Having done a couple of builds at this point, I've come to the conclusion that MOBAs and fighting games tend to have the easiest characters to translate over into builds. The defined nature of their moves and abilities provide obvious focus for the build itself with main problems arising from powers that seem incongruous with each other. The unfortunate aspect of this about fighting games however is that most characters from classic games are gonna be some flavor of monk. However, this character at least finds better function as a different class, which made it fun to explore. 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.
Let's get into the build for Ferra/Torr from Mortal Kombat!
FERRA/TORR
CHARACTER Ferra & Torr
SOURCE Mortal Kombat
BUILD GOALS
o Ferra and Torr are part of a symbiotic race originating from Outworld, with Torr being a hulking brute that is a mature form of their species and Ferra a small but feral girl that rides atop his back and is a juvenile of their race
o They serve as the personal bodyguards of Kotal Kahn
o As with most characters in game, Ferra and Torr have three style variations that can be selected for them to fight in
o Lackey has Torr fight on his own, fighting much more aggressively in close quarters
o Ruthless is a risk-reward fighting style as it involved Ferra stabbing Torr to deal damage and spur him on to lash out with greater ferocity and power, specifically using the Pain and Gain move
o Vicious is probably the most recognized style that involves Torr using Ferra as a living weapon that he hurls at foes
o Bowl Girl launches Ferra across the ground, knocking foes off their feet. In the Lackey style, this becomes Boulder Roll and involves Torr rolling himself at a foe
o Ferra Toss and Boss Toss launches Ferra into the air where she spins and slashes as she comes down on the target
o Tuck ‘n’ Charge opens with a powerful smack before Torr charges through the opponent. When in the Lackey style, this is replaced by a basic Torr Charge
o With the Deep Stab and Little Kutters move, Torr grabs an opponent while Ferra stabs at them with her claws. Back Breaker replaces Deep Stab in the Lackey style and has Torr bear hug the target
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Badlands Orc
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Constitution
o Ancestry Feat: Iron Fists
Background: Guard
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Charisma
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (trained), Warfare Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Quick Coercion
Class & Subclass: Animal Instinct (Ape) Barbarian
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Stealth (trained), Survival (trained)
o Class Feat: Sudden Charge
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14)
For this particular build, we’re actually going to start with building Torr as the base character as he does most of the fighting and it works out for the best for what the build wants to achieve. The duo are members of a species native to the Outworld, who go through a strange life cycle starting as pygmies such as Ferra before undergoing a metamorphosis into a brute like Torr. Orc is a good stand-in for this violet, brutish race and the badlands heritage matches well with the harshness of their environment. Iron Fists matches well with the unarmed combat that Torr employs, giving some umph to even his regular fist strikes. Given their work as a bodyguard for Kotal Kahn, guard seemed like a good background for them. Finally, barbarian is the clear choice for Torr’s class with the ape animal instinct giving him a heavy-hitting unarmed attack that benefits from the grapple trait. Sudden Charge stands in for Tuck ‘n’ Charge/Torr Charge.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Summoner Dedication – Anger Phantom Eidolon
o Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – infectious enthusiasm, protect companion
Eidolon: Enraged Assassin (Str 14, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12)
o Attacks: spike – 1d6 piercing (deadly d8, finesse), claw – 1d6 slashing (agile, finesse)
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Basic Synergy – Advanced Weaponry (claw, versatile P)
o Skill Feat: Combat Climber
o Gear: crushing weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), necklace of knives, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 19, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 14)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14)
o Ancestry Feat: Bloody Blows
o Skill Increase: Survival (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), crushing weapon rune, golden legion epualet, necklace of knives, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
To achieve the companionship of Ferra, Torr makes use of the Summoner Dedication. Unfortunately, the closest equivalent to Ferra is likely the anger phantom eidolon, which can be a Small, rage-filled creature. There are some appropriate summoner feats down the line but none quite fit early on. To get to them, Torr picks up Basic Synergy for Advanced Weaponry to give Ferra more options for her claws. Given that there are now two ways to hurt Torr, he picks up Toughness from his general feats. Bloody Blows further enhances Torr’s unarmed combat capability, inflicting bleed on targets that he crits against. Given that Torr doesn’t seem terribly skilled, the build focuses predominantly on more physical skill feats.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Animal Skin
o Skill Feat: Hefty Hauler
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, crushing weapon rune, brooch of shielding, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: ring of the ram, +1 explorer’s clothing, quick runner’s shirt, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), crushing weapon rune, golden legion epualet
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Friendly Toss
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: boots of bounding, hauling weapon rune, ring of the ram, +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Scar-Thick Skin
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert)
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, bag of holding (type II), ring of the ram, quick runner’s shirt, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16)
o Class Feat: Advanced Synergy – Bloodletting Claws
o Skill Feat: Lead Climber
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, thundering weapon rune, boots of bounding, ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
The armor that Torr does wear seems to be predominantly piecemeal, negligible enough for him to take up Animal Skin to protect him. Friendly Toss is a very important part of the build as it allows Torr to hurl Ferra as part of Ferra Toss and Boss Toss. Throwing her makes the target flat-footed to her attack, increasing her chance to hit. Torr should be using this to help set up flanks, lobbing Ferra on the other side of enemies before moving into place himself. With the summoner’s Bloodletting Claws, Ferra can inflict bleed on her crits, matching Torr’s Bloody Blows and playing into the gorier moves that the pair performs. Ferra is technically able to use the Mount action on Torr as he is a larger creature that is willing to be a mount so to ensure that he can carry her with whatever else he’s got on his person, he picks up Hefty Hauler.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Orc Ferocity
o Skill Increase: Survival (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, greater bracers of missile deflection, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, bag of holding (type II)
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Expert Combat Eidolon
