Full Build Friday - Mishka, the Wild Child

So, funny coincidence - I ended up building another shapeshifting, nature-themed redhead with wolf companions immediately after Arlinn Kord. This one is from a little phone game called AFK Arena that has some neat characters with fun designs - both visually and ability-wise. Sometimes their skills are a little busy and difficult to translate over to a TTRPG medium but this one was fun to try. 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 Mishka from AFK Arena!

MISHKA, THE WILD CHILD

CHARACTER Mishka

SOURCE AFK Arena

BUILD GOALS

o Mishka is a strength-based tank hero allied with the Wilder faction who are tied to nature

o She is a Skinshifter, a group of folk who are able to transform themselves. Mishka can shift between human and a giant bear form

o In her youth, she was found by an old man while she was protecting a pair of wolf cubs from a poacher who then took her in and trained her before setting her out on her own

o She fights by shifting her arms into powerful paws of a bear

o Her base ability is Werebear, allowing her to transform and jump into a group of enemies, dealing area damage and then unleashing a terrifying roar that reduces the defense of foes

o Dire Wolves represents the pair of wolves that she fights alongside, who share in some of her might and attack foes for her

o Call of the Wild has Mishka command her wolves to grab onto a target before she unleashes a series of fierce swipes against the victim that knocks them prone

o Using the Natural Rejuvenation ability causes Mishka to administer a healing resin to herself and her wolves, restoring health and providing a shield

o Mishka’s skill, Natural Defense, triggers after the end of her Werebear ability and grants her damage reduction

o By acquiring her furniture set, Mishka gains the Natural Unity ability, which empowers her with greater rage whenever one of her wolves dies

LEVEL 1

Ancestry & Heritage: Beastkin (Bear) Human

o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity

o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition – Moment of Clarity

Background: Feral Child (Low-Light Vision)

o Ability Boosts: +Strength

o Skill Increase: Nature (trained), Survival (trained)

o Background Feat: Forager

Class & Subclass: Animal Instinct (Bear) Barbarian

o Class Ability Boost: +Strength

o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Crafting (trained), Intimidation (trained)

o Class Feat: Raging Intimidation

Details

o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 12)

In an effort to design Mishka as a werebear, she makes use of both the beastkin heritage and the bear animal instinct from the barbarian. Having been raised in the wilds by an old hermit, Feral Child seemed the best fit for her background. Down the line, Mishka is going to want to pick up her faithful wolf companions, so to make sure that she can command them when the time comes, she uses her human ancestry to pick up an extra class feat for Moment of Clarity. This might seem a little redundant with Raging Intimidation, but they are needed for two different purposes. She starts off a little basic with nothing too exciting, but the aim will be to expand upon that as she levels up.

LEVEL 2

o Class Feat: Beastmaster Dedication – Young Wolf (Remus)

o Skill Feat: Quick Jump

o Gear: cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 3

o General Feat: Adopted Ancestry – Elf

o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)

o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), cloak of feline rest, everburning torch

LEVEL 4

o Class Feat: Mature Beastmaster Companion

o Skill Feat: Alchemical Crafting

o Gear: broken tusk pendant (wolf), handwraps of mighty blows (+1), wondrous figurine (onyx dog), cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 5

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

o Ancestry Feat: Animalistic Resistance

o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)

o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), broken tusk pendant (wolf), bracelet of dashing, wondrous figurine (onyx dog), cloak of feline rest, everburning torch

By utilizing the Beastmaster Dedication, we gain the first of Mishka’s Dire Wolf friends that she increases the power of with Mature Beastmaster Companion. Increasing the wolf to mature is notably important because it allows her wolf to gain at least a single action even when she doesn’t command it. Her biggest attack involves her leaping high into the air and to help facilitate that, she’ll start by picking up Quick Jump. An investment in Crafting and specifically Alchemical Crafting will allow her to pick up formulas for elixirs of life and other curatives to represent her Natural Rejuvenation ability. Adopted Ancestry is taken mostly for mechanical reasons, but can be made to work flavorfully by taking her association with the Wilder faction into account with a number of them having elfin traits. Taking it may seem a little strange, but she will make use of it much later down the line. Animalistic Resistance simply helps make Mishka a little tankier.

