How would you stat Gutts?

[DarkSunLord1]

Please excuse any rudeness on my part.

This thread is meant for those who have read the manga and/or watch the anime; so I can get to the good stuff.

If you wish to know more about this manga/anime, go to Wikipedia and look up "Berserk".

I was curious as how to stat Gutts into 3.5 d20 system. I hope others will aid me.

I must note I am inexperienced with this. Please correct me if you feel I am wrong with mechanics


This would be up to date with the manga.

Size: Medium. Gutts would be over 6 feet, although I don't believe he is tall enough to valiate being Large. Powerful Built maybe.

STRENGTH: 23-?. With the the Berserker's Armor, however, Gutt's strength might to closer to 30.

DEXTIRITY: 18-20
despite his size, requirement of a prosthetic limb (His left forearm), and the enormous size of his sword, his dex could well be over 18.

CONSTITUTION: 23 or above-
seemingly superhuman (or perhaps inhuman would be a better word), Gutts has actually taken out a hundred warriors in one battle, and this was before Griffith betrayed his followers. Gutts's ability to endure pain and injury is mind-boggling.

INTELLGENCE: 14-16? Gutts is no fool, and uses what he can to win the day, often using darker tactics when he was using the title of "Black Swordsman".

WISDOM: 14-16. An inhuman will to live, combining his will and physical endurance and ability to endure sheer pain, Gutts surprises his opponents and makes them lower their guards.

CHARISMA: 14-15. Not the most good-looking of people, Gutts IS extremely Intimidating-to the point of scaring others.

THE BERSERKER'S ARMOR: a 5+ Full-platemail, this armor unlocks the user's true potential, removing inherent physical and mental restraints. What this would mean in game mechanics I am unsure as to how to define, but the armor is reputed to keep the wearer alive until there is literaly nothing left, using things such as spikes to keep bones straight. These things would mean a increase of strength and constitution-perhaps dexterity as well, as Gutts seems to speed up in combat when using the power of the armor.

Dragonslayer: 5+ fullblade?, described as an enormous broadsword, about the size of Gutts, this sword is repeatily described as being more of a slab of iron then a proper sword. It seems only Gutts is able to wield it, and in his hands, the sword becomes ideal for killing The Godhand's Apostles. Later in the series, it is notes that Dragonslayer has become cursed, a result of being bathed in the blood of the monstrous Apostles. What this actually results in is unknown.

prosthetic arm/Arm Cannon: After losing his left forearm, Gutts acquired a prosthetic limb that doubles as a concealed cannon. Using a string to fire the barrel, Gutts often surprises his enemies with it. When not in use, the cannon is covered with a fake hand, which is unsurprisingly used a weapon itself. The hand is magnetized so that Gutts can use his sword two-anded

Alignment: During the time when he was a member of the Band of the Hawk. Gutts was neutral-possibly with good tendencies. As the Black Swordsman, he would be chaotic neutral with evil tendencies. Now, he appears like he was in the Band of The Hawk.
self.

Beast Of Darkness: Literaly Gutt's evil side, Gutts and it were in sync during Gutts's time as the Black Swordsman, so there wasn't any infighting. However, when Gutts tried to leave that behind, the Beast tried to lash out. This is most prevalent when Gutts calls on the power of the Berserker's Armor. I would call describe it as a 20-level Barbarian rage.

[Prime32]

Hellbred (body) Barbarian 10/Frenzied berserker 10. Maybe a warblade dip to pick up some cleaving-type maneuvers. Guts is good at fighting, but his style isn't the most complex.

The Dragon Slayer is a Large greatsword with the ghost touch quality (the extra abilities of a truedeath weapon crystal could make it a good choice). Strongarm Bracers let you wield it.

The cannon could be an item containing a high-level maneuver (like Elder Mountain Hammer) - it should not be a ranged weapon, since Guts has only used it at point-blank range.


In a Tome game he would have Samurai levels and/or the Horde Breaker feat.

[Jota]

Prior to the introduction of Schierke et al, Berserk is very much and E6 setting (my opinion). I'd stat Gutts as a Fighter 2/Whirling Frenzy barbarian 1/Crusader 2 or so. That's both the min-maxer in me and covering all of Gutts' bases, to a degree, though the mechanics for rage are disappointing and something else could easily fill that hole. Whether the filler be more crusader levels, warblade levels, Exotic Weapons Master or something to account for the ‘slab of iron,’ either way it matters little except for the stipulation that it come with full BAB. My splatbook expertise is not so expansive to suggest any obvious fits off the top of my head.

