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[pathfinderlab]

So You Want to Play: IRON MAN

 (Bringing the Armored Avenger to the Dungeons and Dragons table)

So you want to play Iron Man. The armored avenger has reached an all new height of popularity in the last few years, rocking comic books, animated features, and of course, the big screen. So why shouldn’t you bring him to your DnD table, and crush puny kobolds with the power of your crimson suit of power armor?

In this article I’ll walk you through a Pathfinder Iron Man character build, that is effective, powerful, and simple.

RULES OF THE GAME

So, since this is the first So You Want to Play, I feel I should explain how I made some of the choices that I did. Typically, when it comes to these kinds of builds I’m going to be looking for 3 factors (in rough order of importance): Similarity, Playability, and Continuity. 

Similarity is the closeness of the build to the target character. What’s the point of an Iron Man build that’s nothing like Iron Man?

Playability is the effectiveness of the build, from a strategic point of view. It’s fun to be Iron Man, but its no fun if you have to suck ass to do it. Power’s not our end goal of course, but it’s fun to be awesome, and we want to stay at least on par with more vanilla fighters, paladins, and rogues of similar level.

Finally, Continuity is the reliability of the first two factors across all levels. This is something I feel often gets ignored in many of the builds that float around the internet. Many have really high Similarity and Playability at a certain level, but almost none before reaching that key point where they finish their feat chains, or get a class feature, or buy a magic item. It looks great on paper, but it’s a bit of a problem when it comes to actual usability. A lot of us may want to be Iron Man from level 1, and good Continuity should be just that: both playable and recognizable from level 1 to level 20.

OK, so now we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get started.

TECH vs. MAGIC

Ok, so let’s pull this band-aid off right away. Pretty much any Iron Man in a classic fantasy Dungeons and Dragons setting is going to have to be powered by magic. The Tony Stark we build will be a magical prodigy with a knack for arcane invention. 

Now, if you’d rather go in a pure tech direction, without the magical element, Pathfinder does give you some options. If you check out their Iron Gods material and Numeria setting there’s a lot of really cool sci-fi stuff there. But in my opinion that stuff is really flavored better for the Guardians of the Galaxy then Iron Man. Sure you’ll get laser pistols and cybernetics at low-levels, but actual power armor is an artifact, unrealistic for any beginning adventurer to suit up in. 

So, since most settings and Dungeon Masters will find it easier to fit a magic suit of armor into their campaign than a technological one, in this build we’ll be taking the magic route, but again- if you’re looking for tech, look up Iron Gods.

CLASS

So, the most obvious question we face- what class is the best fit for the Armored Avenger? Obviously Tony’s going to need magic of some kind to power his suit. A Charisma based class wouldn’t be bad, but Intelligence would be even better. A wizard or arcanist would certainly have enough options to show off some very Iron Man-esque powers, but not until he reached the higher levels. An alchemist is a good fit for some of Tony’s weaponeer tendencies, but doesn’t really have any good options for the iconic power armor. 

Somewhat surprisingly, what I consider the most Iron Man-ish class in Pathfinder is the Occult Adventures’ Occultist. Now the Occultist may not seem right for flavor on a first glance- since when does Tony operate in superstition and the powers of the past? But on closer inspection the Occultist has many other things right. The Occultist is primarily an item-user class, “a well-rounded character whose abilities revolve around a collection of unique items.” An Occultist is someone whose mental powers allows him to bring out the extraordinary in the common materials around him. With a little flavoring you could see him as a magical inventor, discovering powers in common objects that more traditional magicians would never dream of. Sounds a little-bit Starkish now, doesn’t it?

Its an Intelligence based class with a neat 3/4 base attack bonus, and with the Transmutation and Evocation school of implements you can rock the classic Iron Man repulsor beams and super-strength pretty much immediately, and fly as soon as level 7.

Taking the Battle Host archetype makes the fit even better. Besides giving Tony the full armor and weapon proficiency he deserves, it gives him the awesome ability of the Panoply Bond: a single bonded item through which the occultist channels of his powers. Sound familiar?

It’s power suit time, baby! Equally awesome is this little tidbit: “The bonded item is masterwork quality and the battle host begins play with it at no cost.”