LEVEL 6

o Class Feat: Additional Companion – Wolf (Romulus)

o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap

o Gear: +1 hide, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, broken tusk pendant (wolf), necklace of knives, Jack’s tattered cape

LEVEL 7

o General Feat: Toughness

o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)

o Gear: lesser dread armor rune, +1 hide, ring of the tiger, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), broken tusk pendant (wolf), bracelet of dashing

LEVEL 8

o Class Feat: Incredible Beastmaster Companion – Romulus (Savage), Remus (Indomitable)

o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess

o Gear: boots of bounding, lesser dread armor rune, ring of the ram, +1 hide, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt

LEVEL 9

o Ancestry Feat: Pack Tactics

o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)

o Gear: +1 resilient hide, boots of bounding, bag of holding (type II), lesser dread armor rune, ring of the tiger, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)

LEVEL 10

o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 16)

o Class Feat: Impressive Landing

o Skill Feat: Battle Cry

o Gear: mask of the banshee, +1 resilient hide, collar of inconspicuousness, boots of bounding, lesser dread armor rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)

With the Additional Companion feat from her beastmaster archetype, Mishka gains her second wolf ally who I have taken the liberty of naming since I couldn’t find their names in lore. One of the main uses for Additional Companion is to gain different types of companions with different abilities, but Mishka specifically has two wolves, meaning that she must differentiate them through other means. She aims to do so with Incredible Beastmaster Companion, aiming on making her wolves big and burly beasts, using the savage and indomitable modifications. To match the devastating impact of her Werebear ultimate ability, she takes Impressive Landing so that she can deal damage and leave enemies flat-footed just by landing atop or near them. Powerful Leap will hopefully get her up high enough to make this landing, but she also starts focusing a bit more on her Intimidation feats so that she can Demoralize foes and mimics the defense-decreasing effects of her Werebear ability. Toughness plays further into her tankiness whereas Pack Tactics allows her to make use of nearby allies, such as her wolves, to gain an advantage against adversaries.

LEVEL 11

o General Feat: Fast Recovery

o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert)

o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, mask of the banshee, +1 resilient hide, boots of bounding, bag of holding (type II)

LEVEL 12

o Class Feat: Terrifying Howl

o Skill Feat: Terrifying Resistance

o Gear: +2 resilient hide, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, collar of inconspicuousness, thundering weapon rune

LEVEL 13

o Ancestry Feat: Dire Form

o Skill Increase: Crafting (master)

o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient hide, gorget of the primal roar, dinosaur boots, armbands of athleticism, collar of empathy

LEVEL 14

o Class Feat: Specialized Beastmaster Companion – Romulus (Bully), Remus (Wrecker)

o Skill Feat: Rapid Mantel

o Gear: greater broken tusk pendant (wolf), handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater fearsome weapon rune, +2 resilient hide, greater demon mask, dinosaur boots

LEVEL 15

o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 16, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18)

o General Feat: Titan Wrestler

o Skill Increase: Intimidation (legendary), Medicine (trained)

o Gear: +2 greater resilient hide, greater broken tusk pendant (wolf), boots of speed, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), gorget of the primal roar, greater goggles of night

Earlier in the build, Mishka used Raging Intimidation to automatically gain Intimidating Glare (and uses it later in this same block to auto-get Scare to Death), and from that feat, she can build Terrifying Howl to make a Demoralize check against each enemy within range. This is the best way to gain the secondary effects of her Werebear ability whereas she continues to empower her wolves through Specialized Beastmaster Companion while also making them more distinct from each other. In particular, the wolves take specializations to increase their Athletics skill so that they might better grab opponents to represent her Call of the Wild ability. Out of her general feats for this block, she’ll use one to increase her recovery ability and another for the Titan Wrestler skill feat to increase her ability to bully foes around. Alternatively, this general feat could instead be spent to gain Ancestral Paragon into Quick Shape so that she can shift with the start of combat. On the topic of shifting, Mishka picks up the important Dire Form, meaning that she gets the effects of enlarge whenever she shifts, causing her to become Large and deal additional damage. Given the size of her bear form, this is highly appropriate.

