#takes some customizing but its incredibly versitile

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Building Nico Minoru in D&D

I was actually thinking of building a different Marvel character using D&D 5e rules but then I realized this would, in theory, be a very simple build and also still very challenging because, well, we’re doing magic and magic in D&D is a lot of stuff. So why won’t we start with someone who can help us keep it relatively simple?

So first we need to decide what we want from this build. We need a wide variety of magic spells but also something that can reflect what happens if she breaks the “one word per spell” rule. We also need a magic staff that we can use in combat and finally a way for her to be the dean mother for all the other Runaways

As before, builds I do are inspired by an awesome job Tulok the Barbarian does building characters on his youtube channel and I tend to stick to some of his principles. For one, we will be using standard points array for Ability Scores - 15, 14, 13, 12, 10 and 8. If your DM would have you roll or point buy adjust the results to the below guidelines.

Our main stat is Charisma, not only will it be responsible for our casting but also because Nico is well-liked by her peers even at her angstier and grumpier. Constitution will follow, Nico has to cut herself for her spells to work, after all. Dexterity next, since she has shown some acrobatic skills in combat here and there. Then Intelligence, she is smarter than your average bear, as they say. Our lowest stats are Strength, since we don’t need it, and Wisdom, as Nico is has a reputation of being too trusting and making decisions driven more by emotions than cold reason.

Our points array should look like this: STR: 8 DEX: 13 CON: 14 INT: 12 WIS: 10 CHA: 15

For Race (which is D&D’s outdated way to say species) Nico is a human, so we’ll go with Variant Human. Variant Human get +1 to two Ability Scores of your choice, I recommend Charisma and Dexterity with the above array but it may be different for you - just remember even numbers are good numbers. We also get a free skill proficiency, take Acrobatics, and a feat. War Caster gives you a number of utilities - when you take damage and need a Constitution saving throw to maintain concentration on a spell, you have an advantage on that roll (meaning you roll twice and pick better result), you can perform somatic components of a spell even if your both hand are occupied with a weapon or a shield and when an enemy provokes an attack of opportunity from you, you can instead cast a spell as long as it only has one action casting time and targets one creature.

For Background, I’d pick the closest to a runaway - Urchin. It gives you proficiency with Stealth and Sleight of Hand, but I would customize it and change the latter for Deception, disguise kit and thieves’ tools and a City Secrets feature, that allows you to travel twice as fast between any two locations in a city, at least when not in combat.

Now to the Class Levels. For our first level, we will start off with Sorcerer. We get proficiency with  Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows, Charisma and Constitution saving throws and two skills, I would choose Persuasion and Intimidation.

Before we get into spellcasting, we will focus on Sorcerous Bloodline. And there is one that seems almost tailor-made for Nico - Wild Magic. It gives us a very climactic ability - whenever Nico casts a spell of level 1 or higher, you roll a d20. At natural 1 you get to roll a Wild Magic Surge table ad have a random effect happen. While it is admittingly not very optimized for combat-oriented games it is the best way to reflect Nico breaking “one spell, one word” rule. Just have it that you first tell you DM what you cast, then roll and on nat 1 roleplay a failure. Plus it is a ton of fun and you can make it even more unpredictable if you add some sort of custom table for wild magic effects, like this one here I just found today.

You also get Tides of Chaos. You can choose to gain an advantage on an attack roll, ability check or saving throw. You can use this ability once and get it back after a long rest or whenever you roll on Wild Magic Surge table.

Now for the spells. How it works is that you have a number of spell known and every level you learn a new spell and can replace one you know with another. You get a number of spell slots each day and when you cast a spell you burn out one spell slot of an appropriate level and you cannot know spells of level higher than your higher spell slots. It is sadly more limited than Wizard who just learns the spells but it is much more reflective of Nico as a character. Dark magic is not something she learned, like Doctor Strange, it is her legacy but also an inherently chaotic force she struggles to control. She represents the unskilled but strong type of magic user, as opposed to Strange who has next to no raw power but incredible skill and knowledge. 

