I'm sure you're trembling with excitement for this latest build, but with the end of the year coming, I only have one more Full Build Friday in the tank before I take a small vacation. So just to be clear - there will be a Full Build Friday next week but the next FBF after that will not be until January 19th. As always, 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.
If you prefer watching over reading, check out the YouTube video on her.
Let's get into the build for Quake from Marvel comics!
QUAKE
CHARACTER Daisy Louise Johnson
SOURCE Marvel Comics
BUILD GOALS
o The daughter of a supervillain and an Inhuman, Daisy was adopted very young but discovered her powers as a teenager when she caused an earthquake
o She was taken in by S.H.I.E.L.D. and they trained her though her loyalty was to Nick Fury, following him even after his defection
o Through her training, she became a leading espionage agent who proved to be quite adept at undercover assignments
o She developed into a masterful hand-to-hand combatant, even able to face off against other renowned martial artists of the superhuman community
o Possibly as part of S.H.I.E.L.D., she has acquired psychic shields
o As an Inhuman, she has enhanced reflexes, endurance, speed, and strength
o Her main power is the generation of vibrations that she can most typically use to create earthquakes
o However, she has used her vibrations with pinpoint accuracy, from shattering components of objects or exploding the heart of the mutant Wolverine
o In some media, she has been portrayed as using her vibratory powers to create forcefields
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Skilled Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Wisdom
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained)
Background: Order of Knights/Ozem Experience
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Wisdom
o Skill Increase: Society (trained), Warfare Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Courtly Graces
Class & Subclass: Monk
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Stealth (trained)
o Class Feat: Ki Strike, Mountain Stance
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +0, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +1)
I know it’s overused at this point, but I can’t really find an ancestry that would suit Quake better than human and she does make solid use of a number of its features. The skilled heritage helps shore up her unfortunately limited number of skills, choosing Deception given her work in espionage. Natural Ambition is probably one of the best reasons to use the human ancestry and this build will make use of it once more. I think the flavor of Ozem Experience, which has a setting agnostic form in Order of Knights Experience, as well as the skills that it provides fit very well with her training from S.H.I.E.L.D. This could even be reflavored as her being a member of the Order of the Shield. With her training as a hand-to-hand combatant, Quake will be a monk and we will start representing her vibrational powers through Ki Strike. Natural Ambition will allow her to take Mountain Stance, which doesn’t have an immediate use but is important for some abilities down the line. For this reason, she focuses on Strength rather than Dexterity.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Stunning Fist
o Skill Feat: Secret Speech
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Natural Skill
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert), Crafting (trained), Intimidation (trained)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), psychopomp mask, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Stand Still
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: ventriloquist’s ring, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), masquerade scarf, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4.5, Dex +1, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +4, Cha +2)
o Ancestry Feat: Keep Up Appearances
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert), Deception (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracers of missile deflection, ventriloquist’s ring, masquerade scarf, psychopomp mask, ring of discretion
Stunning Fist seems the best option from among her second class feats and can easily be flavored as her using vibrations to disrupt her foe – which follows similar thinking for her Stand Still at fourth level. Another reason that I like this is that Quake has stopped Wolverine mid-rampage from getting at Nick Fury, and I feel as though this kind of works for that though the method she used was much more drastic and won’t be seen until later in the build. Alternatively, I could see her making use of Flurry of Maneuvers to add some more tricks to her kit. Secret Speech allows her to secretly convey coded messages to her S.H.I.E.L.D. handlers while on assignment and Quick Jump is just a generally useful feat. Ancestral Paragon allows her to take Natural Skill to further help her shore up her limited number of skills, adding Crafting and Intimidation to her repertoire. She takes a third 1st-level ancestry feat with Keep Up Appearances. This makes use of her Deception skill while also being helpful in those espionage missions where she can’t give herself away.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Mountain Stronghold
o Skill Feat: Cat Fall
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, ventriloquist’s ring, masquerade scarf, Jack’s tattered cape
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Deception (master)
o Path to Perfection: Reflex (master)
o Gear: warcaller’s chime of blasting, +1 explorer’s clothing, warcaller’s chime of resistance, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracers of missile deflection, ventriloquist’s ring
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Ki Blast
o Skill Feat: Quick Disguise
o Gear: greater masquerade scarf, chime of opening, warcaller’s chime of blasting, +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Clever Improviser
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, greater masquerade scarf, warcaller’s chime of blasting, warcaller’s chime of resistance, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +5, Dex +1, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +4.5, Cha +3)
o Class Feat: Entwined Energy Ki – Sonic
o Skill Feat: Doublespeak
o Gear: greater ventriloquist’s ring, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, thundering weapon rune, greater masquerade scarf, warcaller’s chime of blasting, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
Mountain Stronghold is another steppingstone towards an integral aspect of this build and the shield-like bonus it provides could be flavored as her using her powers to form a forcefield. Ki Blast will allow her to project vibrational waves of force at range and in an area while Entwined Energy Ki will allow her to transform her damage type of this focus spell and ki strike into sonic damage to better match the concept of vibrations. Cat Fall will let Quake take those superhero landings without blowing out her kneecaps while Quick Disguise and Doublespeak aid her espionage efforts. Toughness helps her hang in the fight whereas Clever Improviser is useful for pulling off her cover, letting her adapt as needed to the situations and identities she finds herself in.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Slippery Secrets
