Doctor Octopus
Otto Octavius – better known as Doctor Octopus or Doc Ock – was a brilliant scientist driven mad by ambition and attachment to the mechanical arms that are his claim to faim. Those arms – four semi-intelligent, mechanical, metal arms, with all sorts of gadgetry attached – are capable of incredible feats.
Doc Ock uses the arms for getting around, climbing, handling tools, attacking, shooting and anything else you can imagine four extra long arms doing.
I was in Jr High when Spiderman 2 came out, and it stood for a long time as the best comic book movie I’d ever seen. Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus was great. The idea to make the AI of the arms “talk” to him in his head was inspired – especially coupled with the way he would respond to the puppeted arms.
That began my love of Doc Ock, which endured through a decade and a half of and extended into many mediums. Including his role as the antagonist of the best super hero video game ever, Spiderman PS4. And now, if this build is any good, I’ll extend my admiration for Otto into tabletop games.
Keys to the Character
Call To Arms
Doc Ock's four mechanical arms are an extension of him. He uses them for all sorts of activities and feats – including movement, striking and manipulating.
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist
Doctor Octopus was a brilliant and noble scientist whose attachment to his inventions started his descent into madness.
Intense Climbing Gear
Doc Ock uses his mechanical legs for everything – but especially getting around. By using the strength of the pincers, he is able to traverse even sheer surfaces.
Pew Pew Pew Pew
Among the many gadgets included in the arms are numerous projectile weapons. You never know which one will fire next.
In a party, Doctor Octopus fills the Bruiser and Controller roles. Of course, both of these things are accomplished through the use of his mechanical arms. The arms strike out and hold enemies in place, striking and grappling.
The current Pathfinder rules don’t exactly account for four mechanical arms attached to a character… but it doesn’t take that much fanangling to turn the Inventor class’s Construct invention into a set of arms!
Since characters are allowed to ride their constructs, and there aren’t many guidelines on what constructs should look like, a Doc Ock character has a lot of opportunity to create a four-limbed, headless, rideable construct.
Once that’s done, the character “rides” the construct by strapping it to their back and letting the construct’s arms do the walking (and striking, and grappling, and as much as possible).
With that out of the way, our Doc Ock character is ready to take the tabletop by storm.
Build OVERVIEW
Ancestry
Automaton - Small - Sharpshooter
Okay, here is the first left-turn we make in building Doc Ock. Obviously, it is Otto's arm-rig that is the automaton, not him. I get it, but there are two good reasons for making him an Automaton in Pathfinder.
First, the Automaton ancestry is one of only two ancestries that can be "Small" sized. The other is Gnome, which in Pathfinder doesn't fit at all. The reason that Doc Ock needs to be small is so that he can ride his Medium-sized Construct. Riding this Construct at all times is the very crux of the build, so this is very important.
The second reason why Otto needs to be an Automaton is a flavor one. Automatons get access to a number of Ancestry Feats that fit in very well if we imagine the arms doing them. Obviously with the rules as written it is not the arms shooting the Energy Beam, or the Rain of Bolts, etc. But that is great flavor, so just roleplay it as such.
Finally, Doctor Octopus will grab a General Feat for Adopted Ancestry to dip into the Human ancestry feats.
Background
Mechanic
This background gets Doctor Octopus started in a very on-brand way. Intelligence, Engineering Lore and Quick Repair. Can't get better than that, unless there's a "Four Armed Freak Accident" background I am missing.
Class
Inventor - Construct Innovation
Doctor Octopus is an inventor – and a brilliant one. His most well known invention of course is his arm harness, which he developed as a way to work closely with the radioactive materials involved in his research.
The arm harness is more than a weapon, more than a suit. It is a construct – an AI driven semi-sentient minion that happens to be either strapped to him or attached to him.
The Construct Innovation of the Inventor class can represent this invention surprisingly close. Starting with a Medium-Sized
Ock also takes the Cavalier Dedication is taken for some feats that improve the way Doctor Octopus rides his construct. The dedication feat references an Animal Companion, but the feats themselves only reference a mount. So in our instance, the mount is a construct, and Otto has a pet in some stables somewhere. Hopefully not a subject for his research.
Skills & General Feats
Of course, Crafting is the number one skill on Otto's list. He also invests heavily into the study of Nature to access some Riding feats.
Legendary: Crafting, Nature
Master: Intimidation, Lore: Engineering
Expert: -
Attribute Increases
Equipment
Suggested Starting Equipment
Air Repeater - Just one more thing to pew pew with in between actions taken by the arms.
Chain Mail Armor - Doc Ock is in the fray a lot, so should go with the Medium Armor that. heis trained for.
Key Spells
Changelog
Related Builds
