The Beast. Daddy Long Legs. Gorr'Rylaehotep.
The being known as Slenderman goes by many names. Originally appearing in the Something Awful forums for a photoshop contest, this featureless, tall, thin mannequin in a black suit has gone far and wide since his first appearance in 2009, becoming an internet and a pop culture phenomenon. A legend in his own time, permeating the pop culture zeitgeist.
So, naturally, I decided he'd be a perfect choice for a character build for Horror Month 2024. W̵̧̧̱̫̮̳̠̲̮̳͗͝ḩ̸͕̤͓̭̝̫̍͊̈́̔͒̎͊͗͊́͊̈̋̍̚ͅä̵̧̖͇̱͖̘̳̯̰̹̩̗́̾̓́̐̾́̎͆̆̃̑͘̕t̷͉̪̲͖͌ͅ ̸̢͖͔͚͇͇͈͍̱̼̱̱̣̯̓̈́̈́͋c̶͍̻͚͘ō̸̧̮̭̮͍͛͗̾̏̒̄̈́͆͋̚̕ů̷̬̖̙̝͍͆̄̋͑́͘͜l̶̼̪̱̱̬̣͚̂̀͗͋͛̉̑͆̒̊̆̏̎̆͘d̶̛̪̞͈͔͇̫͓͈͛̽̍͂̂́̐͋͜͝͝͠͝ ̴͓̬̱̩̲̫̩̿̆̆́̏̉̆̿̈́̀̀͐̀̂͘p̴̡̧̛͙͕̱̖̻͔̘̟̬̬̙͔̹͐͐͋͋̑̀͗͑̒̔̓̒̇͘ơ̶̢͖̯̣̝̩̲͔̙̗̥̌̂͑̐͠s̶͇͇͉̼͍̭͙̬͙̞̗̠͙̅̈̆͋̀̀̚̚͠s̷͙͔̙̘͎̤̼͎̬͙̹̮̣̭͒i̴̧̛͍̘̪̯̟̼͚̩͕͉͈͖͈̿͌͋̾̈́̈̀̏̌͘̚͜͝͠͠b̶̖̀̅̄͛ļ̸͔͚̪͇̗̝͍̬̹͎̺̯̺̈̇̾̾̐͜y̵̨͉̲͇̱̼͔̯̩͛́͘͠ ̴̤̟͔̟̀͊̍͋̐̉̅́̃̈̚̚g̷̢̛̣̻̣̤̖͉̳̯̗͚̰̥̾͌́̈́̑̿̏̀̈́̓͐̏͠ö̵̡̧͖̮͍͉̩̱̻̦͈̲̫́́̊͂̐͂ ̸̨̞̣̱͚̤̗͙̹͕͊̋̕ͅw̴̨̧̳̫̪̙̗͚̯̥͗̊͠ř̸̢͓̜̮̤͎̮͉̯͕̗̯̻̼̹̑̑̈́̒̕ǫ̴̢̛͇̭̜̼͚̞͚̠̣̰̜̅̽̐̍̀̎̈͑͗̄̃̃͋́͜͜n̷͇̳̦̝͈͚͍͛̊̿͆̒͂̓̽͑̏̎̽̕͘͝g̶̡̬͈̟̗̣̥̻̥͓̜̮͉̊͜͜?̸̢̞̭̹̻̟̗͉̙͊͆͝ͅ
...what's that? Eh, your monitor must be on the blink.
Anyway, we'll be starting out with the Standard Point Array from the Player's Handbook. As always I suggest rolling your stats and using this as a guide. Either way, keep your multiclassing minimums in mind - yes, we have multiclassing on this one.
Dexterity: 15
Slenderman is fast, faster than you can imagine. Don't turn around, don't look away, and don't bli-oh, wait, no, that's a completely different eldritch abomination.
Wisdom: 14
In nearly all the official stories in the Mythos, Slenderman has been known to watch from afar his targets of either children or adults that saw him as children, stalking them and eventually taking them away to... somewhere. That takes patience, dedication, and good observation skills.
