Let’s Play D&D With Macho Man Randy Savage
Today we’re playing D&D with the cream of the crop himself—let’s bring wrestling legend Randy Savage to the adventuring table.
You can argue that there are some similarities between wrestling and D&D. They can both be campy and over-the-top to the point of being goofy, and there’s a decent chance that your mom doesn’t quite understand what it is. But they’re both also a lot of fun in a way that’s almost impossible to explain to somebody who doesn’t get it.
Am I reaching? Is this just a silly excuse to justify this week’s D&D sheet? Maybe, but we’re going to have a good time with it anyway. This week we’re playing D&D with….
Macho Man Randy Savage
This is never a sheet I would have thought of on my own. Not because I don’t enjoy wrestling (I do, albeit in a pretty casual catch-it-when-I-catch-it sort of way). And not because this wouldn’t be a fantastic concept for a D&D character… because it would. But just because these two roads never would have crossed paths in my mind. So if you have sheet suggestions or requests, please send them in!
For Randy Savage, I immediately opted for a Fighter–Bard. Wrestling is a fighting sport that relies a lot on strength and dexterity, but it can also be pure, scripted entertainment. You want a character who can take and give a punch, but also has great stats for performance. Both the College of Glamour and Champion sub-classes had that ‘look at me’ energy that a wrestler would thrive on.
I was also sure to add the Performer and Tavern Brawler feats. Performer because I wanted a little extra boost without taking any more levels in Bard. But Tavern Brawler lets your character turn anything into a weapon. In case you need to come in with the chair. Or whatever else is around, Tavern Brawler has you covered.
This sheet is one of the few times I didn’t add any additional weapons aside from “unarmed strike.” For your purposes playing a real character in a real campaign…. maybe give them a weapon or two. But for my purposes right here, I didn’t think one would make sense. Plus, Tavern Brawler gives us a d4 for damage in unarmed strike.
Spells were a little tricky. I stuck to ones that would make sense for the over the top nature of a WWE wrestling ring and all of the showboating that may happen there. But I also wanted a way to weaponize trash talking, and one or two useful attack spells as well. It was a bit if a balancing act, but I think I balanced it out decently.
What if you’d prefer a different wrestler, though? Honestly, when you get down to the technical of professional wrestling, I think many of them would fall into the Bard-Fighter split. It’s just a matter of who’s more of a fighter, who’s more of a performer, and who finds that exact middle.
How would you make Randy Savage for a D&D setting? Do you have a favorite wrestler? What movie, show, game, comic, book, or pop culture figure should I make sheets from next time? Let us know in the comments!
Happy adventuring!
