Full Build Friday - Kennen, the Heart of the Tempest [Skittermander Monk] (Patreon)

I've been sitting on the concept for this build for a long while - and even with only releasing it now, I was still too hasty! There's a spell introduced in Impossible Magic that would have been perfect for this build, but I ended up covering it a different way in this design. I'm still happy with this build overall, but just know that there is a Kennen concept that captures a caster instead of kineticist.

As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in my best attempt to fit the character. These choices may not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.

Ride the lightning for this charged champion of Kennen from League of Legends!

KENNEN, THE HEART OF THE TEMPEST

CHARACTER Kennen

SOURCE League of Legends

BUILD GOALS

o    A yordle who felt out of place in the chaos of Bandle City, Kennen left and settled in ancient Ionia among its balance-seeking people

o    He joined the Kinkou Order as the Heart of the Tempest, meant to maintain harmony and equilibrium

o    Classified as a ranged specialist who throws electrified shurikens into combat

o    Hitting foes with his abilities inflict Marks of the Storm. Upon landing the third stack, he stuns the target and clears the marks

o    His rather basic Thundering Shuriken launches a lightning-imbued shuriken in a straight line

o    Electrical Surge comes with a passive that causes every fourth attack to inflict extra damage and apply a Mark of the Storm. He can also activate it to zap any nearby foes that are marked

o    With Lightning Rush, he transforms into lightning to dash through enemies with enhanced speed while also dealing damage. Recasting this effect ends it and gives him increased attack speed

o    He can surround himself with a Slicing Maelstrom, a storm that strikes foes with lightning bolts while amping up his armor and magic resistance

o    In Legends of Runeterra, he is a low-cost unit that has Quick Attack and generates Marks of the Storm on enemies to stun and damage them

Summary of Goals: Kennen is a nimble, ranged combatant who can infuse the shurikens he throws with electricity. All of his abilities focus on electricity and storms, ranging from shocking and stunning enemies to turn himself into electricity to calling down storms. This demonstrates a considerable control over electricity while also demonstrating the skills and agility befitting a ninja.

LEVEL 1

Ancestry & Heritage: Sylph Skittermander

o    Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Charisma, +Constitution, -Wisdom

o    Ancestry Feat: Stormborn

Background: Perfection Seeker

o    Ability Boosts: +Dexterity, +Constitution

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (T), Warfare Lore (T)

o    Background Feat: Cat Fall

Class & Subclass: Monk

o    Class Ability Boost: +Dexterity

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (T), Diplomacy (T), Stealth (T), Thievery (T)

o    Class Feat: Monastic Weaponry

Details

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +1, Dex +4, Con +3, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha +0)

Strange as it may seem, I think the best way to start out build for Kennen is through the skittermander ancestry. Yes, I am officially adding the skittermander as one of my go-to ancestries for yordles, the strange little critters that they are. While that is the case, we won’t dive headfirst into it as he will use the sylph heritage for the obvious Stormborn ancestry feat pick-up, providing him with some electricity resistance. Like Shen before him, I’m looking at the perfection seeker background to represent Kennen’s association with the Kinkou Order as well as his participation in the fight against the invading Noxians. On top of that, he is yet another member of the Kinkou Order that I will represent through the monk class. This build is honestly something of a slow starter and while I am happy with the finished product, it takes us a bit to get there. The first step in doing so does require him to take Monastic Weaponry to familiarize him with monk weapons.

LEVEL 2

o    Class Feat: Shooting Stars Stance

o    Skill Feat: Slippery Prey

o    Gear: psychopomp mask

LEVEL 3

o    General Feat: Ancestral Paragon – Hyper

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (E)

o    Gear: +1 shuriken, psychopomp mask, ring of discretion

LEVEL 4

o    Class Feat: Qi Spells – inner upheaval

o    Skill Feat: Tumbling Teamwork

o    Gear: thrower’s bandolier (+1), squire’s tabbard, necklace of knives, psychopomp mask

LEVEL 5

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +2, Dex +4.5, Con +4, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +0)

o    Ancestry Feat: Noble Resolve

o    Skill Increase: Stealth (E)

o    Gear: thrower’s bandolier (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, boots of quick marching, necklace of knives, psychopomp mask, ring of discretion

Since Kennen has Monastic Weaponry, he can take Shooting Stars Stance at second level so that he can use the feats and features of his unarmed attacks with his shuriken. These are standout weapons as while they only use 1d4 for their weapon damage die, they are thrown weapons with a reload of 0. This allows them to be fired off en masse, particularly with his flurry of blows and let him make a multitude of attacks with them in a manner inspired by his Electrical Surge passive. He can further buff these shuriken with level four’s inner upheaval Qi Spell. The extra damage this provides has some further resemblance to the bonus magic damage of his Electrical Surge. We will then begin exploring his Acrobatics skill, leading to the use of Slippery Prey as well as Tumbling Teamwork. Effects that enhance or enable Tumbling Through is something that I’m going to be looking at since his Lightning Rush grants him a ghosting effect. He further receives a total of two ancestry feats this block. One comes through the normal means but I want to use his Ancestral Paragon to take the skittermander’s Hyper and increase his Speed. Noble Resolve hails from his sylph heritage and feels right as an option for somebody as vested in the Kinkou Order as he is, not letting anything sway him from his mission.