Given that the bonded item can be any weapon, armor, or shield the possibility for abuse here seems large, and we might as well abuse away. Why not simulate the Stark fortune by starting your first level wearing a 1600gp suit of masterwork full plate? Pump 3 points of mental focus into Transmutation, and that full plate becomes a power suit, giving you a constant +2 to the physical ability score of your choice.

Going Battle Host gives up a little implement versatility as well as some of the more occult abilities that didn’t really fit Stark anyways, like magic circles and consorting with outsiders. In place you’ll get combat feats, which any good Iron Man will love, and the ability to push your super strength even further when you over-clock your suit with Heroic Splendor. 

Tony in the comics often summons additional suits to his aid, and as a Battle Host you can do likewise with Spirit Warrior, summoning magical constructs of force to aid you in battle. The Battle Host also narrows down his item-based abilities to weapons and armor, which feels like a nice nod to the history of Stark Industries as a weapon manufacturer.

I feel I should mention: Another notable class is the Synthesist, an archetype of the Summoner which wears the Eidolon as a sort of suit. This was probably my second choice, as it has a fantastic armor feel, where the Eidolon “armor” has to be destroyed before you can be hurt. However, the whole evolution set up and the abilities it encourages honestly feels a little more Venom-y then Iron Man, what with the capacity to grow claws and additional limbs and all. Charisma-based casting isn’t quite a fit for a guy who invents powers with his intellect, and the conjuration-heavy spell list doesn’t feel very Iron Man-y either. No obvious access to wingless flight or practical repulsor beams are also a negative flavor-wise. Not to mention the archetype has been banned from official play due to OPness. That said, it’s a very cool class, and another great way to get yourself a magical suit of power armor.

Okay, so now that I’ve made my pitch for class let’s take a look at race!

RACE

So. Obviously Tony Stark is a human. Of course, we’re taking a fantasy route, so we shouldn’t really restrict ourselves, and I wouldn’t. Except that it’s really a part of Tony’s whole thing that he’s just human, not an Asgardian or a mutant, or an alien-enhanced super thinker. 

If you’re open-minded to non-human races, Elf and Half-Elf make great choices, not just for their ability scores, but for their Favored Class bonus. Additional focus points is really, really awesome. Amusingly Halflings also get this bonus, and don’t make half-bad Occultists either.

But, since this is the guide to building the ideal Iron Man, not the Iron Elf, we will focus on things you can do as a human. Of course everyone loves the flexibility of the human ability scores, skills, and bonus feat, and Tony can use all 3. That being said, if you’re really into Tony being a skill master, (which honestly he is) consider taking the Focused Study alternative trait, which essentially gives Tony the Skill Focus feat 3 times, spread out across his level progression. Feel free to boost his Craft, Knowledge (Engineering), Spellcraft, Use Magic Device, or whatever skill you think is most magic-punk Tony Stark, out the window.

Being Human also provides access to a lot of other great feats for a super genius. Fast Learner, is a nice boost to hit points and skill points besides having the perfect flavor for a child prodigy. It also gives you access to the feat Improvisation which will give Stark all the know how he needs to really do anything. Neither is really necessary, but I personally like the flavor of an Iron Man who thinks (probably wrongly) that he can do everything.

ABILITY SCORES

So, everybody does ability scores differently, be it point buy, or roll 4d6 take the best 3, or roll 2d6+6. I’ll do this with a 20 point point-buy, and assume that will approximate most people’s builds, but will also give suggestions for scores that are lower or higher.

For a 20 point buy I like to go:

STR 14 (It’s nice to have at least this to mix it up in melee, soon your power suit will boost it even higher)

DEX 12 (A +1 ability score here will max out your full-plate dex bonus, raise your AC, and help you feel like a real armored tank. Not to mention you need this score to aim your repulsor beams.)

CON 12 (Even with armor Tony needs a little grit to take hits from the strongest beings in the multiverse. And also to keep his liver going)

INT 16 (Use your racial bonus to pump this to 18. That should be the minimum for any Stark!)

WIS 8 (This should be your dump stat. It’s not great from a competitive standpoint to handicap your Will and Perception, but it makes great flavor sense for Tony. The man is not exactly known for his good decision making.)

CHA 14 (What else for a smart-mouth, smooth-tallking, billionaire playboy? Also nice for Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate, and Use Magic Device).

