#but i feel like for determining the best detective its less a beatdown and more something intellectual

[dieanywhereelseart]

lynne kicking ass and taking names in @thegreatbigdetectivepolll

[tigerkirby215]

5e Josuke Higashikata build (JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable)

(Artwork by David Productions. Image from the JoJo Fandom Wiki)

OI JOSUKE! Koichi showed me this cool board game called Dungeons and Dragons! I’m a Half Orc Barbarian; ain’t that wacky? But Koichi said that I can’t use 『ＺＡ ＨＡＮＤＯ』 to erase the enemies he puts down!

In my constant determination to beat Tulok at uploading JoJo builds here’s Josuke! Well, Part 4 Josuke. Diamond is Unbreakable is my favorite of the JoJo parts as I loved the small town setting. All the characters were lovable and memorable and the part had by far one of the best and most charismatic villains in any anime. But even though a David Bowie build would be fun (maybe someday!) I’m here to make a build for the JoJo of the part: Josuke Higashikata - Joestar by blood but not by name. (As Joseph is forever loyal to Susie and hates the Japanese; clearly.)  Giorno had a more clear-cut ability to create life which translated into summons but Josuke just heals... with his fists. Man that would be hard...

What? Way of Mercy? Life Domain? I have no idea what you’re talking about.

GOALS

I feel utterly refreshed! - Josuke is the main character but is also the party medic. Good on Araki for recognizing the usefulness of the healer!

I'm gonna “fix” that spaghetti - Crazy Diamond can fix anything, not just wounds. Punching up temporary walls is a favorite tactic of Josuke... and yes: punching spaghetti too.

I won't be "bullying the weak" then, now will I? - When push comes to shove we’ll need to be able to DORARARARARARA our foes. Just be sure to heal them first so it’s a fair fight.

RACE

Josuke only has Joestar blood, not vampire blood, so that makes him human. High ho it’s Variant Human time! Variant Humans get an increase to two ability scores of their choice: increase your Dexterity and your Wisdom by 1. You also get a skill of your choice: take the Perception skill to notice when a few letters are missing from a sign. You also get a language so again pick whatever you want: Josuke probably knows English well enough to speak to his dad.

Of course the main trait of Variant Humans is that you can take your choice of a feat and how about a Crazy Noisy Bizarre Talent? The Wild Talent feat from the Psionics Unearthed Arcana will give us a boost to our skills that don’t necessarily have to be psionic. You get a Psionic Talent die that can be used for two different uses: Psi-Boosted Ability will let you roll the Psionic Talent die on an ability check to boost its ability, and Psi-Guided Strike will let you roll it on an attack roll instead. The Psi-Talent die has a bunch of unique features that I won’t go over here (you can read the UA yourself) but in short:

It grows in power as you level up.

If you roll a 1 the die size increases, if you roll the highest number it decreases.

You can reset the die to its original size with a bonus action.

The feat also increases one ability score of your choice so increase your Wisdom further.

If your DM doesn’t allow the Psionics UA take the Observant Feat instead.

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - Josuke is quick on his feet and quicker with his punches. Typical Joestar stand rush.

14; WISDOM - Josuke is quite the emphatic person. Only natural when you love your town so much you develop a spirit that heals people.

13; CHARISMA - Have you seen that hair? It’s GREAT!

12; CONSTITUTION - Damage is interesting in JoJo, but you need enough durability to get hit with a couple of explosions and survive.

10; INTELLIGENCE - Josuke’s a student but not necessarily a good one. Hard to study when you’re trying to find a serial killer.

8; STRENGTH - As the joke goes JoJos get less buff as they go later in parts, and we don’t need Strength much.

BACKGROUND

Unfortunately there isn’t a background that can give us both Intimidation for those who insult our hair and Investigation for... investigation, so make your own background. Call it the “punk detective”, since it hardly fits the “punk with a heart of gold” description.

(Artwork by David Productions)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - MONK 1

Starting off with our stand at a young age, Monks get proficiency with two skills from the Monk list: Insight will let you tell if that weird injured blond guy is lying, and Athletics will help you CHASE YOOOOU! ANYWHERE I’LL CHASE YOOOU! You also get proficiency in a musical instrument or artisan’s tool of your choice so pick up the Lute to play the guitar in your theme... unless Barber’s Tools are available to keep that hair in check.

