Full Build Friday - Ju Fufu [Pahtra Inventor] (Patreon)

This was a weird but very fun one to do! I actually had to move this build up because the one I had planned was greatly improved by Impossible Magic and wasn't available in Pathbuilder at the time. Hope you guys enjoy this build as much fun as I had building it!

As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in my best attempt to fit the character. These choices may not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.

Strike fierce as a tiger with this build for Ju Fufu from Zenless Zone Zero!

JU FUFU

SOURCE Zenless Zone Zero

BUILD GOALS

o    A youthful and spirited tiger thiren, Ju Fufu is the most senior sister of Suibian Temple where she serves as her lackadaisical master’s right hand

o    She is a Stun agent of the Fire element, which is a teensy bit oversaturated, who fights using her claws, martial arts mastery, and explosive popcorn maker/intelligent construct – Hu Wei

o    Her basic attacks are swift claw swipes that can be chained together while Hu Wei belches out fire at foes

o    If Fufu follows a dash with a held attack, she hops atop Hu Wei and spins wildly at enemies, spitting out fire wildly if she has charges of Momentum, which she gains from her special attack and assist follow-up

o    Speaking of her special attack, it and her ultimate cause her to swing Hu Wei like a flail and cough up flaming popcorn in a damaging area

o    Per her passive, Hu Wei will fight foes even if Ju Fufu is off field. This builds up her might, which can trigger Tiger’s Roar to increase the damage of her entire team

o    Her Mindscapes bolster her crits and allow Hu Wei to fire off even more explosive popcorn

o    Finally, her Roaring Fur-Nace W-Engine can further bolster the damage of her allies whenever she deals damage with her special attack and ult

Summary of Goals: The mix of martial artist with a machine minion is an interesting idea. She primarily fights unarmed though Hu Wei takes center stage for her much of her general operation. I want to represent the fact that she is both a stunner who debilitates enemies while also bolstering the damage of her entire team.

LEVEL 1

Ancestry & Heritage: Sand Roamer Pahtra

o    Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Charisma, +Strength, -Constitution

o    Ancestry Feat: Predatory – Claws

Background: Root Worker

o    Ability Boosts: +Intelligence, +Dexterity

o    Skill Increase: Occultism (T), Herbalism Lore (T)

o    Background Feat: Root Worker

Class & Subclass: Inventor with Construct Innovation

o    Class Ability Boost: +Intelligence

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (T), Crafting (T), Diplomacy (T), Nature (T), Religion (T), Society (T), Survival (T)

o    Class Feat: Tamper

o    Initial Modification: Accelerated Mobility

o    General Feat: Shield Block

o    Skill Feat: Inventor

Details

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str +2, Dex +3, Con +0, Int +3, Wis +0, Cha +1)

Before we jump straight into this build, I want to take a second and talk thirens. These animal people of New Eridu are already a spectrum with some crazy dimorphism, but that point is paw-ticularly poignant when taking the three playable feline thirens in game. I would say, fortunately, Pathfinder’s catfolk have some pretty divergent designs as well. Except we’re not using catfolk. We are actually going to tap into Starfinder to build Ju Fufu as a pahtra. The base stats suit her well enough and they honestly aren’t too different from catfolk, but something they have that their presumed ancestors don’t is the sand roamer heritage to make them Small. This might seem like me just poking fun at Fufu’s petite size, but there is actually some mechanical motivation to my meowdness. This ancestry further provides her with the Predatory feat to give her some gnarly claw attacks that deal 1d6 slashing damage while still having the agile and finesse traits. You could follow that more martial option with something like perfection seeker, but I actually prefer, and ultimately settled on, root worker. I think this better resembles the day-to-day of Yunkui Summit with their work of distributing talismans, fortunes, and remedies to the people of Waifei. The Root Magic feat that the background provides exemplifies this caring nature along with the mysticism of her sect.

After that series of possibly controversial choices, I’m shooting for the hat trick with the inventor class! Going for an Intelligence-based class for a girl failing arithmetic is certainly a choice and one that I stand by for a few reasons. At least from a mechanical perspective. This class means that Fufu is still a martial character and gives her a way of resembling Hu Wei through a prototype construct innovation. This has two major boons when it comes to depicting Fufu. Firstly, right from the get-go, the inventor can spend two of her actions to give her construct three actions, which is a neat little nod to Fufu primarily being an off-field stunner. Secondly, as a base feature, Hu Wei can use the inventor’s Explode to resemble the catastrophic kernels he casts about. Furthermore, this construct does start as Medium. Since Fufu’s heritage made her Small, she can actually ride atop Hu Wei without issue and we can spend her initial modification on something actually useful like Accelerated Mobility. Or maybe Wonder Gears if you want to lean into the fact that he is actually an intelligent construct. As for our furocious feline fighter herself, I’d actually lean towards Tamper. The whole No, No, I Created You is a bit too situational for my tastes whereas Tamper plays just a tiny bit into Fufu’s role as a stunner who makes enemies more vulnerable to her allies.

