How to Play Anakin Skywalker in Dungeons & Dragons (Star Wars Prequel Build for D&D 5e)

Today we have a build for Anakin Skywalker in Dungeons & Dragons! Before he became Darth Vader, the strongest Jedi in the Star Wars universe was a lot faster in his younger days, so take that high speed and damage into D&D 5e.
Twitter: / tulokthe
Patreon: / tulok

[@EMbrokehp]

"Surely there's a limit to how many memes he can fit into one video." Tulok: "YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER!"

[@deadman79123]

Of course there's no limit......and don't call him Shirley.

[@mistformsquirrel]

UNLIMITED MEMEING \o/

[@bendoucet8641]

The memes are strong with this one.

[@mistamemewide]

Finally, a Ranger whose favored enemy is sand.

[@jcdenton2187]

It's coarse, rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere.

[@pedrofagundes8235]

It's like favored terrain but reverse

[@zamba136]

@@pedrofagundes8235 his favored terrain is older chicks.

[@jcdenton2187]

@@pedrofagundes8235 "Hated terrain"

[@Shatterverse]

Shut up and take my upvote.

[@Nemo12417]

Fun fact: in the novel Thrawn: Alliance, we are treated to some of Vader's inner thoughts, and he refers to his past self as "the Jedi" in an almost contemptuous way. Thrawn almost gets himself killed when he keeps trolling Vader with how he's figured out his identity, only to finally understand what Vader meant by "Anakin Skywalker is dead". So yeah, Vader and Anakin ARE different people.

[@jonathancampbell5231]

They aren't literally different people. Vader is just dissociating and being in denial. This also isn't new- he does that in almost every novel.

[@loganrenfrow2544]

I really love Thrawn's response. Every time Vader says Anakin is dead Thrawn says "yes, I know" with a kind of smug amusement that indicates he knows the truth. It isn't until the end when Thrawn's "Yes. I know." takes on a more somber tone as Thrawn now finally believes it.

[@loganrenfrow2544]

@@jonathancampbell5231 Yeah that's true. Basically everyone, meaning Yoda, Obi-Wan, Palpatine, and even Vader himself did truly believe that Anakin was dead though. The only one who had faith was Luke and he was the one who was eventually proven right.

[@goji253]

They are not though. People keep repeating it like he has some split personality or something. He's still very much Anakin, just changed through his experiences. The only reason he himself keeps repeating that Anakin is dead so much is that it helps him copy with the reality he is stuck with. To acknowledge that he is still Anakin Skywalker would mean fully accepting how far he has fallen.

[@trevorgerstin2490]

The Weird Al references were a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one (but in hindsight should’ve been entirely expected). It’s rad how all your Force-users are always so different, and how this one still feels really distinct from Vader. Great build.

[@fightingfalcon777]

Yeah, that is one of my favorite things with Tulok when it comes to his Force Adepts: not a single one of them is built exactly the same as the others, showing how there are so many different ways to play with a single concept

[@tibboocelot9272]

YE LS YES EYS YE SYE SY EYS YE SY YES YES YES I'm sorry, I've been waiting two years for this. "I've been looking forward to this," "This is where the fun begins," and "A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one," all at once. Thank you Tulok, thank you so much!

[@troperhghar9898]

1:42 "but hey you didn't die, why?" Obi won: because thats not the high ground way-I mean the jedi way ... High ground

[@RealMiniLink]

Lightsabers are definitely sunblades in DnD, its a good thing that sunblades are light AND finesse so duel wielding sunblades if your DM is so generous as to give you two isn't an issue

[@sigurdgram]

they actually aren't light. they're versatile and finesse.

[@ArcCaravan]

@@sigurdgram Good thing Dual Wielder is a feat.

[@velphidrow8317]

But you cannot attune to the same item more then once

[@samphoenix794]

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to" Hell yeah you don't! I fully support this sentiment!

[@davidecolucci6260]

Have you tried say that to the tax collector?

[@ArcCaravan]

@@davidecolucci6260 I was just thinking that.

[@caeligocielo5634]

@@davidecolucci6260 There are consequences for doing (or not doing) many actions. All of them, in one way or another. So long as you're willing to accept the consequences (or have a reasonable way to avoid them) you can do whatever you want.

[@victordavila9812]

Anakin seducing padme was like that player that is really bad roleplaying but his character has high charisma so they pass their checks anyway xD

[@Lightfire398]

I cannot unread that now, god damn it

[@kbowman772]

Actually, the lowest saving throw on this build is intelligence. Paladins are proficient in wisdom saves, so that save is +10.

