This was a request that it took me a little bit to actually get around to putting together, but I'm pretty satisfied with what I've managed to make. 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.
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Let's get into the build for Zed, the Master of Shadows from League of Legends!
ZED, THE MASTER OF SHADOWS
CHARACTER Govos
SOURCE League of Legends
BUILD GOALS
o Once a member of the Kinkou Order, Zed left due to a dispute of ideals and created the Order of Shadow, a far more militant and zealous faction
o Zed is a melee assassin that fights using shurikens and a pair of bladed gauntlets
o He deals extra damage to low-health targets with his Contempt for the Weak passive
o As said, he launches an oversized shuriken with Razor Shuriken that deals damage in a line
o Through Living Shadow, Zed summons a shadow duplicate of himself that copies his other abilities. He can recast this ability to swap places with his shadow
o Shadow Slash damages nearby enemies and slows them
o His ultimate is Death Mark, which creates a living shadow as he briefly disappears and marks a target. He stores a portion of damage dealt to the mark by him and his shadow and then detonates it for greater damage
o In Legends of Runeterra, he has Quick Attack and creates an ephemeral shadow when he attacks
Summary of Goals: Zed is a ninja who has mastered forbidden shadow magic that allows him to teleport and summon tangible shadows. He is also a highly skilled fighter who swiftly eliminates targets that he’s marked for death.
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Deep Fetchling
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Strength
o Ancestry Feat: Shadow Blending
Background: Perfection Seeker
o Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Warfare Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Cat Fall
Class & Subclass: Monk
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Athletics (trained), Performance (trained), Stealth (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Class Feat: Monastic Weaponry
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4, Dex +3, Con +0, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +1)
Given his association with shadows and darkness, this build for Zed uses the fetchling ancestry with Shadow Blending allowing him to sink deeper into the dark to avoid attacks. I was happy that this build had some parallels with the Shen build, including the perfection seeker background and the monk class, representing their similar training amidst the Kinkou Order. Given that Zed does favor his weapons, he’s going to take Monastic Weaponry, but the closest weapon to his bladed gauntlets are katars or tri-bladed katars – which are both Strength-based weapons. This leads to him using Strength as his primary ability score though he’ll still need Dexterity to hurl his shurikens at people. Wisdom and Charisma are also important for the spellcasting that he'll dabble in.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Shooting Stars Stance
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump
o Gear: psychopomp mask
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +1 katar, psychopomp mask, ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Qi Spells – qi rush
o Skill Feat: Shadow Mark
o Gear: doubling rings, +1 katar, necklace of knives, psychopomp mask
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4.5, Dex +4, Con +0, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +2)
o Ancestry Feat: Extinguish Light
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +1 striking katar, doubling rings, bracelet of dashing, necklace of knives, psychopomp mask, ring of discretion
Zed improves his ability to use his shurikens with Shooting Star Stance, letting him use them for Flurry of Blows or other feats and features that he’ll pick up. The intent is to eventually represent his Razor Shuriken with this effect though that may require other feats down the line. Alternatively, you could use Qi Spells to gain inner upheaval and empower shuriken with that, but I went with qi rush based on the ghosting he gains when using Death Mark. Either work – the important part is just getting Qi Spells in the first place. I’ll be honest, Quick Jump feels like a must-take for me, which is why it’s on this build. Shadow Mark is much more in-line with the character for the shadowy nature of it if nothing else. He takes Extinguish Light for similar reasons, letting him use his shadow to snuff out light and drown a demesne in dire darkness. His final feat for the block is Fleet just to enhance his Speed, which will stack with his incredible movement as a monk.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: One-Inch Punch
o Skill Feat: Slippery Prey
o Gear: +1 gi, +1 striking katar, noppera-bo hood, doubling rings, Jack’s tattered cape, necklace of knives
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Incredible Initiative
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Path to Perfection: Reflex (master)
o Gear: clandestine cloak, +1 gi, lesser boots of free running, +1 striking katar, doubling rings, bracelet of dashing
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Shadowdancer Dedication
o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak
o Gear: cloak of illusions, vaultbreaker’s harness, spiritsight ring, +1 gi, +1 striking katar, noppera-bo hood
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Fetchling Lore
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert), Intimidation (trained), Fetchling Lore (trained), Occultism (trained)
o Gear: +1 resilient gi, cloak of illusions, flurrying weapon rune, spiritsight ring, lesser boots of free running, +1 striking katar
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +5, Dex +4.5, Con +0, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +3)
o Class Feat: Shadow Magic – shadow jump
o Skill Feat: Foil Senses
o Gear: mantis embrace, +1 resilient gi, decaying weapon rune, cloak of illusions, +1 striking shuriken, +1 striking katar
The alternative option for Razor Shuriken is going into Shooting Stars Stance and then using a One-Inch Punch to deliver an empowered Strike with them. With that covered, Zed delves into the Shadowdancer Dedication – which is why he took that earlier Performance increase that you may have noticed. This archetype is a fantastic fit for him though off the bat, it only provides him with a bonus on Stealth checks when he’s in the dark while also giving him greater darkvision. He can follow it up with Shadow Magic to gain shadow jump, meant to resemble the reactivation of his Living Shadow when he swaps places with it. Between this and Zed’s ability to disappear with Death Mark, he can be hard to pin down, and Slippery Prey plays into the spirit of that. Swift Sneak is a necessity for a ninja of Zed’s caliber and Foil Senses will help him evade creatures with unique senses. Incredible Initiative gives him a jump on foes, letting him get in and strike, hopefully, before anybody notices. However, he still feels as though he’s a little lacking in skills so he takes the Fethcling Lore ancestry feat, netting him Occultism, Intimidation, and Fetchling Lore.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)
