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Link, Zelda and Ganondorf as Baldur's Gate characters

ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
What classes and stats would they have?

@Vallmyr

Comments

  • UnderstandMouseMagicUnderstandMouseMagic Member Posts: 2,147

    I don't know about Ganondorf or Zelda, but I've thought about Link before, and I think the class that best fits him is a bard. You could tag him as a fighter with a few mage levels and maybe some thief levels, but in almost all of the games, Link has played at least one instrument, and his music is often a critical part of LoZ puzzles and sometimes even the plot itself--to the extent that two of the games are named after instruments, Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

    Link is more of a fighter than a traditional jack-of-all-trades, but any class other than bard would omit one of his key skills, which is his musical talent.

    Tagging @Grum in case he's a Zelda fan.

    Well reasoned. :)

    And he does a spinny thing that could be seen as offensive/defensive spin.
    tbone1ThacoBellsemiticgoddess
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    Link is a blade. Zelda's class would change depending on the game. Gannon is a Fighter/Sorceror with hacked shapeshift ability.
    ShapiroKeatsDarkMage
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    ThacoBell said:

    Link is a blade. Zelda's class would change depending on the game. Gannon is a Fighter/Sorceror with hacked shapeshift ability.

    In the First 2 games, Link was kinda like a paladin. He becomes Bard-ish in later games.

    ArctodussemiticgoddessRaduziel
  • GrumGrum Member, Mobile Tester Posts: 2,100

    I don't know about Ganondorf or Zelda, but I've thought about Link before, and I think the class that best fits him is a bard. You could tag him as a fighter with a few mage levels and maybe some thief levels, but in almost all of the games, Link has played at least one instrument, and his music is often a critical part of LoZ puzzles and sometimes even the plot itself--to the extent that two of the games are named after instruments, Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

    Link is more of a fighter than a traditional jack-of-all-trades, but any class other than bard would omit one of his key skills, which is his musical talent.

    Tagging @Grum in case he's a Zelda fan.

    Sadly, I've never played any Zelda games. Now, if Link was changed from being an elf wearing tight pants who has a sword+bow, and was turned into a dwarf with an axe and crossbow...and if instead of Zelda he was out to rescue a cask of ale...then I think that I would have gotten into the game.
    semiticgoddessThacoBell
  • ThacoBellThacoBell Member Posts: 12,235
    @ShapiroKeatsDarkMage Eh, he never had any paladin like abilities, and he used magical instruments as early as the first game.

    As for Zelda, in Ocarina of Time, I'd peg her as a cleric. She clearly uses sanctuary in the end game. She doesn't do much in most of the games, but in Twilight Princess, she does wield a rapier, so some flavor of fighter perhaps. In Windwaker, some flavor of
    rogue, possibly swashbuckler.
    semiticgoddessShapiroKeatsDarkMage
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Now that I think about it, Ganondorf fits the Warlock class very well considering his infernal themes, eldritch blasts, weird abilities that involve tapping into a greater power, and limited shapeshifting.
    ThacoBellRaduziel
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428

    Now that I think about it, Ganondorf fits the Warlock class very well considering his infernal themes, eldritch blasts, weird abilities that involve tapping into a greater power, and limited shapeshifting.

    Thats 5e. We are talking about BG rules here.
    semiticgoddess
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    Grum said:

    I don't know about Ganondorf or Zelda, but I've thought about Link before, and I think the class that best fits him is a bard. You could tag him as a fighter with a few mage levels and maybe some thief levels, but in almost all of the games, Link has played at least one instrument, and his music is often a critical part of LoZ puzzles and sometimes even the plot itself--to the extent that two of the games are named after instruments, Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker.

    Link is more of a fighter than a traditional jack-of-all-trades, but any class other than bard would omit one of his key skills, which is his musical talent.

    Tagging @Grum in case he's a Zelda fan.

    Sadly, I've never played any Zelda games. Now, if Link was changed from being an elf wearing tight pants who has a sword+bow, and was turned into a dwarf with an axe and crossbow...and if instead of Zelda he was out to rescue a cask of ale...then I think that I would have gotten into the game.
    Link is a hylian not an elf.

    And what's a hylian?

    An elf.
    Grum
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    Hylians just have elf ears. They have the same attributes and lifespan as D&D humans, from age to architecture to facial hair and sleeping patterns.
    ShapiroKeatsDarkMage
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428

    Hylians just have elf ears. They have the same attributes and lifespan as D&D humans, from age to architecture to facial hair and sleeping patterns.

