I don't like repeating sources, but here's a quick little look at a League mage! 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.
There's a video you can check out on the build if that's more your speed.
Let's get into the remastered rebuild for Veigar, the Tiny Master of Evil from League of Legends!
VEIGAR, THE TINY MASTER OF EVIL
SOURCE League of Legends
BUILD GOALS
o He was a yordle who came to the human world to learn celestial magic before he became a thrall of Mordekaiser who tortured and broke him
o He is a burst mage who uses his abilities to deal high and sudden damage
o Whenever Veigar hits an enemy with an ability, his Phenomenal Evil Power passive grows, increasing his ability power
o He blasts a bolt of dark energy in a direction with Baleful Strike, damaging the first two enemies hit
o Calling down Dark Matter deals damage in an area after a short delay
o Event Horizon creates a cage that stuns enemies that collide with its walls
o His ultimate is Primordial Burst, which deals heavy damage to a unit, increased by their missing health
o In LoR, Veigar empowers Darkness cards, increasing their damage and allowing them to target the nexus directly. He also has a mecha that he uses in those cards
Summary of Goals: Veigar wields powerful magic associated with the stars and the darkness between them. He can entrap enemies but is mostly about blasting them with these forces. A major goal in building him is representing the gathering power of his Phenomenal Evil
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Umbral Gnome
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Constitution, +Charisma, +Intelligence, -Strength
o Ancestry Feat: Grim Insight
Background: Cultist
o Ability Boosts: +Charisma, +Intelligence
o Skill Increase: Occultism (T), Cult Lore (T)
o Background Feat: Schooled in Secrets
Class & Subclass: Sorcerer with Diabolic Bloodline
o Class Ability Boost: +Charisma
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (T), Arcana (T), Athletics (T), Deception (T), Intimidation (T), Religion (T), Stealth (T)
o Spell Repertoire: Cantrips – ignition, void warp; 1st – charm, harm
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +1, Con +1, Int +3, Wis +0, Cha +4)
I’m not the biggest fan of gnome ancestry feats but, in general, I think they are the best representatives of the yordles. The Pathfinder gnome process of the bleaching even fits in with Veigar’s experiences – though I wish there were more options in the ancestry that properly supported it. Umbral at least fits with his association with darkness and from it, he can take up a Grim Insight. Any fears he might face in modern times pale in comparison to what Mordekaiser put him through. Speaking of his big, bad boss, his forced servitude makes him a solid fit for the cultist background. When it comes to representing the growing power of his Phenomenal Evil, sorcerer feels like the best option due to the sorcerous potency class feature amping up the damage of his spells. He also specifically chooses the Diabolic Bloodline because he can get some use out of the divine spell list AND it has a blood magic effect that can further amp the damage of his focus and sorcerous gift spells. By the time he gets his falling stars spell, he’s dealing +18 damage before even rolling a die. Speaking of spells, he gets ignition as a sorcerous gift for a nice early blasting cantrip. Charm is likewise from his sorcerous gifts but he picks harm as one of his first rank spells for a versatile damage dealer that calls to mind his Darkness card from Legends of Runeterra.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Wizard Dedication – School of Battle Magic
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Glare
o Skill Increase: Crafting (T)
o Gear: cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Adopted Ancestry – Fetchling
o Skill Increase: Arcana (E)
o Spell Repertoire: 2nd – floating flame, inner radiance torrent*
o Gear: masquerade scarf, cloak of feline rest, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Split Shot
o Skill Feat: Trick Magic Item
o Gear: mage’s hat, Jack’s tattered cape, masquerade scarf, cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +2, Con +1, Int +4, Wis +1, Cha +4.5)
o Ancestry Feat: Theoretical Acumen
o Skill Increase: Nature (T), Occultism (E)
o Spell Repertoire: 3rd – enthrall, impending doom*
o Gear: lesser atmospheric staff, mage’s hat, pendant of the occult, masquerade scarf, cloak of feline rest, psychopomp mask
The diabolic bloodline and the divine spell list was a bit of any port in a storm so at second level, he takes a Wizard Dedication and fitting his nature as a burst mage, picks the School of Battle Magic. The nice thing about wizard is that they can learn any spells they need though I’d start with phase bolt for some Baleful Strike design. Veigar goes back to his sorcerer class for Split Shot as his next class feat, using that to nail two targets per the two target effects of Baleful Strike. If you use this with phase bolt and you target somebody standing behind the initial target, you’ll even be able to bypass the bonus from cover. I struggle a bit with settling on skills for Veigar but decided to lean into some magic skills and eventually Intimidation. He gets an early jump on it with Intimidating Glare so that he can Demoralize foes and debuff them before unleashing his spells upon them. On the topic of unleashing spells, he takes up Trick Magic Item so that he can wield a wider range of artifacts and relics. While the general idea of gnome fits yordles, Veigar doesn’t really fit the whimsy and wonder that their ancestry feats use so he’ll take Adopted Ancestry for the fetchling to dig into some darker designs. However, Theoretical Acumen still fits with the skill investments that he’s been making and if it can help save him from an attack or something, it’ll be worth it.
