Full Build Friday - Toph Beifong

I was fortunate to have my Rage of Elements ship in the early batches, meaning that I had some time to sit with it and work on a kineticist build. As such, it wasn't on Pathbuilder when I was putting the character together, meaning that I had to go back to using my character sheet PDF and just the book, so let me know if I missed anything! Naturally, I had to build a character perfect for the kineticst, but in the future, I want to build kineticists from a source other than Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is a great show with fantastic characters, but it is such low-hanging fruit, I want to explore other options. 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.

I received some advice from a buddy of mine for the FBF videos, so I put a bit more work into the video for Toph so I hope you'll let me know your thoughts!

With that, let’s get into the build for Toph Beifong from Avatar: The Laster Airbender!

TOPH

CHARACTER Toph Beifong

SOURCE Avatar: The Last Airbender

BUILD GOALS

o Toph was born blind to the wealthy and noble Beifong family who coddled and sheltered her

o She was taught how to earthbend by badgermoles, the original earthbenders, who are also naturally blind. From them, she learned how to sense vibrations through the earth

o Her sensitivity through the earth become fine-tuned enough that she could read pulses through it, determining lies or other forms of trickery

o She used her considerable talent for earthbending to become a fighter in underground tournaments before running away from home to join Aang on his adventures

o Toph is one of the most powerful earthbenders in the series with a unique style since she learned the practice directly from badgermoles

o Toph wields typical earthbending feats such as creating earthen barriers, hurling stones, or creating temporary structures but often goes above and beyond

o She expanded beyond typical earthbending, learning and eventually mastering both sand and metalbending, the latter of which she invented

o She’s been shown to create earth or metal armor with her abilities

LEVEL 1

Ancestry & Heritage: Oread Human

o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Constitution

o Ancestry Feat: Elemental Lore

o Skill Increase: Arcana (trained), Survival (trained), Plane of Earth Lore (trained)

Background: Gladiator

o Ability Boosts: +Charisma, +Constitution

o Skill Increase: Performance (trained), Gladiatorial Lore (trained)

o Background Feat: Impressive Performance

Class & Subclass: Geokineticist

o Class Ability Boost: +Constitution

o Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Deception (trained), Intimidation (trained), Nature (trained)

o Class Feat: Geologic Attunement, Stepping Stones, Tremor

Details

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

Coming off of a build where I completely changed a character’s ancestry from the source material, this time I’m only changing a heritage. Toph remains a human, but the oread heritage is meant less to represent her actual lineage and more her connection with the badgermoles – the original earthbenders of her setting. On the topic of lineage, Toph is part of the noble and wealthy Beifong family, and while she initially appeared obedient and demure, her truer self became clear during her adventures with Aang and the others. This true self is initially encountered as the Blind Bandit, the champion of an underground earthbending ring, which leads to the use of the gladiator background, rather than noble. In what should be no surprise but is nevertheless exciting, Toph is the very first kineticist build for the blog!

Toph will start out as a single gate kineticist, representing her initial dedication to the earth and lack of ability to bend metal. The impulse junction of earth, which increases her AC after she uses a 2-action impulse, helps reflect her defensive and sturdy stance that she uses when earthbending. As a single gate kineticist, she gains two impulses and a single class feat. With none of the 1st-level class feats really standing out for her, she’ll use it to pick up a third impulse instead. Geologic Attunement grants Toph tremorsense within her aura and will eventually grow into precise tremorsense though the area remains small. Stepping Stone is a utility effect to show her mastery over the earth whereas Tremor is an offensive impulse that targets an area, meaning that she doesn’t have to roll concealment or hidden checks – she just has to target the right area.

On the topic of Toph’s blindness, we should take a second to discuss it. This isn’t something I’ve done for a character before, but for a Toph build, it has to be included. The Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook suggests granting blind characters the Blind-Fight feat and for my iteration of this build, that is what I’ve done. Others may argue for their GM allowing them a better tremorsense at an earlier level and while I think that’s fair, this build develops her tremorsense through its feat selection instead of just assuming that she has it.