[@crownlexicon5225]

Yeeep. Came here to say this. Surprised there weren't more comments on it higher up

[@lt.branwulfram4794]

And that Int save is still +5 so he’s good. I wouldn’t think Tulok would put Int so low since Ani is an ace pilot, a bit of a computer slicer and WAS THE ONE TO BUILD C3PO WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS. But I understand the choices that had to be made for the build to exist.

[@MrMikellsof88]

"...never know when a Lich might be doing something in-Sidious" I actually can't stop lmfao at that.

[@mason-.]

I'm so glad this video came out today because the first goal blurb thing is one of my favorite jokes I've put into an episode of Building Character that I edited

[@roikellner414]

It’s effective

[@robbinridunk]

I came here for the "The Saga Begins" references and I was /NOT/ disappointed

[@YourBoyNobody530]

There are actually space dragons in Star Wars, but they are aligned to the light side of the force so they aren’t really the bad guys.

[@ranger5839]

And krayt dragons? I guess?

[@Karagianis]

Lunar dragons, from Spelljammer, Neutral evil.

[@fightingfalcon777]

Yeah, I think this works perfectly for Anakin. Custom Lineage to go with his immaculate conception definitely makes perfect sense. I thought it was gonna be pure Paladin, but I do see the dip into Fighter. The reason makes sense. While my guess for the Oath would have been Oath of Glory given Anakin’s position as the Jedi Chosen One, seeing all the features with the Oath of Vengeance seems much more fitting 👍🏻 very nice build, Tulok 😊👍🏻

[@Dragongamz1]

Yeah Oath of Vengeance made the most sense for Anakin, considering how consumed by his own rage he has consistently been throughout the Prequels and the Clone Wars

[@esteban8471]

Oath of Glory would also make sense since he was considered a war hero in Legends. He fought many more important battles on the frontlines compared to other Jedi, which earned him far more respect and admiration from the people. Granted, Oath of Vengeance ultimately made more sense, but Glory is still a great alternative.

[@lucasramey6427]

9:30 there are actually dragons Luke fought one on a lava planet who's scales were so tough that lightsabers do nothing to them Luke was only able to win because he swung so hard a scale was knocked off so when the dragon went back under the lava the lava started to burn into it killing it soon after

[@jackalope2302]

The Zillo Beast in Clone Wars was pretty Godzilla like

[@DanKeehner]

If I could like again for the Weird Al reference I would. Great build.

[@kingdomkey01]

Make sure to pay attention to the surrounding environment during a fight. That high ground will get you.

[@timetrnr7380]

9:29 Yes, there are space dragons in SW. Arkanian Dragons are the most like traditional European dragons, whereas the Krayt dragon is generally more of a Drake (at least in the Legends continuity). However, the Star Dragon, or Duinuogwuin, is far larger and far more deadly, and is able to travel through the vacuum of space. Now THAT is cool.

[@kedarraman6690]

Weren't there a few star dragon Jedi and sith in the legends old republic

[@Mitcheck315]

So basically when he turned into Darth Vader he lost the fighter levels that let him do spinny shit and switched oaths? Yeah that sounds about right

[@arcticbanana66]

Makes sense. Vader moves comparatively slowly due do all of his prosthetics and life support (and it was hard for David Prowse to see with the helmet), and focuses more on power than speed. The fastest we ever see him move in the movies is when he cuisinarts down the hallway at the end of Rogue One, and that was _still_ just a leisurely stroll.

[@lolbots686]

@@arcticbanana66 if vader got new armor hed gain some fighter lvls back at the cost of some paladin lvls

[@danielmcpherson3891]

"...and dealt a *holy* unreasonable amount of damage" I see what ya did there😏

[@dplocksmith91]

There are actually space dragons in Star Wars, Tulok. They're called Duinogwuin, and they can survive in a vacuum, they breathe lasers, they can travel through hyperspace, and every member of their species is Force sensitive.

[@mallerick2001]

Good to hear Tulok is a Weird Al fan

[@feralart]

I doubt anyone is shocked by that revelation. Lol

[@MrRukrio1]

i'd also argue ground vehichles because Podracing ace. man literally won a podrace with a junker he put together on his own, just like how he made C-3PO. because of the latter i'd also argue that one of the ASIs could be Artificer Initiate if you're up for that level of flavor over stats.

[@tigerfire8985]

"Anakin and Darth Vader are two separate characters." Me:I'm going to LOSE IT!!!!