    So half-elf then?
    Grum
  • BelleSorciereBelleSorciere Member Posts: 2,108
    I like Link as a ranger more than a bard.

    I don't really know re Ganondorf or Zelda, though.
    semiticgoddess
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428

    I like Link as a ranger more than a bard.

    I don't really know re Ganondorf or Zelda, though.

    Zeldapedia wiki is your friend. Keep in mind that most games in the series have different incarnations of Link, Zelda and Ganon.
  • DrakeICNDrakeICN Member Posts: 623
    edited February 2018
    Princess Zelda is no class, she is a... goose, according to google translate (don't know if that is the correct translation from the Swedish word våp). Makes absolutely no resistance when Ganon takes her away to his castle and always hides behind Links back when he rescues her. But if she is any class, she is actually a cleric - she has some kind of religious role, I think, in Skyward sword, and in the other games as well. I think. Maybe Hyrule is like England, where the queen / princess / whatever is also the head of the church?

    Ganondorf is a fighter / thief, but once he finds whatever corrupting power he finds (usually the triforce) - which also mutates him to a monster - he drops his thief class and gains a sorcerer class and becomes Ganon, the fighter / sorcerer. I mean, it is not like he was a nice guy to begin with, considering he was the warlord of a nomadic raider people whom absolutely do not rape and pillage (and also, Zelda is still a virgin when Link rescues her, because despite murdering thousands and enslaving thousands more and drinking wine from the hollowed out skulls of his defeated opponents, Ganon would NEVER force himself upon the naive, nubile girl he plans to wed to become the legitimate king of Hyrule) because this is a childrens game, but he becomes, like, even nastier once he acquires his magical powers.

    Edit: And also, Hyrule is the kingdom of truth and justice, despite the main castle being filled with endless dungeons filled with torture equipment where the the king absolutely do not throw all his political opponents.
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    ^ Don't cu
    DrakeICN said:

    Princess Zelda is no class, she is a... goose, according to google translate (don't know if that is the correct translation from the Swedish word våp). Makes absolutely no resistance when Ganon takes her away to his castle and always hides behind Links back when he rescues her. But if she is any class, she is actually a cleric - she has some kind of religious role, I think, in Skyward sword, and in the other games as well. I think. Maybe Hyrule is like England, where the queen / princess / whatever is also the head of the church?

    Ganondorf is a fighter / thief, but once he finds whatever corrupting power he finds (usually the triforce) - which also mutates him to a monster - he drops his thief class and gains a sorcerer class and becomes Ganon, the fighter / sorcerer. I mean, it is not like he was a nice guy to begin with, considering he was the warlord of a nomadic raider people whom absolutely do not rape and pillage (and also, Zelda is still a virgin when Link rescues her, because despite murdering thousands and enslaving thousands more and drinking wine from the hollowed out skulls of his defeated opponents, Ganon would NEVER force himself upon the naive, nubile girl he plans to wed to become the legitimate king of Hyrule) because this is a childrens game, but he becomes, like, even nastier once he acquires his magical powers.

    Edit: And also, Hyrule is the kingdom of truth and justice, despite the main castle being filled with endless dungeons filled with torture equipment where the the king absolutely do not throw all his political opponents.



    You're so edgy you could slice bread with your fingers.
    ThacoBell
  • DrakeICNDrakeICN Member Posts: 623
    Just keeping it real, my friend. The Zelda games are actually a lot darker than the pastell colors would lead you to believe. Take for instance Ocarina of time, where Link starts out bullied and friendless.
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    DrakeICN said:

    Just keeping it real, my friend. The Zelda games are actually a lot darker than the pastell colors would lead you to believe. Take for instance Ocarina of time, where Link starts out bullied and friendless.

    [MyMom] But that only happens because he is special and the other kids are jealous. [/MyMom]
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    DrakeICN said:

    Just keeping it real, my friend. The Zelda games are actually a lot darker than the pastell colors would lead you to believe. Take for instance Ocarina of time, where Link starts out bullied and friendless.

    He was friend with Saria.
    semiticgoddessThacoBell
  • semiticgoddesssemiticgoddess Member Posts: 14,903
    And the Deku Tree!

