Apex: Legends Characters in D&D 5E

If you're anything like me, you're an Apex: Legends junkie and you play vast amounts of D&D. So, if you're like me in that regard, perhaps you've also wondered how you might make character homages from Apex translated to the D&D world. I mean, it can't be that hard, can it? Let's dive in.

Quick Aside

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WHAT IS APEX: LEGENDS?

First, I guess we'll start with the obvious. Not everyone is going to be an Apex: Legends fan. However, the ideas for these characters can work for any game, and they could be cool NPCs or even cool Player Characters if anyone wants them to be. Apex: Legends is a video game based around the Battle Royale concept made popular by the films Battle Royale and Hunger Games, where combatants are dropped into the map and must find weapons and supplies to defend themselves and survive. Other games have capitalized on the Battle Royale concept such as Fortnite (by far the most popular Battle Royale game) or PUBG. However, there's just something about Apex: Legends that makes it seem worthwhile to try to translate it to a different sort of game medium. This has already been accomplished by Glass Cannon Unplugged, who created an entire board game based around the Apex: Legends game mechanics and characters.

THE CHARACTERS AND THEIR D&D COUNTERPARTS

Translating all the Legends from Apex into D&D format might be kind of difficult. However, there are a few characters who already seem to be a natural fit. First, let's examine a few of the Legends and their basic concepts and then follow it up with how they might be translated to D&D 5E.

WRAITH

In Apex, Wraith is a very versatile legend. A skirmisher, Wraith is based around the concept of being able to reposition in battle and flank her enemies. Her abilities let her teleport and phase in and out of reality with or without her squad. She's agile, and she receives messages from "the void" telling her when she or her squad are being targeted by nearby enemies. In D&D, most of Wraith's core concepts and abilities are pretty achievable. First, you can start by making her an Arcane Trickster. Dimension Door can be re-flavored to look and feel more like Wraith's Tactical Ability from the game, while her Ultimate can be somewhat replicated by the Blink spell. To create a similar background to Wraith's from the game, all you'd need to do is to craft a background that involves possibly other planes of existence and some real tragedy - because video game Wraith has tragedy in spades. Give her a magic Kunai for a weapon when you can, and you're golden because in the game, Wraith's Heirloom (rare cosmetic items that can be equipped, usually weapons) is a Japanese Kunai knife inscribed with the word "Quieto".

BLOODHOUND

Bloodhound would be one of the easiest Legends from Apex to replicate in a game of D&D. Bloodhound is, what their name implies, a Recon Legend who has abilities that lets them track down enemies, discover hidden traps, and increase their speed. Start by becoming the Ranger subclass called Hunter, as Bloodhound's abilities are best represented by the Ranger's. Their scanning ability may not be able to be directly replicated aesthetically, but the Ranger's tracking abilities and affinity for animals are an almost perfect fit, conceptually speaking. Add to that the abilities of the Hunter (Ranger Subclass) and you've got yourself one sleek killer. Bloodhound is also nonbinary with almost a sort of Nordic aesthetic, which would be fun to use in a D&D setting, and their Heirloom is a hand axe/hatchet called Raven's Bite so if you eventually happen to get yourself a magic weapon, then one that has a raven motif would be ideal, especially if it's a handaxe or hatchet.

GIBRALTAR

In Apex: Legends, Gibraltar's concept is basically that of a walking tank. He has a personal shield which can fend off minor fire for a time, and his tactical ability is a domed protective shield which can repel attacks for a time for him and for his squad. Lastly, his ultimate is a bombing run or mortar strike that hits an area of his choosing. So, with that in mind, it's probably no surprise that to make an effective D&D version of Gibraltar you'd probably want an Eldritch Knight. They have very high defensive capabilities with their spells and their armor choices, and they are no slouch in hand-to-hand either, which would also account for Gibraltar's imposing physical presence and "Sword-and-Board" aesthetic. For aesthetic purposes, you could re-skin some of the spells he has access to be more in line with his video game counterpart. Ideally, the D&D version of Gibraltar would carry a magic "Patu" (Māori club) because in the game, Gibraltar's Heirloom is modeled after the Patu, since his character is basically known to be Māori in origin. Also, make sure your character calls people "brother" a lot, because Gibraltar says it a lot in Apex.