You may feel a limited number of spells known clashes with Nico not being able to cast the same spell twice but there are ways around it in roleplay itself. Agree with your DM to describe a slightly different way the same spell works each time, maybe a spell that once held an enemy in place did it by paralysis, next time by a tentacle and another time arms of the dead rose from the ground to grab them? You can also operate on rules closer to A-Force, where Nico gets to cast the same spells using different words.

Also, mechanically if a spell allows a target a saving throw, difficulty for it is 8+ Your Charisma Modifier + Your Proficiency Bonus. If it requires you to make an attack, the attack modifier is said Proficiency Bonus + Charisma Modifier.

As for spell themselves, you get two level 1 spells and 4 Cantrips - minor spells that do not burn your spell slots when used. Nico’s problem is that she is versitile - she can do near anything she wants, meaning there is little point in declaring you to take specific spells. There are many great options in spells and I do not plan of going through each and every single one of them, because this post would be a novel. I will, however, list for every level some good options in the offensive, defensive, control and utility spells and let you make choices which are most the kind your take on Nico would use. I’m not your mom and casters in D&D are versatile, go wild, experiment, pick spells YOUR Nico would use. 

Anyway, I will list all most fitting spells of that level and whenever I mention you get a new spell, go back and refer to this. Also, if I will be referring to a spell “scaling” with you it means there are ways to boost it up as you advance in levels, usually by casting it from a higher spell slot. Each such spell has that mentioned in the description.

Cantrips:

Offensive: Booming Blade (which can also make it harder for your enemy to move), Shocking Grasp or Green Flame Blade all let you make an attack with an additional effect; Create Bonefire can double as “never have to worry about making a campfire for the night” spell; Infestation has a minor control effect and it is pretty terrifying.

Defensive: Blade Ward is great because it can give you damage resistance, which will be useful even at higher levels.

Control: None

Utility: Gust, Control Fire, Shape Water and Mold Earth all have a number of uses and each lets you control one of four elements to a degree that can be easily exploited; Prestidigitation has a great number of uses; Mending lets you repair minor things, Message allows you to contact others, Mage Hand is another surprisingly helpful one, Minor Illusion can double as a defensive spell and Light means you will never worry when exploring dungeons

Level 1 Spells:

Offensive: Ray of Sickness, which also doubles as a minor control effect as it can make the target poisoned; Witch Bolt, which stacks with your levels better than Magic Missle; Chromatic Orb which has a bonus of being able to be attuned to your situation and allows you to choose the type of damage the target does not have resistance or immunities;

Defensive: Shield allows you to temporarily grant yourself +5 AC as your reaction; Mage Armor gets you some extra AC and can be cast on your allies. False Life grants you temporary health points, which you’ll need since Nico is not exactly known for her durability; Fog Cloud is good to escape group of enemies

Control: Color Spray and Sleep can get your enemies temporarily blinded or unconscious and they stack with you.

Utility: Feather Fall can save you in a moment of need; Charm Person may let you survive some botched social encounter or convince a principal you’re Molly’s mother; Expeditious Retreat allows you to get in and out of close combat.

Now, for your Arcane Focus, which you can use to cast spells, pick a staff. This is far from the mighty Staff of One, but don’t worry, we will fix that in a moment. But first, we have some more Sorcerer goodies.

2nd Level Sorcerer gets an additional spell known and one more Spell Slot. We also Get Font of Magic. Which translates into Sorcery Points, their number always equal to your Sorcerer level. So far they can do one simple thing - you can spend them to regain spell slots - 2 for 1st, 3 for 2nd, 5 for 3rd, 6 for 4th or 5 for 7th level spell slots. You can also burn out a spell slot and gain number of Sorcery points equal to its level. You cannot have more Sorcery points than your Sorcerer level and you get them back to maximum after a long rest.

The real fun with that starts on 3rd Level of Sorcerer. That’s where you get Metamagic. How it works is that you get to pick two options that allow you to spend Sorcery Points while casting spells for extra effects. Out of the choices I recommend the fan-favorites Quicken Spell (for one sorcery point you can cast a spell with 1 action casting time as a bonus action instead) and Empowered Spell (for 1 sorcery point you can reroll a number of the damage dice for a spell equal to your Charisma modifier).

