How to Build Tidus from Final Fantasy X in DnD
From his humble beginnings as a cocky, whiny pro athlete with daddy issues, Tidus grows into not only a mature leader and hero, but also an indispensable member of the team with his quick attacks and party support abilities. Tidus is a character that challenges his party to do the right thing and win even when the odds are against them, and his abilities allow him to make the whole party stronger while hindering his enemies. There are a few ways we can build him, so read this article to see what options are available.
Picking a Class and Subclass
Two things are paramount when building a character based on Tidus: his Dexterity and Charisma are high, and he has support abilities available to him. His personality and background as a professional athlete give him a competitive nature and drive to accomplish his goals and push his party to do the same. Stat-wise, in Final Fantasy X, Tidus is a well-balanced character with good speed and strength, although specialists like Auron and Rikku beat him in their best areas.
With his personality, drive, and stats, a natural fit for Tidus is an Oath of Glory Paladin. Tucked away in Mythic Odysseys of Theros, this is a Paladin subclass all about winning and achieving glory—a commitment Tidus already exhibits. The subclass learns valuable support spells like Enhance Ability, Haste, and Freedom of Movement; the Channel Divinity feature makes physical checks (Acrobatics and Athletics) much easier; and the aura ability, while being somewhat niche, allows the party to race across the battlefield as long as they stay in formation. The oath itself neatly sums up many of the aspects of Tidus’s personality as well.
If you want to lean more into the support aspects of Tidus, the College of Swords Bard offers the full support capabilities of the Bard (who came in first place in my list of support classes) while still being a competent attacker with Blade Flourishes. A College of Swords Bard will never match the offensive capabilities of an Oath of Glory Paladin, but they can keep stride with the party and offer superior support features.
Both of these options make good use of a high Dexterity and Charisma, both of which would be things Tidus would excel in, and both offer a good mix of offensive and supportive features. The Oath of Glory Paladin is a better fit personality-wise, but either can work for a Tidus character.
Picking a Race
Tidus lives for the moment, acts and thinks quickly, and is always looking for the next goal to accomplish. This fast-living nature lends itself pretty naturally to the Human race. While often thought of as a boring default option, humans live much like Tidus does, especially when compared to longer-living races like elves and dwarves. Races that are around for a few centuries view the humans as short-lived, but marvel at their drive to get things done and conquer every challenge around them.
The base Human race grants a +1 to every attribute, which can be useful for classes that need 3 attributes (like the Bard or Paladin). The Variant Human option only gets a +1 to 2 options of your choice, but gets a free feat at level 1. The Inspiring Leader feat plays into Tidus’s role as a leader and grants him further support abilities, or the Prodigy or Skill Expert feats can grant expertise in Athletics. (Expertise is much more tempting for a Paladin, as Bards already get extra skill proficiencies and expertise.)
Background, Alignment, and Personality
With Tidus’s background as a professional athlete, the Athlete background (conveniently also in Mythic Odysseys of Theros) is a natural fit. It grants proficiency in both Athletics and Acrobatics and fits well with Tidus’s personality.
If you want to play into Tidus’s story of living in the shadow of a famous father (or mother), the Celebrity Adventurer’s Scion, from Acquisitions Incorporated, is a great fit. This background contains a mechanic for dropping your parent’s name and garnering support through their fame.
For alignment, Tidus is clearly a Good alignment, and he has little regard for customs or rules he deems unnecessary (which, let’s face it, is most rules and customs), pointing toward a Chaotic alignment. Tidus always tries to do the right thing and help people, but he’s never constrained by what others want him to do. That’s a pretty strong Chaotic Good alignment.
As arguably the main character of Final Fantasy X (although Yuna is also a strong contender for main character), Tidus’s story about overcoming challenges and unfair expectations becomes one of the most poignant stories told in the game. Yuna and Wakka face similar challenges in living up to the expectations of the people who came before them (Yuna’s father and Wakka’s brother), but Tidus’s is the main conflict and the most compelling of the three. Tidus’s drive to win and succeed, in spite of everything in his life telling him he can’t, makes a great archetypal hero that goes well beyond the boring do-gooder Paladin or the aimless adventurer Bard.
Tidus Character Sheet
Level 3 Human Paladin - Oath of Glory
Stats (Standard Array)
| Initial | Boosted | |
|---|---|---|
| Str | 12 | 13 |
| Dex | 15 | 16 |
| Con | 13 | 14 |
| Int | 8 | 9 |
| Wis | 10 | 11 |
| Cha | 14 | 15 |
Background: Athlete
Skill Proficiencies
- Acrobatics
- Athletics
- Intimidation
- Persuasion
Dueling fighting style
Spells
Level 1:
- Bless
- Compelled Duel
- Divine Favor
- Guiding Bolt
- Heroism
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.