LEVEL 2

o Class Feat: Extended Kinesis

o Skill Feat: Terrain Expertise – Underground

o Gear: mudlily

LEVEL 3

o General Feat: Shield Block

o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)

o Gear: stone of encouragement, mudlily, cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 4

o Class Feat: Igneogenesis

o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess

o Gear: gate attenuator, stone of encouragement, necklace of knives, mudlily

LEVEL 5

o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 14)

o Ancestry Feat: Fortify Shield

o Skill Increase: Deception (expert)

o Gate’s Threshold: Fork the Path – Metal, Metal Carapace

o Gear: lifting belt, gate attenuator, coyote cloak, stone of encouragement, mudlily, cloak of feline rest

While perhaps not the most useful of feats in a combat situation, Extended Kinesis helps represent Toph’s mastery over the earth as an element. This mastery extends to even forming objects and structures out of stone with the likes of Igneogenesis. Her level three Shield Block leads into Fortify Shield, which in turn leads into her level five Gate’s Threshold, where she has the option to Expand the Portal or Fork the Path. While some may want to hold it until later, now seems like a good time to Fork the Path so that she can add the metal element to her kinetic arsenal. She takes Metal Carapace from it, which also creates a shield – that can make use of the feats we just discussed.

On the skill side of things, Toph is a bit of a trash talker and a bully, as prominently seen with her training of Aang, her time as the Blind Bandit, and throughout the show. To represent this, she will invest in Intimidation but taking Intimidating Glare feels very off for her, leading to the use of Intimidating Prowess instead. Terrain Expertise for the underground felt too good to pass up with it being where she learned from the badgermoles and surrounded by the earth where she is most comfortable. She also begins to dip into Deception for a fun little feat down the line.

LEVEL 6

o Class Feat: Armor in Earth

o Skill Feat: Backup Disguise

o Gear: +1 studded leather, demon mask, lifting belt, gate attenuator, necklace of knives, stone of encouragement

LEVEL 7

o General Feat: Toughness

o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)

o Gear: stoney hag eye, +1 studded leather, boots of free running, lifting belt, coyote cloak, gate attenuator

LEVEL 8

o Class Feat: Sand Snatcher

o Skill Feat: Terrifying Resistance

o Gear: jar of shifting sands, stoney hag eye, swallow-spike armor rune, +1 studded leather, gate attenuator, lifting belt

LEVEL 9

o Ancestry Feat: Earthsense

o Skill Increase: Deception (master)

o Gate’s Threshold: Expand the Portal – Metal Aura Junction, Scrap Barricade

o Gear: +1 resilient studded leather, jar of shifting sands, fearless sash, stoney hag eye, boots of free running, gate attenuator

LEVEL 10

o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 16, Dex 14, Con 20, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16)

o Class Feat: Aura Shaping

o Skill Feat: Lie to Me

o Skill Increase: Occultism (trained)

o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient studded leather, earthspeaker fleshgem, jar of shifting sands, stoney hag eye, gate attenuator

While it was an option from level one, Toph avoided taking Armor in Earth until she had the Strength bonus to actually wear it. This may seem a little redundant with Metal Carapace, but there are circumstances where one may comport a greater benefit than the other. This stands out when facing foes with effects that could turn metal armor into a liability or when she doesn’t have the actions to raise a shield every round. In the show, Toph struggled with sand, both sensing motion through it and controlling it because of how loose it was. She did eventually learn to control it, even forming elaborate sculptures in it, but it is represented within the build with the Sand Snatcher kineticist impulse, allowing her to use sand to seize her victims. As she reaches her next Gate’s Threshold, Toph no longer needs to Fork the Path, so she will be Expanding the Portal moving forward. She further explores the metal element in this instance, learning the metal aura junction, which reduces both the attacks and AC of certain enemies, and also takes up Scrap Barricade to wall of enemies. She takes a break from the glut of impulses she’s picked up to grab Aura Shaping at tenth level, which will increase the range of her aura, and therefore her Geologic Attunement. This increase will matter more once she has her precise tremorsense because by this point, she has picked up Earthsense from her oread feats to have a constant imprecise tremorsense.

