, haste, magic missile; 4th – chromatic armor, enervation
o Gear: ring of acid resistance, +1 explorer’s clothing, wand of manifold missiles (1st-level), +1 striking air repeater, flaming star, staff of fire
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Basic Modification – Metallic Reactance
o Skill Feat: Alchemical Crafting
o Spell Repertoire: 3rd – fireball, magic missile; 4th – chromatic armor, enervation, winning streak
o Gear: collar of the eternal bond, traveler’s any-tool, ring of acid resistance, +1 explorer’s clothing, +1 striking air repeater, belt of good health
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Cooperative Soul
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – chromatic armor, enervation, winning streak; 5th – magic missile, fireball
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, collar of the eternal bond, boots of bounding, ring of acid resistance, wand of manifold missiles (1st-level), +1 striking air repeater
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 20)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 16, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 14)
o Class Feat: Sentinel Dedication
o Skill Feat: Armor Assist
o Skill Increase: Nature (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – chromatic armor, winning streak; 5th – magic missile, fireball, grisly growths
o Gear: energy robe (acid), +1 resilient power suit, greater flaming star, collar of the eternal bond, traveler’s any-tool, +1 striking air repeater
While this build lacks a way to really capture the feel of the xenomorph’s distinctive nested mouth, I feel like Bloodletting Claws captures the idea in spirit while also playing into the savage ferocity they oft display. Outside of that, I took feats to make the power loader a reality. I would have loved to use Basic Modification to take Muscular Exoskeleton, but you have to be under the effects of Overdrive to gain the bonuses, which the inventor archetype doesn’t gain. Instead, Metallic Reactance at least grants her some resistance to acid, which fits for her interactions with the xenomorphs. With the Sentinel Dedication, which we couldn’t take until she gained two feats from her Inventor Dedication, she can now wear her power armor and her proficiency in it will increase along with her class’s armor increase. The increase to Stealth is largely for the sake of the xenomorph while her Crafting feats are intended to take advantage of her naturally increasing Crafting skill as well as reflect her engineering skills she possesses.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Breath Control
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – magic missile, fireball, grisly growths; 6th – true seeing, zero gravity
o Gear: +2 striking air repeater, energy robe (acid), wand of manifold missiles (3rd-level), +1 resilient power suit, collar of the eternal bond, boots of bounding
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Hulking Size
o Skill Feat: Specialty Crafting – Blacksmithing
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – magic missile, fireball; 6th – disintegrate, true seeing, zero gravity
o Gear: +2 resilient power suit, +2 striking air repeater, greater ring of acid resistance, wand of manifold missiles (3rd-level), greater flaming star, greater staff of fire
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Bounce Back
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – disintegrate, true seeing, zero gravity; 7th – force cage, haste
o Gear: +2 greater striking air repeater, +2 resilient power suit, implacable armor rune, cloak of the bat, energy robe (acid), wand of manifold missiles (3rd-level)
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Merciless Rend
o Skill Feat: Battle Medicine
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – disintegrate, true seeing; 7th – force cage, haste, magic missile
o Gear: wand of manifold missiles (5th-level), +2 greater striking air repeater, major flaming star, +2 resilient power suit, cloak of the bat, energy robe (acid)
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 21)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 21, Con 16, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 16)
o General Feat: Unified Theory
o Skill Increase: Arcana (legendary), Crafting (legendary)
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – force cage, haste, magic missile; 8th – fireball, polar ray
o Gear: +2 greater resilient power suit, boots of speed, wand of manifold missiles (5th-level), +2 greater striking air repeater, implacable armor rune, greater crafter’s eyepiece
I know it seems a little silly, but Breath Control is to help Ripley with space travel. Hulking Size gets our xenomorph up to the size of a xenomorph queen while Merciless Rend gives her a rend that potentially works well with the xenomorph’s Draconic Frenzy that it gained at 7th level. The increase to Arcana is mainly so that she can potentially use her extend boost more efficiently, but it also leads into Unified Theory so that she can use Arcana to Trick Magic Item with any sort of magic item. Bounce Back feels like a necessity for any horror hero.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Resilient Shell
