“I’m going to own this curse. And I’m going to use it against you. Whenever innocent blood is spilled, it’ll be my father’s blood. And you’ll find me there, a spirit of vengeance, fighting fire with fire..”

Halloween gets a much needed extension this year, as we bring Ghost Rider from the pages of Marvel Comics to the tabletop! Hi Buildies, and thanks for sticking with me through the little dry patch we had in October. I’ve got some fun ideas for the future of the blog, and I want to give you all an update:

I’m looking into ways to make this whole thing even better in the future… maybe making a weekly YouTube show where we bring you a more exciting and visually compelling version of the solid character construction tips you find right here on the blog. Depending on your interest and IRL factors, I think it could be a lot of fun!

I do this in my spare time right now, so for something like this to happen, I need you to let me know what you’d want to see out of a weekly show- Length, content, tone, and any other factors you think would be important are all things I’d welcome your input on, so feel free to drop a Comment here or reach out via email. With that ahead of us, let’s look at Johnny Blaze, the Spirit of Vengeance!

Johnny Blaze was the son of stunt riders in a traveling carnival. And boy, did he have a rough childhood. Between suppressing the trauma of his mother walking out on him and taking his siblings with her and his father dying in a motorcycle stunt gone wrong, there was enough going on to really rattle young Johnny’s cage. Ahem…



A senior stuntman named Crash Simpson took him in, and molded Johnny into a formidable stuntman and fearless, death-defying biker. Things were looking up, as Johnny grew and even grew close to Crash’s daughter, Roxanne. Unfortunately, Crash contracted a fast-spreading form of cancer, and Johnny couldn’t deal with another lost father figure. Using an obscure ritual to summon the infernal Mephisto, Johnny sold his soul in exchange for Crash’s cancer to be cured. And it was… only for the stuntman to die in a suspicious crash a day later.

It was only through the repelling strength of Roxanne’s love for Johnny that Mephisto was driven away, unable to collect the young man’s soul. However, the devil exacted a heavy consolation prize: Johnny’s soul was bonded to that of the Spirit of Vengeance, Zarathos, to become the Ghost Rider and send wayward, evil souls back to Hell. Plagued by the spirit, Johnny now roams the earth, a specter aboard a bike wreathed in flame. Now, let’s see how this spirit can hold his own in the wild world of Dungeons & Dragons!

RACE

I feel like this is the first snagging point for this build, a difficult obstacle right at the start of the course. But just like Johnny Blaze, we can surmount this with no problem!

My first thought was the Revenant from the Gothic Heroes Unearthed Arcana. It’s thematic, as well as nice and sp00ky! But Ghost Rider’s not an undead, so it didn’t really work the way I wanted it to. Human also seemed obvious, but while Johnny himself is a human, we’re not just dealing with his mortal form. We’re dealing with a spirit, bonded to the soul of a man. If your first thought was Kalashtar, go sit in the corner and think about what you’ve done. (Kidding, kidding.) Zarathos was once an angel, and boy howdy do we have a good race for a fallen angel consumed with vengeance: The Fallen Aasimar!

Ability Score Increase: We get a comfy +2 to CHA and +1 to STR. Trust me, it doesn’t look like much for a motorcycle rider, but this is honestly a fantastic setup for good old G.R. Take Fallen Aasimar and thank me later if you build this out with the suggested class layout.

Darkvision: Nice for when you need to turn the flames off and stealth your way through a dark environment, otherwise it’s kinda auxiliary.

Celestial Resistance: Naisu! Resisting two damage types associated with some of the hurt-iest spells and effects at higher levels is a great racial bonus. Excellent!

Healing Hands: As the guilty must be punished, so must the innocent be rewarded. Sometimes, your allies (or you) might get injured in the line of duty. Channel some of that dark flame into something positive once in a while!

Light Bearer: Cast it on your face for full Ghost Rider effect!

Extra Language: Celestial might not come up a lot, but when it does (in many games I’ve played, at least) it’s usually important. Not bad!

Necrotic Shroud: Ghostly eyes? Check. Spectral flight? Check. Insta-fear for those whose spirits (CHA) can’t resist your presence? Mega check. THIS is what sells you as the Spirit of Vengeance. Got surrounded? Pop Necro Shroud, and put the fear of God in your enemies before your party suffers opportunity attacks rescuing you. #prostrats

ABILITY SCORES