From her investment in Deception, Toph picks up Backup Disguise, referencing her brief disguise as the Blind Bandit, but more importantly, takes Lie to Me. Kineticist only ever achieve expert in Perception, so this feat and her investment in Deception will help her suss out liars, per her ability to sense lies through vibrations in the earth.

LEVEL 11

o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Steady on Stone

o Skill Increase: Occultism (expert)

o Gear: greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, elemental wayfinder (earth), +1 resilient studded leather, jar of shifting sands, gate attenuator

LEVEL 12

o Class Feat: Rattle the Earth

o Skill Feat: Aura Sight

o Gear: greater gate attenuator, greater demon mask, ring of lies, armbands of athleticism, earthspeaker fleshgem, +1 resilient studded leather

LEVEL 13

o Ancestry Feat: One With Earth

o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)

o Gate’s Threshold: Expand the Portal – Earth Critical Blast, Rock Rampart

o Gear: jabali’s dice, +2 resilient studded leather, greater gate attenuator, greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, elemental wayfinder (earth)

LEVEL 14

o Class Feat: Effortless Impulse

o Skill Feat: Battle Cry

o Gear: singing stone, jabali’s dice, +2 resilient studded leather, greater gate attenuator, greater demon mask, ring of lies

LEVEL 15

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

o General Feat: Feather Step

o Skill Increase: Intimidation (legendary)

o Gear: +2 greater resilient studded leather, sandstorm top, singing stone, jabali’s dice, sandcastle, greater gate attenuator

She returns to her impulses to take Rattle the Earth, allowing her to generate earthquakes in a directed cone or in her aura, which is aided by her Aura Shaping. For the Gate’s Threshold of this block, she focuses on earth once more, now able to create a wall of stone with Rock Rampart. For her junction, she takes the earth critical impulse to gain blasts that can knock people prone. Now armed with two wall abilities, Sand Snatcher, and Stepping Stones, she takes Effortless Impulse to gain a free action to sustain at least one of them a round, further exerting her mastery over her elements. From her Ancestral Paragon general feat, she takes Steady on Stone, which is pretty basic but handy, allowing her to flatten the earth as she steps onto it and ignore the difficult terrain from it. Her actual ancestry feat will be One With Earth, allowing her to burrow through the ground, similar to when she led the team underground to a weak spot in the drill during the assault on Ba Sing Se. Another general feat nets Feather Step, which isn’t how I’d word it, but Toph has a good sense of the ground beneath her and has never allowed it to slow her down. Steady on Stone ensures that rock and stone won’t be doing so, while Feather Step helps her in trespassing on other forms of difficult terrain.

A brief detour into the Occultism skill allows Toph to gain Aura Sight, which feels like a fun way to represent Toph’s ability to sense others and their emotional state through the earth. By my read, it doesn’t actually need sight to work despite its name, but if it does, then she should probably increase Survival or Athletics since she’s a bit more rough and tumble.

LEVEL 16

o Class Feat: Assume Earth’s Mantle

o Skill Feat: Quick Disguise

o Gear: dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient studded leather, petrified wood fossil fragment, singing stone, greater gate attenuator, jabali’s dice

LEVEL 17

o Ancestry Feat: Treacherous Earth

o Skill Increase: Deception (legendary)

o Gate’s Threshold: Expand the Portal – Earth Elemental Resistance, Whirling Grindstone

o Gear: major swallow-spike armor rune, dragonscale amulet, triceratops fossil fragment, +2 greater resilient studded leather, sandstorm top, singing stone

LEVEL 18

o Class Feat: The Shattered Mountain Weeps

o Skill Feat: Terrified Retreat

o Gear: major gate attenuator, Highhelm Drill Mk. III, major swallow-spike armor rune, dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient studded leather, petrified wood fossil fragment