As a Monk you get Unarmored Defense equal to 10 plus your Dexterity and Wisdom modifier, which is good because a schoolboy’s outfit hardly counts as armor. You also get Martial Arts so Crazy Diamond can punch with your Dexterity, up to twice currently since you also get a punch with your bonus action. DORA!

LEVEL 2 - MONK 2

Level 2 Monks get Ki points for some crazy abilities from Crazy Diamond. Flurry of Blows lets you attack twice with your bonus action instead of once for three DORARARAs, Patient Defense lets you dodge the hand with a bonus action, and Step of the Wind lets you dash or disengage as a bonus action while also doubling your jump distance so you can CHASE YOOOU!

Speaking of Chase by batta you also get 10 feet of Unarmored Movement, letting you run 10 feet faster than the guy you’re trying to ＣＨＡＳＥ. By the way the jokes about Chase won’t stop it’s a good OP stop being mean.

LEVEL 3 - MONK 3

At level 3 Monks get their Monastic Tradition and the Way of Mercy is perfect for those with a diamond heart. You get Implements of Mercy which give you proficiency in either Medicine or Insight... but you already have Insight proficiency so just Medicine then! You also gain proficiency with the herbalism kit and the poisoner’s kit, which isn’t too in-flavor but it could be useful.

Of course the main strength of Crazy Diamond is its Hands of Healing. As an action, you can spend 1 ki point to touch a creature and restore a number of hit points equal to a roll of your Martial Arts die + your Wisdom modifier. You can also replace one of the unarmed strikes you make with Flurry of Blows with a use of this feature without spending its ki cost, so instead of going DORARARA you can go DORARA and also heal Jotaro!

But if you end up healing your allies you also have Hands of Harm to punch extra hard. When you hit a creature with an unarmed strike, you can spend 1 ki point to deal extra necrotic damage equal to one roll of your Martial Arts die. Don’t use it to pick on the weak, however, because if the creature is incapacitated or poisoned, the creature takes necrotic damage equal to three rolls of your Martial Arts die instead. You can only make a Hands of Harm punch once per turn, so make that DORA count!

And you also get Deflect Missiles as a monk, letting you use your reaction to reduce the damage of a ranged weapon attack by a d10 plus your Dexterity modifier and your monk level. You can even throw it back if you reduce the damage to zero, so punch away those arrows and CHASE YOU! I told you the references to Chase wouldn’t stop.

LEVEL 4 - MONK 4

Level 4 Monks get an Ability Score Improvement and I’m actually going to suggest increasing Wisdom over Dexterity so we can heal more than we harm. (Don’t worry though we can still do plenty of harm.) On the bright side Crazy Diamond can now help us Slow Fall, reducing any falling damage you take by an amount equal to five times your monk level.

LEVEL 5 - MONK 5

5th level Monks see their Martial Arts die increase to a d6, and get an Extra Attack for up to 3 attacks total and up to 4 with Flurry of Blows, so you can DORARARARA! And you can punch an opponent particularly hard with Stunning Strike, forcing them to make a Constitution save or be stunned as you prepare for a beatdown. (Pro tip: being stunned counts as being incapacitated for Hands of Harm!)

Oh and you know that Feat I told you to take at level 1? Your Psionic Talent Die increases to a d8.

(Artwork from the Diamond is Unbreakable Manga)

LEVEL 6 - CLERIC 1

“Ha ha well this was expected!” I hear you say. “Bet Josuke’s going to be a Life Cleric so he can heal more, right?”

Nope! Forge Domain! Along with proficiency in Heavy Armor (which you can’t wear as a Monk) and Smith’s Tools you get Blessings of the Forge. After a Long Rest you can have Crazy Diamond reforge a weapon or piece of armor to be sharper and sturdier, turning it into a +1 weapon.

As a Cleric you get access to Spellcasting. You get three cantrips from the Cleric list: Mending is an obvious pick (though the repairs aren’t as fast as I’d like) along with Spare the Dying to... spare the dying, and Sacred Flame will let you direct a piece of radiant glass that ignores cover.

