Not too much to say about this build, so let's just get into it! As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in an attempt to fit the character. These choices might not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
Let's get into the build for Cassiopeia, the Serpent's Embrace from League of Legends!
CASSIOPEIA, THE SERPENT’S EMBRACE
CHARACTER Cassiopeia Du Couteau
SOURCE League of Legends
BUILD GOALS
o A champion in the League of Legends, Cassiopeia is a poison-focused battlemage, a class known for short range magic with sustained area damage
o The youngest of the Du Couteau daughters in Noxus, she ventured into Shurima in search of ancient power but was instead bit by a gruesome guardian that transformed her into part snake
o She was raised by her mother to be a cunning manipulator and at her urging, joined the Black Rose cult
o Cassiopeia’s passive is based on her snake-like lower body with Serpentine Grace granting her additional movement speed as she levels
o Noxious Blast summons a burst of poison in a location, inflicting enemies in the area with poison damage over time
o With her Miasma ability, Cassiopeia spews forth poison in an area that poisons and slows enemies
o Twin Fang launches magical fangs at enemies that deal damage, dealing additional damage to poisoned enemies and healing Cassiopeia slightly
o Her ultimate is Petrifying Gaze, which turns all enemies in a cone into stone if they are looking at her. Otherwise, they are simply damaged and slowed
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Sacred Nagaji
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Charisma
o Ancestry Feat: Cold Minded
Background: Cursed
o Ability Boosts: +Charisma, +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Occultism (trained), Curse Lore (trained)
Class & Subclass: Nymph Bloodline Sorcerer
o Class Ability Boost: +Charisma
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Deception (trained), Diplomacy (trained), Nature (trained), Society (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – acid splash, detect magic, puff of poison, read aura, tanglefoot; 1st – charm, inkshot, spider sting
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 18)
Cassiopeia’s peculiar form made it difficult to build her until the release of the nagaji with its sacred heritage. This mimics her shape while the cursed background covers how she ended up with it. Cruel and calculating, Cassiopeia’s best early option among ancestry feats is Cold Minded. To get access to the various toxins that Cassiopeia creates and manipulates, she needs access to the primal spell list but a Wisdom-based druid or Intelligence-based witch didn’t quite fit the manipulative and deceptive Cass. Instead, she relies upon sorcerer with its Charisma-based casting and specifically turns to the nymph bloodline largely because it is a bloodline that grants her access to primal and its advanced bloodline spell feels appropriate for her. As is often the case with casters, the Cassiopeia build is defined more by its spells rather than its feats. She starts out with acid splash and puff of poison in her cantrips with the latter being her actual poison effect with persistent damage as per Noxious Blast but the actual pop and area of effect it has is closer to acid splash. She further fills out her toxic repertoire with the likes of inkshot for a ranged poison damage spell and spider sting when she’s forced up close.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Reach Spell
o Skill Feat: Charming Liar
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – fleet step
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Deception (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 1st – inkshot*; 2nd – bone spray, calm emotions, feral shades*
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), everburning torch, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Dangerous Sorcery
o Skill Feat: Courtly Graces
o Spell Repertoire: 2nd – entangle
o Gear: bracelet of dashing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), necklace of knives, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 19)
o Ancestry Feat: Venom Spit
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (expert), Society (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: 3rd – animal vision, gasping marsh, shifting sand*
o Gear: poisoner’s staff, bracelet of dashing, ventriloquist’s ring, necklace of knives, everburning torch, ring of discretion
Since most of the build comes from Cassiopeia’s spell, it frees up her actual feat selection, which is kinda nice. Reach Spell is generally useful, potentially allowing her to hang back in a combat and extend the range of spells. Most importantly, this even lets her extend the range of touch spells such as spider sting, which fits well for her Twin Fang. It doesn’t quite match the cooldown of that ability, but there might be something for that later. While Cass’s spells have some utility to them, she is mostly a damage dealer and to give her spells some more oomph, she grabs Dangerous Sorcery. Permanent boosts to speed can be a little difficult to come by, but Cass will pick up Fleet to reflect her Serpentine Grace. Given her membership in the powerful Du Couteau family as well as her grooming to join the Black Rose by her mother, Courtly Graces and Charming Liar are easy fits for her. Venom Spit gives her a ranged poison attack that she doesn’t have to spend spell slots on. Fleet step hopefully provides her the speed boost for Serpentine Grace. Outside of spells granted by her bloodline, entangle and shifting sand create difficult terrain akin to her Miasma, with shifting sand in particular inflicting penalties on attempts to use different methods of movement. There are several similarly-themed spells throughout this build referencing Cass’s association with Shurima.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Cantrip Expansion
