This request came about a while ago, back when I built AKI, but it took me a while to get to it. When I started looking into it, an issue I came across was that it felt too similar to the Sett rebuild. I had to figure out some fresh options before I was ready to actually do this build, and I think I came up with a distinct build here. 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.
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Let's get into the build for Zangief from Street Fighter!
ZANGIEF, THE RED CYCLONE
SOURCE Street Fighter
BUILD GOALS
o A proud and powerful Russian wrestler who is good-natured and well-read despite his fearsome appearance
o Mainly operates as a face and is beloved by children but did spent some time as a heel in wrestling
o Fights using close-range wrestling with a mix of devastating throws and powerful but slow base moves
o Among his more famous moves, he has Banishing Flat, which he can use to stop incoming projectiles
o He charges with his Flying Power Bomb, grabbing a foe before jumping and slamming them into the ground. If already close, he’ll do an Atomic Suplex instead. He grabs, turns for a suplex then flips, jumps, and smashes them into the ground again
o His Aerial Russian Slam is a jump in an attempt to grab airborne foes out of the air
o One of his more famous moves is the Cyclone Lariat where he starts spinning, the force drawing enemies in for a multi-hit attack
o His final super move is the Bolshoi Storm Buster. He slams a foe and then lobs them into the air where he leaps after, seizing them and bringing them back down to earth
Summary of Goals: Zangief is a hulking wrestler who makes up for his low speed with powerful strikes and techniques to counter the tricks of more nimble adversaries. He uses grabs aplenty, bodily throwing and slamming enemies, but can also simply spin in place to smash enemies.
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Winter Orc
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Iron Fists
Background: Gladiator
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Medicine (trained), Gladiator Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Impressive Performance
Class & Subclass: Fighter
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Intimidation (trained), Survival (trained)
o Class Feat: Vicious Swing
o General Feat: Shield Block
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +1)
With his burliness and strength, the man is near 400 lbs of muscle, he is going to want to use the orc ancestry. The winter heritage helps to resemble his Russian lineage and the frigid harshness of that environment. As a fistfighter, he uses the Iron Fists ancestry feat, swapping their nonlethal trait for shove. Gladiator feels like a fit for the performative nature or pro-wrestling but to make this build a bit more distinct from Sett, a serious concern of mine approaching this build, I returned to the fighter class. This gives him some counters in the form of Reactive Strike but also comes with Vicious Swing, which can help to resemble his slow but powerful blows though that’s a pretty piddly boost when his damage die is only a d4 but that will be increasing shortly. You might notice a strangely high amount of Dexterity for this beefy boy, but that is because he doesn’t go around in much aside from his skivvies, and I want to stay true to that idea of the character. To that end, he needs a high Dexterity so that he can eventually just wear explorer’s clothing or something similarly lightweight.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Martial Artist Dedication
o Skill Feat: Hefty Hauler
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), cloak of feline rest, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Gorilla Stance
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: bracers of missile deflection, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), flask of fellowship, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +4.5, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +2)
o Ancestry Feat: Scar-Thick Skin
o Skill Increase: Performance (expert)
o Fighter Weapon Mastery: Brawling
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracers of missile deflection, crushing weapon rune, flask of fellowship, cloak of feline rest, psychopomp mask
As promised, Zangief increases the damage of his unarmed Strikes, first by taking the Martial Artist Dedication and then using it to get into the Gorilla Stance. This is a damage focused stance but more important than that is the grapple trait it possesses, which means that it will benefit from potency runes when used to Grapple. To that end, he has a heavy focus on Athletics and uses it to take Hefty Hauler and Quick Jump. The former might seem odd since he doesn’t actually carry much, but the man’s workout regiment more than justifies him lifting a heavy load. He further covers some of his beefiness with both his general and ancestry feat. Toughness just provides him with more Hit Points whereas Scar-Thick Skin is based on the numerous scars he carries after his wrestling practice with the bears native to his country.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Follow-Up Strike
o Skill Feat: Additional Lore – Wrestling Lore
o Skill Increase: Wrestling Lore (expert)
o Gear: +1 leather, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, bracers of missile deflection, flask of fellowship, lesser red-rib gill mask
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master), Wrestling Lore (master)
o Gear: ring of the ram, +1 leather, tactician’s helm, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracers of missile deflection, crushing weapon rune
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Wrestler Dedication
o Skill Feat: Assurance – Athletics, Titan Wrestler
o Gear: boots of bounding, warcaller’s chime of blasting, ring of the ram, +1 leather, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Athletic Might
o Skill Increase: Performance (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, deathless armor rune, ring of the ram, tactician’s helm, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +5, Dex +4.5, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +3)
o Class Feat: Adamantine Body
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient leather, thundering weapon rune, boots of bounding, ring of the ram, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
There’s a bit of a fun interaction between the forceful trait of the gorilla slam and Follow-Up Strike, but he mainly uses it to complete his martial artist archetype so that he can move onto the Wrestler Dedication. Despite saying that, he does drop back into martial artist for Adamantine Body, based on the instance where a katana swung at him broke on his impenetrable pecs. Given his association with some of the other wrestling themed characters of Street Fighter, Additional Lore for Wrestling Lore feels like an obvious pick. He also has Assurance for Athletics and Titan Wrestler from his archetype with the former letting him try to Grapple victims without adding to or being affected by his multiple attack penalty. He’ll want to be a little picky when choosing a target for this, wanting to typically use it against on-level or lower enemies with lower Fortitudes. Still, it might prove helpful every now and again. The focus on Athletics continues with both Powerful Leap as well as his Athletic Might ancestry feat, allowing him to traverse difficult terrains with greater ease. As Toughness did, Fast Recovery sticks with the durability we’ve been building into his kit since he had to sacrifice his Constitution for Dexterity.
