Contents

Why so Many Hero Builds?

Unlike in singleplayer action-adventure games where gameplay mechanics require player characters to be one-man armies, party-based TTRPGs encourage player characters to fill specific niches. Indeed, adventuring parties mean that a single character does not need to depend on mastering a vast arsenal of weapons to complete a quest. Whatever role a player doesn't wish to fulfill, another player will likely pick up the slack. Therefore, the Link-inspired character you choose from this homebrew should ideally enable the sort of Zelda gameplay you wish to emulate when playing a Fifth Edition campaign.

Crafting Custom Builds

For the most part, the Hero builds presented in this homebrew are made from classes offered in official Fifth Edition materials, including the Core Rulebooks and supplementary sourcebooks. In instances where a 5e class feature doesn't align with a heroic archetype present in the Hyrule setting, an alternate feature from a different class or subclass is instead offered as a replacement. These replacements features have red highlighting when listed in Build Progression tables.

Whenever thematically appropriate for the Hyrule setting, starting equipment loadouts for the classes and backgrounds comprising these Zelda-themed builds may also deviate from the options granted by 5e rulebooks. As with alternate class features, these alterations will be highlighted in red. Note that regardless of how much a background is customized, a LOZ character build's starting background will always retain its signature feature (ie. "Military Rank" for Soldier, or "Rustic Hospitality" for Folk Hero).

In select instances, new homebrew additions are incorporated to builds that would otherwise not have been possible using unmodified 5e. These changes appear with green highlighting in Build Progression tables, and are explained either within a build's "Flavor & Errata" section or in the Appendices.

How to use These Builds

The purpose of this homebrew is to provide a series of Zelda-inspired characters builds which each represent one core gameplay aspect of the Zelda games. These builds are intended to be played in Fifth Edition games that either take place in the Hyrule setting or are otherwise heavily influenced by the LOZ series. If neither is the case, it is up to the Dungeon Master to determine if the material in this homebrew is permitted for use at the table.

Personalizing Builds

Although these builds recommend options for each player to take (which are bolded in Build Progression tables) as you make character sheets and level up, feel free to ignore included suggestions as necessary to align with your own unique vision for your character, or if you believe a different choice is more optimal. And of course, matters pertaining to an adventurer's personality or backstory are in your hands.

A Note on Currency

For immersiveness with the Hyrule setting, this homebrew uses the green rupee (gr) as the equivalent of a gold piece. A single rupee has the same weight as a coin. Copper (cp) and silver (sp) pieces remain in place as currency denominations below gr, while higher rupee denominations are listed below:

Rupee Exchange Rates

Rupee	gr	br	rr	pr	sr	aur
Green (gr)	1	1/5	1/20	1/50	1/100	1/300
Blue (br)	5	1	1/4	1/10	1/20	1/60
Red (rr)	20	4	1	1/2.5	1/5	1/15
Purple (pr)	50	10	2.5	1	1/2	1/6
Silver (sr)	100	20	5	2	1	1/3
Gold (aur)	300	60	15	6	3	1

INTRODUCTION

Master Sword Build

You are the archetypal knight in shining armor who seals the darkness with sword and shield. Fighting in the name of the light (or a princess), you never hesitate to charge into the fray and gallantly save the day.

Soldier's Plate. The armor you start out with consists of munitions-grade metal plating issued to common soldiers. As mass-produced plating is of inferior quality to tailor-made gear, your armor retains the statistics of chain mail.

Reflect Battle Maneuver. When a creature misses you with a ranged bludgeoning or spell attack, you can use your reaction and expend one superiority die to have that attack target the creature instead. If the redirected attacks hits, you add the superiority die to the attack's damage roll.

Hylian Crest as a Holy Symbol. A shield emblazoned with a Hylian Crest can be used as a spellcasting focus for your paladin spells.

Sidekick Mounts & Find Steed. If your mount is a sidekick* (like the Knight's Horse described in Appendix D: Sidekicks), you can cast find steed to develop a mystical bond with it. An eligible steed receives the following benefits:

• Its Intelligence becomes 6 and gains the ability to understand Common.
• While mounted on your steed, you can make any spell you cast that targets only you also target your steed.
• While your steed is within 1 mile of you, it can hear your commands, and you can telepathically sense its feelings.

The sidekick mount cannot be resummoned by this spell if it drops to 0 hit points and dies.

Goals

• Skillfully explore the wilderness.
• Bring comfort to companions with your cooking.
• Lethal at range, but can fight melee in a pinch.
• Shoot elemental arrows from your bow.

