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So got bored watching 300, and decided to start statting up Leonidas. In my head, 20th level Phalanx fighter. 25 point buy. Used WBL to come up with appropriate (and useful) gear.
BASE STATS
STR 17
DEX 16
CON 14
INT 12
WIS 10
CHA 7
FINAL STATS WITH ITEMS (Including 15 total castings of wish)
STR 32
DEX 30
CON 25
INT 12
WIS 10
CHA 7
Belt of Physical Perfection +6, Bracers of Armor +8, Boots of Speed, Amulet of Natural armor +4, Cloak of Resistance, +5 Bashing Arrow Catching Heavy Steel Shield, +5 Defending Shield Spikes, +5 Throwing Distance Returning Longspear, +3 Keen Gladius.
For Feats I was considering Combat Patrol and Lunge for when there's lots of guys charging, Whirlwind just to use the reach from lunge and the spear when there is no need for the Combat Patrol.
On the stats, I picture the high dex being vital to gaining the multiple AoO's from combat patrol, as well as beefing up the AC. Low on sleep, but AC as is I calculated to be at 42, higher when not shield bashing due to the defending property on the spikes. Also, I know there were no spikes on the shield in the movie, re-skin it if it matters that much.
Thoughts?
Well I never imagined that he would be so beefed up in terms of pathfinder stats after watching the movie. Doesn't seem like he deserves those physical stats, really.
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I think there is often an assumption that fictional characters that are among the best and brightest of their world, are 'level 20' characters. But that usually isnt the case. If leonidas was 20th level the battle would have gone quite differently (in the film or in real life). Though they are skilled warriors the spartans in 300 are still pretty close to the realm of reality. Its likely that he is 8th level or less, and he certainly wasnt loaded down with magic items. He pretty much had a spear, a sword, a shield and a helment and thats about it.
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Yes, Leonidas lives in a low-magic world, possibly even an E6. He's probably 5th or 6th level with a very balanced but high set of stats. Here's my guess
Strength:16 he's a strong guy but nothing over the top. Strength 16 is what I interpret as being about 3 sigmas from the mean.
Dexterity:14 he's quick but probably not as quick as he is strong
Constitution:14 giving him credit for about 98th percentile
Intelligence:14 (dragging in the portrayal from 'Gates of Fire' here, he's a very smart guy and started laying the preparation for the struggle a long time in advance).
Wisdom:14 Very strong willed
Charisma:16 This is his strongest suit, as he is able to inspire not just the 300 but some of his allies as well to greatness
So if we assume he takes his racial in strength, he costs out to
5+5+5+5+5+10---a 35 point character. This by the way is one of the things I loathe about point buy. I'm way more willing as a gm to let you have stats like this Leonidas than I am an optimized 25 or even 20 point build.
Yup, that's probably about right. Now...if you wanted a Leonidas type for Pathfinder...you'd have to bump him up a good bit.
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Well, I think it is cool that you put in the effort. However, I think this is a little min-max'ed for what is effectively an NPC build.
I would say, as one of Sparta's kings, Leonidas would probably have a few Aristocrat levels. Aristocrat isn't even all that bad of a class. All martial weapons, all armor, great skill list. Not PC level, but still pretty good. And if we limit it to 4 levels or less, he only loses 1 BAB.
I agree with Phalanx fighter. Sparta perfected the phalanx method of fighting.
I agree that the movie didn't depict him as a 20th level fighter
I would prefer a more realistic build for him, like
LN human male Aristocrat 2/Phalanx Fighter 8
Str 16
Dex 14
Con 14
Int 13
Wis 10
Cha 16
(20pt buy, after racial and level, before equipment)
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If you want to make him as he was in the movie, then level 5-6 is fine. If you want him to be WHO he is in a D&D game, the OP is right on.
I was going more this route. A straight movie version would be very much powerful, but then again, the movie didn't have all sorts of magical creatures. Well, maybe a few twisted by alchemy or necromancy, but nothing as weird as, say, a Ghorazagh.
In real life, I don't think he can be accurately statted out using PF rules, but to stick with just the movie specifically, probably around 5th level fighter would be right. Maybe a level or two of aristocrat.
Also, my reasoning behind the low charisma is that even though he is a leader, its more from his birthright and deeds than from his actions. Granted, some of his speeches are pretty epic, that can all be from Skill Focus (Diplomacy), and if you watch the movie he does more intimidating than anything, which is made up for with powerful build. Besides, if he really was so charismatic, he would have been able to convince the other politicians to allow him to take the rest of the army.
EDIT: If I had to try to stat out the real life version of Leonidas, I would say probably this:
STR 17
DEX 16
CON 16
INT 11
WIS 13
CHA 12
Not sure about the int, because he doesn't really display that much knowledge throughout the movie. It could be argued that his tactics were intelligent, but I think he benefited more from being wise vs. being smart. If you actually read the historical documents on it, he really didn't make that great of decisions in most situations. Armchair general, but I would have done things just a tad bit differently.