Full ReBuild Friday - Rammus the Armordillo [Shisk Guardian]

Per reqests cast upon YouTube and the Discord alike, I've built Rammus following the full release of the guardian class! There's actually some sizable changes that happened here, largely due to the shifting around of some class feats. 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 new video to go with the build, and I hope you'll check it out.

Let's get it rolling with this rebuild for Rammus the Armordillo from League of Legends!

Classic Rammus

RAMMUS, THE ARMORDILLO

SOURCE League of Legends

BUILD GOALS

o    Rammus is a vanguard in League of Legends, a type of offensive tank that leads the charge for his team

o    His Spiked Shell passive causes his attacks to deal magic damage based on his armor value

o    His first activated power is Powerball, which causes him to roll into a ball and gain speed over time. Upon colliding with an enemy, he stops rolling, deals damage, and knocks them back slightly

o    Defensive Ball Curl causes Rammus to enter a defensive stance, increasing his armor and magic resistance and automatically damaging enemies that hit him with basic attacks

o    He can use Frenzying Taunt to taunt nearby enemies while also gaining attack speed

o    The final ability of this valiant vanguard is Soaring Slam. He leaps to a target location, damaging and slowing enemies upon impact. The impact leaves aftershocks that deal additional damages and slows

o    Millenia-old, the origin of Rammus is a mystery, with some suggesting that he is an Ascended who wanders the deserts of Shurima

o    He is a remarkably even-tempered individual who shows up when people are in trouble to save them

Summary of Goals: Rammus has a heavy focus on disrupting enemies, whether it being knocking them back with Powerball, slowing them with Soaring Slam, or even forcing them to attack him with Frenzying Taunt. Furthermore, he deals damage to creatures that attack him through his Defensive Ball Curl, which might be hard to keep up constantly as an effect.

LEVEL 1 

Ancestry & Heritage: Quillcoat Shisk

o    Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Intelligence

o    Ancestry Feat: Spine Stabber

Background: Tall Tale

o    Ability Boosts: +Constitution, +Strength

o    Skill Increase: Performance (T)

o    Background Feat: Impressive Performance

Class & Subclass: Guardian

o    Class Ability Boost: +Strength

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (T), Athletics (T), Diplomacy (T), Nature (T), Survival (T)

o    Class Feat: Punishing Shove

Details

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

We’re sticking with much of our original design for this rotund roller, but some guardian feats were moved around or changed, which did warrant this rebuild. With that being said, we’re sticking with the quillcoat shisk to gain an ability to resemble his Defensive Ball Curl though it tragically can only be used once per day. I shopped around for a couple effects like this, but the shisk is still the best of them and also comes with Spine Stabber to give him a solid unarmed attack as well. Tall Tale fits with the legends surrounding him, and then we land on guardian. This comes with the Taunt action for his Frenzying Taunt, but Unkind Shove has become Punishing Shove and undergone a few changes – for the better. Instead of just dealing Strength damage while Shoving creatures, he adds extra damage while his proficiency in Athletics increases. Overall, this can help represent the knockback and damage of his Powerball.

Level 1 Rammus, Page 1

Level 1 Rammus, Page 2

LEVEL 2

o    Class Feat: Hampering Stance

o    Skill Feat: Quick Jump

o    Gear: cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 3

o    General Feat: Adopted Ancestry – Ratfolk

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (E)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1), cloak of feline rest, stalk goggles

LEVEL 4

o    Class Feat: Flying Tackle

o    Skill Feat: Powerful Leap

o    Gear: bracelet of dashing, handwraps of mighty blows (+1), necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest

LEVEL 5

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +4.5, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wis +2, Cha +1)

o    Ancestry Feat: Renewing Quills

o    Skill Increase: Survival (E)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, crushing weapon rune, necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest, stalk goggles

At second level, Armor Break is no longer an option, but he can take Hampering Stance, allowing him to enter a stance that turns an area around him into difficult terrain, which brings to mind the slowing effect of his Soaring Slam’s aftershocks. We can represent the initial effects of his Soaring Slam with Flying Tackle as it allows Rammus to move normally, leap into combat, and then dish out a Trip attempt. I wish this had a damage-dealing effect but it’ll work for now. With that ability in mind, he also takes Quick Jump and Powerful Leap so that he can bound farther and faster. He’ll be using Adopted Ancestry for ratfolk though the decision behind doing so might not be clear until a little bit later. We can also get Renewing Quills, which is majorly useful by turning his Barbed Quills reaction into a ‘once per 10 minutes effect’ rather than once per day. It’s still not quite as often as I’d like, but it certainly helps for his Defensive Ball Curl.