[@xenokiller88_cm_79]

I mean, physically no. Mentally yes, they are 2 separate people. So he's right in saying that

[@CelestiaLily]

I like to think this way: as a political entity, the Republic wasn't "invaded" or "destroyed" by an outside force called the Empire. It was a decent place to live, but *still had* pre-existing issues that got worse from heavy militarization in the Clone Wars. At the end of the CW, the Republic already had a lot of the Empire's strict policies in place before they formally recognized it as such. The Empire *is* the Republic - just with a darker shade Palps painted over the same structure. Metaphorically, Anakin's state of mind is reflected in the politics of the saga. The Republic thrives like him, grows more militaristic like him, is corrupted by Palps like him. The Empire conquers like him, strikes back like him, and ultimately rids itself of Palps and is saved by Luke like him. TL;DR Vader is to Anakin what the Empire is to the Republic: something good-yet-flawed that Palps twisted into evil and then painted over to pretend they're separate things. (Plus, I highly doubt "it was my alter ego" would fly if he ever lived long enough to be charged for all his crimes.)

[@marks2807]

"What I told you was true. From a certain point of view."

[@pedrogarcia8706]

@@xenokiller88_cm_79 The whole point of Return of the Jedi was that Obi-Wan was wrong, that Anakin Skywalker was not dead, and that Vader was not a different person. That's why Luke was able to redeem Vader at the end, because inside he was still Anakin. Did you people watch the Star Wars movies?

[@xenokiller88_cm_79]

@@pedrogarcia8706 it's a matter of perspective. Also, Dave Filoni shares this point of view too. When I say 2 separate people I mean he cut out everything about Anakin. Vader switches to Anakin due to Luke in return of the Jedi, and Vader is no more. Anakin having been redeemed must dwell with everything he did as Vader, the opposite of what Vader did to Anakin ("killing" everything about him). You can have different opinions and interpret it in different ways. You don't have to say that others are objectively wrong such as "hur dur, did you even watch the same movie?" Like a jackass

[@Dile0303]

5:23 i mean... You get +2 Dex from custom lineage and +1 CAR from the telekinetic feat. If you put your charisma at 15 and your dexterity at 14 in the standard array part, you start off with your stats rounded

[@Maw_thuugn]

Extra points for the Weird Al song references! 👌

[@pipolwes000]

It is the best way to consume the Phantom Menace

[@StarkMaximum]

I'm mostly just impressed that the background footage has three entirely different visual styles between live action, traditional animation, and CG animation.

[@whitefox3189]

Here's a thought. The Positive Energy plane is DnD equivalent of the Force. Just reflavor your radiant into necrotic when youre a sith.

[@AtomikaBlerd]

Today's build, a haiku: Sky Guy, Anakin A paladin and fighter. I don't like sand, bro.

[@thesymbiotenation.4552]

Weapon: the Youngling Slayer 9000

[@hexshadowman]

Love how the spells start being red.

[@milesarmstrong2990]

So I did a side by side of Anakin and Vader builds and I like that Vader's spells are all in Red, and Anakin's are blue... in the beginning and turn red as he progresses down the path to the dark side.

[@reloadpsi]

Fans: "You gonna remake any builds?" Tulok: "Do not want."

[@Hail0711]

I was looking for this yesterday, thank you for the upload

[@trustindean5164]

I'd love to see Tulok make Jinx and Fiddlesticks from League of Legends. I feel like these are two really fun characters and I've been trying to think of how to play them for ages now

[@jorjecruz1282]

Bruh, I lost it when Oh Sandy started playin. You a fool for that one, and I love it!!! 🤣👍

[@aaroncoffman7267]

Awesome build! Also, re-upping my request for a Paul Atreides build.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Finally! I’ve been waiting for this build

[@lucasm.3864]

Come for the build, stay for the Weird Al references (and the quality content all the way through).

[@edgar-sama642]

Prediction: Zealot barbarian and Battle smith artificer

[@jackbaccarat4084]

Homebrew: The Cook-Fu build A quick and nimble Culinary Caster; based of Toriko from Toriko, Sanji Vinsmoke from One Piece and Jam from Guilty Gear. the goal of this Homebrew is to craft a kung fu cook that carries a recipe of alchemic dishes. ignite you legs with burning calves to buff up that kick of a thousand punches or use your mad discipline skills to give Gordan Ramsey a run for his money. The world is your kitchen and the many monsters you'll encounter are your ingredients and your party are your customers.