o Skill Feat: Bon Mot
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – gouging claw, guidance; 3rd – stinking cloud
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), poisoner’s staff, bracelet of dashing, hat of disguise, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Deception (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – reflective scales, swarming wasp stings, vital beacon
o Gear: stoney hag eye, +1 explorer’s clothing, diplomat’s badge, poisoner’s staff, bracelet of dashing, ventriloquist’s ring
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Advanced Bloodline
o Skill Feat: Lie to Me
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – charm
o Gear: venomed tongue, stoney hag eye, staff of the desert winds, +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), poisoner’s staff
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Hypnotic Lure
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – crushing despair, flammable fumes, wyvern sting
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, wand of the spider (2nd-level), venomed tongue, staff of the desert winds, diplomat’s badge, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 14, Cha 20)
o Class Feat: Quickened Casting
o Skill Feat: Confabulator
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – pillar of sand
o Gear: messenger’s ring, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater poisoner’s staff, venomed tongue, stoney hag eye, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
Cantrip Expansion adds gouging claw and guidance to her list with the former combined with Reach Spell possibly being a good stand-in for Twin Fang that doesn’t consume her spell slots. Advanced Bloodline gives her blinding beauty to cause a target to become blinded with her terrible beauty, hopefully taking them out of combat at least slightly in reference to her Petrifying Gaze. Her Hypnotic Lure ancestry feat follows a similar sort of idea, drawing in a foe and eating away at their actions. Quickened Casting simply follows the idea of getting her generally good feats but actually plays a tiny bit into the exceptionally short cooldown of Twin Fang, maybe letting her string two together. Flammable fumes is fun because it deals the poison damage without any save or anything of the sort and then it has a chance to work alongside teammate tactics. She picks up agonizing despair mainly so that she has something to work along with Bon Mot though it can also be used to set up allies. Finally, wyvern sting serves as a more powerful spider sting alternative.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Society (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – flesh to stone, repulsion, stone to flesh
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), greater healer’s gloves, messenger’s ring, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, wand of the spider (2nd-level), venomed tongue
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Detonating Spell
o Skill Feat: Connections
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – purple worm sting
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), cape of the mountebank, messenger’s ring, greater poisoner’s staff, wand of the spider (2nd-level)
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Disruptive Stare
o Skill Increase: Society (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – blightburn blast, nature’s reprisal*, unfettered pack
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, wand of the spider (4th-level), cape of the mountebank, messenger’s ring, greater healer’s gloves
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Steady Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Sow Rumor
o Spell Repertoire: 7th – mask of terror
o Gear: medusa’s scream, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater quick runner’s shirt, +2 resilient armor, greater demon mask, cape of the mountebank
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 21)
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Deception (legendary), Religion (trained)
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – earthquake, haste, moment of renewal
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, medusa’s scream, bag of holding (type IV), handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), bag of holding (type III), wand of the spider (4th-level)
Using Detonating Spell on some of her spells such as inkshot gives her a little burst of poison on it, which is mainly another way to fit her Noxious Blast. Steady Spellcasting is meant to help protect her when she is forced to cast her touch spells in melee range. Between her Petrifying Gaze and Hypnotic Lure, it seems appropriate to simply grab Disruptive Stare to increase her gaze powers. Building out of Cassiopeia’s Courtly Graces is Connections so that she can leverage her family’s power or maybe even those of the Black Rose to call in favors. The single most important spell in this block is flesh to stone for her Petrifying Gaze but she’ll also grab stone to flesh just in case she ever needs to reverse it. Other spells are just filling slots or at least deal poison damage though she continues to upgrade her sting spells with the purple worm sting.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Bloodline Focus
o Skill Feat: Reveal Machinations
o Spell Repertoire: 8th – punishing winds
o Gear: dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major poisoner’s staff, medusa’s scream, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater quick runner’s shirt
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Pit of Snakes
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (legendary)
