This build fulfills a request and I went for something a little different with it. I hope that it isn't too different from what people were expecting. As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in my best attempt to fit the character. These choice may not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
If you prefer watching over reading, check out the YouTube video on the character!
Let's get into the build for Gangplank, the Saltwater Scourge from League of Legends!
GANGPLANK, THE SALTWATER SCOURGE
CHARACTER ???
SOURCE League of Legends
BUILD GOALS
o Gangplank is a specialist melee champion from League of Legends
o Trial by Fire periodically ignites his next attack, causing targets to take damage over time and give Gangplank a momentary boost to his speed
o Parrrley fires a ranged attack at an enemy, dealing damage and applying on-hit and on-attack effects, such as Trial by Fire. If it kills a target, Gangplank receives extra gold
o Remove Scurvy prompts Gangplank to consume citrus fruit that cleanse him of crowd control and heal him
o Powder Keg gains charges that Gangplank can spend to place a keg at a location. If he can destroy the keg, it explodes and enemies are slowed and dealt the triggering attack’s damage
o Cannon Barrage is triggered by Gangplank shooting a flare into the air, signaling his ship to bombard a location, dealing damage and slowing enemies. It can be upgraded with three different effects
o Death’s Daughter strikes a central area for true damage and a greater slow
o Fire at Will launches more waves
o Raise Morale increases the movement speed of Gangplank and his allies in the area
o True to form, Gangplank in Legends of Runeterra summons powder kegs and gains an ability to deal damage to all enemies and the nexus whenever he attacks
o Gangplank was previously the reaver king of Bilgewater before he was dethroned by Sarah Fortune, whose mother he had killed when she was a child
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Skilled Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition
o Skill Increase: Crafting (trained)
Background: Sailor
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Strength
o Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Sailing Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Underwater Marauder
Class & Subclass: Way of the Drifter Gunslinger
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Deception (trained), Intimidation (trained), Nature (trained), Survival (trained)
o Class Feat: Munitions Crafter, Sword and Pistol
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +3, Dex +4, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +1)
This build may prove a touch controversial though I’m sure the human ancestry and sailor background likely won’t too much discussion. Being a little light on skills, he uses the skilled heritage to become trained in Crafting, reflecting his use of and ability to create Powder Kegs. Natural Ambition will help him make further use of his class, which is what’s going to stir up some dissenting opinions. Gangplank will be built as a gunslinger using the way of the drifter despite being a melee character. I am justifying this by both Parrrley being on a very short cooldown, which the reload trait helps to replicate, as well as recreating a substantial number of his abilities. He also walks around with his gun out – it’s one of his regular weapons! If you need more justification, he was even a gunner in one of the iterations of Teamfight Tactics. The drifter way does help him with the melee of his kit, and Sword and Pistol specifically enables and encourages him to wield his two weapons to their best effect. Munitions Crafter replicates the explosives he’s associated with, but possibly more importantly, can also be used to craft ammunition. This will let him create elemental ammunition to deal persistent damage. By making fire elemental ammunition, Gangplank can mimic his Trial by Fire specifically through his gun.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Warning Shot/Dual-Weapon Reload
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Natural Skill
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert), Stealth (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Gear: +1 dueling pistol, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Artillerist Dedication
o Skill Feat: Named Artillery
o Gear: blazons of shared power, +1 dueling pistol, necklace of knives, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +4.5, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +2)
o Ancestry Feat: Wavetouched Paragon
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert), Crafting (expert)
o Gear: +1 striking dueling pistol, blazons of shared power, underwater weapon rune, necklace of knives, ring of discretion, psychopomp mask
Gangplank’s second level class feat is a bit of a tough choice. Warning Shot plays into the Intimidation investment in this build, which is based off of more of his story appearances than his mechanics, and also matches the name of a card associated with him in Legends of Runeterra. Alternatively, Dual-Weapon Reload might be a better options, especially with the changes coming to it with the remaster where it’s a rider effect rather than an action. It is a tough choice that I struggle with, so follow your heart. Artillerist Dedication is a much easier choice and is based off of Cannon Barrage – this is a difficult ability to replicate without building the character as a spellcaster, but this archetype and its feats will be the closest that a martial build can get. Gangplank can immediately follow it up with Named Artillery, letting him name and empower a siege weapons, which references that the main cannon on his ship is named Death’s Daughter.
