Full Build Friday - Wukong, the Monkey King

I know, I know, monkeys aren't apes, but I'm playing fast and loose with the rules this Ape-ril. 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.

I had fun making his video, so I hope you'll check it out.

Let's get into the build for Wukong, the Monkey King from League of Legends!

WUKONG, THE MONKEY KING

CHARACTER Kong

SOURCE League of Legends

BUILD GOALS

o    Wukong is a Shimon, a race of monkey-like Vastayan though he was exiled from his people after too many pranks

o    He sought to learn the ways of Wuju from Master Yi and took his new skills to protect his people

o    This melee diver fights using a staff, being a durable and damage-focused fighter that seeks to be in the midst of combat

o    Stone Skin grants him extra armor, increasing as he lands blows on enemies, and also giving him extra health regen (mountain resilience)

o    His Crushing Blow empowers his next basic attack with bonus range, extra damage, and armor reduction

o    When Wukong uses Warrior Trickster, he becomes invisible and dashes in a direction. While he does so, he leaves behind a clone in the area, which will attack foes (mislead)

o    He gains another dash with Nimbus Strike, which also involves him summoning clones to strike two additional enemies. He also gains attack speed (blink charge, hasted assault)

o    Cyclone is his ultimate ability, which causes him to spin his staff and deal damage to all enemies around him while knocking foes into the air

Summary of Goals: Wukong mixes martial might and magic with plentiful tricks, darting into combat before slipping away while leaving a clone in his place. He stacks up armor to reduce incoming damage, allowing him to hang in the midst of foes and spin wildly.

LEVEL 1

Ancestry & Heritage: Bandaagee Vanara

o    Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Strength

o    Ancestry Feat: Climbing Tail

o    Skill Feat: Combat Climber

Background: Magical Misfit

o    Ability Boosts: +Intelligence, +Strength

o    Skill Increase: Arcana (T), Underworld Lore (T)

o    Background Feat: Trick Magic Item

Class & Subclass: Twisting Tree Magus

o    Class Ability Boost: +Strength

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (T), Athletics (T), Deception (T), Stealth (T), Thievery (T)

o    Spellbook: Cantrips – figment, telekinetic projectile

Details

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Dexterity, +Intelligence (Str +4, Dex +2, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +0, Cha +0)

I honestly thought I would get more use out of the vanara ancestry this month, but this might very well be the only build that uses it! This comes with the bandaagee heritage because it grants the ability to ignore difficult terrain caused by crowds, fitting with the ghosting granted by his Cyclone. Given the lack of verticality in LoL, Climbing Tail doesn’t really mean anything but it just leans into him being a monkey man. The magical misfit background is the best fit for his prankster nature as it even talks about him using magic to get out of trouble though I think it’ll be a bit before he gets any real use out of Trick Magic Item. He already has access to arcane magic due to being a magus and he has to spend his initial skills befitting his prankster nature. The Spellstrike of the magus will be handy in resembling his Crushing Blow, likely starting with telekinetic projectile though I think he would personally like figment given his personality. The magus also comes with the twisting tree hybrid study, which I haven’t used before. This is a very neat subclass with all the traits and different functions it adds to wielding a simple staff, and Wukong works well with that given the way he’ll regularly switch his handedness for his attacks. One thing of note – I have this build using a slightly higher Intelligence due to the remaster that the magus got, which allows it to use spells with saving throws as part of a Spellstrike. This makes that a little bit more reasonable to do.

LEVEL 2

o    Class Feat: Force Fang

o    Skill Feat: Dirty Trick

o    Gear: ring of discretion

LEVEL 3

o    General Feat: Fleet

o    Skill Increase: Thievery (E)

o    Spellbook: 2nd – illusory creature

o    Gear: +1 staff, cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion

LEVEL 4

o    Class Feat: Student of the Staff

o    Skill Feat: Quick Jump

o    Gear: flaming star, +1 staff, Jack’s tattered cape, ring of discretion

LEVEL 5

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +4.5, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +3, Wis +0, Cha +1)

o    Ancestry Feat: Ragdya’s Revelry

o    Skill Increase: Religion (T), Stealth (E)

o    Spellbook: 3rd – day’s weight, haste

o    Gear: +1 striking staff, flaming star, bracelet of dashing, Jack’s tattered cape, cloak of feline rest, ring of discretion

The investment in Intelligence means that Wukong doesn’t have the Dexterity necessary for his archetype, so his class feats for this block will rely on magus. Force Fang is mainly just handy. Aside from being a focus spell that grants him another focus point, it doesn’t require an attack roll so he can use it to swiftly recharge and then follow up with a Spellstrike. Student of the Staff is a very neat class feat. It provides him with a deadly trait on his staff, gives him critical specialization with it, and perhaps most interestingly, it lets him inscribe property runes into his spellbook that he can then add while preparing his staff, letting him swap out runes as he might need. Dirty Trick is a perfect pick for this prankster primate and Quick Jump is generally useful while fitting with his athleticism. Fleet will let him jump further and also matches the speed increase of his Cyclone. He also gets Ragdya’s Revelry as an ancestry feat to further play into his puckish persona.

