‘There’s no such thing as a painless lesson. They just don’t exist. Sacrifices are necessary. You can’t gain something without losing something first… but if you can endure that pain and walk away from it, you’ll find that you have a heart strong enough to overcome any obstacle… ‘

Get your chalk circles and philosopher’s stones ready, Buildies! Today’s the day that the much-requested Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, is brought into D&D 5th Edition! I’ve been looking forward to this one for a good long while, and I’m so happy that many of you let me know that you wanted him too.

Spoilers will be in effect for Fullmetal Alchemist & FMA: Brotherhood, but I’ll try not to ruin too many of the fun twists and turns. I highly recommend watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood or reading the manga in any case, one of the all time greatest works in the genre (my humble opinion, of course.) After the break, we’ll jump right in!

Edward and Alphonse Elric were born in the small town of Risembool. As the elder brother, Edward had a natural talent for alchemy, impressing his mother and tutoring his younger brother with his ability to grasp alchemical concepts and formulae. After their father left them at a young age, their mother suddenly fell ill, and eventually passed away. Ed and Alphonse were armed with just enough knowledge of alchemy to be dangerous, and so they conspired to transgress alchemy’s most grave law: Human transmutation is strictly forbidden.

Attempting to resurrect their mother, the transmutation went off without a hitch… resulting in a horrifying abomination that took the place of their mother. In keeping with alchemy’s law of Equivalent Exchange, Edward lost a leg, and Alphonse lost his entire body in the process. Desperate, Edward sacrificed his right arm in order to bind Al’s soul to a suit of armor, tethering his brother to the physical world and allowing him to exist on as a disembodied voice inside of the armor.

Mangled and maimed, the brothers knew that they had made a grave mistake. Thanks to his friend Winry, Edward was fitted with automail prosthetics, metal limbs that connect to the nervous system to allow natural motion. The brothers trained hard, spending the remainder of their scarred youth learning all that they could about alchemy, combat, and how to get their bodies back.

Seeking the philosopher’s stone, an item which lets the user bypass the requirement of equivalent exchange, the brothers left Risembool with a promise: To return when they had regained their former selves, and wipe away the sins of the past.

While both characters are integral to the plot of FMA, we’ll be focusing on Edward for this build. Because the brothers’ combat styles are similar, I’ll toss in the occasional tweak so you can build Alphonse if you’re feeling like playing as the Luigi of anime. Let’s take a look at how to get started with Ed!

RACE

Agile little pipsqueak, isn’t he?

Like most of the builds on this blog, you would be well within your rights to stat Edward as a regular old human. But, like some of the other fun builds before, we’ll be using a thematically suitable racial choice for the Fullmetal Alchemist. Lightfoot Halfling is the way to go!

Edward is on the short side for his age, and his fighting style reflects that perfectly. Training constantly against the living armor that contains his brother’s soul, Ed has plenty of practice fighting opponents that are bigger and stronger than he is. Speaking of Al, just go Warforged if you’re bending this build to fit him. Let’s see what the halfling racial choice will do for us:

Ability Score Increase: Adding a +2 to DEX is amazing for a lot of builds, and Edward is no different. Our martial attacks will come from DEX, as will our armor class. A +1 to CHA is also great, hitting our main mental stat as well. Couldn’t have asked for a better layout!

Languages: Besides Common, Halfling is our native tongue. Not terrifically useful for Ed, but maybe flavor this as a language that he and Al can use to communicate in code.

Lucky: An AMAZING ability, I personally know some players who play nothing but halflings for this reason! If you roll a 1, you get to reroll. Now, if you roll 2x 1’s in a row, tough cookies. But chances are, no more critical fails! Edward is fortunate to be alive, and many of his combats would have ended prematurely if his enemy had landed a lucky blow or connected with their full strength.

Brave: Advantage on saving throws against fear effects is solid, and really reflects Ed’s attitude. He routinely goes up against eldritch abominations, mad scientists, and all manner of body horror nightmare fuel that wants to gut him. Takes a big heart to stand up to all of that!

Halfling Nimbleness: A big part of Ed’s combat viability is being quicker than the people he’s fighting. The ability to move through an enemy’s space and circle behind them is pretty handy.

Naturally Stealthy: Similarly, there’s a lot of sneaking around that Ed has to do. Let Al walk in first, then hide behind him.

ABILITY SCORES



To create, something of equal value must be lost.

This half pint packs some power, so let’s see how we can lay out the stats in his favor. A standard 27 point buy for Adventure League legality gets us the following:

STR: 8 While Ed is a force to be reckoned with, it’s not because he’s a physical powerhouse. Short and slight, we should leave the heavy lifting to Alphonse.