Gathering Material Components. Any material component that is required for a ranger spell must be acquired manually. For the most part though, such materials are readily found in the course of exploration as a reward for successful Wisdom (Perception or Survival) checks. Certain spells have new material requirements as well:

• goodberry = the uncut sprig of mistletoe (or any uncut stem capable of bearing fruit) used to cast this spell is consumed, becoming barren until the next growing season.
• cure wounds = administered when serving cooked food.
• enhance ability = administered when serving cooked food, provided you have ingredients to produce a particular effect. When casting at higher levels, you can give different effects to different targets.
• locate animals or plants = any fur garment made from a creature with Keen Smell will suffice as a material component. Alternatively, you can target a willing creature with Keen Smell when casting this spell, provided the creature can understand you and is given an object with the scent of the beast or plant you wish to find.
• protection from energy = see enhance ability, sans upcasting.
• conjure woodland beings = the holly berries used to cast this spell are eaten by the conjured beings. Other plants which tend to grow around fairy fountains are also considered acceptable offerings; in the case of picked flowers, there must be pollen for the conjured beings to collect.
• locate creature = see locate animals or plants.

Cooking & Spellcasting. Food used to cast a spell can be cooked with one hour of work or when you finish a long rest, and can either be administered as a meal that's eaten when served or as a special treat which lasts for 8 hours. A creature can use a bonus action to eat one of those treats to gain a spell's effect. If a creature eats spell-infused food and gains an effect which requires concentration to maintain, they must concentrate on the spell instead of you.

This method of spellcasting can be used as part of a short rest.

Freezing Arrow. A creature hit by this arcane arrow takes an extra 2d6 cold damage and is hindered by ice formations for 1 minute, or until it or another creature within reach of it uses an action to break away the ice. A creature hindered by ice has its speed reduced to 0.

Arcane Bomb Arrow. Change the damage type for Bursting Arrow to fire.

Conjuring Fairies. See the Guardian Fairy's entry in Appendix D: Sidekicks* for attributes common to all fairies in Hyrule.

Goals

• Explore dungeons efficiently and discover secrets within.
• Pick locks to remove the need for finding keys.
• Utilize bombs to remove obstacles and blow baddies up.
• Make your own explosives, potions, and elixirs.
• Cast spells with a magic rod of your own design.

Sheikah Cant. You understand the secret signs and symbols used by the Sheikah tribe and the breakaway Yiga Clan, who still makes active use of thieves' cant when operating undercover.

Pyrotechnic Alchemy. Consult Appendix C: Pyrotechnic Alchemy for descriptions of various pyrotechnic items.

Grenade-like Items as Weapons. To help make this build combat-viable, grenade-like items qualify as martial ranged weapons with the thrown property, and thus are eligible to benefit from the Thrown Weapon fighting style, the Quick Toss maneuver,* and the Extra Attack feature. Thrown pyrotechnic items which don't require you to make attack rolls are classified as weapons regardless.

Artificer Spellcasting. With your proficiency in alchemist's supplies, you have two main ways of casting artificer spells. Spells with a range of 60 feet are cast with magical grenade-like items, while touch spells are mainly administered as potions and elixirs. Harmless fireworks like sparklers are achievable through prestidigitation.

Upon constructing a magic rod, you can use it to cast your Artillerist spells and the fire bolt cantrip, as well as gain the ability to use prestidigitation for lighting or snuffing out small flames. It eventually becomes your Spell-Storing Item at Artificer 11, which you can use to store scorching ray.

Ancient Power of the Zonai. Your archaeological endeavors have uncovered a means by which the ancient Zonai people fused raw material with empty containers (such as glass beakers) to craft magical spells on the fly. You apply these spellcasting techniques when casting artificer spells.

Grenade-like spells that you cast with this power do not require concentration to maintain. If you target a creature with a touch spell, they must maintain concentration on it instead of you.

Gathering Material Components. Aside from Artillerist spells, any material component that is required for an artificer spell must be acquired through exploration or shopping. Some spells also have new material requirements:

• identify = a Zonaite shard worth 100 gr must be fused onto a wand.
• jump = can use the hind leg of any energetic critter.
• longstrider = requires the appendage of any hasty critter.
• pyrotechnics* = as part of casting this spell, you brandish an ignited flame source and throw it at a point within the item's range.
• enhance ability = requires parts from critters with particular attributes.
• protection from energy = see enhance ability.
• light = brightblooms can be used as material components.

BUILDING A LEGENDARY HERO

Goals

• Develop a magical friendship with your little horsey.
• Wrangle livestock that need corralling.
• Function as a capable scout.
• Move around an open battlefield with impunity.

