Let’s Play D&D With the Blue Beetle
If a space scarab gives you super powers, don’t freak out. This week we’re playing D&D with the Blue Beetle.
Blue Beetle is the latest comic-book hero to come to the big screen. And it looks like this one could be a lot of fun in the theaters, so fingers crossed! He’s also a pretty fun character in the comics (and cartoons), though maybe not one of the most well-known or popular for more casual fans. Maybe this will turn that around.
When it comes to D&D characters, like comic book heroes, we like to see a pretty solid mix of fun and battle ready. Sure, we all want to play a character who can hold their own in an encounter and not basically not die. But having a character who’s a little weird and fun to play adds so much to the table experience. So with that in mind, let’s make another comic-book-D&D hero and play Dungeons and Dragons with him.
Blue Beetle
via Warner Bros.
There are a couple of Blue Beetles, but today we’re looking at the most recent one with Jaime Reyes. Basically, he was a relatively normal kid who picked up the Scarab, an alien artifact, and after it fused with him gained all sorts of powers. Some of these powers include making armor and weapons appear and speaking telepathically with the scarab itself.
So he’s a human and a student–as most superheroes seem to be. But to me, an outside force coming to him and giving him superhuman powers sounds a lot like a relationship between a Warlock and patron to me. Hexblade fits very nicely with the armor and appearing-weapons dynamic, and we were off.
via DC
As always, I roll up my characters’ stats individually instead of using a pre-set number spread. And today’s weren’t bad at all–some days they really, really are. Since we went with Warlock I had to prioritize Charisma, but I wanted to make sure that Strength and Dexterity were also decent since they’re always important in your standard super-hero style combat. I didn’t love making Intelligence the dump stat, but that’s where we ended up.
Most of this sheet was also more-or-less straightforward Warlock. If you were to play this character, or one inspired heavily by him, you’ll probably want to clue your DM in so they can act as the voice of the Scarab. But for the most part, this was by the book. He’s proficient in a number of weapons since pretty much any can be made and used in theory. That said, I was sure to include the Buster Sword on the sheet itself since it looks like it will be featured in the movie.
It is a pretty cool looking sword.
Some Warlock spells really fit the bill and help us make better magic armor or weapons. Unfortunately, some others don’t feel right for the character at all. I picked a few I thought would be fun or helpful. But realistically if this were your character in your game, you’d probably be switching things up with level changes, so go with whatever feels right.
How would you make Blue Beetle for a D&D setting? Are you looking forward to this movie? What movie, show, comic, book, or game should I make sheets from next time? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