LEVEL 19

o General Feat: Incredible Scout

o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)

o Gear: +3 greater resilient studded leather, major gate attenuator, dread blindfold, major swallow-spike armor rune, dragonscale amulet, triceratops fossil fragment

LEVEL 20

o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 18, Dex 16, Con 22, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 18)

o Class Feat: Kinetic Pinnacle

o Skill Feat: Scare to Death

o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained)

o Gear: greater mask of the banshee, +3 greater resilient studded leather, brontosaurus phalange fossil fragment, major gate attenuator, Highhelm Drill Mk. III, major swallow-spike armor rune

Assume Earth’s Mantle doesn’t seem to directly reference any of Toph’s abilities, it is a very cool impulse and one that at least feels appropriate for her. As the greatest earthbender in the world, her last Gate’s Threshold allows her to abate the damage of other earth effects through resistance, and then she picks up the only composite impulse for her elements. Whirling Grindstone is thematically cool even if it’s not a feat she’s accomplished though isn’t outside of her wheelhouse. The last of her impulses will be The Shattered Mountain Weeps, essentially being an earthen fireball that continues to pelt enemies with rocks. She may need her allies to point out enemies at the distance it uses about otherwise won’t have to worry about them being concealed or hidden. There aren’t any 20th-level impulses, leaving Toph to instead take Kinetic Pinnacle and make her permanently quickened to use elemental actions. This stacks with her Effortless Impulse, which gives her effectively five actions in a single turn.

This build waits to take Treacherous Earth until after she has Steady on Stone, so that she isn’t hindered by the difficult terrain that she makes. Her last general feat, Incredible Scout, is loosely based on her ability to sense threats through the earth before they reach the party.

FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Initially, I wanted to suggest the Monk or Martial Artist Dedication for Toph and make use of the Mountain Stance, but using it means she won’t be able to use her Geologic Attunement, since that is a stance. I feel like making the kineticist’s abilities into stances throws off a potential synergy with these sorts of archetypes, which I assume is a classic fantasy after Avatar: The Last Airbender, not the least because the movements from it are based on real-life martial arts. While hopefully not indicative of all kineticists, this particular build feels like it struggles make use of the free archetype variant rule.

The Gladiator Dedication is fun from a thematic standpoint, given her time as the Blind Bandit. After her Wisdom is high enough, she could go into a Druid Dedication with the stone order, focusing predominantly on spells that manipulate the earth without requiring saves from the enemies since she will have a much lower DC. However, to make use of this archetype, she will need to prioritize her Nature skill, meaning she’ll have to sacrifice the progression of some other skill.

BUILD CONCLUSION

As one of the greatest earthbenders in the world taught by the original practitioners of the art, Toph is built as an oread human kineticist with the gladiator background to reflect her time as a competitor in the underground earthbending competition. Born blind, she has Blind-Fight as suggested by the Core Rulebook but can also sense enemies through the ground with Geologic Attunement, Earthsense, and the increased range of her Aura Shaping. She has demonstrated the ability to sense the lies of others through the earth, which will be represented by Lie to Me and Aura Sight. Her ability to manipulate the earth is represented through her kineticist impulse feats, creating Tremors, surrounding herself with Armor in Earth, and calling up walls with Rock Rampart. The Elemental Blast covers many of her basic rock throwing abilities and oread helps cover many of its other effects – Treacherous Earth creates difficult terrain to impede foes and One With the Earth to burrow through it. Toph’s mastery over the earth eventually extends to sandbending as seen with Sand Snatcher, and more importantly, metalbending. She founds this practice in the world of Avatar and her exploring the metal element with her kinetics powers covers many of the effects, of particular note being the Metal Carapace.

Toph is a dedicated geokineticist who views the world through the ground beneath her feet and wields all the elements of the earth, including metal, to batter down opponents while she shrouds herself in steel and stone.

Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!

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 nerds, check out the Discord server. We also have a Twitter where we try to post teasers for the blog. Next week's build was another one I was waiting on Rage of Elements for and I'd say is a dead ringer for the character!

Have a fantastic Friday!