Full Build Friday - Kaiju No. 8

I actually gave a quick watch to this entire series before attempting to build the character!

...it was all right. Anyway, 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.

You can also check out the video on Kaiju No. 8, which I would certainly appreciate.

Let's get into the build for Kafka Hibino from Kaiju No. 8!

KAIJU NO. 8

CHARACTER Kafka Hibino

SOURCE Kaiju No. 8

BUILD GOALS

o    The member of a kaiju clean-up crew who merged with a mysterious kaiju

o    This grants him the ability to transform into humanoid-type kaiju that possesses superstrength, toughness, and the ability to charge itself with energy, which can also charge his roars

o    Shapeshifting powers allow him to manifest smaller limbs, summon tentacles, or even create thrusters on his body to power up his blows. This also grants him regenerative powers

o    He can enter a berserk mode and grow in size

o    Outside of his kaiju powers, he’s extremely knowledgeable in regards to kaiju and their weaknesses

o    Additionally, he possesses incredible willpower and determination

Summary of Goals: Kafka is able to enter a kaiju form that comes with enhanced strength, speed, and durability as well as regeneration. He can empower his blows and roars with energy, empowering his blows with devastating force befitting a kaiju. Furthermore, his familiarity with carving up kaiju makes him highly skilled when it comes to discovering and identifying their weaknesses.

LEVEL 1

Ancestry & Heritage: Created Fleshwarp

o    Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Constitution, +Strength

o    Ancestry Feat: Living Weapon

Background: Kaiju Stalker

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (T), Kaiju Lore (T)

o    Background Feat: Titan Wrestler

Class & Subclass: Monk

o    Class Ability Boost: +Strength

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (T), Deception (T), Intimidation (T), Nature (T), Stealth (T)

o    Class Feat: Qi Spells – inner upheaval

Details

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str +4, Dex +2, Con +2, Int +1, Wis +0, Cha +0)

While Kafka is a human, he’s going to use the fleshwarp ancestry to resemble the alterations that the mysterious kaiju has conducted upon his body – most notably, turning his heart into a kaiju core. I did struggle to settle on a heritage and eventually just chose created because the one that I liked, cataphract, didn’t work with his choice of class. It does allow him to pick up Living Weapon, which can be retrained into different attacks to demonstrate its mutable nature. With his work on dissecting and disassembling kaiju, the Kaiju Stalker is a fantastic background for him. Aside from letting him gain the Titan Wrestler feat, since he just straight up brawls with kaiju, it also gives him a bonus on Recalling Knowledge about kaiju that he has pieces of. This brings us to his monk class, reflecting his unarmored and bare-handed fighting style, which we’ll be able to expand upon going deeper into this class that we would have struggled exploring if we were to use it as an archetype. From this class, he can use Qi Spells to grab inner upheaval. He can use this to supercharge his punches as we’ve seen him do, either through gathering up energy or create thrusters in his elbows.

LEVEL 2

o    Class Feat: Crushing Grab

o    Skill Feat: Additional Lore – Kaiju Lore

o    Skill Increase: Kaiju Lore (E)

o    Gear: cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 3

o    General Feat: Toughness

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (E)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), cloak of feline rest, psychopomp mask

LEVEL 4

o    Class Feat: Harmonize Self

o    Skill Feat: Quick Jump

o    Gear: golden legion epaulet, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 5

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str +4.5, Dex +3, Con +3, Int +2, Wis +0, Cha +0)

o    Ancestry Feat: Mutate Weapon

o    Skill Increase: Nature (E), Occultism (T)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), golden legion epaulet, bracelet of dashing, necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest, psychopomp mask

This build will use a stance, but it isn’t one that is available yet. Given his might and the Crushing Grab he used against Commander Shinomiya, he slips that into his build while Harmonize Self is a little more on-point by providing him with either his regenerative capabilities or simply another focus point for his inner upheaval. Additional Lore for his Kaiju Lore means that he won’t have to spend any skill increases on this while still keeping him extremely knowledgeable on kaiju and figuring out how to eliminate them. Quick Jump is generally useful and it also better enables some of the other jumping feats he’ll eventually take up. An important part of Kafka is his resilience and while this build will invest into his Constitution as much as possible, Toughness helps shore up that aspect as well. He then follows on from Living Weapon with Mutate Weapon to give him another way to empower his blows and twist them in new and interesting ways that his foes might not see coming.

