“Hyaa!”

Hello Buildies! I’m incredibly excited to bring one of my favorite video game heroes to the table today, from a game that gave me hours and hours of joy as I roamed the land of Hyrule. Today’s build will be Link from the Legend of Zelda, specifically from Breath of the Wild!



If you haven’t played Breath of the Wild, I highly encourage you to go and have an amazing open-world experience (Nintendo please sponsor UwU). Obviously, spoiler warning for the game, although we will also be referring to some of the other Zelda titles by necessity as well. That said, let’s look at how the Rip Van Winkle of video games (will anyone get that reference? I don’t know if they teach kids classic literature any more) plays out at your D&D game!





I struggled to decide which Link I would be building for my first Building Character post on this fabled hero. Each version of the legendary hero is slightly different, with access to different skill sets, equipment, training and natural abilities. I decided to go with Breath of the Wild’s Link, as he’s very well-defined in his skills as opposed to some of the older Links whose powers are a bit more nebulous. We’ll be reverse-engineering dialogue and gameplay from the game in order to bring you the best version of this character possible!



This Link, who we’ll be referring to as the Hero of the Wilds when we need to differentiate him from his other incarnations, grew up as the son of a royal guard roughly 118 years before the start of the game. From what we can glean from Breath of the Wild’s story segments, Link was always destined to follow in his father’s footsteps, training from a young age in sword, shield, and many other forms of armed combat.

Ever-courageous to the point of recklessness, a young Link would constantly require healing from his friend, the future Guardian Mipha as a result of his foolhardy bravery. This utter lack of fear, coupled with a prodigious skill at arms (as a child he was capable of besting grown adults at swordplay) made him a natural choice to assume the role of Champion of Hyrule. This position, coupled with the responsibility of carrying the legendary Master Sword seemed to sober Link, causing him to become more withdrawn and silent. This silence, he would later confess to Princess Zelda, was his way of staying strong and bearing the burdens of those who depended on him.

When Calamity Ganon, the raw incarnation of evil and chaos, resurfaced in Hyrule, Link was among the champions chosen to repel him. Unfortunately, fate was not in the hero’s favor, and all of his fellow champions were defeated. On the brink of death, Link was placed into a 100 year sleep in the mystical Shrine of Resurrection, while Zelda held back the full power of Ganon in the meantime. Newly awakened but missing his memories, Link began a new quest to rescue Zelda and finish off Calamity Ganon once and for all.



RACE

Make sure to dress your Link appropriately for the weather!

Our favorite hang-gliding hero is a Hylian, a race that doesn’t really have an analogue in D&D. However, we can see from their ears and aesthetics that Hylians have similar traits to elves. There are a few builds for other Links that would benefit from the half-elf race, but for today we’ll be going with the Wood Elf. (I think this is a first for the blog!) I went with this not only for the excellent synergy with the build, but in the Greyhawk setting wood elves are referred to also as Wild elves. Gotta stay on brand! Let’s see what this racial choice nets us:

Ability Score Increase- Getting a +2 to DEX is a nice boon for Link, who is going to be spending a lot of time with a bow in his hands. He also doesn’t typically wear heavy armor like a typical knight, but relies on his reflexes to parry and weave around the blows of his enemies. The +1 to WIS is also helpful, as we’ll see in the Ability Scores segment.

Darkvision- Link runs around Hyrule’s varied ecology in the dead of night, and doesn’t seem to need anything besides the stars to see by.

Extra Language- Elven’s gotta be a stand-in for Hylian, although it seems that all of the races in Hyrule have a Common language. Handy!

Keen Senses- Proficiency for free in Perception is amazing, especially for a puzzle-solving legend like Link!

Fey Ancestry- Having advantage against being charmed, as well as immunity to magical sleep effects is handy. Perhaps flavor this as Link’s fierce resolve preventing him from finishing his quest.

Trance- A trained warrior can sleep with one eye open, and Link is a relentless warrior. Minimize the down time you need, Zelda’s still waiting for you to come save her!

Mask of the Wild- Fun title aside, how else does Link sneak up on a Lynel with nothing but tall grass to hide under?

ABILITY SCORES

He doesn’t look like it, but he’s got strength where is counts… his Ability Score.

