Writing this blog has been a real treat, you know. A pretty sweet deal, even. I might even describe the experience as delicious. And since my blog is absolutely caked up with twenty one posted articles, I think I’ll celebrate the moment with some TTRPG junk food. And what could be more devilishly delightful than recreating one of my favorite characters as a Pathfinder 2nd Edition player character?

Hello and welcome to Eldritch Excursion, the blog that normally dives deep to observe the intersections of flavor and mechanics. Today, we’ll be stretching that definition like a strand of pink taffy as we recreate Android 21 from the hit game Dragon Ball FighterZ, a character who I believe was designed with my tastes in mind specifically.

A Brief Introduction
There’s a long version, but the short version is this: Android 21 is the creation of the evil Doctor Gero, made in the image of his deceased wife Vomi. 21 has little to no memory of the ‘template’ life she was made after, what with with Gero’s death preceding her activation. She is infused with the cells of many of the series’ heroes and villains, giving her a more inhuman true form and an immense amount of power. 21 also has the ability to absorb the strength of slain opponents and has an insatiable desire to feed on their energy. This hunger is the main drive behind her villainous campaign that forms the game’s main conflict.

So, we have our character. How do we make a character that replicates her base and her true forms? Let’s find out. And for those of you who play Pathfinder Society, I’ll try to keep it all within reason, but expect to spend a LOT of points on boons.

Level 1
It’s a running gag that most of the ‘androids’ in the Dragon Ball series are cyborgs, but the android ancestry is still a perfect fit. You can put the free boost into Strength. The tiefling versatile heritage can represent her true form’s nature, with Form of the Fiend at first level giving us access to her striking tail.
For her background, Discarded Duplicate accurately represents her. Choose Dexterity and Intelligence for your boosts. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll assume the GM gave the third boost to Charisma due to the reason for her creation. For Society players, you can pick up the Criminal background with boosts in Dexterity and Intelligence to represent what she’s done to satisfy her hunger.
Monk seems like an obvious pick considering the franchise, but we’ll be going with Magus to let you approximate some of her stranger abilities. Choose Laughing Shadow as your hybrid study, since it offers great mobility and good synergy with a ‘monk’ playstyle.
Your free boosts should go into Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence.
Arcana is your one free skill. Athletics is a must, and Religion helps understand your fiendish nature. Your high Intelligence allows for more skills, and Medicine, Acrobatics, and Deception will all serve you to some degree.

I’m not going to cover every good spell for every level, since the Spellstrike feature will naturally guide you on what to consider. However, I will point out specific spells that are useful for recreating 21’s moveset. Cantrips are a solid foundation, with Gouging Claw recreating her ‘blade’ looking attacks while giving you all three primary damage types. Ray of Frost and Produce Flame mimic basic energy blasts, while Shield is your ‘block’ and Detect Magic lets you sense power levels. For first level, Mage Armor holds you over until level 10 and Horizon Thunder Sphere is basically a move already.

Level 2
And after all that text, it gets easier from here. Additional Lore (Demon) for a skill feat lets you learn about the absolute fiesta that is your biology. Getting Arcane Fists as your first magus feat means you don’t have to just rely on your tail anymore. Scorching Ray makes for a flashy special attack.

Level 3
You’ll want to increase Thievery to expert because you can now learn Umbral Extraction, which finally lets you steal people’s powers. Ancestral Paragon allows you to pick up the Lore of the process of your own creation.

Level 4
Picking up Quick Jump lets you leap like an anime character, and Expansive Spellstrike opens up a wider range of attack options.

Level 5
At this level, we can finally get a base form with Devil in Plain Sight. We also get our first ability boost. Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence are to keep up. The boost to Int gives us a new skill, which can be Society to identify proper human meals (or something else for PFS players.) Athletics becomes expert to aid in our pursuit of prey, and Vampiric Touch satiates our need to feed.

 

 

Level 6
We’ll get Titan Wrestler because what kind of Dragon Ball character would be scared by a large foe? Knowledge is Power speaks for itself, letting us use 21’s brilliance on the battlefield.

