Fantastic show but I'm not sold on its ending. I don't really have anything else to say for it except that I've been looking for an excuse to use the Mammoth Rider Dedication for a while. I loved that archetype in 1e. 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 Spear and Fang from Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal!
SPEAR
CHARACTER Spear
SOURCE Primal
BUILD GOALS
o Spear is a prehistoric hunter from an alternate earth who bonds with a Tyrannosaurus rex following the death of his family
o He is a highly capable warrior and hunter that is able to fight beasts far larger than him even bare-handed
o Typically stoic, he often flies into a howling frenzy during combat, savagely tearing through enemies even if they possess more advanced weapons or greater numbers
o While he will use any weapon he gets his hands on, he seems to favor his eponymous spear. When without a weapon of any sort, he will use rocks either as makeshift clubs or by hurling them
o His strength is great enough that in once instance, he threw a spear straight through a foe
o During a battle against a host of ape-men, Spear drank a super serum that allowed him to grow to impossible proportions and wield fully superhuman strength
o Spear’s companion, Fang, is a Tyrannosaurus rex who lost her children around the same time that Spear did and they bonded over their shared loss
o She is curiously intelligent for a dinosaur though not as clever as Spear
o Fang will allow Spear to ride her into combat though it is not a constant strategy they employ
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Skilled Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition – Sudden Charge
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (trained)
Background: Hunter
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Strength
o Skill Increase: Survival (trained), Tanning Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Survey Wildlife
Class & Subclass: Fury Instinct Barbarian
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Crafting (trained), Stealth (trained)
o Class Feat: Raging Intimidation, Raging Thrower
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str 18, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10)
As a neanderthal who is surprisingly savvy in addition to his great strength, Spear is represented by a skilled human. This helps provide him with an extra skill, and later an increase, to Intimidation as he doesn’t have a ton of skills otherwise. He uses Natural Ambition to pick up an extra class feat, which coupled with his fury instinct, gives him three class feats to start the game – which still isn’t quite enough! Spear was raised to be a hunter and is also seen trying to pass on these lessons to his children through flashbacks, which makes it a fantastic fit for his background. As previously mentioned, Spear represents his flashes of savagery with the barbarian class, using the fury instinct because no others come to mind. Raging Intimidation works for the roars and hoots he makes against foes and his tendency to hurl his spear, which only happens occasionally but is always treated as rather epic, fits nicely into his Raging Thrower feat. Natural Ambition also allows him to pick up Sudden Charge so that he can rush into his battle as is his wont to do.
Orc Option: To capture Spear’s more savage and brutal nature, players might consider the orc ancestry. This doesn’t change his ability scores, but might impact his skills. The battle-ready heritage keeps his training in Intimidation while hold-scarred plays well into his general toughness. Orc Ferocity matches his ability to keep fighting regardless of the wounds he sustains.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Moment of Clarity
o Skill Feat: Forager
o Gear: everburning torch
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Ride
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: +1 trident, everburning torch, cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Mammoth Lord Dedication
o Skill Feat: Underwater Marauder
o Gear: returning weapon rune, +1 trident, necklace of knives, everburning torch
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str 19, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 12)
o Ancestry Feat: Cooperative Nature
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert), Survival (expert)
o Gear: +1 striking trident, returning weapon rune, coyote cloak, necklace of knives, everburning torch, cloak of feline rest
Moment of Clarity is a necessary component of this particular build that allows Spear to take up the Mammoth Lord Dedication to gain a megafauna companion. As per a sidebar on the subject, dinosaurs are counted among megafauna, which means that he can represent Fang by selecting a Tyrannosaurus rex animal companion. As with the case of the Mishka build from the other week, this doesn’t work super great as Spear must spend an action on Moment of Clarity to then take an action to Command an Animal (God, I miss the mad dog barbarian so much). Nevertheless, it matches the character and brings the classic pair together. As the primary hunter for his family, Spear picks up Forager whereas Underwater Marauder is meant to specifically reference his fight against the snakes while in the river. Ride is necessary for the Mammoth lord Dedication. With his ability to work alongside others, from Fang to Mira to others, Cooperative Nature seems like a solid fit.
Orc Option: If using an orc ancestry instead of a human ancestry, consider grabbing Iron Fists or Athletic Might for his ancestry feat. Spear uses his fists when a weapon isn’t available and is a highly capable climber and swimmer alike, so both options fit.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Mature Megafauna Companion
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: +1 leather, +1 striking trident, demon mask, returning weapon rune, necklace of knives, Jack’s tattered cape
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: ring of the ram, +1 leather, goggles of night, +1 striking trident, returning weapon rune, coyote cloak
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Incredible Megafauna Companion – Savage
o Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler
o Gear: boots of bounding, clandestine cloak, ring of the ram, +1 leather, +1 striking trident, demon mask
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Hardy Traveler
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, horseshoes of speed, ring of the ram, goggles of night, +1 striking trident
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 20, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14)
o Class Feat: Mammoth Charge
o Skill Feat: Battle Cry
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient leather, swarmeater’s clasp, horseshoes of speed, ring of the ram, +1 striking trident
Spear grabs Mature Megafauna Companion as soon as he can so that even if he doesn’t have the actions to spare to command Fang, she can still take an action of her own. He continues to advance and empower her with Incredible Beastmaster Companion, with the savage option fitting her temperament. Mammoth Charge allows him to order Fang to charge forward and make a swipe at any point during the movement. While he doesn’t ride Fang too frequently, it does happen from time to time as they fight in concert. This block features Spear grabbing several Intimidation skill feats to better wield fear in combat and also taking Titan Wrestler since he lives in a world where almost every single threat outsizes him. He and Fang spend much of the series traveling, and there have been instances where Spear has had to carry her after severe injuries. As such, he’ll pick up Hardy Traveler for this build.