LEVEL 16

o Class Feat: Lead the Pack

o Skill Feat: Terrified Retreat

o Gear: greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient hide, greater boots of bounding, greater broken tusk pendant (wolf), handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater fearsome weapon rune

LEVEL 17

o Ancestry Feat: Avenge Ally

o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)

o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thundering weapon rune, dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient hide, greater broken tusk pendant (wolf), boots of speed

LEVEL 18

o Class Feat: Renewed Vigor

o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump

o Gear: belt of giant strength, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), speed weapon rune, greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient hide, greater boots of bounding

LEVEL 19

o General Feat: Incredible Initiative

o Skill Increase: Medicine (expert)

o Gear: +3 greater resilient hide, belt of giant strength, 17, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thundering weapon rune, dragonscale amulet

LEVEL 20

o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 22, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 18)

o Class Feat: Unstoppable Juggernaut

o Skill Feat: Too Angry to Die

o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient hide, greater dread armor rune, belt of giant strength, speed weapon rune, greater dinosaur boots

Lead the Pack finally allows Mishka to have both her wolves with her at once, simulating how the ability actually functions in the game she hails from. While she took Alchemical Crafting earlier for some healing properties, she will also nab Renewed Vigor to heal herself as per Natural Rejuvenation. As a character meant to be a tank, Unstoppable Juggernaut is probably the best capstone for Mishka and the damage reduction it provides/enhances works well with her Natural Defense skill. Finally, the Adopted Ancestry comes into play with Avenge Ally, which is meant to simulate the Natural Unity ability granted by her complete furniture set! Cloud Jump ensures that she can leap high to utilize her Impressive Landing whereas Terrified Retreat and Too Angry to Die are simply fun Intimidation-based feats with the latter being a new one that is particularly cool.

FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: The obvious choice for a free archetype game using Mishka is the Beastmaster Dedication, but there is another thematic option that fits well once you’ve gained enough feats from beastmaster – the Herbalist Dedication. She will need Natural Medicine but can simply swap out Alchemical Crafting for it. This better fits into her Natural Rejuvenation ability and can almost make her something of an off-healer although generally limited to out-of-combat unless she wants to hand out elixirs of life in the middle of the fight. With her freed up feats, she can take Renewed Vigor earlier and possibly pick up Animal Skin and Predator’s Pounce – the former is what she’ll probably need to get the latter, which is important for her as it increases her action economy efficiency, something she’ll struggle with if she wants to command her wolves.

BUILD CONCLUSION

As a strength-based tank with the power to turn into a giant bear, we build Mishka as a beastkin (bear) human with the barbarian class and bear instinct, allowing her to transform into a massive bear. Her rage as an animal instinct barbarian turns her hands into claws and gives her a jaw attack to mimic her primary weapons while her Dire Form makes her the giant that she is meant to be. While her rage and Change Shape ability allow her to turn into a werebear, for the actual ability, she relies on Impressive Landing and then Terrifying Howl to leap into the midst of enemies, damage them, and then lower their defenses. With her Beastmaster Dedication and its Additional Companion feat, she gets the pair of wolves that she was raised alongside though only manages to have them both out simultaneously when she takes Lead the Pack. She differentiates them with their advanced options and specializations, focusing on making them burly beasts of battle. To this end, she takes options to boost their Strength and Athletics so that she can sic them on foes to hold in place, leaving them open to her strikes as per Call of the Wild. When she has Lead the Pack and is in position, she can even have one of her wolves Trip and the other Grab as she attacks, keeping enemies trapped upon the ground until they Escape. Natural Rejuvenation sticks out a little bit from her other abilities with it being a healing ability, so the way she accomplishes it in the baseline build is unfortunately minor – Alchemical Crafting allows her to learn the formulas for and slowly make elixirs of life so that she might heal her wolves, whereas she can utilize Renewed Vigor to heal herself. If you find yourself with a free class feat, she can also pick up Heal Animal to gain the animal healing effects of the ability. The natural resistance granted by a high-leveled barbarian’s rage works well for her Natural Defense skill and is further expanded with the Unstoppable Juggernaut capstone feat. For Natural Unity, she can rely on her basic damage increase from rage, but also further explores it specifically with the Avenge Ally feat borrowed from the elven ancestry thanks to her Adopted Ancestry.

Lemme know what you think and if there's any other particular builds you'd like to see.

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Have a fantastic Friday!