When snakes threaten WWEternia, the Masters of the WWE Universe turn to Sgt. Slaughter, the Heroic Sergeant-At-Arms!
Welcome to Essential Builds, maggots! This blog that turns popular culture icons —sometimes more than one mashed together— into Essence20 Player Characters.
I’m Ryan Costello, one of the designers of the Essence20 system and an author on the G.I. JOE, Transformers, and My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebooks. As of this writing, I’ve written over 300 000 words for Essence20, contributing to over a dozen products and counting.
One of the rules of this blog is that I can’t build any character who could end up in an Essence20 product. Well, I’m not. This isn’t Sgt. Slaughter, G.I. JOE. This isn’t even Sgt. Slaughter, pro wrestler. This is Sgt. Slaughter mashed-up with He-Man mentor Man-At-Arms.
Who Is Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter?
To understand Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter, you first need to understand Masters of the WWE Universe.
Since the 2010s, He-Man’s had some strange bedfellows. First came DC Universe vs MOTU Classics. As the name suggests, it was more about two compatible toy lines being packaged together than any attempts at fun mash-ups, but there was a bit of history there. DC Comics published the original Master of the Universe comics. They even released a comic tie-in for this toy line. I haven’t read it and only know it for the scene where Supergirl turns Two Bad into two One Bads.
More recently, the Turtles of Grayskull line did a better job of using elements from both franchises to create a new one. The combinations are not all obvious, and that may have hurt the line’s marketability, but it made it more intriguing to me. That’s why I previously built Turtles of Grayskull Leonardo.
There’s also an upcoming Masters of the Universe x ThunderCats, which I find less interesting. It’s a mash-up of two swords and lasers franchises with undead and anthropomorphic animal characters. Other than Battle Cat as a ThunderCat, the line mostly looks to me like “what if the ThunderCats wore He-Man’s clothes”. Without a wig accessory, what’s the point?
But I digress. Between fighting Superman and getting mutated by Shredder, He-Man had his oddest crossover of all: Masters of the WWE Universe. This was a purely mash-up line, where WWE wrestlers from the 80s, 90s, and present got MotU make-overs and accessories. Weirdly, this was the debut of the MOTU Origins form factor, which matched the 80s toy aesthetic with much improved articulation. There were some fun mash-ups (I like the Grayskull Mania and Rattlesnake Mountain wrestling rings, and the New Day as The Man-E-Faces of Positivity) but a lot of the figures lacked effort.
The only official MotU and G.I. JOE crossover was in 2015’s Toy Soldiers: War Chest Hall Of Fame Edition. However, Masters of the WWE Universe gave us an unofficial MotU and G.I. JOE crossover thanks to the inclusion of G.I. JOE’s first celebrity member, Sgt Slaughter.
The lore behind this mash-up character is less than minimal. We know he’s one of the heroes of the line, as indicated by the use of Heroic in his one line bio. But the cover art of the mini-comic (which contains no comic, it’s a cover with a blank interior) has him facing off against The Ultimate Warrior, who is also listed as a Heroic character.
Building Essence20 Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter
The most important question Sarge’s lack of bio left unanswered: How like Man-At-Arms is Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter?
There are a few more bits of lore about the character than I implied. The back of his card says “When WWEternia Superstars backs are against the wall and the battle seems lost, only Sgt Slaughter can rally the troops to fight until the bitter end.” Additionally, his Superstar Powers are military might and unbreakable jaw, and his accessories (listed as foreign objects) are Mace of Maggot Slaying and Armor of Puke Protection.
This suggests that Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter doesn’t share Man-At-Arms’ knack for engineering. He is more of an armoured warrior with a rallying cry than a machinesmith. I’ll still slip in a few Man-At-Arms references, since otherwise I’m just building Sgt Slaughter.
Or am I..?
Role
Vanguard (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)
I did not expect to dip back into this Role so soon after my first Vanguard build. Honestly, I was all set to give this build the Warrior Role from the Transformers Core Rulebook with the Drill Instructor Focus from, naturally, the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack. But even though I made fun of Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter’s lack of lore, what little there is paints a clear portrait of a Vanguard.
Military might? Rallies the troops? Technological armor? I’ve never seen a more perfect example of the Vanguard.
Continuing to surprise myself, I won’t be using any of the Vanguard options in the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack. This is especially shocking because, as I said in my Sam Wilson build, I usually suggest everyone use the Meat Shield Alternate Vaguard Role Perks from the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack unless there’s a compelling reason to use the Core Vanguard’s Personal Shield. Well, I think the fact that WWE Universe Sgt. Slaughter wears armour based on Eternia’s royal engineer suggests more than most characters, this build works with the technological Personal Shield.
