“I only joined this war to avoid spilling rivers of blood. Fighting for the Holy Grail, no meaningless bloodshed, to minimize sacrifices… one person taking up the mission of fate instead of armies of men competing here! This is what we Servants should do.”

Are you my Master? Welcome to this week’s Building Character! Today we’ll be building Saber from the Fate series. I’m a big fan of Type Moon’s magnum opus, so go watch Fate/Stay Night before reading this if you like a good action anime. As always, you can build a character in many different ways, so this is JMO: Just My Opinion. Also, spoilers abound!

…Did everyone who hasn’t seen Fate leave? Good, let’s get started!

Artoria Pendragon, King of Knights and Saber-class Servant is one of the strongest heroes called upon to fight in the Holy Grail Wars. Wielding her Noble Phantasm, the legendary blade Excalibur, Saber is an unstoppable force on the battlefield, mowing down enemies with blinding speed. The magical strength of dragons flows through her veins, and she is immensely strong in single combat. To those who have the pledge of her blade, Saber is the ultimate defender and a world class Servant.

Just like last week, 20 levels is a bit on the low side for representing Saber accurately. If you’re playing this build in your tabletop game, you may want to play it as her early years in the lower levels. But when your GM says, “This week let’s run a level 20 one-shot!” (we’ve all done it, don’t lie), you’ll come strapped with the King of Knights. Onward!

RACE

I know, I know what you’re saying. “Hey, I thought you said you’d slow down with the Variant Humans, they’re boring!” I get it, pretty much every human pop culture character is a human by default in D&D 5e. Well, in the words of Westley, “Get used to disappointment.”

This is the part where, just like with my Catwoman and Dante builds, I’m gonna ask you to open your mind a little bit. While we’ll be using Variant Human for this build, (the bonus feat is too good, IMO) you could certainly stretch to make Artoria Dragonborn.

“Why Dragonborn?” I hear you say with growing annoyance and suspicion. Saber had her blood fused with that of a dragon’s by Merlin, in her original setting. Her magical circuits in Realta Nua are represented by a dragon. Even her surname is Pendragon! In short, the iconography of the dragon follows Saber everywhere. If your GM is willing to overlook the scales and tails, Dragonborn can be a strong choice. Buuuuut… we’ll stick with Variant Human for this outing.

+1 to STR and +1 to CHA- These are the stats that will be Saber’s bread and butter for basically her entire build. We want these to skyrocket, so Saber will be looking for any and all items that boost these.

Extra Language- Do I need to tell you why Draconic is a good choice? Canonically, Saber knows every language because of the Grail’s acclimating her to the time period she’s summoned to. But this would work very well in a traditional D&D setting.

Extra Skill- We’re going to go with Perception. According to her actual in-game character sheet (if you call Visual Novels games), Saber has incredible battlefield awareness. Her ability to notice the small and nearly imperceptible clues around her that alert her to ambushes and surprise attacks serves her well.

Extra Feat- Teeeeeeeechnically, this one isn’t Adventure League legal. But, the Unearthed Arcana feat Blade Mastery is perfect for a staring feat where Saber is concerned. A +1 to hit with her longsword is great at low levels, as is the bonus to AC as a reaction. Armor Class will be important for Saber, as we’ll get into later. Having advantage on attacks of opportunity means that your reaction has flexibility, and you’ll hopefully have an opportunity (hee) to use it every round.

CLASS

This is going to be a fairly complex build, since we’ll be multiclassing multiple times. Making sure Saber has the right mix of abilities to best represent her will require us to bounce around a bit. First stop: Paladin!

A no-brainer, really. Saber is first among the Knights of the Round, oathbound and brimming with magical energy. We’ll be going with the Oath of Devotion, which not only works marvelously for her fighting style, but very accurately depicts her code of honor. We’ll be doing this for 7 levels. This build doesn’t really mandate when you take levels in the other classes, but I wouldn’t recommend more than 7 levels in Paladin.

Next, Saber is a wellspring of power, portrayed perfectly by multiclassing into Sorcerer. With the Divine Soul bloodline (a Servant is chosen by the Grail as a “chosen one”, and can use the mana that forms their bodies to heal themselves), Saber can tap into the power that flows within her to empower her swordsmanship and defend herself from enemy Servants and mages. We’ll be letting her take 10 levels in Sorcerer.

That eaves us with 3 levels to pump into Fighter! A duelist of legendary might, Saber is a Champion in every sense of the word. Her blows are staggering, and mixing in these Fighter levels will round her out into the most capable offensive machine she can be.

ABILITY SCORES

STR: 15 (+1) Our Saber must eat her magical spinach, since she’s got a sword swing like a shotgun blast. Starting with 16 is fun, but boost that to 20 as quick as humanly possible.

DEX: 10 It’s a good thing that Dexterity doesn’t have much correlation with movement speed, because we’re working on a budget here. In reality, Saber’s stats should all be incredible, but as a character in an average game of D&D, it’s a pretty average area for her.