DEX: 14 (+2) On the other hand, Dexterity is the way that Ed outmaneuvers and stings his enemies. Boost this, especially if you want to focus on staying within arms’ reach of your opponents.

CON: 12 While he’s not a tank, Ed is a pretty tough kid. Able to survive losing 2x limbs, as well as multiple other horrific wounds throughout the series, nothing is gonna keep Fullmetal down.

INT: 13 Ed was educated at home, and didn’t have the benefit of a big-city private school to teach him alchemy. However, he’s a bright kid with the ability to remember complicated alchemy formulae. Not bad at all!

WIS: 10 While Edward isn’t an idiot, he is often brash and reacts to taunting with predictable fury. Not the wisest of combatants.

CHA: 15(+1) Ed wouldn’t consider himself a leader, and he’s not really known for giving rousing speeches. However, there is an intensity to his drive that captures the attention of his allies and enemies, and his single-minded dedication to helping his brother regain his body is inspiring. His inner fire is contagious, and Fullmetal can always find friends in the most unlikely of places.

BACKGROUND

So many daddy issues. Or should I say… Father issues? I’ll be going.

Edward spent the remains of his shattered childhood training his mind and body to find the secrets of alchemy in the pursuit of redemption. This involves spending a lot of time in libraries, research labs, and leading him eventually to become a state alchemist. I think the best background to represent Ed’s skillset is the Sage background. Here’s what that brings to the table:

Skill Proficiency: Arcana would best represent the nature of alchemy, which is basically magic in the setting of FMA. History is important as well, as many of the political tensions and animosities in Amestris have to do with things that happened in the past, both distant and not-so-distant.

Language Proficiency: Elder dialects are important for a researcher to know. I went with Infernal and Celestial for Ed, but you can replace these with whatever makes sense for your campaign. Maybe ask your DM if you can trade a language for Alchemist Kit tool proficiency, as it’s pretty thematic.

Researcher: Need to know the secret location of a government laboratory? A week in the library might yield some results.

CLASS/FEATURES

Do it yourself prison shank!

I’m on a Sorcerer kick apparently, because that’s something we’ll be combining into the mix for Edward Elric. Alchemy is something comparable to wizardry in the setting of FMA, and I’d put Ed as a Wizard if not for one little thing: After performing human transmutation, Edward’s alchemy is innate.

He can transmute without a circle, without the complex glyphs that necessitate the spellcraft. Ed can also manipulate his alchemy effortlessly, and in ways that is hard for his enemies to predict; something akin to metamagic.

We won’t settle for just Sorcerer, though: Edward is a mobile, dextrous combatant, who relies on taking advantage of his enemies’ distractions and weak spots to gain the upper hand. A Rogue, to be sure.

For Rogue, where we’ll be starting our build, the Swashbuckler subclass works very well for a melee fighter who dances in and out of his enemy’s range, moving fast and striking when the foe is vulnerable. Similarly, Ed’s sorcery is still based on science, and the chemical reactions can sometimes be unpredictable. Wild Magic will serve us nicely.

We’re looking at Rogue 7/Sorcerer 13 for this build, though you can play around with this balance in your own games. Here’s what this does for the Fullmetal Alchemist:

Weapons/Armor Proficiency- All the weapons of a rogue are things that Ed uses, shaping from the metal in the environment around him. Shortsword comes to mind, as does the spear. We’ll also be using light armor, which we can flavor as our tunic or signature red coat. Stay light, stay alive.

Tool Proficiency- Thieves’ Tools are useful for sneaking into places that the upper ranks don’t want you to be in.

Saving Throw Proficiency- DEX remains awesome, don’t really need to convince anyone on that point, right? And in a setting of magic users, INT might be a better save than I gave it credit for. Still, maybe boost that WIS.

Skill Proficiency- We get 4 skills at level 1 to be proficient in. I recommend starting with Perception; Ed often notices things that evade the attention of others. Acrobatics are important, take this to capitalize on that excellent DEX score. Investigation is a big part of what Ed does in pursuit of his goals, so getting the edge in this department is helpful. Finally, Deception. Ed often has to fast talk his way in and out of secure locations, and he is always ready with a plausible excuse.

Expertise- At level 2, increase your Arcana and Investigation. At level 6, Acrobatics and Perception are good choices.

Sneak Attack- This is how Ed gets his damage across in melee, picking weak spots and exploiting them. Work to debilitate and isolate tough enemies, make them chase you and lead them into bad terrain and/or traps.