[@ArcCaravan]

Recently I was trying to make a chef build in 5e and came up with using Artificer Initiate with Eldritch Knight and Lizardfolk to carve and cook enemies while fighting with knives, bones, or meat chunks.

[@BJGvideos]

I'd finally be able to play Iron Wok Jan

[@DeaconRayne]

PLEASE DO COUNT DOOKU! This is a terrific build and hilarious to boot. Thank you

[@dartdevious561]

Yes! The original animated movie. Tulok, thanks for the videos and builds over the years.

[@kkobus39]

I've been looking forward to this

[@RandomRex6]

The switch from blue to red text is a nice touch.

[@dnlring]

Love the references to The Saga Begins. Wish I could give you a second like.

[@r.s.2890]

Great. Now I can have Vader and Anakin fight my party.

[@SirFuffy]

I made an alternative build that I think would be fun too. High intelligence and dex. Variant human with the telekinetic feat. Get to 3rd lvl of battlesmith artificer, so you get your own droid and you are able to use the force (intelligence) to controll your strike. Then go for psi warrior fighter and throw in there some lvl of wizard if you want so you can have some more "offensive" force tricks or take some other lvl with artificer. The only problem with this build is that you have a lot of bonus action depending abilities.

[@zten9092]

Yes! So excited for a build for Anakin the Hero with No Fear

[@Ryu_D]

Thank you for the video.

[@spectrelead]

Loving all the references to "The Saga Begins" at the start

[@Matsiv25]

Was not expecting to hear Weird Al. As per usual: A pleasant surprise

[@laolun8658]

Now THIS is podracing! Dear algorithm gods, how’s it going

[@romanabanin2216]

Amount of puns here is the same as Anakin's level of medichlorians and this is insane

[@canoftins]

Yet another banger

[@Karagianis]

3:33 Starwars lightsabres would definitely be longswords in DnD, they're versatile. Anakin is literally swapping from single to two handed grips in the background scene as you're talking about it! LOL

[@diegobessa19]

I just realized that "Soul of vengeance" is the most Djem So (Anakin Lightsaber Form) feature I ever saw! LOL LOVE IT!

[@FanOfMostEverything]

I especially appreciate the Weird Al references. Lovely touches.

[@HeroKnife1999]

I laughed at every weird al reference, awesome video!

[@torch7325]

There are space dragons in Destiny, which speaking of which you should do the 3 main classes from destiny as characters, that would be dope.

[@OldGreyGryphon]

Great video, better jokes. Keep up the good work.

[@dphill96]

The build I never new I needed.

[@kinoko5566]

Out of all the characters to return from the dead in Star Wars, I'm not surprised the guy who had an entire monologue about unlimited power and immortality was one of them.

[@ryancasey9763]

@8:22 a two prone joke. Surface level with palapatine but a much deeper level with how alot of Disney era characters are mixed and matchs from books ranging from 90s-10s just renamed so now cloned for a new copy right

[@thomasdevine867]

Still pulling for Eglantine Price (Bednobs and Broomsticks), Winifred Sanderson (Hocus Pocus), Prince Voltran (Flash Gordon), Captain Kirk, Commander Spock, Councilor Troi, Mary Poppins, and the Reverend Doctor Syn (The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh).

[@andrewthompson9619]

Points for that Weird Al reference, Tulok. I see you.

[@openarmsasmr4939]

Nightmare: I can deal over 100 damage in a single turn. Jack The Ripper: Oh please, I can deal 240. Anakin: You under estimate my power! I can deal close to 300 damage! Green Arrow: *hums Gangster's Paradise*

[@timothyalger8681]

The weird al saga song reference at the beginning was priceless

[@Liz-Istrata]

I love seeing all the clips from the CN Clone Wars show

[@bartlettmeeks]

Great video, as typical. Have you done the gang from "Princess Bride"? I'd LOVE to see your take on Westly (Paladin? Rogue? Fighter?) !!! The mind reels!

[@UndoubtedMist]

That Weird Al reference was pleasing.

[@ripple-effect-mlp]

Been looking forward to this build ever since the Darth Vader build. So, before actually watching, I'm going to make A LOT of predictions for this. Let's see how close I hit the bullseye. Variant Human with Lucky feat, free Persuasion Custom background for Insight, Perception, and land vehicles (called it the Shopkeeper's Assistant; much better than Slave) Capped Int, great Str and Dex, decent Con and Cha, dumped Wis 8 levels of Battle Smith Artificer with Mind Sharpener, Prosthetic Limb, Radiant Weapon, and Eyes of Charming infusions 12 levels of Psi Warrior Fighter Quips about sand, Padme covering her cameras, jumping out of a speeder, aggressive negotiations, and serving two masters (can't remember the other quips I came up with off the top of my head)

[@ripple-effect-mlp]

Wow, was I WAY off. XD

[@ranger5839]

I love it! It would be super cool if you did Revan!