LEVEL 2

o    Class Feat: Monk Dedication

o    Skill Feat: Cat Fall

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (T)

o    Gear: cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 3

o    General Feat: Keen Follower

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (E)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), cloak of feline rest, mudlily

LEVEL 4

o    Class Feat: Advanced Construct Companion

o    Skill Feat: Quick Jump

o    Gear: bracelet of dashing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), Jack’s tattered cape, cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 5

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str +3, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +4, Wis +1, Cha +1)

o    Ancestry Feat: Battleblessed

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (E), Intimidation (T)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, bracers of missile deflection, Jack’s tattered cape, cloak of feline rest, mudlily

With that doozy of her first-level out of the way, things quiet down just a bit for this build. Fufu does take a Monk Dedication, which might be more along the lines of what some people were originally expecting for the build, but with her already having claws, she actually isn’t getting much out of this feat for now. She then goes right back to inventor with the next class feat to advance Hu Wei to Advanced Construct Companion. I do want to further reflect her monastic training with a focus on physical feats, which are covered this block by the eminently appropriate Cat Fall and the ever useful Quick Jump. Reducing a Jump to a single action could be a determining factor in having an action to Command Hu Wei or not. For a similar reason, I had her take Battleblessed so that she can cast tailwind on herself and enhance her Speed, making it easier for her to move around the battlefield and still have actions for Hu Wei. With her general feat, I’m having her take Keen Follower for while she is the senior sister of Suibian Temple, she is an ever-eager student of more skillful martial artists. Especially those on the big screen.

LEVEL 6

o    Class Feat: Construct Shell

o    Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler

o    Gear: +1 leather armor, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, bracelet of dashing, Jack’s tattered cape, trusty helmet

LEVEL 7

o    General Feat: Fleet

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (M)

o    Breakthrough Innovation: Durable Construction

o    Gear: spiritsight ring, +1 leather armor, lesser rending gauntlets, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, bracers of missile deflection

LEVEL 8

o    Class Feat: Incredible Construct Companion

o    Skill Feat: Powerful Leap

o    Gear: boots of bounding, cassisian helmet, spiritsight ring, +1 leather armor, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt

LEVEL 9

o    Ancestry Feat: Melodic Adaptation

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (M)

o    Offensive Boost: Ignition

o    Gear: +1 resilient leather armor, boots of bounding, alacritous horseshoes, spiritsight ring, lesser rending gauntlets, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)

LEVEL 10

o    Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +3, Dex +4,.5 Con +1, Int +4.5, Wis +1, Cha +2)

o    Class Feat: Monk’s Flurry

o    Skill Feat: Kip Up

o    Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient leather armor, flaming weapon rune, boots of bounding, spiritsight ring, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)

When Ju Fufu is riding atop Hu Wei, she actually gains some damage reduction in ZZZ. To explore that and the fire she spits around, I’d have her use Construct Shell so that she gets lesser cover while upon Hu Wei and can be excluded from the emanation of her Explode. We do have to keep Hu Wei in peak condition, which means taking an Incredible Construct Companion feat and a Durable Construction modification, which will help him hang in combat for a longer period of time. She works a bit of monk in for herself with Monk’s Flurry. Her basic combo can include a continual series of swipes that suit this but it will also be important for another feat that she needs. With how Fufu is able to throw around enemies regardless of the size difference between herself and them, she definitely needs Titan Wrestler and can certainly make use of Powerful Leap. I also added in Kip Up for the saving on the action economy and to help Fufu avoid any reactive Strikes. Melodic Adaptation is a bit of a weird one, but giving her the ability to detect magic does seem to line up with the so-called Yunkui ‘mystics,’ especially since what the proxies learn from them are called perception techniques.

LEVEL 11

o    General Feat: Robust Health

o    Skill Increase: Occultism (E)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, ashen weapon rune, +1 resilient leather armor, boots of bounding, alacritous horseshoes

LEVEL 12

o    Class Feat: Basic Kata – Stunning Blows

o    Skill Feat: Magical Crafting

o    Gear: +2 resilient leather armor, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), winged sandals, armbands of athleticism, flaming weapon rune, greater rhinoceros mask

LEVEL 13

o    Ancestry Feat: Softstep

o    Skill Increase: Occultism (M)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient leather armor, greater ash gown, fire-jump ring, armbands of athleticism, thunderblast slippers

LEVEL 14

o    Class Feat: Paragon Companion

o    Skill Feat: Break Curse

o    Gear: keen weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), moderate rending gauntlets, +2 resilient leather armor, fire-jump ring, winged sandals

