Iron Man
Tony Stark was the brilliant but brash heir to Stark Industries – a multi-billion dollar arms enterprise – until he was kidnapped by enemy combatants who demanded he build them a weapon. Stuck in a cave (with a box of scarps) Tony created the original Mark I suit as a means of escape – and forever after was known as Iron Man.
My history with Iron Man is probably pretty typical among modern day fans. After all, it was his solo movie in 2008 that started off the MCU and made movies based on Marvel Comics what they are today. That's generally the Iron Man I'm familiar with, and a fan of.
Recently, I have gone back and read a few decades worth of Iron Man comics, starting with the old Tales of Suspense ones. But the changes Favreau, Bob Downey and KF made to update the character for modern times are just too good to walk away from. *Especially* the update that made his Iron Man persona public information. That's the perfect fit for a celebrity like Tony.
Believe me, try reading a decade or two of the old comics where Iron Man is Tony's "bodyguard" who comes out to save the day after Tony goes to hide in a room. It's bleak.
Keys to the Character
Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist
Tony Stark had everything but a conscience, before his run in with the terrorist group who wanted his weapons. Now, wearing his greatest one of all, he tries to do some good as Iron Man.
Heart to Heart
Nowadays, its the Arc Reactor. In the 60s, it was "transistors". Whatever it is, it's keeping Tony Alive by holding back the shrapnel embedded in his body from reaching his heart.
That's Repulsive!
The suit itself packs a whollop when Iron Man punches foes, but he can always fall back on his trusty Repulser Blasts to add a bit of flair. Pluse, the repulsers double as flight stabilizers.
Tony + Cave + Scraps = Iron Man
Iron Man's origin is a unique mix of necessity and ingenuity. Tony drew upon his genius-level IQ, his weapons expertise as heir to Stark Industries and his fight or flight response to get out of that cave. Iron Man evolved from there – both technically and emotionally.
The Guns and Gears rulebook set the stage for Iron Man to truly be built in Pathfinder. Before that volume, I'm not even sure what the correct move would be (besides just not building him). I often fall back on Sorcerer if I can't think of a more nuanced way to bring a character's fantasy to life. I guess that would be a close second.
But we don't have to settle, with G&G, Iron Man can be fully realized as an Inventor with an Armor Innovation. In a lot of ways, the rest speaks for itself.
On the battlefield, Iron Man uses his powerful armor to avoid damage, whether up close or far away. This version of the build focuses on ranged attacks, but Megaton Strike packs a big melee whallop, so melee strikes aren't out of the question.
The Wizard Dedication we add at level 2 represents newer and higher-tech gadgets being added to the suit over time. Most of the time Megavolt will be an adequate ranged strike, but the Wizard spell lists offers a lot of versatility.
Outside of battle, Tony can really assist the team with the incredible connections that come with being a celebrity. Plus, he is the quintessential tinker, boasting a legendary crafting skill that can in handy for the party in all sorts of ways.
Build OVERVIEW
Ancestry
Versatile Human
Yes, in pop culture Iron Man is human, so this is an easy choice at first glance. However, a real argument could be made for an automaton character being an approximation of the Iron Man armor.
The human ancestry, though, has a big benefit for Iron Man builds going for it: extra feats, that we desperately need to pack in under that armor to make our build as close to the character as we can get.
Background
Tinker
When choosing a background for Iron Man, you have to decide what area of his rich history you are considering to be "background". Is it the celebrity schmoozing playboy? Or the workshop-obsessed engineer, the one who can make a battery-powered exoskeleton to break out of a cave?
I went with the latter, the Tinker, which also gives the character a nifty Intelligence modifier that is very useful for later.
Class
Inventor - Armor Innovation
I mean, come on.
I don't think it's a stretch to say that Iron Man himself was one of the bigger design influences on development of the Inventor class. It's not just an Iron Man class, sure, but there is definitely a fairly clear path to an Iron Man build through class feats alone.
But then why would this site be needed? We spice it up by focusing on a more ranged attack build with a Wizard Dedication (piggybacking on the Inventor's high intelligence) that adds extra weapons to the suit – Electric Arcs, Magic Missiles and more.
Skills & General Feats
With all that Intelligence, Iron Man is more skilled than the average character. Crafting is of course legendary, but the additional Legendary in Arcana represents additional engineering prowess in a world were "magic" is the best technology.
Legendary: Arcana, Crafting
Master: Acrobatics, Society
Expert: Diplomacy
Attribute Increases
Equipment
Suggested Starting Equipment
Key Spells
Changelog
Related Builds