Intimidating Glare is a reason to settle on Dual-Weapon Reload for his second level feats but still has some value where he doesn’t have to waste a shot to Demoralize a creature. This build has been a little lacking in skills, which leads to taking Ancestral Paragon for Natural Skill, taking Stealth and Thievery to befit a pirate. He spends another ancestry feat on Wavetouched Paragon, giving him a swim speed based on his rearing in Bilgewater and overcoming some trial of Nagakabouros.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Munitions Machinist
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: +1 leather, +1 striking dueling pistol, demon mask, blazons of shared power, bottomless stein, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: lesser dread armor rune, +1 leather, lesser boots of free running, +1 striking dueling pistol, blazons of shared power, underwater weapon rune
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Grit and Tenacity
o Skill Feat: Slippery Prey
o Gear: necklace of fireballs II, lesser grub gloves, lesser dread armor rune, +1 leather, +1 striking dueling pistol, demon mask
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Hardy Traveler
o Skill Increase: Crafting (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient leather, necklace of fireballs II, deathless weapon rune, lesser dread armor rune, lesser boots of free running, +1 striking dueling pistol
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +4.5, Dex +5, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +3)
o Class Feat: Trick Shot
o Skill Feat: Terrifying Resistance
o Gear: ashen weapon rune, +1 resilient leather, flaming weapon rune, necklace of fireballs II, lesser dread armor rune, +1 striking dueling pistol
Munitions Machinist is an important feat for this build, allowing Gangplank to make more powerful bombs and more importantly, more potent elemental ammunition. To mimic the effects of his Remove Scurvy, Gangplank uses Grit and Tenacity, giving him a chance to reroll a Fortitude and Will save and prevent whatever crowd control is coming his way. Both of these are solid choices, but one of the deciding feats for using gunslinger was Trick Shot, which lets Gangplank just find a Powder Keg to shoot. He could also potentially use this to dislodge an object, but why would he ever be doing that when he can blow up one of his barrels. He takes a few more Intimidation-based feats with Terrifying Resistance helping him fend off crowd control while Slippery Prey helps him escape from being pinned down, both of which further explore Remove Scurvy. Fleet helps some of the mobility he gains from inflicting his Trial by Fire. He also has Hardy Traveler as it feels like a good fit for a roving, sailor-type character even if he became slightly sedentary during his reign of Bilgewater.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +2 striking dueling pistol, ashen weapon rune, necklace of fireballs III, +1 resilient leather, necklace of fireballs II, deathless weapon rune
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Unshakable Grit
o Skill Feat: Too Angry to Die
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking dueling pistol, greater demon mask, ashen weapon rune, flaming weapon rune, crown of the fire eater
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Bounce Back
o Skill Increase: Sailing Lore (expert)
o Gear: +2 greater striking dueling pistol, +2 resilient leather, greater blazons of shared power, greater demon mask, ashen weapon rune, necklace of fireballs III
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Cannon Corner Shot
o Skill Feat: Battle Cry
o Gear: necklace of fireballs V, +2 greater striking dueling pistol, moderate dread armor rune, +2 resilient leather, greater demon mask, elemental wayfinder (water)
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str +5, Dex +5.5, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +1, Cha +3)
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Diplomacy (trained), Intimidation (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, necklace of fireballs V, hellfire boots, +2 greater striking dueling pistol, greater blazons of shared power, necklace of fireballs IV
Unshakable Grit expands upon Grit and Tenacity, which means it plays deeper into Remove Scurvy but if you don’t want to further capture that, I would take Shattering Shot. This is like the closest that Gangplank will get to creating the effects of his ultimate without using any artillery. Speaking of artillery, he also takes Cannon Corner Shot to be able to modify the shape of the charges he fires, which doesn’t quite fit it but is inspired by the Death’s Daughter upgrade for his Cannon Barrage. Diehard, Too Angry to Die, and Bounce Back all specifically reference Gangplank’s ‘death’ at the hands of Sarah Fortune and the rampage that it has since sent him on to reclaim his kingdom and wreak his vengeance. Battle Cry simply allows him to get out an early Demoralize, since the gunslinger is always struggling with the action economy of working in a reload.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Master Siege Engineer
