When it comes to selecting what builds to put together, one thing I have to consider is how much information we actually get about the character. This can make characters from singular books and movies, especially side characters, a little difficult to build. It usually requires filling in some gaps, which I don't mind doing and can lead to a fun build. 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.
If you prefer watching over reading, check out the YouTube video on the character!
Let's get into the build for -
INIGO MONTOYA
SOURCEÂ The Princess Bride
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BUILD GOALS
o   Inigo was the son of a brilliant swordsmith who preferred obscurity as he disliked dealing with the rich and privileged
o   This came to a forefront when a nobleman, who he had created a specially crafted sword for, refused to pay the agreed-upon price and killed the smith when he wouldn’t sell the blade
o   Only a child, Inigo witnessed this murder and immediately challenged the count to a fight. Though he lost, he proved a formidable fencer and his life was spared
o   He devoted himself to becoming a great swordsman to achieve vengeance for his father, training under the most skilled fencing masters of his time
o   However, he was unable to find his father’s killer and sank into depression, leading to him working for the Sicilian criminal, Vizzini, under whom he kidnaps Princess Buttercup
o   Inigo will sometimes fight with his non-dominant hand to have a challenge or surprise his opponents when he switches to his dominant hand
o   He finally faces his father’s killer, intimidating him with his tenaciousness and a consistent reminder of what he had done
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LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Versatile Human
o   Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Charisma
o   Ancestry Feat: Unconventional Weaponry – Aldori Dueling Sword
o   General Feat: Feather Step
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Background:Â Martial Disciple
o   Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Strength
o   Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Warfare Lore (trained)
o   Background Feat: Cat Fall
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Class & Subclass: Fencer Swashbuckler
o   Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o   Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Deception (trained), Diplomacy (trained), Intimidation (trained), Stealth (trained), Thievery (trained)
o   Class Feat: Dueling Parry
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Details
o   Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +2, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +2)
I want to preface that this build mostly follows the movie, which he is not omnipresent within. So this build covers what I can capture and then fills in the remaining slots with what I feel to be good options for the rest of his kit.
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He starts with a human ancestry and takes advantage of his versatile heritage to get Feather Step – the first fight we see him take part in is upon rocky terrain, but he moves about it without much issue. This also him to take Unconventional Weaponry for the Aldori dueling sword, a higher base damage weapon compared to the rapier though lacking its deadly trait. Inigo trained from his childhood for revenge but this dedication to martial prowess is likely best covered by being a martial disciple. He specifically calls out his study of fencing and between that and having used the braggart style somewhat recently, he is built as a fencer swashbuckler. Since the eventual Opportune Riposte that he’ll gain from this class only triggers when an enemy critically fails a Strike against him, he’ll take up Dueling Parry as his initial feat to increase his Armor Class and the chances of that happening.
LEVEL 2
o   Class Feat: Duelist Dedication
o   Skill Feat: Bon Mot
o   Gear: ring of discretion
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LEVEL 3
o   General Feat: Toughness
o   Skill Increase: Deception (expert)
o   Stylish Trick: Rolling Landing
o   Gear: +1 dueling sword, ring of discretion, cloak of feline rest
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LEVEL 4
o   Class Feat: Duelist’s Challenge
o   Skill Feat: Charming Liar
o   Gear: ventriloquist’s ring, +1 dueling sword, necklace of knives, ring of discretion
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LEVEL 5
o   Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +3, Dex +4.5, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +3)
o   Ancestry Feat: Courteous Comeback
o   Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert)
o   Gear: +1 striking dueling sword, glasses of sociability, ventriloquist’s ring, necklace of knives, ring of discretion, cloak of feline rest
Taking the Duelist Dedication grants Inigo the Quick Draw feat, letting him better leap into a fight but more importantly, he can follow it up with Duelist’s Challenge, allowing him to demonstrate his dedication to ending a singular foe – such as a certain count. As a fencer, Inigo is mostly looking to Feint against enemies and he can increase the likelihood of that through Bon Mot, which penalizes a creature’s Perception and Will DC. The former of these is what his Deception is rolled against when he tries to Feint, making his landing of it more likely. He will still be prioritizing Deception as a skill, so he can make use of Charming Liar to ingratiate himself to others. He also gains a skill feat through his stylish trick class feature, which will let him pick up Rolling Landing, building out of his Cat Fall and letting him gain some increased mobility in dire situations. Courteous Comeback lets him use employ some of his roguish charm to win others over.