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), dinosaur boots, armbands of athleticism, rhinoceros mask, thundering weapon rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Lifeblood’s Call
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater hauling weapon rune, dinosaur boots, armbands of athleticism, greater bracers of missile deflection
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Thrash
o Skill Feat: Rapid Mantel
o Gear: greater ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), stampede medallion, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, dinosaur boots, impactful weapon rune
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 16, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 16)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 21, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 18)
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ring of the ram, boots of speed, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater hauling weapon rune, gorget of the primal roar
Expert Combat Eidolon increases Ferra’s usefulness in general combat while Thrash helps set up the pair’s combat cycle. Opening with a Friendly Toss, Torr can then move into place against the target. Next turn, Torr can open with a Grapple (or Ferra with a Strike depending on how the target’s DCs and AC stack up), perform a Thrash, and then allow Ferra to Strike the flat-footed target with only the 2nd multiple attack penalty. Thrash also fits for the Back Braker move from the Lackey fighting style. Lifeblood’s Call plays slightly into the Ruthless fighting style, making Torr deadlier as he grows closer to death and will also stack with his extra damage from his Rage. Using his general feat to pick up Orc Ferocity increases Torr’s ability to stay in the fight while also increasing the effectiveness of Lifeblood’s Call somewhat – it increases the likelihood he’s still up to deal the extra damage that it gives him. In addition, keeping Torr up means there are two additional combatants in the fight with Ferra around.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Predator’s Pounce
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Gear: greater stampede medallion, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding, greater ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), stampede medallion
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Rampaging Ferocity
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Eidolon Transcendence: +Dexterity
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater stampede medallion, greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ring of the ram, boots of speed
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Come and Get Me
o Skill Feat: Quick Climb
o Gear: belt of giant strength, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), speed weapon rune, greater stampede medallion, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of speed
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, belt of giant strength, 17, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater stampede medallion, greater thundering weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 22, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 16)
o Eidolon Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 20, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Furious Grab
o Skill Feat: Planar Survival
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major stampede medallion, belt of giant strength, greater dinosaur boots, speed weapon rune
The earlier mentioned combat cycle gets greatly improved in this block, starting with Predator’s Pounce. Since it is Ferra making the actual attack, Torr can still Friendly Toss her into place and then Predator’s Pounce into melee as a single action and make an attack despite it having the open trait. Come and Get Me is based more off of the Ruthless fighting style, increasing the damage Torr takes to make them more open targets. But Furious Grab plays into the combat cycle a bit more, allowing Torr to smack a target, Furious Grab them, and then hold onto them while Ferra tears into them, as per Deep Stab and Little Kutters. This was a less ferocity centric build than I’ve done with orcs in the past, but Rampaging or Incredible Ferocity are still the best ways to go for his 17th level ancestry feat. Rampaging in particular gives him a chance to Strike out against the opponent, taking advantage of Lifeblood’s Call to try to score some extra damage.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Obviously, the Summoner Dedication is the way to go in any free archetype games. It’d be best to pick up Initial Eidolon Ability to give Ferra the Furious Strike action to really tear into grappled foes, and some other summoner feats such as Skilled Partner to give her Titan Wrestler and Blood Frenzy to give her a rage of her own. If you can’t find anything else that you like in the Summoner Dedication, I suggest looking towards the Wrestler Dedication. Combat Grab lets him Strike and grab a target as a single action, Crushing Grab adds damage to that initial grab, and it gives him some ability to inflict conditions on foes with options like Spinebreaker, Whirling Throw, Submission Hold, and Strangle. With the freed up barbarian feats, Torr can pick up feats such as Barreling Charge to trample over foes, Wounded Rage would help his action economy, and Brutal Bully adds some extra damage to his maneuvers, particularly his grapple, which helps with the lower damage of Ferra.
BUILD CONCLUSION
While at his baseline, Torr is a rampaging barbarian who fights unarmed with the ape animal instinct, reflective of the Lackey fighting style for at least his first level. The orc ancestry serves for whatever strange race he and Ferra are actually part of, and the Iron Fists enhance the deadliness of his fists, giving him a lethal fighting option even when he doesn’t want, or is unable, to rage. With the Summoner Dedication, Torr unites with Ferra, represented as a Small anger phantom eidolon, who slices and rips open bleeding wounds in foes with her nails and Bloodletting Claws. The Ruthless fighting style is achieved not by Ferra stabbing into Torr, but by him welcoming blows from the enemy with Come and Get Me, leaving them open to his own powerful strikes. It isn’t until Torr gets his Friendly Toss that he can really start treating Ferra as a weapon like he does in-game. With this, he can perform attacks such as Ferra Toss and Boss Toss and potentially Bowl Girl, though this is more Ferra making a Trip attempt rather than an attack. As per Boulder Roll, Torr could also make this Trip himself so that Ferra can tear at the downed target. Sudden Charge is the closest thing to the Torr Charge, but also serves as the Tuck ‘n’ Charge while Ferra is mounted, which she can be since Torr is a larger creature than her (and Hefty Hauler helps him to carry her along with the rest of his gear). With the Thrash feat, Torr is able to crush foes in his grasp as per Back Breaker, but he can also hold them in place for Ferra to unleash her Deep Stab or Little Kutters.
Feel free to lemme know what you think and if there's any other particular builds you'd like to see - I've been updating my list and I'm currently lined up until February, but I still appreciate knowing what folks want to see.
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 nerds, 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, I'm returning to the world of League of Legends to take a crack at building somebody who uses a gun but isn't gunslinger.
Have a fantastic Friday!
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