Fittingly, coming right after the Crow is the Raven using the playtest for the psychic, the document of which can be found here. This particular build is based more off of the cartoon version of Raven rather than the comic version, using her focus on telekinetic powers rather than empathic ones though I tried to pick up both. As always, I want to mention that this build and the gear for it is picked in a vacuum without consideration for what adventure it may be in, so certain options might be better in specific situations.
Let's get into the build for Raven from Teen Titans!
RAVEN
CHARACTER Raven Roth
SOURCE DC Comics
GOALS
o The daughter of an interdimensional demon and a human woman
o Raised upon the plane of Azarath and taught to keep a tight control on her emotions as they are linked to her incredible powers and tend to draw out her more demonic side
o Studious and avid reader who is well-versed in various types of magic
o Her vast powers are based around her soul-self, which she can use for several purposes
o She can merge her soul-self with an object to telekinetically manipulate it, which was most prominent in her cartoon incarnation
o Her empathic powers allow her to feel the emotions of others around her and manipulate them
o She could also create telekinetic forcefields
o Finally, she could use her soul-self to create portals capable of transporting herself and allies across vast distances and even to other planes, such as Azarath
o Hero and member of the Teen Titans
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Tiefling Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Intelligence, +Charisma
o Ancestry Feat: Fiendish Eyes
Background: Cursed
o Ability Boosts: +Charisma, +Intelligence
o Skills: Occultism (trained), Curse Lore (trained)
o Background Ability: Warding Sign
Class & Subclass: Psychic with precise discipline subconscious mind and distant grasp conscious mind
o Class Ability Boost: +Intelligence
o Skills: Acrobatics (trained), Arcana (trained), Athletics (trained), Crafting (trained), Intimidation (trained), Nature (trained), Religion (trained), Stealth (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – mage hand, prestidigitation, read aura, shield, telekinetic projectile; 1st – magic missile, soothe
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 16)
From the stary, we have Raven’s tiefling versatile heritage to denote her as a daughter of Trigon. Fiendish Eyes is admittedly more for functional purposes rather than being reflective of the character, but the cursed background is designed to reflect her fate to serve as a gateway for Trigon. In my initial build, I was looking at witch for Raven because I felt an Intelligence-based caster with the occult spell list was the best fit. But with the release of the playtest psychic, I thought this gave me a good chance to operate in that window while exploring a new class. Given that this build is going off of her cartoon version with its focus on telekinetic abilities, I opted for that subclass of the psychic. The soothe spell covers her ability to tend to and heal the wounds of her allies, as demonstrated in the episode ‘Final Exam’ when she saps the pain from Beast Boy’s wound.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Cathartic Mage Dedication - Anger
o Skill Feat: Trick Magic Item
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – guidance; 1st – fear
o Gear: cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Arcana (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – magic missile*; 2nd – dispel magic*, telekinetic maneuver
o Gear: +1 staff, cloak of feline rest, cantrip deck (5-pack)
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Basic Cathartic Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Quick Identification
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – grim tendrils; 2nd – calm emotions
o Gear: pendant of the occult, +1 staff, brooch of shielding, cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 19, Wis 14, Cha 18)
o Ancestry Feat: Malicious Bane
o Skill Increase: Occultism (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 3rd – agonizing despair*, levitate
o Gear: +1 striking staff, pendant of the occult, pearly white spindle aeon stone, brooch of shielding, cloak of feline rest, cantrip deck (5-pack)
Raven’s emotional state being linked to her powers is covered by her Cathartic Mage Dedication, which also helps her gain some more spells. I picked anger for her catharsis emotion though and while others could be selected, she always seemed to struggle the most with her rage, which made it feel appropriate to me. Given her studies into various magic traditions and practices, I wanted to pick up Trick Magic Item for her and, in general, leaned into mystically inclined skill feats. For her spells, I looked towards a mix of utility while keeping with her character, such as fear covering what she once forced Dr. Light to experience within her cloak.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Inertial Barrier
o Skill Feat: Schooled in Secrets
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – grim tendrils*; 2nd – hideous laughter; 3rd – paralyze
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, +1 striking staff, azure briolette aeon stone, pendant of the occult, brooch of shielding, holy steam ball
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Natural Ambition – Ancestral Mind
o Skill Increase: Arcana (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – fly, globe of invulnerability*
o Gear: staff of impossible visions, +1 explorer’s clothing, wand of manifold missiles (1st-level), +1 striking staff, pendant of the occult, pearly white spindle aeon stone
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Deeper Breakthrough
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o Spell Repertoire: 3rd – mind reading; 4th – dimension door
o Gear: ethersight ring, wand of hopeless nights (2nd-level), staff of impossible visions, +1 explorer’s clothing, +1 striking staff, azure briolette aeon stone
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Light From Darkness
o Skill Increase: Occultism (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – shadow blast*, telekinetic haul
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, gloves of storing, ethersight ring, staff of impossible visions, wand of manifold missiles (1st-level), +1 striking staff
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 19)
o Class Feat: Unleash Dark Persona
o Skill Feat: Alchemical Crafting
o Skill Increase: Society (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – black tentacles
o Gear: mask of the banshee, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, mask of the cursed eye, ethersight ring, staff of impossible visions, +1 striking staff