LEVEL 6
o   Class Feat: Combination Finisher
o   Skill Feat: Fleeing Diversion
o   Gear: +1 leather, +1 striking dueling sword, demon mask, ventriloquist’s ring, necklace of knives, Jack’s tattered cape
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LEVEL 7
o   General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o   Skill Increase: Deception (master)
o   Stylish Trick: Slippery Prey
o   Gear: lesser dread armor rune, +1 leather, boots of elvenkind, +1 striking dueling sword, glasses of sociability, ventriloquist’s ring
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LEVEL 8
o   Class Feat: Antagonize
o   Skill Feat: Confabulator
o   Gear: venomed tongue, crown of the companion, lesser dread armor rune, +1 leather, +1 striking dueling sword, demon mask
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LEVEL 9
o   Ancestry Feat: Hardy Traveler
o   Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o   Gear: +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, venomed tongue, lesser dread armor rune, diplomat’s badge, +1 striking dueling sword
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LEVEL 10
o   Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +5, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +4)
o   Class Feat: Dueling Dance
o   Skill Feat: Kip Up
o   Gear: greater ventriloquist’s ring, +1 resilient leather, shock weapon rune, boots of bounding, lesser dread armor rune, +1 striking dueling sword
Combination Finisher is generally useful feat, which allows him to make use of the flat damage from his precise strike before unleashing a finisher. With a slight focus on Charisma, his Intimidation is decent, which he can take advantage of with Antagonize to force an enemy to focus on him or continue to suffer penalties. His final class feat for the block is Dueling Dance so that he is constantly benefitting from the effects of Dueling Parry, which works well with Combination Finisher – now he can make more attacks instead of always having to spend an action on Dueling Parry. He has a few feats to help him get out of a situation such as Fleeing Diversion, Slippery Prey, and Confabulator, which helps with Fleeing Diversion. Kip Up also helps him get back into the fight faster. Inigo has wandered far and wide in search of his revenge, lending to the use of Hardy Traveler.
LEVEL 11
o   General Feat: A Home in Every Port
o   Skill Increase: Diplomacy (expert)
o   Gear: +2 striking dueling sword, messenger’s ring, greater ventriloquist’s ring, +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, venomed tongue
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LEVEL 12
o   Class Feat: Targeting Finisher
o   Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o   Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking dueling sword, greater demon mask, greater ventriloquist’s ring, shock weapon rune, armory bracelet
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LEVEL 13
o   Ancestry Feat: Bounce Back
o   Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o   Gear: +2 greater striking dueling sword, +2 resilient leather, greater boots of elvenkind, greater demon mask, messenger’s ring, greater ventriloquist’s ring
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LEVEL 14
o   Class Feat: Flamboyant Cruelty
o   Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o   Gear: hellfire boots, +2 greater striking dueling sword, moderate dread armor rune, +2 resilient leather, cape of the mountebank, greater demon mask
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LEVEL 15
o   Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +5.5, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +4.5)
o   General Feat: Diehard
o   Skill Increase: Deception (legendary)
o   Stylish Trick: Reveal Machinations
o   Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, hellfire boots, keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking dueling sword, greater ash gown, greater boots of elvenkind
His class feats will actually be a combo this time around. Targeting Finisher lets him debilitate enemies, inflicting conditions such as stupefied or enfeebled while also calling to mind his precision, such as in the book where he starts cutting out Rugen’s heart with his stabs. Between those conditions and the ability to inflict frightened and possibly keep an enemy frightened with Antagonize, he can use Flamboyant Cruelty to dish out some extra damage in a fun instance of synergy that doesn’t exactly match the character though he does very specifically scar the count in their final encounter. Intimidating Glare allows him to frighten creatures even if they can’t understand him while Intimidating Prowess enhances his ability to do so by giving him a bonus to such checks. His final stylish trick will be Reveal Machinations, which is specifically how this build will reflect his classic encounter with Count Rugen, terrorizing him with a combination of this and Demoralize checks to make use of his Intimidation. He originated in Spain but traveled the world, ending up in Florin and working for a Sicilian, lending to A Home in Every Port. He takes Bounce Back as a nod to his comeback during his fight with Rugen, recovering from grisly wounds to slay his father’s murderer.
