#it's so funny this is on my dash after making a song ab using common sense to tailor your internet experience

[tigerkirby215]

5e Yasuo, the Unforgiven build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Riot Games)

Yone is back; only fair that I do his brother. There’s about a thousand different jokes I could make here but they’d all be extremely low-bar... just like the average K/D/A of a Yasuo player.

GOALS

Death is like the wind; always by my side - The most important thing for the master of the legendary wind technique will be wind magic, obviously.

One blade; one purpose - Even without the wind technique Yasuo is still an expert swordsman.

Way of the Wanderer - We’ll need a guaranteed way to strike hard and true while also shielding ourselves. Because I don’t see why Yasuo shouldn’t get double crit chance and a shield just for walking around.

RACE

Yasuo is a human, and since he didn’t get a demon attached to his face I can’t justify much else like I could with his brother. But Variant Human still smells so how about more dragonmarks to spice it up? As a Mark of Passage Human you get +2 to Dexterity and +1 to another stat of your choice: pick Charisma to play the flute better and get more Mastery 7s. You also know Common along with one other language of your choice: I’d argue that Elvish would be common in Ionia? But pick whatever you think will be useful.

You have Courier's Speed for an extra 5 feet of movement, and Intuitive Motion to add a d4 to Acrobatics checks or checks to operate land vehicles. Finally Magical Passage will allow you to cast Misty Step once per Long Rest, for some Flash plays.

If Eberron races aren’t allowed Variant Human still works fine. There’s plenty of good feats to choose from: the new UA weapon feats, Mobile, Defensive Duelist, Alert, Magic Initiate, or just some generally useful feats like Tough or Lucky.

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - You have all the makings of an anime protagonist from the land of anime protagonists.

14; DEXTERITY - To master the sword you need to strike as swift as the wind.

13; CONSTITUTION - You need a bit of health to dive into a 1v5, even after your team told you not to over ten times.

12; STRENGTH - Yas’ got abs. Probably because Rito wants to make the girls thirsty, but still: Yas’ got abs.

10; WISDOM - You were always the hotheaded brother, but you had to survive somehow. Even if you’re too stupid to identify a demon disguised as an old man.

8; INTELLIGENCE - Joke about Yasuo mains goes here, but put simply we don’t need Intelligence for much. Even if the wind technique takes skill you did always kinda wing it.

BACKGROUND

Yasuo has many backgrounds, but while there’s no “Unforgiven” background the Outlander background literally gives us Way of the Wanderer, allowing you to remember the general layout of the land around you and also find food and water for your party. You also gain proficiency in Athletics and Survival, an instrument of your choice (Flute, obviously), and a language of your choice. (I’d choose Sylvan for the ancient Ionian dialect.)

(Artwork by Riot Games)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - ROGUE 1

While you may not have started out as a Rogue in life we’ll be starting this build off with Rogue levels to get more skills. Skills like Acrobatics and Slight of Hand to aid with using the Wind Technique, Deception to keep people from killing you for ruining their promos, and Performance to play that flute of yours. You also get Expertise in two skills that you know and since again they are important for using the Wind Technique choose Acrobatics and Slight of Hand. You also learn Thieves’ Cant, which is a code language that only Rogues know, because it takes a bit to learn what “hasagi” means.

The main appeal of Rogues is of course the ability to Sneak Attack. If you have Advantage on your attack or the enemy is within 5 feet of an ally you can do an extra d6 of damage with your sword. You can only sneak attack if you’re using a Finesse weapon, and you can’t sneak attack if you have Disadvantage. By the way now would be a good time to mention that even though Yasuo uses a katana (of sorts) in League there’s no good analogy for a katana in D&D, but Yas does a lot of stabbing with his sword so a rapier would be your best option for a big damage die for piercing damage.

LEVEL 2 - ROGUE 2

Second level Rogues get Cunning Action for some Sweeping Blades, allowing you to Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a bonus action. Remember that as a Mark of Passage human your base movement speed is 35, so you can dash up to 70 feet. Zoom through the minion wave to cut down your foes! Or just dash around like an idiot before getting taunted by the enemy Galio. (Trust me as a Galio player I love playing against Yasuos.)