Horse Sidekick. See the Traveler's Horse entry in Appendix D: Sidekicks* for further details about your mount.

Gathering Material Components. Any material component that is required for a ranger spell must be acquired manually through exploration or shopping. Certain spells have new material requirements as well:

• beast bond* = casting this spell on a mount requires you to feed it with an apple or carrot. While the spell is in effect and your steed is within your line of sight, it can understand your verbal commands, and you can telepathically sense its feelings.
• longstrider = to cast this spell on a mount, your footwear must incorporate spurs.
• aid = wrapping the cloth around a mount's leg allows you to cast this spell on it.
• enhance ability = requires a grooming implement in order to be cast on a horse.
• conjure animals = requires horse grass or a horse call to blow into.
• freedom of movement = same as aid, except it uses a leather strap instead.

Clarification on Sylvan. Seelie is regarded as the Hyrule setting's equivalent to the Sylvan language. The term "Sylvan" instead replaces "Druidic" in this document. Accordingly, you do not learn Sylvan/Druidic upon gaining the Speech of the Woods feature.

BUILDING A LEGENDARY HERO

Goals

• Travel with a fairy companion who provides healing.
• Be a menace with a slingshot.
• Find Koroks and befriend them.
• Wear masks for disguises and altering your form.
• Embody the magical trickster archetype.

Archfey Patron. Your woodland patron may either be the Deku Tree or one of the Great Fairies. In either case, they grant you both your child form and your guardian fairy.

Fairy Sidekick. See the Guardian Fairy described in Appendix D: Sidekicks* for further details about your sprite companion.

Fairy Dust as a Material Component. If you acquire a component pouch, your fairy companion will keep it stocked with fairy dust for spellcasting (with notable exceptions listed below).

Fairy Familiar. When the Pact of the Chain grants you the find familiar spell at Warlock 3, you can cast it to establish a mystical bond with your fairy sidekick. As an action, you can temporarily dismiss your fairy to a pocket dimension. As an action while it is temporarily dismissed, you can cause it to reappear in any unoccupied space within 30 feet of you. Whenever the fairy disappears into the pocket dimension, it leaves behind in its space anything it was wearing or carrying. The sidekick cannot be resummoned by this spell if it drops to 0 hit points and dies.

Also, while your fairy sidekick is within 100 feet of you, both of you can telepathically sense each other's feelings.

Koroks and Druidic Secrets. The hidden messages left by sylvan folk are directly derived from the secret signs devised by the Koroks, who are your kin.

Magic Nuts. The magic stone* cantrip can use nuts from trees as ammunition along with pebbles.

Spellcasting with Masks. To cast disguise self using Mask of Many Faces, you must acquire a mask for each disguise you adopt. Once you get Otherworldly Leap, a mask or headgear representing a rabbit must be worn in order to cast jump. Finally with Master of Myriad Forms, alter self becomes a spell which requires a mask as a material component. As long as you wear the required mask, any of these spells remain in effect unless dispelled or (in the case of alter self) if your concentration ends.

With your woodcarver's tools, you can craft one mask as part of a long rest. You must have enough wood on hand to produce it.

BUILDING A LEGENDARY HERO

Goals

• Encourage piety in the hearts of the righteous.
• Inspire terror in the hearts of evildoers.
• Withstand injury with superhuman endurance.
• Fling energy blasts from an eldritch sword.

Divine Patron. Although you wield the power to destroy, you answer to a light-aligned deity such as the Goddess Hylia, or perhaps one of the Four Giants of Termina. Your divine patron ensures that you stay true to your holy mission and not fall prey to the temptation of wickedness.

Soldier's Breastplate. The armor you start out with is a munitions-grade breastplate once issued to common soldiers. As mass-produced plating is of inferior quality to tailor-made gear, your armor retains the statistics of scale mail.

Revealing the Third Eye. Instead of flightless wings, a third eye manifests on your forehead when you use your Necrotic Shroud.

Helix Hexblade. Upon choosing the Pact of the Blade, your pact weapon manifests as a helix-bladed greatsword. This blade is eventually capable of blasting eldritch disks of energy when you swing your sword at a distant target.

BUILDING A LEGENDARY HERO

Goals

• Play uplifting sea shanties while sailing the ocean blue.
• Utilize a variety of whimsical magical spells.
• Hook onto baddies with a harpoon.
• Awaken the power of the wind.
• Harness a true instrument of the bards.

Conductor's Baton. Upon joining the College of Swords, you learn to use a conductor's baton instead of a weapon as a spellcasting focus for air spells (including feather fall).