[@flamefyr]

When I saw the stat spread I expected some rogue or swashbuckling but alas. This looks fun

[@IdiotinGlans]

that pun at the end killed me

[@ozzymccraw3407]

I love this video so much, because I speak in prequel quotes exclusively

[@johndipietro9301]

Awesome Weird Al ref. EDIT: I know you have your rule about real people builds, but if you were ever going to do another, Weird Al would be a great pick. Or maybe one based on all Weird Al's in-song personas....

[@latenightcynic3582]

I loved the Weird Al reference!

[@inanimatesum4945]

The Saga Begins reference, SO GOOD

[@dummy_vicc2976]

i didnt think id learn that anakin was created through immaculate conception in a tulok vid adfsghj

[@firstof3zgames]

"I've been looking forward to this."

[@thonham4986]

I like it. Have a nice day!

[@NotsoNaisu]

Personally I'd have done Vengeance Paladin 8 and Aberrant Mind Sorcerer 12. Anakin's got a lot of caster feats and that gets you a Psionic Casting of Telekinesis that is missing here. If you include Tasha's spells you also get Bigby's Hand (which actually IS a force choke-like spell). Plus more spell slots for smiting, but less of the Paladin defenses (which is fair I mean Anakin isn't exactly the best at saving throws. He gets totally murked by Dooku in Episode 2 by failing a basic dex save). You get to enough of Aberrant Mind without having to worry about the weird tentacle flavor at the 14th level which would be hard to explain. Plus you can get classic force powers like Expeditious Retreat (Force Speed), Suggestion (Mind Trick), Catapult (Force Grab), Thunderwave (a more AoE Force Push).. You also get metamagic points that allows you to do things like cast these spells with a bonus action, or get more smites.

[@caeligocielo5634]

Both yours and Tulok's are excellent builds, yours more force-heavy while Tulok's focused on dueling. They're both gish, but one with a martial-focus and the other with a casting-focus. That being said I personally would choose your version, so thank you for posting it.

[@KingZolem]

Honestly this works for a lot of generic force focused jedi and sith, but the sheer raw dueling prowess of the build Tulok did is great for knights that are much more saber focused than counselors and their foce power focus.

[@NotsoNaisu]

@@KingZolem Yeah as I said I made my build because Anakin isn’t just a duelist the way characters like obi-wan are. In Clone Wars they literally lift the Son and Daughter up with telekinesis to get them off of ahsoka and obi wan. His casting potential is pretty high, he just abuses it on dueling instead (which is why it also fits the dueling aspect as he can expend more slots on smiting). I have a few different “Jedi” builds based off the specialization of the characters.

[@andrewjustice210]

All of the Star Wars puns made this video far better than it had any right to be

[@grootyoda7759]

Nice weird al references! I learned American pie chords just to modify the lyrics for the saga begins

[@chuckgreen8989]

I've been looking over your Lord of the Rings character build videos, and noticed one omission that I was hoping you could get to: How about a Gollum build?

[@MagusAgrippa8]

I liked that Weird Al reference there.

[@TheOneWhoReportsForDuty]

This is where the fun begins

[@tommyhawthorne8223]

Love you videos big fan your awesome. I think it would kinda cool to see "Sam Winchester" from Supernatural.

[@DanSolo0119]

Hoping to see the Sanderson Sisters next October.

[@HighPhoenix1754]

Welp. I was debating on what to play next. Now I know.

[@RobearRich]

Weird Al reference...I got that one...that was a Weird Al reference!

[@user-er2ez2hm4s]

Thanks

[@glasbjorn]

This is where the fun begins.

[@dcyphermanplays8233]

He has unlimited power but has problems with The high ground

[@danielm.berube3256]

This video had significantly more Weird Al references than I was expecting

[@fenrismarks876]

I would say take soldier as a background he is a soldier hes actually known as general skywalker

[@williams5789]

Ha! Loved the Weird Al reference.

[@Technodreamer]

Man, re-watching this video makes me regret that I haven't had a chance to try out a paladin...yet.

[@Project_Lies]

Make a Droidika! Would love to see the rolly boiz