o Skill Feat: Trick Magic Item
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – force cage, haste, magic missile; 8th – fireball, polar ray, power word stun
o Gear: greater stampede medallion, +2 greater resilient power suit, major ring of acid resistance, wand of manifold missiles (5th-level), +2 greater striking air repeater, major flaming star
LEVEL 17
o Eidolon Transcendence: +Dexterity (Str 18, Dex 23, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18)
o Ancestry Feat: Stubborn Persistence
o Skill Increase: Stealth (legendary)
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – fireball, polar ray, power word stun; 9th – haste, magic missile
o Gear: +3 greater striking air repeater, greater corrosive weapon rune, greater stampede medallion, +2 greater resilient power suit, boots of speed, wand of manifold missiles (5th-level)
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Alacritous Action
o Skill Feat: Craft Anything
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – polar ray, power word stun; 9th – fireball, haste, magic missile
o Gear: circlet of persuasion, +3 greater striking air repeater, speed weapon rune, greater stampede medallion, +2 greater resilient power suit, major ring of acid resistance
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – polar ray, power word stun; 9th – fireball, haste, magic missile
o Gear: +3 greater resilient power suit, circlet of persuasion, wand of manifold missiles (7th-level), +3 greater striking air repeater, greater corrosive weapon rune, greater stampede medallion
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 22)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Eternal Boost
o Skill Feat: Snare Crafting
o Skill Increase: Survival (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – polar ray, power word stun; 9th – fireball, haste, magic missile
o Gear: +3 major striking air repeater, +3 greater resilient power suit, mask of allure, wand of manifold missiles (7th-level), staff of power, wand of smoldering fireballs (7th-level)
Resilient Shell is a good fit for the xenomorph’s hardened carapace while Alacritous Action covers its startling speed. The final class feat, Eternal Boost, makes it so that she can constantly keep her xenomorph buffed up, largely because the other two capstone feats don’t really fit her. Stubborn Persistence feels, like Bounce Back, a classic fit for horror heroine, persevering even when your body is begging for rest. Craft Anything and Snare Crafting round out her Crafting skill feats, which I dive into largely to represent the futuristic tech that she has access to as well as her background in engineering, even if the movies don’t seem to dive too deeply into that aspect of her character. The increases to Athletics help the xenomorph better maneuver in abnormal environments, such as crawling along walls or even swimming. I would’ve taken Combat Climber or even Underwater Marauder, but as far as I can tell, skill feats don’t apply to the eidolon, which reduces their effectiveness within this build.
CONCLUSION
While it ended up with a few odd choices, including some that didn’t come online until later, we have a build for Ellen Ripley, which heavily features a xenomorph, though this one acts as a companion instead of an adversary. She reflects her knowledge in engineering with Brilliant Crafter with her famous Power Loader covered by her power suit armor innovation, which is even resistant to acid, a common armament of her most persistent foe. The technology and weaponry of her far-flung future are meant to be demonstrated both with her ability to craft items as well as the spells that she has access to with fireball included to give her an explosive option when all else fails. I also wanted to make sure she had a high Charisma, and therefore spell DC, because her eidolon’s breath weapon is based off of that. Meanwhile, her xenomorph develops into a xenomorph queen throughout the course of its growth with Hulking Size. Instead of acidic blood, I gave them an acidic attack and breath weapon, the latter of which is a noted ability of queens and other castes of xenomorphs. Their savagery and ferocity as well as the hideous wounds they inflict are achieved through feats such as Bloodletting Claws and Merciless Rend as well as the Draconic Frenzy ability. Furthermore, their thick outer shell is achieved with Resilient Shell.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build and the new format!
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. Next week, we’re diving straight into the new content from Guns and Gears as I build a certain tin tyrant from one of my favorite franchises!
Have a fantastic Friday!
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