3rd Level is also where we get, aside a new Cantrip known, increase of our Spells known to 4 and a 4th 1st level Spell Slot, 2 2nd Level Spell Slots. Meaning we can now know 2nd Level Spells and here are some good suggestions:

Offense: Scorching Ray can damage several targets and Shatter is especially nasty against all kinds of constructs.

Defense:  Blurr and Mirror Image make you much harder to hit and each is a solid choice but Invisibility is the real treasure here, with added huge utility bonus.

Control: Blindness/Deafness may replace Color Spray as you go on; Web is easy to trap a group of opponents; Crown of Madness and Suggestion lets you have limited control over the enemy; Darkness is a good save in trouble; Hold Person just gets an opponent off your back for a moment.

Utility: Alter Self has several uses beyond just making you look like someone else; Knock lets you open door and containers; Enhance Ability can help on a necessary saving throw or skill check; Enlarge/Reduce does exactly what you expect and if you doubt there is a ton of uses for that, ask Hank Pym; Detect Thoughts lets you play in Jean Grey’s playground for a moment; Levitate and Misty Step greatly help you move

Okay, now that we have covered basics of the Sorcerer, time to get ourselves a magic staff.

We will now be taking Warlock levels. Some metagame note: It is debatable when is a good moment to multiclass from Sorcerer into Warlock. Popular opinion is that if you take Warlock levels before hitting 5th level of Sorcerer, it will be a pain in the ass until you catch up. However, it all depends on the DM and the type of game you play. It might be perfectly fine with more forgiving DM to pick those levels after 2,3 or even 1 level of Sorcerer (in fact, I only didn’t do that because I wanted to explain Sorcery Points and Metamagic first), it might be a worst idea ever in more hardcore game. I recommend getting the feel of your game if you start at early levels.

The first level of Warlock means Pact Magic - Nico did made the deal with the One to not have to shed her own blood anymore after all. Good news is that it works exactly like Sorcerer’s magic and there is a lot of overlap - you can expend Warlock spell slots to cast Sorcerer Spells and vice versa and you can get Warlock Spells slots back using Sorcery Points or burn them for more Sorcery points. Bad news is your Warlock levels do not stack with Sorcerer for the purpose of determining the total number of spell slots and their level the way Sorcerer does with Wizard, Cleric or Bard. Good news is there is one crucial difference between how the spellcasting of both classes works. Sorcerer regains spell slots and Sorcery Points after finishing a long rest (usually 8 hours of in-game time). Warlock regains spell slots after a short rest. Meaning you can use your Sorcery Points to get higher level spell slots back or for metamagic and then burn warlock spell slots to get them back and get Warlock spell slots back after a short rest. This is a great way to ensure you won’t run out of spells early.

Warlock gets two Cantrips, but most of them overlap with the Sorcerer, aside of Eldritch Blast and Tool the Dead, each a pretty good offensive cantrip. Same goes for or the 1st Level. You only get one spell slot, but you have more options:

Offensive: Hellish Rebuke lets you do the most goth thing ever - snark at someone who hurt you in infernal and deliver such a burn you actually set them on fire.

Defensive: Protection from Good and Evil is the only one but it is pretty darn good (no pun intended), gives a number of helpful advantages against several types of enemies.

Control: Cause Fear lets you have Nico tap into her inner wicked witch and remind everyone how terrifying she can be; Hex allows you to curse your enemies with some good control and offensive effects

Utility: Unseen Servant has some nice uses and in a pinch, you can summon him behind an enemy’s back to give your Rogue flanking for Sneak Attack. There is also Healing Elixir, which would be a great healing spell but is FUCKING BROKEN. Not in a “doesn't work” way but in an “I replace the party cleric as a designated healer and also break the economy” way. So a savvy DM may ban it.