One thing to mention about this build is that I’m not super locked into many spells. There’s a few essential spells that I’ll mention as well as some generally handy ones, but otherwise, I’ll leave it up to you lot. Of note in this block is illusory creature, which could be used to represent Wukong’s clones, specifically representing their ability to actually strike at foes. I also like day’s weight. While it lacks damage, it could be used to Spellstrike to more accurately resemble the armor shred caused by Crushing Blow through the fatigued trait it inflicts. Haste is also handy specifically when it comes to representing the increased attack speed granted by Nimbus Cloud.

LEVEL 6

o    Class Feat: Staff Acrobat Dedication

o    Skill Feat: Slippery Prey

o    Gear: +1 niyahaat, +1 striking staff, wand of curshing leaps, flaming star, Jack’s tattered cape, masquerade scarf

LEVEL 7

o    General Feat: Toughness

o    Skill Increase: Thievery (M)

o    Spellbook: 4th – mountain resilience

o    Gear: staff of the tempest, +1 niyahaat, bravery baldric (fleet), +1 striking staff, flaming star, bracelet of dashing

LEVEL 8

o    Class Feat: Staff Sweep

o    Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler

o    Gear: spellstriker staff, endless grimoire, lesser grub gloves, +1 niyahaat, +1 striking staff, wand of curshing leaps

LEVEL 9

o    Ancestry Feat: Ragdya’s Dance

o    Skill Increase: Stealth (M)

o    Spellbook: 5th – blink charge

o    Gear: +1 resilient niyahaat, spellstriker staff, ring of wizardry (type I), endless grimoire, bravery baldric (fleet), +1 striking staff

LEVEL 10

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +5, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +4, Wis +0, Cha +2)

o    Class Feat: Lunging Spellstrike

o    Skill Feat: Lengthy Diversion

o    Skill Increase: Nature (T)

o    Gear: greater crushing weapon rune, +1 resilient niyahaat, flaming weapon rune, spellstriker staff, endless grimoire, +1 striking staff

With the ability boosts from fifth level, Wukong can take Staff Acrobat Dedication at sixth level, which will lead into him taking Staff Sweep. The multi-target Trip effect of this feat goes with the idea of the knock-up effect of his Cyclone, being a condition that limits the actions an enemy can take. Lunging Spellstrike is a nice grab when it comes to replicating the increased range of his Crushing Blow, so he could do something like Spellstrike with day’s weight to better cover the exact effects of Crushing Blow even if it lacks the extra damage. Slippery Prey lets him more easily get out of the grasp of people looking to punish him for his pranks, Titan Wrestler will let him use maneuvers against larger foes like Malphite or Cho’Gath, and Lengthy Diversion could be handy for simulating Warrior Trickster. He takes Toughness until he can get a high enough Constitution to pick up Fast Recovery, and finishes out his feats with Ragdya’s Dance. Like the similarly named ancestry feat from before, this epitomizes his nature as a prankster. There’s only two spells that stand out here. The first of these is mountain resilience, which is important to replicate the armor increased by his Stone Skin passive. The other option is blink charge and this will be used to represent the dash and smash of his Nimbus Strike, with this ability only missing out on the cloning effect included in this ability.

LEVEL 11

o    General Feat: Fast Recovery

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (E)

o    Spellbook: 6th – chain lightning, mislead

o    Gear: +2 striking staff, armbands of athleticism, greater crushing weapon rune, +1 resilient niyahaat, ring of wizardry (type I), spellstriker staff

LEVEL 12

o    Class Feat: Levering Strike

o    Skill Feat: Swift Sneak

o    Gear: +2 resilient niyahaat, +2 striking staff, greater endless grimoire, greater crushing weapon rune, flaming weapon rune, greater spiny lodestone

LEVEL 13

o    Ancestry Feat: Monkey Spirits

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (M)

o    Gear: +2 greater striking staff, +2 resilient niyahaat, greater spellstriker staff, greater endless grimoire, armbands of athleticism, greater crushing weapon rune

LEVEL 14

o    Class Feat: Hasted Assault

o    Skill Feat: Quick Climb

o    Gear: greater extending weapon rune, +2 greater striking staff, ring of wizardry (type III), +2 resilient niyahaat, greater endless grimoire, ring of wizardry (type II)

LEVEL 15

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +5.5, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +4.5, Wis +0, Cha +3)

o    General Feat: Feather Step

o    Skill Increase: Thievery (L)

o    Gear: +2 greater resilient niyahaat, greater extending weapon rune, propulsive boots, +2 greater striking staff, master magus ring, greater spellstriker staff

Levering Strike is handy as it leaves the target off-guard even if Wukong misses the Strike, the reduced AC resembling the armor shredding effect of Crushing Blow in a different way. Furthermore, the Hasted Assault grants Wukong a focus spell that can make him quickened. With focus points able to be replenished with a 10 minute rest, this means that he won’t have to waste a spell slot to have haste prepared. Swift Sneak will let him move faster when using Warrior Trickster and Quick Climb simply leans into his nature as a Shimon Vastayan. He can finally take Fast Recovery thanks to his boost to Constitution and that will help reference the health regen of his Stone Skin passive. Following a similar vein as his heritage from before, he’ll use Feather Step to further represent the ghosting of his Cyclone. The last of his feats is Monkey Spirits, which I particularly like as an option to resemble his clones though this more resembles classic Wukong and his ability to summon hordes of himself even if they’re only actual monkeys. Along those lines, he also has mislead and this is an almost perfect spell for Warrior Trickster. It recreates it perfectly except for the clone that mimics his movements, which you might have to rely on illusory creature for. Chain lightning is a solid spell, but one that he might not get much use out of until later.