LEVEL 6

o    Class Feat: One-Inch Punch

o    Skill Feat: Dubious Knowledge

o    Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), demon mask, golden legion epaulet, necklace of knives, flask of fellowship

LEVEL 7

o    General Feat: Adopted Ancestry – Human

o    Path to Perfection: Fortitude (M)

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (M)

o    Gear: ring of the ram, +1 explorer’s clothing, bravery baldric (fleet), handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), golden legion epaulet, bracelet of dashing

LEVEL 8

o    Class Feat: Kaiju Stance

o    Skill Feat: Unmistakable Lore

o    Gear: boots of bounding, lesser dread armor rune, ring of the ram, +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), demon mask

LEVEL 9

o    Ancestry Feat: Multitalented – Investigator Dedication

o    Skill Increase: Arcana (T), Nature (M), Society (M)

o    Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, ash gown, ring of the ram, bravery baldric (fleet), handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)

LEVEL 10

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +5, Dex +4, Con +4, Int +2, Wis +1, Cha +0)

o    Class Feat: Investigator’s Stratagem

o    Skill Feat: Cognitive Crossover – Kaiju Lore and Nature

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)

In what I’ve seen of the show, Kafka has a habit of blowing foes away with a single punch. For when he doesn’t have the focus points to unleash an inner upheaval, he can instead strike out with One-Inch Punch, functioning akin to Power Attack but able to afflict more damage if he spends three actions on it. Then, he finally gets Kaiju Stance to fully represent his ability to transform into a kaiju. This is a very cool stance and one that he wouldn’t have been able until level sixteen if he were to archetype into monk. The higher damage die of this attack – as well as its fatal trait – make it a great one to use with One-Inch Punch. His final class feat for this block, Investigator’s Stratagem, requires a little explanation. Firstly, he needs to take Adopted Ancestry for the human ancestry since that is what he originally was. Then, thanks to that, he can take Multitalented for the Investigator Dedication. This was suggested by my boy, Blue, and represents his ability to identify and locate the weaknesses of enemies. He can use this to take Investigator’s Stratagem, so that he can eye up an opponent and find the stress point. Mechanically, this is going to be most useful to figure out when he’ll have a crit and then follow it up with a supercharged Strike, such as inner upheaval or One-Inch Punch, to make the most out of the crit. Particularly when he’s in Kaiju Stance, which has the fatal d12 trait.

As for his skill feats, they’re all focused on his knowledge surrounding kaiju. Dubious Knowledge will help him grasp on something of value even when he rolls a failure, Unmistakable Lore ensures that his crit failures are largely nullified and his crit successes are even more potent, and Cognitive Crossover will let him react to cover one skill with another for when things go wrong.

LEVEL 11

o    General Feat: Fast Recovery

o    Second Path to Perfection: Will (M)

o    Skill Increase: Intimidation (E)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, bravery baldric (haste), +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, ash gown

LEVEL 12

o    Class Feat: Basic Deduction – Known Weaknesses

o    Skill Feat: Powerful Leap

o    Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), sash of prowess, armbands of athleticism, thundering weapon rune, greater rhinoceros mask

LEVEL 13

o    Ancestry Feat: Spew Tentacles

o    Skill Increase: Intimidation (M)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, bravery baldric (stoneskin), sash of prowess, armbands of athleticism, bravery baldric (haste)

LEVEL 14

o    Class Feat: World-Breaking Footfall

o    Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare

o    Gear: propulsive boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), moderate dread armor rune, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, impactful weapon rune, sash of prowess

LEVEL 15

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +5.5, Dex +4.5, Con +4.5, Int +2, Wis +2, Cha +0)

o    General Feat: Diehard

o    Third Path to Perfection: Fortitude (L)

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (L), Kaiju Lore (L)

o    Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, propulsive boots, shockwave weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), bravery baldric (stoneskin), ki-channeling beads

Using Basic Deduction for Known Weaknesses was one of the many reasons behind going investigator in the first place as it will allow him to Recall Knowledge about his foes when he attempts to Devise a Stratagem against them. He can even shout out advice to his teammates when he gets a critical success on his Recall Knowledge, which is something he often does. His other class feat focuses more on his kaiju form. World-Breaking Footfall can shatter the very ground and deal damage around him with a roar, which is inspired by the roar he used to block Kaiju No. 9’s projectiles. Powerful Leap and Intimidating Glare are very basic but very handy feats to have that fit quite nicely with the character. He also gets some general feats that make him a bit more beefy with the likes of Fast Recovery and Diehard. Finally, he takes Spew Tentacles as a small nod to the tentacles that he can sometimes manifest from his kaiju form.

