#katou black kite danzo

[writer-and-artist27]

Or, the author wanted to finish a chapter regarding Sakata Kintoki in LB 5.5 Heian-Kyo and it took a lot longer than expected due to writer’s block and real life changes with a new job on the horizon. 

Oh well. Warning for Heian-Kyo spoilers. Just saying. Also note that the AO3 link now requires an account to read, due to Elon Musk AI-theft shit.

FFN link here (that you can read as a guest). OST playlist here, with the two new songs included.

[hasmashdoneanythingwrong]

Context:

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #188

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re building the greatest robot ever built in Sengoku period Japan, Katou “Black Kite” Danzo! This amazing automaton is a Thief Rogue to speed up her limbs and get some ninja mobility, as well as an Alchemist Artificer so she can really fly, make objects disappear and reappear, and even make those awful rice balls.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: Welcome to the CHK!

Race and Background

Danzo’s a Karakuri Puppet, but D&D races don’t get that specific, so we’ll just have to call her a Warforged instead. This gives her +2 Constitution and +1 in any other ability, and we want Dexterity. Her Constructed Resilience gives advantage on saves against being poisoned, and she gets resistance to poison damage. She also doesn’t need to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep, and she can’t get sick. As a bonus, this means she doesn’t need to take any of the Fuuma clan’s medicine, thank god.

She still has to take long rests though, but a Sentry’s Rest reduces the time to six hours. You’re still conscious, but you can’t move if you want the rest.

Thanks to your wooden body, you can use Integrated Protection to fuse yourself into your armor, granting you a +1 bonus to AC, and preventing it from being removed against your will. Your Specialized Design also gives you proficiency with Medicine and Woodcarver’s Tools.

Like Paraiso, you’re also a magic assassin, so Volstrucker Agent is pretty accurate. This background gives you proficiency with Deception and Stealth.

Ability Scores

As usual, we’re using the standard array for maximum replicability. From high to low:

Still a ninja, still starting with a really high Dexterity. Unlike Kotarou, your ninja tricks come from your Intelligence. Also, you’re a robot; you’ve got to be pretty smart to know how you work, and you have a big chunk of the Fuuma clan’s history stuck in your head. Third is Constitution- you’ll happily sit in a cave for several centuries and not die, which is pretty impressive. Your Wisdom is above average, because I can’t think of anything specific you do that uses wisdom, but it’s still probably better than a regular person’s. Your Strength is probably lower than it should be, but it’s not like we really need it that much. That means we’re dumping Charisma. You don’t really “get” people that well.

Class Levels

Artificer 1: Starting off as an artificer is pretty neat, giving you proficiency with Constitution and Intelligence saves, as well as two artificer skills- Arcana is the closest thing we have to science in D&D, and Sleight of Hand will probably help with the bull swallowing we’ve got to do later. You also get Magical Tinkering when you start out, letting you tack minor magical effects onto tiny objects. A pebble that constantly sounds like someone walking around is a useful distraction. Despite artificers being a half casting class, they also get Spells this level, which you can cast and prepare using your Intelligence. For cantrips, I suggest picking up Mending to patch yourself up, as well as Create Bonfire for a quick and easy firestarter. Literally setting places on fire is also a great distraction, if a bit more obvious. For first level spells, I suggest picking up the classic suite of “barely spells” spells, like Grease, Alarm, and Snare. You should also grab Cure Wounds for some quick and dirty rice balls, as well as Jump and Feather Fall for Katou Danzo’s wind manipulation. There aren’t many offensive options for wind in D&D, but I can promise you’ll be very mobile by the end of this build.

Artificer 2: The big reason we started as an artificer is to grab Infused Items as quickly as possible. Starting at this level you can hold onto four blueprints for magic items, and can make up to two of them at a time, switching them out between long rests. Now you can make a Bag of Holding for some real bull swallowing (not literally though, those suckers are several times your weight limit), a Rope of Climbing for a grappling hook that attaches itself, a Returning Weapon so you’re not stuck picking up your kunai after every fight, or you can apply Enhanced Defense on some armor for even more AC.