Raven commonly makes up for her physical fragility with force fields made from her soul-self, reflected with her Inertial Barrier psychic feat. She can further protect herself and others with arrest trajectory thanks to the Deeper Breakthrough psychic feat. While her demonic side and emotional struggle is reflected through tiefling and her cathartic magic archetype, Unleash Dark Persona really dips into her darker side when she loses control. To cover her rejection of her demonic heritage and drive to be a hero, Light From Darkness captures the flavor while making her more resistant to the magic of Heaven and Hell. As a rather taciturn individual, a single Intimidating Glare is enough for Raven to make people to leave her alone. For her spells, I focused on shadow-based abilities as well as some utility and protection spells.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – phantasmal calamity*, wall of force
o Gear: +2 striking staff, chain of the stilled spirit, mask of the banshee, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, ethersight ring, gloves of storing
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Expert Cathartic Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Reveal True Name
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – telepathy; 6th – teleport, wall of force*
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, +2 striking staff, greater staff of final rest, mask of the banshee, greater mentalist’s staff, wand of teeming ghosts (3rd-level)
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Fiend’s Door
o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – force cage, visions of danger*
o Gear: +2 greater striking staff, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater spectacles of understanding, greater staff of final rest, chain of the stilled spirit, mask of the banshee
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Deeper Breakthrough
o Skill Feat: Recognize Spell
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – mind probe; 7th – plane shift
o Gear: 13, +2 greater striking staff, greater staff of impossible visions, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater demon mask, winged boots
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 21, Wis 16, Cha 20)
o General Feat: Incredible Investiture
o Skill Increase: Occultism (legendary)
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – earthquake*, undermine reality
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, pale lavender ellipsoid aeon stone, wand of manifold missiles (5th-level), +2 greater striking staff, greater spectacles of understanding, greater brooch of inspiration
The cathartic mage archetype is mainly going to help Raven get some extra spells she can cast though given that those go off of her Charisma save, I mostly tried to pick spells that are less reliant on a DC. Fiend’s Door gives her an extra casting of dimension door per her teleportation powers. We take Deeper Breakthrough a little late to give her access to the arrest trajectory so that Raven can protect both herself and others as a hero. Another option here is Mantra of Discipline, but that feels far too situational to me. For her skill feats, I looked towards those that allowed her to dive deeper into magic and wield the variety of it more readily, such as Recognize Spell and Incredible Investiture.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Constant Levitation
o Skill Feat: Magical Crafting
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – true seeing; 8th - maze
o Gear: wand of spiritual warfare (6th-level), +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater midday lantern, pale lavender ellipsoid aeon stone, +2 greater striking staff, greater staff of impossible visions
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Heroic Presence
o Skill Increase: Crafting (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 9th – implosion, weird*
o Gear: +3 greater striking staff, selenite crystal ball, wand of spiritual warfare (6th-level), +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, pale lavender ellipsoid aeon stone, wand of manifold missiles (5th-level)
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Master Cathartic Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Consult the Spirits
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – forceful hand*; 8th – mind blank; 9th – unspeakable shadow
o Gear: diadem of intellect, +3 greater striking staff, major staff of impossible visions, wand of spiritual warfare (6th-level), +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater midday lantern
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 10th – time stop
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, diadem of intellect, wand of manifold missiles (7th-level), +3 greater striking staff, selenite crystal ball, wand of spiritual warfare (6th-level)
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 22, Wis 18, Cha 20)
o Class Feat: Mind Over Matter
o Skill Feat: Terrified Retreat
o Skill Increase: Survival (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: 10th – alter reality
o Gear: third eye, +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, archivist’s gaze, wand of manifold missiles (7th-level), major staff of impossible visions, +3 greater striking staff
Raven’s ability to lift herself seems automatic, leading to me to pick up Constant Levitation and given her deep study of magic, Mind Over Matter made the most sense as her capstone feat. On the matter of spells, time stop is in reference to that time Raven stopped time when Slade returned as a herald of Trigon. Her rejection of him and the fate he meant for her is further covered by the Heroic Presence ancestry feat, allowing her to urge her friends and allies to greater efforts.
CONCLUSION
Raven’s heritage as well as her rejection of it are covered through her tiefling heritage along with several of the ancestry feats that she picks up. The psychic class, and in particular her distant grasp conscious mind, grants her the mostly telekinetic powers that she displays and the cathartic mage archetype taps into how her emotions tie into her powers. While I considered the silent whisper conscious mind for Raven to reflect her empathic powers, I decided to hew closer to the cartoon version but still tried to pick up spells like mind probe, telepathy, and calm emotions to tap into that aspect of her character. Inertial Barrier as well as wall of force and similar spells likes her protect herself and others with telekinetic barriers while her dimension door and plane shift cover her ability to create portals to other places, even other dimensions.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build and the new format!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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