Link’s an unstoppable force of nature in every timeline (except that one where he got his butt kicked by Ganondorf and started the Hylian apocalypse), and he needs the ability scores to illustrate that. With 27 points to build him, he’s very much in the “everyman” category of hero, but he has some decidedly superhuman characteristics. Let’s see what where we can put our points:

STR: 15 The Master Sword is a longsword, and there are plenty of other martial weapons that require a decent Strength score Link carries on his person when he finds them. Couple that with all of the running, climbing, jumping and swimming that Link does, and we need this to be high. See if you can take it up a notch with Ability Score Increases or a feat.

DEX: 12(+2) Our natural fey Dexterity will help us boost this, and bring us to a point where wearing medium armor will be useful. If you can get this higher (either for better accuracy, a preference for lighter armor, or both), go for it.

CON: 11 He’s a great athlete, but Link takes a lot of collecting magic heart containers to make him capable of taking more than a few hits. I suggest some HP boosting items or a feat to reinforce this less-than-stellar score.

INT: 13 While he’s not a scientist, or truly a mage, Link is no idiot. Capable of using his intellect to understand complex mechanisms in countless shrine puzzles, he’s sharper than the average swordsman.

WIS: 13(+1) Similarly, Link’s intuition is fairly good! Perceptive by nature and steadfast, the Hero of the Wilds is able to survive and heal himself with little outside help. Probably his most important mental stat, so if your party comes across a WIS boosting item, maybe politely request it (if the Cleric, Druid and Monk are already maxed out).

CHA: 10 Not known for rousing speeches, Link would rather go get the job done than talk about. While he is inspiring, he’s more of an icon and a legend than a squad leader. Pretty average.

BACKGROUND

Yep, you totally joined the royal guard to babysit the Princess on her flower-picking excursion.

Link came up through the ranks of the royal guard, being a knight of Hyrule. As Champion, he had a title as well as a grave burden, and we’ll be trying our best to represent this in his background. Since none of the backgrounds really worked for what we need, we’ll be creating our own custom background for Link: Royal Guard.

Skill Proficiency- For our first skill proficiency, we’ll be going with Athletics. Link is gonna be running all over God’s green Hyrule looking for Korok seeds, Divine Beasts, and every other collectible. Coupled with all of the climbing he does, this should be a given. Also, we’ll be going with Religion for his 2nd skill. While Zelda is the sage in this setting, Link was her personal knight and bodyguard for some time before the Calamity, and has to have more than a passing familiarity with the goddess Hylia and all of the pertinent lore.

Tool Proficiency- We’ll be going with 2x tool proficiencies that are fairly iconic for our Hero of the Wilds: First, Cooking Tools proficiency. Link can make use of any cooking fire across the realm, and I think this nicely portrays that ability. Also, we’ll go with Herbalist Kit to represent his ability to use monster parts and herbs to concoct potions

Rustic Hospitality: We’ll be stealing this one from the Folk Hero background. Link is a legendary hero, and the common folk of Hyrule often go to great lengths to aid and assist him. He doesn’t flaunt it, but he can always use a hand from those he saves.

CLASS/FEATURES

You can never have too much stuff when you’re a Link.

The Hero of the Wilds gave me a bit of a challenge when it came to bringing out the right combo of class features. Link is a classic skirmisher, wielding blade, shield, and bow in the majority of his forms. But in this incarnation, he relies ever more on stealth, verticality, and wilderness survival to accomplish his goals. I will be building this Link as a mixture of Ranger, Fighter, and Rogue. Specifically, Hunter Ranger 14/ Cavalier Fighter 3/ Inquisitive Rogue 3.

A three-class build is usually too complex to accomplish well, so we will need to be cognizant of where we put our levels, as well as our sub classes. If you want to focus on a Link that does rely on heavy armor (as you can wear such in-game, though it’s a bit rare and atypical) you can start with Fighter. I personally believe that starting with Ranger is a better idea, as it yields more skill proficiency. After starting with Ranger, I would recommend building in Rogue and Fighter when you feel you need either more martial skill or puzzle-solving ability in turn.