LEVEL 3 - ROGUE 3

At third level you can choose your Roguish archetype and to guarantee that your ego gets you into fights go for Swashbuckler. Swashbucklers get two abilities at level 3 but honestly it’s more like they get three: Rakish Audacity lets you add your Charisma modifier to your Initiative rolls, so you can initiate even if you shouldn’t. It also lets you Sneak Attack work on enemies in melee range who don’t have an ally near them. (As long as you don’t have Disadvantage.) Additionally Fancy Footwork will let you move away from anyone you’ve attacked without provoking Attacks of Opportunity, even if you missed with your Sweeping Blades.

Basically you get the Mobile feat, you can Sneak Attack anyone who’s out in the open, and you add your Charisma to your initiative. Got it? Good. Oh and your Sneak Attack increases to 2d6.

LEVEL 4 - FIGHTER 1

Feel free to take the Fighter levels later as I’m mostly taking it for flavor reasons (god this build seems really familiar so far), but an early level in Fighter does give you a Fighting Style. Despite what you may think would make the most sense we’ll actually be taking the Defense fighting style for +1 AC thanks to the wind by our side. Put simply we have plans for the future.

At least you can have a flask of “Refillable Potion” to give you some Second Wind, allowing you to heal for a d10 plus your Fighter level as a bonus action once per short or long rest.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

Hey guys I’m multiclassing into a Charisma class! It’s time for levels in...

LEVEL 5 - BARD 1

SURPRISE! Funny how two brothers who started out so similar could go down such different paths... Anyways: multiclassing into Bard gives you one skill proficiency and one instrument proficiency. For skill you can choose just about anything but I opted for Insight to tell if the old man is serious about his secret Spirit Blossom temple. Your choice of instrument isn’t too important: learn more flutes (Pan Flutes to be exact) or borrow your dead brother’s Viol?

The main skill of Bards is their Bardic Inspiration: you can use your Bonus Action to give an ally within 60 feet to add to ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws. You have a number of these dice equal to your Charisma modifier because there’s only a number of times you can flash your Mastery 7 per match before people get sick of it.

You also get access to spellcasting! You get two cantrips from the Bard list: Mage Hand will allow you to bend the wind to grab things from a distance, and Message will let you talk in team chat regardless of if your allies muted you.

For a not-quite-tornado Earth Tremor forces all nearby enemies to make a Dexterity saving throw or be knocked prone. To keep up with the Way of the Wanderer grab Longstrider and Feather Fall to keep you and your allies swift and safe, and because there isn’t much else to grab at first level take Detect Magic to... detect magic.

LEVEL 6 - BARD 2

Second level Bards get Jack of All Trades, letting them add half their proficiency bonus to any skill check they’re not already proficient in. They also get Song of Rest, letting allies heal an extra d6 when taking a short rest. And you can add another spell but since again none of these really interest me you may as well grab Identify.

LEVEL 7 - BARD 3

What we’re really here for is the third level of Bard for our Bardic College. To study the way of the sword of course you’ll have to attend the College of Swords! As a Swords Bard you can channel the wind with your sword, and you get an additional Fighting Style: this is why we took Defense earlier because now we can grab Dueling for +2 damage with our Rapier!

The main appeal of Swords Bards however is their Blade Flourishes. When you attack an enemy your movement speed increases by 10 feet (adding up to 45 feet total, since you have 5 feet of additional movement speed), and if you hit you can choose to use a Bardic Inspiration die to perform a Blade Flourish:

Defensive Flourish will let you add your Bardic Inspiration to attack damage to and add the number rolled to your AC.

Slashing Flourish will let you add your Bardic Inspiration to attack damage and do damage equal to your Bardic Inspiration to anyone you choose within 5 feet of you.

Mobile Flourish will let you add your Bardic Inspiration to attack damage and push the target a number of feet equal to 5 plus your Bardic Inspiration roll. Additionally you can then use your reaction to move within 5 feet of them to continue chasing them down!

