In celebration of Halloween's home month, I'll be doing some character builds inspired by classic horror monsters! Kicking it all off is a promised rebuild, which I kind of had to figure out how to fit into the theme. In what will possibly be the most tenuous of these examples, Sett serves as this month's Werewolf! It might be hard to see, but Sett's vastayan heritage makes him known as the Half-Beast Bastard and it helps if you think of him as a werewol(verine). 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 tried out something new for the YouTube video, changed the format a bit, so let me know what you think and be sure to check out the community page for the next rebuild vote!
Let's get into the build for Sett the Boss from League of Legends!
SETT THE BOSS
CHARACTER Settrigh
SOURCE League of Legends
BUILD GOALS
o The son of a human man and a vastayan woman, Sett fought his way through the fighting pits of Ionia to eventually reign over them
o He is classified as a juggernaut, a specification of character that excel at both taking and dealing damage but tend to lack mobility
o Although he lacks any formal training in unarmed combat, he is a natural brawler and his vastayan heritage, which seems to be based on wolverines, affords him considerable might and toughness
o Sett’s passive, Pit Grit, has two effects. Its Heart of the Half-Beast effect lets him regen extra health while his Heavy Hands alternate his basic attack between left and right punches. His right punch gains extra range, attacks faster, and deals more damage
o Further empowering his basic attacks is Knuckle Down. This gives him a speed boost and causes his next two attacks to deal additional damage
o Haymaker stores a portion of the damage that Sett takes as Grit. Upon activating this effect, he gains a shield based on his grit and then launches a powerful punch that damages all enemies in a cone
o With Facebreaker, Sett pulls in enemies on either side of him, damaging and slowing them. If there’s at least one enemy on each side, they are both stunned
o His final move is The Show Stopper. He suppresses target enemy with a grab and then leaps into the air before slamming them into the ground. On impact, they deal damage to other enemies in the area
o His Legends of Runeterra card has Challenger, letting him pick his blocker, and gives him a protective Barrier the first time he would be reduced below 1 Health while attacking. If he’s leveled, he can’t take damage or die while attacking and can create a Show Stopper to obliterate an enemy
Summary of Goals: Sett is a rough and tumble fighter, demonstrating plenty of raw talent with the strength and power to back it up but lacking any proper training. He couples swift, powerful strikes with haymakers powerful enough to create shockwaves and slams enemies together or tosses them around the battlefield with ease. He is an incredibly resilient opponent especially when he is on the attack and mixing it up in the thick of the fight.
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Dromaar Human
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Ancestry Feat: Iron Fists
Background: Gladiator
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity
o Skill Increase: Performance (trained), Gladiatorial Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Impressive Performance
Class & Subclass: Monk
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (trained), Athletics (trained), Intimidation (trained), Society (trained)
o Class Feat: Qi Spells – inner upheaval
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +4, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +0)
While this is a rebuild, our ancestry and background are looking pretty similar to the original build. Dromaar feels right over something more animalistic or even magically inclined with the hardships he’s faced and its synergy with unarmed combat, starting with Iron Fists. He doesn’t actually have any knockback, but this shove trait does simply help him bully enemies around the battlefield. Gladiator still fits the best for his background, but I did recant on his class and went for a monk rather than fighter. My initial take was when I was newer to the system and bought into the bit that fighters were superior to monks due to their higher proficiency, and I though it fit better with him not being a classically trained martial artist. With the monk class, Flurry of Blows kind of plays into the speed with which his Right Punch comes out and he can further enhance that with Qi Spells and its inner upheaval. This can enhance a Flurry of Blows, dealing extra damage akin to his Knuckle Down.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Wrestler Dedication
o Skill Feat: Quick Jump, Titan Wrestler
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert)
o Gear: cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Overlooked Mastermind
o Skill Increase: Deception (trained), Gladiatorial Lore (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of striking blows (+1), cloak of feline rest, predictable silver piece
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Crushing Grab
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: bracelet of dashing, handwraps of striking blows (+1), necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +4.5, Dex +4, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +0)
o Ancestry Feat: Bloody Blows
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of striking blows (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, one hundred victories tattoo, necklace of knives, cloak of feline rest, predictable silver piece
With Sett’s ability to reposition others, he’ll dip into Wrestler Dedication and take its Crushing Grab. This is mainly a set-up for down the line, but this archetype is chock full of good stuff, even in its first feat. You could possibly pull of Facebreaker just by making two different Grapples on enemies on opposite sides, inflicting some lockdown while dealing a bit of damage on the side. He focuses on Athletics to start with, getting Titan Wrestler for free, and then spending skill feats on Quick Jump and Powerful Leap to let him jump faster and farther. He uses his general feat to gain an extra ancestry feat and will therefore get two this level. The first is Overlooked Mastermind to become trained in Deception and better at lying to his momma about not going to the fighting pits. While Bloody Blows synergizes with his unarmed combat style, it doesn’t really represent anything in his kit.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Advanced Qi Spells – qi blast
o Skill Feat: Experienced Professional
o Gear: +1 gi, handwraps of striking blows (+1 striking), lifting belt, bracelet of dashing, necklace of knives, flask of fellowship
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Fast Recovery
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Path to Perfection: Fortitude (master)
o Gear: ring of the ram, +1 gi, ring of the tiger, handwraps of striking blows (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, one hundred victories tattoo
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Whirling Throw
o Skill Feat: Intimidating Prowess
o Gear: boots of bounding, demolishing weapon rune, ring of the ram, +1 gi, handwraps of striking blows (+1 striking), lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Natural Ambition – Qi Spells – qi rush
o Skill Increase: Gladiatorial Lore (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient gi, boots of bounding, size-changing armor rune, ring of the ram, ring of the tiger, handwraps of striking blows (+1 striking)
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +5, Dex +4.5, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +0)
o Class Feat: Aerial Piledriver
o Skill Feat: Say That Again!