LEVEL 6

o    Class Feat: Elemental Fist

o    Skill Feat: Quick Jump

o    Gear: +1 gi, thrower’s bandolier (+1 striking), sleeves of storage, bracelet of dashing, squire’s tabbard, necklace of knives

LEVEL 7

o    General Feat: Fleet

o    Path to Perfection: Reflex (M)

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (M)

o    Gear: clandestine cloak, +1 gi, quick runner’s shirt, thrower’s bandolier (+1 striking), bracelet of dashing, boots of quick marching

LEVEL 8

o    Class Feat: Stunning Blows

o    Skill Feat: Kip Up

o    Gear: boots of bounding, clandestine cloak, ethersight ring, +1 gi, thrower’s bandolier (+1 striking), sleeves of storage

LEVEL 9

o    Ancestry Feat: Zoomies

o    Skill Increase: Stealth (M)

o    Gear: +1 resilient gi, boots of bounding, ethersight ring, clandestine cloak, quick runner’s shirt, thrower’s bandolier (+1 striking)

LEVEL 10

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +3, Dex +5, Con +4.5, Int +0, Wis +2, Cha +0)

o    Class Feat: Wronged Monk’s Wrath

o    Skill Feat: Swift Sneak

o    Gear: elemental wayfinder (air), +1 resilient gi, shock weapon rune, boots of bounding, clandestine cloak, thrower’s bandolier (+1 striking)

The last block was still a bit about setting things up whereas this block starts to see some of the pay off. Elemental Fist comes from his inner upheaval and dresses up his abilities with electricity, Stunning Blows is based off of the stun that his Marks of the Storm inflict, and then, since he has Qi Spells, he can take Wronged Monk’s Wrath. This is actually one of the feats that convinced me to use monk for this build in the first place. It provides him with another focus point, which is great in the first place, and also generates an effect that fantastically resembles his Slicing Maelstrom with the way it surrounds him in crackling electricity. His skills feats are then a bit more of a mix though in origin rather than purpose. Quick Jump is generally useful with it reducing Jumping to a single action, which I feel is particularly valuable on a monk with enhanced Speed. Kip Up keeps up that quickness by changing standing to a free action, and Swift Sneak is a hat trick when it comes to speedy skill feats as it lets this ninja take advantage of his full Speed when Sneaking. Honestly, even Fleet and Zoomies help with that. Some of the chains coming out of Zoomies are why I initially considered skittermander. While the quickened can only be used to Stride, it lets him save his other actions for more important things and can help resemble his attack speed steroid overall.

LEVEL 11

o    General Feat: Feather Step

o    Path to Perfection: Will (M)

o    Skill Increase: Thievery (E)

o    Gear: thrower’s bandolier (+2 striking), elemental wayfinder (air), greater bracers of missile deflection, +1 resilient gi, boots of bounding, ethersight ring

LEVEL 12

o    Class Feat: Kineticist Dedication – Air Element

o    Skill Feat: Tumbling Theft

o    Skill Increase: Nature (T)

o    Gear: +2 resilient gi, thrower’s bandolier (+2 striking), sash of prowess, elemental wayfinder (air), shock weapon rune, umbral wings

LEVEL 13

o    Ancestry Feat: Supersonic Speed

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (E)

o    Gear: thrower’s bandolier (+2 greater striking), +2 resilient gi, bravery baldric (fleet), sash of prowess, elemental wayfinder (air), thunderblast slippers

LEVEL 14

o    Class Feat: Through the Gate – Voice of Elements

o    Skill Feat: Shadow Mark

o    Gear: keen weapon rune, thrower’s bandolier (+2 greater striking), greater cloak of illusions, +2 resilient gi, sash of prowess, energy robe (electricity)

LEVEL 15

o    Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Wisdom (Str +4, Dex +5.5, Con +5, Int +0, Wis +3, Cha +0)

o    General Feat: Breath Control

o    Path to Perfection: Reflex (L)

o    Skill Increase: Acrobatics (L)

o    Gear: +2 greater resilient gi, propulsive boots, keen weapon rune, thrower’s bandolier (+2 greater striking), bravery baldric (fleet), mala beads of foresight

Unfortunately, after our last round of feats, we are in another sort of set-up stage. Kennen taps into a Kineticist Dedication for the air element, which can launch electrical Elemental Blasts that might be able to resemble the zaps of his Electrical Surge. Rather than expanding on that aspect though, Kennen will pass Through the Gate for a Voice of Elements. I feel that this actually makes some sort of sense for the character due to the fact that the Kinkou Order maintains the balance between the material and spiritual of Ionia. Through this feat, he’s able to actually communicate with spirits, at least those of elements, and possibly pacify them. When it comes to skills, Thumbling Theft fits with the ghosting effect that I was talking about earlier while Shadow Mark is just to make him a better ninja. Feather Step further enhance his mobility and then Breath Control just felt right for a character as steeped in esotericism and meditation as Kennen is. Finishing out this level is Supersonic Speed, which is a fun enhancement to Zoomies and provides him with a handy escape tool should he need it.