BANGALORE

In Apex: Legends, Bangalore is a solid brawler who uses misdirection with her smoke ability which she uses to obscure her getaways or squad heals or even to reposition herself on the battlefield. She's also able to move quickly at "double time" speed whenever she finds herself in the enemy's sights. Lastly, she's able to call in an air strike for her ultimate. Though similar in style to Gibraltar, Bangalore is more mobile and thus the best class for her to be in the world of D&D to reflect her martial and ballistics training and battlefield knowledge would most likely be the Fighter subclass, Battle Master. With the Battle Master maneuvers, D&D Bangalore would have a bevy of tactical moves that would help in combat. If you're really a stickler for the smoke aesthetic or the air strike, you could multiclass to a spell-slinging class for a few levels, but also you could just buy some smoke grenades if your DM would allow it. In-game, Bangalore's Heirloom is a Pilot's Knife, which is essentially a small, curved dagger like a miniature Kukri. So, if you get your hands on one of those, you'll be that much closer to Bangalore's aesthetic. There's no easy fix to gain a D&D equivalent to Bangalore's in-game air strike unless you want to multiclass into some magic, but the Battle Master has some maneuvers that allow Bangalore to call on her allies to use their weapons to gain a free attack on an enemy, so while not the same it's similar in theme.

LIFELINE

In Apex: Legends, Lifeline is the epitome of Healer. She's a dedicated combat medic and she runs around the battlefield with a medical drone, reviving and healing her allies and providing them with all sorts of boons to help them in combat in the form of gear, attachments, equipment, and heals. The best fit for her D&D equivalent would naturally be a Life Domain Cleric. Any healing abilities that Lifeline has in-game can easily be duplicated with Cleric spells and abilities. Lifeline's Heirloom is a set of electro-drumsticks, and she can play drums and dance pretty well, so if you really want to you can give her a level or two of Bard but otherwise can just have her be proficient in drums to complete the aesthetic.

PATHFINDER

While originally I thought Pathfinder would be hard to create an analog for D&D, I found him instead to be one of the simplest. In Apex: Legends, Pathfinder is a Skirmisher Legend and one of the best scouting characters in the game. He's a robot with a hilarious personality, and with his abilities he can swing via a grappling hook to position himself better in battle, get the drop on unsuspecting enemies, or escape dangerous situations. His Ultimate allows him to prep a zip line for him and his squad to use together in order to achieve all of the above tactical maneuvers. In D&D, Pathfinder would aesthetically have to be a Warforged, and the class he'd most likely have to take would be a Rogue Scout. With the Scout's abilities, the only thing you'd be missing would be the grappling hook (which is easily acquired) and proficiency with it. Otherwise, conceptually, the character would be perfectly in line with Pathfinder from the game.

CAUSTIC

In Apex, Caustic is a character who is a scientist and who is morbidly fascinated with death. With traps he's created that spew deadly gas over a large area that obfuscate the battlefield and do damage to his enemies, he's one of the most dangerous Legends in Apex and is able to create great defensive positions. Ideally, with a D&D version of Caustic you'd create a Wizard who hails from the school of Conjuration. With spells like Stinking Cloud, or Cloud Kill, creating a character who aesthetically utilizes poison gas would be pretty simple. Caustic's Heirloom is a massive warhammer, so you may even want to consider multiclassing into Fighter for a level or two because Caustic is massive physically, as well. Give him plenty of Necromancy spells if you can, because he's also obsessed with death.

MIRAGE

In Apex, Mirage is a master of misdirection. Using special technology and lots of strategic thinking, Mirage is able to send out duplicates of himself to confuse the enemy, and even turn invisible in order to hide from the enemy when he's reviving his allies. He's also very charming and sneaky. In D&D, there are several possibilities for Mirage. You could lean into his Charisma by becoming a Bard who is aligned with the College of Glamour, which focuses on illusion spells. You could also lean into his trickery by becoming an Arcane Trickster. You could also multiclass. However, in my opinion the most versatile option would be the Glamour Bard, especially since Mirage in the video game is super charismatic. With the focus on illusion magic, this subclass would aesthetically be very much in line with Mirage.

Well, there are of course other Legends in Apex: Legends, and more opportunities to create D&D versions of these video game characters, but this is a decent start. If this post gains some traction, maybe I'll make another list of suggestions for more Legends. Until then, let us know in the comments what you think. Do you have any ideas? Have you already done this? Let us know! As always, thank you for reading! - Joe