Charisma: 13
Out of universe, Slenderman has become a pop culture phenomenon overnight. In-universe, his very presence invokes fear itself. Luckily, he's only fictional. C̶̥̹͇̐́̄̽̑͋͋̚á̶͚̺̝̱̮̘̲̻̯̔̊͒̐̍̎̊̿͆͌̀͘ņ̵͓͇̩̠̪̻̘̆͆̒͂͝͝ ̷̡̡̳̙͈̱̭̺́̂̅̀͗͂̈̚̕y̶̛͇̣͕̝͍͎̝̗̙̅͗o̵̧̗̹̎ù̶̝̌͆̓́̈̿̈́͛̀̍̒́͝ ̷̮̫͖̖̩͎̖̯͒̾́́͛ǐ̸̡̠͎̳̼̼̭͇̦̘̱͉͋́̈́̅̆̅̆́̚͜͝͠͝͝͝ͅm̵̘̪̻̜̩̂͒̔̓̇̚̕͝ą̴͂g̴̺̗͚͖̠̾̀̐̓̋̓̓̔̆͘̚i̴̡͍̜͙̭̝̺̖̲͓̯͎͔̠̾̔̄̔ṉ̷̬̙̙̱̱̽̓́̄̆̾̚e̴̢͍̹̖̞̗̯̣̝̝̿̾͊͛̂̍̐͝ ̷͖̭̝̠̲̣̖̞̮̭̘̉̾̈́͘͠í̵̢̘̗̼̠̺̥̹̗̫͎̦͕͔̓͐̉͆̔̕͜f̶̼͇͉̾́̆̓̏̎͋͝͠ ̷̢̧̠͚̪̳̰̫̮̤̗͍̾͗̐̈́͑̚͘͝h̶̫̾̾̅͊̃̽͑̾̓̍̌̊̕ĕ̸̛̛̟͐̾̆́̊̈́͆͗̇̊ ̸͕̦̤̪̯̞̜̥̳̏̉͌̉̚ẘ̸͎̪̣̗̱̗̬̮͌̏̄̅͜͝ͅa̴̟̥̽̀͋̈́̏̚͝͝ş̵̛̻͍̲̆́͂̔͛͑̈́̌̇ ̷̡̢̙͈̜̜̫̅̀͋̏̈́̈́̎̓̾̋̓͘͘͝͝r̵̛̲̞̺̘̂̕e̵̝̓͐͊̂̑̋̏͆͐͑̀͒ḁ̷̛̫̄̾̈͂̍̑͐l̶̘͋͒̊̇͘?̵̭̫́͑̉͒͐̐̋̇̒́͛̀͘
Constitution: 12
Slenderman can't be killed or, if we are somewhat optimistic, someone just hasn't figured out how to do it.
Strength: 10
Slenderman actually showcases several feats of superior strength to that of regular humans, we just need other things more. Strength also isn't going to be too much of an issue to make this build work.
Intelligence: 8
Slenderman isn't dumb, per se, but he is mute and most of his abilities seem to be based around instinct and natural power rather than anything he's learned.
I also just want to note this, I am not by any means a Slenderman expert. As with many of these builds that I make characters upon request for, I am simply a Dungeons & Dragons junkie who likes to build characters and these are fun for me. So, if I get something wrong or don't reference something obscure or esoteric about the world's scariest G Man... sorry!
Race & Background -
So, this one was a bit of a hard choice. Slenderman most definitely isn't human despite having "man" in the name. There's always Changeling, but shape shifting isn't really Slenderman's bag. He's not really a beast that fits into the traditional criteria for any one solid Dungeons and Dragons race. So, we're going with the rare Custom Lineage build.
Please, hold your angry comments. I don't care.
So, for a Custom Lineage character, Slenderman gets to be a Medium or small sized character (we'll go with Medium), gets an increase of +2 to an Ability Score - Charisma (15) - for a start, either Darkvision out to 60 feet or a free skill proficiency (go with Darkvision) - and a feat.
Mobile increases movement speed by 10 feet, makes difficult terrain not cost extra movement whenever Slenderman dashes, and when he makes a melee attack against a creature he does not provoke opportunity attacks from them whether the attack hits or not.
For Background, we'll build a custom one in order to get Intimidation and Stealth.