Gathering Material Components. Any material component that is required for a non-air bard spell must be acquired manually through exploration or shopping. Certain spells have new material requirements as well:

• animal friendship = if you succeed at charming a beast, the morsel of food used to cast the spell is eaten.
• Tasha's hideous laughter = you throw a tart or another baked pastry into your face or that of another creature other than the target, turning the component into a unsalvageable gooey mess. Alternatively, you can brush a feather against a poppet with a shape roughly similar to that of the target (ie. a two-legged doll for humanoids, or a four-legged doll for mammalian beasts).
• Nathair's mischief = a flower petal, drop of molasses, or crust from any baked pastry can be used to cast this spell, consuming the component in the process.
• sending = a blue gem worn as a necklace.

Goals

• Transform into a wolf form which can grow in ability.
• Access a wide variety of hunting abilities.
• Use polearms as backup weapons if needed.

Wild Shape & Sidekick Progression. To better ensure that your wolf shape remains combat viable at higher levels, you can use the Sidekick* system to level-up the Wolf stat block. When you first acquire the Wild Shape feature, you gain access to a wolf with one level of Warrior, which then levels up (up to a maximum of 19) each time you gain a druid level. See the Ordonian Wolf's entry in Appendix D: Sidekicks for further details.

Tongue of the Wolfos. The malevolent wolves of Hyrule are able to communicate and coordinate with one another through a series of barks, growls, and howls. Your wolflike nature gives you an inherent understanding of this foul tongue, which you can speak while in wolf form. Ordinary wolves not touched by malice lack the intelligence to fully understand the Wolfos language's nuances.

BUILDING A LEGENDARY HERO

Goals

• Throw your weight around with a ball & chain.
• Be very tough to kill.
• Increase your athletic ability with Goron magic.

Strength of the Gorons. With their bulky physiques and affinity for stone, the Gorons are regarded as the toughest and most physically resilient people of Hyrule. Although typically average-sized for humanoids, legends speak of huge Gorons such as the fabled Biggoron who grew to be the size of enormous giants.

BUILDING A LEGENDARY HERO

Goals

• Map terrain with a functional Sheikah Slate.
• Cast runes to alter the battlespace.
• Investigate the mysteries of the past.

Arcane Tablet. While your particular model of arcane tablet does not use the same set of runes as the Sheikah Slate made famous by the Hero of the Wild, they both run on the same ancient Sheikah technology. Furthermore, each tablet model utilizes the same cartography functionality.

As per the Artificer Initiate feat,* you can use an arcane tablet as a spellcasting focus for your wizard spells.

Gathering Material Components. The following spells have new material requirements:

• identify = requires an arcane tablet upgrade worth 100 gr, which gives it camera functionality.
• locate object = requires a photo of an object to be stored in the arcane tablet's album.
• phantom steed = you must use an ancient core worth at least 200 gr as a material component, consuming it in the process. The summoned steed resembles an ancient motorcycle with a horse design.
• locate creature = requires a photo of a creature to be stored in the arcane tablet's album.
• teleportation circle = the rare chalks and inks you use to draw the circle must be infused with a drop of ancient energy worth 50 gr, which can be harvested with your arcane tablet from a Guidance Stone. Erecting a permanent teleportation circle requires a Travel Gate worth 20,000 gr, which must then be powered continuously by a furnace lit with a Blue Flame.
• legend lore = first requires an arcane tablet upgrade worth 200 gr, and then drops of ancient energy worth 250 gr for every casting once the compendium is installed. Finally, the person, place, or object you seek information about must have been photographed with your arcane tablet's camera.
• sequester = a creature or target must be bathed in drops of ancient energy worth 5,000 gr, which are consumed by the casting.

BUILDING A LEGENDARY HERO

Common Languages

Exotic Languages

Special Weapons

This section describes weapons that have special rules or require further explanation:

Boomerang. On a miss, a boomerang returns to your hand.

Harpoon. If you hit a Large or smaller creature with this barbed rope-attached spear, you can use a bonus action to make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the creature’s Strength (Athletics) check. If you win the contest, you pull it up to 20 feet towards you. You can use this trait in conjunction with the Grappling Strike* maneuver.

Whether you hit or miss, you pull the harpoon back into your hand after making a ranged attack.

*Found in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Lasso. Proficiency with a lasso allows you to wield a tied loop of rope as a ranged weapon. A Large or smaller creature hit by a lasso is grappled until it is freed. Until this grapple ends, you cannot use your lasso to make another attack.