Speaking of rationale for why we’re going with these sub classes, Hunter Ranger will help us wear down our enemies with extra damage and tenacity. Cavalier Fighter isn’t just thematic, it’s instrumental for his horseback combat when traveling via mount. Inquisitive Rogue gives Link the extra edge when dealing with dungeons, or in the Hero of the Wilds’ case, Divine Beasts. Puzzles and traps are no match for our hero, so let’s see what this blend looks like in practice:



Weapons/Armor Proficiency- Link is proficient with light and medium armor, as well as shields. This is pretty much all you will need, as the better you can get your DEX score the more you’ll be relying on light armor. The shield is highly thematic, and useful when wielding a longsword in the other hand. Martial weapon proficiency is also key, due to the amount of weapons Link is capable of bringing to bear against Ganon’s minions.

Saving Throw Proficiency- Just like Leon is the last build (I didn’t plan 2x Rangers in a row, I promise!), Strength is a meh saving throw. However, Dexterity is wonderful!

Skill Proficiency: Take the skills you get from your race/background, and add 3x more. We’ll be going with Survival, Animal Handling, and Investigation. Survival is perfect for this Link, since he’s often in hostile climates, without reliable sources of food and water. Animal Handling is ideal for someone who routinely fights from horseback, and deals with wild animals when traveling. Finally, Investigation is perfect for a dungeon delver who needs to look closer for the answers to death-dealing contraptions.

Favored Enemy- Since we have 14 levels of Ranger, we’re going to have a few of these. Choose whatever languages you like, as that’s not really a part of the setting that is detailed. But for enemies, we’ll be going with Monstrosities (all of those Bokoblins come to mind), Fiends (the Blights that haunt the Divine Beasts would probably qualify) and Constructs (The most horrifying sound in the world for a new BotW player is a targeting laser accompanied by frantic piano).

Natural Explorer- With such a varied biosphere, Hyrule has multiple environments for Link to find himself in. You can go with whatever terrain is common in your setting, but for Link I would go with Grassland, Coast, and Desert to represent the diversity of environments Link is ready to fight in.

Fighting Style- As he was a swordsman first, I recommend the Dueling fighting style for Link. He’ll be using a longsword and shield primarily in melee, and this gives him an edge on his enemies.

Spellcasting- Link isn’t a mage, but he does have a few tricks up his sleeve that we can flavors as equipment, items, and minor enchantments.

Hunter’s Prey- Here’s a feature that makes Link a threat to high-HP/ low-AC enemies (like most of the large monsters he encounters in the wild, and boss fights): We’ll be selecting Colossus Slayer, as once Link scores a significant hit (i.e., does HP damage), he can reverse engineer tactics to keep dealing damage to his enemies weakest points. An extra d8 of damage is a good way to represent that!

Primeval Awareness- Call it an extension of the Sheikah Slate’s map function, putting a “boss marker” on the really nasty fiends around Link.

Extra Attack- A flurry of blades will do even more damage when engaged with the creatures of chaos.

Defensive Tactics- It’s iconic that the Hero of Hyrule has a Steel Will, so that’s what we will choose for our defensive tactic. Not much can scare Link, appropriate for the traditional bearer of the Triforce of Courage.

Land’s Stride- Link is a well-traveled adventurer, and moving fast over hazardous terrain is second nature by the time he hits this level.

Hide in Plain Sight- Move nice and slow, and you can sneak through even a Yiga Clan encampment.

Multiattack- Whirlwind Attack is iconic, though this one won’t let you recover back to the stage. *shrug*

Vanish- Break their line of sight, and those dumb minions can’t seem to track you down. Use this to get the drop on them again!

Fighting Style- For our Fighter fighting style, I decided to go with Archery. A well-rounded Link is a superior archer.

Second Wind- Call it that burst of Courage that makes a Link push himself further and harder.

Action Rush- You can re-flavor this as Flurry Rush, that rapid string of slow motion attacks that Link can use to savage an enemy whose defenses are down.

Bonus Proficiency- Since we’re already stocked up on Animal Handling, I would go with History. Link is a delver into ancient structures and the ruins of his once-proud civilization. He should have a working knowledge that a man out of time would find useful.

Born to the Saddle- The best of Hyrule’s knights should have peerless horsemanship. Being able to stay on his horse when he would otherwise be knocked off is perfect for Link, as is the ability to take hits for his mount.

Unwavering Mark- An unexpectedly appropriate side effect for a build like this! Link is a royal guard, and in his service to the Princess Zelda, he would be expected to learn techniques to protect his charge. Use this to keep your shield between your squishy party members and the enemy.