The main spells of note for this block are inner radiance torrent, which hits multiple creatures in a line, like his Baleful Strike, and impending doom, which has the delay associated with the descent of his Dark Matter.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Basic Wizard Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Vicious Critique
o Spellbook: 1st – force barrage; 2nd – summon construct
o Gear: +1 explorer’s clothing, lesser atmospheric staff, demon mask, mage’s hat, Jack’s tattered cape, masquerade scarf
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Arcana (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 4th – divine wrath*, suggestion
o Gear: endless grimoire, +1 explorer’s clothing, wand of shardstorm (1st-rank), lesser atmospheric staff, mage’s hat, pendant of the occult
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Detonating Spell
o Skill Feat: Magical Shorthand
o Spellbook: 3rd – gravity well
o Gear: ring of wizardry (type I), endless grimoire, wand of teeming ghosts (2nd-level), +1 explorer’s clothing, demon mask, lesser atmospheric staff
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Shadow Blending
o Skill Increase: Occultism (master)
o Spell Repertoire: 5th – inevitable disaster, shadow blast*, wave of despair
o Gear: +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, ring of wizardry (type I), endless grimoire, ring of minor arcana, wand of shardstorm (1st-rank)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +4.5, Wis +1, Cha +5)
o Class Feat: Greater Bloodline
o Skill Feat: Bizarre Magic
o Gear: wand of shardstorm (3rd-rank), +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, atmospheric staff, ring of wizardry (type I), wand of teeming ghosts (2nd-level), endless grimoire
This block starts off with Basic Wizard Spellcasting, giving him the caster classic of force barrage and summon construct as a nod to the mecha of his card in Legends of Runeterra. It also eventually gives him some crowd control in the form of gravity well, calling to mind his Event Horizon though not quite matching it. Detonating Spell has some similar ideas as Split Shot but Detonating Spell can be applied to non-attack spells and is better for crowded groups of enemies. Speaking of crowds, Veigar can take Greater Bloodline to gain the hellfire plume focus spell, resembling his Dark Matter but in reverse – shooting up into the air instead of descending from it. Magical Shorthand will help him learn spells on his wizard side of things and then Bizarre Magic just makes it harder to identify his spells and thus more difficult to counter them. As a yordle who survived torment at the hands of Mordekaiser, Diehard is a shoe-in general feat before he takes Shadow Blending as his ancestry feat, simply to possibly preserve him since he is after all a squishy mage.
In addition to his wizard spells, Veigar secures some solid sorceries, selecting divine wrath as his signature spell for fourth rank spell. This is another area effect that he can call down, bringing to mind his Dark Matter. Shadow blast fits his association with darkness and is just a supremely versatile spell. Inevitable disaster plays into the delay of Dark Matter while also being a sort of point-and-click ability, like his Primordial Burst.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Incredible Investiture
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (E)
o Gear: sanguine pendant, greater mage’s hat, wand of shardstorm (3rd-rank), +1 resilient explorer’s clothing, boots of bounding, ring of wizardry (type I)
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Expert Wizard Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Disturbing Knowledge
o Gear: +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, ring of wizardry (type II), sanguine pendant, wand of shardstorm (3rd-rank), atmospheric staff, umbral wings
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Shadow’s Assault
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (M)
o Spell Repertoire: 6th – blessed boundary
o Gear: greater atmospheric staff, +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, greater ash gown, sanguine pendant, greater mage’s hat, wand of shardstorm (3rd-rank)
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Arcane Breadth
o Skill Feat: Group Coercion
o Gear: wand of shardstorm (5th-rank), greater atmospheric staff, ring of wizardry (type III), +2 resilient explorer’s clothing, ring of wizardry (type II), sanguine pendant
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +3, Con +3, Int +5, Wis +2, Cha +5.5)
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Arcana (L)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater desolation locket, wand of shardstorm (5th-rank), greater atmospheric staff, greater ash gown, wand of refracting rays (4th-level)
Expert Wizard Spellcasting and Arcane Breadth are just going to net him more arcane spells to sling around and he can go looking for spells that fit the theme of space such as gravitational pull or try to entrap people with wall spells. Disturbing Knowledge isn’t something that he can really benefit off of himself since it takes two actions, but he could use it to help out his minions, who he lords over with his Group Coercion skill feat. He gets some incredible general feats this block that let him wield even more mystical relics and hopefully give him the chance to act first and lay out some area devastation before his companions get in blasting range. Speaking of, he’s able to squeeze an extra casting of shadow blast out of his ancestry with Shadow’s Assault, which will use the same DCs as his sorcerer spells.