o Spell Repertoire: 9th – linnorm sting, nature’s enmity*, overwhelming presence
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), dragonscale amulet, major poisoner’s staff, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, medusa’s scream, bag of holding (type IV)
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Echoing Spell
o Skill Feat: Legendary Negotiation
o Spell Repertoire: 9th – storm of vengeance
o Gear: circlet of persuasion, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), major staff of the desert winds, dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, major poisoner’s staff
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Skitter
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Spell Repertoire: 10th – cataclysm*, primal phenomenon
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, circlet of persuasion, dread blindfold, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), dragonscale amulet, major poisoner’s staff
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 22)
o Class Feat: Metamagic Mastery
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, mask of allure, dread blindfold, speed weapon rune, major staff of the desert winds
Just so that Cass can more freely use her focus spells, she grabs Bloodline Focus whereas Echoing Spell is going to let her potentially throw out several spells without eating up spell slots. This kicks into high gear when she picks up Metamagic Mastery where she will be able to start combining multiple metamagic feats. For example, she could put both Reach Spell and Echoing Spell on a spider sting, giving it a range of 30 feet and allowing her to cast it next turn, again with Reach Spell, without spending a spell slot. She can also start comboing metamagic with Reach Spell, Quicken Spell, and Echoing Spell so that she can do a 30-foot spider sting for 1-action, do another 30-foot spider sting for 2-actions, and then cast a 30-foot spider sting next round without spending that spell slot. Reveal Machinations seems like a solid fit for a member of the Black Rose. Pit of Snakes also works for Miasma, being an area effect that can halt foes, having a chance to grab foes, but regrettably doesn’t deal poison damage.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: The Wizard Dedication could provide Cassiopeia with some fun metamagic feats to weave into her build such as Conceal Spell, Silent Spell, and Detonating Spell, which will free her up to take a different sorcerer feat, such as Signature Spell Expansion. However, she doesn’t initially have the Intelligence to take the archetype, meaning that she has to look towards other options initially. With her current set-up, the Dandy Dedication matches her political maneuvering among the Black Rose and Noxian society in general. It does actually save her some skill increases, which is nice for the build, and she can also get some use out of Distracting Flattery, Gossip Lore, and Fabricated Connections. Alternatively, by switching one of her skill proficiencies to Crafting, you could pick up Poisoner Dedication. She might not make as much use of the poisons, but could hand them out to her allies at the very least. She can round out her feats from it with Poison Resistance and Expert Poisoner, which does require a little more investment in Crafting, and might find use in Tenacious Toxins and Chemical Contagion.
BUILD CONCLUSION
This build primarily utilizes spells to capture the feel of Cassiopeia, which ends up freeing a lot of her feats for generally good choices to pick from. The primal spell list grants her access to the poison-based spells that make up her kit while including many area-affecting options while using the sorcerer class in particular lets her wield these spells with Charisma. While she is certainly cunning, she seems to rely more on her ability to manipulate others, making Charisma more of a stand-out stat for her. I briefly considered the Cultist background given her association with the Black Rose, but the curse that changed her seemed to have a far greater impact on her life. Her unique serpentine physiology is captured by the sacred nagaji heritage and ancestry, which also gives her access to several gaze abilities, fitting thematically if not mechanically into her ultimate. Fleet attempts to help capture a bit of the speed granted by her Serpentine Grace passive, but spells such as fleet step can also help to achieve that effect. Noxious Blast has a few options that could suit it – acid splash provides that area pop, puff of poison applies poison damage with some persistent effect, or a Detonating Spell inkshot has a little more pop to it. Miasma takes a little bit of a combo – shifting sand works really well for shutting down movement, but she’ll need something like gasping marsh or cloudkill, if you want to swap out a spell for that. Aside from the fact that creatures become temporarily immune to gasping marsh, it works slightly better because with Quickened Casting, she has a chance of throwing it and shifting sand out in a single turn. A relatively early means of doing Twin Fang comes from using Reach Spell on her spider sting, but this is a spell with a limited number of castings and non-scaling damage. After picking up Cantrip Expansion, she can use gouging claw instead, which is a cantrip with scaling damage, so she’ll never run out of castings of it. The healing aspect of it is lost, unfortunately, as that is reserved for vampiric spells not on the primal spell list. Finally, for Cassiopeia’s ultimate, no spell fits better than flesh to stone. It is regrettably single target, but being a sorcerer means that she has plenty of spell slots to burn turning all her enemies to stone!
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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