Coming back for a League build after a while of working on others, it almost felt comfortable treading these familiar waters. It gave me a chance to build a gunslinger that uses crossbows rather than a firearm, which was interesting. I'm still not entirely certain that gunslinger makes crossbows a worthwhile weapon to use, but I did what I could for this build and I am very happy with it even after I had to restructure it when it was complete due to the discovery of new gear. Anyway, s 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 Twitch the Plague Rat from League of Legends!
TWITCH, THE PLAGUE RAT
CHARACTER Twitch
SOURCE League of Legends
BUILD GOALS
o A ranged champion in League of Legends, Twitch is classified as an assassin and a marksman
o Born in the technologically advanced city of Piltover/Zaun as a regular plague rat, he was mutated by chemicals and now carries a vendetta against all above him
o He is known for an odious stench and a fondness for digging through the garbage of others.
o He uses a crossbow as his primary weapon, which appears to be a repeating crossbow but is described as a chem-powered crossbow
o His passive is Deadly Venom, which applies stacks of poison onto his targets, dealing damage over time
o Ambush causes Twitch to become camouflaged until he attacks. He moves swiftly while camouflaged and attacks faster after emerging from his stealth
o Venom Cask hurls a cask of venom that poisons enemies hit, slows them, and reveals the area
o Contaminate causes him to send a lethal toxin to each enemy afflicted by his deadly venom, dealing damage based on how poisoned they are
o His ultimate is Spray and Pray, which for its duration increases his attack damage, range, and causes his attacks to pierce through targets
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Sewer Ratfolk
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Strength, -Strength
o Ancestry Feat: Ratfolk Lore
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Stealth (trained), Ratfolk Lore (trained)
Background: Street Urchin
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence
o Skill Increase: Thievery (trained), Piltover Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Pickpocket
Class & Subclass: Way of the Sniper Gunslinger
o Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Arcana (trained), Athletics (trained), Crafting (trained), Deception (trained), Intimidation (trained), Occultism (trained), Society (trained), Survival (trained)
o Class Feat: Munitions Crafter
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 12)
Arising from the depths of Zaun, mutated from a plague rat into something more, the build for Twitch starts with the ratfolk ancestry and makes use of the sewer ratfolk heritage, making him more resilient to poisons and diseases. Ratfolk Lore nets him some handy skills with the investment into Stealth, both now and later, playing into his Ambush. Left to roam the streets following his mutation, street urchin slotted in without much trouble and made him adept at Thievery. While not reflected in his kit, it feels like an appropriate addition as he is described as looting the trash and goods of others, which may require some infiltration. There are a few options that could likely work for Twitch, but this build will make use of the gunslinger who follows the way of the sniper to capitalize on his stealth abilities. Its Covered Reload allows Twitch to Hide and Take Cover as a single action and gives him extra damage on his first shot, a sort of replacement for the increased attack speed he gains from coming out of Ambush, especially when he can apply it more regularly with the other deeds. Munitions Crafter grants him the ability to make bombs and ammunitions as well as four formulas. He can use the blight bomb to serve the role of his Venom Cask whereas elemental ammunition can apply persistent poison damage, an early start to his Deadly Venom.