1st Level: Monk (1)
We'll start the show as a Monk. First level Monks get Unarmored Defense, which makes Slenderman's AC equal to 10 + his Dexterity Modifier + his Wisdom modifier. So, already starting out and we're at 14. Not too bad. Plus, it'll get better.
Monks also get Martial Arts. Now, unarmed strikes from a monk can use Dexterity instead of Strength as their modifier, he can roll a 1d4 instead of the normal dice for an unarmed strike or a monk weapon, and when using an unarmed attack he can use a bonus action to make another attack with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon. So, first level, and we're already at two attacks a round. Not bad.
2nd Level: Monk (2)
Second level monks get Ki Points that they can use for a variety of fun effects as they level up. In the beginning, they have three specific abilities.
- Flurry of Blows. Immediately after you take the Attack action on your turn, you can spend 1 ki point to make two unarmed strikes as a bonus action.
- Patient Defense. You can spend 1 ki point to take the Dodge action as a bonus action on your turn.
- Step of the Wind. You can spend 1 ki point to take the Disengage or Dash action as a bonus action on your turn, and your jump distance is doubled for the turn.
At second level, Monks also receive Unarmored Movement, which gives Slenderman another +10 feet to his movement speed when not wearing armor or using a shield. This bonus increases every few levels of monk and at level 9 allows a Monk to move along vertical surfaces or liquids without falling while in motion.
3rd Level: Monk (3)
Third level monks must choose a Monastic Tradition. Slenderman goes into the Way of Shadow, which teaches him the Shadow Arts. Now, Slenderman can pop two Ki points to cast darkness, darkvision, pass without trace, or silence without material components. He also gains the cantrip minor illusion.
At fourth level, we pick up our first Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. We're gonna boost Dexterity (16) and our Charisma (16).
Fifth level monks get Extra Attack, which is self explanatory. They also receive Stunning Strike, which allows them to on a hit, force a Constitution saving throw on a creature against their Ki ability DC. If they fail, the target is stunned until the end of the Monk's next turn.
At 6th level, Monks get Ki-Empowered Strikes. Now, all of Slenderman's unarmed attacks are magical for the purposes of overcoming resistances and immunity. Way of the Shadow monks also receive Shadow Step, which allows Slenderman to move through an area of dim light or darkness to another one within 60 feet. After doing this, Slenderman has advantage on the first melee attack roll made before the end of the turn this ability is used in.
With a 16 in Charisma, we more than qualify for the switch over to Sorcerer. At first level, Sorcerers gain the power of Spellcasting (which we'll get into in a bit) and a Sorcerous Origin. In this case, we'll be going with the Aberrant Mind sorcerer from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. This gives Slenderman the power of Telepathic Speech, which forms a connection between him and one other creature within 30 feet so long as they both speak a common language (not necessarily Common, but any language). The link can go as many miles equal to Slenderman's Charisma modifier and lasts for a number of minutes equal to his Sorcerer level.
So, link to a victim and move quickly to hunt them down and... do whatever it is that you actually do with your victims.
Going back to spells, Slenderman gets four cantrips from the Sorcerer list as well as two 1st level spells.
- chill touch
- control flames
- gust
- prestidigitation
1st Level (1):
- arms of Hadar
- dissonant whispers
Second level Sorcerers receive a Font of Magic. Like the Ki Points for Monk, Sorcerers have Sorcery Points (2 to start at 2nd level) that allow them call upon their inner reserves of magic, turning spell slots into more sorcery points (based on level) or vice-versa.
Slenderman also picks up another spell slot for 1st level and gets a new spell to boot!
1st Level (1):
- ray of sickness
At third level, Sorcerers receive Metamagic, allowing them to use their Sorcery Points to twist spells to suit their needs. At this level, Slenderman can choose two of them.
- Heightened Spell. When you cast a spell that forces a creature to make a saving throw to resist its effects, you can spend 3 sorcery points to give one target of the spell disadvantage on its first saving throw made against the spell.
- Subtle Spell. When you cast a spell, you can spend 1 sorcery point to cast it without any somatic or verbal components.
- mind sliver
At fourth level, sorcerers get an Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. Keep the Dexterity (17) and the Charisma (17) rolling up!