We do get a few good ones as well with the main callout being blessed boundary. This creates a sphere that damages creatures that attempt to pass through the wall and also requires them to make a save to avoid being shoved in a direction of Veigar’s choosing. This doesn’t inflict stunned, but knocking enemies to and fro means that they’ll have to waste actions to get back into position.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Effortless Concentration
o Skill Feat: Unified Theory
o Gear: wand of toxic blades (6th-rank), +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, ring of wizardry (type IV), wand of shardstorm (5th-rank), greater atmospheric staff, bloodline robe
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Pierce the Light
o Skill Increase: Occultism (L)
o Spell Repertoire: 9th – falling stars, massacre
o Gear: major atmospheric staff, wand of refracting rays (6th-level), wand of toxic blades (6th-rank), +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, greater desolation locket, wand of shardstorm (5th-rank)
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Master Wizard Spellcasting
o Skill Feat: Break Curse
o Gear: bangles of crowns, major atmospheric staff, amplifying aeon stone, wand of toxic blades (6th-rank), +2 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, ring of wizardry (type IV)
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (L)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, bangles of crowns, wand of shardstorm (7th-rank), major atmospheric staff, wand of refracting rays (6th-level), wand of toxic blades (6th-rank)
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +0, Dex +4, Con +4, Int +5, Wis +3, Cha +6)
o Class Feat: Bloodline Perfection
o Skill Feat: Scare to Death
o Gear: true endless grimoire, +3 greater resilient explorer’s clothing, mask of allure, wand of shardstorm (7th-rank), major atmospheric staff, amplifying aeon stone
I personally like Effortless Concentration and the build can make use of it with spells such as floating flame, awaken entropy, or anything else that you’ve picked up. If you didn’t go for or don’t use those sorts of spells, Quickened Casting is always good while Explosion of Power or Overwhelming Energy could provide more damage. He goes for Master Wizard Spellcasting simply to gain more spells from his archetype and there’s a similar idea behind Bloodline Perfection, merely making him a master but miniature mage. However, if you find yourself using a lot of Detonating Spell or Split Shots, Spellshape Mastery is a better fit. Unified Theory will let him use Arcana for Trick Magic Item or Theoretical Acumen regardless of what he would normally roll or use for it. Break Curse could be handy for him trying to break and lingering hold that Mordekaiser might have over him and Scare to Death as his final skill feat bot both as a debuffing ability and a means to carry out executions. Fleet will hopefully ensure that he can get within range for his spells on only a single Stride action.
The first of his two main spells in this block is falling stars, which is a sorcerous gift that he’ll be able to empower and resembles the crashing celestial bodies of his Dark Matter. There’s also massacre, which is a high damage spell with the death trait, which means that it kills creatures that it reduces to 0 health. This serves to represent the execute of his Primordial Burst, which we’ve been struggling with a little bit in this build.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: In a free archetype game, Veigar could explore his wizard feats a bit further, maybe even taking his school spell and grabbing a few other spellshaping feats. However, he could also consider an Oracle Dedication specifically so that he can take up a cosmos mystery and maybe work his wayinto picking up its associated focus spell. One final option is the Oatia Spellsage Dedication. While the divination aspect of it doesn’t quite fit him, it does have a host of heavenly powers with the focus spells seen in Night’s Glow and Night’s Shine.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Veigar, the Tiny Master of Evil is an umbral gnome sorcerer of the diabolic bloodline and the cultist background. Gnomes serve well to represent yordles with Veigar's own turn towards darkness reflected by his umbral heritage. This turn was precipitated by Mordekaiser making the master mage his minion, and we can reflect that through his cultist background. The sorcerer class itself helps to make him resemble a burst mage with its Sorcerous Potency, which is also important for his Phenomenal Evil passive - accruing power based on the rank of his spells rather than gaining something like ability power. His diabolic bloodline and its Tongue of Flame blood magic also helps with this idea. Split Shot will let him hit two targets with spells such as ignition or phase bolt, based off of his Baleful Strike. Impending doom matches the slight delayed damage of his Dark Matter whereas hellfire plume and divine wrath match the area effect called from the heavens that this ability is visualized as. He picks up some battlefield control for his Event Horizon with options like blessed boundary, gravity well, and any wall-based spells that he might pick up. Any high damage spells suits Primordial Burst, but massacre may best match the execution effect associated with it. Finally, it's a poor fit, but he can call forth a mecha of some sort with his wizard's summon construct to resemble the mecha that he rides in Legends of Runeterra.
Even the celestial spheres shake and shudder at the summons of this spell-slinging shortstuff. His severe sorceries swell in strength as he secures his assured supremacy over the stars - and the civilians that slumber beneath them.
Please let me know what you think and what other builds you'd like to see!
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Have a fantastic Friday!
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