Rogue 1: Now that your initial ninja tricks are set up, we still have to, y’know, get good at ninjaing. (Ninjing? Whatever.) Bouncing over to rogue gives you Investigation proficiency for expert analysis plus Thieves’ Tools for dismantling traps, as well as Expertise in Acrobatics and Stealth for double proficiency bonuses on all your ninja techniques. You also get a Sneak Attack once per turn, dealing an extra 1d6 damage to your target while using a finesse weapon and if you either have advantage on the attack, or have an ally within 5 feet of them. Also also, you get Thieves’ Cant. It’s a language.

Rogue 2: Second level rogues get a speed boost thanks to Cunning Action. Now you can use your bonus action to Dash, Disengage, or Hide. All very ninja-y, I assure you.

Rogue 3: Going into the Thief subclass lets you overclock yourself even further thanks to your Fast Hands. Now your cunning action lets you make sleight of hands checks, use thieves’ tools, or use objects as a bonus action. Plus, your sneak attack is 2d6 now! You’re also accustomed to Second-Story Work, so you climb as quickly as you walk, and your running jumps get boosted by your dexterity modifier. Combining this with Jump starts your ascent into a proper Black Kite- with a running start you can jump almost 40′ across, or almost 20′ straight up. You can also jump over most humanoids, clearing seven and a half feet on long jumps.

Rogue 4: Use your first Ability Score Improvement to bump up your Intelligence for stronger artificer spells and medicines.

Artificer 3: Now that we’ve got a base level of ninjositude down, we can bounce back to artificer for more clever tricks. Right off the bat, you can always create The Right Tool for the Job over the course of a short rest, though you can only make one kind of tool at a time. (If you make new tools, the old ones get jealous and leave, I guess.) You also get goodies exclusive to the Alchemist subclass though, like proficiency with Alchemist’s Tools, Healing Word and Ray of Sickness as prepared spells, and the ability to craft Experimental Elixirs. When you finish a long rest, you can make one such elixir, with a random effect you find out when you create it. There’s a lot, so I’m not going to list them all here. The elixir only lasts until your next long rest, so you can’t stock up. That being said, you can create more elixirs at a time as you level up.

Artificer 4: Use this ASI for more Dexterity, for more accurate and deadly kunai strikes.

Artificer 5: Fifth level alchemists become Alchemical Savants, adding their intelligence modifier to spells that heal or deal acid, fire, necrotic, or poison damage. Playing to character means you won’t be using this much aside from the healing, but you also get second level spells! You get Flaming Sphere and Melf’s Acid Arrow for free, but we’re here more for the other spells you can prepare, like grabbing Levitate for some discount flight (hey, if you use your rope of climbing to grapple onto things you can probably get some good speed going...), Invisibility for better bull swallowing that can actually swallow a bull, Enhance Ability to just try a little harder, and Blur for some swirly wind nonsense that makes you harder to fight. If King Arthur can do it, so can you.

Artificer 6: Sixth level artificers get Tool Expertise, doubling your proficiency with any tool check you’re already proficient in. You can also cast Message at this point because you’ve worked in Chaldea too long for them to not give you a freaking walkie talkie, and you learn two more item infusions, and you can build one more at a time. Boots of Elvenkind will silence your footsteps, and Boots of the Winding Path can help you ninja vanish back along the steps you took this turn. There’s an obvious problem that you can’t wear both sets at once, but you’re probably not even making both at once, so...

Artificer 7: Seventh level artificers get Flashes of Genius, letting you add your intelligence modifier to an ability check or saving throw happening within 30 feet of you. You can use this Intelligence Modifier times per long rest. If scifi has taught me anything, all robots are calculating the seven billion ways an event could go at any one time, so finding the three that lead to success shouldn’t be that hard.

Rogue 5: Bouncing back to rogue for a bit brings your sneak attack up to 3d6, and also unlocks your Uncanny Dodge, spending your reaction to halve the damage of an attack coming your way.

Rogue 6: Sixth level rogues get another round of Expertise, so double down on Investigation and Arcana for extra robosmarts.

Rogue 7: Your sneak attack gets as good as it ever will at 4d6, and you learn Evasion, supercharging your dexterity saves. Successes completely negate damage, and failures only deal half damage. Just... don’t stand in the fireball. Why do so few people get that?

