Let’s Play D&D With ‘Black Adam’s Doctor Fate
Find your lucky dice and put on your Helm of Fate, this week we’re playing Dungeons and Dragons with Doctor Fate.
San Diego Comic Con’s announcements drops, and trailers gave us a lot to look forward to. Including a sneak peek at Doctor Fate in the Black Adam. If you’re not as familiar with the character as you’d like to be, that’s okay. He makes a couple of appearances in Young Justice, which is always my go-to entry point into the DC universe for any new or casual fans. You’ll find that he’s an interesting character who has a unique potential to make for a D&D character that’s as fun to play as they would be irritating for everybody else at the table. Which seems like the goal for some players. This week we’re playing D&D with…
Doctor Fate
Starting right at the very top, in ninety percent of characters, alignment doesn’t matter. Sure, there are a few classes where alignment affects some stuff, but for the most part, it’s more of a guideline than a rule. You’re going to play the character however you want and alignment is just up there to give your character concept some structure. With Doctor Fate, you’re going to want to play that Lawful Good thing as hard as you can. This is a character that cares about order and the rules, perhaps a bit too much. And if you’ll be playing him, you’ll have to too. Will this make you the most popular player at your table? Maybe not. But is it really D&D if we’re not making enemies of our friends?
From there, Doctor Fate is by and large just a very very strong Sorcerer. I gave him Divine Soul because I thought it fit in best with his whole channels-something-other-worldly-though-his-helm thing. But as long as you’re making a borderline godly sorcerer, you’re on the right track.
But when Kent takes off the helm, that’s when things get a little more tricky. On his own, Kent Nelson isn’t exactly a pushover of a character. It wouldn’t be fair to say that Doctor Fate goes from level one townsperson to almost-maxed-out hero at the drop of a helm. But his power does grow exponentially. This means that something very fun to work out with your DM would be a way to effectively play two characters. With the helm on you’re the high-level Doctor Fate, but should you take off the helm – or if it’s removed for you in battle – you revert back to the lower-level-but-still-not-weak Kent Nelson.
After all of this, we went back to the normal sorcerer stuff and shopped for some spells. Doctor Fate has a large variety of powers and magics, so I tried to make sure the big ones were accounted for. Obviously, flight is there, as well as some manipulation of elements. I also made him have a few basic attacks and a shield or two.
All in all, this is a character whose playability is pretty questionable. A DM who rolls with the punches will let you have a lot of fun with something like this. But it can be pretty easy to end up playing a too-serious sorcerer.
How would you make Doctor Fate for D&D? Which of SDCC’s announcements are you most excited for? What comic, show, movie, or game should I make sheets for next time? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