A Forge Cleric can Identify spaghetti whenever they want, or cast Searing Smite which you... can’t, because you don’t have a weapon. Well Monks can still use weapons, even if it isn’t in flavor. But of course the majority of our spell slots are going to be used for healing! Cure Wounds for more touch-range heals, and Healing Word for long ranged heals. And while they probably aren’t too useful all the time Detect Poison and Disease along with Purify Food and Drink will let you make sure there’s nothing wrong with that previously mentioned spaghetti. Or the water.

LEVEL 7 - CLERIC 2

Second level Clerics get access to their Channel Divinity: all Clerics can Turn Undead, which perhaps isn’t too in-flavor but hey gotta have a backup if you mess up with healing someone.

Forge Clerics however gain Channel Divinity: Artisan's Blessing. You can spend an hour to turn up to 100 gold worth of materials into something. Technically it has to have some metal in it but that’s a small restriction. You lay out the materials to create the object, and after the hour is done the created object appears at your feet. Unfortunately you can’t use this to deconstruct something, but technically you could turn a sword into a different sword or other similar things.

And you can also prepare another spell: Shield of Faith will let you preemptively prepare a shield for an ally if they get attacked... or yourself!

LEVEL 8 - CLERIC 3

Third level Clerics can prepare second level spells. Forge Clerics have Heat Metal and Magic Weapon innately prepared: sharpen a sword or punch it until its a Red Hot Chili Pepper!

For your prepared spell Locate Object will let you send an object back to its source so you can find who it belongs to. Is this thematically accurate? Yes. Is this spell highly situational? Yes. Should you prepare another spell instead? Yes.

LEVEL 9 - CLERIC 4

Fourth level Clerics get another Ability Score Improvement and since we increased our healing last time we’ll increase our damage this time with a Dexterity increase.

You can also prepare another spell and another cantrip at this level. I’m going to hold off on the spell until next level but for your cantrip Guidance will help you motivate the idiots in your party to win the fight! But be gentle: he’s not that smart.

LEVEL 10 - CLERIC 5

5th level Clerics can Destroy Undead of CR 1/2 or lower with their Channel Divinity. Again not really in-flavor, but your great grandfather knew a lot about that.

But you also get access to third level spells! As a Forge Cleric you have Elemental Weapon always prepared, as well as Protection from Energy. Producing elemental effects out of nowhere is more of Koichi‘s thing but you can certainly block some electric attacks!

For your prepared spells Mass Healing Word is obvious, and Beacon of Hope will let those heals have the maximum value. There’s a lot of good stuff at third level so if not for the spell slots I’d say prepare more stuff from third level!

LEVEL 11 - CLERIC 6

6th level Clerics get another use of their Channel Divinity, which doesn’t impact you much since your Channel Divinity is more for utility. Speaking of things that don’t impact you Soul of the Forge only works if you have heavy armor! Well at least you’re resistant to Fire damage: should help if you’re ever hit with an explosion, not that that’s going to happen anytime soon...

And you can also prepare another spell: Remove Curse can let you remove any negative stand affects hurting your party. Frequent crying? Skin loss? Sounds like a curse! Or just good cooking.

And your Psionic Die increases.

LEVEL 12 - CLERIC 7

Level 7 Clerics can prepare 4th level spells, which is why we went into Forge Cleric: you know the Fabricate spell innately, which will let you reconstruct raw material into something useful! Fabricate has a ton of uses as long as you have the materials, so use your imagination to make something useful with the environment thanks to that stand of yours. You also get Wall of Fire; perhaps not in flavor but perhaps you’re punching open a lose gas pipe?

You can also prepare 4th level spells, but since none of them really work for our character I’d suggest the Unearthed Arcana spell Spirit Shroud, which will make your punches do more damage and keep enemies close to you. DORA!

LEVEL 13 - CLERIC 8

The 8th level of Cleric gives you another Ability Score Improvement, and I’m actually going to suggest an increase to Dexterity again for the hardest punches. Speaking of hard punches you also get Divine Strikes to do an extra d8 fire damage on hit. Technically it says weapon damage but it’s been confirmed that your fists are weapons as a Monk, and you can still use a weapon for your first two attacks if your DM’s really stingy about it.

