This is another request that I received before the hiatus and have finally had the chance to unveil! Not much to say about it other than I'm not sure if I'm ever going to build another Digimon, but this was a fun one to put together. While it wasn't too difficult when it came to figuring out class feats, it was a little rougher when it came to choosing skills and skill feats, lacking that reference for the character. 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 Gallantmon from Digimon!
GALLANTMON
CHARACTER Gallantmon
SOURCE Digimon
BUILD GOALS
o Gallantmon is a mega-level Digimon that evolves from the Guilmon line, a reptilian/saurian Digimon. Most versions of Guilmon evolutions are savage if not outright malevolent
o However, despite possessing the virus attribute, Gallantmon is a chivalrous and benevolent individual that is often grouped with other royal knight Digimon
o Aside from being a knight, he also has a dragon theme that is further reflected by the flying dragon machine he rides known as Grani
o He wields a holy lance known as Gram, using it to deliver powerful blows and charges, as well as the holy shield Aegis that he uses to protect others
o He can launch both lightning and holy energy from his lance and shield
o Grani is also able to unleash blasts of energy and allow Gallantmon to perform powerful charges
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Tiefling Lizardfolk
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Wisdom, +Charisma, -Intelligence
o Ancestry Feat: Fiendish Eyes
Background: Squire
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Charisma
o Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Warfare Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Armor Assist
Class & Subclass: Paladin Champion
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (trained), Nature (trained), Religion (trained)
o Class Feat: Deity’s Domain – Lightning
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 16)
In an effort to represent his origin as a Guilmon and other reptilian qualities, the Gallantmon build will make use of the lizardfolk ancestry, adding the tiefling versatile heritage to reflect his virus attribute. The squire background feels like a good fit for a character that aspires to be and serves as a knight, putting a dark history behind them. Further leaning into that aesthetic of a ‘knight in shining armor’ is the champion class with the paladin cause so that he can be a defender of the digital world. While the Deity’s Domain feat doesn’t net him any additional focus points, he can use it to pick up the charged javelin focus spell. This is a fancy little spell that I’d love to work into a magus build someday, but until then it’s a fun spell attack that deals persistent electricity damage and grants a bonus to attacks made against them as long as they’re still taking that damage. It also helps serve as the lightning that Gallantmon can launch from his armaments.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Ranged Reprisal
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (expert)
o Divine Ally: Steed – Riding Drake
o Gear: +1 lance, cloak of feline rest, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Sun Blade
o Skill Feat: Express Rider
o Gear: glasses of sociability, +1 lance, flask of fellowship, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 18)
o Ancestry Feat: Fiendish Resistance – Electricity or Fire
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (expert)
o Gear: +1 striking lance, glasses of sociability, golden legion epaulet, flask of fellowship, cloak of feline rest, psychopomp mask
None of the class feats really stand out at 2nd level. An argument could be made for Dragonslayer Oath as a sort of hint towards the other possible mega evolution of his line, the evil dragon Megidramon. This is a rather situational feat, so the build uses Ranged Reprisal that will allow Gallantmon to Step towards a foe threatening his friends when he is just out of reach, which is more generally useful. By taking Sun Blade, Gallantmon both gains an additional focus point and receives another ability that serves the role of the energy beams that he launches about. While he specifically has to use his lance for it, since lances are part of spear weapon group, this works well for his Shield of the Just or Sabert Shot, which fire holy or purifying energy. Gallantmon will also choose a steed for his first divine ally and take a riding drake to represent Grani. The choice to focus on Diplomacy as his first skill represents Gallantmon’s chivalry as a knight whereas the Athletics increases allows it to better serve in a physical capacity. His association with electricity and fire leads into picking up Fiendish Resistance for one or the other.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Loyal Warhorse
o Skill Feat: No Cause for Alarm
o Gear: +1 full plate, +1 striking lance, minor sturdy shield, glasses of sociability, flask of fellowship, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (master)
o Gear: crown of the companion, +1 full plate, fleet bravery baldric, +1 striking lance, glasses of sociability, golden legion epaulet
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Second Ally – Shield
o Skill Feat: Evangelize
o Gear: lesser sturdy shield, crown of the companion, cassisian helmet, +1 full plate, +1 striking lance, hosteling statuette
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Terrain Advantage
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient full plate, lesser sturdy shield, swiftmount saddle, crown of the companion, diplomat’s badge, +1 striking lance
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 19)
o Class Feat: Imposing Destrier – Savage
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: haste bravery baldric, +1 resilient full plate, lover’s gloves, lesser sturdy shield, cassisian helmet, +1 striking lance
Loyal Warhorse and Imposing Destrier both serve to strengthen Grani and keep him relevant as a figure on the battlefield, with the latter granting him the Breath Weapon advanced maneuver for his Yuggoth Blaster ability. In between these feats, Gallantmon picks up a Second Ally with in his shield, Aegis, mostly to reflect his usage of it. Honestly, choosing blade as a second ally could make a lot of sense as well – all of the options feel as though they work for Gallantmon. On the skill side of things, he continues to delve into Diplomacy both by increasing his proficiency in it and picking up several skill feats for it. Being more of a defender than a striker, champions can sometimes feel as though they are lacking slightly in the offense department, and Terrain Advantage may occasionally help with that, allowing him to treat non-lizardfolk folks in difficult terrain as flat-footed.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Warfare Lore (expert)
o Gear: +2 striking lance, haste bravery baldric, messenger’s ring, +1 resilient full plate, lesser sturdy shield, swiftmount saddle
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Blade of Justice
o Skill Feat: Battle Planner