You can only use one Blade Flourish per turn, and they are obviously restricted by your Bardic Inspiration, so use them wisely!

You also get Expertise in two more skills and access to second level spells! Choose Athletics to guarantee success in a fight, and Deception to guarantee that no one who’s looking for you finds you. For your spell Warding Wind will let you bend the wind to protect you, doing a bunch of stuff detailed in the spell’s description but mostly keeping projectiles from hitting you.

LEVEL 8 - BARD 4

4th level Bards finally get our first Ability Score Improvement: Attack Speed increases the effectiveness of all our abilities so increase your Dexterity for more of that.

You can also add another cantrip to your spell list, as well as another leveled spell. For cantrips you can blow some paper lanterns though the air with Dancing Lights. As for your leveled spell there are plenty of great options but I suggest knocking an enemy up to cut them down with Last Breath thanks to Hold Person. Hold Person inflicts Paralyzed, which grants all attacks against the target Advantage. Advantage means that you can sneak attack, though you could already sneak attack if they were singled out. But reliability isn’t a bad thing!

LEVEL 9 - BARD 5

5th level Bards get Font of Inspiration, allowing their Bardic Inspiration to come back on a short rest. Which is good, because their Bardic Inspiration (IE Blade Flourish) die also increase to a d8!

You can also learn another spell, and now have access to third level slots! If you need a safe place to rest then Leomund’s Tiny Hut can give you a moment’s peace.

LEVEL 10 - BARD 6

As a Swords Bard you finally get an Extra Attack at 6th level. Only took 10 levels in the build to get our second attack, huhn? Regardless you can also learn another spell such as Hypnotic Pattern, allowing you to stun a room full of enemies so you can focus on the main big bad! Oh and you get Countercharm, which sucks.

(Artwork by Riot Games)

LEVEL 11 - BARD 7

7th level Bards get 4th level spells like Dimension Door to teleport into a fight when needed. Or you can keep farming.

LEVEL 12 - BARD 8

At 8th level you get another Ability Score Improvement: cap off your Dexterity score to give your enemies a death by a thousand cuts.

You can also learn another spell like Freedom of Movement for a Quicksilver Sash against a CC-heavy team.

LEVEL 13 - BARD 9

9th level Bards see their Song of Rest increase to a d8 for some more sake breaks with the party. You also get access to 5th level spells such as Hold Monster, just in case Shyvana or Rek’Sai are carrying.

LEVEL 14 - BARD 10

Hey shouldn’t we get more wind magic as the wind swordsman? Well 10th level Bards get their first batch of Magical Secrets: for Wind Wall get the spell literally called Wind Wall. Wind Wall creates a wall of wind (no really?) that will deflect missiles. And the best part? This wind wall actually does damage!

To cast Last Breath without the knock up look no further than Steel Wind Strike. Choose up to five creatures you can see within range and make a melee spell attack against each target. On a hit, a target takes 6d10 force damage. You can then teleport to an unoccupied space you can see within 5 feet of one of the targets you hit or missed after casting the spell.

You also get Expertise in two more skills, and can learn another cantrip! By this point the only skills you really have to get Expertise in are Insight and Survival. (I mean if you want to get Expertise in Performance go ahead?) And for your cantrip you may as well finally grab Vicious Mockery. Flash that Mastery 7 to intimidate your enemies! (Feel free to grab Vicious Mockery earlier in the build if you want, I’m just taking it in an order that fits the character.)

LEVEL 15 - FIGHTER 2

Feel free to take your Fighter levels earlier but I figured that Wind Wall and Last Breath were more important to the build. Regardless second level Fighters get Action Surge, letting them take one additional action their turn. This means that you can attack four times in a round, or cast multiple spells!

LEVEL 16 - FIGHTER 3

Third level Fighters can choose their Martial Archetype, and Samurai can attack precisely and shield themselves with Fighting Spirit. When you activate Fighting Spirit as a Bonus Action you get advantage on all attacks for the turn, meaning free Sneak Attack and more chances to crit! You also get 5 temporary hitpoints to shrug off some incoming damage. You get three uses of Fighting Spirit per Long Rest but honestly talk to your DM if Fighting Spirit can come back on a Short Rest; if Battle Masters get their Maneuver Dice back on a Short Rest why can’t you get Advantage on a Short Rest?