Slenderman also gets a new cantrip and a new spell.
Cantrip (1):
- create bonfire
- phantasmal force
11th Level: Sorcerer (5)
Fifth level Sorcerers get access to 3rd level spells. We're not there yet, but just wait.
2nd Level (1):
- blur
At 6th level, a Sorcerer of the Aberrant Mind receives Psionic Sorcery and Psychic Defenses. With Psionic Sorcery, any time that Slenderman casts a spell from this Origin's spell table, he can do so by expending a spell slot as normal or by spending a number of Sorcery Points equal to the spell's level. If cast by the latter method, the spell has no verbal or somatic components and has no material components until they are consumed by the spell.
Also, let's peek into 3rd level spells.
3rd Level (1):
- fear
Seventh level Sorcerers open up 4th level spells.
4th Level (1):
- polymorph
Eighth level gets us another Ability Score Improvement or a Feat. Keep running up Slendy's Charisma (18) and Dexterity (18).
Also, another 4th level spell!
4th Level (1):
- sickening radiance
At ninth level, Sorcerers open up 5th level spells.
5th Level (1):
- hunger of Hadar
At tenth level, Sorcerers can pick up a new Metamagic option.
- Twinned Spell. When you cast a spell that targets only one creature and doesn't have a range of self, you can spend a number of sorcery points equal to the spell's level to target a second creature in range with the same spell (1 sorcery point if the spell is a cantrip). To be eligible, a spell must be incapable of targeting more than one creature at the spell's current level. For example, magic missile and scorching ray aren't eligible, but ray of frost and chromatic orb are.
5th Level (1):
- enervation
At eleventh level, Sorcerers get access to 6th level spells.
6th Level (1):
- eyebite
At twelfth level, we pick up our last Ability Score Improvement or Feat. Since we won't have quite enough to cap off our two main stats, we'll go with the War Caster feat. With War Caster, Slendy now has advantage on any Concentration check when casting a spell, he can perform the somatic components of a spell even when using a weapon or a shield in his hands (even if he doesn't use one), and the big draw of this feat is that he can now cast spells as a reaction instead of an opportunity attack when one such arises so long as said spell has a casting time of 1 action and can only target that one creature.
19th Level: Sorcerer (13)
Thirteenth level Sorcerers get access to 7th Level spells.
7th Level (1):
- Evard's black tentacles
Our capstone is the 14th level of Sorcerer and the Aberrant Mind's Revelation in Flesh ability. Spending 1 or more Sorcery Points allows a 10-minute transformation from the following:
- You can see any invisible creature within 60 feet of you, provided it isn't behind total cover. Your eyes also turn black or become writhing sensory tendrils.
- You gain a flying speed equal to your walking speed and can hover. As you fly, your skin glistens with mucus or shines with an otherworldly light.
- You gain a swimming speed equal to twice your walking speed, and you can breathe underwater. Moreover, gills grow from your neck or fan out from behind your ears, your fingers become webbed, or you grow writhing cilia that extend through your clothing.
- Your body, along with any equipment you are wearing or carrying, becomes slimy and pliable. You can move through any space as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing, and you can spend 5 feet of movement to escape from nonmagical restraints or being grappled.
- Mobility, mobility, mobility! With the Mobile feat and Unarmored Movement bringing your movement speed up to 55 feet to start, you can move pretty quick just from your Monk levels. Then you add abilities like your Way of the Shadows Shadow Step to let you go another 60 feet away and the darkness really is your ally... oh, wait, that's the wrong build. My bad.
- Oh, and you sneak almost as good as any rogue and arguably even better than some with your spell-like powers being able to cast darkness and silence to cover your tracks even better. They won't see you coming unless you want them to see you coming.
- You have a good power set for debuffing and in some cases outright locking down opponents. Abilities like ray of sickness and arms of Hadar can beat down and physical wear down on enemies, ruin their future saving throws with abilities like mind sliver, or you can just turn them into the man who left a trail of urine behind with spells like fear or eyebite.
- Metamagic powers like Heightened Spell or Twinned Spell lets you not only make your spells harder to shake off, but also make it harder for more people to shake off.