Warlock also gets an Otherworldly Patron, which will symbolize Nico’s deal with the One. We will pick Hexblade - a deal with powerful entity from Shadowfell granted you a special weapon (I mean, the One didn’t say where he is from, so...). As a Hex Warrior you gain proficiency with medium armor, shields and martian weapons, but we won’t need it - we’re here for its second ability. Whenever you finish a long rest you can choose one weapon that you are proficient with and lacks a two-handed property and from now on you can use your Charisma for attack and damage rolls with that weapon. I can hear some of you saying “but wait, Staff of One is clearly two-handed” and while you are correct, there is a little trick for you. The Rules as Written state that the weapon cannot have a “two-handed property” meaning it is not described as two-handed by the handbook. And quarterstaff is not - it is versatile instead, meaning you can choose to use it as either one or two-handed weapon as you please. But even if the DM would not agree with that, do not worry, we will get past that little problem in just a moment.

Hexblade also learns a curse - it allows you to curse a target as a bonus action, giving you a bonus to damage against it, a better chance of critical hit and lets you heal some if you kill them. Which overlaps nicely with both abovementioned Hex spell AND with two extra spells added to your list (since other two you already had from Sorcerer) - 1st level Wrathful Smite and 2nd Level Branding Smite, each dealing extra damage to a hit and some additional effects that impose extra penalties on your enemies. 

All pretty useful when you need to protect an adorable cosmic being, btw.

2nd Level Warlock gets an additional spell known and an additional spell slot. You also get Eldritch Invocations - you can select two bonuses from a list and every time you take a level of Warlock you can replace one of the Invocations with another. Whichever you choose depends on how you want to play Nico, but here are some suggestions - if you want to focus on long-distance combat Agonizing Blast, Eldritch Spear, Grasp of Hadar, Lance of Lethargy and Repelling Blast each let you customize your Eldritch Blast. If you want to actually have Nico in the first line, aiding her allies then Armor of Shadows and Fiendish Vigor let you cast on yourself a helpful minor defensive spell (Mage Armor and False Life,  respectively) at will without using spell slots and if you go for control then Thief of Five Fates allows you to once between every long rest to spend a Warlock spell slot to cast Bane, a spell normally available to Bards and Clerics, that can weaken your enemies. I advise picking wisely since on next level we will actually make use of the switching option.

3rd level Warlock gets to learn 4th spell and gets to choose 2nd level spells. Most of these overlaps with Sorcerer and the two special ones - Flock of Familiars and Ray of Efleebement - have mostly control use.

Warlock also gets a Pact Boon and we will choose Pact of the Blade. It allows you to summon a magical weapon that you are always proficient with that can be of any type except for bows and crossbows. You can also transform any weapon into your pact weapon, meaning if you ever come across magic quarterstaff you really like (or even make/get one made), you can turn it into your Pact Weapon and use to roleplay one of Nico’s staff powerups like Witchbreaker.  And here is where I would recommend switching one of your Warlock invocations for Improved Pact Weapon (which we couldn’t take before hitting this level), which removes that “no bows or crossbows” limitation, grants your pact weapon +1 bonus to attack and damage unless it already has one and from now on you can use said weapon as your arcane focus for casting spells. And it specifically states it overrules Hex Warrior limitations - you can always apply Hex Warrior bonuses to the Pact Weapon no matter what it is.

This venture into Warlock let us create Nico’s own Staff of One - summon a magic quarterstaff to cast spells and if someone is stupid enough to try to get their hands on you or your family, you can nerf them with Hex and Hexblade Curse and then beat up or even smite with the same staff, to remind them this witch is far from helpless.

As Daken here helpfully demonstrates.

We go back to the Sorcerer for the rest of this build. 4th level Sorcerer means a new Cantrip known, a new Spell known and a new 2nd level Spell Slot. We also get an Ability Score Improvement and our priority is to maximalize Charisma so we will take +2 to it.

5th Level means a new Spell known and 2 new spell slots of 3rd level. So let us go through the options

Offensive: Erupting Earth, Fireball, Sleet Storm and Lightning Bolt are all an area of effect spells that let you hit hard a whole group of enemies with fury of the elements; Melf’s Minute Meteors is something more focused.

Defensive: Blink and Gaseous Form can save your life in a pinch; Counterspell and Dispel Magic let you do something against other masters; Protection from Energy meanwhile can help you or someone else survive, say, things like your own area spell; Wall of Water is good against melee attacks.

