For my first proper foray into the options presented within the new Guns and Gears book, I have a character from one of my favorite series ever. This build captures both the new ancestry, the automatons, as well as the new gunslinger class. As with many of these builds, I could see going a different route, but I really liked this idea for him and wanted to explore it as an option. As always, I do these builds in a vacuum as to what I think would be the best fit for the character. If you ever use this build, the constraints or events of your own game might encourage different choices, so you should feel free to make those.
Now, let’s get into the build for Megatron from the Transformers franchise!
MEGATRON
CHARACTER Megatron
SOURCE Transformers
GOALS
o Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons, robots from the planet of Cybertron who are on one side of a civil war that has consumed their planet
o Before his aspirations as the leader of the Decepticons, Megatron is often depicted as a miner though he commonly spent time as a gladiator as well
o The Decepticons started as freedom fighters, but quickly lost their ways, causing Megatron to change from a revolutionary to a tyrant who rules through fear and might
o While often featured with a flail, Megatron’s most famous weapon, and consistent throughout his appearances, is the fusion cannon, which is often said to be powered by antimatter or black hole
o On Earth, he originally took on the alternate form of a Walther P-38 pistol, but has been known to have alternate modes of tanks, alien aircraft, and dragons
o Despite countless threats to his rule of the Decepticons, from the likes of Starscream, Shockwave, and others, Megatron reigns as their most consistent and generally most effective commander
o Megatron is often the former friend or at least brother-in-arms of Optimus Prime, his nemesis and opposite as the leader of the Autobots
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Sharpshooter Automaton
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Reinforced Chassis
Background: Gladiator
o Ability Boosts: +Charisma, +Dexterity
o Skills: Performance (trained), Gladiatorial Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Impressive Performance
Class & Subclass: Way of the Vanguard Gunslinger
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skills: Athletics (trained), Crafting (trained), Diplomacy (trained), Intimidation (trained)
o Class Feat: Cover Fire
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 14, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 14)
I settled on gladiator for Megatron’s background since that seems to be the most consistent of his backstories and because it lends itself to a more balanced build. The miner background works better if you’re going for build that can mix it up in melee better, but I couldn’t find room for the feats to let him focus on that, and I wanted to capture him as an orator and commander using his Charisma. While Megatron never hesitates to mix it up both in melee and at ranged, his most famous weapon is the fusion cannon and I wanted to capture the feel of that by going gunslinger, using way of the vanguard to make him more of a bruiser that doesn’t mind when foes close the distance. I think Munitions Crafter is a valuable feat, especially with its ability to create free ammunition, but I like Cover Fire as part of the bigger picture of him forcing enemies to take cover to limit their attacks so that his own troops can advance.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Marshal Dedication
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Gear: everburning torch
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: +1 harmona, everburning torch, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Dread Marshal Stance
o Skill Feat: Group Impression
o Gear: golden legion epaulet, +1 harmona, +1 flail, everburning torch
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 16)
o Ancestry Feat: Integrated Weapon
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (expert), Society (trained)
o Gear: +1 striking harmona, golden legion epaulet, bracers of missile deflection, +1 flail, everburning torch, ring of discretion
Befitting the commander of the Decepticons, Megatron has the Marshal Dedication and Dread Marshal Stance so that he can command his warriors to fight with greater ferocity. Given the limited range of his aura, he’ll want to be in the midst of combat, which fits the concept of the character and works with his way of the vanguard. While there will definitely be some focus on Intimidation skill feats, Megatron started, in most cases, as somebody that tried to affect change with his words, so I wanted to bolster his Diplomacy and also pick up Group Impression to give the idea of him speaking to crowds. Finally, the Integrated Weapon ancestry feat plays into the fact that most Cybertronians have their weapons built into them. While he can’t initially do this with his harmona, he can at least have his infamous flail integrated to bring out at his leisure.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Running Reload or Risky Reload
o Skill Feat: Terrifying Resistance
o Gear: +1 chassis, +1 striking harmona, demon mask, golden legion epaulet, +1 flail, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Battle Cry
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: lesser dread armor rune, +1 chassis, diplomat’s badge, +1 striking harmona, bracers of missile deflection, golden legion epaulet
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Cadence Call
o Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler
o Gear: clear spindle aeon stone, warcaller’s chime of blasting, lesser dread armor rune, +1 chassis, +1 striking harmona, +1 striking flail
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Lesser Augmentation – Integrate Armament
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient chassis, bag of holding (type II), clear spindle aeon stone, lesser dread armor rune, diplomat’s badge, +1 striking harmona
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Grit and Tenacity
o Skill Feat: Group Coercion
o Gear: mask of the banshee, +1 resilient chassis, thundering weapon rune, clear spindle aeon stone, lesser dread armor rune, +1 striking harmona