If you have the points or rolls to pump INT even higher, it’s great for the flavor, and it doesn’t hurt your magic skills either. After that I’d prioritize Strength, then Constitution, and it’s certainly nice not to have to dump Wisdom. 

If you need to back off on a few scores, this build doesn’t actually NEED Charisma, though I’d try to keep it above 10 for flavor. You can drop DEX and CON too, it’ll just make you a bit less tanky. If the flavor’s not too important to you, the build doesn’t actually NEED a final INT any higher than 16 post racial bonuses and that can be a real point saver if you don’t mind it.

FEATS

Feats really fall into two categories. Those that are good for Playability, and those that are good for Similarity. Best are the ones that do both- I’ve already listed a couple feats of note like Fast Learner and Improvisation. 

One other is Armor Focus: (Full Plate) which both simulates the attention Tony puts into his suit, and will help make you into an armored behemoth. (Take it first level, alongside a heavy shield and wade into battle as a 1st level character with 23 Armor Class).

Extra Mental Focus and Extra Focus Power are basically must-haves for any Occultist, and are the Iron Man equivalent of increased power source and additional inventions respectively.

Toughness and Iron Will are a nice boost to your survivability if you can afford them.

Improved Initiative is a great feat for a quick thinking Avenger, and if you’re looking to spend combat feats Power Attack and Weapon focus never hurt to have.

For the purpose of flavor, I really like Antagonize and Dazzling Display. The use of Diplomacy and Intimidate in combat really works for the smart-mouth swaggering Tony Stark, and it gives you a chance to drop some smooth one-liners or other super hero banter. Psychological warfare is one of the most potent weapons of genius superheroes and villains, and it would be tragic if you couldn’t trade a barb or two of your own.

If you’re playing with traits, Additional Traits can be great, either for really refining a couple flavor points, getting in a couple necessary skills, or just for min-maxing like the munchkin Tony Stark probably is.

Now there are some mixed feelings on the magical Craft feats, but I personally like the utility they provide, and they’ve got to be a standard of any good inventing genius. Craft Magic Arms and Armor is a necessity for you, if you want your precious armor to stay relevant and cutting edge. Craft Wand is a great way to get some awesome first level spells like Lead Blades, Gravity Bow, Shield, Cure Light Wounds, and more. It can help make up for your limited spellcasting, and make sure the Armored Avenger is truly prepared for any situation. At later levels Craft Rod is the best way to get metamagic utility, and Craft Wondrous Item gives your genius tinkerer to the longest list of magical toys out there.

If you want more of a tinkerer feel, consider checking out the Item Mastery feats. I’m not going to list them here because, obviously getting even a few is VERY feat thirsty, but if you’re interested there’s nothing quite as Stark as jury rigging a Belt of Giant’s Strength to cast Fly on you.

Now, obviously, nobody’s going to be able to take all of these feats, at least not immediately, so you’ll need to make some tough decisions. It all depends on what you want, what your campaign needs, and what kind of Iron Man you want to be.

TRAITS

Not all campaigns use traits, and some of them use some of them to help tie characters in to a given campaign. Either way, they’re a fun way to help your character’s backstory fit more tightly with their mechanics.

Anyways, if you are playing with traits, and you have few to spare, consider the following options:

I love Bruising Intellect for flavor purposes, and its pretty much necessary if you want Intimidate, not to mention Antagonize and Dazzling Display. Spark of Creation is another pretty great one. Rich Parents, Reckless, Focused Mind, Fate’s Favored, and Alchemical Adept are also pretty good both for flavor and potency. 

Fixer, Dangerously Curious, or Talented Blacksmith are all nice for flavor, but sort of weak mechanically. 

Reactionary, Magical Lineage, Deft Dodger, and Auspicious Tattoo are all awesome traits for playability purposes, but don’t really fit the Iron Man mold.

If your campaign is using Drawbacks: Condescending, Headstrong, Hedonistic, and Vain should all seem familiar to Tony Stark. 

SKILLS

Between your high INT, your human-ness, and your favored-class bonus odds are you’re netting 9 or 10 skill points a level. 

For Tony Stark-ness I recommend:

Use Magic Device, Spellcraft, whatever Knowledge your party needs (arcana and engineering strike me as particularly Starkish), Craft (alchemy), Craft (armor),  Disable Device, Diplomacy, Appraise, and Fly. Intimidate’s nice too if you got it on your skill list somehow.