Expertise- This will be fun for a build that has almost everything: Getting to double your proficiency with 2x skills is great for a dungeoneer. I would suggest choosing Athletics and Investigation, to represent Link’s increasing stamina and keen eye for detail. More on that in a moment.

Sneak Attack- Hearing that perfect “DING!” sound when you score a perfect headshot is just heavenly. This is the equivalent of hitting the sweet spot on an enemy, preferably from cover with a well-placed arrow.

Thieves’ Cant- Link’s no thief. I’d flavor this as an understanding of the criminal element and how they operate; useful for a royal guard.

Cunning Action- You can now use that Hylian agility to become a more fluid duelist, outpacing and disengaging from enemies faster than ever.

Ear for Deceit- In silence, the truth is often found. Since Link listens far more often than he speaks, the truth comes out more often.

Eye for Detail- This one was practically hand-made for our hero. Uncovering clues as a bonus action? Makes bypassing dangerous dungeon segments less harrowing.

Insightful Fighting- Every Link is a master of finding the boss’ glowing weak spot. Even enemies whose weaknesses aren’t so obvious can have a chink in their guard exploited by a clever duelist.

FEATS

Personally, I like him better without the shield. But historically, it’s a good choice.

You’ll want to boost your STR, DEX, & WIS as much as possible. But if you can find items to buff those, here’s some feats you’ll want to invest in:

Mounted Combatant- Especially if you’re playing in a campaign that’s less heavy on dungeon-diving, and more heavy on open-combat scenarios.

Shield Master- If you’re gonna use that shield, use it well. Being able to deflect, knock down, and wreak havoc on foes with your shield is highly useful.

Elven Accuracy- A good way to bring that DEX score up, this is another “kinda sorta cheating” instance of using what’s probably the best feat in the game. (Next to Lucky and Prodigy). Hit those tough shots!

SPELLS

Using magic is a snap! …I’ll see myself out.

Between Link’s Sheikah Slate (More on that in the next section) and his Champion-given abilities, he’s got a decent bit of enchantment backing him up. Here’s some magic he’ll have access to that’s thematic for the character:

Animal Friendship- Even if it’s just to get closer to an ornery wild horse, every bit helps!

Fire Arrow- In addition to Lightning Arrow, I’d ask my GM about flavoring an Ice Arrow as well.

Cure Wounds- Uncork that Fairy Bottle!

Conjure Barrage- Some bows in BotW have the ability to fire multiple arrows, just like this spell!

Water Breathing- Call it a Zora Tunic, and call it a day!

I’d also recommend that if you’re a GM, and you’re letting a player run this character, work with them to give abilities that mimic that of the Champions’ boons from the games.

Maybe give the player a personal quest to go after the Divine Beasts like in the game, and after beating each one gifting them a 1/day power. The Shield spell for Daruk’s Protection, a lightning-flavored Hellish Rebuke for Urbosa’s Fury, Levitate for Revali’s Gale, and perhaps Death Ward for Mipha’s Grace.

EQUIPMENT

I never leave home without my cellphone either.

In addition to the obvious gear like Link’s Master Sword (A +3 Artifact that deals extra damage to fiends and has a distance force damage attack when the wielder is at max HP) and his Hylian Shield, the Hero of the Wilds carries something that sets him apart from his other incarnations: The Sheikah Slate.

I wanted to take a quick moment to speculate on how you can work this out as an item with your GM. The abilities it grants Link in-game is a bit overpowered for a character, so perhaps you can treat it like a Vestige, an item that grows with the wielder (as introduced in Matt Mercer’s Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting . Start with the glyph abilities as once per long rest powers with limited range/ effectiveness, and grow from there. Let the GM know what you’re going for, and see if the two of you can work out a homebrew that won’t break his game, or feel not-fun for you, the player.

That’s it for today everybody! If you want a more simplified build, you can also do a straight Champion Fighter Link to represent his intense athleticism and unstoppable determination. If that’s more your speed, maybe visit Woodland Assault Studios and build your own Link with their character creator. They’ve been a good friend to this blog, drop them some love!



Click HERE for the D&D Beyond character sheet, and as always, let me know what you think. Tune in next time where we’ll be building…

Persona 5’s protagonist, the Phantom Thief Joker! Keep Building Character, and I’ll see you next time!