Equipment-wise, he starts with a crossbow or hand crossbow. Twitch normally seems to wield his crossbow in two hands, but tends to switch into a one-handed grasp when using his Spray and Pray. Twitch is known for having a higher attack speed, which might be best facilitated by repeating crossbows. At this level, the only repeating option that Twitch really has, unless he wants to use a lower attack bonus, is the repeating heavy crossbow.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Crossbow Crack Shot
o Skill Feat: Streetwise
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +1 repeating heavy crossbow, stalk goggles, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Alchemical Shot
o Skill Feat: Terrain Stalker – Rubble
o Gear: crafter’s eyepiece, +1 repeating heavy crossbow, necklace of knives, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 10, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 12)
o Ancestry Feat: Lab Rat
o Skill Increase: Crafting (expert), Medicine (trained)
o Gear: +1 striking repeating heavy crossbow, crafter’s eyepiece, bracelet of dashing, necklace of knives, stalk goggles, ring of discretion
Crossbow Crack Shot will give Twitch some additional damage with his crossbow, granting a circumstance bonus on rolls so that he has less minimum damage. Alchemical Shot allows him to convert his bombs to deal greater persistent poison damage than he would be able to deal with the elemental ammunition. It isn’t entirely clear whether Alchemical Shot works with a two-handed weapon, so if it doesn’t players may want to instead swap it out for something like Running Reload. As a true resident of the streets of Zaun, Streetwise allows Twitch to skulk around and listen for information, using his Intelligence and Society skill rather than relying on his Charisma. Terrain Stalker allows him to creep through the rubble, debris, and trash of Zaun without a chance of being spotted unless enemies grow too close. Fleet represents the slight speed increase granted by Ambush, but is handy when to comes to Sneaking, allowing him to move 15 feet when he does so instead of only 10. Finally, with the work that Twitch does with poison, Lab Rat felt like a good ancestry feat that makes him even more resistant to such effects.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Advanced Shooter – Crossbows
o Skill Feat: Eyes of the City
o Gear: +1 leather, +1 striking repeating crossbow, alchemist goggles, bracelet of dashing, Jack’s tattered cape, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Gear: vaultbreaker’s harness, +1 leather, lesser poison concentrator, +1 striking repeating crossbow, crafter’s eyepiece, bracelet of dashing
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Munitions Machinist
o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak
o Gear: slippers of spider climbing, lesser poison concentrator, vaultbreaker’s harness, +1 leather, +1 striking repeating crossbow, alchemist goggles
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Overcrowd
o Skill Increase: Crafting (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient leather, cloak of elvenkind, slippers of spider climbing, vaultbreaker’s harness, lesser poison concentrator, +1 striking repeating crossbow
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 10, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 14)
o Class Feat: Penetrating Fire
o Skill Feat: Specialty Crafting – Alchemy
o Gear: greater shadow armor rune, +1 resilient leather, corrosive weapon rune, cloak of elvenkind, vaultbreaker’s harness, +1 striking repeating crossbow
Taking the Advanced Shooter feat for crossbows expands Twitch’s options, allowing him to pick up weapons such as the repeating crossbow or repeating hand crossbow, with the latter allowing him to keep a hand free. Munitions Machinist increases Twitch’s advanced alchemy, which at this level will allow him to craft moderate blight bombs and moderate elemental ammunition. In an attempt at building towards Spray and Pray, Twitch takes Penetrating Fire, which will allow him to shoot through targets. Unfortunately, it isn’t nearly fast enough to work for the fire rate he uses with that ability. Following a similar concept as Streetwise, Twitch uses Eyes of the City to track his marks and Specialty Crafting to become more proficient at crafting poisons, bombs, and the like during his downtime. But the most important skill feat during this block is Swift Sneak, allowing Twitch to move at his full speed while Sneaking, befitting Ambush.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)
o Gear: +2 striking repeating crossbow, smogger, greater shadow armor rune, +1 resilient leather, bag of holding (type II), slippers of spider climbing
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Shattering Shot
o Skill Feat: Foil Senses
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking repeating crossbow, moderate poison concentrator, greater shadow armor rune, corrosive weapon rune, horrid figurine
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Shinstabber
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert)
o Gear: +2 greater striking repeating crossbow, +2 resilient leather, greater alchemist goggles, moderate poison concentrator, smogger, greater shadow armor rune
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Sniper’s Aim
o Skill Feat: Impeccable Crafting
o Gear: smuggler’s sack (type IV), +2 greater striking repeating crossbow, greater cloak of elvenkind, +2 resilient leather, greater invisibility armor rune, moderate poison concentrator
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 12, Dex 21, Con 16, Int 19, Wis 16, Cha 14)
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Stealth (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, boots of speed, smuggler’s sack (type IV), +2 greater striking repeating crossbow, greater alchemist goggles, ring of maniacal devices