Control: Fear and Hypnotic Pattern may temporarily stop some opponents, while Enemies Abound can turn one of them against the other; Slow slows down your enemy while Haste is gonna make one of your more combat-oriented allies love you; Stinking Cloud makes everyone in the area of effect sick.

Utility: clairvoyance lets you keep an eye on your home or check out for nearby dangers; Fly does exactly that; Daylight gets rid of darkness; Water Breathing and Water Walk are likely self-explanatory; Major Image is an illusion with a lot of use.

6th Level Sorcerer learns a new spell and gets a third 3rd level spell slot. You also gain Wild Magic feature - Bend Luck, which allows you to choose an enemy or an ally and as a reaction spend two Sorcery points to apply a 1d4 penalty or bonus to their attack roll, saving throw or ability check.

7th Level Sorcerer gets to learn 4th level spells

Offense: Blight deals necrotic damage to target; Ice Storm is another, now ice-based area of effect ofensive spell; Storm Sphere and Vitroic Sphere are each a concentration-based area of effect offensive spell and so is Wall of Fire, which also has defensive uses.

Defense: Stoneskin gives you resistance to nonmagical attacks, Greater Invisibility is better version of an already good spell

Control: Banishment lets you put an enemy in a time-out or banish them completely if they’re from another dimension; Confusion can cause chaos among the enemies; Dominate beast lets you take over control over a beast; Watery Sphere traps enemies inside itself,  Polymorph is a great spell for turning one tricky enemy into something less frustrating to take down or weak ally into a combat monster or Old Lace into a puppy.

Utility: Dimension Door lets you teleport with limited range.

8th Level Sorcerer - more spells known and spell slots and also an Ability Score Improvement, you should be able to cap your Charisma by now.

On 9th level, you get access to 5th Level Spells

Offense: Cloudkill, Cone of Cold and Insect Plague - evn more spells dealing damage in large areas; Immolation just SETS SOMEONE ON FIRE; Animate Objects turns a bunch of items or furniture into your servants who may fight for you.

Defense: Wall of Stone sounds, well, self-explanatory really

Control: Control Winds has several uses for defense, offense or just to make your enemy’s life harder; Dominate Person and hold Monster are better versions of spells we discussed already; 

Utility: Telekinesis lets you move objects, teleportation circle can offer some help on your travels; 

10th Level means more spells and you get another Metamagic. What to pick depends on what spells you selected. If you picked a lot of offensive and control spells affecting a whole area, most of them allow a saving throw and Careful Spell lets you for 1 Sorcery point to pick a number of creatures within the area up to your Charisma modifier, and make them automatically succeed said saving throw, meaning you no longer hit your allies. If you picked a lot of single-target spells, Twinned Spell lets you spend Sorcery points equal their level to make copy their effects on a second target. Distant Spell for 1 Sorcery point increases the distance of a spell so that if your teammate turns into a giant crab, you can deal with it at safe distance.

11th Level of Sorcerer lets you learn 6th Level Spells

Offense: Chain Lighting lets you hit up to 3 targets with lightning; Disintegrate hits one target and can deal even 100 force damage; Circle of Death is your area of effect murder spell of the level; Sunbeam hits all targets within a line for Radiant damage

Defense: Globe of invulnerability cuts off the target from rest of the battlefield, it can be both a life-saver and a control spell;

Control: Eyebite makes it that as long as you maintain the spell each turn you can grant some nasty things on your enemies by simply looking them in the eye; Mass Suggestion is like good old Suggestion for multiple targets.

Utility:  Move Earth lets you manipulate the terrain around you; True Seeing has a number of uses, surprisingly

Investitures - there are 4 spells called that way, of Flame, Ice, Stone and Wind. Each one has a combination of defensive, offensive and control effects in one package.

12th Level Sorcerer gets more Spells and an Ability Score Improvement but we will pick a feat. Inspiring Leader lets you spend 10 minutes on boosting the morale of your allies. Choose up to six creatures within 30 feet, including you, who will get temporary hit points equal your level + your Charisma Modifier and you cannot give them the same bonus again until they finish long rest. Most of the players roleplay this as giving a speech for 10 minutes but it’s not said you must do it that way and a 10-minutes long speech in a game is gonna be a pain in the ass. You can easily use this to roleplay Nico being caring dean mother to her teammates.