Molten Rammus

LEVEL 6

o    Class Feat: Stomp Ground

o    Skill Feat: Titan Wrestler

o    Gear: +1 fortress plate, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, bracelet of dashing, necklace of knives, stone of encouragement

LEVEL 7

o    General Feat: Toughness

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (M)

o    Gear: swallow-spike armor rune, +1 fortress plate, 5, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, crushing weapon rune

LEVEL 8

o    Class Feat: Group Taunt

o    Skill Feat: Cat Fall

o    Gear: boots of bounding, lesser grub gloves, swallow-spike armor rune, +1 fortress plate, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking), rhinoceros mask

LEVEL 9

o    Ancestry Feat: Ratfolk Roll

o    Skill Increase: Survival (M)

o    Gear: +1 resilient fortress plate, boots of bounding, jar of shifting sands, swallow-spike armor rune, quick runner’s shirt, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)

LEVEL 10

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +5, Dex +1, Con +4, Int +1, Wis +3, Cha +2)

o    Class Feat: Lock Down

o    Skill Feat: Terrain Expertise – Desert

o    Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient fortress plate, greater rhinoceros mask, boots of bounding, swallow-spike armor rune, handwraps of mighty blows (+1 striking)

This block looks pretty similar to the premaster version – he still takes Stomp Ground as another way to represent the area effects of his Soaring Slam and Group Taunt since he has the ability to taunt all creatures around him with Frenzying Taunt, but he then takes Lock Down. This fully prevents a creature from moving beyond Rammus, befitting his ability to disrupt and limit adversaries. Titan Wrestler will let him knock about larger creatures, keeping in mind that he can knock around creatures like Cho’Gath. Cat Fall is akin to Adopted Ancestry where it’s inclusion will come in handy down the line for another feat that fits better, but then he has Terrain Expertise for the desert given how he famously inhabits the Shuriman desert. Toughness is a must-have for a tank, and then his Adopted Ancestry comes in handy with Ratfolk Roll. This is meant to resemble the classic roll of Rammus’s Power Ball.

Level 10 Rammus, Page 1

Level 20 Rammus, Page 2

LEVEL 11

o    General Feat: Fleet

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (E)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, advancing armor rune, +1 resilient fortress plate, boots of bounding, jar of shifting sands

LEVEL 12

o    Class Feat: Armored Counterattack

o    Skill Feat: Rolling Landing

o    Gear: +2 resilient fortress plate, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 striking), dinosaur boots, armbands of athleticism, greater rhinoceros mask, flaming weapon rune

LEVEL 13

o    Ancestry Feat: Bristle

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (M)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient fortress plate, robe of stone, dinosaur boots, armbands of athleticism, advancing armor rune

LEVEL 14

o    Class Feat: Scattering Charge

o    Skill Feat: Kip Up

o    Gear: sandstorm top, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater swallow-spike armor rune, +2 resilient fortress plate, dinosaur boots, impactful weapon rune

LEVEL 15

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +5.5, Dex +2, Con +4.5, Int +1, Wis +4, Cha +2)

o    General Feat: Fast Recovery

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (L)

o    Gear: +2 greater resilient fortress plate, greater ring of the ram, sandstorm top, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), robe of stone, implacable armor rune

We still use Armored Counterattack as another way to resemble his Defensive Ball Curl, getting the chance to inflict damage when he takes a hit from another character. Quick Intercept isn’t around anymore, so we take Scattering Charge where Rammus can roll forward and then Shove a group of enemies, which is again inspired by his Power Ball with the damage coming from his Punishing Shove. By increasing his Acrobatics and Cat Fall, Rammus can take Rolling Landing, which is solely inspired by the fact that he loves to roll around. Since we’ve been increasing his Acrobatics, we might as well grab Kip Up since it’s an amazing skill feat that lets him stand up from prone as a free action. Fleet is an important pick-up by increasing his Speed while Fast Recovery helps him on the tanky side of things by letting him recover more quickly from disease and poison. We also include Bristle because it both improves his Armor Class for an action and gives him a damage bonus on both his Barbed Quills and his quills unarmed attack.

