How would you make Zagreus from Hades?


Advice


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Some traits:

1. At least partially divine, but ideally reaching the point of being closely related to a god
2. Martially flexible on some timescale (say, at least each day could pick up one of a variety of weapons and excel with it).
3. Able to channel divine powers or boons into his martial combat
4. Has a reusable/rechargeable "spell like" power
5. Thematically related to blood, the underworld, and/or death in some way
6. Charming and friendly
7. Gains experience/power from defeat and failure

Or, if you prefer, how would you go about making a more general character type inspired by divine blooded characters from greek mythology?


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My thoughts go to a Human/Dhampir fighter/magus.

Underworld magic and being comfortable in the land of the dead, plus having difficulty healing in traditional means all leans toward negative energy affinity in some way.

Fighter is the ultimate for martial flexibility.

Magus grants magical abilities to mix up with martial combat, but as a dedication never overshadows his martial abilities.

Liberty's Edge

As for the Class choice, I'm not quite sure as I'm on the fence for it because of ... well, just how versatile Zag is with weaponry in general. Maybe it's not exactly "fair" to the PF2 assumptions but generally, in Hades, he is more or less able to pick up any weapon and be absolutely lethal with it to a completely absurd degree so I might lean into the idea that he is a Fighter though that doesn't feel right. Solid IDK on this but no matter what they're going to have to be some class that can get very respectable functionality out of nearly any armament he might find.

As for their Ancestry, I believe that the sort of dual nature coupled with his fate being tied to the underworld, a Fetchling Duskwalker is about as close you can get without going off script for PF2 rules. It plays to being of both darkness and light plus an unbreakable tie to the underworld in the form of the Boneyard which I think is probably a much better equivalent to Hades than the Abyss or Hell.

I don't want to get too much into the deep of things spoiler wise but I think the influence and acts of Nyx mean that Fetching is essentially a must and the nature of his existence justifies the Duskwalker rules. That aside, I can't really think of TOO much that would mechanically or narratively reproduce his aversion to being pretty much anywhere except the underworld, and bringing that particular aspect of his character to the game would if anything, make Zag totally unplayable in 99% of games without using handwavium to just let him survive above ground.


Well Zagreus is a god, so I think that building him with dual class would work the best, like Monk or Champion/Arcane Sorcerer dual class with Soul Warden (for the dead relation and domains) and Wellspring Archetype (recharge spells with a variety of elements from the Arcane list).

Ancestry probably human with Aasimar, Duskwalker or Tiefling.


i know it is weird, but ancestor oracle, maybe with a fighter or some other martial archetype, might be the best option. You gain chaotic "boons" every time you fight but the gods are jelous, so you can't use them all at once. You are a divine character connected with death and the underworld, are charisma-based, have focus spells, and the divine list has plenty of buffs to increase your martial prowess.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

The use of multiple weapons probably requires the automatic bonus progression.

Uchuujin wrote:

My thoughts go to a Human/Dhampir fighter/magus.

Underworld magic and being comfortable in the land of the dead, plus having difficulty healing in traditional means all leans toward negative energy affinity in some way.

Fighter is the ultimate for martial flexibility.

Magus grants magical abilities to mix up with martial combat, but as a dedication never overshadows his martial abilities.

Fighters actually aren't a great fit as they are one of the least flexible for weapon choice. A fighter can be the best at using any one weapon group, but no fighter can use every weapon group with equal skill.

Magus doesn't have proficiency limits like the fighter does, and this can switch between weapons easier.and can also change their spell loadout every day and thus what kind of magic their weapons are enfused with. They are limited to only one hybrid study, which hurts the concept, but Laughing Shadow's extra speed works regardless of weapon choice, and dimensional assault is a good simulation of his dash. Zagreus also fights bare chested.

Champion would probably be the best fit for flavor, and righteous ally let's them change their weapon and boon every day.


I'd like to highlight one mechanic that hasn't been talked about yet: the Cast. It's a limited resource that deals a bit of damage and can be upgraded with boons and Boiling Blood/Abyssal Blood. I don't really have an idea for Abyssal Blood, but Boiling Blood gives a damage increase to enemies who have a Cast in them. That's basically a Ranger's Hunt Prey action, with the Precision Edge.

Some divine boons alter the Cast, with the "<name> Shot" boons. Some of those could act like Focus Powers, or maybe limited spell slots (the idea is that you have a limited amounts of Casts, but you regain them over time, so Focus Powers seem the best). Now, I don't know all the Focus Spells by heart, so I'll do spell-analogues here:
- Electric Shot: Seems like Electric Arc.
- Flood Shot: A Focus Spell-like Hydraulic Push?
- True Shot: True Strike as a Focus Spell?
- Phalanx Shot: Some AoE spell?
- Crush Shot: Some 15-foot cone-like spell that could inflict Enfeebled?
- Trippy Shot: No idea.
- Crystal Beam: No idea.
- Slicing Shot: Some damage over time effect, like Acid Arrow?

I have no idea how you'd fit all of those in one character, but you could at least focus on one or two of them, I feel.

Also, you could translate his dodge mechanic into the Time Jump spell. Or, if you want to use it more often, I feel like a nimble class like the Rogue or Swashbuckler would translate well, with things like Tumble Behind.

So, if I were to build Zagreus, I think it'd be a Ranger (for martial weapons and Precision Hunt Prey), with either a Rogue or Swashbuckler archetype for Tumble Behind, and maybe a second archetype after that for some (Focus) Spells.


Hmm, trying to stat out Zagreus is ultimately a folly since he is a god, just like Athena.

However, in the interest of this exercise, first we must determine what type of creature are Hades and an unknown queen. One could argue that when Nyx regarding Zagreus asked the Fates, the one who helped was Pharasma with some condition. If it is that way, then it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to be a Tiefling Duskwalker (I know multiple heritages, just let it slide).

His would most like by mythic (which is why he revives and have so many powers). His class would likely be Precision Ranger, with his cast custom "Hunt Target". How custom? Well it could be a focus spell that also sets a trap. For secondary class it would probably be Swashbuckler, as he does a lot of tumbling.

***************************

Having said all that, after researching a bit, it would be both tragic and hilarious if Zyphus was the aged up Golarion version of Zagreus.

What proceeds is effectively fan fiction, read at your discretion):

Zagreus after countless of pointless deaths trying to leave Hades, finds a loophole and uses the souls of people who died accidentally (much like he does in the game) to extend his life outside of Hades. He comes to a deal with Charon to stop fighting if he can sneak him out of Hades, and sides with Urgathoa in exchange for getting his own place in Abaddon. Eventually changing his name to Zyphus.

If Pharasma really revived him with a conditional, and he (as son of Asmodeus found a loophole), than it would be understandable why she would be extremely angry at him. After giving him back and making him a duskwalker, he repays by messing with her business (delaying Groetus). The other gods find him annoying under this version because most of the greek gods are two faced; Also because they got tired of granting him power for him to not escape.

Naderi then ends up being the true love interest, after Tanathos and Magaera disagree agree with Zagreus (who effectively dumped them).

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