Artificer 8: We’re back in artificer to stay now, so bump up that Intelligence for stronger spells as well as more and stronger flashes of genius.

Artificer 9: Ninth level alchemists stick Restorative Reagents in their medicines, adding 2d6+ your intelligence modifier temporary hit points to your experimental elixirs, regardless of their other effects. You also learn how to cast Lesser Restoration Intelligence Modifier times per long rest without using spell slots. The Fuuma clan’s medicines are effective, if nothing else. You also learn how to cast third level spells, like Mass Healing Word and Gaseous Form. I mean, I guess the latter spell is flying, but it’s not Fly flying, you get me? You can also use Tiny Servant to create puppets of your own, Water Walk to walk on water like the ninja you are, as well as Haste and Blink to supercharge your mobility.

Artificer 10: Tenth level artificers are Magic Item Adepts, letting you attune to one more magic item at once, and you can craft common or uncommon magic items faster and cheaper. You also get two more blueprints for infused items, and one more you can make at a given time. Boots of Striding and Springing will make your jumps even more ridiculous, and the Ring of Jumping will clear up some prep space and save you a spell slot or two. Using both of those items at the same time basically let you fly without the spell, letting you jump 120 feet forward or 63 feet straight up, and your long jumps can pass over obstacles that are 22 feet tall. You can leap small buildings in a single bound.

Artificer 11: At eleventh level, artificers can create Spell-Storing Items, stuffing magic into weapons or spell focuses. You can stick a 1st or 2nd level spell in the object, and creatures can cast the spell from that object using your spellcasting modifier and the creature’s concentration. The item holds 2xIntelligence Modifier charges, but you can only have one SSI at a time.

Artificer 12: Use your last ASI to max out your Intelligence for super strong spells, better Flashes of Genius, and more Spells in your items!

Artificer 13: Your capstone level gets you fourth level artificer spells, like the freebies Blight and Death Ward. You can also use these slots to cast spells like Leomund’s Secret Chest for more effective bull swallowing. The bag of holding can still be messed with, and turning stuff invisible doesn’t get rid of it, but the Secret Chest will just hang out in a different dimension til you need it again. Also, you only have to cast it once every two months! You can also Summon Construct to make your own dolls to help out in combat. Sadly there isn’t a wood option, but this is as close as we’re gonna get.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Flying is good. Like, really good. And you’re so mobile you can fly without flying. You’re so good at jumping you take falling damage just by making a long jump.

With your expertise, enhanced ability, and flashes of genius, you can be pretty good at most skills if you really need to be.

Artificers make really cool toys, but most are limited by only having one action per turn. Thanks to your fast hands, you can make even better use of your infusions by using your bonus actions to either double up on item uses or multitask.

Cons:

We didn’t take that many levels of rogue, so your damage is a lot lower than your fleshier ninja counterparts.

While your magic and infused items are useful, they all get shut down immediately in anti-magic zones, giving you a big weak point most DMs won’t hesitate to smash.

While I wouldn’t call having extraneous spells a weakness, especially from a player’s perspective, it is kinda sloppy building on our end. Outside of healing word you really wouldn’t use the other subclass spells you get if you’re playing to character.

[writer-and-artist27]

Or when playing through the prologue and first five sections of Lostbelt 5.5, Heian-kyo, the author had feelings about the Servants that would’ve been left behind in the canon game. Let it be said Grails keep getting underestimated in the canon story, at least from the author’s POV. Also, a clown’s probably going to get a lot more humiliated later down the line thanks to said Grails here. With more katanas and poison involved. Still need to brainstorm that. 

This was also written and posted just in time to celebrate the belated two years of Passing Days being on AO3. As of this post (Dec. 1, 2022), the story is now two years and 2 days old on AO3 since its original posting on Nov. 28, 2020. It’s been a blur, these past two years, but writing this has been good for me, I feel.

Dedicated to @partialdignity, since they read the initial draft I gave them and gave me the kind encouragement to finish. Thankie, beloved friend.

FFN link here. OST playlist here, with the new songs included.