Full Metal Rammus 

LEVEL 16

o    Class Feat: Clang!

o    Skill Feat: Cloud Jump

o    Gear: earthglide cloak, +2 greater resilient fortress plate, greater boots of bounding, sandstorm top, handwraps of mighty blows (+2 greater striking), greater swallow-spike armor rune

LEVEL 17

o    Ancestry Feat: Quill Spray

o    Skill Increase: Survival (L)

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), earthglide cloak, greater thunderblast slippers, +2 greater resilient fortress plate, greater ring of the ram, sandstorm top

LEVEL 18

o    Class Feat: Quick Vengeance

o    Skill Feat: Legendary Survivalist

o    Gear: avalanche boots, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), major swallow-spike armor rune, earthglide cloak, +2 greater resilient fortress plate, greater boots of bounding

LEVEL 19

o    General Feat: Robust Health

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (L)

o    Gear: +3 greater resilient fortress plate, bracers of strength, greater cloak of the bat, handwraps of mighty blows (+3 greater striking), earthglide cloak, greater thunderblast slippers

LEVEL 20

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Charisma (Str +6, Dex +3, Con +5, Int +1, Wis +4, Cha +3)

o    Class Feat: Boundless Reprisals

o    Skill Feat: Legendary Guide

o    Gear: handwraps of mighty blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient fortress plate, greater fortification armor rune, avalanche boots, greater advancing armor rune, major swallow-spike armor rune

This block starts off with another familiar feat in the form of Clang!, allowing him to react against enemies that critically miss him and get some damage in on them, inspired by his Defensive Ball Curl. In the original version of the build, I took Quick Vengeance as his capstone but he’s able to take it just before that this time around, which leaves him able to take Boundless Reprisals as his capstone feat, ensuring that he has a reaction for each enemy’s turn – and then his normal reaction left over for his Barbed Quills. For his skill feats, he does again take Cloud Jump and then uses the legendary Survival feats with Legendary Guide to save people from the harsh desert. Quill Spray doesn’t exactly fit him, but it’s a nice little area effect and leaves him to round out his general feats with Robust Health, just so he enhances his own survivability.

FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: In my initial build for Rammus, I suggested using the Monk and Stalwart Defender Dedications, which I think both still work. However, something that I didn’t consider originally but could fit fantastically, is a Barbarian Dedication. This might seem a bit off given how even-tempered he is, but something like Impressive Landing suits him really well with the only real downside being that it’s a level ten feat – which means that he wouldn’t be able to take it until level twenty.

Level 20 Rammus, Page 1

Level 20 Rammus, Page 2

BUILD CONCLUSION

Rammus the Armordillo is a quillcoat shisk guardian with the tall tale background, covering his fabled nature within the Shuriman Desert. The guardian suits the vanguard role fantastically, letting him wade into the thick of enemies and make a mess of them. His Spiked Shell is a little hard to represent with the whole adding his armor to damage, but the guardian functioning as a full martial while also being as capable as they are with armor fits fairly well. For the roll and speed of his Powerball, he takes the likes of Ratfolk Roll and Rolling Landing though for the damage and knockback of it, we have Scattering Charge comboing with Punishing Shove. Defensive Ball Curl is partially covered by the likes Barbed Quills and Renewing Quills as well as the likes of Armored Counterattack and Clang! He also has Bristle as a way to increase his Armor Class, akin to how this enhance his armor and magic resistance. The guardian naturally features Taunt for his Frenzying Taunt while Hampering Stance and Lock Down prevent enemies from moving past him towards his enemies. While he can’t do the whole thing in a single round, he has Flying Tackle to get into the thick of it, per his Soaring Slam, which he can follow up with Stomp Ground to further disrupt and potentially damage enemies.

Shrouded in a spiky shell, this spherical savior sails through the sands to soar and then slam into sinister suspects, sending them scattering with his sod-shaking stomps and strides.

Sweeper Rammus

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. Coming up next is a bit of a surprise build that almost snuck up on me that coincides with a freshly released character.

Have a fantastic Friday!