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Writer's picturebjacobt1

Full Build Friday - Michelangelo

Next up is the party dude himself. Mikey is one of those characters where they have to balance his fun-loving nature with his effectiveness and some shows/comics do that better than others. I think IDW is the one that does it best currently by making him a sensitive and caring soul who loves a good time. 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 Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!


MICHELANGELO

CHARACTER Michelangelo Hamato

SOURCE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles


GOALS

  • The most fun-loving of the siblings, Michelangelo has suffered some flanderization over the years, going from a playful but capable warrior who knew when to reel in his antics to an immature prankster

  • He has always held a love for comic books and geekier types of pop culture, and his easygoing nature causes him to excel at bonding with friends and preserving the peace

  • Mikey doesn't enjoy the training expected of him, but his natural skill carries him through combat

  • While Mikey usually isn't regarded as being especially skilled, he dual wields likely the most complex weapon of the brothers with a pair of nunchaku

  • Michelangelo often displays creative talents, either as an artist or writer, and gets along famously with children

  • In general, he is quite capable at making friends with others, befriending even unsociable individuals such as some versions of Leatherhead and Manmoth

  • In the IDW iteration of comics, Michelangelo gained the ability to read Japanese after remembering part of his past life

  • Michelangelo occasionally demonstrates considerable cleverness, such as when he used a snare to win the respect of Manmoth

  • He knows how to juggle and can wield his nunchaku with his feet

LEVEL 1

Ancestry & Heritage: Wetlander Lizardfolk

o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Wisdom, +Dexterity, -Intelligence

o Ancestry Feat: Marsh Runner


Background: Entertainer

o Ability Boosts: +Charisma, +Dexterity

o Skill Increase: Performance (trained), Theater Lore (trained)

o Background Feat: Fascinating Performance


Class & Subclass: Thief Rogue

o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity

o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Diplomacy (trained), Society (trained), Stealth (trained), Survival (trained), Thievery (trained)

o Class Feat: Twin Feint

o Skill Feat: Bon Mot


Details

o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 14, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 14)

The build for Michelangelo starts the same as it does for all the brothers with a wetlander lizardfolk but quickly deviates with the entertainer background to reflect the times that Mikey has tried to strike out on his own and taken up a job, often as an entertainer for children. Initially, monk seemed like a good class to capture the essence of Mikey but to get the feel of his prankster-type character, rogue ultimately seemed like the best choice. In particular, the thief racket felt appropriate for his Puck-ish nature though unfortunately he can’t wield nuncharku initially. A close early weapon is the poi, which actually matches the kusari-fundo that he wields in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Twin Feint starts Mikey on his path to dual wield nuncharku while Bon Mot functions for Mikey’s habit of talking in fights and the non-sequiturs that he will occasionally make.


LEVEL 2

o Class Feat: Monk Dedication

o Skill Feat: Shadow Mark

o Skill Increase: Deception (trained), Stealth (expert)

o Gear: cloak of feline rest


LEVEL 3

o General Feat: Fleet

o Skill Feat: Juggle

o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (expert)

o Gear: +1 poi, cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion


LEVEL 4

o Class Feat: Basic Kata – Monastic Weaponry

o Skill Feat: Quick Jump

o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)

o Gear: doubling rings, +1 nunchaku, necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest


LEVEL 5

o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 14, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16)

o Ancestry Feat: Swift Swimmer

o Skill Feat: Combat Climber

o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert), Nature (trained)

o Gear: +1 striking nunchaku, doubling rings, bracelet of dashing, necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion

While monk was decided against as his base class, he does make use of it for his archetype so that he can grab Monastic Weaponry to wield nunchaku with advancing proficiency. His skill feats cover a large swath of areas with Shadow Mark playing in his ninja nature. Juggle works for one of Mikey’s actual talents while Quick Jump and Combat Climber help for his maneuverability. Swift Swimmer does as well but plays into his turtle ancestry. An early Fleet feat helps Mikey Sneak farther with his Stealth and the extra speed is just handy down the road.

LEVEL 6

o Class Feat: Quick Draw

o Skill Feat: Pickpocket

o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)

o Gear: +1 leather armor, +1 striking nunchaku, lifting belt, doubling rings, Jack’s tattered cape, necklace of knives


LEVEL 7

o General Feat: Incredible Initiative

o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak

o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)

o Gear: crown of the companion, +1 leather armor, shadow armor rune, +1 striking nunchaku, doubling rings, bracelet of dashing


LEVEL 8

o Class Feat: Opportune Backstab

o Skill Feat: Kip Up

o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)

o Gear: slippers of spider climbing, clandestine cloak, crown of the companion, +1 leather armor, +1 striking nunchaku, lifting belt


LEVEL 9

o Ancestry Feat: Terrain Advantage

o Skill Feat: Escape

o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (master)

o Gear: +1 resilient leather armor, bag of holding (type II), slippers of spider climbing, crown of the companion, shadow armor rune, +1 striking nunchaku


LEVEL 10

o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 14, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 18)

o Class Feat: Monk’s Flurry

o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap

o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)

o Gear: greater shadow armor rune, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, shock weapon rune, slippers of spider climbing, crown of the companion, +1 striking nunchaku

Michelangelo is a dual wielder and to help him with that when he doesn’t have his weapons pre-drawn is the Quick Draw feat so that he can draw and Strike with his weapons for a single action. Meanwhile, Opportune Backstab is meant to play into his position as a member of a team, and Monk’s Flurry allows him to make two Strikes for only one action. This block of skill feats predominantly focuses on his ninja nature with choices such as Swift Sneak, Kip Up, and Escape with the Pickpocket feat playing into his more trickster-type nature. Incredible Initiative hopefully helps Michelangelo get in earlier with his Surprise Attack class feature and Terrain Advantage also hopefully helping him land more sneak attacks.