- Your Monk skills are unfortunately very undeveloped. The move into Sorcerer locks you out of some of Monk's higher end abilities, in particular the standard Unarmed Combat rolls not moving past a 1d6 for damage (even if it is magical), and the Cloak of Shadows and Opportunist abilities from Way of the Shadows. While this build isn't centered around your Monk abilities, you don't have that many Ki Points and will run out of them quickly.
- Your spells cap off at 7th level, locking you entirely out of the 8th and 9th level spells for Sorcerer.
- With the build as is, your Constitution is pretty low and a bunch of d6s for hit dice from your sorcerer levels aren't helping, even with your d8s from Monk. You might be hard to get to and strike at, but the hits are gonna hurt when they do land.
Slenderman is a terrifying enemy, to be certain. An Eldritch hat causes and creates fear among any who witness his activities, traveling out in the darkness of the world to find his prey. Lucky for us, then, that he's only fictional. If something like Slenderman existed in the real world, it'd be p̵̨̧̢̮̣͍̮̺̞̳͙̯̠̉̂́̑̔͆̆̃͊̀ŗ̸̗̲͔̮̫̥͙͕̩͍̰̻̼̤̋̇̎̽̌̈́͑̅́̀͠è̸͍͍̩̹̬̞̟̟͕̜͈̤̳̓̽̒̋̈́ţ̷̡͆̇́̃̆̍͑̐͝t̸̢̛̳̲̂̒͂̈͆͌͑̽ẏ̸̡̨͈̼̜̱͎̩͈̩̇̊̀̋̂̎͆̚͠ ̸̧̼͔͔͉̦̞̲͖̺̙̯̆̄̾̀̎̚͘ţ̵̨̛͉̦̦̬̞̯͓́̃̓̈́̋͛̃̄̀ẻ̴͕̦̣̥̞͉̅̈̈́̋͌͘̚͜͝r̸̡̧̧̙̤͎̪̬̝͚̭͈̊͛̓͊̔́̏̔r̶̡̨͇͚̤͈̦̾̋͑̌͆i̷̘̫͙̟͚͈͍̟̜͖̻̯̓̂͐͆̿́̈́͐͜ͅf̶̧̨͕̳̤̱̬̘͚͍̮͚͔͈̉̏̓̇̐̆͒̈́͋́͑̂̚͘͝ỳ̴̧̛̼̗̥̖̥͎̳̼̟̿̎̔͂̒̅̏̈́͝ͅi̶̧̡̪̞̹̦͍̭̖̅̋͜ͅn̴̢̢̛͓̫̫͈̥̺̈́͗̀̈́̈̋̀̈́̄͊̚g̶̢̥̥̟̹̺͍͍̪̦̭̜͒̓̊̾̄̃̐̚͜ ̶̨̝͚̠̭̳͒͛ͅt̴̢̮̻̟̠̝̗̥̘̦̥̬̦͎̆͌̑̎̌͊̌͌́̆̿͛ò̸̢͇̮̼͓͈̿ ̴̧̨̗̲͚͇̗̞̙̱͂̕ͅt̸̪̼͕̝̣͚̱̾̀ḩ̵̬͇͇̈́̌̂̃̏͂̌̚ĭ̴̡̧͉̮͍̲̩͍̲̗͆̂̂n̸̨̰̗̤͖̜̞͈̑͋̌̇̈́̃̈̈́̚k̸̛̫̪̙̭̲̭̩̔̏̑͒̏̉͒̀̾̈͜ͅ ̸̡̜̥̬͇̮̼͔͕̍̍ạ̶̡͉̪͉̈́̈͌̋̈́̿̍̄̾̉̉̏͐͜͜͝b̵̹͇͍̠̊o̷͓̮̳͕͑̔̓͑̓̒̂̄̄̅͜͠͝ú̵̝̻̑͛͑̈́̄̏͋̌́̇͘t̶̢̧̟͔̲͈̮̓͋.̸̨̳̙́̈́̈̐̇͌̈̓̓̋̋̔̊͠͝.̶̠̖̤̯͍̃͒͌̂̿͒͂̊̚.̶̢̫̩͕͙̮͙̦̹͙͕̜̬̟̐͒͑̀̏̃̅̎̏͘͜
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