There are elements of 3.5e that throws snags into any translation, such as Gutts' mobility despite wearing some kind of medium/heavy armor. The barbarian’s fast movement could be inserted here as an explanation, or some homebrew, perhaps. Rule changes, such as those proposed under Tome, where BAB mitigates ACP, are a possibility, but then you’re not quite playing the same game. In Gutts’ case it seems more a matter of strength and his weapon, rather than his armor, which would dovetail nicely with AD&D’s weapon speeds and some homebrew, but that’s really neither here nor there. A feat or rule change that offers reach equivalent to the size of the weapon wielded seems logical.

Now, if you go strictly by RAW, 100 CR 1/3 monsters (as first level warriors, as in the NPC class, technically are) have a CR of 10. If they were CR 1, then collectively they would be roughly a CR 14 encounter, if I’ve done my math correctly. With that said, a CR 5 Gutts' with something like Stone Power who only fights a handful of opponents at a time (since they are sort of bottlenecked, IIRC), assuming a 10’ reach, general physical superiority (overwhelmingly so, as in someone who is about straight 18s across the physical attributes opposed by straight 12/13s, if even that), the limitations of eight surrounding attackers, and the ability to with stall Crusader’s Strike and Martial Spirit, perhaps even Revitalizing Strike, too, and I don’t think victory is out of the realm of possibility.

From a numbers/probability perspective, Gutts should be looking at an AC of at least 18 between armor and Dexterity, and attacking at something approaching +10 (5 BAB, 4 Strength, Weapon Focus/magic sword/whatever). His opponents will probably have lower ACs (on account of both less protective armors and lower Dexterity scores) and vastly lower to-hit rolls (maybe +2 accounting for both Strength and BAB).

Shards of Granite and damage reduction (perhaps a kind that can only be defeated by weapons of certain size category) could help round out/explain his apostle-slaying repertoire/ability. Other logical feat selections include Combat Reflexes, Diehard, and Great Cleave. The mechanics are a let down in some cases, but thematically they are quite appropriate.

After the magical weapons make their debuts and the Berserker Armor comes to the fore, things change up a bit, but not hugely so. It could still be an E8/E10 game, but the field is definitely changing.

Sorry for the rambling.

[DarkSunLord1]

Wow, I'm glad I took the time to start this topic!

Now, what about Gutts when the Berserker's Armor and Gutt's dark side are active?

[Prime32]

Wow, I'm glad I took the time to start this topic!

Now, what about Gutts when the Berserker's Armor and Gutt's dark side are active?= Gutts when Frenzy and Barbarian Rage are active.

[T.G. Oskar]

A player of mine is actually doing that. He's testing a bit of my homebrew, but so far:

Race & Class: Diverting a bit, but I figured Half-Giant is a great choice. For starters, it has the right Strength and Constitution; without a build that requires any mental stat, you can counter the Dex penalty, though he might have a bit of Int for stats and whatnot. Then you add Powerful Build, and... By the way, this allows the character to have Psionic Focus, which you could either ignore or embrace through different mechanics. A few levels in Fighter (at least two, a bit more if you wish to go Dungeon Crasher and maybe add Armor of God and Resolute with some reflavoring) coupled with a few levels in Barbarian work well for starters. The rest is a mystery, though if you embrace psionics, War Mind is a solid full BAB choice alongside Sweeping Strike.

Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Fullblade), Power Attack, probably regular Cleave. That should do it for starters. The rest is pretty much optional, though if going with Barbarian for Rage, you could use some of the rage-based feats (Intimidating Rage is a good example, for a slight debuff whenever you rage, and Instantaneous Rage whenever things go sour).

Equipment: The Dragonslayer is no mere magic item: it IS a Weapon of Legacy, and you should treat it as such. The story already has history, such as the basis for its name (capable of beheading a dragon with one hand) and what Guts provides it with (the blood of Apostles making it a "cursed" weapon). Most likely, it'll have the Ghost Touch and Bane special qualities (the latter based on whatever you base the Apostles at; in my case it's Aberrations because I'm blending Guts' story with the foundation of Riedra in Eberron). The Prosthetic Arm is really a Warforged Mighty Arm graft with an Armbow (replace with Repeating Light Crossbow) and with the ability to use a 10th level Fireball 1-3/day. You can claim that the graft only covers your actual forearm if you want.