    I think Mido was the only bully, and the only one without friends.
    ShapiroKeatsDarkMageThacoBell
  • The_Nik_of_TimeThe_Nik_of_Time Member Posts: 1
    Old thread, I know, but here's my take:
    I actually made a Link build in 5e that I was kinda satisfied with, but it was, like 10 Paladin (Oath of Devotion)/5 Bard (College of Swords)/5 Ranger (Hunter). Those levels were mostly for paladin's aura of courage (Triforce of Courage and whatnot), paladin was chosen because... well mainly because the holy avenger is the closest D&D analogue to the Master Sword and only paladins can wield it, ranger because Link is almost never a traditionally trained warrior (fighter) but learns along the way, and learns advanced techniques usually from individual "teachers", and Bard for musical abilities.
    However, in Baldur's Gate, this combination can't be used and only ranger can even multi/dual-class (from or in to) at all. So the question is what would be best fit for Link? I think first off it is important to mention that while most games make use of music and have music be important in some way, it isn't musical magic coming from Link, but from the instrument itself. Link is never seen doing magical stuff through a mundane instrument.
    Ranger may fit well in 5e, but in Baldur's Gate, there's not much to suggest Link would be a ranger. Link is a primarily sword and board warrior (full longsword or bastard sword proficiencies and full sword and shield proficiencies) with, imo, a proficiency or two in longbow. Doesn't really fit the BG ranger, imo.
    Paladin CAN fit, but I feel like not really well. I would love for Link to wield the Purifier in BGII, but if that's the only reason for paladin...
    All-in-all, despite what I said above, I feel like half-elf (I feel like half-elves are the closest thing to Hylians.... Hylians have pointy elf-like ears, but are like humans in every other way) bard (blade) would fit best. Various incarnations of Link has shown to use magic, many have used musical instruments (or their own voice in the case of Wolf Link in TP), and bard song works against fear. Really the only things I think that doesn't fit well is that the Blade kit can only gain one proficiency in things, Blade seems better fit for two-weapon fighting, and they can't equip any shields better than a buckler.

    For Ganondorf (note, Ganondork, not Ganon), if this were 5e I would very heavily say warlock, as it is clear he gets his power either from being a reincarnation of Demise's hatred or/and from the Triforce of Power. But, sadly, warlocks don't exist in BG (nor do they exist in the version of D&D BG is based on IIRC). I feel like, in BG, he'd be either a sorcerer (possibly dragon disciple... I know he has demon blood, not dragon blood, but there is no "demon disciple" now is there?) or a mage... probably a human (with green skin) mage that first has levels in thief. He was known as the king of thieves, after all. And, while someone above said he would become a fighter/sorcerer (not possible in BG), only gaining sorcerer after the Triforce of Power or whatever, he CLEARLY can cast magic before that. He curses the Deku Tree, he moved a giant boulder to block off the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern, did... whatever he did to Lord Jabu-jabu, and, most telling of all, hits Young Link with some kind of energy blast right before Link retrieves the Ocarina of Time... before he opens the Door of Time, releasing the Master Sword, allowing Ganondorf to retrieve the Triforce. Honestly, I would go with straight human thief that dual-classes into mage at some point.

    Zelda is a bit more difficult. Let's just assume whatever she is going to be, she IS going to be a spellcaster. Like Ganondorf, she seems to get her power from to different sources: her divine blood (the goddess Hylia became mortal/reincarnated as the first Zelda, and her goddess blood has been passed down through generations of the royal family), and the Triforce of Wisdom. It doesn't seem clear, sometimes, what powers any Zelda possess comes from the Triforce and what comes from her being essentially a demigod... At first I was thinking straight half-elf mage would be best, but after reading the comments made here, I am starting to agree with cleric. If favored soul (a... I think 3.5 class) existed I would say that, or if divine soul was an option for sorcerer I would say that. Strictly speaking, clerics are priests, and I do not think Zelda has ever been shown to be priestly. She does not take on a religious role in Skyward Sword... well, not any more than anyone else. She was just tasked with playing the role of the goddess for the Wing Ceremony (because someone had to) because her father was the knight academy headmaster. Other than that (and really, not that either), she has never had a religious role to Hylians, just a leadership role.
    Rather, she has the blood of a goddess running through her veins and possess one third of a divine artifact that grants her powers. Either way, I have become convinced her powers would be divine in nature, rather than arcane... and the fact that her Triforce piece is wisdom, the main ability of clerics, I would say half-elf cleric... but I could see arguments for half-elf cleric/mage (It's hard to separate some of the things she has been shown to do from classical arcane spellcasting).
    semiticgoddessShapiroKeatsDarkMage
  • RaduzielRaduziel Member Posts: 4,714
    My last edition was the 3rd one but here are my cents:

    Link: Paladin

    Ganondorf: Warlock

    Zelda: Favored Soul
  • ShapiroKeatsDarkMageShapiroKeatsDarkMage Member Posts: 2,428
    Old thread, I know, but here's my take:
    I actually made a Link build in 5e that I was kinda satisfied with, but it was, like 10 Paladin (Oath of Devotion)/5 Bard (College of Swords)/5 Ranger (Hunter). Those levels were mostly for paladin's aura of courage (Triforce of Courage and whatnot), paladin was chosen because... well mainly because the holy avenger is the closest D&D analogue to the Master Sword and only paladins can wield it, ranger because Link is almost never a traditionally trained warrior (fighter) but learns along the way, and learns advanced techniques usually from individual "teachers", and Bard for musical abilities.
    However, in Baldur's Gate, this combination can't be used and only ranger can even multi/dual-class (from or in to) at all. So the question is what would be best fit for Link? I think first off it is important to mention that while most games make use of music and have music be important in some way, it isn't musical magic coming from Link, but from the instrument itself. Link is never seen doing magical stuff through a mundane instrument.
    Ranger may fit well in 5e, but in Baldur's Gate, there's not much to suggest Link would be a ranger. Link is a primarily sword and board warrior (full longsword or bastard sword proficiencies and full sword and shield proficiencies) with, imo, a proficiency or two in longbow. Doesn't really fit the BG ranger, imo.
    Paladin CAN fit, but I feel like not really well. I would love for Link to wield the Purifier in BGII, but if that's the only reason for paladin...
    All-in-all, despite what I said above, I feel like half-elf (I feel like half-elves are the closest thing to Hylians.... Hylians have pointy elf-like ears, but are like humans in every other way) bard (blade) would fit best. Various incarnations of Link has shown to use magic, many have used musical instruments (or their own voice in the case of Wolf Link in TP), and bard song works against fear. Really the only things I think that doesn't fit well is that the Blade kit can only gain one proficiency in things, Blade seems better fit for two-weapon fighting, and they can't equip any shields better than a buckler.

    For Ganondorf (note, Ganondork, not Ganon), if this were 5e I would very heavily say warlock, as it is clear he gets his power either from being a reincarnation of Demise's hatred or/and from the Triforce of Power. But, sadly, warlocks don't exist in BG (nor do they exist in the version of D&D BG is based on IIRC). I feel like, in BG, he'd be either a sorcerer (possibly dragon disciple... I know he has demon blood, not dragon blood, but there is no "demon disciple" now is there?) or a mage... probably a human (with green skin) mage that first has levels in thief. He was known as the king of thieves, after all. And, while someone above said he would become a fighter/sorcerer (not possible in BG), only gaining sorcerer after the Triforce of Power or whatever, he CLEARLY can cast magic before that. He curses the Deku Tree, he moved a giant boulder to block off the entrance to Dodongo's Cavern, did... whatever he did to Lord Jabu-jabu, and, most telling of all, hits Young Link with some kind of energy blast right before Link retrieves the Ocarina of Time... before he opens the Door of Time, releasing the Master Sword, allowing Ganondorf to retrieve the Triforce. Honestly, I would go with straight human thief that dual-classes into mage at some point.

    Zelda is a bit more difficult. Let's just assume whatever she is going to be, she IS going to be a spellcaster. Like Ganondorf, she seems to get her power from to different sources: her divine blood (the goddess Hylia became mortal/reincarnated as the first Zelda, and her goddess blood has been passed down through generations of the royal family), and the Triforce of Wisdom. It doesn't seem clear, sometimes, what powers any Zelda possess comes from the Triforce and what comes from her being essentially a demigod... At first I was thinking straight half-elf mage would be best, but after reading the comments made here, I am starting to agree with cleric. If favored soul (a... I think 3.5 class) existed I would say that, or if divine soul was an option for sorcerer I would say that. Strictly speaking, clerics are priests, and I do not think Zelda has ever been shown to be priestly. She does not take on a religious role in Skyward Sword... well, not any more than anyone else. She was just tasked with playing the role of the goddess for the Wing Ceremony (because someone had to) because her father was the knight academy headmaster. Other than that (and really, not that either), she has never had a religious role to Hylians, just a leadership role.
    Rather, she has the blood of a goddess running through her veins and possess one third of a divine artifact that grants her powers. Either way, I have become convinced her powers would be divine in nature, rather than arcane... and the fact that her Triforce piece is wisdom, the main ability of clerics, I would say half-elf cleric... but I could see arguments for half-elf cleric/mage (It's hard to separate some of the things she has been shown to do from classical arcane spellcasting).

    Thank you for writing this. Very informative.
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