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient gi, flaming weapon rune, boots of bounding, ring of the ram, handwraps of striking blows (+1 striking)
Through this build, Sett picks up two qi spells. The first comes from Advanced Qi Spells, netting him qi blast, which is a pretty perfect representation of his Haymaker. He can spend more actions to make the area bigger and cause it to deal more damage though with it being force damage, he doesn’t even need it to deal true damage. He’s still lacking the shield for this ability, but it’s got the important part. He also uses Natural Ambition for qi rush, giving him the speed-up of Knuckle Down, which can be followed up with inner upheaval to really match this ability. His other two class feats for this block are based on The Show Stopper and recreating its effects through different ways. Whirling Throw captures the hurl of the effect and how he can toss it into a group of enemies but the victim gets a greater chance to land on their feet and Sett doesn’t travel with them as part of it. With it being a single action, he could just follow it up with a Quick Jump to mix it up in melee, or he could use Aerial Piledriver for this effect. This lacks the range of the effect but does put the enemy in the dirt and deal extra damage.
Exploring Sett’s Gladiatorial Lore skill with the likes of Experienced Professional plays into him being the boss of Ionia’s arenas. He then starts looking into Intimidation feats with the likes of Intimidating Prowess, to take advantage of his Strength, and then Say That Again, which is based on a line of his from the game, where he takes offense to a perceived slight against his mother. The effects of this let him take advantage of the shove trait he added to his fists with Iron Fists. Fast Recovery is an early representation for his Heart of the Half-Beast part of his Pit Grit passive.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Diehard
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (master)
o Path to Perfection: Reflex (master)
o Gear: handwraps of striking blows (+2 striking), armbands of athleticism, bravery baldric (haste), +1 resilient gi, boots of bounding, size-changing armor rune
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Overwhelming Breath
o Skill Feat: Battle Cry
o Gear: +2 resilient gi, handwraps of striking blows (+2 striking), greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, flaming weapon rune, brooch of inspiration
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Bounce Back
o Skill Increase: Deception (expert)
o Gear: handwraps of striking blows (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient gi, ki-channeling beads, greater demon mask, armbands of athleticism, thunderblast slippers
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Werecreature Dedication – Werebear
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Feat: Too Angry to Die
o Gear: shockwave weapon rune, handwraps of striking blows (+2 greater striking), sharkskin robe, +2 resilient gi, greater demon mask, dinosaur boots
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str +5.5, Dex +5, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +4, Cha +1)
o General Feat: Canny Acumen – Will
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Path to Perfection: Fortitude (legendary)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient gi, propulsive boots, shockwave weapon rune, handwraps of striking blows (+2 greater striking), ki-channeling beads, gorget of the primal roar
He specifically takes Overwhelming Breath to use in conjunction with his inner upheaval, which will let him punch through resistances to resemble the true damage of his Haymaker. Then, he finally takes his Werecreature Dedication though I think werebears are a better fit for our werewol-verine that just a werewolf. This nets him Toughness as a bonus feat, befitting his juggernaut status along with the Diehard general feat. Bounce Back and Too Angry to die both kind of play into this idea, letting him come back from dying no worse for the wear and with a Demoralizing roar to debilitate foes. Battle Cry serves the same purpose, except he can start a battle with it – do a little bit of showboating before his match begins to let his opponent know who they’re facing. Rounding out his feats for this level is Canny Acumen, which doesn’t actually do anything right now. Instead, it will make him a master in Will saves at seventeenth level, meaning that he will be at least a master in all saves.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Cornered Animal
o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump
o Gear: greater thunderblast boots, +2 greater resilient gi, platinum fortune’s coin, shockwave weapon rune, handwraps of striking blows (+2 greater striking), sharkskin robe
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Heroic Presence
o Skill Increase: Gladiatorial Lore (legendary)
o Gear: handwraps of striking blows (+3 greater striking), greater thunderblast boots, greater flaming weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, greater ring of the ram, shockwave weapon rune
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Force of Nature
o Skill Feat: Legendary Professional
o Gear: bracers of strength, handwraps of striking blows (+3 greater striking), quickstrike weapon rune, greater thunderblast boots, +2 greater resilient gi, platinum fortune’s coin
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Robust Health