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Second Path to Perfection: Will (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), horn of blasting, greater ventriloquist’s ring, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, greater masquerade scarf
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Disrupt Ki
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), ring of lies, horn of blasting, thundering weapon rune, boots of bounding
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Incredible Improvisation
o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, mask of uncanny breath, ring of lies, horn of blasting, armbands of athleticism
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Mountain Quake
o Skill Feat: Wary Disarmament
o Gear: shockwave weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), resonant guitar, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, impactful weapon rune, ring of lies
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +5.5, Dex +2, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +5, Cha +3)
o General Feat: Reveal Machinations
o Skill Increase: Deception (legendary)
o Third Path to Perfection: Reflexes (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ring of the ram, shockwave weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), mask of uncanny breath, greater goggles of night
Although it deals negative damage, Disrupt Ki could be flavored as her wracking a victim with resounding vibrational force and she can start sending vibrations through the ground with her namesake, Mountain Quake! This is the real reason behind starting with Mountain Stance and while its damage minor and the chance is low, it has the opportunity to knock whole groups of enemies off their feet. Slippery Secrets in place of a general feat helps protect from mental intrusions from telepaths, as seen in some of her confrontations with the X-Men. She takes Kip Up because if you can get master in Acrobatics, there’s no reason not to. She’ll also take Wary Disarmament, which alongside her Thievery increase is a tiny nod to the MCU version of the character who was a hacker. That concept is difficult to apply to a medieval fantasy setting, but this was my take on doing so. She can also take Reveal Machinations just because I like including some debuffing capabilities in builds and this allows her to take advantage of her Deception. She also grabs Incredible Improvisation to help her maintain her cover when pressed on subjects she isn’t as well-versed in.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Quivering Palm
o Skill Feat: Lie to Me
o Gear: greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding, shockwave weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), resonant guitar
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Heroic Presence
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thunderblast slippers, greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ring of the ram, shockwave weapon rune
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Shattering Strike
o Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler
o Gear: avalanche boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), quickstrike weapon rune, greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: A Home in Every Port
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, avalanche boots, greater cloak of the bat, +3 greater striking weapon, greater thunderblast slippers, greater thundering weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +6, Dex +3, Con +4, Int +0, Wis +5, Cha +4)
o Class Feat: Diamond Fists
o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, sandals of the stag, greater armbands of athleticism, quickstrike weapon rune, greater thundering weapon rune
In addition to Mountain Quake, Quivering Palm was a deciding factor in using the monk class for this build, allowing Quake to do things such as, say, blowing up a rampaging mutant’s heart. She can also use her vibrations to bypass resistances and shatter objects through her, well, Shattering Strike. At twentieth level, none of the monk capstone feats really stood out – she’s already plenty fast, she doesn’t have multiple stances, and her healing capability definitely isn’t on par with Golden Body. Instead, I sought to take advantage of the forceful Strikes of her Mountain Stance and took Diamond Fists so that she’s punching with a d10, which feels more useful than gambling on the deadly trait. Lie to Me can aid Quake in her investigations, Titan Wrestler allows her to deal with supersized supervillains, and Cloud Jump just lets her jump into the fray while taking advantage of the monk’s Incredible Movement. Heroic Presence isn’t a bad pick her – she’s been a leader on teams before and the temporary HP could be flavored as her creating vibrational force fields around her allies. The reasoning behind A Home in Every Port is her making use of S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouses or contacts.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: There’s a few options to go for in a free archetype game. I think a Rogue Dedication is a solid choice to play into the subterfuge she’s conducted for S.H.I.E.L.D., which gives her a nice collection of skills. Knight Reclaimant is a little more flavorful and follows a similar idea, but I don’t think she gets as much use out of it. With her minor focus on ki spells, she could also become a Student of Perfection, likely following the path of Untwisting Iron, able to flavor the temporary HP it provides as vibrational shields and untwisting iron roots from Perfect Ki Expert allows her to cause more quakes at the cost of focus points.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Quake is a skilled human monk with the Order of Knights Experience background to represent her taking in and training by S.H.I.E.L.D. Her adeptness at undercover assignments come from her investment in Deception and skill feats such as Quick Disguise as well as Doublespeak and Secret Speech helping her pass information onto her colleagues without breaking cover. This proficiency in Deception also allows her to take Slippery Secrets, which along with her Path to Perfection for Will can serve to represent the psychic shields she has demonstrated. Her martial abilities come from her class with Mountain Stance providing her with a solid damaging fighting style while also being important for other aspects of her design down the line. Monk also helps to represent her enhanced physical capabilities as an Inhuman with its Incredible Movement, Path to Perfection for Reflex, and even general feats such as Toughness. To represent her primary power of vibration manipulation, she starts with Ki Strike, Ki Blast, and Entwined Energy Ki but can use it to start making earthquakes once she picks up Mountain Quake. Shattering Strike allows her to use vibrations to break objects and she can also target with deadly accuracy, blowing up hearts with her Quivering Palm. She can even reference the vibrational forcefields she makes in some incarnations through the AC bonus from Mountain Stronghold or the temporary Hit Points she can grant through Heroic Presence.
This valorous but volatile vandal vanquishes vicious villains with vast vibrations as her vocation, vacating violent villages through virtuous ventures.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
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Have a fantastic Friday!