CON: 13 While she’s no slouch when it comes to taking hits, Saber would much rather block or avoid a strike than take one. We’ve seen her get injured several times throughout her series, so she’ll do her best to pile on the AC and leave the tanking to others. Though, if you’re able to boost this stat, it’s a good idea to do so.

INT: 10 Another pretty average stat for Artoria, she’s not ‘that’ kind of magic user. Her magic flows from within, not from a spellbook. She’s bright, but not a brainiac.

WIS: 10 While she’s got very good battlefield tactics and combat instincts, Saber is not what I’d call introspective. She tends not to dwell on her actions too much, deciding a correct path and sticking to it. Overall, her Wisdom is average, nothing to write home about.

CHA: 14 (+1) Finally, where Saber starts to shine again! As a gifted leader and force of personality, Saber impacts everyone she meets on some level. Boost this as high as you can, minimum of 18 for bets results.

BACKGROUND

After being born into the dark age of war following the downfall of the Roman Empire, Artoria was left by her father, Uther Pendragon, in the care of the wizard Merlin after he discarded her for being born female. Merlin’s prophecy had indicated that Uther’s successor would save Brittania, but Uther did not believe that a woman could be the one to do that. Ensuring that Artoria was raised as the child of a common, lowly knight, Merlin was confident that she would become the long awaited king.

When the day drew close for men to test themselves for royal blood by drawing Caliburn, the Sword in the Stone, Merlin cautioned Artoria before she attempted it. If she drew the sword, she would cease to be human. Instead, she would become something separate from humanity. She replied that she knew this truth: “The king must be willing to kill anyone, for everyone”. On that day when she drew forth the sword, she passed from humanity into legend.

The Noble background will fit Saber nicely. This will give her the following features:

History and Persuasion- Excellent skills for a king to possess, Artoria doesn’t let anyone bullrush her in conversation, even though many underestimate her due to her gender. She knows proper etiquette and is very knowledgeable about both history and chivalry.

A gaming set? Eeeehhhhhh… Let’s replace this with Smith Tool proficiency. Saber knows how to maintain her arms and armor, even if in her setting they’re generated by her mana.

Extra Language- Again, Saber knows all languages in her own setting, but in your run-of-the-mill D&D game, Sylvan is a good pick for someone who was purported to be protected by the fey.

Position of Privilege- Even Saber’s opponents acknowledge her regal bearing, and those who know of her true identity pay her the respect she is due.

SKILLS

We know that History and Persuasion are already part of Artoria’s toolkit. However, starting off as a Paladin gives her an additional 2x skills. We’ll be going with Insight and Athletics.

We’ve already determined that Saber’s insane tactical awareness lets her read people easily, so Insight will help better represent her supernatural instincts. Similarly, even though she isn’t an acrobatic fighter who flips all over the place like a ninja, Saber is incredibly athletic. She can leap incredible heights and fight for days without rest. If you’re feeling esoteric, maybe swap Insight for Animal Handling to better represent Saber’s Riding ability from her setting.

EQUIPMENT

Artoria is an artist with a longsword, which she’ll be primarily using two-handed. Getting that 1d10 as opposed to a 1d8 makes up for the lack of a shield, and having a hand free for spellcasting is important. She’ll want to buy the best, most magical longsword she can get her hands on until you can persuade your GM to let you have her ultimate weapon…

Excalibur – Artifact, LongswordYou gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.When you hit a dragon with this weapon, the dragon takes an extra 3d6 points of slashing damage. For the purpose of this weapon, “dragon” refers to any creature with the dragon type, including dragon turtles and wyverns.Invisible Air- Unless you are using this sword as part of a spell that contains the word “Smite”, the sword is invisible in your hands. Unless you give your name or reveal the blade, it is impossible for anyone to deduce your identity.And, the scabbard:

– Artifact, LongswordYou gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon.When you hit a dragon with this weapon, the dragon takes an extra 3d6 points of slashing damage. For the purpose of this weapon, “dragon” refers to any creature with the dragon type, including dragon turtles and wyverns.Invisible Air- Unless you are using this sword as part of a spell that contains the word “Smite”, the sword is invisible in your hands. Unless you give your name or reveal the blade, it is impossible for anyone to deduce your identity.And, the scabbard: Avalon- Artifact, Wondrous ItemYou regain 10 hit points at the end of each round this sword sheath is in contact with your person or hanging from your belt, provided that you have at least 1 hit point.



Getting plate armor quickly is key, so we can have a decent AC. With a base AC of 18, we can use our Blade Mastery feat to burn our reaction for 19 AC if we need it. In more extreme circumstances, Saber can cast Shield as a reaction instead to boost that 18 to a more tanky 23.

FEATS

Just like with Dante, a high CHA and high STR will be absolutely necessary for this build, so boost those immediately. If your GM is a kind soul, and gives you enough stat boosters to bring Saber up to her maximum power, feel free to utilize some feats to make her even more kingly!