Perception is also recommended, simply for being THE most used skill in the game. Tony’s a pretty perceptive guy too. Usually.

EQUIPMENT

Armor is easy. Your panoply requires you take your armor with you all the way, and why would you want to take anything else? You’ll want Craft Magic Arms and Armor as soon as you can so you can enchant it. Then once you take the Aegis focus power you’ll be ready to have a truly adaptive set of armor. Under fire from negative energy? Turn on the Deathless enhancement. Something trying to trip, or eat you? Try Balanced or Bitter. Best of all, adapt your armor to your individual enemy with Defiant, the magic armor equivalent of Bane. 

And speaking of bane...

Your weapon. Now I know Iron Man doesn’t use swords... but wouldn’t it be awesome if he did? 

As the fantasy equivalent of Iron Man you have this excuse. Or you can try an axe or a hammer or whatever tickles your fancy. Go two-handed if you love damage, go sword and shield if you want to have the highest armor class in the world. I personally recommend two-handed, particularly at higher levels, where you can use a wand of shield to keep yourself shielded at all times anyways.

Be sure to get a magic weapon as soon as you can, even a dagger. Since as soon as you do, you can start using the Legacy Weapon focus power to start slapping Bane on your weapon when you need it. After all, what kind of super genius weaponeer doesn’t have the perfect weapon designed for any enemy he might face?

As for magic equipment, a Headband of Vast Intelligence is going to give you a real power boost. Consider it your magical Jarvis, connecting you to a magical computer system, telling you the wisest courses of action, and optimizing your power allocation. 

A Belt of Giant’s Strength / Incredible Dexterity / Mighty Constitution is a good stand-in for continued improvements to the suit, supplementing the bonus from your transmutation resonant power.

Wands of Shield, Lead Blades, Endure Elements, Gravity Bow, and other such spells not only provide you with a nice boost to power and utility, but present ways for your Iron Man to add temporary innovations and enhancements to his armor and weapons.

A Wand of Cure Light Wounds will make you a passable post-battle medic, and can be a simple medical invention to accelerate biological processes.

A Handy Haversack gives you a neat way to store and retrieve items, not unlike the way Iron Man’s armor seems to feed him whatever he needs, stored in secret compartments about his armor.

Pages of Spell Knowledge will give you access to other spells you may need, while Runestones of Power can give you the precious slots needed to cast them.

IMPLEMENTS

Ok, last but not least, we’ll be looking at Implements, the primary source of your suit’s powers. Generally you should think of your Focus Points as your power source, your Arc Reactor- and your Focus Powers as the things you can use that power for. 

For the full Iron Man experience you have to take TRANSMUTATION. I suggest you take it at first level for the playability it will provide you with. The Resonant Power will boost your strength so long as you have sufficient focus points remaining, while Legacy Weapon will keep you fighting alongside full base attack bonus warriors, particularly once you can start dropping bane. 

Quickness at level 5 will let your suit give you quick bursts of super speed, while Mind over Gravity at level 7 lets you engage thrusters, and take to the skies, with perfect mobility no less.

Or maybe use Size Alteration on yourself to just go full Hulkbuster. 

The other MUST-HAVE for any proper Iron Man is EVOCATION. Frankly, from a sheer playability standpoint, this is one of the weaker implement schools, but it is awesome from a flavor point of view.

Use Energy Ray to fire your repulsor beams. Or if you’re ready to break out the heavy weapons, try breaking out Energy Blast or Wall of Power. Shape Mastery will let your targeting systems pick out your allies from your enemies.

After that, what Implement schools you take are just to customize what kind of Iron Man you want to be. Consider ABJURATION for shielding technology, or DIVINATION for surveillance. Consult ILLUSION if you want cloaking tech or CONJURATION if you’d rather dabble in AI, tinkering, and biology.

WRAPPING UP

And... It looks like our time is up! Well, it was fun while it lasted.

I hope this gives you some insight on how you can bring the Armored Avenger to your own campaigns, and helps you understand how you can be the best Iron Man you can be.

If you like the build or if you hate it, give me a shout. Got your own ideas? Tell me about them.

Most importantly of all: let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to see in these guides, and let me know what character you’d like to see me build next!

As always, everything is free use, I don’t own Dnd, Pathfinder, Iron Man, or any of the pictures I’ve used.

See you next time!