o Skill Increase: Intimidation (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient gi, bracers of strength, greater armbands of athleticism, handwraps of striking blows (+3 greater striking), greater thunderblast boots, greater flaming weapon rune
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str +6, Dex +5, Con +4, Int +1, Wis +4, Cha +2)
o Class Feat: Godbreaker
o Skill Feat: Scare to Death
o Skill Increase: Nature (trained)
o Gear: handwraps of striking blows (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient gi, greater dread armor rune, bracers of strength, quickstrike weapon rune, greater dinosaur boots
Sett’s werecreature archetype starts coming into play immediately as he takes Cornered Animal. Letting him target flanking enemies at the same MAP is a great fit for Facebreaker, at least in regards to striking enemies on opposite sides of him. However, since he’ll be making both these Strikes without penalty, he has a higher chance of landing a crit and triggering the stun effect of his critical specialization. Fast Recovery isn’t useful inside of combat, but Force of Nature gives Sett fast healing to resemble his Pit Grit’s Heart of the Half-Beast, serving as a better reflection of it. Rounding out Sett’s class feats is one of the new ones – Godbreaker. This is probably the coolest class feat in a while with it involving Sett throwing his victim in the air and jumping after them to deliver up to three punches. If he’s lucky enough to land all three, he launches them even higher and then power bombs them back into the ground – giving him another way of pulling off his Show Stopper. From his skill feats, Legendary Professional is probably the most important, cementing him as the boss of the brawl. Another important one from this block is Heroic Presence, solely because it gives Sett the temporary Hit Points to resemble the shield of his Haymaker.
FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: This build flourishes in a free archetype game, where it can take its wrestler feats in addition to its monk feats that encourages the use of maneuvers, such as Mixed Maneuvers or Flurry of Maneuvers, or generally useful options such as Diamond Fists, which feels appropriate for him. Even better, he can use free archetype feats to take Godbreaker from his wrestler archetype and spend his actual monk feat on something like Enduring Quickness. Getting an early jump on the Werecreature Dedication could allow him to grab Bear Hug to enhance his grappling capability or Undying Beast and Scarred Hide to become even more of a juggernaut.
BUILD CONCLUSION
Sett the Boss is a dromaar human monk with the gladiator background to resemble his pit fighting profession that he took up in following his father. He demonstrates that he's the boss when it comes to the fighting pits through Experienced and then Legendary Professional. He uses half-orc to represent his wolverine vastayan ancestry given the way that it synergizes with unarmed attacks and also because it specifically grants him access to Overlooked Mastermind. His Werecreature Dedication further explores this aspect of his character and fits with our theme. Despite being a monk, he avoids taking any stances since he isn't a classically trained martial artist and instead relies on his high Strength and innate magic to win the match. The monk's Flurry of Blows can represent the speed with which his Heavy Hand's Right Punch comes out while Force of Nature gives him some fast healing to demonstrate his Heart of the Half Beast. Qi Rush gives him the speed boost of his Knuckle Down - as does just the monk and its Incredible Movement in general - and he can follow it up with inner upheaval to empower his two Strikes with a Flurry of Blows. He can combine inner upheaval with Overwhelming Breath to punch through the physical resistances of his enemies, calling to mind the true damage of his Haymaker while he actually represents the cone of the ability with Qi Blast, sending a shockwave of force that has a size based on how many actions he spends on it. He doesn't have much in the way of shielding, but there is Heroic Presence to grant him temporary HP to resemble the shield that he gains when activating this. Facebreaker is a bit harder, mostly with the stun, but Werecreature comes in again with Cornered Animal or you could simply Grapple two creatures on either side of you, damaging them with Crushing Grab and locking them down though not quite stunning them. For his Show Stopper, we've got a couple options cooked in here - Whirling Throw comes with the repositioning aspect of it and he can follow it with a Quick Jump, but there's also Aerial Piledriver or even Godbreaker to slam the victim into the mat with astounding force. To really represent Sett's status as a juggernaut, he has feats such as Toughness, Diehard, and Robust Health and has at least mastered all of his saving throws, letting him practically wade through combat to lay the smackdown on some suckers.
This mega macho momma's boy mashes in melee with maddening might, making mincemeat in matches before bunting baddies into the bunch, building a business as a beefcake most brolic.
Let me 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. With this being a rebuild, the vote for the next rebuild, slated for November, will be up on the YT channel and Discord. We continue honing in on horrors with next week's build, so hang around to see what I've put together.
Have a fantastic Friday!
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