Level 4: Mobile- To call Saber fast is an extreme understatement. Having her be able to zip across the battlefield in her heavy armor will be very handy.

Level 11: Alert- Almost necessary for canonical reasons, Saber is extremely difficult to catch off-guard. In her setting, she was able to dodge a near-instantaneous attack from a magical spear, a feat that should have been impossible. Boosting her initiative makes her feel a lot more like herself!

Level 15: Savage Attacker- Saber can cut foes down to size with chilling consistency. Savage Attacker lets her do more damage on average, so each blow feels like it carries weight.

CLASS FEATURES

Divine Sense- Saber’s senses are highly attuned, it stands to reason that she’d be able to feel an evil aura.

Lay on Hands- Channeling her aura to heal herself and others is part of the magic in her setting.

Fighting Style- Protection would work wonders if we were wielding a shield. Unfortunately, unless your GM rules otherwise, that’s not possible. So, let’s go with Dueling instead! This means if you’re using Saber’s free hand to cast a Quickened spell, you can still grab some extra damage from her attack that round.

Spellcasting- I’ve learned my lesson from the time vampire that was the Snape build. I’ll be throwing some go-to flavor spells for Saber down in the Spellcasting section, but it won’t be an exhaustive list any more.

Divine Smite- THIS. IS. AWESOME! Saber’s Noble Phantasm, Excalibur, lets her unleash her magical power in a divine burst of energy. Sound familiar? Your main strategy as a player if you’re bringing Saber to bear is to conserve your spell slots until you encounter the big baddie, then UNLEASH HOLY JUDGMENT WITH ALL OF THE SMITES!

Divine Health- Servants don’t get sick!

Turn the Unholy- BTFOing zombies is always fun!

Sacred Weapon- You know that super-cool glowing aura that Saber channels through Excalibur right before she’s about to decimate an enemy? That’s this. An awesome buff for fighting tough customers.

Extra Attack- Moar DPR, plox.

Aura of Protection- Sticking close to Saber is a very good thing for most of her allies. The ability to passively buff her allies’ saving throws just by being close makes her an excellent team anchor.

Aura of Devotion- Keeping allies safe from mental manipulation is great when dealing with sneaky Caster types.

Divine Soul- We’ll take Bless for our Law domain Divine Soul spell. We already get a good amount of healing from this build, we’ll be able to keep ourselves going on the battlefield for a while without a dedicated healer. Kinda like how Saber can keep herself going for a while even without a Master’s mana.

Favored By the Gods- Being able to change your fate on the fly, defying all odds? Very Saber.

Metamagic- Oh boy, here’s where the whole “infusing spells into our physical form” thing gets fun. I recommend picking the following Metamagic options: Subtle Spell is great for not tipping your hand when buffing yourself, Quickened Spell can optimize your casting time when in the middle of a hard fight, and Empowered Spell can be saved for those almighty SMITES.

Empowered Healing- Just by hanging around Saber, you feel a little better!

Fighting Style- Being a Fighter gives Saber a 2nd style, which I recommend putting into Defense. Being harder to hit means being harder to kill.

Second Wind- Being able to keep going and going like an anime Energizer bunny is a staple of a good Fighter.

Action Surge- What’s that, you say? Smite, Smite, Action Surge, Smite, Smite? Sounds like a plan!

Improved Critical- A 10% chance to crit means even more opportunities to unleash blistering smite damage.

SPELLCASTING

In no particular order, here’s some of the spells I believe would make Saber a more fully fleshed out character:

Booming Blade- Invisible Air strikes an approaching enemy.

Sword Burst- A flurry of blade strikes that punish those who stray too close.

Message- Saber can communicate with her Master over a great distance silently, though this is more for flavor.

Compelled Duel- Often, Saber will single out a strong foe and draw their attention away from an ally.

Shield of Faith- Flavor this as a heightened focus allowing her to become better at defense.

Find Steed- Gotta exercise that A in Riding skill!

Cure Wounds- Channeling mana to heal herself in battle.

Expeditious Retreat- Saber’s fast AF, boooooiiieeee!

Jump- Sometimes, you need to reach the top shelf.

Shield- Very necessary for flavoring a Saber who can deflect magic missiles with just her blade.

Warding Bond- Are you my Master?

Beacon of Hope- When Saber arrives on the field of battle, all know that the tides of battle have turned!

Counterspell- According to her canonical character sheet, low level magic shouldn’t even affect Saber. Keep this handy to just flex on low level mages.

Dispel Magic- ^Same, tbh.

Legend Lore- Arturia should be able to consult the Grail’s memories in her mind for an area or heroic spirit’s history.

Holy Weapon- EXCALLLLIBBAAAAAAAR!

That’s it for this week! Tune in next week, where we’ll be building…

Ruby Rose, the scythe wielding girl with the silver eyes! Tune in next week!