Let’s Play D&D With Peter Pan
Get some faerie dust and think your happy thoughts. This week we’re fighting the pirates and adults with Peter Pan.
We all know that an early version of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain very recently. And this has resulted in a nearly immediate response of game announcements, art, and of course memes. But people are letting some of the lesser-known characters who have become fair game fly under the radar. Including Peter Pan. Not Disney’s of course, but original version written about by J.M. Barrie.
You may be wondering how he hadn’t already been in public domain for years, and I’m not entirely read upon how copywriting law works… And I’m definitely not familiar with the differences between US copywrite law and UK’s. But what I do know is that a snarky little kid who hands out with the Fey and fights pirates seems like the sort of thing our D&D games should have more of. This week we’re taking a shake of faerie dust and taking a trip to Neverland to play D&D with…
Peter Pan
Despite being such a huge character whom literally everybody reading this already knows about, Peter Pan is a surprisingly daunting character to make in D&D. I tackled this sheet by breaking down everything we know about the character to make sure we get the biggest aspects on his sheet and worked forward from there.
Starting right at the top, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make this character human or some sort of fairy. He isn’t a fairy, but he gets his powers (flight, long life, etc.) from them and has a generally fey-like demeanor. But humans wandering into Fey lands isn’t outside of the realms of possibility in D&D. In fact, there are subclasses for people who are a bit too into Fey stuff. So I made Peter a Fey Wanderer Ranger and a human.
This gives him all sorts of Fey-inspired abilities and boosts. Like a bonus to Charisma, saves against being charmed, and access to more spells. Peter Pan is known for convincing kids to leave home and fly off to who-knows-where to fight pirates. So he’s got to have a high charisma. And as a Ranger his Dexterity also has to be high. Which he’ll need when fighting those aforementioned pirates.
From here there are two more key aspects of Peter Pan that we’re not accounting for: his flight and his shadow. The shadow was relatively easy to add, I just thought of it as an unseen servant and gave Peter a few levels in Bard to access the spell. This also works since high charisma and leadership make him a kid that other kids want to listen to and pull inspiration from.
Flight would be a bit harder. We could have accessed the Fly spell by taking a few levels in Warlock, Sorcerer, or Wizard… But I didn’t want to make a mess of a three-way-duel-class sort of sheet. Plus, Fly isn’t as helpful of a spell as some others and the short-range wouldn’t represent Peter’s abilities very well. When you get right down to it though, he can’t fly by himself.
It’s a product of Tink’s faerie dust. So this is one of those times when you’ll need to talk to your DM. Explain what you’re looking for, and work with them to make the character you’re aiming for. Will they give you the ability to take flight right away? Honestly, probably not. But just maybe you’ll fall on the right item- or fairy- for the job.
I almost went in a way different direction and made Peter as a monster sheet while the player-characters are the seafaring merchants he torments. Because, you know.
How would you make Peter Pan for a D&D setting? What character entering the public domain are you most excited about? What movie, show, book, comic, or game should we make sheets from next time? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