LEVEL 16
o   Class Feat: Reflexive Riposte
o   Skill Feat: Half-Truths
o   Gear: greater cape of illumination, +2 greater resilient leather, greater boots of bounding, keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking dueling sword, moderate dread armor rune
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LEVEL 17
o   Ancestry Feat: Heroic Presence
o   Skill Increase: Diplomacy (master)
o   Gear: +3 greater striking dueling sword, major armory bracelet, greater cape of illumination, +2 greater resilient leather, keen weapon rune, smuggler’s sack (type IV)
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LEVEL 18
o   Class Feat: Parry and Riposte
o   Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o   Gear: anklets of alacrity, +3 greater striking dueling sword, quickstrike weapon rune, greater cape of illumination, +2 greater resilient leather, greater boots of bounding
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LEVEL 19
o   General Feat: Fast Recovery
o   Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o   Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, anklets of alacrity, greater boots of free running, +3 greater striking dueling sword, major armory bracelet, greater cape of illumination
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LEVEL 20
o   Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +6, Con +4, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +5)
o   Class Feat: Inexhaustible Countermeasures
o   Skill Feat: Terrified Retreat
o   Gear: +3 major striking dueling sword, +3 greater resilient leather, mercurial mantle, dread blindfold, quickstrike weapon rune, greater ashen weapon rune
Reflexive Riposte gives him an action to make an Opportune Riposte with, which he expands upon with Parry and Riposte to gain an extra reaction for it. He could go even further with this by taking up Inexhaustible Countermeasures or take Panache Paragon to be permanently quickened – both are super solid options that work well with the kit that’s been put together. It’s worth mentioning that the former of these capstone feats makes Reflexive Riposte somewhat obsolete, so if you go that route, I would retrain for Felicitous Riposte just to get the most out of that reaction. Of particular notes among his skill feats is Terrified Retreat, harkening to the way Count Rugen took off running when Inigo finally confronted him. Quick Jump is just generally useful and Half-Truths is just a cool feat – and will be helpful if he does become the Dread Pirate Roberts. It isn’t quite fast enough for his recovery in the movie, but he will take Fast Recovery as a nod to it.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: In addition to the Duelist Dedication, Inigo can take the Aldori Duelist Dedication. From this archetype, he can take up Duelist’s Edge, Unnerving Prowess, and Saving Slash. He’s still a little short on archetypes feats after this point and could also pick up the Firebrand Braggart Dedication. In particular, I like Bravo’s Determination from this archetype to represent his final face-off against Count Rugen, powering through lethal wounds to slay his father’s killer.
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BUILD CONCLUSION
Inigo is a versatile human swashbuckler who specializes in the fencer style and has the martial disciple background to reference the intense training he underwent to wreak his vengeance on Count Rugen. His focus on Deception works with his fencing style as well as his habit of fighting with his left hand to keep enemies off-guard. The sheer determination and tenacity he demonstrates in his final fight, in which he is stabbed multiple times but survives to deliver the same wounds to his foe is referenced in feats such as Diehard and Bounce Back. In this final encounter, he also shakes Count Rugen through this focus and constant repetition of a phrase, which he covers with some investment in Intimidation as well as his Reveal Machinations feat. Beyond that, his feats simply play into a highly skilled fencer with some darker representations of his vengeance coming in through Flamboyant Cruelty and Targeting Finisher, the latter of these which can be seen in the precise strikes he levels at the count.
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This formidable fencer fearlessly faces his foes while focused on finding a further than fully-fingered fiend, fending off falsifiers with fantastic focus.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
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Have a fantastic Friday!