o Gear: +2 resilient full plate, +2 striking lance, moderate sturdy shield, haste bravery baldric, lover’s gloves, shock weapon rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Light From Darkness
o Skill Increase: Warfare Lore (master)
o Gear: +2 greater striking lance, +2 resilient full plate, bracers of devotion, moderate sturdy shield, haste bravery baldric, messenger’s ring
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Divine Wall
o Skill Feat: Rapid Mantel
o Gear: greater sturdy shield, +2 greater striking lance, brilliant weapon rune, +2 resilient full plate, barding of the zephyr, shining shield
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 20)
o General Feat: Keen Follower
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient full plate, greater sturdy shield, winged armor rune, +2 greater striking lance, bracers of devotion, hopeful weapon rune
While they can be a little lacking, the champion isn’t completely without defensive options as seen with its first choice in this block – Blade of Justice. This gives Gallantmon a Power Attack-esque ability to represent his Gram Strike or Gravity Lance. Against evil targets, this also provides persistent good damage thanks to the divine smite class feature. On the other hand, Divine Wall makes Aegis more obnoxious enemies, slowing enemies that draw close to Gallantmon and making it harder for them to reach his allies. It does have an interesting interaction with Terrain Advantage as it turns all adjacent spaces into difficult terrain – which means that any enemy adjacent to Gallantmon is flat-footed to him. This is actually a combination a player pulled off in one of my games that I thought would be fun to use in this build because who knows when another such chance will arise. With Diplomacy and Athletics currently maxed out, Gallantmon will next turn his attention to Warfare Lore and just use Battle Planner to have an extra chance on critting on initiative and getting that jump on enemies. With his use of full plate, Gallantmon has neglected his Dexterity, which makes Rapid Mantel a useful pick. As Gallantmon is associated with the royal knights and partnered with a Digimon Tamer, Keen Follower also feels like a natural pick.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Auspicious Mount – Wrecker
o Skill Feat: Legendary Negotiation
o Gear: dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient full plate, greater boots of bounding, greater sturdy shield, +2 greater striking lance, brilliant weapon rune
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Primal Rampage
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking lance, dragonscale amulet, greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient full plate, greater sturdy shield, winged armor rune
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Quick Shield Block
o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump
o Gear: belt of giant strength, +3 greater striking lance, major sturdy shield, dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient full plate, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Incredible Investiture
o Skill Increase: Warfare Lore (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient full plate, belt of giant strength, clockwork helm, +3 greater striking lance, dragonscale amulet, greater shock weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Intelligence (Str 22, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 20)
o Class Feat: Celestial Mount
o Skill Feat: Wall Jump
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (trained)
o Gear: +3 major striking lance, +3 greater resilient full plate, sandals of the stag, clockwork helm, major sturdy shield, speed weapon rune
Auspicious Mount is mainly an attempt at powering up Grani at least a little bit further but Celestial Mount finally and fully grants Grani the power of flight so that it can lug its fully armored master around the sky. It also makes Grani substantially sturdier unless it is faced with evil damage. While other options abound, Quick Shield Block is handy for giving Gallantmon an extra reaction to protect himself and still having a spare reaction to protect his allies while punishing his adversaries. Primal Rampage is too cool to pass up on and is actually a superior choice to Scion’s Transformation – because if Gallantmon became Large, he wouldn’t be able to ride Grani! He does round out his skill selection with getting Athletics, Diplomacy, and Warfare Lore to legendary proficiency and picking up some handy feats from them, with Wall Jump just seeming like a very anime thing to do.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: There are two real stand-out options when it comes to taking archetypes – the Bastion and the Cavalier Dedications. Both essentially offer a deeper dive into things that his build already focuses on and do end up freeing up a few of his feats. Of the two, I think the cavalier archetype is slightly more useful but has an odd interaction with the champion’s steed divine ally. By my reading, it doesn’t grant you a second mount but most of its feats should apply to the mount you already have. Cavalier’s Charge is a handy little attack buff, Quick Mount is a nice action saver especially if he’s ever caught dismounted, and Mounted Shield is also handy given his use of Aegis. From the bastion archetype, Disarming Block is nice as on a success, it inflicts a penalty until the start of the enemy’s next turn – in the middle of it! This allows others to try to take advantage of the weakened grip before it can regrip it. Nimble Shield Hand is handy (heh), Quick Shield Block frees up a champion feat (which I would use for Divine Reflexes), and Reflexive Shield helps shore up his Reflex save.
BUILD CONCLUSION
This build takes a demonic lizardfolk and makes him into the greatest dragon knight in the realm! Being a valiant knight who is nevertheless associated with viruses and arises from a savage and violent line of saurian Digimon, Gallantmon is best represented as a tiefling lizardfolk with the champion class and paladin cause. Squire serves to further entrench him in the knighthood while his honor, chivalry, and benevolence lead into a dive in Diplomacy and many of its associated feats. His flying dragon machine Grani is not quite mechanized but represented through the riding drake animal companion, gained from his steed divine ally and eventually granted the power of flight through the Celestial Mount feat while having a Breath Weapon just from being a riding drake. If there was a Third Ally feat for the champion, I would’ve taken it to better represent his holy lance, Gram, but at least Second Ally allows him to properly wield Aegis. Finally, his focus spells of sun blade and charged javelin reflect the fire, holy energy, and lightning he launches from his armaments.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like 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. Coming up next week is a build for a character that will be a sureshot! Have a fantastic Friday!
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