LEVEL 15

o    Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str +3, Dex +5 Con +2, Int +5, Wis +2, Cha +2)

o    General Feat: Breath Control

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (L), Medicine (T)

o    Revolutionary Modification: Runic Keystone

o    Gear: +2 greater resilient gi, keen weapon rune, hellfire boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater ash gown, bravery baldric (flight)

With Monk’s Flurry in her toolbelt, Fufu can take a Basic Kata for Stunning Blows to dish out devastating punches that leave foes stunned and let her serve the role she is meant to be. She obviously has to take Paragon Companion for Hu Wei’s sake and further gains a revolutionary modification. I like Runic Keystone to add a weapon rune or something similar to him though Resistant Coating is also pretty good and might better resemble the fact that he can’t actually be damaged in ZZZ. I did include Magical Crafting as a feat for her based on the talismans and the like that Yunkui provides with this feat possibly letting her put together fulu to best resemble those. She can also use her skills as a mystic to Break Curses or enter meditation for Breath Control. Robust Health helps this ever-eager martial arts master stay in the fight or get back into it, and Softstep lets her pick up Feather Step and cover her tracks with Acrobatics. Perhaps her tail brushing away her footsteps behind her.

LEVEL 16

o    Class Feat: Overdrive Ally

o    Skill Feat: Aura Sight

o    Gear: greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, soaring armor rune, hellfire boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), moderate rending gauntlets

LEVEL 17

o    Ancestry Feat: Climbing Claws

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (L)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater flaming weapon rune, greater energy-absorbing armor rune, +2 greater resilient gi, keen weapon rune, hellfire boots

LEVEL 18

o    Class Feat: Shared Overdrive

o    Skill Feat: Cloud Jump

o    Gear: cloak of swiftness, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), quickstrike weapon rune, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, soaring armor rune

LEVEL 19

o    General Feat: Toughness

o    Skill Increase: Occultism (L)

o    Gear: +3 greater resilient gi, cloak of swiftness, greater armbands of athleticism, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater flaming weapon rune, greater energy-absorbing armor rune

LEVEL 20

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +5 Con +3, Int +5, Wis +3, Cha +3)

o    Class Feat: Ubiquitous Overdrive

o    Skill Feat: Steady Balance

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient gi, mercurial mantle, greater armbands of athleticism, quickstrike weapon rune, greater ashen weapon rune

This last block is a bit of a bum rush of some final feats as Fufu goes from Overdrive Ally to Shared Overdrive and then all the way to Ubiquitous Overdrive. This build has been lacking a way to give damage to her allies but with this line of feats, we’ve got that all covered! Aura Sight has some similar reasoning to it behind the earlier Melodic Adaptation as she employs the perception tactics of Yunkui Summit but then she finishes off with physical feats for Cloud Jump based on her general Athleticism and Steady Balance based on how she stands atop the pillars in her EP. That might be a little redundant with her taking Climbing Claws, but you could honestly take any ancestry feat you want here. All make as much sense to me as any other. Toughness finishes out her general feats and provides her with some extra Hit Points so that she can stand proudly on the frontlines.

FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: The biggest benefit of a free archetype build would be the opportunity it grants to let Fufu explore her inventor class more. She could take Overdrive Ally and the like earlier and also pick up some of the Tian Xia Character Guide inventor feats, such as Duo Dragon Kick and Guardian Lion Roar. From the monk, I’d probably grab Tiger Stance and its eventual Tiger Slash. She could also use Monk Resiliency and might eventually be able to fit in Monk Moves. If she wants some more claw stuff, she could also consider a Clawdancer Dedication, which even has a feat called Feline Dance.

BUILD CONCLUSION

Ju Fufu is a sand roamer pahtra inventor with a construct innovation to resemble Hu Wei and a root worker background for the mysticism and protection provided by Yunkui Summit. Although she is a senior sister of her sect, she’s also an eager student of Yixuan, which she represents through her Keen Follower feat. She comes with claws as a pahtra and demonstrates her martial arts through a Monk Dedication, including Stunning Blows since she is a stun agent, which just leaves Hu Wei with an ignition offensive boost and his ability to Explode to cover the fire and more that he spits out. The Monk’s Flurry means that she can lash out with a multitude of blows per her base combo and she can hop atop Hu Wei as he bursts into a blaze without issue thanks to her Construct Shell. Since Hu Wei acts even while Fufu is off-field, she can use the inventor’s innate ability to give up two actions to Command their construct companion to provide it with three actions. His combat on the field can eventually lead to Fufu unleashing a Tiger’s Roar to bolster her team’s damage, which is explored a bit late through Overdrive Ally, Shared Overdrive, and finally Ubiquitous Overdrive to share her damage bonus with all of them.

This cat and canny construct cause chaos and concussions with crushing kicks and consuming conflagrations but keep their contingent capable with copious cranking of cracks and claps.

Have a fantastic Fur-iday!