And you know what we don’t have enough of? Skill proficiencies! You can choose to either learn a language or a skill from the Samurai list: take Persuasion to fully round out your roguish charm.

(Artwork by SIXMOREVODKA STUDIO. Created for Legends of Runeterra by Riot Games.)

LEVEL 17 - BARD 11

11th level Bards can learn 6th level spells but unfortunately none of these are really that impressive, so you may as well mute the chat and incoming pings with Blindness / Deafness at second level.

LEVEL 18 - BARD 12

At 12th level you get another Ability Score Improvement: if you want more Bardic Inspiration and better spells go for 2 points in Charisma, but if you want to keep your Concentration up the Resilient feat for Constitution is also a very good option. Of course if you rolled for stats the choice is easier, but I personally opted for better Charisma so that Steel Wind Strike is more likely to hit.

LEVEL 19 - BARD 13

13th level Bards see their Song of Rest increase to a d10, which is almost completely irrelevant at this point. You do get a 7th level spell slot though, and while there are many options to choose from how about you bring your brother back? Resurrection will let you bring a target to life if they have been dead for less than a century, though it comes with a lot of costs that are detailed in the spell. So maybe just let demons bring your brother back to life instead.

LEVEL 20 - BARD 14

With the 14th level of Bard being our capstone there’s a lot to be gained: firstly you get your final Bardic College ability of Master’s Flourish, letting you roll a d6 to use for a Blade Flourish and not spend a Bardic Inspiration die. But more importantly you get two more Magical Secrets: Investiture of Stone is a spell I gave to Yasuo’s brother because of its ability to knock enemies down, but I figure the master of the wind technique may as well get Investiture of Wind as well. Yasuo doesn’t fly in League but there’s nothing saying he can’t fly?

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Kill me? You can try - How about some sword math? You can attack twice with your Rapier for a d8 + 7 damage, are pretty much guaranteed Sneak Attack as a Swashbuckler for an additional 2d6 damage, and can pop a Master’s Flourish for an extra d6 of damage, or a regular Bardic Inspiration die for an extra d10. That means that you’ll be doing a total of 2d8 + 3d6 + 14 damage per turn on average. Add in a high AC (17 with Leather, 18 with Studded, 20 if you grab a shield (no reason not to!) and even higher with Defensive Flourish) and generally high mobility you can guarantee that you won’t be hit, and those that do hit you will be dead.

Honor is in the heart, not the name - You also have a lot of utility with your spells. Turns out Wind Magic translates into a lot of ranged attacks being negated, and a lot of enemies being too dazed to fight back.

Don't start what I'll finish - Even outside of combat you are insanely useful. You are proficient in 8 out of the 18 available skills, have Expertise in 6 of them, and can still be useful in the skills you’re not proficient in thanks to Jack of All Trades.

CONS

Follow the wind, but watch your back - Your AC may be great but your saving throws are not, and your health leaves something to be desired too. A few Strength or Wisdom saves can easily put you out of commission, and Power Word Kill can easily put an end to you screaming “Hasag!” and “Aseryo!”

Is a leaf's only purpose to fall? - You’ll be chewing through resources quick if you want to fight like Yasuo. Limited spell slots and limited Fighting Spirit, both of which come back on a long rest. Sure you’ve got Bardic Inspiration (Blade Flourishes) and Second Wind comes back on a short rest but they’re also still limited.

A wanderer isn't always lost - A three-way multiclass results in some missed ASIs, and truth be told the Samurai levels really aren’t providing much. You’d be much better off getting some more levels in Bard for a d12 Inspiration die and access to 8th (or even 9th!) level spells.

But while your body may be weak your mastery over the wind is strong! Dance around the battlefield like a leaf in the wind, cut down your foes, and blast away any incoming attacks before slicing through your foes like a swift breeze! And be sure not to abandon your post: we don’t need more revenants roaming around.

(Artwork by Riot Games)