Last but absolutely not last is Raphael! Just how much rage and rebellion the red-bandanaed turtle has changes depending on iteration, but it is a classic part of the character. He often ends up have the most conflict with his brothers but the best iterations of him are also ones that are fiercely protective of them. 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 Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
RAPHAEL
CHARACTER Raphael Hamato
SOURCE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
GOALS
o Typically the most hot-headed of his brothers with a scathing wit and a tendency towards violence, Raphael fiercely protects his family but doesn’t need such excuses to fight
o His temperament sometimes leads him to clash with his family
o He wields a pair of sai as his primary weapons, a surprisingly light weapon given his savage and brutal fighting style
o Some instances of Raphael are not fond of the supernatural
o In Volume 4 of the original series, Raphael underwent a further mutation from a bite of a vampire-like creature that caused him to become a large, dinosaur-like version of himself
o Like his brothers, Raph is a highly capable athlete and warrior who is a master in the art of ninjutsu
o In certain media, he has taken up the identity of a vigilante, such as in the 2007 TMNT film and most recently in the IDW Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic
o In the latest animated show, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Raphael was changed to be a snapping turtle unlike the other turtles mutated alongside him
o In certain instances, Raphael shows a kinship with animals, such as in the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and in the current IDW run on the comics
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Wetlander Lizardfolk
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Wisdom, +Constitution, -Intelligence
o Ancestry Feat: Reptile Speaker
Background: Warrior
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (trained), Warfare Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Intimidating Glare
Class & Subclass: Fury Instinct Barbarian
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Stealth (trained)
o Class Feat: Raging Intimidation, Sudden Charge
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 12)
As we’ve seen with the previous four builds, Raphael is a wetlander lizardfolk but is going to pick up Reptile Speaker as he sometimes has a closeness with animals as seen in the 2012 Teengage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Chompy Picasso or in IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with the protoceretops Pepperoni. Whereas Leonardo has the martial disciple background to represent his more focused learning at the hands of Splinter while Raph is a much more instinctive, brutal fighter. This is further reflected through the barbarian class, his rage making him a perfect fit though an instinct is hard to pick. For a lack of better options, fury instinct is probably the best choice, which does allow Raph to pick up Raging Intimidation and Sudden Charge so that that he can put fear in enemies mid-rage and charge headlong into battle. A notable issue is that Raphael’s preferred weapons are sais, which are agile weapons and therefore will only be getting half of his rage bonus to damage. There’s a few tricks to this build that will attempt to fix that, but another option was going giant instinct and having Raphael wield a pair of giant sai just for the higher flat damage bonus.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: No Escape
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Gear: +1 sai, cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Rogue Dedication
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess, Titan Wrestler
o Skill Increase: Nature (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Gear: doubling rings, +1 sai, necklace of knives, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 14, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 14)
o Ancestry Feat: Swift Swimmer
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert), Survival (trained)
o Gear: +1 striking sai, doubling rings, bracers of missile deflection, necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion
Once Raph starts in on a fight, he isn’t one to let up easily and No Escape felt like a good way to capture his relentless nature as well as the fact that he sometimes goes too far. After that is the start to the first trick to compensate for the last damage on rage – a dip into the Rogue Dedication, which initially nets him surprise attack as well as some skills with him becoming trained in both Nature and Thievery and also picking up Titan Wrestler as the other mutants that Raph often faces outsize him. Quick Jump helps him traverse over rooftops alongside his brothers while Intimidating Prowess allows him to put his considerable strength to use when frightening others. Since Raph’s fury can sometimes get the better of him and leave him open, Toughness nets him even more HP to serve as a buffer while Swift Swimmer leans into him being a mutant turtle.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Basic Trickery – You’re Next
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: +1 hide armor, +1 striking sai, demon mask, doubling rings, Jack’s tattered cape, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: lesser dread armor rune, +1 hide armor, fearsome weapon rune, +1 striking sai, doubling rings, bracers of missile deflection
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Advanced Trickery – Dread Striker
o Skill Feat: Terrified Retreat
o Gear: boots of bounding, lesser dread armor rune, ring of the ram, +1 hide armor, +1 striking sai, demon mask
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Sharp Fangs
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient hide armor, boots of bounding, cloak of elvenkind, lesser dread armor rune, fearsome weapon rune, +1 striking sai
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 16)
o Class Feat: Sneak Attacker
o Skill Feat: Battle Cry
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient hide armor, greater rhinoceros mask, boots of bounding, lesser dread armor rune, +1 striking sai
This block of feats leans heavily into Raph’s rogue multiclass, playing into his Raging Intimidation with both You’re Next and Dread Striker helping his action economy while Sneak Attacker bumps the damage for his attacks to compensate for the damage lost on his rage. Most of his skills feats focus on his Intimidation skill, but he also grabs Powerful Leap to clear larger gaps between buildings. Sharp Fangs is reflective of the choice to make Raphael a snapping turtle in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +2 striking sai, armbands of athleticism, mask of the banshee, +1 resilient hide armor, boots of bounding, cloak of elvenkind
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Ranger Dedication
o Skill Feat: Terrifying Resistance