LEVEL 16

o    Class Feat: Advanced Deduction – Shared Stratagem

o    Skill Feat: Legendary Professional

o    Gear: greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, shockwave weapon rune, propulsive boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), moderate dread armor rune

LEVEL 17

o    Ancestry Feat: Augment Senses

o    Skill Increase: Nature (L)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thundering weapon rune, fossil fragment (triceratops frill), +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, propulsive boots, shockwave weapon rune

LEVEL 18

o    Class Feat: One-Millimeter Punch

o    Skill Feat: Cloud Jump

o    Gear: bracers of strength, +3 greater striking weapon, greater dinosaur boots, greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, shockwave weapon rune

LEVEL 19

o    General Feat: Robust Health

o    Skill Increase: Intimidation (L)

o    Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, bracers of strength, greater sash of prowess, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thundering weapon rune, fossil fragment (triceratops frill)

LEVEL 20

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +6, Dex +5, Con +5, Int +2, Wis +3, Cha +0)

o    Class Feat: Golden Body

o    Skill Feat: Scare to Death

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater dread armor rune, bracers of strength, greater dinosaur boots, quickstrike weapon rune

While Known Weaknesses has some application in a team, Advanced Deduction for Shared Stratagem allows him to do it a bit more directly. Then, while there aren’t many creatures that seem to survive first fist contact with Kaiju No. 8, those that do tend to get launched, which was my reasoning behind One-Millimeter Punch. He closes out on class feats with Golden Body to mimic his regenerative capabilities while also happening to add deadly d12 on all his unarmed attacks – which means his shattering earth Strikes from his Kaiju Stance now have both the deadly and fatal trait. He is going to absolutely demolish anything he crits. Especially if he crits with a shattering earth One-Inch Punch. He gets a suite of legendary skill feats in this block. Legendary Professional will let him make the most out of his Kaiju Lore while Cloud Jump is a little more practical. It resembles the instance where he leapt all the way up to the wyvern kaiju bomb and punched it out of the sky. Scare to Death is also really good (too much for me to pass up on) though not exactly appropriate for the character. Robust Health plays into the tanky theme he’s got going, and then Augment Senses references his ability to sense other kaiju.

FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: An obvious pick-up in a free archetype game is a Barbarian Dedication. Notably, since Kaiju Stance has the polymorph trait, he can use some of the barbarian feats such as Rip and Tear or Brutal Crush, which might otherwise be difficult to use. However, with all the concentrate actions in Kafka’s kit, he’ll want Furious Finish so that he can forcibly end his Rage on his own terms. Another very solid option, and one that I might be overusing for this section, is the Wild Mimic Dedication. He’s transforms into a monstrous creature and while he doesn’t want any of the skills, he can make use of the likes of Rend Mimicy, Pounce Mimicry, and even Roar Mimicry.

BUILD CONCLUSION

Kafka Hibino, also known as Kaiju No. 8, is a created fleshwarp monk with the kaiju stalker background, which is meant to reflect his history entwined with kaiju and the cleaning up of them that he's done. That fleshwarp ancestry, flavored with a hint of human Adopted Ancestry, is meant to reflect his merging with the kaiju that transformed him. The transformation itself is more accurately reflected through the monk's Kaiju Stance, which makes him Large and comes with high damage Strikes. He can supercharge these strikes through Mutate Weapon, inner upheaval, or even One-Inch Punch. In addition to the heavy blows he can mete out, he can unleash a devastating roar through his World-Breaking Footfall, shattering the very earth around him. His healing comes in through harmonize self and Golden Body as well as Fast Recovery while we touch on the topic of tentacles through his Spew Tentacles feat. His Investigator Dedication and its Known Weaknesses, along with Additional Lore for Kaiju Lore, reflect just how well-versed he is in kaiju anatomy and pointing out their weaknesses to his allies.

Our monstrous man has magnanimous manners but means to maul, mutilate, and murder the malicious, mammoth mutants that menace his mates and more.

Please let me know what you think and what other builds you'd like to see!

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Have a fantastic Friday!