DND Crossover: Venom

NOTE: This is a build that grew from our new Stream on Saturday nights around 7 PM called COLD BREW where we take a subject and do what we do best; brainstorm ideas. This Saturday the 17th we will discuss BARDS. Come join us with your personal builds and ideas to help us conceive some crazy characters. ALSO see the main article talking about using Barbarian and RAGE mainly as a catalyst for transformations. Not only did we mention VENOM, but several other great ideas.

The week for DND Crossover I decided to go back to my favorite comic book villain/anti-hero of all time! I’ve always loved Spider-Man but Venom was always such an amazing character to me. From his origin with Eddie Brock and Venom both hating Peter Parker down to much later in the comics when Eddie had cancer and Venom helped keep him alive. There was always such a deep, developed character there and I loved reading the over the top anti-hero we all know and love.

From the comics to the movies, one of the things about Eddie Brock has always been true: He was always either a photographer or a journalist of some kind. This career choice stemmed from his inquisitive mind and a heart for justice. This is what both created the bond with Venom and changed the symbiote into the anti-hero he became.

So that’s where we will start with our character. Giving him the investigator background from Van Richten’s guide, we give him access to two of three amazing skills an inquisitive mind will need: Insight, Perception and Investigation. This also gives our Eddie proficiency with both a disguise kit and thieves tools.

Using the feature Formal Inquiry he can easily get into areas most can not and can get people to talk who usually won’t. If a person or place is a part of Eddie’s investigation, he has special access to it although this doesn’t mean he’s loved by the local law. I would think our investigator would probably work outside the parameters of the law to seek justice. And, in the end, if Eddie fails, Venom most certainly will not. Speaking of Venom, how do we work him into a DnD character? If you ask me, it is taking two pieces and putting them together in a new and creative way.

In this build, the Eddie part of the character is all wrapped up in the background laid out above. This is appropriate since Eddie Brock didn’t become extraordinary until he coupled with the symbiote. So, when we meet him in gameplay, his character is taking a strong turn.

Where the symbiote came from is, as always, up to you and your DM. Below are some suggestions:

• The symbiote came from The Far Realm and is either lost or has been exiled by his own race
• The being within you is a magical experiment by a very powerful wizard and, if you are to stop him from creating more, you will, not only, need your little team but a whole party (thus the need to work together)
• Your other self is residue from another plane leaking into yours. You must find it and seal it before more damage is done
• The Symbiote is a creature created by the slime lord, Juiblex himself or possibly a part of the lesser power; one that Juiblex would do anything to retrieve

We show this turn by making the character a barbarian, for obvious reasons, and we chose to use the “Path of the Beast”. In Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the description it gives is that their rage comes from a bestial spark burning within them. When they rage they even change form in ways. So, we will obviously use the Barbarians RAGE to show the manifestation of the Symbiote in the Form of the beast feature that lets you choose bites, claws or tail slaps. I’m sure if you talk with your DM, you can reskin it to look like Venom doing what he does. This Path fits great into this build.

You add that with the new dark gift of “Symbiotic being” from Van Richten’s guide and boom goes the dynamite. This gives our Venom a separate stat block and explains the relationship in D&D terms. This link also allows you another skill that ‘Venom’ has but our Eddie doesn’t. Every little bit helps.

His rage sparks from the symbiotic being deep within himself. And, that’s where it gets tricky. He calls him forward during the Rages, but it has its own agenda and in your game this can be anything you wish. Maybe he is looking for an NPC who he believes has wronged him somewhere along the way. Possibly the symbiote is looking for something; a magic item, a way home or someone who did something nice for him.

There is so much flavor to be had with this character that the options are endless but take a look at the character sheet below and let us know what you think! What would you change? Until next time!