o Skill Increase: Society (trained)
o Gear: +2 resilient hide armor, +2 striking sai, greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, flaming weapon rune, greater rhinoceros mask
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Primal Rampage
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Gear: +2 greater striking sai, +2 resilient hide armor, greater doubling rings, dinosaur boots, armbands of athleticism, mask of the banshee
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Basic Hunter’s Trick – Twin Takedown
o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak
o Gear: greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking sai, greater fearsome weapon rune, +2 resilient hide armor, dinosaur boots, greater demon mask
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 16, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 18)
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Feat: Scare to Death
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient studded leather armor, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking sai, greater doubling rings, gorget of the primal roar
Raphael picks up his second trick to try to help his damage by using Ranger Dedication along with Twin Takedown letting him attack twice with a single action. As somebody always itching for a fight, Incredible Initiative feels appropriate while Diehard simply increases his survivability. Finally, the Primal Rampage ancestry feat further increases his survivability by giving him stoneskin, like his shell, as well as freedom of movement, which is less related to any of his natural abilities but a nice bonus. While he gets it later than his other brothers, Raphael finally picks up Swift Sneak in this block, as is befitting for a ninja. He also slips in Terrifying Resistance to shore up his saving throw defenses since his AC is going to be lower thanks to his Rage. Thanks to Raging Intimidation from first level, Raphael automatically gains Scare to Death after increasing Intimidation to legendary proficiency. This is mostly a for-fun get as while Raph is the one most willing to kill of the turtles, he doesn’t do it just by scaring people to death.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Reckless Abandon
o Skill Feat: Quick Coercion
o Gear: greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient studded leather armor, greater boots of bounding, greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking sai, greater fearsome weapon rune
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Scion Transformation
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking sai, greater flaming weapon rune, dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient studded leather armor, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Friendly Toss
o Skill Feat: Terrain Stalker – Rubble
o Gear: belt of giant strength, +3 greater striking sai, speed weapon rune, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient studded leather armor, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Stealth (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient studded leather armor, belt of giant strength, dread blindfold, +3 greater striking sai, greater flaming weapon rune, dragonscale amulet
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 22, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Unstoppable Juggernaut
o Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (trained)
o Gear: +3 major striking sai, +3 greater resilient studded leather armor, titan’s grasp, dread blindfold, greater dinosaur boots, speed weapon rune
Raphael has been known to throw himself so wholly into combat and even equal Leonardo in certain fights, and the Reckless Abandon class feat helps fulfill that idea, upping his ability to land his attacks, and increase the chance of a crit, while leaving him more vulnerable. Friendly Toss might seem an odd fit, but it works well with the turtles fighting as part of a team and there have been occurrences of the brothers throwing each other at foes – though usually only after they tuck into their shell. Unstoppable Juggernaut stood out as the other barbarian capstone feats don’t really fit Raph whereas this one can at least be reasoned to be his shell and tough, scaly hide. Terrain Stalker through rubble is meant to resemble his ability to living in sewers and other derelict places within New York while Legendary Sneak further marks him as a ninja. Scion Transformation plays into the much greater seize of the version seen in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as well the secondary mutation he underwent in the original series.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Obviously, initial uses of the free archetype should be used to pick up his rogue and ranger feats. In the places they once were, he should look into barbarian feats such as Raging Athlete, Attack of Opportunity, Sudden Leap, and an earlier pick-up of Friendly Toss. However, once he has picked up enough ranger and rogue feats, which may require grabbing an extra ranger feat such as Gravity Weapon for extra damage, he’ll want to pick up a dedication that mostly serves for flavor – the Vigilante Dedication. This suggestion comes from the Nightwatcher identity that he has taken up in several universes. To take this archetype, Raph will need to pick up the trained proficiency in Deception somewhere, which he can potentially do all the way back in level 5. There are a few useful feats from the vigilante that Raph can make use of – Quick Draw is an obvious choice though an option already available in his other archetypes. Startling Appearance and its follow-up Stunning Appearance meshes well with his focus on frightening foes though it has a rather strict requirement to use it.
CONCLUSION
Raphael’s anger issues and violent tendencies work well with the barbarian chassis, using Rogue Dedication to catch a little bit of his ninja feel while also supplanting the damage he loses from raging with an agile weapon. Given his dislike of the supernatural, I briefly considered the superstition instinct but it seemed too minor a facet of his character to include. His sarcastic and scathing insults can be imagined as his focus on Intimidation, which he further takes advantage with using his Rogue Dedication and its feats. Both his origin as a snapping turtle in Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and his secondary mutation in the Mirage comics works within Sharp Jaws and Scion Transformation from his ancestry feats. While Raphael focuses more on Athletics and Intimidation for his skills, he does dive into Stealth with a few feats so that he can be a proper ninja. Reptile Speaker covers his penchant for befriending reptilian or saurian creatures in various media.
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. With this, the four turtles have been built and next we'll see a return to our regularly scheduled programming! Until then, have a fantastic Friday!
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