Spider-Man
High school student Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, which gave him super-human abilities. After losing his Uncle Ben to a carjacking gone wrong, Peter decided it was his great responsibility to use his new abilities as Spider-Man, a friendly neighbourhood crime fighter.
Spider-Man is Marvel's most popular character for so many reasons. He is fun, young and earnest. His mask allows everyone to see themselves in the hero. His rogues gallery of foes is matched only by Batman, including my favorite, Doctor Octopus.
His story has been retold many times, in many different styles, but it almost always slaps. And the ultra-popular Spider-Verse version, which introduces countless other versions of Spider-Man from distant universes, is just unparalleled fun.
Like many others, I love Spider-Man. I watched the 90s cartoon a ton growing up, and was a fanatic for the Raimi trilogy. The Lord & Miller Spider-Verse movie is also, in my opinion, the greatest comic adaptation ever made, and I can't imagine anything coming close for a while.
So this build has a lot to live up to.
Keys to the Character
My Best Friend's Webbing
Swinging, slinging, shooting – Spider-Man is the webhead himself. Yes he has the reflexes, strength and spidey-sense, but we love him for the webs.
You Know The Phrase
Uncle Ben's dying words to Peter have resonated throughout pop culture, from t-shirts to Drag Race. "With great power comes great responsibility." As far as mottos go, you can do worse.
Point and Click (Upside Down)
Peter may be a brilliant science-mind, but photo-journalism is his passion. It also comes in handy as a side gig, since somehow he is the only one who can get access to Spider-Man for JJJ's Daily Bugle front page.
RENT!
One of the endearing parts of Spider-Man's story is his rags-to-rags story. Batman's rich, Iron Man's rich, Aquaman's a king, Thor's a god – Peter Parker is a young guy, struggling to juggle being a hero and paying his way through life.
This was maybe the hardest build made for this site so far.
The problem isn't necessarily that it is hard to translate Spider-Man into Pathfinder – it's that Spider-Man is iconic for a lot of reasons, and every build I tried ended up sacrificing any real playability to grab as many thematic feats as possible.
In the end, it came down to identifying what we wanted *this* Spider-Man to feel like. We all know what Spider-Man is capable of, but what should this version of him play like round-to-round in an encounter? We all know what he is skilled at, but what roleplay skills will feel like we're the web-head?
Is it a fluid, acrobatic, unarmed bruiser who happens to shoot webs? It is a web-heavy controller / shooter who happens to punch? Is it a fast-moving, high-swinging skirmisher who happens to punch and web? It is difficult to be all three.
Eventually, I decided that the nimble puncher model was represented a lot on Pop Culture Pathfinder – The Flash is a very fun example – but the web-slinging controller is fresher, newer and more fun.
On the battlefield, this version of Spider-Man causes havoc for enemies by locking them down in webbing, before delivering key strikes with punches, swinging-kicks and web blasts. Despite not specializing in physical combat, his spidey sense gives him an edge against foes, allowing for strikes at weak points that can have a big impact.
His spidey sense also comes in clutch outside of battle, offering clues to what is going on every time he enters a new situation. Plus, his unparalleled movement can get him places others only dream of.
Build OVERVIEW
Ancestry
Adaptive Anadi - Human
Standing in for being bit by a spider is being an ancestry that becomes one. The Anadi ancestry gives us a ton of feats that do a lot of the heavy lifting on theme – and the adaptive ancestry gives us access to some human ones as well.
Most importantly, Hybrid Shape at level 5 let's Peter do those Anadi things in Human form, like the Spider-Man we know and love.
Background
Academic
A great mind (but lazy, as per Otto's opinion), Peter developed the web fluid on his own, and often solves great calamities through science.
This background gives an Intelligence boost, which is great for those Strategic Strikes. And the Skill Training feat is nice too – every little bit helps to stuff this build with all the cool stuff Spider-Man can do.
Class
Investigator - Alchemical Sciences Methodology
The Investigator class gives us a great baseline to start building Spider-Man. We won't take many actual Investigator feats, but the base class gives Strategic Strike, which his useful with Peter's high intelligence.
One of the few Investigator feats that is taken is right at level 1: That's Odd, the Pathfinder version of a spidey-sense.
Beyond that, the build relies heavily on a Sorcerer Dedication, which stands in for Peter's radioactive dna alteration, as well as some of his gadgetry. Many feats are taken inside this archetype, reaching Master Spellcasting.
Finally, a Martial Artist archetype is grabbed to increase the damage of his unarmed strikes slightly.
Skills & General Feats
Peter is definitely highly skilled at a lot of things. Sometimes these builds end up being *more* skilled than the character should be – not the case here. We had to stretch to make him as awesome as he is in our favorite media depictions.
Thankfully, the Investigator class is one of the most skill-forward classes in the game. This allows Spider-Man to hit legendary in many skills.
Legendary: Acrobatics, Athletics, Crafting, Nature, Stealth
Master: Lore: Academia
Expert: Deception, Survival
Attribute Increases
Equipment
Suggested Starting Equipment
Key Spells
Spider-Mans web shooting prowess is mostly realized in this build through primal spells, available via the Sorcerer Dedication.
Some of these are reflavored to be more apt, while others can make due with just some roleplay.
Changelog
Related Builds