A lasso has no effect on creatures that are formless, or creatures that are Huge or larger. A creature can use its action to contest its Strength ability against yours, freeing itself on a success. Dealing 2 slashing damage to the lasso (AC 10) cuts it, ending the effect and destroying the lasso.

On a miss, you pull the lasso back into your hand.

APPENDIX B | EXOTIC WEAPONRY

Bomb, Fire. This ceramic-encased container holds a small amount of crude petroleum. As an action, you can light this bomb and throw it at a point up to 20 feet away, shattering it on impact. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw, taking 1d8 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.

Bomb, Iron. Made from a cast iron shell, this explosive produces the same effect as the bomb found on page 268 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. However, it can only be thrown at a point up to 15 feet away.

Bomb, Glue. Sticky, adhesive tar is stored within this ceramic-encased explosive. As an action, you can light this bomb and throw it at a point up to 20 feet away, shattering it on impact. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must succeed on a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or be restrained. An affected creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

Bomb, Smoke. As an action, you can ignite this spherical paper bomb filled with black powder and hurl it at a point up to 20 feet away, detonating on impact. The explosion leaves a smoke cloud that fills a 10-foot-radius sphere. The area within the cloud is heavily obscured. A strong wind disperses the cloud, which otherwise remains until the end of your next turn.

Petard. A petard is a 20 lb. cast-iron explosive hoisted next to an obstacle (typically a gate or wall) with two 5 lb. wooden beams. It takes one action each to set a support beam in place, one action to mount the petard, and one action to ignite it within your space.

When you ignite the petard, it detonates at the end of your turn. All creatures and objects within 20 feet of the explosion must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 12d6 bludgeoning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Objects and structures take double damage from a petard blast.

Guardian Fairy

• Base Stat Block: Sprite
  • Appears as a wisp of light with gossamer wings.
  • Gains the Illumination trait; it sheds bright light in a 5-foot radius and dim light for an additional 5 feet.
  • Loses leather armor, its Longsword and Shortbow attacks, the Invisibility trait, and expertise in Stealth.
  • Swap Intelligence score with Wisdom (sidekick only).
• Sidekick Class: Spellcaster - Healer role
  • Saving Throw Proficiency = Wisdom
  • Skill Proficiencies = Arcana, Nature

Traveler's Horse

• Base Stat Block: Riding horse
• Sidekick Class: Warrior - Defender role
  • Saving Throw Proficiency = Dexterity
  • Skill Proficiencies = Athletics, Perception

Knight's Horse

• Base Stat Block: Warhorse
• Sidekick Class: Warrior - Defender role
  • Saving Throw Proficiency = Dexterity
  • Skill Proficiencies = Athletics, Intimidation

Ordonian Wolf

• Base Stat Block: Wolf
• Sidekick Class: Warrior - Attacker role
  • Saving Throw Proficiency = Dexterity
  • Skill Proficiencies = Acrobatics, Animal Handling

Level Progression

• Druid 5: Skulker feat
• Druid 9: Piercer feat* with +1 Dexterity
• Druid 13: +2 Dexterity
• Druid 15: Savage Attacker feat
• Druid 17: Mobile feat
• Druid 20: Alert feat

*Found in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

APPENDIX D: SIDEKICKS

Strenuous Movement

You can swim in water with a strong current, climb a steep vertical surface, or continuously move at double your speed for a number of minutes equal to your Constitution score before suffering from loss of stamina. Each additional minute spent doing such activities requires you to succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or gain one level of exhaustion. If climbing or swimming doesn't cost you extra movement, you automatically succeed on the saving throw connected to said movement type.

Giving Yourself Advantage

You can exert yourself beyond your limits to give yourself a temporary edge in battle. As a reaction, you can give yourself one level of exhaustion in order to immediately make your next attack roll, saving throw, or ability check with advantage.

One-Minute Rest

In situations where one hour may be too long to benefit from a short rest, you can choose to instead gain one level of exhaustion in order to reduce the time needed for resting down to one minute.

Enhanced Concentration

If you target yourself or a friendly creature with a spell that requires concentration to maintain, you cannot lose concentration on that spell as a result of taking damage. This variant rule does not apply to spells which summon creatures.

Self-Only Restrictions

To more accurately reflect the magical abilities of the typical LOZ protagonist, certain spells for the various homebrew character build have a range of self.

• Master Sword Build: enhance ability, haste, heroism, protection from energy, shield of faith
• Horse Build: darkvision
  • Mount-Only Spells = aid, enhance ability, freedom of movement, longstrider
• Fierce Deity Build: gaseous form, invisibility, protection from evil and good
• Wind Waker Build: foresight

APPENDIX E: OPTIONAL RULES