LEVEL 11

o General Feat: Feather Step

o Skill Feat: Subtle Theft

o Skill Increase: Thievery (master)

o Gear: +2 striking nunchaku, greater bracers of missile deflection, greater shadow armor rune, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, bag of holding (type II), slippers of spider climbing


LEVEL 12

o Class Feat: Advanced Kata – Stunning Fist

o Skill Feat: Wall Jump

o Skill Increase: Society (trained)

o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, +2 striking nunchaku, greater clandestine cloak, greater shadow armor rune, bag of cats, shock weapon rune


LEVEL 13

o Ancestry Feat: Reptile Speaker

o Skill Feat: Streetwise

o Skill Increase: Deception (expert)

o Gear: +2 greater striking nunchaku, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater goggles of night, greater clandestine cloak, greater bracers of missile deflection, greater shadow armor rune


LEVEL 14

o Class Feat: Advanced Kata – Flying Kick

o Skill Feat: Quick Climb

o Skill Increase: Performance (expert)

o Gear: 13, +2 greater striking nunchaku, ring of climbing, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, cape of the moutebank, greater clandestine cloak


LEVEL 15

o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 16, Dex 21, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 18)

o General Feat: Toughness

o Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak

o Skill Increase: Stealth (legendary)

o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of speed, bag of holding (type IV), +2 greater striking nunchaku, bag of holding (type III), greater goggles of night

Further dips into monk allows Mikey to pick up Stunning Fist and Flying Kick mostly to dive further into his training in ninjutsu. Since Mikey is the most personable of the brothers, Streetwise felt like a fitting choice and works with how he gets his ears close to the ground. His movement capabilities continue to improve with Quick Climb while Legendary Sneak was a must-have. Reptile Speaker doesn’t reflect anything specific but Mikey gets along well with youngsters and creatures, such as his cat Klunk, so it seemed appropriate.

LEVEL 16

o Class Feat: Underhanded Assault

o Skill Feat: Shameless Request

o Skill Increase: Thievery (legendary)

o Gear: greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding, bag of holding (type IV), +2 greater striking nunchaku, ring of climbing


LEVEL 17

o Ancestry Feat: Guided by the Stars

o Skill Feat: Multilingual

o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (legendary)

o Gear: +3 greater striking nunchaku, dragonscale amulet, greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of speed, bag of holding (type IV)


LEVEL 18

o Class Feat: Advanced Kata – Deflect Arrows

o Skill Feat: Legendary Negotiation

o Skill Intent: Diplomacy (legendary)

o Gear: anklets of alacrity, +3 greater striking nunchaku, speed weapon rune, greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding


LEVEL 19

o General Feat: Incredible Investiture

o Skill Feat: Legendary Thief

o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (legendary)

o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, anklets of alacrity, major shadow armor rune, +3 greater striking nunchaku, dragonscale amulet, greater shock weapon rune


LEVEL 20

o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 18, Dex 22, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 18)

o Class Feat: Hidden Paragon

o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump

o Skill Increase: Intimidation (trained), Performance (master)

o Gear: +3 major striking nunchaku, +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, mercurial mantle, major shadow armor rune, speed weapon rune, greater talisman cord

Underhanded Assault is another feat that allows Michelangelo to work alongside his brothers. Deflect Arrows further dives into the ninja training and Mikey’s been known to use his nunchaku to create a sort of defensive barrier about himself to knock away attacks. Finally, Hidden Paragon wholeheartedly embraces his training as a ninja. In the IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle comics, Michelangelo recalls the ability to speak Japanese from his past life, which is reflected with the Multilingual skill feat. His Shameless Request and Legendary Negotiation work for his ability to make friends out enemies such as Leatherhead in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show and Manmoth in the current run of the TMNT comics though the latter is due more to his ingenuity.


FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Obviously, Mikey picks up the Monk Dedication with a free archetype to grab feats such as Monk Resiliency, Monk Moves, and other monk feats such as Brawling Focus or a few dips into more unarmed combat focused abilities such as Crushing Grab and Whirling Throw. With those extra class feats that he gains, he can pick up feats such as Gang Up to reflect his work with his brothers, build out of Twin Feint into Twin Distraction, Skirmish Strike to give him even greater mobility, and defensive options such as Nimble Dodge to possibly reflect how his shell protects him.


CONCLUSION

I continue to build the turtles using the wetlander lizardfolk while making Mikey slightly more personable with a focus on using Diplomacy to make friends or befuddle foes with feats such as Legendary Negotiation and Bon Mot. His Puckish nature is achieved with the rogue class and the feats that it allows him while his natural, almost untapped talent for being a ninja is achieved through the Monk Dedication and the feats that he gains from it. One of these feats, Monastic Weaponry, gets him access to his favored nunchaku while Twin Feint captures his ability to dual wield them. His strange talent for juggling is easily achieved with his Juggle skill feat.

Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build and who your favorite Turtle is!


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.


Until then, have a fantastic Friday!

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