One of my favorite franchises, and my favorite ongoing comic book series, is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The first issue was self-published by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird on May 5, 1984. Thirty-six years is an odd anniversary, but I want to celebrate it by dedicating this month’s builds to the titular turtles of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I’m gonna start with my favorite Turtle! 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 Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
LEONARDO
CHARACTER Leonardo Hamato
SOURCE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
GOALS
o Leonardo is a member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a quartet of mutant turtles, usually specified as red-eared sliders
o Like his brothers, Leonardo was raised and trained by Hamato Splinter, a mutant rat that had learned ninjutsu from watching his master when he was just a pet rat
o Training from Splinter has forged Leonardo into a highly capable warrior and ninja who prefers dual wielding a pair of katana or occasionally a katana and wakizashi
o Leo is the most dedicated to training and internalizes Splinter’s teachings
o The most serious of his brothers, he is the team’s primary strategist in all situations except technological, where he defers to Donatello, and typically takes the role of leader among them
o In many futures, and in the current IDW iteration, Leo becomes a teacher at a martial arts dojo, passing on his lessons to others
o In the IDW comics and 2012 animated show, Leo showed some inclination towards the mystical, being the first to see the spirit of his mother in the former and learning ki-based healing kata in the latter
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Wetlander Lizardfolk
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Wisdom, +Dexterity, -Intelligence
o Ancestry Feat: Marsh Runner
o General Feat: Breath Control
Background: Martial Disciple
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Intelligence
o Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Warfare Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Quick Jump
Class & Subclass: Fighter
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Diplomacy (trained), Religion (trained), Society (trained), Stealth (trained)
o Class Feat: Exacting Strike
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 12)
While the beastkin heritage might work best for a turtle mutant, wetlander lizardfolk captures their more aquatic aspect and even slightly plays into their abilities better. The Marsh Runner feat is a little situational but it functions on narrow surfaces in addition to swampy areas, allowing Leo to safely traverse beams and rafters with ease. As the most dedicated to the training of his sensei and father, martial disciple seemed a good fit for his background with fighter working best since katanas aren’t monk weapons – but weapons like the tri-bladed katar and hook sword are. Fortunately, fighter helps exemplify Leonardo’s training and dedication to learning both ninja and martial arts, reflecting his mastery over his weapons with Exacting Strike in particular playing into his measured and practiced strikes.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Marshal Dedication
o Skill Feat: Underwater Marauder
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (expert)
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Consult the Stars
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +1 katana, cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Inspiring Marshal Stance
o Skill Feat: Combat Climber
o Gear: doubling rings, +1 katana, Jack’s tattered cape, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 14)
o Ancestry Feat: Swift Swimmer
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Fighter Weapon Mastery: Sword
o Gear: +1 striking katana, doubling rings, golden legion epaulet, Jack’s tattered cape, cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion
A common choice to represent a leader is the Marshal Dedication, which will help steel his brothers and allies against fear. Not too long after it, he can pick up Inspiring Marshal Stance to increase the accuracy of his companions, playing into Leonardo skillfully working alongside other combatants. Underwater Marauder and Combat Climber continue to help Leonardo fight in what would normally be disadvantageous situation with the former playing into his capability in the water like a turtle, which Swift Swimmer further helps with. Using the Ancestral Paragon general feat to pick up Consult the Stars is meant to reflect on the spiritual aspect of Leonardo exhibited in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Cadence Call
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: +1 hide, +1 striking katana, lifting belt, doubling rings, Jack’s tattered cape, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (master)
o Gear: crown of the companion, +1 hide, shadow armor rune, +1 striking katana, doubling rings, golden legion epaulet
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Dual-Weapon Warrior Dedication
o Skill Feat: Shadow Mark
o Gear: slippers of spider climbing, crown of the companion, spiritsight ring, +1 hide, +1 striking katana, lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Terrain Advantage
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient hide, cloak of elvenkind, slippers of spider climbing, crown of the companion, shadow armor rune, +1 striking katana
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 16)
o Class Feat: Dual-Weapon Blitz
o Skill Feat: Wall Jump
o Gear: greater bracers of missile deflection, +1 resilient hide, lover’s gloves, slippers of spider climbing, spiritsight ring, +1 striking katana
Cadence Call allows Leo to call his brothers into action, striking quickly to finish a fight before they can hopefully retreat without drawing attention to themselves. With that feat, he can now pick up Dual-Weapon Warrior Dedication, granting him Double Slice. Most of the feats are already available in the fighter class, but one feat from it that seemed particularly appropriate was Dual-Weapon Blitz, an action economy boost that lets Leo Stride and Stride with each of his two weapons for only two actions. While the turtles live in the sewers, they often traverse the rooftops of the city for travel and Powerful Leap and Wall Jump feel like a good fit for that idea. Terrain Advantage is an ancestry feat that works well with the idea of Leo being a ninja, causing those in difficult terrain to be flat-footed to him.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Swift Sneak
