There's a number of builds for characters that I don't think I can achieve, most particularly those from the Void in League of Legends. However, Pathfinder has a host of amazing archetypes that allow me to explore concepts that I otherwise thought impossible as I did for this build. 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 Rek'Sai the Void Burrower from League of Legends!
REK’SAI, THE VOID BURROWER
CHARACTER Rek’Sai
SOURCE League of Legends
BUILD GOALS
o Rek’Sai is a Void creature who functions as a diver, a class of mobile characters that blitz a single target and force the enemy to deal with their presence
o She has different abilities based on whether she is burrowed or not
o Fury of the Xer’Sai causes her attacks to generate Fury, which she consumes while burrowed to heal herself
o While unborrowed, Queen’s Wrath empowers her next three basic attacks to deal extra damage and hit surrounding enemies
o She can Burrow to dive underground, reducing her sight but becoming faster and able to sense enemies through tremor sense
o Furious Bite bites an enemy, dealing greater damage is she’s at maximum Fury
o While she is burrowed, Prey Seeker fires a void bolt in a direction that detonates upon coming in contact with an enemy
o She can Unburrow to damage, knock up, and slow nearby enemies
o Tunnel causes her to dash in a target direction, leaving a tunnel behind that she can travel through
o Her ultimate is Void Rush, which causes her to mark enemies she damages. She disappears before pouncing on a marked enemy, dealing higher damage based on their missing health
o In Legends of Runeterra, she is a Lurk champion who empowers other Lurker allies before diving back into the deck. Once leveled, she gains Overwhelm
o Originating from the Void, she is the animalistic queen of the Xer’Sai, who hunt the sands of Shurima
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Sacred Nagaji
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Cold Minded
Background: Feral Child
o Ability Boosts: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Nature (trained), Survival (trained)
o Background Feat: Forager
Class & Subclass: Monk
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Cave Worm Lore (trained), Stealth (trained)
o Class Feat: Ki Strike
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +4, Dex +2, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +0)
To represent the unique body shape of Rek’Sai, this build uses the nagaji with the sacred heritage for a more serpentine lower body though Rek’Sai does actually have those tiny little legs along her tail. More bestial than most characters, she also uses the Cold Minded ancestry feat to represent her lack of emotional intelligence. The Feral Child background further helps with this particular aspect of the character and she can use Forager to feed her pack of Xer’Sai. Despite her inherent savagery, monk ends up being the best fit for her brutal fighting style. Notably at first level, Ki Strike works nicely for the empowered and swift series of attacks that she makes with Queen’s Wrath.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Worm Caller Dedication
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), psychopomp mask, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Wormskin – Bludgeoning
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: coyote cloak, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), onyx dog wondrous figurine, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +4.5, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +0)
o Ancestry Feat: Water Nagaji
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), coyote cloak, bracelet of dashing, onyx dog wondrous figurine, psychopomp mask, ring of discretion
Obviously, a notable lacking portion of this build is the fact that even with the unusual body shape of the sacred naga, we’re still far from Rek’Sai’s appearance. However, this block sees her taking up Worm Caller Dedication and using that to build into Wormskin. This helps with the lower Dexterity that her build started with and starts her transformation into a purple worm – which is actually closer to her than I had ever considered. To aid in pouncing upon people as seen in her Void Rush, she takes Quick Jump and Powerful Leap. Fleet aids in representing the increased movement speed that she gains while under the effects of Burrow as does the incredible movement from being a monk. Water Nagaji is just a fun little reference to her Pool Party skin in which she is a shark.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Worm Sense
o Skill Feat: Terrain Stalker – Rubble
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, coyote cloak, onyx dog wondrous figurine, skittering mask
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Path to Perfection: Fortitude (master)
o Gear: grub gloves, +1 explorer’s clothing, ring of the tiger, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), coyote cloak, bracelet of dashing
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Ki Blast
o Skill Feat: Terrain Expertise – Desert
o Gear: boots of bounding, grub gloves, hauling weapon rune, +1 explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), demon mask
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Serpentcoil Slam
o Skill Increase: Survival (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, jar of shifting sands, grub gloves, ring of the tiger, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str +5, Dex +3, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +0)
o Class Feat: Tunnel
o Skill Feat: Planar Survival
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, major stalk goggles, boots of bounding, hauling weapon rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)
By taking up Worm Sense, Rek’Sai gains tremorsense at an admittedly very small range – but it is a way to represent how she senses the world while using Burrow. She actually gains the ability to do so when she uses her archetype to take up Tunnel, which is again kind of slow and makes me wish that incredible movement applies to all of a character’s move speeds and not just their land Speed. She starts covering some of her burrowed abilities with Ki Blast intended to resemble her Prey Seeker, being a ranged blast of energy. Rek’Sai does have some durability in her kit, leading to the use of Toughness. Serpentcoil Slam is a surprisingly fun ability from her ancestry that works as a sort of reverse of her Unburrow, bringing enemies to the ground instead of knocking them up. As a hunter in the Shuriman desert, Rek’Sai takes both Terrain Stalker for the ruins the scatter the sands and Terrain Expertise for her dusty domain. She also takes Planar Survival since she is originally from a different plane of existence.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Path to Perfection: Reflex (master)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, greater coyote cloak, +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, jar of shifting sands
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Call Worm Spirit
