Off the Top Rope

Making a Pro Wrestler in Pathfinder

One of the first questions we get asked when we meet new people is, “what do you do?” My answer is usually kind of convoluted because I do so much stuff. Beyond writing for some third-party Pathfinder publishers and putting out content for this blog, I have a few other hobbies that make me a little money. One of those hobbies is getting dressed up in colorful tights and throwing people around. I’m a professional wrestler.

Today I’m going to do something I don’t usually do and talk a little about mechanics. I’m going to use my other career as a means to both play with a fun off-the-wall concept and talk about how there is more than one way to build a character around the same concept. So without further ado, the myriad ways to make a pro wrestler in pathfinder.

When people think wrestler they often think grappler, which is a legitimate path to take. The most obvious route to a great grappler is the Tetori Monk archetype. The straight up monk, the Maneuver Master archetype, or the Master of Many Styles archetype could also be used to make an expert grappler. Fighter has two archetypes that would do well in the style of a wrestler, the Free-Style Fighter and the Unarmed Fighter. Being a combination of Fighter and Monk, Brawler would also be a go-to class for a grappler. The Strangler archetype would work well in this manner.

Being a grappler is not the end all and be all of being a pro wrestler. Although we frown on the word “fake”, as the athletics required and injuries sustained are very real, it is common knowledge that wrestling is a performance. To that end why not create a wrestler who is a performer? There is a very rarely used set of feats called performance combat feats. Also the performance wrestler needs to know how to draw the crowd in.

The Gladiator archetype for Fighter is perfect for the athletic performance. The Bard is also a great choice for this. The celebrity archetype could represent the wrestler’s larger than life persona. The over the top bravado of the Rake archetype for the Rogue would do well cutting promos on his opponents. Although just about any combat class that doesn’t dump charisma could make an excellent performer.

But what about tag team wrestling you ask? Well, maybe not, but we’re going to pretend you did. I can think of two ways to go about it. The first is teamwork feats. Underused because many players don’t think about making their characters as a duo, and many times there’s only one front-line fighter in a party of four that sticks to the perfect party idea. Teamwork feats could be played off as good in-ring chemistry between the partners, a fluidity of motion.

The second, and probably my favorite way, is the animal companion. What better tag team partner than an animal companion, I say. My favorite idea is the luchador Brawler. The Wild Child archetype allows the Brawler to have an animal companion. My build for this uses an ape as the companion and the two wear luchador masks. The Great Silverback and his tag team partner, Man. Man is obviously the ape because it’s funnier that way.

There are of course dozens of other ways to pull off the wrestler concept. The Brawler, Beast-Wrestler archetype could be a performer who wrestles bears. You could also try mimicking gimmicks as if wrestling were real. A tattooed Barbarian as the old power and paint style gimmick, ala the Road Warriors or Demolition. A Cleric or Warpriest of a dark god could be your Undertaker. The Flame Dancer Bard archetype could be Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat when he used to come out breathing fire.

Once you’ve got your character all you need now are your wrestling moves. Strikes are fairly easy with unarmed strikes being more than just punches and kicks. What about some of the big finishers. Unarmed strike works for most of those two, all you need as an added feat or ability. Stone Cold Stunner. Just using stunning fist and describe the move just like SCA would do it. Want to try a spear like edge? Pick a feat that lets you get a trip action as part of an attack. The second in the Cudgeler style line does just that on a charge. Combat should be full of great description and you can work in just about any move with the right feat.

Have you ever made a pro wrestler in one of your games? Have you ever been inspired by a wrestler to make a character? Has a player ever used combat performance feats in your game?

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