Unlike Alchemical Shot, Shattering Shot specifically calls out and allows the wielder to draw a bomb and regrip his weapon. This plays a bit more into Venom Cask though the wider damage dealt by it could be potentially thought of as Contaminate because, regrettably, there aren’t really any other methods to do so. There might be some other good options, but Sniper’s Aim stands out as generally useful, increasing the already excellent attack bonus of the gunslinger. Given Twitch’s storied stench, it felt appropriate to include the Foil Senses feat in his arsenal. An earlier Specialty Crafting allows Twitch to grab Impeccable Crafting so that he can build his poisons and bombs with greater efficiency. Similarly, Shinstabber builds out of Overcrowd and allows Twitch to hide in the spaces of his allies, potentially using them for cover like a good ADC should.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Hair Trigger
o Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak
o Gear: greater poison concentrator, +2 greater resilient leather, greater red-rib gill mask, smuggler’s sack (type IV), +2 greater striking repeating crossbow, moderate queasy lantern
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Cheek Pouches
o Skill Increase: Thievery (master)
o Gear: +3 greater striking repeating crossbow, greater corrosive weapon rune, greater poison concentrator, +2 greater resilient leather, boots of speed, smuggler’s sack (type IV)
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Piercing Critical
o Skill Feat: Nimble Crawl
o Gear: pilferer’s gloves, +3 greater striking repeating crossbow, speed weapon rune, greater poison concentrator, +2 greater resilient leather, greater red-rib gill mask
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, pilferer’s gloves, major alchemist goggles, +3 greater striking repeating crossbow, greater corrosive weapon rune, greater poison concentrator
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 12, Dex 22, Con 18, Int 20, Wis 16, Cha 16)
o Class Feat: Perfect Readiness
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Skill Increase: Nature (trained)
o Gear: +3 major striking repeating crossbow, +3 greater resilient leather, mercurial mantle, major alchemist goggles, speed weapon rune, greater poison concentrator
When Twitch is at the ready with his crossbow, he can use Hair Trigger to launch a cheeky little shot at a foe before combat even begins. A particularly handy aspect of this is that a successful hit leaves the target flat-footed until the end of Twitch’s first turn, which works nicely with the deeds of the sniper. Twitch might tend to build attack speed more than he builds crit chance, but none of the feats at this level really help with that, leading to the use of Piercing Critical. Alternatively, Twitch could make use of Dance of Thunder, which could help him kite adversaries but he doesn’t get a lot of use from it considering that he wields a repeating crossbow. Perfect Readiness is one of those feats that is always useful, making Twitch permanently quickened to take specific actions. Legendary Sneak allows Twitch to disappear even from plain view while Nimble Crawl felt appropriate for a ratfolk known to dwell in the sewers.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: In my initial ideation of the build, I had actually used the Poisoner Dedication, but options such as elemental ammunition and blight bombs filled that niche. I think it still potentially has a place in the build, with options such as Poison Weapon and Improved Poison Weapon being handy. I think the best fit from it, however, is Pinpoint Poisoner, allowing him to take advantage of his sneakiness to inflict a penalty on saves for flat-footed foes. If the adventure doesn’t grant much opportunity to make use of poisons, the Rogue Dedication is another solid option, giving Twitch slightly more extra damage against flat-footed targets with Sneak Attacker, and providing him some additional skill options with Skill Mastery.
BUILD CONCLUSION
To build Twitch the Plague Rat, this build makes use of the ratfolk ancestry in conjunction with the gunslinger class, which also works with crossbows, his preferred weapon. While he started life as a humble plague rat in the slums of Zaun, he is built as a sewer rat to his original habitat. He focuses on Stealth and Thievery among his skills since he lives on the fringes of society, creeping in to steal the trash and goods of Piltovians. For his Deadly Venom, Twitch can use Munitions Crafter and Machinist to make poison elemental ammunition that deal that persistent damage but can also make use of Alchemical Shot for higher persistent damage. Ambush causes Twitch to become camouflaged, disappearing from sight and moving faster. With the focus on Stealth granted by his way of the sniper, Twitch uses the likes of Fleet, Swift Sneak, and Legendary Sneak to suddenly disappear. In place of gaining greater attack speed, Twitch inflicts extra damage with his Vital Shot or Ghost Shot deeds. Munitions Crafter and Machinist pull double duty, with the ability to create blight bombs serving nicely for his Venom Cask. While it doesn’t deal the persistent damage, he can also potentially create the wider range of it with Shattering Shot. Regrettably, there isn’t really an option for Contaminate with the closest option being Poisoner’s Twist, which is limited to melee. In using a repeating crossbow, Twitch’s ultimate is very easy to mimic by just making multiple attacks in a round though he can use Penetrating Fire to shoot through one target into another. Overall, this build is designed to create Twitch as a ranged combatant who creeps around the battlefield while inflicting lingering damage upon his enemies so that even when sight of him is lost, his presence is still felt.
Lemme know what you think and what other builds you would like to see!
If you want to join in on the discussion of these builds and the ones I do for monsters or just hang out with a bunch of fellow TTRPG nerds, check out the Discord server. We also have a Twitter where we try to post teasers for the blog and are trying to get some milestones made up for. Next week's build is a psychic of a flavor that I haven't built before and has had more returns than a tennis pro.
Have a fantastic Friday!
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