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, corrosive weapon rune, major stalk goggles
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Pit of Snakes
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, mask of uncanny breath, greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, greater coyote cloak
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Worm Form
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: boots of speed, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), moderate grub gloves, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater demon mask, dinosaur boots
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +5.5, Dex +3, Con +4, Int +1, Wis +4, Cha +1)
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Path to Perfection: Fortitude (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of speed, sandstorm top, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), gorget of the primal roar, mask of uncanny breath
When Rek’Sai uses Unburrow, she can knock up a number of creatures, which led to the use of Call Worm Spirit – this targets an area, deals damage, and briefly traps the targets in place much like the knock-up does. On the chance that characters critically fail their save, they are prone and immobilized, which means they can’t even stand up. Possibly more importantly is Worm Form allowing Rek’Sai to take on a size and form more befitting her appearance in game. Fast Recovery is a small nod to her ability to heal herself while burrowed though Incredible Initiative as another general feat during this block is less representative of her abilities and more about being something useful to the build, letting her get a jump on enemies. She also gets Pit of Snakes, which is another way to immobilize enemies and could be flavored as her commanding and calling forth her Xer’Sai subjects. She picks up some Intimidation feats, again, not because she has fear in her kit but more from her lore where she is highly feared and dreaded by the Shurimans.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Flying Kick
o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump
o Gear: earthglide cloak, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, sandstorm top, boots of speed, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), moderate grub gloves
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Prismatic Scales
o Skill Increase: Survival (legendary)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater corrosive weapon rune, earthglide cloak, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of speed, sandstorm top
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Shattering Strike
o Skill Feat: Legendary Survivalist
o Gear: avalanche boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater dinosaur boots, earthglide cloak, +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Pick Up the Pace
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, avalanche boots, dread blindfold, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), greater corrosive weapon rune, earthglide cloak
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +6, Dex +4, Con +4, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +2)
o Class Feat: Golden Body
o Skill Feat: Battle Cry
o Skill Increase: Occultism (trained)
o Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, sandals of the stag, dread blindfold, quickstrike weapon rune, earthglide cloak
After some debate, I settled on Flying Kick as a way to represent her Void Rush ability, which launches her at a target to unleash a rabid frenzy. This lacks the extra damage associated with the ability but matches the general concept of her savage leap. She picks up Shattering Strike as it allows her to make a Strike that bypasses resistances, which resembles the true damage dealt by her Furious Bite. Finally, Golden Body empowers her attacks with the deadly trait but more importantly gives her fast healing to represent the healing of her Fury of the Xer’Sai. Prismatic Scales isn’t representative of her abilities but matches some of the more bruiser-ish builds that she sometimes uses. She takes Pick Up the Pace as her final general feat so that she can lead her Xer’Sai minions on a hunt, driving them to charge across the sands. Cloud Jump increases the distance of her rushes at enemies while Legendary Survivalist can help her survive the hostile environment of her desert habitat. Finally, she’ll grab Battle Cry for her final skill feat, letting her unleash a fearsome cry before a fight breaks out.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: In a free archetype game, Rek’Sai is freed up to take more of her own monk feats, allowing her to take Flying Kick earlier as well as options such as Wholeness of Body, Tiger Stance, Tiger Slash, and Flurry of Maneuvers. The Worm Caller archetype has enough feats that Rek’Sai can simply take more feats from it for her free archetype, eventually taking up Call the Worm to represent some of the larger Xer’Sai seen in Legends of Runeterra, specifically Xerxa’Reth, the Undertitan. Alternatively, given that Rek’Sai generates fury as part of her passive, she could take up the Barbarian Dedication and some of its feats to fit with that.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Rek’Sai is a sacred nagaji monk with the feral child background to represent her being a savage being from the Void. Ironically, she uses her capstone feat, Golden Body, to represent the healing provided by her Fury of the Xer’Sai passive. She can make a series of attacks that deal extra damage with Flurry of Blows and Ki Strike for her Queen’s Wrath but lacks the ability to hit multiple targets aside from just targeting different enemies. By exploring the Worm Caller Dedication, Rek’Sai covers Burrow with her Tunnel feat for a burrow speed and Worm Sense for her tremorsense. To mimic the effects of the true damage dealt by her Furious Bite, she uses Shattering Strike, which allows her to bypass resistances of enemies that she attacks. For her burrowed abilities, she relies on Ki Blast to mimic the effects of her Prey Seeker though this launches a cone rather than an exploding bolt. She doesn’t have a specific ability to replicate the knock-up from her Unburrow but that could be achieved simply by taking advantage of her Athletics skill and the maneuvers associated with it while Tunnel is just her using her burrow Speed. This leaves her Void Rush ultimate, which is achieved through the Flying Kick feat allowing her to launch herself at an enemy and make a Strike with its range enhanced by her own movements and Cloud Jump. Her investment in Survival and its related feats help her in the harsh habitat of her homelands while she at least has Pick Up the Pace to lead her Xer’Sai minions in the hunt.
This volatile and very violet voidling violently invades various villages, verily ventilating vectors with a volley of vicious violations.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
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