o Skill Feat: Scare to Death
o Gear: necklace of fireballs VI, +2 greater resilient leather, greater boots of bounding, necklace of fireballs V, +2 greater striking dueling pistol, moderate dread armor rune
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Heroic Presence
o Skill Increase: Crafting (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking dueling pistol, necklace of fireballs VI, greater diver’s gloves, +2 greater resilient leather, necklace of fireballs V, hellfire boots
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Drifter’s Juke
o Skill Feat: Terrified Retreat
o Gear: cloak of swiftness, +3 greater striking dueling pistol, greater ashen weapon rune, necklace of fireballs VI, +2 greater resilient leather, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, cloak of swiftness, necklace of fireballs VII, +3 greater striking dueling pistol, necklace of fireballs VI, greater diver’s gloves
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +5, Dex +6, Con +4, Int +1, Wis +2, Cha +4)
o Class Feat: Perfect Readiness
o Skill Feat: Quick Swim
o Gear: +3 major striking dueling pistol, +3 greater resilient leather, mercurial mantle, necklace of fireballs VII, major crown of the fire eater, greater ashen weapon rune
Master Siege Engineer is the earliest feat that makes a character permanently quickened but is very specific, limited to the use of siege engines. While fitting Gangplank, these siege engines may not always be available for him. He takes Drifter’s Juke, partially inspired by the speed boost of Trial by Fire as this compresses four actions into two even if two of those actions are specifically Steps. Finally, given the limitations of Master Siege Engineer, Gangplank rounds out his build with Perfect Readiness for a more useful permanent quickness though I did look at Slinger’s Reflexes as an option. The only issue is that his only gunslinger reaction is Grit and Tenacity and while it could be helpful to represent his Remove Scurvy, it seems unnecessary. With this build’s focus on Intimidation, Gangplank will of course pick up Scare to Death and Terrified Retreat. Again, fear isn’t actually part of his kit, but the man is introduced in one story by carving scrimshaw on a living man’s bone after flaying him. And you know, that’s reason enough for me. Also, as a native of the seaside Bilgewater, he also takes Quick Swim.
Nobody would describe Gangplank as heroic, but he’ll nevertheless take Heroic Presence. I would flavor this less as him inspiring others and more threatening them with the horrors they’ll face if they don’t do as he says. He also has Toughness since Gangplank can be built as more of a bruiser.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Obviously, Gangplank makes use of his Artillerist Dedication in a free archetype game, but more importantly, he can use such a game to take a Pirate Dedication. He can take feats such as Broadside Buckos, Cutting Flattery, and Walk the Plank from the archetype, which should fill out his slots when combined with the rest of his artillerist feats.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Gangplank, the Saltwater Scourge is a skilled human gunslinger who follows the Way of the Drifter and has the sailor background, which reflects his work as a pirate. As a gunslinger, he will focus on firearms, but his way and feats such as Sword and Pistol make him a capable close-quarters combatant as well. His Munitions Crafter and Machinist will allows him to craft elemental ammunition to deal persistent damage as per his Trial by Fire with the speed from it provided by his Fleet or action-economy savers, such as Drifter’s Juke. Obviously, his main form of attack will end up fitting Parrrley – this ability in League has a four-second cooldown, which feels like it fits with the reload trait and six-second rounds. Gangplank keeps unhindered with Grit and Tenacity, Unshakable Grit, Slippery Prey to slip his bonds, and Terrifying Resistance all in service to his Remove Scurvy. To represent his Powder Keg, he takes Trick Shot while Munitions Machinist could be used to create bombs to simulate this effect as well. Cannon Barrage is unfortunately difficult to replicate and can either be achieved through bombs, Trick Shot, or using Gangplank’s Artillerist Dedication and its feats. The last of these options is truest to the flavor of this ability which is Gangplank’s off-shore ship shelling his target. It’s difficult to replicate the upgrades though Cannon Corner Shot changing shapes might serve as Death’s Daughter and Heroic Presence could at least flavorfully stand in for Raise Morale. As a character that actually ‘died’ within the story of League and was even temporarily disabled, Gangplank has returned with a vengeance thanks to his Bounce Back and Too Angry to Die feats.
Presumed perished, this perfidious pirate plots and plans, placing potent powder aplenty to propel his power to previous positions while placing his prosecutors in peril.
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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