Level 7
We’ll be picking up Fleet for more mobility on the ground and Fly to finally fly like a proper fighter. Thievery goes to master for better spell stealing just as Umbral Graft becomes our primary means of siphoning magic for the rest of the campaign.

Level 8
With our high proficiency, the Pickpocket feat lets us snatch those pesky healing items and wish-granting artifacts in combat while Capture Magic gives us another option for absorbing energy.

Level 9
Android 21’s body can regenerate at a surprising rate, and Repair Module lets us do that. We also increase Athletics to master for those clutch throws. The Impaling Spike spell helps replicate that trick where 21 stabs her tail into the ground and attacks an opponent from below.

Level 10
The Quick Climb feat boosts our athletic prowess and ages well, while Dimensional Disappearance lets us do that ‘flash vanish’ trick you see all the time in the anime. Ability boosts go into Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence. And with that +5 Dexterity mod, you can get the most out of runes on clothes, so you don’t need Mage Armor if you’re tired of spending the slot.

Level 11
21’s durable body is tough to take down, so Toughness is on the menu. Arcana gets a boost to expert as it’s the source of her borrowed power. Vampiric Exsanguination lets her drain energy from whole crowds, Teleport allows her to Instant Transmission to faraway places, and Baleful Polymorph finally lets you transform foes into a helpless, more edible form. Just pretend that rabbit is made of chocolate or something.

Level 12
Powerful Leap gives you more distance for your aerial game, and Overwhelming Spellstrike lets your raw power push through your foes’ feeble defenses.

Level 13
With Revivification Protocol, your android body can bounce back from nearly anything. And your mind is as strong as your body thanks to bringing Arcana to master. Duplicate Foe allows you to create clones of your delicious enemies to distract them, and at this level Fly can lasts for a whole hour.

Level 14
Taking Assurance with Thievery means your spell stealing is guaranteed against lower level foes and you have more reliability against traps. Runic Impression shows the adaptability of that Majin Magic.

Level 15
Ability boosts should once more go into Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence, with the free skill from the Int boost going into Occultism for a wider range of knowledge. Incredible Initiative shows you’re ready to get in that first swipe, and becoming legendary in Thievery ensures it’s likely to work. No notable spells for 21’s style here, but you’ve got plenty worth heightening.

Level 16
Legendary Professional in Demon Lore proves you’re the foremost expert on the subject of your mutations. Dispelling Spellstrike lets you shut down the powers you can’t eat.

Level 17
The Final Form feat is about as Dragon Ball as Dragon Ball gets, but it comes with the assumption that it grants you free training in divine magic. If not, your form’s spell DCs will be a joke, so negotiate for different innate spells or just pick up Nanite Surge instead. Athletics becomes legendary, boosting some of your previous skill feats. Sill no flavorful spells, but 21’s favorites are reliant on heightening anyway.

 

 

Level 18
With Cloud Jump, your hops are almost a suitable replacement for flying on their own. Getting Conflux Focus gives you more leeway with focus spells.

Level 19
Canny Acumen can boost your Reflex saves to let you dodge those Kamehameha attacks. Arcana becomes legendary as your power reaches maximum.

Level 20
With a mastery of your craft, your Unified Theory gives you unprecedented insight. Supreme Spellstrike finally gives you some long-awaited freedom in the action economy. Your final ability boost goes into Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom. The later one is because an odd number to Intelligence does nothing and at this point your Will saves and Perception could use a boost.

But What About Free Archetype?
This isn’t for PFS folks so I’ll keep it short. Since you’re playing the game with free archetype as God intended, I’d suggest the inventor dedication with the construct innovation to represent you-know-who. Each of the archetype’s feats are worth taking, with your Advanced Breakthroughs going towards improving your son’s capabilities.

And that’s it for now. Feel free to use the build as is, or tweak it to your personal preferences. If you want the links to those models in hereforge, they’re here and here. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have some sweets and enjoy some more fan art. Come back next time when I ruin elves for everybody. And I mean make an absolute mess of them.