You can also prepare another spell and... I dunno. Prayer of Healing from second level? You honestly have all the spells we need for roleplay so prepare the spells you need, because that’s the point of Cleric.

(Artwork by XenonVincentLegend on DeviantArt)

LEVEL 14 - MONK 6

Getting into tougher stand fights? Well now your punches can finally bypass magical resistance with Ki-Empowered Strikes. But more importantly you get some 5 foot range stand power with Noxious Aura: As a bonus action you can spend 1 ki point to create an aura with Crazy Diamond. The aura surrounds you for a minute unless you’re incapacitated or you end it early.

While the aura is active ranged attacks have disadvantage against as Crazy Diamond strikes them away. Any other creature that starts its turn within 5 feet of you must succeed on a Constitution saving throw or become poisoned until the end of your next turn, taking poison damage equal to your Wisdom modifier. Consider it your desire for justice pushing you forward!

And your Unarmored Movement also increases for more CHASE.

LEVEL 15 - MONK 7

7th level Monks get Evasion to dodge things like... explosions, taking half damage on a failed save or no damage on a successful one. You also get Stillness of Mind, allowing you to use your action to end an effect of being charmed or frightened. Consider this you being too angry to look at some dumb manga; that guy just insulted your hair!

LEVEL 16 - MONK 8

8th level Monks get an Ability Score Improvement so it’s about time to cap that Wisdom score to cap off Crazy Diamond’s power!

LEVEL 17 - MONK 9

Level 9 Monks get an Unarmored Movement Improvement to run across water and walls as long as you end your turn on solid ground. I’d flavor this as you reshaping the terrain around you so you can move.

And your Psionic Talent Die gets its final size increase.

LEVEL 18 - MONK 10

10th level Monks are immune to Poison and Disease thanks to Purity of Body. You got over the stand fever as a kid, after all. Your Unarmored Movement also increases to 20 feet for 50 feet total of running.

LEVEL 19 - MONK 11

At 11th level Way of Mercy Monks get Healing Technique, letting them remove an effect of being blinded, deafened, paralyzed, or poisoned when they heal an ally with Hands of Healing. You can heal people’s wounds: fixing their eyes and ears is the next logical step. Your Martial Arts die also increases to a d8, letting you heal on-par with Cure Wounds with your own hands!

LEVEL 20 - MONK 12

Our final level is the 12th level of Monk for another Ability Score Improvement but instead I’m actually going to suggest a late feat for the final fight. If you want to mimic someone’s dad on the phone take the Actor feat for +1 to Charisma along with advantage to mimic someone and the ability to mimic someone’s voice. Is it a little late for this feat? Yeah probably.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Pearl Jam - You have a lot of healing. Like, a lot of healing. 12 Ki points to spend on essentially Cure Wounds, spell slots for a variety of healing spells and Beacon of Hope to maximize those heals.

Highway Star - You also have a very wide effective range with 50 feet of movement to run in to heal or harm, and that mobility is further increased by the tricks you can do as Monk.

Echoes - You have a lot of utility outside of just healing. You can keep enemies at bay and buff your allies’ weapons and armor, and have tons of out-of-combat utility with Fabricate to make whatever you need and your skill checks all being above average with Wild Talent boosting them further.

CONS

The Lock - Your powers have limitations just like your stand. Your Channel Divinity only works on metal, and Fabricate is an expensive spell slot that also needs materials. What’s more is that a lot of your powers take a lot of time to use, so no instant builds like in the anime.

Boy II Man - Cleric levels are cool and all, but in order to get Fabricate we skipped a lot of the Monk’s stronger abilities like Tongue of the Sun and Moon and Diamond Soul, which is practically named after our stand!

Enigma - There’s such a thing as too much of a good thing, and this build possibly has too much healing in it. What’s more is that Forge Cleric really doesn’t benefit this build much since you can’t wear Heavy Armor.

But you aren’t fighting alone; you have a whole town to back you up! Your job is to keep the shining resolve of the people alive while also being ready to give a beatdown to any punk who threatens the people. Or if they insult your hair; it can be tough to keep your cool.

(Artwork by DGraySpartan on DeviantArt)