How to Build Lulu from Final Fantasy X in DnD
Lulu, Final Fantasy X’s stoic goth princess, is the party’s black mage, which means she excels at one thing: blowing up enemies with pure badass elemental magic. While her role in combat is a little one-note, she does what she does extremely well, and her offensive capabilities make her a terror on the battlefield and a powerful ally to the other main characters in the game. If you want to build a character to absolutely wreck enemies with explosive magic, a character like Lulu will get you there.
Picking a Class and Subclass
Lulu’s primary role in Final Fantasy X is as an offensive spellcaster. She can do a few other things, like boost the party’s magic power and evasion, but the main reason to use her is to blow things up. To that end, a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer makes the most sense, as it’s probably the purest elemental mage in DnD. Lulu also boasts the highest evade and one of the highest defense scores in Final Fantasy X, somehow being even better at dodging hits than her professional athlete boyfriend Wakka, and the Draconic Bloodline’s extra features help capture some of that survivability.
Although Lulu doesn’t speak much, when she does, people listen. When Lulu says something, she can take over a conversation or dominate another person with her iron will. This points to a high Charisma stat, which is perfect for a Sorcerer. She’s obviously pretty smart too, but I don’t see that as her primary stat.
There are a few other options that could work. An Evocation Wizard gets close to the Sorcerer’s potential for blowing things up, but Sorcerers come out ahead for being able to use their metamagic to add damaging cantrip spells on turns where they also cast a spell, giving them higher damage potential when they need it. The Wizard learns a lot more spells, giving it more versatility to fill other roles, but for a character that’s made to be the absolute best blaster caster, it trails behind the Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer. It’s also an Intelligence-based caster rather than a Charisma-based, which changes her character a bit.
The Shadow Magic Sorcerer is a Charisma-based option that matches the edgy feel Lulu has, but aside from general edginess, the subclass isn’t as strong of a pure blaster as the Draconic Bloodline. The subclass adds a few vaguely creepy, albeit useful, features, though, and wins out over the Draconic Bloodline if you want to add in save-or-suck spells, which force an enemy to make a saving throw or be removed from the fight. But again, for a pure elemental blaster, the Draconic Bloodline comes out on top.
Bottom line, a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer is the best fit for a pure offensive caster like Lulu, but you can also consider the Shadow Magic Sorcerer if you want to mix in some debilitating spells, or the Evocation Wizard for some extra versatility.
Picking a Race
The class and subclass discussed above get our Lulu character most of the features she needs, so there’s not a need for any additional features from a race. Lulu’s demeanor and role in society don’t necessarily dictate a particular race either, and many options can work here.
If you want to match the general edgy vibe Lulu has, a Tiefling is a perfect fit. The Player’s Handbook describes Tieflings as self-reliant and suspicious, which sounds like a great fit for Lulu. Tieflings gain some extra offensive magic capabilities, which is a major benefit to Sorcerers, who have limited spell selection compared to some other casting classes. They also have natural resistance to fire magic. The Draconic Bloodline subclass will grant resistance to another elemental damage type as well, making you not only a powerful offensive mage, but a character who’s able to stand against other elemental mages.
Background, Alignment, and Personality
We don’t get a ton of insight into Lulu’s background in the game, but the few things we do know tell us that she grew up in a remote village, and she’s already spent some time traveling the world as a guardian for important religious figures. In that respect, the Outlander or Far Traveler backgrounds can fit well, although neither offers much mechanically that fits well with a Lulu-type character. Her tragic background can also be expressed with the Haunted One background, but this is hardly necessary either. This is one of the rare cases where I don’t think the background matters that much, so feel free to pick whatever sounds interesting.
Lulu’s background is one of several notable failures. She’s gone on two other pilgrimages before Yuna’s, neither of which made it to Zanarkand. For her first pilgrimage, Lulu failed to protect the summoner she was assigned to, and she still harbors guilt over her weakness in that moment. For her second pilgrimage, the summoner decided not to continue after seeing some of the great threats ahead of them. She also lost Chappu, her first true love, in a tragic battle that he entered into to protect her.
All of this has left Lulu jaded and cynical. At her heart, Lulu is still a caring person, and she shows that she cares for Wakka, Yuna, and Tidus—but she’s quick to put a stop to sentimentality and hope that defies reason, as she knows they probably will not end well. She’s also one of the few religious people in the game that questions the major religion, although she doesn’t outright oppose it until she has reason to.
All of this has given her a tendency to not want to get involved in things that she doesn’t have to. This commitment to non-involvement is best expressed with a True Neutral alignment. She’s not really for or against the establishment, and while she likes doing the right thing, she’s had enough failures in her life to know that foolishly chasing after what she thinks is right without considering the consequences can have disastrous outcomes.
Lulu’s skills as an elemental mage make her a powerful combatant, and her commitment to neutrality leads her to be a much-needed voice of reason in a party that sometimes gets lost in their emotions. This can make her an invaluable party member both on and off of the battlefield. If you want to blow things up with magic, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better inspiration than Lulu.
About the Author
Brandon Gregory
Brandon Gregory is a web developer and writer in the Kansas City area. He's been playing TTRPGs since 2020 and is involved in the disability-related TTRPG podcast Tales from the Crips. He's into classic movies, mental health, and, of course, DnD. Also, he's in a band. One time, they rocked so hard it killed a man.