Princess Zelda
Is Zelda a princess, a title or a state of being? Over the past 30 years we've seen over a dozen different incarnations, reincarnations (?) and alter-egos of the titular character in Nintendo's legendary series. They get involved in Link's journey in different ways – sometimes they need saving, sometimes they are guides, sometimes they are helping in the fight against an antagonist that often starts with G.
At this point in the history of The Legend of Zelda, there are actually very few aspects of Zelda that are common throughout every incarnation. Much fewer than Link, at least. The only throughline is that, whether she knows it or not, she is the rightful ruler of Hyrule.
Ironically, my favorite Legend of Zelda is one of the few where she doesn't appear at all – Majora's Mask. But that doesn't mean I haven't had great memories of the character over the history of the franchise.
The reveal that Sheik is Zelda, for instance, blew my young mind. She was a highlight character for me on Smash Bros. And her soft reboot in Breath of the Wild (wearing blue instead of pink) was a note-perfect update.
But with all that inspiration to draw from, how should we build her in Pathfinder?
Keys to the Character
Hyrulin'
As the regent of Hyrule, Zelda is depicted as caring and concerned for her people – on day to day things as well as catastrophic calamities brought on by Ganon.
Symbols and Stones
Triforces, Dragon's Tears, MacGuffins and more. There is usually a special item with great power that Zelda either gives to Link, entrusts Link to retrieve, or otherwise has on her person.
Bright as an Arrow
Light arrows – arrows imbued with the power of light – are the most commonly depicted weapon for Zelda. They also happen to be super cool.
Sage and Thyme
As one of the Sages (specifically, the Sage of Time) Zeldas' importance goes beyond just ruler of the kingdom. Which, obviously, is already important.
With so much history and varied representations, this is a build where we will pick and choose aspects from across the series to build an archetypal "Zelda" – one that will have a royal-sized impact on the party.
To begin with, we'll take her often associated connections to light and time, and theme them in a support role. Healer, to be specific.
Is Zelda a healer? This is where character interpretation from media to Pathfinder really gets fun. It's true, the character has never been shown to be an outright "healer" in the same way that Anduin from Warcraft or Soraka from League of Legends is a healer.
But the character of Zelda – her supportiveness, caring for her land, light and time powers – translate very well to a healing role in a TTRPG. And her powers can easily be flavored for a Cleric's healing font:
The light power, obviously, is often a stand in for healing. But her status as a Sage of Time can also flavor healing – Zelda speeds up the healing of wounds, in a topical temporal way.
On the battlefield, Zelda spends most of her actions enchanting allies – buffing their damage and defense to maximize their chances of winning the waging battle. And if they get injured, some light or time healing powers can work wonders to get them back in the zone.
Outside of battle, her status as a princess opens up countless doors for groups traveling to new cities and ports. Her diplomacy is second to none, as a head of state, and her unassuming friendliness may get more done than sheer intimidation.
It's nice to be in the 1%.
Build OVERVIEW
Ancestry
Seer Elf
With how often Ancient Elf shows up on this site, I forgive you for assuming a character who spans time and timelines would be a shoe-in for the heritage. But Cleric gives more than enough flavor without leaning too hard into one iteration over another.
Elf is the best ancestry for Zelda, for the ears alone. It gives access to many innate magic-adjacent abilities and feats that fit well. And the Seer heritage gives an innate Detect Magic cantrip, which fits the curious and protective nature of the character.
Background
Royalty
It's right there in the title: Princess. Even in games where the Zelda stand-in doesn't seem royal – like the Wind Waker – her royal lineage is either discovered or heavily alluded to.
Class
Cloistered Cleric
The Cloistered Cleric class gives a lot of flavor flexibility through Domains – Sun and Time being great ways to showcase Zelda's common depictions of having some sort of light and / or time infused powers.
Hyrule itself will be the Deity for Zelda. Hyrule's domains are Sun and Time, as said above, and the favored weapon of Hyrule is the longbow. This will give Zelda the option of firing a few arrows in some rounds – perhaps light arrow infused ones.
Those two ideas will also stand in for the flavor of her Heals, which she isn't normally depicted with. Her Light Magic has some unsaid holy notes, and her TIme Magic can fast-forward healing for a specific wound. Beyond the Heals granted by her font, she won't look for more ways to Heal through spells, leaving those slots for other enchantments and buffs for her team.
And speaking of Time Magic, the Time Mage dedication will fill out her build, giving her the official status as a Sage of Time.
This dedication grants some pretty cool feats for Zelda, among them the ability to add some great time-related spells to her repertoire, despite them not being in the Divine Tradition. Armed with these, Zelda can spend a lot of time speeding up allies, slowing enemies and otherwise being as powerful as her title implies.
Skills & General Feats
Ruling Hyrule requires an incredible amount of diplomacy and knowledge of how society works, and Zelda is no exception. She can deal and politick with the best of them. Beyond that, Zelda has learned to rely on herself for Survival – after relying on others for her safety since games were 8 bit.
Legendary: Diplomacy, Society
Master: Survival
Expert: Arcana
Attribute Increases
Equipment
Suggested Starting Equipment
Key Spells
Changelog