Orc Option: In place of Hardy Traveler, Death’s Drum could fit well with the desperation that Spear fights with, at least since dedicating himself to living following the death of his family, whereas Undying Ferocity affords him a little more durability by giving him temp HP when he uses Ferocity.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Survival (master)
o Gear: +2 striking trident, armbands of athleticism, mask of the banshee, +1 resilient leather, swarmform collar, horseshoes of speed
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Staggering Blow
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking trident, greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, greater rhinoceros mask, swarmeater’s clasp
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Bounce Back
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +2 greater striking trident, +2 resilient leather, greater goggles of night, greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, greater coyote cloak
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Specialized Megafauna Companion – Wrecker
o Skill Feat: Combat Climber
o Gear: boots of speed, +2 greater striking trident, greater quick runner’s shirt, +2 resilient leather, greater clandestine cloak, greater demon mask
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 21, Dex 19, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 16)
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram, +2 greater striking trident, greater goggles of night, bag of holding (type III)
Staggering Blow is just a bit of wanting to make use of some of the unique mammoth lord feats, but does match with Fang’s capability to make powerful crippling attacks as she simply tears apart victims. Fang also tends to bash through human constructed barriers and is able to bully other creatures with ease, which makes the wrecker specialization an easy choice for her with Specialized Megafauna Companion. Spear fights in a variety of environments and Combat Climber is something that would’ve been picked up earlier were it not for other feats taking slight precedence. Quick Jump follows a similar idea. Bounce Back lets Spear come back once per day without increasing his wounded value for his refusal to die.
Orc Option: Given his use of an animal companion and Fang’s own tendencies, Ferocious Beasts is a fun feat that grants her some ability to keep up even when she should be brought low. Alternatively, Incredible Ferocity will allow Spear to use his Ferocity more regularly.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Penetrating Projectile
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather, greater horseshoes of speed, boots of speed, +2 greater striking trident, greater quick runner’s shirt
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Stubborn Persistence
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking trident, frost weapon rune, thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather, boots of speed, greater ring of the ram
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Sudden Leap
o Skill Feat: Rapid Mantel
o Gear: belt of giant strength, +3 greater striking trident, speed weapon rune, thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather, greater horseshoes of speed
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Survival (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, belt of giant strength, dread blindfold, +3 greater striking trident, frost weapon rune, thundering weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 22, Dex 18, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 18)
o Class Feat: Legendary Rider
o Skill Feat: Too Angry to Die
o Gear: +3 major striking trident, +3 greater resilient leather, titan’s grasp, dread blindfold, speed weapon rune, greater dinosaur boots
Spear has demonstrated the ability to throw his spear straight through a dinosaur and Penetrating Projectile helps envision that ability at least a bit. Sudden Leap matches his maneuverability along with his martial prowess though Oversized Throw could also be an appropriate feat at this level, given his propensity for throwing whatever is on hand. Finally, Legendary Rider is a fantastic get for the build, as it gives him a quickened action to Command an Animal, meaning that he can spend an action for Moment of Clarity, use his free action to Command, and still have two actions himself. The other 17th level ancestry feat doesn’t make much sense for the character, but Stubborn Persistence might allow him to escape the fatigued punishment from raging if he gets lucky.
Orc Option: Rampaging Ferocity is the most obvious choice but for those that deliberated between Ferocious Beasts and Incredible Ferocity, take whichever when you didn’t take then here.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Obviously, Spear takes the Mammoth Lord Dedication in a free archetype game, picking up additional options such as Unbreakable Bond, Stalwart Mind, possibly Gigantic Megafauna Companion, and however many more Specialized Megafauna Companion feats you want. On a thematic level, Game Hunter is a solid choice for Spear, its Hunt Prey feature and Hunter’s Aim both have the concentrate trait, making them less than optimal. With the freed up barbarian feats, Spear should pick up feats such as Oversized Throw, Attack of Opportunity, Impaling Thrust, and Reckless Abandon.
BUILD CONCLUSION
While Spear’s status as a neanderthal man may lend itself to the likes of orc, I think skilled human is very helpful for acquiring additional proficiencies for the surprisingly savvy prehistoric man who is shown building and using tools with startling swiftness. Titan Wrestler matches his ability to face off creatures many sizes greater than him and contend with them bare-handed whereas his battle frenzy matches his Rage as a barbarian. Spear’s eponymous weapon tends to be one-handed and my first thought was to simply use a spear. But its damage is lacking, which led to me looking at the trident, a one-handed weapon in the spear group that still keeps the thrown trait and is within the spear group. It can be flavored as a more traditional spear, but it doesn’t lose out on any traits as a trident and is just an overall upgrade. Penetrating Projectile matches instances where he’s thrown his spear straight through adversaries though I can’t recall instances where he managed to line up multiple foes off the top of my head. An important aspect of Spear’s character is his companion ship with Fang, who he gains on his journey with the Mammoth Lord Dedication. Feats throughout his build keep her as powerful as she can be with several mammoth rider feats allowing them to coordinate their assault, such as Mammoth Charge. While there is some struggle with the barbarian class not entirely meshing well with an animal companion (I’m gonna make myself an equivalent of the mad dog archetype), this build captures the feel of Spear by creating a savage warrior who can fight up close or hurl his spear at foes and battle alongside a saurian companion!
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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