When it comes to additional means of reloading, Running Reload or Risky Reload both make sense to me and go for whichever you prefer depending on how much you like to gamble or reposition. With our focus on Intimidation encouraged by our Marshal Dedication, Terrifying Resistance and Battle Cry build off of that while the latter will help us save some action economy on our first turn. The Athletics skill increase and Titan Wrestler allow Megatron to make better use of his Clear a Path reload as well as some other feats and abilities down the line. With the Lesser Augmentation applied to Integrate Armament, Megatron can integrate his harmona gun into his body frame, befitting his affixed fusion cannon. As the commander of the Decepticons, Megatron can use Cadence Call to urge his allies into greater action though this is generally best used to finish off an encounter since it then leaves them slowed. The last thing of note, I feel, is Grit and Tenacity to represent Megatron’s considerable resolve and toughness.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Arcane Eyes
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (master)
o Gear: +2 striking harmona, mask of the banshee, armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient chassis, bag of holding (type II), clear spindle aeon stone
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Unshakable Grit
o Skill Feat: Terrified Retreat
o Gear: +2 resilient chassis, +2 striking harmona, +2 striking flail, mask of the banshee, thundering weapon rune, flaming weapon rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Rain of Bolts
o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert)
o Gear: +2 greater striking harmona, +2 resilient chassis, bag of holding (typie III), +2 striking flail, mask of the banshee, armbands of athleticism
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Tactical Cadence
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking harmona, +2 greater striking flail, +2 resilient chassis, impactful weapon rune, greater demon mask
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 19)
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient chassis, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking harmona, bag of holding (type III), greater goggles of night
Expanding on Grit and Tenacity from earlier, Unshakable Grit improves the functionality of it to make any successes Megatron gains with it into a critical success. Similarly, Tactical Cadence improves our Cadence Call so that Megatron’s minions can use their extra action to Stride or Strike and aren’t slowed on the following round. While it’s a little late in the game, Arcane Eyes is a handy feat to pick up that will allow Megatron to see in the dark, which seems handy for a miner. Rain of Bolts is much less based on anything related to the character, but works with his particular heritage. Playing into Megatron’s history as a politician and leader who once led by Diplomacy, a skill increase there is a good fit while buffing his Crafting skill lets him make his own ammunition.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Blast Tackle
o Skill Feat: Scare to Death
o Gear: greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient chassis, greater boots of bounding, greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking harmona, +2 greater striking flail
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Cannon Core
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking harmona, greater thundering weapon rune, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient chassis, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Target of Opportunity
o Skill Feat: Alchemical Crafting
o Gear: anklets of alacrity, +3 greater striking harmona, +3 greater striking flail, greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient chassis, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Crafting (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient chassis, anklets of alacrity, dread blindfold, +3 greater striking harmona, greater thundering weapon rune, greater flaming weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 22, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 20)
o Class Feat: Perfect Readiness
o Skill Feat: Lasting Coercion
o Gear: +3 major striking harmona, +3 greater resilient chassis, mercurial mantle, dread blindfold, +3 greater striking flail, speed weapon rune
Blast Tackle is a fun class feat allowing Megatron to get into the thick of combat and still keep blasting away at his victims and the Athletics increases that his build has been keeping up on work well with it. Target of Opportunity plays into his role as a commander while allowing him to take advantage of his mastery of ranged combat while his final feat, Perfect Readiness, means he can keep his weapon loaded with greater ease or maneuver better. I still like the speed weapon rune on his harmona mainly because I feel like there will occasionally be cases where he doesn’t really need to reload or Step but will just want to Strike instead and this will give him that option. Cannon Core is the last big part of this build as this lets him transform into an, unfortunately, immobile turret. This does play somewhat into his original alt mode as a pistol that needed to be wielded by others as well as the alt mode of his eventual reincarnation, Galvatron. Less important to the character but still within bounds, and fitting our heavy investment into Intimidation, Scare to Death felt an appropriate skill feat to pick up for him.
CONCLUSION
With this build, we’ve managed to capture Megatron’s rise from a lowly gladiator to a commander of the fearsome Decepticons. He wields a harmona gun as a stand-in for his fusion cannon, which unfortunately is still two-handed even when he integrates it into his body. I worked in the flail as that’s my favorite of his classic melee weapons, but swords are also very popular and something like a bastard sword makes sense to me. One of my favorite parts about this build is the fact that he was able to take a shape akin to his alt mode with Cannon Core. With the class feat choices made for this build, Megatron is fighter who can mix it up in the midst of melee while still firing his infamous fusion cannon and commanding his Decepticon followers through fear thanks to the Dread Marshal Stance.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build and the new format!
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 nerd, 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, we explore the other new class introduced in Guns and Gears with a character who walks the line between man and machine!
Have a fantastic Friday!
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