Dungeons and Dragons and Buffy The Vampire Slayer are two mainstays of geek culture. These two franchises are a huge part of many 90s kids’ childhoods, and even today, they remain beloved. Now with Honor Among Thieves in production, many fans have once again taken up the tabletop game.
Of course, it’s crossed the minds of many fans to port the iconic characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the tabletop. Since the Scooby Gang are no strangers to all sorts of monsters, gods, and demons, they fit the forgotten realms like a glove.
Mayor Wilkins - Celestial Warlock 2/Divine Soul Sorcerer 18
Mayor Wilkins is the seemingly benevolent mayor of Sunnyvale with a dark secret. In truth, he’s a sorcerer obsessed with becoming a pure demon. While he has a cavalcade of magical abilities, his most notable traits are his charisma and ridiculous survivability.
High charisma is a given for a Sorclock multiclass, and proficiencies should be put towards Persuasion and Deception. For the race, Hill Dwarf’s racial trait Dwarven Toughness, and the feat of Dwarven Fortitude are necessary to make Wilkins his regular tough self. Divine Soul Sorcerer and Celestial Warlock features are also easily flavored as “regeneration” abilities.
Xander - Eloquence Bard 20
Despite Xander being the heart of the Scooby Gang, he isn’t all that great at combat. What he does excel at is convincing even the most psychotic of people to put down their arms and talk. This makes Xander a shoo-in for Eloquence Bard, as all of their class features are geared toward talking well.
It’s even been said that his “superpower” is motivating his friends, so a good feat to take for him (Variant Human) is Inspiring Leader, which grants temporary HP to people in the party. Expertise would have to be put towards Persuasion and Perception, as Xander is excellent at those qualities.
Giles - Eldritch Knight Fighter 18/Hexblade Warlock 2
Giles is Buffy’s Watcher, and he is arguably the most experienced and wise of Buffy’s original group. He’s already an accomplished fighter, but what makes Giles stand apart from his wards is that he also incorporates magic into his fighting after his dealings with the Devon Coven. While he’s no wizard, he’s a master at using magic to an efficient degree.
Hexblade represents his pact with the Devon Coven, and the Eldritch Knight fighter perfectly represents Giles’ intelligence and magic casting. Skill Expert is a feat that they should take, to represent Giles’ impressive career. Expertise is best put towards Perception, being a Watcher and all.
Faith - Totem Barbarian 3/Champion Fighter 17
If Buffy is a finely tuned sword, then Faith is a house-wrecking sledgehammer. She uses her Slayer gifts to throw herself at opponents, relying on them instead of pure skill. It’s without question that her raw strength surpasses Buffy’s, and this multiclass best represents that. Totem’s “spirit guide” could easily be flavored as the psychic link that Slayers share with all previous Slayers.
Totem Barbarian also represents the various physical feats that Slayers inherit. while Champion Fighter exemplifies Faith’s preference for raw physical power, with improved criticals, proficiency in physical skills, and an overall improvement in survivability, Faith is one of the gutsiest Slayers around.
Cordelia - Divine Soul Sorcerer 6/Divination Wizard 14
Cordelia is the resident oracle of the gang, and most of her help in the series is thanks to her visions. She’s also not half-bad in physical combat, but her true calling is her visions and spiritual healing. The multiclass of Divine Soul Sorcerer and Divination Wizard work best mechanically for this. The Lucky feat should be taken, as an additional “visions” ability.
Divine Soul has Spiritual Healing and light-based abilities that perfectly fit the “half-demon” aspect of Cordelia’s physiology. Divination Wizard is straightforward, with all the abilities like Portent, Expert Divination, and Third Eye geared towards improving the players’ oracle spells like Clairvoyance, Augury, and Legend Lore.
Anya - Archfey Warlock 20
Anya is a vengeance demon, implied to be older than humanity itself. Her schtick before turning to the side of “good” was granting reality-warping wishes, so long as it was for others. Outside of that, she had a small yet powerful pool of magical knowledge to pull from. The perfect class and race for Anya are Tiefling Archfey Warlock.
Vengeance demons have a supernatural charisma to them, minor shapeshifting abilities, as well as demonic strength, speed, and spellcasting. Eldritch Invocations such as Bewitching Whispers, Dreadful Word, Fiendish VIgor, and Mask of Many Faces are a must. Archfey’s class features also fit Anya’s penchant for mentally messing with her victims.
Angel - Kensei Monk 20
Angel is the stoic vampire ally of Buffy and also happens to be a master martial artist. He’s also said to be incredibly skilled in the art of weaponry, so Kensei Monk is the perfect fit for Angel. As for the race, he should be Dhampir, the resident vampires of the world of Dungeons and Dragons.
The rest of their “vampire” kit are all strangely fitting with the abilities of the Monk class, such as endurance, superhuman speed, and long life. Kensei Monk is essentially geared toward fighting as well as possible, which is Angel’s forte. A good feat for Angel would be Mobile, further making him hard to hit in battle.
Spike - Drunken Master 17/Mastermind Rogue 3
Spike and Angel mostly have the same reasoning for their vampire traits, i.e., Monk class and Dhampir race. However, the difference is in their aptitude. Spike is a more impassioned and intellectual fighter, who enjoys being in the fray and annoying his opponents into making mistakes. Drunken Master with a dash of Mastermind Rogue fits Spike to a tee.
Drunken Master involves a lot of unorthodox movements to avoid and deal damage. Mastermind Rogue’s Master of Tactics Feature allows the player to use the “help action” in combat as a bonus action, and Cunning Action shows his versatility. Expertise would be in Insight, as he has said to Buffy his greatest asset in combat was the ability to read his opponents.
Willow - Divine Soul Sorcerer 3/Evocation Wizard 17
Willow is without a doubt the most potent spellcaster of the gang, and it’s not even close. Her studious nature, curiosity, intelligence, and natural aptitude for magic make her a perfect fit for the Divine Soul Sorcerer/Evocation Wizard multiclass. A good feat for her would be Metamagic Adept, to further enhance her natural magic abilities.
Divine Soul represents her ability to heal herself and her friends in combat, as well as her uncanny ability to avoid death. Evocation makes sense as her specialty because she loves blasting people with bolts of energy, whether as her chipper self or Dark Willow. The 17 levels in Wizard are necessary to gain access to the spells Wish and True Resurrection, both abilities that she showcased in the show.
Buffy - Totem Barbarian 3/Battlemaster Fighter 17
The titular main character herself, Buffy is widely considered the greatest of the Slayers in modern times. While the enhancements of her Slayer blood and spiritual aspects are covered by Totem Barbarian, Buffy’s greatest asset has always been her battle IQ. Where most villains use traditional forms of domination, Buffy wasn’t afraid to play dirty, not conforming to Slayer tradition.
Battlemaster is the perfect representation of this. The maneuvers are Buffy’s preference for fighting with speed and skill instead of raw power. Know Your Enemy shows Buffy’s aptitude for reading her opponents. A good feat to take for Buffy would be Martial Adept, giving her even more options amid combat.