LEVEL 16

o    Class Feat: Resounding Cascade

o    Skill Feat: Powerful Leap

o    Gear: greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient niyahaat, major endless grimoire, propulsive boots, +2 greater striking staff, ring of wizardry (type III)

LEVEL 17

o    Ancestry Feat: Unfettering Prankster

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (L)

o    Gear: +3 greater striking staff, greater flaming weapon rune, greater decaying weapon rune, +2 greater resilient niyahaat, greater extending weapon rune, propulsive boots

LEVEL 18

o    Class Feat: Striker’s Scroll

o    Skill Feat: Cloud Jump

o    Gear: bracers of strength, +3 greater striking staff, major spellstriker staff, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient niyahaat, major endless grimoire

LEVEL 19

o    General Feat: Incredible Initiative

o    Skill Increase: Stealth (L)

o    Gear: +3 greater resilient niyahaat, bracers of strength, greater impactful weapon rune, +3 greater striking staff, greater decaying weapon rune, greater flaming weapon rune

LEVEL 20

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +6, Dex +4, Con +3, Int +5, Wis +0, Cha +4)

o    Class Feat: Whirlwind Spellstrike

o    Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak

o    Skill Increase: Religion (T)

o    Gear: +3 major striking staff, +3 greater resilient niyahaat, titan’s grasp, greater impactful weapon rune, major prismatic sphere, major spellstriker staff

Where Crushing Blow reduces armor, Resounding Cascade approaches that idea from a different side by increasing the damage that his allies deal and maybe helping them proc weaknesses. However, the range of this is extremely limited and the damage is fairly minor, so if you want to go for something like Overwhelming Spellstrike instead, that could also work. He also takes Striker’s Scroll, which is a generally useful feat that will help him save on spell slots – something that the magus sorely needs. He rounds out his class feats with Whirlwind Strike to finally resemble his Cyclone feat. While this Strikes multiple targets, it can only Spellstrike a number of targets equal to what the spells he’s charged his staff with. This is where chain lightning comes into play. If he charges a Whirlwind Spellstrike with this, no matter the reach of his staff, he can Spellstrike all creatures with it. On the skill side of things, he gets Powerful Leap and Cloud Jump, the latter of which I like due to the clouds associated with Wukong, especially in his Radiant skin. He also gains Legendary Sneak to potentially better pull off Warrior Trickster – or maybe do so without spending spells on it. His last general feat is Incredible Initiative, which is inspired by his overeager and reckless nature.

FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: Wukong might start off with a witch or wizard archetype to acquire more spells though this would require some restructuring of his skills. More spells is always great on a magus, but some other options include Spell Trickster to play into his theme as a prankster – though the effectiveness of this is questionable when used in conjunction with Spellstrikes. Alternatively, he could go down the monk route since the staff is a monk weapon, letting him use it with Monastic Weaponry and whatever feats to enhance combat with that. One other thing I will note is that Wukong should take advantage of the free archetype option and take some more magus feats. Specifically, he should take Reactive Strike to take advantage of the reach on his staff.

BUILD CONCLUSION

Wukong, the Monkey King is a bandaagee vanara magus of the twisting tree hybrid study and a magical misfit background. An indefatigable prankster, he has the likes of Dirty Trick, Monkey Spirits, and investments into Stealth and Thievery to help represent those habits. The magus class itself covers the mix of magic and martial skill that Wukong wields, providing him with spells and combat capability. Initially, he can use oaken resilience for his Stone Skin passive before swapping to mountain resilience and he also has Fast Recovery for the health regeneration of this passive. Just about any Spellstrike can work for Crushing Blow with its reach coming from the twisting tree study especially as he gets Lunging Spellstrike but for the armor reduction stuff, he might need to imbue his staff with something like day's weight. For his Warrior Trickster, he's somewhat limited to mislead but could also go for illusory creature and then just sneak around with Legendary Sneak until he's in a better position to Strike. Blink charge offers the best option for the initial dash of his Nimbus Strike with the clones represented by his choice of Mad Monkeys or illusory creature. For the attack speed, he starts with haste but can eventually build up hastened assault to become quickened as a focus spell. We've got a couple features to cover the ghosting of his ult, including his heritage, but Whirlwind Strike is going to stand in for his Cyclone - one that he can charge with spells if they've got the targets for it.

A perennial prankster prone to prodding to the point of problems, this puckish primate powerfully pummels prosecutors into paste while perpetuating plentiful perfidious plots.

Please let me know what you think and what other builds you'd like to see!

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Have a fantastic Friday!