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Gear: +2 striking katana, armbands of athleticism, greater bracers of missile deflection, +1 resilient hide, cloak of elvenkind, slippers of spider climbing
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Quick Reversal
o Skill Feat: Quick Climb
o Gear: +2 resilient hide, +2 striking katana, greater clandestine cloak, greater bracers of missile deflection, flaming weapon rune, invisibility armor rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Guided by the Stars
o Skill Increase: Religion (expert)
o Weapon Legend: Sword
o Gear: +2 greater striking katana, +2 resilient hide, greater doubling rings, greater clandestine cloak, armbands of athleticism, greater bracers of missile deflection
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Tactical Cadence
o Skill Feat: Cat Fall
o Gear: keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking katana, ring of climbing, +2 resilient hide, greater clandestine cloak, greater invisibility armor rune
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 18)
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient studded leather, keen weapon rune, boots of speed, +2 greater striking katana, greater doubling rings, greater goggles of night
As a regular foe of the Foot Clan, Leo and his brothers are often outnumbered in combat, leading to them getting ganged up on. Quick Reversal helps him out in such situations while the Tactical Cadence from his marshal archetype improves his capability as a leader. While the build focuses on Athletics and Diplomacy over Stealth, it is an important tertiary skill for Leonardo and as soon as he gets master proficiency in it, Swift Sneak felt an important grab. Since Leo already has a swim speed, Quick Climb allows him to ascend buildings quicker for infiltration missions while Cat Fall protects him from critical mistakes when scaling buildings. Guided by the Stars continues to play into the more mystical aspects sometimes associated with the character.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Two-Weapon Flurry
o Skill Feat: Foil Senses
o Gear: greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient studded leather, greater boots of bounding, keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking katana, ring of climbing
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Bone Magic - guidance
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking katana, greater flaming weapon rune, dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient studded leather, keen weapon rune, boots of speed
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Savage Critical
o Skill Feat: Rapid Mantel
o Gear: belt of giant strength, +3 greater striking katana, speed weapon rune, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient studded leather, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Stealth (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient studded leather, belt of giant strength, major shadow armor rune, +3 greater striking katana, greater flaming weapon rune, dragonscale amulet
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 22, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Weapon Supremacy
o Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak
o Skill Increase: Survival (trained)
o Gear: +3 major striking katana, +3 greater resilient studded leather, titan’s grasp, major shadow armor rune, greater talisman cord, greater flaming weapon rune
Two-Weapon Flurry adds yet another action with the press trait to Leo though many of them are situational, each fitting depending on the situation. The idea behind Savage Critical is to increase Leo’s deadliness with his blades and demonstrating his mastery over them while Weapon Supremacy makes him permanently quickened so he can deliver a flurry of blows before retreating to the shadows. Bone Magic and the subsequent guidance Leo gains from it is to help him further fulfill the role of leader for his team by buffing them while Legendary Sneak allows him to further delve into being a ninja.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: As with several of these builds that I have done now, start with the Marshal Dedication and its feats along with the Dual-Weapon Warrior Dedication for Leonardo’s free archetypes. With his freed up class feats, Leonardo can pick up feats such as Twin Parry, Twinned Defense, and possibly even Twin Riposte. Combat Reflexes is another good grab for Leonardo, giving him an additional reaction per round. In cases where you feel that you’ve picked up enough marshal or dual-weapon warrior feats, consider the Blessed One Dedication to dip further into that mystical feel for Leonardo and give him the ability to tend to the wounds of his companions.
CONCLUSION
While this build lacks slightly in the ‘mutant’ and kinda in the ‘turtle’ part, it does give us a dual-wielding warrior who leads his companions in striking from the shadows swiftly before disappearing. His focus on Stealth with feats such as Shadow Mark and Swift Stealth help him go unnoticed while his swimming and climbing capabilities through his ancestry and skill feats such as Combat Climber and Quick Climb improve his infiltration capabilities. This particular build focuses on dual-wielding katanas, but players who wish to use the katana paired with the wakizashi should look into picking up feats along the lines of Agile Grace and Graceful Poise to greatly increase his effectiveness, particularly with his press actions. Fulfilling his role as the leader of his team as well as the primary strategist is the Marshal Dedication, which helps him set up his allies’ attacks, resist fear, and even gain extra actions through Call Cadence and Tactical Cadence. This also plays somewhat into his role as a teacher. Finally, the more mystical and esoteric aspects associated with Leonardo are achieved through his ancestry with feats such as Consult the Stars and Guided by the Stars.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build and who your favorite Turtle is!
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Until then, have a fantastic Friday!
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