The Final Fantasy VII character series carries onward–following on after Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, Aerith Gainsborough, Barret Wallace, Vincent Valentine, Yuffie Kurisagi–but there’s also the original Final Fantasy game cast, the party from Super Mario RPG, and some Fallout action too.

Today is a fan favorite right up there with Barrett and Vincent, and for good reason. Cosmo Canyon is a cool area of the map but easily one of the best stories within the game, contributing very much to what makes Final Fantasy VII so epic. That’s got a lot to do with the feline (wolven?) character at its center. Of course I’m referring to RED XIII aka Nanaki!

Red XIII (Nanaki)

Large beast (awakened lion), lawful good barbarian (fire harbinger) 13
Armor Class 16 (Constitution)
Hit Points 157 (4d10+13d12+51)
Speed 60 ft.

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	16 (+3)	16 (+3)	10 (+0)	12 (+1)	8 (-1)

Saving Throws Str +9, Con +8
Skills Athletics +9, Nature +5, Perception +6, Stealth +13
Damage Resistances fire; bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing (while raging)
Senses passive Perception 16
Languages Common
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Ancestral Amulet. Red XIII wears a talisman that enhances his natural weapons, granting a +1 magical bonus to attack and damage rolls.

Brutal Critical. Red XIII can roll two additional weapon damage die when determining the extra damage for a critical hit with a melee attack.

Danger Sense. Red XIII has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, he can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.

Feat: Athletic. Red XIII can stand up from being prone with only 5 feet of his movement, climbing doesn’t cost him extra movement, and he only has to move 5 feet before making a running long jump or running high jump.

Feral Instinct. Red XIII has advantage on initiative rolls. Additionally, if he is surprised at the beginning of combat and isn’t incapacitated, he can act normally on his first turn, but only if he enters his rage before doing anything else on that turn.

Keen Smell. Red XIII has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Pack Tactics: Red XIII has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of his allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn’t incapacitated.

Pounce. If Red XIII moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 17 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, Red XIII can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action.

Rage (5/Long Rest). On his turn, Red XIII can enter a rage as a bonus action. His rage lasts for 1 minute, ending early if he is knocked unconscious or if his turn ends and he hasn’t either attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. Red XIII can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits if he isn’t wearing heavy armor:

• advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws
• when he makes a melee weapon attack using Strength he gains a +3 bonus to the damage roll
• he has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage
• Fire Aura. When he rages, and when Red XII uses a bonus action while raging, flames jump out from in him a 10-foot radius. All other creatures in Red XIII’s aura take 4 fire damage. In addition, creatures of his choice within the area gain fire resistance.

Reckless Attack. When Red XIII makes his first attack on his turn, he can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives him advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until his next turn.

Relentless Rage. If Red XIII drops to 0 hit points while he’s raging and doesn’t die outright, he can make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw. If he succeeds, he drops to 1 hit point instead. Each time he uses this feature after the first, the DC increases by 5. When he finishes a short or long rest, the DC resets to 10.

Running Leap. With a 5-foot running start, Red XIII can long jump up to 25 feet.

 

ACTIONS

Extra Attack. Red XIII attacks twice.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 9 (1d8+5) magical piercing damage.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (1d6+5) magical slashing damage.

Fire Soul. Red XIII ignores the effects of extreme heat. He can use an action to touch an unattended object, lighting it on fire if it is flammable.