Let’s Play D&D With Namor, Marvel’s Prince of the Ocean
Put on your water wings and find your most water resistant dice tray, this week we’re playing D&D with Namor.
The Sub Mariner, or Namor, has been a part of Marvel Comics since 1939. But let’s be honest, he wasn’t a character many of us thought of very often at all. That is until he became a major part of Black Panther 2.
Personally, I love when we’re given fresh, new reasons to take another look at underrated, underappreciated, or little-known comic characters. And if you left the theater this weekend thinking that the new-to-the-MCU antihero could be a lot of fun to bring to your next Dungeons and Dragons session, we have some good news. This is a character who is very playable. This week we’re playing D&D with.
Namor
If you aim to play a character inspired by Namor for your next campaign, you’re going to very quickly find how flawlessly this character can be represented in D&D. Only a few things are very important to making this character pretty recognizable; he’s amphibious, he mostly lives underwater, he pretty standard superhuman abilities, he communicates with fish, and he can fly.
Starting at the very top, most of this checklist can be covered by making sure you’re playing Namor at a Triton. This will give you a base swimming speed as well as walking, the ability to breathe air and water, and basic powers over water and sea creatures. This will also make sure that your character won’t freeze to death in most places. Y’know, because the deep sea is real cold.
Next up, Namor’s basic super human aptitudes. For the most part, these can be covered with a few very good dice rolls. But he’s gong to need a class, and I chose Battle Master Fighter. I’ve seen arguments out there for Barbarian and Monk as well, but between his leadership and ability to use a weapon, I decided on Battle Master in the end. If you’d have more fun playing a different class or subclass for yourself, there are quite a few “right” answers. I’d avoid most magic-heavy classes, though. Namor is more of a physically-fighting character who hasn’t had too many supernatural abilities in quite a few years. Most of what he does have can be covered by his racial abilities.
Or his items.
Here is where I would usually tell you that you’ll want to work with your DM to homebrew up the right tool or weapon for your character. But D&D already has them! Trident of Fish Command will help you communicate and order around sea life (as well as being sharp and unpleasant to be hit with), while Winged Shoes will mimic his ankle wings and allow you to fly. They exist! You don’t need to make them up yourself. But you will need to talk the DM into letting you have them. So, y’know. Good luck.
How would you make Namor for a D&D setting? Did you see Wakanda Forever yet and what did you think? What movie, show, comic, or game should I make a sheet from next? Let us know in the comments!
Happy Adventuring!
