Let’s Play D&D With Marvel’s Thor
It’s time to call the lightning and see if we’re worthy, this week we’re inviting the Mighty Thor to play D&D.
It feels like Thor: Love and Thunder is just around the corner. The trailer that dropped this week looks like the normal colorful, tongue-in-cheek fun we expect from a Taika project, and we’re getting really excited to see Jane Foster take on the mantle of Marvel god Thor for a while. In the meantime though, I bet MCU classic, Thor Odinson, would fit in really well in a D&D setting.
In fact, Thor has always been in D&D!
Every edition except for 4th has had an appearance from Thor. Dungeons and Dragons takes place in a world of multiple gods and goddesses, so it makes sense to have a variety of pantheons in attendance. If we’re looking at Thor as a encounterable deity, these sourcebooks would be pretty good place to start. But we’re looking at the MCU par-time superhero full-time himbo, Thor, and how he could be a playable character for you and I at the table.
Thor
The Thor of the MCU is effectively an Alien with a super human strength and a long lifespan. He’s god-like, but not infallible or immortal. It’s clear that his playable D&D version shouldn’t be human, but something a little more than that. And Aasimar might just hit the spot perfectly. These humanoid celestial-ish characters have a little more power and insight that humans. They’re not gods, but they’re god-like.
From there, there are a few things technical things that make Thor Thor. For starters, he’s most definitely a punch-guy. But there is also a magic element to him. Punch-guy was easy enough, and I made D&D Thor primarily a Fighter with the Champion sub-class. “Rigorous training and physical excellence” describe him pretty well, and portrays the early Thor who seemed to only have a mind for battle and mead.
The magic side of Thor had more options. I considered a Glory Paladin for a moment, but thought that would be too similar to the Champion Fighter. And Storm Sorcerer could be fun, but the description didn’t quite fit. Still, Thor has access to lightning, and we need a way to incorporate storms into this character.
I decided on the Tempest Domain Cleric in the end. Thor doesn’t feel like a Cleric to me, but this domain talks about gods and goddesses of lighting and thunder and has access to spells weaponizing weather. There’s a divine-ish aspect to Thor, and I think Cleric can answer that call with Tempest Domain bringing the thunder. As well as spells like Thunderwave and Call Lightning.
via Marvel
His usual weapon, Mjolnir the hammer, I represented with a Warhammer. But if you’re playing Thor at your table, by all means see if your DM will work with you on a custom item. Similarly, Stormbreaker is represented with a Greataxe.
And then there are Feats. I wanted to maximize how hard good at hitting and hard to kill Thor is. His Feats gave him some extra boosts to ability scores and some extra hit points. I wish I had had one more Feat to play with because he would have gotten Master of Disguise as a nod to his amazing/terrible disguise abilities in Thor: Ragnarok.
In the end, Thor is a character who’s very playable and would fit in in any campaign.
via Marvel
How would you play Thor in a D&D setting? Which era of Thor is your favorite? What movie, show, comic, or game should I make sheets from next time? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
