Mysterio
In the 60s, when Superhero comics starting booming in popularity (and volume), villains were a dime a dozen. Every issue needed a rube to get socked by our hero, and so it seemed like every issue introduced another hapless foe. Most of them were inherently forgettable, or even laughable. Paste Pot Pete was a glue guy, for instance.
But for some reason, Batman and Spider-Man just seemed to win out in the villain sweepstakes. Their rogues galleries are rich, full of some of the best enemies of all time – if not best characters, full stop.
Mysterio belongs in that pantheon. A great background, a solid history of storylines, a fantastic movie appearance. He's in the Spider-Man hall of fame for sure.
Quentin Beck, the man behind Mysterio, is a special effects master, trying to make a name for himself in Hollywood. After his acting career failed to take off, he realized he could use his special effects illusions to commit crimes, becoming a major Spider-Man foe in the process.
Like Iron Man, Mysterio's technology in the comics has gotten better over time, as technology in the real world has evolved. By the time Far From Home came out, with an excellent portrayal of Mysterio by Jake Gyllenhaal, the illusions were created using holograms and drones.
So how do we build him in Pathfinder?
Keys to the Character
Use Your Illusion
Do Mysterio's powers actually injure? Or are they so convincing that the brain thinks it's being injured? Or is it a drone? Does it matter?
Spitting Mirror Image
Having a low AC and Health doesn't matter much when enemies can't tell you from your many illusions.
Smoke and Mirrors
It's not just Mysterio clones – Beck can fog the mind and confuse the senses to create fantastical feats of illusion.
Under the Fishbowl
Who is the man behind the curtain? Like Oz himself, Quentin Beck has built an illusory persona so good, we don't even want to know.
Illusions. Illusions. Illusions.
Building Mysterio is about packing as many confusing, confabulating, confounding and conspicuous features into one build as possible. Mysterio's enemies should never be sure who they are really attacking, or where Mysterio's attacks are coming from. It's all part of his smoke and mirrors persona, and it is a ton of fun.
To accomplish these many illusory activities, this build is packed full of uncommon and contradictory feats. But that's just Quentin Beck for you, if it was straightforward, anyone could be Mysterio. Mostly those come from Wizard Spellcasting – focusing on illusion spells, of course – but the Inventor dedication and Reflection heritage also pack a lot of options.
On the battlefield, Mysterio is everywhere. Despite being a caster with a low-health pool, enemies have a hard time targeting the correct Mysterio due to spells like Exchange Image and Mirror Image.
Outside of battle, Mysterio's illusions come in handy for many of the same reasons he is a successful villain for Spider-Man. Need a distraction to get into a place you aren't supposed to be? Mysterio has that covered in spades.
Build OVERVIEW
- Many for the price of one
- Confusing for the enemy
- Distracts foes for allies
- You never sure if you're talking to the real one
- Green smoke hard on the lungs
- Lower damage, higher support
Ancestry
Reflection Android
Combining too rare character options into a borderline illegal combination is the first step this hodgepodge of feats that will become a great illusion master. Just make sure your GM is cool.
The Android ancestry is a great baseline for the "special effects technology" aspect of Mysterio. Feats like Nanite Shroud replicate those drones doing his bidding, for example.
Meanwhile, the Reflection heritage adds a ton of illusory flavor – including the classic Prestige trope of illusions: is this the original, or the clone?
Background
Charlatan
As a special effects master, Beck is just a step away from a magician, dazzling audiences to make a buck. This background gives an Intelligence boost that Mysterio wants, plus the Deception skill and Charming Liar feat to improve that smoke and mirrors muscle.
Class
Wizard - Illusion School
Like Arthur C. Clarke said: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". In a grounded world, Mysterio is a special effects wizard. In Pathfinder, he's just a wizard.
The Wizard class has the highest level of
An additional benefit of being a Wizard is that since so much power comes from spellcasting, most class feats are relatively free for archetype options. We'll take advantage of that with an Armor Inventor Dedication. This dedication doesn't bring anything that the build is built around, but it is a great amount of flavor and utility, acting as the special suit Quentin Beck uses to power his illusions.
Skills & General Feats
What is an illusion master without legendary proficiency in Deception? A failure that's what. Lucky for Quentin, that's not the case. He adds to that legendary proficiency in Stealth, alongside being an expert in Thievery and Crafting.
Legendary: Deception, Stealth
Master: -
Expert: Crafting, Theivery
Attribute Increases
Equipment
Suggested Starting Equipment
Key Spells
Changelog
Related Builds