Focus
Juggernaut (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)
Again, I considered an option from the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack, the Marauder Focus, but had to go with a Core Vanguard option instead. The Marauder’s Burly Focus Perk rewards going into battle without any armour. Since this is specifically the most armoured Sgt Slaughter variant in existence, that doesn’t work.
I’m starting to worry this Sgt Slaughter build might not use any options from the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack…
Instead, I went with the Vanguard armour expert Focus.
I need to emphasize that this is a thematic choice. Vanguard’s incredibly high defense is already a game-breaking issue, so going with the Focus that adds even more defense is enough to make a GM mad at me. I suggest anyone who skipped my Captain America Essential Build at least read my suggestions for the Personal Shield fix.
The two Focus Perks that made me choose Juggernaut both emphasize armour engineering. Second Skin give us an Edge on Skill Tests related to armour. Customized Armor gives us free armor upgrades.
Faction
G.I. JOE (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)
You’re not going to believe this…
This build’s Faction came down to either Slaughter’s Marauders from the G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack, or G.I. JOE from the Core Rulebook. Slaughter’s Marauders is great because it gives us a General Perk at 1st level. But this build doesn’t need a General Perk at 1st level. It also gives us an ambush ability. Again, handy, but not what this build is about. Finally, the Faction’s Vehicle Qualifications are limited to Land vehicles. It’s a minor thing, but not being able to operate the iconic MotU Sky Sled feels wrong.
The G.I. JOE Faction may not have anything specific that makes it good for this build, but all of its generic options make it a generally better fit.
Origin
Engineer (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)
And it’s official: By going with Engineer over Marine, this Sgt Slaughter build does not use any G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack options. I just want to take a second to acknowledge how weird that is. The G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack is actually packed with great options. It’s a point of pride that you can use those options to make multiple interpretations of Sgt Slaughter, as well as a variety of non-Sgt Slaughter. Apparently one interpretation of Sgt Slaughter I didn’t cover is Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter.
Although there are bits of Man-At-Arms present in the build, it wasn’t quite enough. The Engineer Origin’s MacGyver Perk covers all the ground the rest of the build was missing.
Influences
1st Greenshirt (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)
2nd Beastly (G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Ferocious Fighters: Factions in Action Vol. 1)
3rd Intense (My Little Pony Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook)
Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter rallies troops, so Greenshirt’s bonus to Lend Assistance serves one of the main things we know about the character and makes up for not using the Drill Instructor Focus. It also helps that Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter wears a green shirt. He doesn’t always! Out of his four vintage G.I. JOE figures, three of them wear a tank top, one wears a sleeveless jacket. Only one of the three in tank tops has a green top! This is important!!!
Beastly is a fun Influence to represent the larger-than-life-but-still-within-human-limits characters in G.I. JOE like Roadblock and Road Pig. Sgt Slaughter, especially as depicted in the animated series, fits the bill.
Finally, it’s not an Essential Build without a dip into My Little pony’s extensive Influence collection. Intense is keyed to Intimidation, but the benefit actually applies Willpower, giving us a bonus against attempts to persuade us.
Essence Scores and Skills
Strength 9
Sergeant-At-Arms Slaughter only comes with one weapon, a melee weapon, and Beastly gives us a benefit to unarmed combat, so you know we went heavy on the Might. +d8. Intimidation will be our main form of communicating, so that needs a +d6. Finally, the Iron Hide Faction Perk lets us ignore Defeat with a Brawn Skill Test. We’ll start with a +d4 Brawn, and see how often we take damage before we invest any more into it.
Smarts 3
This is one of the lowest second Essence Scores I can remember for an Essential Build. The Vanguard barely advances its Smarts, so we need to invest into a decent Technology Skill to last us until 6th level. All three Skill Points went into Technology.
Speed 2
We’re in dangerous territory with 2 Speed, since that means we don’t get any Free actions. Fortunately, we don’t get any Role Perks that take a Free action until 6th level, at which point a Speed Boost at 4th level has us covered. The 2 Skill Points we get for Speed went into +d2 Driving and +d2 Initiative. Both just in case.
Social 2
I made the odd choice to put both Social Skill Points into Streetwise. The Vanguard gets a decent amount of Social boosts, so I’m considering taking a General Perk that lets me invest Social Skill Points into Intimidation, giving us a use for all these Social Skill Points and freeing up our Strength for more Might and, if need be, Brawn.
Conclusion
This build took a weird turn. I went into it worried it would just be a Sgt Slaughter build. Instead, a little bit of Man-At-Arms went a long way. While this is still recognizable as Sgt Slaughter, it is very specific to the Masters of the WWE Universe version.
On that note, I hope everyone has a lovely Wrestlemania!
Oh, I built a wrestler today because it’s Wrestlemania weekend. Did I mention that?
Resources
Field Guide to Action & Adventure
G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook
G.I. JOE Roleplaying Game Sgt Slaughter Limited Edition Accessory Pack