13th Level Sorcerer learns 7th level Spells

Offense: Delayed Blast Fireball lets you cast Fireball with time for your allies to run away from the area; Fire Storm is, well, a storm of fire that you may be able to place in a way that avoids said allies; Finger of Death deals necrotic damage and slain target raises as a zombie; Prismatic Spray may hit an enemy with wide array of damage or effects

Defense: none

Control: Reverse Gravity is another one in a long line of “make your enemies’ life hell” area of effect spells, bonus points if Nico starts singing that one spell from Wicked.

Utility: Teleport, especially climactic with its possibility of mishap;  Etherealness allows you to reach places you shouldn’t with an extra defensive effect; Plane Shift lets you take the entire team to another dimension or send an enemy on a such trip.

14th Level gives you a Wild Magic Feature, Controlled Chaos. From now on when you roll on Wild Magic Surge Table, you can roll twice and choose one result.

15th Level Sorcerer lets you earn 8th Level Spells

Offense: Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting, Sunburst and Incidentiary Cloud are even more powerful area of effect spells to hurt your enemies. Warning, if you pick the first, you WILL mispronounce it at some point as “Horrid Writing” and lead to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy jokes at the table.

Defense: none

Control: Power Word: Stun lets you stun any target with less than 150 hp; Earthquake is the most overkill way to terrorize your enemies with some possible damage effect; Dominate Monster lets you take control over someone but remember - it has nothing to do with BDSM so don’t try it on Karolina during your kinky nights.

Utility: none

16th Level Sorcerer gains an ability score improvement, boost Constitution and remember it gives you bonus hit points for each level, including retroactively, adding 16 to your hp. Tough feat might have given you twice as much but we also need to boost up your Concentration and Constitution Save.

We will cap on 17th Level Sorcerer, grab another Metamagic of your choice and one 9th Level Spell. By which I mean grab Wish, Wish is fucking awesome and it fits perfectly with Nico’s “price to power” thing. If you exchange one of your other spells you can pick another 9th Level Spell (but remember, you only have one Spell Slot per long rest for 9th level spells) so choose one: Power Word: Kill lets you flat out murder someone with 100 hp or lower. Meteor Swarm is an area of effect offensive spell that bombards the area with meteors because I guess an Earthquake wasn’t over the top enough. Time Stop is sadly nerfed, but you can use it in a pinch to run away, no pun intended, buff or heal yourself

So we did it. Nico is a Warlock 3/Sorcerer 17 so now let us take a look at our pros and cons

For the pros, you have the way with spells that you think fits Nico’s character best and, if you choose right you can be a devastating force capable of taking down many enemies, control the battlefield or have a hefty dose of utility spells at your disposal. You have some additional versatility with Sorcery Points and Warlock spell slots, keeping you in battle a bit longer. You are a skilled party face, able to act as the leader to your group. You can also add your friends in direct combat with Hexblade abilities and your HP should on average get beyond the dreaded Power Word: Kill range.

For the negatives, your melee effectiveness is not THAT great, merely a last resort thing and you do not have that many spells that can improve it. Your strongest offensive spells are almost all likely to be the area of effect, meaning you need to be careful and your Wild Magic can as easily help as mess things up. Finally, we didn’t cap Constitution, meaning your concentration, Constitution save and health points are not as good as they could be. Finally, as a sorcerer, you cannot wear armor and your dexterity is not the best so your AC is meek and you need these defensive spells. However, you still are gonna be a great supporting caster capable of acting in second or even first line. Have a friend who is a good front-line combatant to shield you and add some punch to your magic and you should be a force to be reckoned with.

Get it?

As always, feel free to drop any constructive criticism or say if you tried this build in a game or have some suggestions. Also, check out my previous Cassandra Cain build.

- Admin

#Nico Minoru #Runaways #A-Force #Marvel #Dungeons & Dragons