Thieves’ Cant- Codes used by powerful alchemists to hide their research can be cracked by the initiated, like Edward.

Cunning Action- Ed keeps his opponents off balance by hitting them from all angles, so use that bonus action to dash and essentially double your movement speed to 50′. I’d say disengage, but…

Fancy Footwork- Now we don’t need to disengage if we take a swing at an opponent, just stab and split.

Rakish Audacity- Not only are we even faster by adding our Charisma to our initiative rolls, but we can 1v1 enemies and still pull off sneak attacks. This is awesome for when we get cornered, and don’t have the benefit of our allies’ presence.

Uncanny Dodge- Ed has the uncanny ability to turn lethal blows into merely serious ones, with reflexes that have saved his life countless times.

Evasion- When Roy Mustang’s flame alchemy gets a little too close for comfort, you can expertly duck and dodge out of the way. Pretty handy!

Wild Magic Surge- You’ll probably never encounter this because of your halfling luck, but occasionally the wild energy of alchemy can run amok.

Tides of Chaos- Alchemical energy permeates the whole earth, and Ed can tap into that leyline energy to turn fate in his favor on occasion.

Spellcasting- We’ll get to what Ed can whip up power-wise in the Spellcasting section.

Font of Magic- This lets us be far more creative with our magic than a stodgy wizard (forgive me wizards, you’re my favorite class), so use these spell points wisely.

Metamagic- I recommend Subtle Spell, Careful Spell, and Quickened Spell for our metamagic choices. Ed isn’t always focused primarily on how much damage he can dish out, but rather on how to put the enemy in a bad spot so he can follow up with devastating melee strikes.

Bend Luck- You can flavor this as Edward using alchemy to affect a bit of wall or floor in the way of an enemy’s strike, or putting a weird angle on a weapon’s trajectory to strike an otherwise well-guarded foe.



FEATS

-Roundabout intensifies-

If you’re all set on DEX and CHA, consider the following feats to enhance Edward’s ability to put the hurt on any homunculus unlucky enough to cross you:

Mobile- Laugh at the enemy as your bonus action turns your original 25′ of movement into 70′ each round.

Squat Nimbleness- A halfling-specific feat, you’re now making that movement 75′. You’re also increasing your DEX, give yourself Athletics proficiency, and Advantage on escaping grapple checks. As a shorty, grapple checks are bound to happen. Anticipate it!

Tough- Extra HP is never a bad thing, and although we can’t spare any more points from the point buy for CON, this is a good way to add some grits to the shrimp. (Is it obvious I live down south?)

Mage Slayer- Edward fights a lot of enemy alchemists, use this feat to make it hard for them to cast when you’re in their face.

SPELLS

The thing about the earth is, there’s a lot of it.

Most of Edward’s powers have to do with either manipulating the earth, electricity, or metal. There’s a decent amount of spells we can use to replicate his alchemy, and although this list is far from exhaustive, take a look and see if it gives you some ideas:

Mold Earth- For a cantrip, you can’t go wrong. We’ll be seeing a lot of earth spells on this list.

Shocking Grasp- Another cantrip that we can flavor as Edward transmuting an enemy’s flesh in his iron grasp. Pretty metal indeed.

Earth Tremor- This could be Ed’s signature spell, for how often he disrupts the ground beneath his enemies.

Dust Devil- Whip the particles of earth and dust into a spiral and batter anyone who rushes you.

Earthbind- For flying foes, bands of metal and earth will erupt from the ground and lash them down, putting them in range of your melee strikes.

Earthen Grasp- Once you pin down an enemy, put the squeeze on them!

Counterspell- Half of the combat in FMA is using your alchemy to counter someone else’s, so this is very thematic. Maybe flavor it as dissipating the energy from an enemy caster, or unraveling the molecular structure of the element they throw at you.

Erupting Earth- A better version of Earth Tremor, save this for nastier foes.

Stoneskin- Enhance your automail with alchemy!

Wall of Stone- Another very thematic spell, use this to either separate groups of enemies or fall back behind it for defense.

Investiture of Stone- This represents Edward when he’s in his element, manipulating the earth around him at will and achieving a flow state. It’d be awesome to watch this play out at the table!

Plane Shift- Open the Gate, see the Truth.

The Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t a pipsqueak! He’s not! And he’s especially not to be messed with. Click HERE for the D&D Beyond character sheet, and let me know what you think. Tune in next time where we’ll be building…

Sora, from Kingdom hearts! Seeya next time!