This block also features Combat Flexibility, allowing Zangief to gain a single fighter feat each day. These have to be eighth level or lower, so the best options are going to be Sudden Leap or Felling Strike to represent his Aerial Russian Slam.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Robust Health
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, greater crushing weapon rune, +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, deathless armor rune
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Aerial Piledriver
o Skill Feat: Triumphant Boast
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, frost weapon rune, thundering weapon rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Orc Ferocity
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Weapon Legend: Brawling
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient leather, bravery baldric (stoneskin), greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, greater crushing weapon rune
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Crushing Grab
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: propulsive boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), splendid floodlight, +2 resilient leather, greater demon mask, dinosaur boots
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +5.5, Dex +5, Con +4, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +3)
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary), Wrestling Lore (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ring of the ram, propulsive boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), bravery baldric (stoneskin), greater hauling weapon rune
This block starts off with the likes of Aerial Piledriver from among his class feats, which he can use to represent a number of his moves though perhaps most obviously, his Flying Power Bomb. Crushing Grab is handy, letting him deal damage whenever he Grapples, but there’s other stuff that I liked better. Unfortunately, I was required to take this for the sake of another feat that he wants down the line. He starts investing in a bit of Intimidation in this block and after his investment in Performance, based on the theatrics of pro-wrestling, Triumphant Boast lets him bring those ideas together a bit. He can also use Intimidating Prowess to benefit from his bulk when Coercing or Demoralizing a creature. His general feats and ancestry feat this block are all about keeping him in the fight just a bit longer to dish out damage.
His combat flexibility develops into improved flexibility and this has more options to make use of. The most prominent options here are Cut From the Air to cover his Banishing Flat or Whirlwind Strike for his infamous Cyclone Lariat.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Suplex
o Skill Feat: Distracting Performance
o Gear: greater thundering weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, winged armor rune, propulsive boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), splendid floodlight
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Rampaging Ferocity
o Skill Increase: Performance (legendary)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thundering weapon rune, greater frost weapon rune, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ring of the ram, propulsive boots
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Whirling Throw
o Skill Feat: Legendary Professional
o Gear: bracers of strength, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), quickstrike weapon rune, greater thunderblast slippers, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, winged armor rune
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: A Home in Every Port
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, bracers of strength, dread blindfold, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater thunderblast slippers, greater thundering weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +6, Dex +5, Con +4, Int +1, Wis +2, Cha +4)
o Class Feat: Godbreaker
o Skill Feat: Cat Fall
o Skill Increase: Nature (trained)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, mantle of the grogisant, bracers of strength, greater dinosaur boots, quickstrike weapon rune
It’s a little backwards, but Zangief gains Suplex for the likes of his Atomic Suplex. This action unfortunately releases the target after it’s used, so if you want to combo it with features, you could use Vicious Swing or go Aerial Piledriver into a Suplex. Or you could Aerial Piledriver into a Whirling Throw, another necessary feat for Zangief’s capstone feat – Godbreaker. This is obviously intended to resemble his Bolshoi Storm Buster, being a great fit for it, but it unfortunately brings the build more in line with the Sett build than I would like. Legendary Professional fits in with his role as a world-famous wrestler, which also lends to the inclusion of A Home in Every Port in his build. This is more meant to represent his network of friends, colleagues, and allies that span the world over and are ready to lend him aid. From his ancestry feats, Rampaging Ferocity gives him a way to counter enemies while keeping himself on his feet.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: A free archetype game would be absolutely massive for this mountain of man muscles. The most obvious benefit of this is letting him actually take the feats that he otherwise has to take with his flexibility features. Furthermore, he can expand on either of the archetypes he already has if he wants to with Gorilla Pound or Echoing Violence from the martial artist or Clinch Strike and Spinebreaker from the wrestler.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Zangief is a winter orc fighter with the gladiator background. His heritage reflects the cold climates of his homeland whereas the performative gladiator feels like the best fit for a world-renowned wrestler. Some investment in Intimidation covers the time he spent as a heel though he can use it in his role as a face to toss taunts at his foes. While a fighter, he specializes in brawling and invests heavily in Athletics, as well as Gorilla Stance, to be a grappler while Vicious Swing will let him make slow but powerful blows. Adamantine Body makes his muscles harder than steel, able to shatter a katana off of his bare chest. He's a little reliant on Combat Flexibility to acquire the likes of Cut From the Air for his Banishing Flat or Sudden Leap for his Aerial Russian Slam. Alternatively, he could swap in Whirlwind Strike to recreate the effects of his Cyclone Lariat, spinning and smacking all foes around him though the concept behind these two moves is a little different. Aerial Piledriver is a great fit for his Flying Power Bomb or he can go for a Suplex to pull off an Atomic Suplex. Finally, he can use Godbreaker to pull off his Bolshoi Storm Buster, lobbing an enemy skyward before following them to deliver the beating that they deserve.
This robust Russian wrestler raises a ruckus against rivals and roustabouts in routine rounds, regularly routing rabblerousers with roughhousing and raucous rumbling.
Please let me know what you think and what other builds you'd 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 and a YouTube channel filled with video formats of these blog posts. Next week will be our rebuild of a character I had previously built and some of you may notice that I didn't put up a vote last time. That's because there's a character that people have been asking about since the remaster came out and I think it's she gets her day in the sun.
Have a fantastic Friday!
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