I need to place the Berzerker Armor apart, since that thing is very definitely a Major Artifact. Really. Consider:
It grants him great defensive qualities, so it should be a +5 at least.
It sends Guts automatically into a rage, which can be explained as duplicating the Berserker Strength ACF from the Barbarian. It also grants him Diehard if he doesn't already.
It grants him fast healing, or even regeneration. Guts can fight pretty much to the point of exsanguination and still stand, so either he has a serious regeneration rate or he eventually HAS to die from -OMGWTFBBQ HP.
The manifestation of his Inner Beast strongly resembles that of Frenzy, with only stuff like Calm Emotions done in a VERY specific way being able to take him down (not even a proper Will save).
It's also mildly cursed, if not insanely cursed. Mild loss of taste and colorblindness, alongside a streak of gray on his hair, are the results of going berserk with the armor once. So that's easily explained as a permanent -1 penalty to Listen and Survival checks.

While you can pull off some stuff with the basic magic items, the story behind it AND the things it provides don't really fit a base magic item nor an item of legacy (it could be an item of legacy given the penalties, but the armor comes fully powered unlike the Dragonslayer), plus its history all conspire to make the Berzerker Armor a major artifact. Accept no substitutions; you really can go haywire with artifacts.

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral not played stupidly. Guts might be a jerk, but he definitely has a heart of gold...somewhere around. He relishes battle, he's a loner, probably a bit psychotic, but that's a hard shell he places to hide his true self, and all the pain the Brand of Sacrifice causes.

Fluff: The Inner Beast is mostly fluff, but it should be something that should play somewhat in the crunch. Either a dip on Barbarian (or even Frenzied Berserker) or the effect of the Berzerker Armor reflect that best. The Brand of Sacrifice should be a minor quirk, essentially a Psionic Tattoo with a permanent Clairsentience effect that allows you to detect Apostles and their ilk, but serves as a two-way sensor (because they are drawn to him like flies). This is not really a powerful ability, so it's mostly fluff; the build will always detect evil (or the specific race you decide the Apostles to be) but the group will have several battles (which can be just the right amount of battles the DM wishes the group to have) because of that.

Now, how Dark Schneider would be statted? That's an interesting question...

[Keinnicht]

CHARISMA: 14-15. Not the most good-looking of people, Gutts IS extremely Intimidating-to the point of scaring others.


It might make more sense to stat him using the variant rule where you use strength instead of charisma as the key ability for Intimidate. Because, frankly, a guy with a Strength of 30 can be a horrible speaker and still be terrifying when he makes threats.

[Prime32]

It might make more sense to stat him using the variant rule where you use strength instead of charisma as the key ability for Intimidate. Because, frankly, a guy with a Strength of 30 can be a horrible speaker and still be terrifying when he makes threats.I think there's a feat for that.
EDIT: There is in PF at least - Intimidating Prowess.

[Cieyrin]

I think there's a feat for that.
EDIT: There is in PF at least - Intimidating Prowess.

I believe he's thinking of the variant from Masters of the Wild, which gave a further bonus for Intimidate while raging, as long as you demonstrate your physical prowess while making your idle threat.

[Jota]

The armor is primarily described as granting an inability to feel pain, which is sometimes modeled as damage reduction. Pain is supposed to be the body's way is enforcing limits, so enhanced physical attributes (Strength and Dexterity) are logical. Similarly, debilitating injuries should be ignorable. 3.5 doesn't have a sophisticated system for modelling things like torn cruciate ligaments, ruptured tendons, and the like, so this might manifest as an immunity to certain status effects (nausea, sickened, exhausted, fatigued, disabled, to give a few examples).

The last one is probably most important. If you expand the range of hit points at which someone is considered dying (say to a threshold of -10 for each hit die), then being able to act while below zero hit points has increased significance.

By the same token, there's a reason creatures feel pain. Limits exist for a reason. Exceeding them should have a detrimental impact, probably one that can continue to be ignored while wearing the armor, but that will have more extensive ramifications once the armor is removed. Permanent ability damage and reduced base land speed are just two possible consequences of survival for someone without Gutts' enviable Constitution.

Though it hasn't been mentioned, the brand (mark of sacrifice) is something that both draws hostile creatures to an area (maybe impacting random encounter rates, if anyone still uses those), and grants something akin to the Slayer's enemy sense or detect hostile intent.