o Path to Perfection: Fortitude (master)
o Gear: +2 striking katar, mantis embrace, bravery baldric (haste), +1 resilient gi, cloak of illusions, flurrying weapon rune
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Shadow Illusion
o Skill Feat: Dirty Trick
o Gear: +2 resilient gi, +2 striking katar, cloak of the bat, mantis embrace, decaying weapon rune, shock weapon rune
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Shadow’s Assault
o Skill Increase: Thievery (master)
o Gear: +2 greater striking katar, +2 resilient gi, mask of uncanny breath, cloak of the bat, mantis embrace, bravery baldric (haste)
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Shadow Sneak Attack
o Skill Feat: Schooled in Secrets
o Gear: propulsive boots, +2 greater striking katar, greater cloak of illusions, +2 resilient gi, sash of prowess, assassin’s bracers (type I)
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +5.5, Dex +5, Con +0, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +4)
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained), Stealth (legendary)
o Path to Perfection: Reflex (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient gi, propulsive boots, keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking katar, greater doubling rings, mask of uncanny breath
Shadow Illusion provides a focus spell of the same name, which is a prefect representation of Zed’s Living Shadow. He also takes Shadow Sneak Attack to swiftly execute foes since he is supposed to be a ninja. Within lore, Zed’s use of shadow magic is a good example of him being willing to do anything to come out on top, which inspires the use of the Dirty Trick feat. Then, since he’s been part of Kinkou Order and the Order of Shadows, both of which I think are meant to be secrets, he takes Schooled in Secrets as his other skill feat. His low Constitution influences the inclusion of Toughness, and his ancestry feat for the block is Shadow’s Assault to gain a casting of shadow blast. I had hoped there was an emanation effect here, but that is the one type of area it doesn’t create. You could maybe cast a burst with it on his shadow illusion to at least create the feeling of his Living Shadow copying his moves.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Master Qi Spells – touch of death
o Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak
o Gear: greater decaying weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, greater boots of bounding, keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking katar, greater cloak of illusions
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Skirt the Light
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Gear: +3 greater striking katar, greater shock weapon rune, greater decaying weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, keen weapon rune, propulsive boots
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Assassin Dedication
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Gear: bracers of strength, +3 greater striking katar, quickstrike weapon rune, greater decaying weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, greater boots of bounding
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Thievery (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient gi, bracers of strength, greater sash of prowess, +3 greater striking katar, greater decaying weapon rune, greater shock weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str +6, Dex +5, Con +1, Int +2, Wis +4, Cha +4)
o Class Feat: Assassinate
o Skill Feat: Quiet Allies
o Skill Increase: Society (trained)
o Gear: +3 major striking katar, +3 greater resilient gi, titan’s grasp, greater sash of prowess, quickstrike weapon rune, +3 greater striking shuriken
Following on from Qi Spells is Master Qi Spells, which Zed can specifically use to take touch of death and simulate his Death Mark. It involves dealing damage before unleashing a larger pop of damage though he’ll have to use an action to trigger that extra damage. An Assassin Dedication also gives Zed an action called Mark for Death, which will allow him to increase the damage that he deals to off-guard targets. From there, he can get Assassinate to hopefully do exactly that to the squishy foes that he comes across. Our assassin of course takes Legendary Sneak from among his skill feats and Quiet Allies specifically because he is a leader of an entire order of ninjas and assassins. There’s also Kip Up, which is just one of my favorite skill feats. Skirt the Light demonstrates some of his mastery over his shadows, allowing him to use it to cross vast distances though he could also look at Pierce the Light depending on the details of your particular campaign.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: In a free archetype game, Zed would actually be able to start out with an Assassin Dedication and likely take Surprise Attack and Sneak Attacker from it. It also allows him to explore deeper into his Shadowdancer Dedication for things like Spring From the Shadows. He could also delve into a Dual-Weapon Warrior Dedication in hopes of comboing Double Slice with Flurry of Blows for his Shadow Slash or Dual Thrower to launch a pair of shuriken simultaneously.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Zed, the Master of Shadows is a deep fetchling monk with the perfection seeker background, reflecting his history with Shen and their training in the balance-obsessed Kinkou Order. His use of Monastic Weaponry and Shooting Stars Stance cover his ability to use his bladed gauntlets and shruikens while an Assassin Dedication makes him the assassin he's designed to be. Contempt for the Weak causes him to deal more damage to low-health targets, which is hard to accomplish, but we do have Shadow Sneak Attacker to deal extra damage to vulnerable targets to match it in spirit. He combos Shooting Star Stance with One-Inch Punch to cover his Razor Shuriken, dealing more damage with a simple shuriken, or he can fire shadow blast in a light. The shadowdancer lets him create a Living Shadow through his shadow illusion focus spell, which can lash out at enemies, and shadow jump allows him to dash or teleport to it. Shadow Slash was a little harder to capture, unfortunately. The best way to do it is just make Strikes at all enemies around you, and Flurry of Blows letting him pack more Strikes in a single action helps with that. Finally, for his Death Mark ultimate, the best option is actually not going to be the assassin's Mark for Death but the monk's touch of death, a Strike that he can trigger at a latter point for great damage.
Shrouded in shadows, this stalking slayer summons simulacrums, slings shurikens, and savagely shreds saboteurs into scraps.
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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