Amani the Shieldbreaker
A beautiful dancer, destined to be sold to the corrupt Vizier, Amani made an impossible choice that changed her life forever. When the caravan transporting her was upended, she was bit by an asp. With little time before poison spread, she was forced to sever her own hand with a dagger, breaking the beautiful visage that she was known for.
But out of the trauma came something new, and stronger. A graceful, weaving protector of allies, who strikes at the hearts of enemies with a piercing shield coated with the asp poison that was nearly her end.
I loved Darkest Dungeon, a great take on the turn-based strategy games that I grew up with. The Shieldbreaker DLC was one of the few new heroes to be introduced, and honestly I could have happily continued collecting if they just released new heroes for the game forever.
Shieldbreaker was a great addition next to Dismas, a nimble, protective, status-effect deliverer. Swoon.
Keys to the Character
You're Toxic, I'm Slippin Under
After having her life changed by a snake attack, Amani the Shieldbreaker started incorporating similar poisons into her attacks. They are potent.
Might Buckle, Won't Break
When her nimble dodges have finally met their match, Amani raises a shield – a buckler to be exact. It may not be a huge tower shield, but it works.
Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer
A former dancer in the desert, the Shieldbreaker retains that nimble movement, staying one step ahead of her enemies (and perhaps dazzling them with the moves).
Give Her A Hand
Ouch. The Shieldbreaker had to sever her own hand to save herself from deadly asp poison. In Darkest Dungeon it's a bandaged stump... maybe in your game you add some kind of small prosthetic. Or stump it.
This is a good time to remind everyone that the goal of these builds is to try to match the fantasy of the character, not necessarily the most powerful build. Why the disclaimer? Well, this is a build that really matches the fantasy... but I'm not sure how successful Shieldbreaker would be out on the battlefield.
But she'll be fun.
A lot of the heavy lifting of the fantasy is done through the Swashbuckler Battledancer class. This makes her more nimble, adding panache and Performance feats to her repertoire. Plus, there are a few buckler feats available to the class, which is a good start – though she'll need to spec into a Fighter Dedication to grab a few more.
Finally, a few feats from the Poisoner Dedication will be important to finish the fantasy of a poison-spear-coating one-handing dancing dynamo. Fun.
On the battlefield, Amani protects allies by distracting enemies – and blocking with her shield, when needed. Her trusty buckler is strapped to her forearm, allowing her to use a spear with reach to keep at least one actions worth of distance between her and foes. And those foes will be poisoned.
Build OVERVIEW
Ancestry
Human - Half Elf
Shieldbreaker makes great use of the Half Elf Heritage.
First of all, it fits thematically. She's a Desert Elf – nimbler and more graceful than a typical human. Nimble Elf adds some of that agility with extra speed, and the Heritage opens up the Elven Branched Spear as a weapon choice, which is one of the only spears with Finesse and Reach.
Meanwhile, the Human side of her ancestry keeps enables Natural Ambition for an extra feat (which is very useful on a build with multiple dedications) and the coveted Multitalented feat to spec into Fighter-based shield feats.
Background
Entertainer
Yep, she's a dancer, meant to entertain the Vizier. This background gives the Fascinating Performance skill feat, which will come in handy in crowd control, as well as a choice of Dexterity and Charisma boost – the two abilities she needs.
Class
Battledancer Swashbuckler
The flowing, panache-enhanced skill of the Battledancer fits perfectly with the ideal of the Shieldbreaker. However, it isn't that robust from a Tank perspective.
To help, a lot of work is put into shoring up her defensive abilities – feats like Buckler Expertise, Shield Block, Buckler Dance, Aggressive Block and Shield Warden all are intended to keep her glancing blows and help her allies.
Meanwhile, the Poisoner Dedication at level two is the step into the potent asp venoms that she tips her spear with.
Skills & General Feats
Amani has an eclectic arrangement of skills. She's graceful, nimble, captivating and poisonous.
Legendary: Acrobatics, Performace
Master: Crafting
Expert: Society
Attribute Increases
Equipment
Suggested Starting Equipment
Buckler - It may not be the most protective shield, but the Shieldbreaker uses it to great effect.
Eleven Branched Spear - This elf spear has Deadly, Finesse and Reach on a 1d6. Sounds like the Shieldbreaker, right?
Key Spells
Changelog