LEVEL 16

o    Class Feat: Advanced Elemental Control – Lightning Dash

o    Skill Feat: Nimble Crawl

o    Gear: greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, soaring armor rune, keen weapon rune, thrower’s bandolier (+2 greater striking), bravery baldric (fleet)

LEVEL 17

o    Ancestry Feat: Storm Form

o    Skill Increase: Stealth (L)

o    Gear: thrower’s bandolier (+3 greater striking), greater thunderblast slippers, greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, propulsive boots, keen weapon rune

LEVEL 18

o    Class Feat: Expert Kinetic Control

o    Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak

o    Gear: cloak of swiftness, thrower’s bandolier (+3 greater striking), quickstrike weapon rune, greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient gi, soaring armor rune

LEVEL 19

o    General Feat: Incredible Initiative

o    Skill Increase: Athletics (M)

o    Gear: +3 greater resilient gi, cloak of swiftness, greater sash of prowess, thrower’s bandolier (+3 greater striking), greater thunderblast slippers, greater shock weapon rune

LEVEL 20

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

o    Class Feat: Enduring Quickness

o    Skill Feat: Water Sprint

o    Skill Increase: Religion (T)

o    Gear: thrower’s bandolier (+3 major striking), +3 greater resilient gi, mercurial mantle, greater sash of prowess, ashen weapon rune, quickstrike weapon rune

I have some ideas behind using Tumbling options to resemble Kennen’s Lightning Rush, but to truly do so, I think Kennen needs to use the kineticist’s Lightning Dash. My only complaint in regards to this effect is its limitation as a line, but it is an otherwise brilliant option. However, to make it a slightly more effective tool for Kennen to use, I had him take Expert Kinetic Control. Between this and the Constitution that we’ve been increasing at every level, his DC should be good enough to at least use against mobs. That leaves Enduring Quickness as his capstone class feat, which does kind of make Zoomies obsolete, but the permanent quickened is too good to pass up on. He returns to his sylph heritage to pick up the Storm Form feat, which has way less electricity than I though it would. Still, I think if kind of works for his ability to turn himself into an aspect of a storm. His skill feats are a little scattered once again and starts with Nimble Crawl to keep him quick and low to the ground. Legendary Sneak feels a little obligatory for a ninja, and then he rounds out his options with Water Sprint, which I have also seen a few ninjas do. Incredible Initiative finishes out his general feats and plays into both his personal swiftness as well as the Quick Attack of his LoR card by letting him strike before the enemies can.

FREE ARCHETYPE SUGGESTIONS: One of the big boons of a free archetype game would be taking the kineticist early while also still being able to take his monk feats. You could likely expand on his Elemental Blasts with those related feats or take more electricity-based impulses. Using an Acrobat Dedication could free up some skill increases for him and has a nice array of Tumbling effects though you could also consider rogue with the surprise attack perhaps being a better fit for the Quick Attack of his LoR card.

BUILD CONCLUSION

Kennen, the Heart of the Tempest is a sylph skittermander monk with a perfection seeker background, which represents his quest to find a home after leaving Bandle City and being drawn to the harmonious inhabitants of Ionia. As a ninja of the Kinkou Order, he invests in Stealth and takes related feats such as Swift Sneak, Shadow Mark, and eventually Legendary Sneak. Since I decided to build him as a monk, he can use the Shooting Stars Stance to make the most out of the shuriken weapon and even use them with his inner upheaval and Flurry of Blows. If he focuses on a single target with the latter of these maneuvers, he can resemble his Marks of the Storm through Stunning Blows. Getting into activated abilities, Thundering Shuriken is quite simple and is probably just best represented through an inner upheaval with his Elemental Fist transforming it into electricity damage. Electrical Surge will use a similar idea though maybe he wants his Elemental Blasts for the pure electricity. He also his inner upheaval for the extra magic damage associated with the passive aspect of this ability. I had to get a bit more creative, but managed to work in Lightning Rush by exploring the kineticist a bit to take the Lightning Dash impulse. Its line limitation is a little lacking, but it is otherwise a perfect fit for this effect. Now, ending said effect does grant Kennen extra attack speed and in a backwards manner, we can kind of reflect this through the Skittermander’s Zoomies or the monk’s eventual Enduring Quickness. Between having extra actions and the action compression already in his kit, especially Flurry of Blows, I think he can cover that attack speed quite capably. To finish off his classic kit, he uses the Wronged Monk’s Wrath to call down a storm around himself to match his Slicing Maelstrom pretty directly. As a final tiny bonus, I think Incredible Initiative is a nice little nod to the Quick Attack of his card, with it letting him act and therefore attack before enemies can do the same.

Short in stature but surely strong, this stumpy shinobi sends a storm of shuriken into the skirmish, shocking shrill suspects with a showing certain to stun.

Have a fantastic Friday!